Authorities in central Arkansas identify homicide victim in 23-year-old cold case

Cynthia Robinson was identified Friday as the victim of a 1994 homicide.
Cynthia Robinson was identified Friday as the victim of a 1994 homicide.

Authorities on Friday publicly identified a woman who was found dead in a creek in Pulaski County in 1994.

Pulaski County sheriff's office Sgt. Mike Blain said that Cynthia Robinson, who was 35 at the time of her death, was identified in March after her fingerprints had spent years in multiple national databases.

Blain said the quality of the prints had deteriorated due to Robinson's body being found in water, but as technology improved authorities were able to find a match.

Robinson, who authorities said was working as a prostitute before her death, was found Feb. 18, 1994, by two fishermen in a creek near Settlement Road off of Arkansas 365. She had suffered several gunshot wounds, Blain said, adding police believe the body had been there for several days.

In 2001, her fingerprints were entered into a national database and forwarded to the FBI for assistance. In 2009, they were put into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, along with the clothing and jewelry she was wearing.

Robinson's family was relieved to find out what happened to her, Blain said. He said it was not unusual for the family to not hear from her for long periods of time, so she was never listed as a missing person.

Robinson had two children.

"They loved her as a mother," he said.

She normally worked on Asher Road in Little Rock, Blain said, so it was odd that she was found in northwest Pulaski County. He said authorities do not believe she was killed at the location where she was found.

Blain said the sheriff's office hopes people who knew Robinson will want to come forward. Authorities have no leads in her death.

"The best thing we can provide in this case is definitely closure for the family," Blain said.

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Photos by Rachel Herzog

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