INDIANAPOLIS – After pleading guilty in connection with the death of Amiah Robertson, Robert Lyons learned his punishment.
In court Friday, a judge sentenced Lyons to 16 years, with 10 years executed in the Indiana Department of Correction and 6 years suspended. The sentence included 3 years of probation, along with substance abuse and mental health evaluation and treatment. He was given credit for time already served.
Lyons pleaded guilty last month to neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury, with three lesser counts being dropped as part of his plea agreement.
The court noted that Lyons had not provided investigators with information leading to the girls’ remains. Even if Lyons didn’t know where Amiah’s remains were, the judge argued, he could have additional information that investigators would find useful in locating her.
Amiah Robertson disappeared on March 9, 2019. Her mother, Amber Robertson, waited a week before reporting her missing on March 16.
Robertson said she’d given eight-month-old Amiah to Lyons, her boyfriend at the time, who was supposed to drop the baby off with a babysitter.
But Amiah disappeared—and police haven’t discovered what happened to her. A witness reportedly saw Amiah on March 8 or March 9 with her eyes closed and bruises on the left side of her face.
Despite an extensive search and the arrests of Lyons and Robertson, the girl’s remains have never been found. Investigators did recover some of her belongings near Eagle Creek.
During Friday’s sentencing hearing, prosecutors cited Lyons’ criminal history as aggravating factors, as well as the fact he was given care and custody of Amiah before her apparent death.
The state had asked for the maximum sentence of 16 years, with 4 years suspended.
The defense pointed to Lyons’ history of substance abuse, a tough childhood and his decision to plead guilty as mitigating factors for a lighter sentence. They requested 9 years with 7 years executed—5 years in IDOC and 2 years in Community Corrections.
Ultimately, the judge decided the aggravating factors outweighed the mitigating factors, saying Lyons had caused “significant” harm to Amiah and her family. The court also found the girl’s age and the fact she was in his care and custody carried considerable weight. The court gave “minimal consideration” to Lyons’ substance use and tough childhood.
When asked if he wished to make a statement in court, Lyons declined. He was remanded into the custody of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and ordered transferred to the Indiana Department of Correction to begin his sentence.
Amber Robertson is scheduled to go on trial on June 24.
