Trial set to begin for man accused of murdering 2 Olga teens

Jury selection is underway in the trial for a man accused of murdering two teenagers in Olga and shooting another one nearly three years ago.

Elwood Timothy Robinson was arrested in 2018 after he was accused of shooting and killing Jeremy Stewart, 16, and William “Jody” Hughes, 19, as well as shooting and injuring Kristina Deluca, who was 18 at the time. Both the murder victims’ bodies were found in a wooded area of Olga.

We spoke to Stewart’s mother, Vickie Dunn, who has been anxiously waiting more than a year for the process to reach this point. Dunn raised her son to be someone people would love to meet.

“He was not your normal 16-year-old kid,” Dunn said. “He was just very polite and respectful. You know, ‘Yes, sir. No, sir. Yes, ma’am. No, ma’am.’ That was him.”

Friends Stewart and Hughes were both killed together in what was described as an execution-style shooting during the early hours of a Saturday morning in November 2018.

“He loved being in the woods,” Dunn said. “You needed to find him, that’s where he would be. He would be on his four-wheeler, or he’d be with friends.”

According to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office arrest report, Stewart, Hughes and friends were gathered for a bonfire in the wooded area.

While at the gathering, a male witness said he was confronted by two males who wanted to fight him. He says he ran from the scene and encountered Robinson in a pickup truck, telling him he was running from two males because they were trying to fight him.

Robinson told the witness he was a police officer, and he could help. Robinson drove his truck toward the scene of the bonfire, and investigators say he eventually came in contact with two males.

The witness said he heard Robinson tell the two he was an officer and ordered both of them to lie face down on the ground with their hands on their heads. One of them cooperated, and the other remained standing. Elwood shot the victim who remained standing and “executed” the victim who was prone on the ground.

“Not knowing what happened, just not knowing the why it happened,” Dunn said.

According to the report, another female and Deluca originally left the bonfire, and when they returned, they say Robinson had a gun pointed at the two victims and told them he was an officer. Robinson ordered the unnamed female to check on his truck, and as she walked away, he shot the two male victims. As Deluca tried to get away, Robinson shot toward her, and she was hit on the hand and grazed on her throat and shoulder.

“Just, just a lot of waiting and waiting and wondering,” Dunn said.

The wait is over, and the trial for Robinson will begin after a long list of delays.

“We can get the answers that we’ve been working for for two and half years, and it will be very rewarding to know that Jeremy and Jody finally got the justice that they deserve,” Dunn said.

During opening statements, prosecutors said the defendant tried to hide all the evidence, from the gun, to his dirty clothes.

The defense argued those who were at the gathering were drinking alcohol and don’t have a good memory about what happened.

Testimony begins Wednesday.