A man who served time for giving his two young children cough medicine that killed them has been pinched for bank robbery.
Robert “Raffie” Henderson, 34, was arrested on suspicion of robbing a TCF Bank on Friday after a chase that ended when the engine of his car exploded.
Henderson did four years in prison for the deaths of his children. He was paroled in January.
Douglas County officials received a report that the bank at 9475 S. University Blvd. was robbed Friday morning and alerted metro-area police to watch for a mid-1990s Toyota Celica, said Cocha Heyden, a spokeswoman for the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department.
Greenwood Village police spotted a car matching the description and pursued the car to Cherry Creek Reservoir.
“Something happened to the suspect’s car — there was smoke,” Heyden said.
Henderson was arrested when his car blew up on Dam Road, Heyden said.
Greenwood Village police turned him over to the FBI. A spokesman for the agency in Denver said he couldn’t discuss the case until a formal complaint is completed and made public.
Bank robbery is a federal charge and carries a penalty of up to 10 years imprisonment.
On the morning of Aug. 8, 2002, Henderson, a taxi driver, was caring for his children while his wife attended nursing classes. Henderson later told police the kids said they felt sick, so he gave them cough syrup before putting them down for a late-morning nap.
Their mother found the children dead with dried foam around their mouths. Toxicology reports determined that fatal amounts of medicine were in the children’s systems.
Tom McGhee: (303)954-1671 or tmcghee@denverpost.com
