The Babysitter Killer.

He doesn’t look like a monster, but he preyed on society’s most vulnerable.

Mr. Ted Lamborgine murdered four children in the mid 1970’s, after raping them, cleaning them and feeding them - each over a span of several days.

The first child taken was Mark Stebbins, a 12-year-old who was last seen alive on February 15th in 1976. His body was found in a parking lot several days later, on February 19th. He had been raped and strangled.

The next child was 12-year-old Jill Robinson who was abducted on December 22 of 1976. She was found in a ditch off a local freeway, shot in the head.

Kristine Mihelich, a 10-year-old girl, was taken on January 2nd of 1977. She was found a few weeks later on the 21st of January, suffocated to death.

Timothy King, the last child taken, was reported missing in March of 1977, on the 16th - and found on the 22nd of March in a ditch near a freeway. Raped and suffocated.

It’s believed that Ted has raped at least 8 kids, both boys and girls.

Police finally found him and arrested him in Parma, Ohio.

After a short trial, the judge sentenced Ted Lamborgine to three life terms.

During questioning, Lamborgine claimed that he never forced himself on the victims and that they were paid for the sexual acts that they performed.

These children were as young as 10.

One of Lamborgine’s victims appeared in court during the trial and showed the judge needle marks on his arm from previous drug abuse. He claimed he has nightmares about Lamborgine and has done prison time as a result of his trauma.

Another victim, who was 13 when he was molested, sent a letter that the judge read in court. He called Lamborgine a child killer.

“You said I would never be loved. I am,” the man wrote in the lettter. “You said my life would never be normal. It is.”

Man given three life sentences for sex with boys

BY BEN SCHMITT, DET. FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

Updated: 4/20/2007 2:12:57 PM

Detroit - Ted Lamborgine, an Ohio man who recently pleaded guilty to 15 sex-related charges involving metro Detroit boys, received three life sentences this morning.

Lamborgine, 66, earlier rejected a plea deal that would have required him to submit to a polygraph test on four unsolved Oakland County child deaths in exchange for dismissing 13 of the 15 charges.

In sentencing him, Wayne County Circuit Judge Annette Berry said, “May God have mercy on your soul.''

"Guess what they do to people like you in prison?" she added. "You are the classic predator. You don't look like a monster. You preyed upon our most vulnerable."

Had he taken the deal with prosecutors, he would have faced a possible 15-year minimum sentence with a maximum sentence to be determined, assistant Wayne County prosecutor Robert Moran said.

He was also offered a deal, where he would plead guilty to two charges, without any cooperation, and face 25 to 50 years. Lamborgine also rejected that deal and decided to plead guilty to all 15 charges.

State Police Detective Sgt. Garry Gray said Lamborgine is a suspect in the child killings that caused regional anxiety in the 1970s.

“He's an evil man,” Gray said. “What our his motives for not taking the polygraph? We don't know.”


His lawyer Rita Young said after the hearing that Lamborgine has no knowledge of the child killings. As to his refusal to take the polygraph, “He did not want to go through the interrogation process.''

This morning, Lamborgine maintained that he never forced himself on the victims and that they were paid for sexual acts.

Moran countered that some of the victims were as young as 11.

"You can never justify having sex with a child," he said. "Some of these victims' lives are ruined."

One victim appeared in court today and showed Judge Berry needle marks on his arm from previous drug abuse. He said he has nightmares about Lamborgine and has done prison time as a result of his trauma.

Another victim, who was 13 when he was molested, sent a letter that Moran read in court. He called Lamborgine a child killer, although Lamborgine has not been charged in any of those cases.

"You said I would never be loved. I am," the man wrote in the lettter. "You said my life would never be normal. It is."


Lamborgine had been living in Parma, Ohio, until last year when he was arrested.

The cases involve five victims, all under age 15, including an 11-year-old and 12-year-old.

In the Oakland County child killings, the victims - two girls and two boys - were abducted and held for days before their bodies were found, dressed in their own clothes. Their bodies, including their fingernails, were clean.

• Timothy King, 11, of Birmingham was last seen March 16, 1977, in his hometown. He was found March 22, 1977, in a ditch off Gill Road near 8 Mile in Livonia. He had been sexually assaulted and suffocated.

• Kristine Mihelich, 10, of Berkley was last seen Jan. 2, 1977, near her home. She was found Jan. 21, 1977, on a rural road near Telegraph and 12 Mile in Franklin Village. She had been suffocated.

• Jill Robinson, 12, of Royal Oak was last seen Dec. 22, 1976, in her hometown. She was found Dec. 26, 1976, near I-75 north of Big Beaver in Troy. She had been shot in the head.

• Mark Stebbins, 12, of Ferndale was last seen Feb. 15, 1976, in his hometown. He was found Feb. 19, 1976, near a parking lot at the Fairfax Plaza Building, at 10 Mile and Greenfield, in Southfield. He had been sexually assaulted and strangled.

Investigators have recently said that the four children may have been killed as part of a brazen pedophilia ring that operated out of the Cass Corridor in the 1970s.

Moran told Berry that the requested polygraph involved the ongoing investigation "involving the deaths of Mark Stebbins, Jill Robinson, Kristine Mihelich and Timothy King."

This post was last modified: 04-10-2008 03:52 AM by stephanie.matthew.

Lawsuit Filed In Oakland County Child Killer Case
UPDATED: 7:58 pm EDT October 18, 2007


For the first time in a 30-year investigation, a civil lawsuit has been filed by the family of a child who died at the hands of who police call the Oakland County Child Killer.

The wrongful death lawsuit names Ted Lamborgine, 65, as one of the group who collectively raped and murdered several children in the '70s and '80s.

“We believe that it was probably more likely than not, that it was a group of people that worked together and they are collectively are known as The Oakland County Child Killer.” Said Victim Mark Stebbins’s attorney Elizabeth Harvard.

The family of Mark Stebbins, one of the children slain, filed the lawsuit against Lamborgine.

"The police have the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. In a civil lawsuit, we don't have that same burden. Ours is more likely than not," said David Brinkley. "Under the circumstances, we believe we can utilize techniques a civil lawsuit permits and we believe we could perhaps push the investigation a little further."

Brinkley said the evidence includes statements made in a separate child molestation case against Lamborgine, where a boy claims he was sexually molested and nearly suffocated to death in Royal Oak.

Lamborgine was charged last year with molesting six children in the Cass Corridor in the 70s and 80s. Police said he would lure boys in with food, soda and drugs for the purpose of sexually assaulting them.

The new suit will give attorneys new subpoena powers against Lamborgine and others that may have information about the case.

The Stebbins family is not seeking monetary damages. They said they are only filing the lawsuit to help in the investigation to get everyone responsible in jail.

He didn’t say ‘Not me, I didn’t do that.’ He said, ‘God will forgive me.’ Not me, I won’t,’” said Stebbins’ David Binkley.

The family of Timothy King is also expected to join in on the lawsuit.

Prosecutors said Lamborgine and Richard Lawson, who is already serving a life sentence for murder were part of a sex ring.

The two are accused of molesting 12 boys.