Now 41, man who killed 4-year-old at age 13 granted parole

Eric Smith during his murder trial in August 1994. Photo / AP

Eric M. Smith, who was 13 when he killed a 4-year-old boy with a rock in western New York, has been granted parole, US corrections officials said today.

Smith, now 41, appeared for the 11th time before the Board of Parole on October 5 and was granted release as early as November 17, the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision said.

Transcripts of the hearing were not immediately released.

Smith was convicted of second-degree murder in 1994 for luring Derrick Robie into woods near the younger boy's home and striking his head with a rock.

Eric Smith, who killed a 4-year-old boy with a rock when he was 13, has been granted parole on his 11th attempt. Smith, now 41, killed Derrick Robie in Western New York in 1993, smashing his head with the rock and sodomizing the child with a stick.https://t.co/7mhGBzN2La

— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) October 16, 2021

Derrick was walking alone to summer camp at a park in the Steuben County village of Savona in August 1993.

The case got wide publicity because of the age of the victim and suspect, along with a widely circulated photo of the adolescent Smith in court, wearing a Bugs Bunny sweatshirt and a mop of red hair.

Smith's lawyer unsuccessfully argued that he was mentally ill. Smith was sentenced to nine years to life in prison.

Derrick's parents, Dale and Doreen Robie, opposed Smith's release each time it was previously considered and have lobbied for parole reforms that include extending the time between hearings for violent offenders from the current two years to five.

Dale Robie told local media the family did not want to comment on the latest decision.

Smith is housed at the medium-security Woodbourne Correctional Facility in the Catskills.