Cape man pleads guilty to 15-year-old's 2019 murder

A Cape Girardeau man pleaded guilty Monday, April 22, to the 2019 killing of a 15-year-old girl.

Isaiah Lane

A release from Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Welker says Isaiah Lane, 33, pleaded guilty in circuit court to second-degree murder and first-degree assault.

The plea stems from an Aug. 24, 2019, incident at a residence at 916 Jefferson Ave. in Cape Girardeau in which Madison Robinson, 15, was struck in the neck by a bullet fired by Lane. Another victim also suffered a gunshot wound. Earlier reporting on the case says the shootings were in retaliation for a fist fight earlier that day involving people at the residence and another family.

Lane was arrested and charged with the murder after the incident, but “a lack of witness cooperation prevented the prosecution of Lane and filed charges had to be dismissed due (to) insufficient evidence to move forward”.

He was arrested on unrelated charges in October 2022. At that time, authorities questioned him about the 2019 murder, and he “confessed to being one of the shooters”, according to authorities. Lane told them the second victim was the intended target, and Lane denied targeting Robinson but “acknowledged that her death was caused by the shooting.”

Law enforcement agents found nearly two dozen shell casings at the scene and noted that there were two firearms involved in the shootings. No other person has been charged in the case, though there is no statutory time limit to bring charges for murder.

Circuit Court Judge Scott Lipke will preside over Lane’s sentencing hearing that had not been set as of Monday afternoon.