Prosecutors seek justice in case of Texas boy who was horribly burned on his 8th birthday

Heather Richards, right, listens as her mother, Colleen Middleton, left, talks about her brother, Robert, during an interview in Galveston, Texas on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013. Robert was severely burned on his eighth birthday after being doused with gasoline, living for 13 years after the incident, but dying from skin cancer in 2011. A murder charge was filed Monday, Sept. 16, 2013, against suspect Don Willburn Collins, 28, who was 13 at the time of the burning. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) (The Associated Press)

Colleen Middleton holds a photograph of her son, Robert, after an interview in Galveston, Texas on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013. Robert was severely burned on his eighth birthday after being doused with gasoline, living for 13 years after the incident, but dying from skin cancer in 2011. A murder charge was filed Monday, Sept. 16, 2013, against suspect Don Willburn Collins, 28, who was 13 at the time of the burning. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) (The Associated Press)

Colleen Middleton talks about her son, Robert, during an interview in Galveston, Texas on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013. Robert was severely burned on his eighth birthday after being doused with gasoline, living for 13 years after the incident, but dying from skin cancer in 2011. A murder charge was filed Monday, Sept. 16, 2013, against suspect Don Willburn Collins, 28, who was 13 at the time of the burning. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) (The Associated Press)

Texas prosecutors hope new evidence helps them obtain justice for a boy who was doused with gasoline and set on fire on his eighth birthday back in in 1998.

Robert Middleton survived the attack and endured years of surgeries. But he died 13 years later, at age 20, from cancer that authorities say was caused by third-degree burns.

Montgomery County authorities last month filed a murder charge against Don Willburn Collins, a neighbor who 13 at the time. He had been arrested in the case years ago but was later released. Collins is now 28.

The case lay dormant for years. But shortly before he died in 2011, Middleton alleged that Collins had sexually assaulted him before he was set on fire. That allegation prompted a new investigation.