Student Guilty In Man's Death

For three weeks, Luinda "Lulu" Robinson sat in King County Superior Court, a portrait of poise that defied her youth and situation.

But yesterday, shortly after a King County jury pronounced the 18-year-old guilty of first-degree murder, Robinson wept.

The Federal Way High School student, who has an extensive juvenile record that includes convictions for auto theft, assault and shoplifting, could receive at least 20 years in prison when she is sentenced early next year. She is being held in King County Jail on $250,000 bail.

Robinson was found guilty of the April slaying and robbery of 40-year-old Michael Ibadin, which Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Roger Davidheiser had characterized as "a cold-blooded act of violence."

Ibadin's body was found in his apartment at the Garden Villa complex in SeaTac on April 26 with a single gunshot wound to the back of the head. There were no signs of a struggle.

But detectives discovered this message on his answering machine: "Hi, Mike. This is Lulu. The young lady you met by Federal Way High School. Just calling to let you know that I've called." The caller left a return phone number and promised to call later.

Detectives later found an entry in Ibadin's daily planner for April 25, the same day he received the telephone message. It read: "I was driving along Federal Way when a girl in a Toyota Tercel was waving to me to stop. When I approached her she said, `Oh, you are old. Can we be friends?' We exchanged numbers. Her name is Lulu, age 17."

Robinson was arrested the next day as she was getting into Ibadin's 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse shortly after trying to cash a forged check on his account. She had previously tried to use his credit card at a SeaTac department store and had earlier tried to cash a check on Ibadin's account at Seafirst Bank.

Following her arrest, Robinson told detectives six different accounts of what happened. In one account, Robinson alleged that she had accompanied Ibadin to his apartment to watch a movie - "Romeo is Bleeding" - and to have dinner and wine.

She claimed that when the victim made unwanted sexual advances, she spotted a pistol between the cushions of the couch, grabbed it and shot him. She then said she told neighbors to call the police, threw the pistol in some bushes and left.

Prosecutors dismissed her story, telling jurors that Robinson made up the account and others to conceal what really happened. They said Robinson killed Ibadin and then took his credit cards, his checks and car.

Jurors deliberated for about a day and a half before returning the verdict.