'He was stalking my son': Mother of boy who survived 13 years before succumbing to horrific burn injuries chokes back tears as she tells court how child molester set him alight to hide his crimes

• Colleen Middleton took to the stand on Wednesday and told the court that she was 'horrified' as her son Robert was stalked by an older boy
• In 1998, when Don Collins was 13, he allegedly tied then eight-year-old Robert Middleton to a tree, doused him with gasoline, and set him on fire
• It was determined last year that Collins, now 29, could be tried as an adult in the trial even though he was 13 at the time of the alleged attack
• Almost 17 years later and despite the fact that he died in 2011, the jury will hear a videotaped deposition from Robert on Thursday

By David Mccormack For Dailymail.com

Published: 01:52 EST, 5 February 2015 | Updated: 03:56 EST, 5 February 2015

The mother of a boy burned alive who later died after suffering years of severe injuries told a Houston court on Tuesday that her son was 'stalked' in the days before his death by the man now standing trial accused of his murder.

Colleen Middleton choked back tears as she talked about how her 8-year-old Robert told her Don Collins, 13, had tied him up and set him on fire.

The incident happened in 1998 and Robert died in 2011 from skin cancer as a result of his horrific injuries after 99 percent of his body was burned.

Colleen Middleton choked back tears as she talked about how her 8-year-old Robert told her Don Collins, 13, had tied him up and set him on fire

She says she was 'horrified' in the days before Robbie was burned because Collins had been 'stalking' her son as she testified on the witness stand, reports FOX26.

Almost 17 years later and despite the fact that he died in 2011, the jury will hear a videotaped deposition from Robert in which he accuses Collins of raping him two weeks before setting him on fire.

'He took me out into the woods where I was burned. It was the same place. He took my clothes down and started raping me,' Robert reportedly says the 30-minute recording.

Collins, now 29, was convicted of sexually assaulting a different 8-year-old boy in 2001.

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

Defense attorney E. Tay Bond says just as there wasn't enough evidence in 1998 to hold Collins, there isn't now. He has accused the Middleton's attorney of making up the rape theory.

Robert Middleton suffered burns across 99 percent of his body and endured years of physical therapy before he died in 2011 from skin cancer

Collins has pleaded not guilty. During Tuesday's court hearing, he turned his head from the screen as prosecutors showed images of young Middleton's badly burned body.

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

Defense attorney E. Tay Bond says just as there wasn't enough evidence in 1998 to hold Collins, there isn't now. He has accused the Middleton's attorney of making up the rape theory.

Collins has pleaded not guilty. During Tuesday’s court hearing, he turned his head from the screen as prosecutors showed images of young Middleton's badly burned body.

Middleton endured years of physical therapy before he died in 2011 from skin cancer.

His death was ruled a homicide because the burns were almost exclusively to blame for the cancer.

Crime: In 1998, when he was 13 years old, Don Collins tied eight-year-old Robert Middleton to a tree, doused him with gasoline, and set him on fire to silence him after Collins molested him two weeks earlier

On trial: Defense attorneys said in a Galveston County courtroom that there were no witnesses to the attack and prosecutors are playing to the jury's emotions

After learning that the case would go to trial, Colleen Middleton, Robert's mother, said the journey for her son's justice has been a 'long road’.

'When Robert died, we were thinking maybe nothing will ever happen,' Colleen said.

Maybe someone is just going to get away with what they did to him.'

Defense attorneys said in a Galveston County courtroom on Tuesday that there were no witnesses to the attack and prosecutors are playing to the jury's emotions.

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

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

But prosecutors countered that witnesses will testify that Collins admitted to them that he poured gasoline on Middleton as the boy walked through woods near his home.

Victim: Robert Middleton before he was doused in gasoline and set on fire, resulting in burns to 99 per cent of his body

Brave face: Middleton eventually died from skin cancer in 2011, thought to have been caused by the severe burns he suffered years earlier

Disposition: Shortly before he died, Middleton gave a videotaped deposition in which he accused Collins for the first time of sexually assaulting him two weeks before the attack

'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.

Middleton named Collins as his attacker and the older boy was arrested in 1998.

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

Shortly before he died, Middleton gave a videotaped deposition in which he accused Collins for the first time of sexually assaulting him two weeks before the attack.

The sexual assault allegation prompted investigators to reopen the case.

It was determined last year that Collins, now 29, could be tried as an adult in the trial even though he was 13, pictured above, at the time of the alleged attack

Accused of murder: Collins, now 29, was 13 when prosecutors say he set fire to eight-year-old Middleton

Prosecutors charged Collins with murder in 2013, but they needed to move the case from juvenile to adult court to take him to trial.

After a three-day hearing last March, state District Judge Kathleen Hamilton ruled that Collins could be tried for murder by an adult court.

A man who was sexually assaulted by Collins in 2001, when he was eight years old, testified in a hearing to determine whether Collins should be tried as an adult for the crime against Middleton.

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