MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE – The U.S. Marshals are still searching for 15 Most Wanted fugitive and murder suspect, Robert Lee King, who has eluded Memphis, Tennessee, authorities for more than 15 years. Marshals hope releasing a new age-progression photo of King will generate new information of his whereabouts and finally lead to his arrest.
“Robert King has had a lot time on the lam,” said U.S. Marshal Jeff Holt of the Western District of Tennessee. “Fugitives on the run as long as King tend to use that time to change their appearance, use aliases, and even start new lives. They literally could be hiding in plain sight.”
U.S. Marshals worked with FBI-certified forensic artists to develop the age-progression photo of King. He will be 56 years old this year.
On Dec. 1, 2005, King allegedly murdered his girlfriend Dorothy Smith and attempted to murder her 20-year-old daughter, Diana.
Diana Smith said she was awakened by an argument between her mother and King at 4 a.m., went to her mother’s bedroom and witnessed King standing over and striking her mother. Diana ran from the room to call for help, but King chased after her, she said. She tried to lock herself in her bedroom, but King broke through the door, attacked her with a sharp object and cut her neck. King then fled from the home.
After King left the house, Diana went to check on her mother and found her lying on the bedroom floor bleeding profusely from a cut on her neck. When rescue personnel arrived, Dorothy was pronounced dead on the scene, and Diana was transported to the hospital in critical condition. Diana survived and was able to identify King in a photo lineup as the man who attacked her and her mother.
“We’re asking the public to take a good look at this updated photo of King,” said Holt. “He could be your neighbor or your co-worker. Help us finally bring him to justice.”
King is a 6-foot-2 black male with black hair, brown eyes, and a medium skin tone. At the time of his disappearance, he weighed approximately 185 pounds. His tattoos include an upside down crown with the name “Victoria” underneath it on his left arm, and a horseshoe on his right arm with the name “Robert” underneath it. He has no known scars. The fugitive has ties in the Memphis area; Greenville, Mississippi; Racine, Wisconsin; Chicago, and Minneapolis, but due to his length of time on the run, authorities say he could be anywhere.
A $25,000 reward is offered for information leading directly to King’s arrest. Anyone with information is urged to contact the nearest USMS District Office, the U.S. Marshals Service Communications Center at 1-800-336-0102, or submit a tip using USMS Tips.