Malinda Robertson, a 30-year-old Black woman and mother of four, was killed in a domestic dispute at her Mobile, Alabama, home in the summer of 2023. On the evening of August 7, police responded to a call from one of Robertson’s children at the Townhouse Square Apartments on Wagner Street. Officers arrived around 8:23 p.m. to find Robertson outside her apartment with a fatal gunshot wound. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
All four of her children, who ranged in age from two to twelve, were inside the apartment during the incident but were not physically harmed.
Robertson’s family remembered her as a devoted mother who died protecting her children. “I just want everybody to know that she did die protecting her daughter, she did,” her sister Daisy Drinkard said. “She gave her life to protect her kids.” Despite their heartbreak, the family remained defiant. “You have not broken our family, you have not broken our spirits, and you will not win,” said another sister, Lawanda Drinkard.
The investigation immediately centered on Robertson's 37-year-old boyfriend, Milton Farris, the father of her youngest child. When police first arrived, they believed Farris had barricaded himself inside the apartment, leading to a standoff involving a SWAT team. However, Farris had already fled the scene. The manhunt ended the following day, August 8, when Farris was arrested with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service. Police were alerted to his whereabouts by his employer, who called authorities after Farris appeared at his job asking to be paid early.
While being taken into custody, Farris spoke to reporters, expressing remorse and claiming the shooting was unintentional. “I’m sorry, sorry to the family, sorry to my children. This is something that never should’ve happened,” he said. “I was under the influence of alcohol. One thing, the gun accidentally went off. I promise it did.” Investigators noted that Farris had a long criminal history that included previous arrests for domestic violence.
Farris was initially charged with murder, shooting into an occupied dwelling, unlawful imprisonment, kidnapping, and menacing. In August 2024, a Mobile County grand jury upgraded the primary charge to capital murder. Farris also faced additional charges of robbery, kidnapping, receiving a stolen firearm, and raping a child. As of that month, prosecutors had not yet determined whether they would seek the death penalty. An arraignment was scheduled for September 2024.
