INTERVIEW: New ID documentary details how the tragic impact of a serial killer is felt for years
Image courtesy of Investigation Discovery / Provided by press site with permission.
This past week, Investigation Discovery has been finishing out its summer programming with a block of new documentaries and episodes centered around the sad and tragic cases involving serial killers and their victims. Serial Killer Week continues Thursday, Sept. 3 with the premiere of The Serial Killer Among Us: Phillip Jablonski, airing at 9 p.m.
The two-hour documentary details the graphic and incredibly distressing story of Jablonski, a convicted serial killer who was found guilty of attacking and murdering a number of women, according to news reports. He died on California’s death row last year.
One of the most powerful voices in the new TV program is that of Yolonda Robinson-Vann, the daughter of Fathyma Vann, who was killed by Jablonski in the spring of 1991. Robinson-Vann admitted that she probably would not have agreed to appear on television so soon after the criminal investigation, but almost 30 years later, she was an immediate yes because it’s important to share her mother’s story and keep her in the spotlight.
“We finally get to tell our story,” Robinson-Vann said in a recent phone interview. “I didn’t just lose a mom. I lost a best friend. I lost loyalty. I lost support. My kids don’t have a grandmother.”
The night that her mother didn’t come home from class at a local college, Robinson-Vann knew something was wrong. She called the police and was told that a missing persons complaint couldn’t be filed within the first 24 hours. “I knew that because I was going to college, and I was taking criminal law classes,” she said. “And they definitely teach you that; however, for me, it was different. She wasn’t missing; something was wrong, and I knew it. So how do you differentiate missing and something terrible happening?”
Robinson-Vann said that at the time she didn’t receive much support and could have used help throughout the entire process of hearing about her mother’s gruesome murder and learning about Jablonski’s past. “I think where we fall short is we only care about what makes the news,” she said. “We care about the killer because people want to see that. Nobody cares about how I felt or if I made it through anything. Nobody cared about that. There was no care for me. There was more care for him. When I look my mother up, I can’t find my mom. Can somebody help me with that? I put my mother’s name into the internet Google search, and Phil Jablonski pops up. Where’s the justice?”
Today, Robinson-Vann holds on to the heartfelt memories she still has of her mother, and she is actively trying to share those memories with future generations. “The memories I had of Mom are awesome,” she said. “Her and my dad always worked together. We went on camping trips. We did horseback riding. We always went to the lake. We went fishing. We were a family all the time. There was nothing that Mom wouldn’t do for anybody. She would give everybody the shirt off her back.”
Those are the memories Robinson-Vann wants people to know about her mom.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
The Serial Killer Among Us: Phillip Jablonski will premiere Thursday, Sept. 3 at 9 p.m. on Investigation Discovery. Click here for more information.
