Mother of murdered child talks with The News on Six

Seven-year-old Christi Belvins of Oilton. She was found dead Saturday night. The mother of a murdered child shared her emotions Monday in an interview with the News on Six.

Tuesday, August 22nd 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Seven-year-old Christi Belvins of Oilton. She was found dead Saturday night.

The mother of a murdered child shared her emotions Monday in an interview with the News on Six. Police found Rhonda Belvinsâ€™s seven-year-old daughter Christi murdered Saturday night in an abandoned house in Oilton. She had been strangled. Another 12-year-old girl was allegedly raped. The small town located west of Tulsa, is heart-broken and angry about the crimes.

Police arrested 19-year-old Robert Rotramel. Officers found him in the abandoned house talking to the 12-year-old as the young Belvinsâ€™s body lay nearby.

Ms. Belvins is filled with shock and grief. "Don't ever let your kids out of your sight,â€ she said. â€œIt's the worst mistake." Blevins says her daughter and the neighbor girl were outside alone for just nine minutes when she suddenly noticed the girls were gone.

Neighbors, police, and firefighters searched the town for three hours before an officer checked the abandoned house where Rotramel was found with the girls. He didn't resist when the officer arrested him.

Now Belvins is desperate for answers. "I can't understand what possessed this person to do this,â€ she said. â€œI can't understand why he would want an innocent little girl. She's only seven." Blevins is also eager for justice. It'll ease her mind she says, when someone pays for this terrible crime.

Rotramel went before a judge at a hearing in Sapulpa Monday. He is being held without bond on counts of first degree murder, first degree rape and kidnapping. Police say the young Blevins girl was not sexually assaulted. Her funeral is scheduled for Wednesday morning.