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This Wednesday, Dateline: Secrets Uncovered will revisit the spine-chilling murder at a KFC outlet in Torrance. On October 30, 1984, Robin Hoynes was fatally stabbed before her throat was slit open by the murderer. Her case remained unsolved for over two decades as the killer, William Charles Marshall, managed to evade justice through lies and a fake alibi.
The upcoming episode, titled The Night Before Halloween, will air on Wednesday, August 3, and take a journalistic deep dive into the case to present a blend of the facts as well as the emotional aftermath of the murder.
The official synopsis for the Wednesday night episode of Dateline: Secrets Uncovered reads:
"It takes a special eye to spot the thing that's out of place at a crime scene; in this case, that thing looks so insignificant, no one even knows what it is or what it means; it takes a team of determined investigators almost two decades to find out."
Dateline: Secrets Uncovered - What happened to Robin Hoynes?
21-year-old Robin Hoynes from Whittier, was brutally murdered on the eve of Halloween in 1984. At the time of her death, she was working as an assistant manager at Kentucky Fried Chicken in Torrance.
She suffered two stabs to her back before the killer slit her throat. According to authorities, Hoynes became the victim of an attempted robbery while she was doing paperwork after hours. The upcoming episode of Dateline: Secrets Uncovered will explore the circumstances of her death further.
Her colleague, Cheryl Muller, discovered her body the next morning and found the place in disarray. She testified that Hoynes had traded shifts with her that night and the next morning she found her car still parked outside. Paperwork and debris were also found scattered near her body.
Dateline: Secrets Uncovered - Who killed Robin Hoynes?
William Charles Marshall was also a fellow employee working alongside Hoynes before he was fired just days before the murder. He had long been suspected of stealing money from the workplace.
12 days after the homicide, police arrested Marshall in connection with the murder. However, prosecutors did not file any charges at the time and he was released. His then girlfriend placed him at home, having dinner with her on the night of the murder.
The case remained unsolved until 2005, when the Torrance Police Department began taking a fresh look at various cold cases. In an unexpected turn of events, an insignificant piece of foam that was found at the crime scene in 1984 became the most crucial piece of evidence when it was tied to Marshall's boots.
Tune in to Dateline: Secrets Uncovered's episode titled The Night Before Halloween to learn more about the foam connection.
Additionally, Yvonne Williams, Marshall's former girlfriend, also testified against him and provided details of the crime that he had confessed to her. Evidence presented during the trial further suggested that Hoynes let Marshall in that night on the pretext of him picking up his briefcase and leaving his uniform after he had been fired.
As a former assistant manager, Marshall had also known the combination to the safe, but unbeknownst to him, the code was changed after he was fired. When he went in to rob the place that night, he killed Hoynes in a surprise attack, but failed to take away any money because he did not know the new combination.
Dateline: Secrets Uncovered - Where is William Marshall now?
In 2006, Marshall was rearrested at his firehouse. Now 46, he was a captain of the State Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in the Coachella Valley community of Thousand Palms.
In 2007, after four weeks of testimony, a jury found Marshall guilty of Robin Hoynes' murder nearly 23 years after the crime. He sat expressionless and unaffected in the courtroom throughout the proceedings and tearful statements from Hoynes' family.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mark S. Arnold sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Presently, he remains incarcerated and serving his sentence.
