Don Collins, who raped boy and set him on fire, found GUILTY of capital murder

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Robbie Middleton's frail voice named suspect Donald Collins as his rapist and torturer, just shortly before he died aged 21 in 2011
Robbie succumbed to cancer, believed to have been caused by the horrific burn injuries he suffered 13 years before
In 1998, Robbie was tied to a tree and set alight on his 8th birthday in woodland behind his home in Splendora, Texas
On tape, Robbie said Collins set him alight after raping him two weeks before in woods near their homes
Collins, now 29, is facing up to 40 years in prison; he will escape the death penalty because he was 13 at the time of the attack

Published: 19:43 EST, 9 February 2015 | Updated: 02:42 EST, 10 February 2015

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A Texas jury convicted Donald Collins this evening of capital murder for raping and then setting a boy on fire.

Collins was 13 years old when he attacked then 8-year-old Robbie Middleton in 1998, leaving him with horrific burns affecting 99 per cent of his body.

Middleton died in 2011, at age 21, from skin cancer.

It took jurors all Monday afternoon to reach the guilty verdict. Collins could face up to 40 years in prison when he is sentenced.

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Convicted: Donald Collins (left) has been found guilty of capital murder for raping Robert Middleton (right) and setting him on fire in 1998

'This man committed capital murder when he poured gas on Robert Middleton and set him on fire,' prosecutors said during closing arguments.

Montgomery County Chief Prosecutor Rob Freyer called Collins 'a child rapist, a murderer and a monster' in his final impassioned plea to the members of the Galveston County jury.

'Today, after so many days, after so many tears, after so much pain and frustration with the system, today that little boy gets to hit back,' he said.

He then turned to Collins and added: 'Today is the day that you pay, according to theHouston Chronicle.

Collins, 29, will not face the death penalty because he was 13 years old when he committed the crime. The trial's punishment phase begins Tuesday.

'It's been so long and we've waited and waited and now that it's here, it's like, maybe it'll sink in later,' Colleen Middleton, the victim's mother, told ABC13 upon hearing the verdict.

Middleton expressed hope that her son's tormentor will get the maximum sentence.

During Collins' trial last week, the jury heard a heartbreaking deathbed video of Middleton where he named Collins as the person who raped and set him alight in an attempt to cover up his crime.

Robbie succumbed to cancer, believed to have been caused by the horrific burn injuries he suffered 13 years before. A medical examiner ruled his death a homicide.

In 1998, Robbie was tied to a tree, doused with gasoline and set alight on his 8th birthday in woodland behind his home in Splendora, Texas.

At trial last Thursday, the jury was shown a 30-minute video of Robbie just 17 days before he died.

According to the Houston Chronicle, on the tape Robbie said: 'Don grabbed me, turned me around and threw gas in my face.'

Spared: Collins, 29, will not face the death penalty because he was 13 years old when he committed the crime

Robbie Middleton eventually died from skin cancer in 2011, thought to have been caused by the severe burns he suffered 13 years before

He said that he was blinded by the gasoline but when he realized he was on fire, he started to run from the woodland trail back home.

He added: 'I was running as fast as I could but I couldn't see where I was running to', recalling that he was screaming and in horrific pain.

The 21-year-old Robbie was then asked by the interviewer, attorney Craig Sico, if he was sexually assaulted by Collins.

Robbie replied that two weeks before he was burned, Collins 'took me out into the woods where I was burned. He pulled my clothes down and started raping me'.

The prosecution has alleged that Collins set eight-year-old Robbie on fire to prevent his crime being discovered.

While the jury watched the video, the defendant turned his back to the screen and seemed to read a newspaper, the Chronicle reported.

Collins has pleaded not guilty.

His defense lawyer has claimed that Robbie, who spent most of his life at Shriner's Children's Hospital in Galveston, named Collins along with many others soon after the attack.

Attorney E. Tay Bond said there was not enough evidence to convict Collins and accused the Middleton family's attorney of making up the rape theory.

Robbie's mother Colleen Middleton choked back tears as she told the jury on Wednesday about how Robbie told her Don Collins, 13, had tied him up and set him on fire

The defense team added that there were no witnesses to the attack and claimed prosecutors were playing to the jury's emotions.

'Do not expect the defense to bring an eyewitness to this tragedy because there is not one,' Bond told jurors.

'There are no witnesses from the woods except for Robbie.'

However, prosecutors countered that witnesses will testify that Collins admitted to them that he poured gasoline on Robbie.

'Our case is based on the testimony of adults who have come forward and can tell you what this man did when they were children,' Montgomery County prosecutor Kelly Blackburn said in his opening statement.

Collins was convicted of raping another eight-year-old boy in 2001 at gunpoint.

From the age of 16, he spent four years in a juvenile detention center for the crime.

The victim testified at a 2013 hearing to determine whether Collins should be tried as an adult for the crime against Robbie Middleton.

The victim said that Collins threatened to burn him if he told anyone about the assault.

A judge determined last March that Collins could be tried for murder as an adult, despite being a teenager at the time.

In 1998, Robbie had named Collins as his attacker and the 13-year-old was arrested.

Family comes face to face with boy's attacker after 15 yrs

It was determined last year that Collins, now 29, could be tried as an adult in the murder trial even though he was 13 years old (pictured) when he allegedly raped and set eight-year-old Robbie Middleton on f

Collins spent several months in juvenile detention but was released after prosecutors said they didn't have enough evidence to pursue the case

On Wednesday, Robbie's mother, Colleen, choked back tears as she told the Houston court how Collins had 'stalked' her son in the days before the attack.

She testified that Robbie told her Don Collins, 13, had tied him up and set him on fire.

Mrs Middleton, who said she did not recognize her son when she found him covered in burns from head to toe collapsed by her home, said that in the months after the attack he was so delirious with pain that he named everyone he knew as his attacker - including the family dog.

However, after almost a year, and when he began to regain lucidity, he named Don Collins as his attacker - and never wavered.

Mrs Middleton said it had been a 'long road' for the family and they were unclear if Robbie would ever get justice for the horrific injuries he had suffered.

She said: 'When Robert died, we were thinking maybe nothing will ever happen. Maybe someone is just going to get away with what they did to him.'