Crime & Safety

19-Year-Old On Trial for Murder Won't Talk to Jury

Her lead attorney called it a 'monumentally bad decision.'

Despite the advice of her attorney, Monique Robinson, the 19-year-old Phoenixville woman on trial for her role in the 2011 murder of a man on Prospect Street, declined to testify on Wednesday, The Phoenix is reporting.

“This is over my strong objection,” Robsinon lead attorney Robert Donatoni told the judge after his client refused to speak on her own behalf, the paper reported. “Against my strong recommendation. This is a monumentally bad decision.”

Several members of Robinson’s family were in attendance at day three of the trial, according to the paper, and one was overheard dissuading her from giving testimony, telling her she didn’t “have to prove anything.”

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Robinson faces charges of first-, second- and third-degree murder stemming from her role in the September 2011 shooting death of Selvin Lopez-Mauricio, as well as additional charges of robbery and conspiracy. Prosecutors allege Robinson helped plan the robbery that led to Lopez-Mauricio’s death, and provided the murder weapon.

According to The Phoenix, on Thursday, both the prosecution and the defense will present their closing arguments. Read the full story here.

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Previous Phoenixville Patch Coverage of the Case

  • Shooter in Phoenixville Murder Says Robinson Told Him to Pull Trigger
  • Phoenixville Teen Heads to Trial for 2011 Murder
  • Gunman Pleads Guilty to Murder of Phoenixville Man
  • Murder Defendant Appears in District Court on Drug Charges
  • Preliminary Hearing Held for Robinson on Murder Charges
  • Police: Unknown Where Robinson Was Hiding
  • Breaking: Third Phoenixville Murder Suspect Turns Herself In
  • Report: Murder Suspect Robinson May Be in North Philly
  • Police: Alleged Shooter Had Drugs at Time of Arrest
  • Chief: Black Bag Is Key to Murder Investigation


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