The Murder of Christina Sanoubane
I’m back guys, and looking forward to researching and writing more cases for you! For this episode, I watched an episode of Forensic Files. It’s season 14 episode 1, titled ‘Purebread Murder.’
A single mother is found dead in her new home.
Background
Christina Sanoubane was born on November 21, 1979. She had a dream of one day becoming a journalist. However, she dropped out of high school after getting pregnant during her senior year. Christina had her child, a baby boy, and moved in with the father of her son, a man named Jacob Hadley.
Jacob was verbally and physically abusive to Christina. Christina was very open about the abuse, but said she loved him, and wanted to make the relationship work. Eighteen months before her death, Jacob shot Christina in the face with a pellet gun. He spent 3 days in jail, but that was enough for Christina. On August 31, 2000, she moved into a new duplex in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with her son, and was getting ready for the next chapter in her life.
Christina Sanoubane
A Strange Scene
Just four days after Christina moved into her apartment, a friend of hers named Todd Hale, went to check on her. He rang the doorbell, but there was no answer. Todd looked in the window, and saw Christina’s 2-year-old son alone and crying.
Todd was able to remove the screen from the window, and climb inside. He walked through the house, and found Christina semi-clothed, lying face down in her bathtub. Todd rushed out of the home, and asked Christina’s neighbor, Carloss Robinson, to call 911. Both men had just helped Christina move in on August 31.
Christina was pronounced dead at the scene. The police determined that she had been attacked with a frying pan in the kitchen. Christina’s sandals were found in the middle of the room, a metal collar from the pan was found on the ground, and some of Christina’s teeth had been knocked out, due to the force of the attack.
The police also found bloody bare footprints in the kitchen, bathroom, and back of the house. It was clear that the killer lived nearby, and had been someone that Christina knew. The police also found hamburger buns in the bathroom, something that no one had ever seen at a murder scene before.
The Ex-Boyfriend
Jacob Hadley was immediately the prime suspect. He had been abusive, and Christina had moved into a new home with their son. There was also no forced entry into the home, and nothing had been taken.
Christina’s autopsy report revealed that she had been sexually assaulted. Her throat had been cut, and her trachea had been completely severed. An x-ray showed that pellet that had been lodged in Christina’s skull from where Jacob had shot her.
The medical examiner put Christina’s time of death between 9pm-3am. Jacob was questioned, but he had an alibi. He had been a half ‘n hour away, out drinking with members of the University of Iowa track team.
The police still believed that Christina knew her killer, so Jacob wasn’t immediately cleared as a suspect.
Christina with her son, and Jacob Hadley
The Other Suspects
Two other men that knew Christina, Todd Hale and Carloss Robinson, had come up as possible suspects.
The police were suspicious of Todd’s story, that he had been able to get inside Christina’s home without disturbing items from a table that sat below the window. The police asked Todd to demonstrate, and he was able to, even while wearing steel-toed boots (this was obviously important enough to put in the episode).
Carloss was questioned next. He appeared to be helpful and cooperative, but the police watched Carloss as they left the interview room. Carloss had knelt down to pray at one point when he thought he was alone.
The police now needed to compare Jacob, Carloss, and Todd’s footprints to the footprints found at the crime scene.
A Mountain of Evidence
Jacob and Todd were very cooperative, and their footprints were not a match. Carloss was not so cooperative. When he was asked to walk across the paper, he walked on one side, but then walked over the prints that he had already left. The police were able to get a useable print, and it was a match.
Carloss’ palm print was also found on the bathroom sink in Christina’s bathroom, and his DNA matched the rape kit test that had been done.
Carloss was confronted about the evidence. He told the police that he and Christina had been having a consensual sexual relationship. He even told the police that he had found Christina's body several hours before Todd had, but was afraid that he would be framed for the murder because he was a black man.
The police learned that Carloss had been at home alone with his kids between 9pm-3am. Carloss was married, but his wife had been out of town.
Footprints in the… Hamburger Bun?
The police believed that they had circumstantial evidence, so they decided to look over the crime scene one more time.
In a photo, the police noticed that there had been a partial right toe print in a hamburger bun that had been found in the bathroom. There were also ridge details found in the bread.
The police sent the hamburger bun to a latent print examiner named Gene Czarnecki. He was convinced that the prints belonged to Carloss.
The police now believed that Carloss had met Christina when she moved in, and took a liking to her. He went over to her home, and made a sexual advance. Christina denied it, and Carloss attacked and killed her.
Carloss had attempted to clean up the scene. However, he was so worried about finding something to put the knife in, that he didn’t realize what a mess he made. He grabbed the hamburger bun bag, leaving behind the buns and the tie, and wrapped the knife in it to keep from leaving a blood trail.
Carloss had killed Christina, leaving behind her son, who had been alone in the home for about 24 hours.
The Conviction
Carloss’ trial began in 2002.
The prosecution said that Carloss had killed Christina because he was afraid that his wife would find out that he had an interest in Christina, and had tried making an advance towards her.
Carloss was found guilty, and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
Carloss has since tried to appeal his case. In 2017, he tried to request a new DNA test. It was denied, but Carloss still maintains that he’s innocent.
Carloss Robinson in a more recent mug shot
FINAL THOUGHTS
THIS IS WHY WOMEN ARE AFRAID TO SAY NO TO MEN. Christina was nothing but nice to Carloss, but he took it as she wanted to have sex with him. FUCKING DISGUSTING. Sorry for the language, but he took her away from her son. He left her son in the home with her body for a whole day. Carloss deserves to rot, and maybe one day he’ll finally just admit that he killed her. Probably not though.
Sources
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/60958870/christina-sanoubane
https://thecinemaholic.com/christina-sanoubane-murder/
https://www.thegazette.com/news/cedar-rapids-murder-case-featured-on-trutv-tonight/
https://www.thegazette.com/news/2000-cedar-rapids-homicide-to-be-featured-on-cable-crime-show/
https://www.radioiowa.com/2000/09/06/arrest-made-in-cedar-rapids-murder/
