For the first time, we’re hearing from the toddler's family at the center of the “shaken baby” case.
The death penalty execution of Robert Roberson remains on hold as advocates and lawmakers fight for an acquittal in the 2002 death of two-year-old Nikki Curtis.
Now, Nikki’s biological half-brother is breaking his silence - describing what his family has endured for the past twenty years.
In Palestine, Texas, people go on about their daily lives of school, work, and play. However, Matthew Bowman tells NBC 5 he feels stuck, unable to move past what happened 20 years ago.
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“All the stuff that we’ve gotten out of the storage building that we put off five years ten years ago now, we’re having to dig through it,” said Bowman.
He’s never left Palestine, even with all its painful memories. He’s the older brother of Nikki Curtis, the toddler at the center of what’s now known as the ‘shaken baby’ case.
“It’s been very difficult. We’ve never stopped living this. It’s been something that’s been brought up since 2002 all the way until now,” Bowman said. “My family feels like it’s something they never could let go.”
Death row inmate Robert Roberson was charged with murdering his daughter Nikki in 2002 based on evidence that Nikki died from shaken baby syndrome. It has become a high-stakes case with politicians, talk show hosts, and advocates calling for Roberson’s acquittal.
In a statement from Roberson’s legal team, they said multiple highly specialized experts have explained how Nikki died of pneumonia and improper medication.
Advocates at the Texas Defender Service said Roberson contacted them nine years ago and declared his innocence.
“It was apparent to us when we received the letter saying that his attorneys had abandoned him, that he was likely innocent and had been convicted based on a now-discredited scientific theory,” said Burke Butler, executive director of the Texas Defender Service.
Shaken baby syndrome is a medical diagnosis based on observed symptoms in a young child, like bleeding on the brain and eyes.
Others, like Attorney General Ken Paxton, believe Roberson is guilty and said one-sided stunts have mischaracterized the case.
Rep. Cody Harris, R - Palestine, tells NBC 5 that Roberson's legal team went through the lengthy appeal process years ago, including a 2016 evidentiary hearing in district court over new information. The conviction stayed on track. His execution was scheduled for October until a successful attempt by state lawmakers to put the execution on pause.
“For others to say, 'No, y’all got it wrong. We just stepped into this, and we’re just learning about it, but y’all got it wrong.' That’s when, as state representative of this area, I’ve got to step up and defend my community," said Harris.
Bowman said he simply wants justice. He said he decided to speak after the recent onslaught of comments, press releases, and public opinion on the case.
“Now I feel like everybody has forgotten Nikki and why we’re here,” he said. “I feel like there was a lot that she was robbed of, and no one cares about that.”
The polaroids he and his family have of Nikki are precious.
“She was right there everywhere I went. We were inseparable. That was my little sister, that was my best friend,” Bowman said.
He said he had a message for the sister he still grieves to this day.
“I’m trying everything that I can, and I hope that I’m making you happy,” he said. “And I love you so much.”
