12/07/2024
Sarah "Cindy" White has been incarcerated since 1976, serving a total of 48 years thus far.
At the time of her arrest she was just barely 18 years old. She is the longest serving female inmate in Indiana History. Cindy was said to have been somewhat of a troubled youth, falling victim to physical and s*xual abuse by her father. She had a paper route, and ended up meeting the Roberson Family. Charles and Carole had four children, and when Cindy delivered their paper she would oftentimes sit and play with them. The children loved Cindy. After finding out a bit of Cindy's history from neighbors, the couple wanted to help and decided to have her become a live in nanny for their 4 children. On the night of December 31st, 1975 a fire ravaged the Roberson's home. All who were inside perished, including the couples four children, 7 year old Michael, 6 year old Dale, 5 year old Gary, and Rita or "Sissy" who was just 4 years old. Cindy was somehow able to escape. She would go on to be found guilty of setting the fire, and was sentenced to 6 consecutive life sentences for her crimes. Why did Cindy start a fire in the first place? Some say she was in love with Mr. Roberson and had become jealous of his wife. Others believe she was being abused by the Roberson's, and used the fire as a means to escape. I will be exploring her case, and all of the theories surrounding it in a 2 part series entitled The Babysitter M*rders: The Cindy White Story. Be on the lookout for it in the coming weeks.
