Man Who Threatened Carolyn Farb Charged With Felony Stalking

HOUSTON — A man who sent threatening letters to Houston socialite Carolyn Farb, former Texas A&M Head Coach Kevin Sumlin, and other well-known and prominent Houstonians has been arrested and charged with felony stalking.

Police arrested Robin Chiswell, 61, and charged him with felony stalking, a third degree felony, officials said.

Investigators received the case in February 2018, and spoke with Farb who told investigators she'd been receiving threatening letters from the same person for more than 20 years.

Farb told police she was afraid because the person knew where she lived, and the letters were becoming aggressive. Farb has routinely filed police reports, about the anonymous threats, but the addresses were always fake, and investigators were unable to track the culprit down, officials said.

The Houston Police Major Offenders Unit took on the investigation early last year, starting with the most recent correspondence, and worked closely with U.S. Postal inspectors.

Officials learned that the same person had sent similar letters to other prominent Houstonians, primarily in Tanglewood and River Oaks, using the return address from the Houston Country Club or the River Oaks Country Club.

After a lengthy investigation, police developed Chiswell as the primary suspect and he was arrested at his home in November 2018. During a search of his home, police found stationery similar to the type used to send letters to Farb and other prominent Houstonians, officials said.

"We believe there's a good chance there are other victims out there," said Samantha Knecht, a prosecutor with the Harris County District Attorney's Office.

Chiswells letters were often laced with profanity, and even sent letters on distinctive card stock with engraved with expletives, officials said.

Investigators said Chiswell not only targeted prominent Houstonians he did not like with threatening letters, but was also known to commit property damage to some of his victims.

Knecht sent out a plea, asking other victims to come forward as they continue building their case against Chiswell.

So far, Chiswell has only been charged with threatening Farb, but hope to connect him to other victims.

Chiswell is being held in the Harris County Jail with bail set at $250,000.

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