A 68-year-old Massachusetts man has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for the murder of his second wife, four decades after he was convicted of killing his first spouse. Kenneth Robson pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of 45-year-old Quitzia Holmes, the Hampden District Attorney's Office announced.
The attack occurred on 30 April 2024, when Robson called 991 and told the operator he had 'hit his wife with a hammer and she might be dead.' Police found Holmes face down in a pool of blood with catastrophic head injuries and defensive wounds. A blood-stained hammer was recovered at the scene. Holmes died several weeks later in hospital.
During the investigation, Robson claimed he had taken drugs that were not what he expected and tried to blame his actions on their effects. However, this was not his first spousal homicide. In 1984, he was convicted of murdering his then-wife, Joan Cusson, and received a sentence of 10 to 20 years. He was released in May 1995.
Members of Cusson's family attended every court proceeding in the Holmes case, expressing outrage that Robson had been freed and was able to kill again. District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said: 'This was a brutal and senseless attack that ended the life of Quitzia Holmes, a woman who should still be with her family and community today.'
