Solomon Robinson had done everything right. The Bronx native had shunned gang violence and joined the military in search of a better life.
But on a spring day in 1998, he was senselessly murdered. Twenty-six years after the killing, detectives are still looking to track down those responsible for the soldier’s murder.
Robinson’s friends and law enforcement agents working on the case said he was a shining example of a South Bronx success story — a young man about whom nobody said a bad word. Today, for his family and a relentless detective still searching for his killers, he remains a soldier who still needs to be brought home.
His tragic end came 26 years ago on April 3. The teenage Private Robinson had just returned home to visit his mother and father, catching up on lost time that heartbreakingly turned out to be fleeting.
At around 10 p.m. that night, he cut through St. Mary’s Park on 145th Street and Jackson Avenue, en route to a local store, when no fewer than two suspects attacked him.
Robinson suffered multiple stab and slash wounds, and was also shot. In mere moments, the young man who did everything right, who everybody loved, and who served his country proudly, was dead at just 19 years old.
Robinson’s brother, Russell Robinson, now 60, recalled to amNewYork Metro the moment that his mother called him and told him that Solomon’s life had been taken from them.
“I was in the shower, and all I could hear was ‘He’s dead. He’s dead.’ I’m thinking it was my father,” Russell remembered. “When she told me, I fell to the floor, like I couldn’t even walk, it felt like I had no legs on me.”
Police and family said that Robinson not only lived a clean life but also actively pushed away negative influences. Instead, he strived to focus on playing his beloved sports and looking to go to college through military service.
All these years later, one question remains for his family and friends: Why would anyone want him dead?
Detectives say they ruled out common motives such as robbery. Instead, they believe Robinson was targeted by a gang that used the innocent man’s murder as a way to initiate new members.
While his killers have yet to be apprehended, police remain determined to find those responsible. Leading the charge is Bronx homicide Detective Robert Klein, who says failing to find Robinson’s killers is not an option.
Although Robinson and Klein never met, the pair share some startling similarities. Both men were not only in the military, but they were also in boot camp at the exact same time, which has only deepened Klein’s need to solve the mystery once and for all.
“I did seven years of active duty. I went overseas twice, and leadership in the military is different from leadership anywhere else. You’re not a supervisor, you’re not a manager, you’re a leader,” Klein told amNewYork Metro. “I look at Solomon like he’s one of my guys. You never leave a guy, that’s literally in the Soldier’s Creed. — ‘no soldier left behind,’ and to me, this is the same dynamic. I have to bring him home.”
Klein says he is working alongside FBI agents and has had so much success with the feds that the idea of a potential task force to work alongside the NYPD to close cold cases like these is being floated. But Klein says he can’t bring Robinson home without help.
Detective Klein believes someone had to see something on the night of Robinson’s murder. That evening, St. Mary’s Park was playing host to a party — leaving an abundance of witnesses who, possibly out of fear of retaliation, have not spoken up.
”I’m going to be blunt: I’ve spoken to eyewitnesses that refuse to cooperate. The biggest hurdle to overcome in these cases is getting, often decent people, just to tell you what they saw and tell you, and then obviously the next step is to tell it in court,” Klein said. “I always try to tell people that in my entire career, I’ve never had anything negative happen to just a normal citizen.”
In an attempt to motivate those who saw something that fateful night to come forward, both the FBI and the NYPD have raised the reward money to $20,000.
“It’s not a reward amount that you often see in these cases,” Detective Klein said. “It’s typically reserved for special cases, extremely innocent people — children. That is exactly what Solomon was. He was an innocent person with zero criminal history, zero police contacts.”
As for Russell Robinson, the loss of his brother was so devastating that he believes it was responsible for the death of their parents, tearing the family away from him one by one.
”My father died from a broken heart, then my mother died a year later. My other brother died. So, I’m the last person,” Russell said. “It was because of this one death; it just sucked the life out of the family.”
Detective Klein pointed out that with so many lives being irrevocably damaged as a result of Robinson’s murder, it is imperative for anyone who knows anything about what happened that night to come forward.
“I need you to care as much as I do. I need you to put aside whatever fears you have of being labeled,” Klein said. “We need everything we can get. This is a team effort, it’s everyone in the police department, everyone in my office. It’s my partners, it’s my supervision. It is the people in the community. It was the people in the park that day, the people that were attending the party that saw this happen and have yet to talk to us.”
Anyone with information regarding the incident or the perpetrators can call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS (for Spanish, dial 888-57-PISTA). You can also submit tips online at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, or on X (formerly Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
