Friends, family of Kim Robinson respond to Mustafa Bush sentence

Family and friends of Kimberly Robinson respond to Mustafa Bush’s sentencing

(ABC 6 News) – Mustafa Bush, convicted of the murder of Kim Robinson in December 2022, received a life sentence without the possibility of parole Friday afternoon, and some of those close to Robinson before she was killed expressed their satisfaction and relief with the outcome.

Tears filled the eyes of almost everyone in the courtroom as Bush received his sentence.

For some, it was a hollow victory.

“We lost a beautiful soul,” said Kim’s cousin, Michele Branch.

In the courtroom, Olmsted judge and relative of the family Kathy Wallace delivered an impact statement on behalf of Kim’s family, calling the justice empty.

“Nobody really won in this situation, everybody lost somebody in this situation,” said Angie Conlin, one of Kim’s friends. “So I think it’s just at this time it’s letting the family heal on their own.”

Yet even with the feeling of inevitability comes opportunity.

“Her laugh could ring this place. It’s so loud and obnoxious, but beautiful,” said Branch. “We just want to remember her as the beautiful human being kindest soul that she was.”

A sense of satisfaction, if not closure.

“He gets to sit behind an 8 x 10 or 10 x 10 jail cell and he is somebody else’s,” said Jacklyn Bedtke, a friend of Robinson’s family. “His life is over the way he took hers.”

And a message for victims of similar situations.

“I think everybody needs to understand that domestic violence is serious and to take it seriously and to listen to somebody, reach out to somebody,” said Conlin.