GUILTY NC - Ronda Blaylock, 14, Winston-Salem, 26 August 1980 *ARREST*

Several law enforcement agencies announced Monday at the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office they formed The Ronda Blaylock Homicide Task Force to renew efforts in a nearly 35-year-old cold case. Blaylock, a 14-year-old freshman at Akins High School, was found murdered on Friday Aug. 29, 1980 off a rural road in the Pilot Mountain area of Surry County according to Surry County Sheriff Graham Atkinson.

Investigators say a recent phone call from Blaylock's mother in February renewed interest in the case. "Within a day or so after receiving her call there were developments that I can not discuss here today, but this task force is actively pursuing and it's good leads,” Atkinson said...

"Witnesses in the original investigation have been reinterviewed," Atkinson said. "They've provided important facts that were not previously shared with law enforcement. This is because they were young when this murder occurred and they feared getting in trouble with their parents or the law."

Click to expand...

Ronda Blaylock vanished around 3:15 p.m. Aug. 26, 1980. Blaylock and a friend had been given a ride by a man who identified himself as “Jimmy.” “Jimmy” told the girls that everyone called him “Butch.” Atkinson said the man was in his late teens or early 20s and was tall, weighed about 165 pounds and had straight brownish hair feathered on the sides and light facial hair. He listened to a rock station, smoked cigarettes and wore a black T-shirt, faded jeans, white tennis shoes, a baseball cap and mirrored-lens aviator-style sunglasses.

He drove a 1970s model truck that witnesses described as immaculate, though the passenger-side mirror was missing and the rear tires did not match the front – white wall tires were on the front and snow tires were in the back. The truck cab had a bench seat, a CB radio was mounted under the middle of the dashboard and the word “Chevrolet” was on the steering wheel, Atkinson said. Authorities think the truck was either borrowed or sold after the killing.

The man took the friend to her house, unharmed, and left with Ronda Blaylock in the passenger seat. Her parents, Charles and Rebecca Blaylock, reported their daughter missing that same day.

Click to expand...

PastTense said:

"The Surry County Sheriff’s Office held a press conference Wednesday morning regarding the arrest of Robert James Adkins, 62. Adkins was charged with first-degree murder and first-degree forcible rape of 14-year-old Blaylock in 1980....

“This is a very significant day for all of us at the Surry County Sheriff’s Office and all of the law enforcement agencies that were involved in this investigation,” Hiatt said. “Most important are the family of Ronda Blaylock. There are numerous detectives in this room, some are retired and some are still active, and they worked very hard and long hours and put a lot of energy in this investigation.”...

Blaylock’s parents, Charles “Freddie” Blaylock and Rebecca Lynne Crews Blaylock, never lived to see their daughter’s killer brought to justice. Freddie passed away in 2012, and Lynne passed exactly one year before Adkins was arrested.

The case went cold shortly after 1982 but was never declared inactive. Hiatt reported that the case was reopened at various points in the past due to factors such as the discovery of new evidence or the use of new technology. However, the case never gained enough evidence to remain active until recently. Captain Scott Hudson was unable to reveal certain details of how the case was solved since it is still considered an active investigation."
Cold case arrest marks the beginning of a ‘New Chapter’ | Mt. Airy News

Click to expand...