On the last day of March, in 1883, a family was held captive by their father, who attacked them with first a gun and then a knife.
Robbins Dunn and Phoebe Dunn were married in the East and almost from the beginning of the marriage there was trouble between the two. Weeks after their marriage Mr. Dunn claimed that a Mr. Jerome (her former employer) enticed Mrs. Dunn away and that she went with him. This incident was the first cause of discord between the two, with Robbins continuing to accuse her of improper relations with her former employer.
Phoebe complained that her husband was a habitual drunkard and that he physically abused her at all times, and even when she was heavily pregnant (her eldest daughter testified to witnessing this). He abused the children as well, accusing his daughter of being a "strumpet" while she lay in bed suffering with tuberculosis. One week before the attack Robbins broke open a window in the house with an ax and showed his gun to Phoebe, threatening to kill her with it.
After about nineteen years of marriage Phoebe asked for a divorce and custody of her five children. Robbins was allowed visitation with his children at their home with their mother, but it was stipulated that he should not be there after drinking alcohol. She was living at 911 North East Street, a neighborhood of Bloomington that included some rather swanky homes, but perhaps had some houses for rent within the reach of a divorced woman with a working son. The tiny house to the left of Mr. A S Rineharts' at 909 N. East Street could be that of Mrs. Dunn!
On the afternoon of the attack the children, except for Ida, who was ill with the measles, were having dinner when Robbins barged into the house without knocking or ringing the bell. Joseph, his 16 year old son, rose from the table and asked his father what he was doing there. "I heard that Ida was sick with the measles and I want to see her." Joseph smelled alcohol on his father and refused to allow him to see Ida. He pushed his father toward the door and Robbins told him not to push him, for he had a gun that could go off.
Robbins told his son that he would go peacefully and stooped to say good bye to his daughter Emma. He asked her for a kiss and she refused. As he rose, he whipped out his gun and took aim at his ex-wife, who jumped up and ran from the table. Joseph leapt to his mother's defense and caused Robbins to miss his target and only shoot Phoebe in the armpit. It was then that his oldest daughter, Phoebe (18), and Joseph rushed to subdue him. Phoebe threw her arms around his neck and Joseph grappled with him for the gun. Robbins attempted to shoot his son, singeing Joseph's face and blowing his hat off. Joseph took the gun and ran for a nearby deputy, but Robbins was not done. He pulled out a jack knife and threatened his daughter Phoebe again, chasing her out of the house. With all this shooting, two men came running from neighboring houses and helped to subdue Robbins in the yard.
The bullet was lodged in Phoebe's neck, having travelled there from her armpit, breaking her collarbone as well. Dr. Parke responded to the accident and treated her. The trajectory of the bullet, as described by the Pantagraph, corresponds with the description of Robbins shooting from a stooped position, one would assume from a position frighteningly close to little Emma.
During the trial the next month (justice deferred, is justice denied!) numerous witnesses were called to testify as to Robbins' character and drinking habits. He admitted to taking at least three drinks of whiskey everyday in the colder months and drinking beer in the summer. Some men testified that he was always drunk of a Saturday and that any time he talked about his family he would become very upset and irrational. One neighbor said that he had seen Robbins "tight" at times, and the same witness said that he had, in his capacity as a liquor seller, refused to serve Robbins for the past two or three years. Other men testified that Robbins Dunn was perfectly normal in every way.
Dunn was convicted on the only charge -- murderous assault on his wife -- and given seven years in the penitentiary. His wife moved to Chicago with her children and died in 1888. Robbins was never known to return to Bloomington.