Robert David Little was an Indiana State University library science professor who was charged with murder in December 1990 after serial killer Larry Eyler named him as an accomplice in the 1982 killing of 23-year-old Steven Agan. Little was tried in Newport, Indiana, in April 1991 and acquitted. He remains the only person ever formally charged as an accomplice in any of Eyler’s killings.
Who Robert David Little Was
Little joined the faculty at Indiana State University in Terre Haute in 1971 and eventually became chairman of the library science department.1Chicago Tribune. Professor Who Lived With Eyler Charged in 1982 Torture Killing He met Larry Eyler in 1975, when Eyler was a student at the university, and the two lived together in Terre Haute until Eyler moved to Chicago in 1982.
The relationship was financially one-sided. Eyler later described himself as a “leading man” who helped the older professor attract sexual partners, and psychiatrist Lyle Rossiter, who examined Eyler, characterized him as a dependent figure seeking a father-like relationship.2Chicago Reader. The Return of Larry Eyler Authorities alleged that Little continued paying rent on Eyler’s Chicago apartment after the move, as part of what they called a scheme to “ensnare victims for sex and bondage.”1Chicago Tribune. Professor Who Lived With Eyler Charged in 1982 Torture Killing
Eyler himself was convicted in 1986 and sentenced to death for the 1984 murder and dismemberment of 15-year-old Daniel Bridges in Chicago.3Chicago Tribune. Don’t Make Eyler Deal, Family Says Known as the “Highway Killer,” he was linked to at least 21 murders of young men across the Midwest in the early 1980s.4New York Times. Larry Eyler Victim Keith Bibbs Identified Little had testified as a prosecution witness in the Bridges trial.
The Steven Agan Murder and Eyler’s Confession
Steven Agan, a 23-year-old car wash employee from Terre Haute, was killed on December 19, 1982.5Chicago Tribune. Murder Was Pal’s Idea, Eyler Testifies in Court From death row in late 1990, Eyler began cooperating with investigators and gave a detailed account that implicated Little.
According to Eyler, he and Little picked up Agan while driving and took him to an abandoned farm shed near Newport, Indiana. Eyler said he bound and gagged Agan while Little photographed the process step by step, that Little then gave an explicit command to kill, and that both men stabbed the victim.2Chicago Reader. The Return of Larry Eyler Eyler described the pattern he said the two men followed as “playing a scene”: pick up a victim, stage a photographed bondage scenario, and kill the person.
Eyler’s statement came as part of a plea agreement. He pleaded guilty to Agan’s murder and received a 60-year sentence to run concurrently with his existing death sentence, which allowed him to avoid a separate death penalty prosecution for the Agan killing.6The Southern Illinoisan. Eyler Pleads Guilty to the 1982 Murder of Steven Agan and Implicates Robert Little
The 1991 Trial and Acquittal
Little was charged on December 18, 1990. He was 52 at the time and had stopped teaching at his own request on December 10, shortly after police raided his home and office.1Chicago Tribune. Professor Who Lived With Eyler Charged in 1982 Torture Killing He surrendered at the Vermillion County courthouse under a prior agreement not to flee, was held without bail by Judge Don Darnell, and denied any wrongdoing.7Orlando Sentinel. Indiana State Professor Charged in 1982 Slaying
At trial in Newport, Indiana, the prosecution’s case rested almost entirely on Eyler’s testimony. Eyler described the killing in detail and told jurors that Little had directed the encounter from start to finish.5Chicago Tribune. Murder Was Pal’s Idea, Eyler Testifies in Court The defense attacked his credibility, portraying the accusations as revenge against Little for having testified against Eyler in the Bridges case. Little’s lawyers also offered an alibi: videotaped testimony from his mother and neighbors placed him in Florida around the time of the killing, though none could confirm the specific dates.2Chicago Reader. The Return of Larry Eyler
There was no physical evidence tying Little to the crime scene. The jury deliberated for seven hours and returned a verdict of not guilty.2Chicago Reader. The Return of Larry Eyler
The Danny Bridges Allegations and a Civil Lawsuit
Eyler’s accusations against Little did not end with Agan. Through his appellate attorney, Kathleen Zellner, Eyler alleged that Little was actually the person who killed 15-year-old Danny Bridges in 1984 at Eyler’s Chicago apartment. Eyler claimed he came home to find the body and, believing police would never accept his account given his reputation, dismembered the remains and disposed of them. He passed a polygraph test on the claim, though polygraph results are not admissible in court.2Chicago Reader. The Return of Larry Eyler Eyler maintained that denial up to his death.
In April 1994, Augustine Bridges, Daniel’s mother, and eight of her son’s siblings filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Little in Cook County Circuit Court. The suit alleged that Little “intentionally stabbed and caused the death of Daniel Bridges” at Eyler’s apartment in August 1984, and the plaintiffs sought several million dollars in damages.8Chicago Tribune. Professor Linked to Eyler Sued Civil cases are decided on a preponderance of the evidence, a lower standard than the criminal standard that produced the Agan acquittal. The available research does not indicate the outcome of the lawsuit.
After Eyler’s Death
Larry Eyler died on March 6, 1994, at the infirmary of Pontiac Correctional Center from complications of AIDS, still on death row for the Bridges murder.9Chicago Tribune. Eyler Dies in Prison, Had AIDS He made no new deathbed statement implicating Little in additional killings. His death effectively ended the prospect of further accomplice prosecutions, because his testimony had been the primary tool available to investigators.
As of an April 1994 Chicago Tribune report, Little was still identified as a professor of library science at Indiana State University.8Chicago Tribune. Professor Linked to Eyler Sued No further criminal charges against him in connection with the Eyler killings are reflected in the available record.