In June 2016, the life of 40-year-old Lyntell Washington, a respected teacher, was tragically cut short. Washington, who was seven months pregnant, was reported missing on June 9, 2016. The initial sign of trouble was the discovery of her three-year-old daughter found wandering alone in a parking lot in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The child was near her mother's car, which ominously contained blood inside.
A week later, Washington's badly decomposed body was discovered in a ditch in Iberville Parish. An autopsy would later confirm that she had died from a single gunshot wound to the head.
The investigation into her disappearance and murder quickly focused on Robert Marks, a 39-year-old married assistant principal at the same school where Washington worked. It was revealed that the two were having an affair and that Washington was pregnant with Marks' child. A coworker told police that Washington had threatened to reveal their relationship to Marks' wife. The most compelling and heartbreaking witness in the case was Washington's own three-year-old daughter. The child told investigators that ''Mr. Robbie' hurt her mother and was now sleeping.' She recounted hearing a 'bang' and seeing her mother 'shaking.'
Robert Marks was arrested and initially charged with aggravated kidnapping and child desertion. Following the discovery of Washington's body, the charges were upgraded to first-degree murder and first-degree feticide. Cell phone records placed both Marks' and Washington's phones in the Ramah area, about 25 miles from Baton Rouge, on the night she disappeared.
In December 2021, Robert Marks stood trial for the murder of Lyntell Washington and her unborn child. Despite the defense's argument that there was a lack of hard evidence, the jury was convinced of his guilt, taking only 35 minutes to convict him on charges of second-degree murder, kidnapping, and first-degree feticide. In February 2022, Marks was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
