Snapped: Killer Couples is investigating the brutal murder of Shahubbudin Rana, a pizza parlor owner in Washington DC, who was beaten and stabbed to death by Shanika Robinson, and her brother Leon Robinson, and her boyfriend, Isaiah Genus.
Shanika Robinson had previously made a deal with Rana that she would marry his Pakistani brother so he could attain US citizenship, and she would receive monthly payments of $2,000.
However, Rana stopped the payments when immigration officials learned it was a sham marriage and when Rana discovered Shanika was having multiple extramarital affairs.
Shanika decided to rob Rana and enlisted Leon and Genus to help her. Prosecutors would later argue that Shanika manipulated the two men into murder.
Genus was besotted with her and would do anything to please her, and her brother, Leon, was overly protective of his sister. She knew both men would react violently when she said she had been treated poorly by Rana.
In the early hours of August 18, 2009, Shanika persuaded Rana to open the door of his pizza shop, and she held the door open so Leon and Genus could rush in. Leon immediately stabbed the 44-year-old business owner and dragged him into a back room.
Shahubbudin Rana beaten and stabbed to death by Leon Robinson and Isaiah Genus
Rana was repeatedly punched, kicked, stabbed, and beaten with a hammer by Leon and Genus. The victim was stabbed more than a dozen times in his torso. He also received multiple injuries to his head and neck. Once he was dead or dying, his gruesome killers tried to set fire to the body.
Watch the Latest on our YouTube ChannelIn the meantime, Shanika stole about $2,000, along with cigars, bleach, and other items from the store. The trio then fled the scene for Shanika’s home in Capitol Heights, Maryland, where they burned their clothes.
The killers had not worn masks during the crime, which later led prosecutors to argue they had planned all along to kill Rana.
The two siblings, Shanika and Leon Robinson, both claimed they were innocent. But Genus agreed to plead guilty to second-degree murder and to testify against the other two.
Shanika claimed she stayed in the car while her brother and Genus murdered Rana, and Leon claimed he was never at the pizza parlor.
Shanika Robinson, Leon Robinson, and Isaiah Genus convicted of killing Shahubbudin Rana
The trial became high profile and featured many salacious rumors about Shanika’s love life, including her sexual relations with Terrence Green, a married D.C. police detective, who subsequently hanged himself in his mother’s basement after he was questioned about the murder. It also emerged that Shanika was friends with an unnamed US Marshal.
Eventually, the Robinson siblings were found guilty. Shanika was sentenced to 54 years, and Leon was sentenced to 75 years. Genus received 20 years.
Snapped: Killer Couples airs Sundays at 6/5c on Oxygen.