On October 16, 2020, a tragic discovery shook the community of Griffith, Indiana, when two teenage boys were found lifeless inside a residence. Elijah Robinson, an 18-year-old Caucasian male, and his friend, 17-year-old Maxwell Kroll, were discovered in the basement of a home located in Calumet Township, near the 5900 block of West 51st Avenue. Authorities arrived around noon after the girlfriend of one of the victims stumbled upon the scene and alerted law enforcement.
Both young men had sustained fatal gunshot wounds, and the Lake County Coroner’s Office subsequently ruled their deaths a double homicide.
As the Lake County Sheriff’s Department launched an investigation, they uncovered a motive rooted in a dispute over a missing firearm. Detectives learned that the violence stemmed from accusations regarding a stolen handgun. Reports indicated that a local woman believed one of the teens had taken a weapon she had previously given to him and failed to return it. This conflict escalated, leading the suspects to the residence where the victims were staying. Investigators found ballistic evidence at the scene, including a casing that matched a weapon later recovered from a storage unit linked to one of the suspects.
Law enforcement officers eventually arrested three individuals in connection with the murders. The suspects included 42-year-old Dawn M. Carden and 37-year-old Alvino S. 'Vino' Amaya, both of whom were taken into custody and charged with murder. In a confusing twist, the third suspect arrested was a 19-year-old man also named Elijah D. Robinson, though authorities clarified he was not related to the victim of the same name. Prosecutors alleged that Carden and Amaya had gone to the home to retrieve the gun, resulting in the deadly encounter.
The legal proceedings saw different outcomes for the accused. Alvino Amaya faced trial and was ultimately found guilty by a Lake County jury on two counts of murder and a firearm enhancement. The third suspect, Elijah D. Robinson, entered a plea agreement with prosecutors. He pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of residential entry in exchange for the dismissal of the murder charges against him, agreeing to testify against his co-defendants. This cooperation was part of the state's effort to secure convictions against those believed to be the primary aggressors in the double homicide.
