Kingsport man charged in 27-year-old murder case

Sullivan County Sheriff Jeff Cassidy joined TBI Director David Rausch to announce the arrest of Kingsport resident George Robinson, 60, after officers cracked a cold case using new technology from a Texas lab.

“Captain (Richard) Frazier and our detectives worked tirelessly and relentlessly to solve this 27-year-old murder of 17-year-old James Hutson and the sexual assault of his mother Mary,” Cassidy said during a press conference held Friday at the Sullivan County Justice Center.

Robinson is accused of killing 17-year-old James Hutson by stabbing him several times then sexually assaulting Hutson’s mother Mary after Robinson broke into their Rock Springs Road home for a robbery.

Robinson recently gave detectives DNA samples, leading to a match then an indictment for murder by a grand jury Wednesday. Robinson is now in the hospital after attempting suicide when officers entered his Hillvue Drive apartment. Sister and daughter Emily Bartley expressed thanks for investigators never giving up on the case.

“These are happy tears but these are also tears of missing my family,” said an emotional Emily Bartley at the briefing.

“It’s been really, really hard; 27 years is a long time. It always feels like yesterday for me. I’m just so thankful for the (Sheriff’s Office), the TBI to always continue to think about not just the victims but think about us, the family members. We hurt every day.”

(IMAGE: Portraits of James Hutson and his mother Mary are posted at a Friday news conference to announce an arrest in a 27-year-old murder and sexual assault case based in Kingsport. J. Olsen / Bristol Broadcasting News Co.)