Disappearance of Mary C. Robinson

Mary C. Robinson was a lifelong resident of Rochester, New York. In October of 1971, she was married to Larry Robinson. After her sister, Frances moved into their home Larry left Mary for her in 1973. They all still lived in the same home and Mary and Larry was still legally married.

In 1974 Mary’s father passed away and left her with seven rental properties. This had allowed her to quit waitressing. She had collected rent and did maintenance on the houses. In 1976 Larry and Frances moved into a hotel near a massage parlor they were working at. Mary stayed at the apartment to close it up before moving in with Frances and Larry.

Mary had resorted back to waitressing. She later found out that Frances was working as a prostitute. Around the beginning of June Mary turned to prostitution. By June 9, 1976, she had been doing it for two weeks.

On June 9, 1976, Mary called Larry between 6 and 7 pm. All three of them met around 8:30 pm at a park near the two hotels Mary frequented. Mary was wearing her glasses, a black dress with red trim, a white vinyl purse, and open-toed white shoes or sandals. After they met Frances and Larry went to their hotel room.

Mary called them again at 1:30 am on June 10. It was a 5 to 10 minute conversation and it was the last time they had heard from her. By 3 am the couple did not hear from Mary and had gone to the hotel’s that Mary frequented to see if the had seen her, and had not. By 7:30 the two went to the apartment and found that Mary was not there.

Nothing seemed out of place in her apartment. If Mary left she would have taken her parent's wedding picture as it was special to her. She may not have come back to her apartment that night as the only things that were missing were what she was wearing and had with her. Her glasses, plaid wallet, white vinyl purse, black dress with red trim, and white open-toed shoes. When there was no sight of her by June 11 they reported her missing.

Leonard Lipsky was an accounting student at Monroe Community College. He was engaged and living with Ms. Hanrahan since April even though he still had his own apartment. On June 1, 1976, she went to Cape Cod till June 14, or 15. When she arrived home he was in her apartment.

He was upset and emotional and at times cried. He was soon moving to Arizona to work at his parent's motel. He had asked Ms. Hanrahan if she would come with him and she refused. The relationship wasn’t going well. She did help him pack up his apartment. In a cupboard, Ms. Harahan found a white Vinyl purse with glasses, socks, personal pictures, a plaid wallet, and the I.D. of Mary C. Robinson. Lipsky told her it was the former tenants and that she could have it. Ms. Hanrahan took the items but asked all her friends if they had known or seen the girl. Lipsky left a few days later.

In August of 1978, Lipsky was working in Provo, Utah. On October 16, 1978, Lipsky was arrested for aggravated assault at Brigham Young University. In January of 1979, Lipsky told a psychiatric social worker he had done a previous crime. On February 7, 1979, he met with his probation officer and a psychiatric social worker to admit what he had done to Mary Robinson.

He claimed that on June 14, 1976 he had hired Mary to sleep with him. When she tried to leave him it made him angry and he attacked her. He strangled Mary to death in fear of a family member of hers getting revenge. He claimed to have killed her in his apartment that he did not share with Ms. Hanrahan. He claimed to have placed Mary’s body in his trunk and drove three hours south and dumped her in a gully.

Ms. Harahan saw the article that the police put in the newspaper about Mary. She then turned over Mary’s stuff to the police. The items were identified by Larry Robinson to be his wife’s stuff. It had turned out that Lipsky talked about murdering Mary before. He had claimed that he couldn’t join the Mormon Church because he murdered someone. He told one coworker that he was afraid of retribution from her family and that he thought of backing out, but decided not to. The second coworker asked why they were talking about it and Lipsky said that no one could pin it on him because there was no body.

Lipsky was charged with murder, but his conviction was overturned. It was thought that there wasn't a direct proof of death and not enough proof of criminal acts. This may be due to Mary’s body not being found.

Mary was a white 23 year old female. She was 5'2 and 115 lbs. She had Red hair and brown eyes. On the night she disappeared she was wearing a black dress with red trim, white open toed shoes or sandals, glasses and a white vinyl purse. Her purse, shoes and glasses were found.

She has DNA available but no Dentals or Fingerprints. Her Dentals were destroyed once her Dentist died.

SOURCES: https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/26000/135http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/r/robinson_mary_c.htmlhttps://www.leagle.com/decision/198261757ny2d5601570.xmlhttps://www.newspapers.com/clip/9786634/mary_robinson_murder/