Cindy White: Desperation and Murder

19 Apr

Cindy White during her trial in 1976. Photo: IndyStar

In 1975, Cindy White set a fire in her home hoping to escape from sexual abuse from the couple she lived with. This fire resulted in the deaths of 6 people, including four small children.

Cindy White’s Early Life

Born in June of 1957, Sarah White, also known as Cindy, was one of six siblings in her family. Cindy had a strong desire to be closer to her father, who paid her special attention. Unfortunately this extra attention grew into sexual abuse.

Once Cindy turned 8 years old her father would continually touch her inappropriately and force her to perform sexual acts. Cindy told her mother, who was an alcoholic about this but she took no real action, only telling Cindy to make sure she was never alone with her dad.

Until her father's passing in 1971, Cindy was forced to endure the abuse. Following his death, she experienced severe mental health issues.

In early 1975, Cindy was unable to move one of her legs, and medical evaluations revealed no physical cause for her condition.

Subsequently, she was admitted to a mental hospital, where she spent the next ten months. Cindy was diagnosed with involuntary paralysis due to the psychological impact of the prolonged sexual abuse she had suffered.

Following her ten-month stay at the psychiatric hospital, Cindy was discharged. Regrettably, her mother had passed away due to a stroke during her hospitalization. At eighteen years old and without any means of support, Cindy was left to fend for herself.

Cindy moves in with Charles and Carole Roberson

A video telling the story of Cindy White

When Charles Roberson, an acquaintance, invited Cindy to stay with him, his wife Carole, and their four children as a live-in nanny, she felt relieved. Cindy was fond of babysitting and welcomed the offer.

Initially, Cindy found living with the Roberson family enjoyable. Charles and Carole Yvonne Harrison had four children: Michael Eugene Roberson in 1968, Dale Keith Roberson in 1969, Gary Wayne Roberson in 1970, and Rita Michelle Roberson in 1971.

Cindy adored the children and and treated them as if they were her own. She later acknowledged that she initially appreciated the attention that Charles Roberson paid her, which involved flirting and exchanging love letters.

According to Cindy, this attention quickly became too much. Cindy claimed that Charles forced her to watch pornographic videos and perform sex acts on him and on family pets.

Cindy says she initially thought Carole was unaware of the abuse until one day when she walked in on Charles abusing Cindy. Cindy claims Carole said “What did I miss?” and joined in.

Cindy says one day packed her belongings and tried to leave but Charles wouldn’t have it. He took one of the families kittens and broke its neck, saying he would do the same to her if she tried to leave. Cindy didn’t try to escape again until the fire.

Cindy White Sets a Fire in the Roberson Home

On December 31st, 1975, a fire erupted at the Roberson's residence in Greenwood, Indiana. When the police arrived, they discovered Cindy outside the home with severe burns. She was immediately transported to the hospital for intensive treatment.

Nurses in the emergency room observed that her hair was singed, her face was covered in soot and burns, she had no shoes, and her feet were muddy and dirty.

Her forearms were severely burned, requiring immediate debridement by a physician. To alleviate her pain, she was given a shot of Demerol, her arms were placed in soaks, and she was catheterized before being admitted to intensive care.

The authorities initially suspected that the fire was caused by faulty Christmas tree lights. Cindy was informed that the Roberson family had safely escaped the blaze. However, after her condition stabilized, she learned that the entire Roberson family had perished in the fire that New Year's Eve. According to Cindy, she became hysterical upon hearing the tragic news.

Police soon discovered the fire was not an accident. Fire investigators had determined that the fire was not caused by the lights or the tree. In fact, they believed that accelerant was used to ignite the blaze.

While investigating, police found nude pictures of Cindy in Charles Roberson’s possession. They also found love letters between Cindy and Charles. The detectives quickly became suspicious of Cindy White. She was the only survivor of a fire that killed six people, including four small children.

Cindy claimed she was asleep on the couch when the fire woke her up. She said she went to the bedroom of Charles and Carole Roberson to alert them of the fire. She said that she went with Carole to gather the children.

She claimed that Carole told her to exit out of the window and she would hand her the children, one-by-one. When asked what happened next, Cindy said “No one else came out of the house”. Police knew this was false, as Charles Roberson was found on the living room couch.

After discovering that Cindy's grandmother's home had caught fire two days prior to the Roberson house fire, investigators noted that Cindy had shown a keen interest in the details of the incident.

Although no link was established between the two fires, as the one at her grandmother's home was deemed accidental, police became suspicious of Cindy when they found out that she had asked her siblings several questions about the fire just hours before the Roberson house fire.

Her queries included the extent of damage caused, whether anyone was hurt, if the house was inhabitable, and if the family required new clothes after the fire.

The police's belief that Cindy White and Charles Roberson were involved in an extramarital affair was corroborated by nude photos of Cindy and love letters.

Although there was no indication of any discord in the letters, the police postulated that Cindy might have been a spurned lover seeking retribution against Charles and his family for not leaving his wife, Carole, for her.

Cindy refuted this theory, describing it as absurd and far from reality, but she did not offer any alternative explanation. As a result, Cindy was taken into custody and charged with six counts of murder and arson

The Trial of Cindy White

Cindy white in a recent interview for Netflix. Photo: MidWestCrimeFiles

Upon learning about Cindy's history of mental health issues, her defense attorney immediately requested a psychiatric evaluation. However, Cindy was deemed fit to stand trial, and her trial commenced in the Spring of 1976.

Despite the police being able to prove the existence of a sexual relationship between Cindy and Charles, they had no concrete evidence to support the theory that Cindy was a vengeful lover or had a motive for setting the fire.

Cindy denied any involvement in the crime and did not offer an explanation. Nevertheless, she was found guilty on all charges and received a sentence of six life sentences without the possibility of parole.

After being convicted, Cindy began serving her sentence at the Indiana Women's Prison, where she claimed to have been sixteen years old upon arrival. Official records indicate that she was eighteen.

Cindy's defense team made several appeals to challenge her conviction and sentence, all of which were unsuccessful. Throughout this time, Cindy continued to maintain her innocence.

It was not until a decade later, in the late 1980s, that Cindy changed her story. She revealed that she had initially remained silent about the truth because she was ashamed and embarrassed.

Cindy has now confessed to starting the fire with matches and paper near the Christmas tree a few hours before the new year. Her intention was to wake up the family and alert them of the fire so that they could escape safely.

The fire quickly spread out of control, and Cindy lost consciousness due to smoke inhalation while trying to wake up the family. According to witnesses, Cindy was seen leaving the back of the house screaming on the night of the fire.

She also attempted to go back inside the burning home repeatedly to rescue the children but had to be restrained.

In a 1997 appeal, Cindy argued that she was not competent to stand trial in 1976 due to her psychological and emotional stunted growth caused by mental illness resulting from sexual abuse she had suffered at the hands of her father, brother, and Charles and Carole Roberson.

Despite her claims, County Prosecutor Lance Hamner stated that "sexual abuse is not an excuse for murder" during the court hearing. Additionally, Cindy claimed to have attempted suicide at least three times before the murders. Her sister also testified that she had been a victim of sexual abuse by their father.

After enduring two strokes, Cindy is now predominantly confined to a wheelchair. During a conversation with Sir Trevor McDonald, Cindy revealed her desire to become a mother, but instead has become a maternal figure to numerous young women who are also imprisoned.

Although Cindy yearns to live with her sister in the future, she has come to terms with the likelihood of spending the rest of her life incarcerated, and acknowledges that she will probably die behind bars after being imprisoned for her entire adult life.