WINSTON SALEM, N.C. — A North Carolina man has pleaded guilty to charges connected to the 1980 rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl.
The Winston-Salem Journal reported Thursday that Robert James Adkins pleaded guilty in Surry County Superior Court to second-degree murder and second-degree rape.
The girl who died was Ronda Blaylock, a ninth-grader at Atkins High School in Winston-Salem.
Adkins, 64, of Surry County, was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Angela Puckett to 21 years to 25 years each on the rape and the murder charges. Court documents say that he will serve both sentences at the same time.
Adkins’ attorney, Stephen Ball, could not be immediately reached by the newspaper.
Kevin Thomas, Ronda Blaylock’s first cousin, told the newspaper that he and his family are not satisfied with the plea arrangement. He said Adkins should have stood trial on first-degree murder and first-degree rape charges and sentenced to life in prison.
“We just hope with all things considered that he dies in prison,” Thomas said. “We didn’t have any say in the matter. All we can do is accept it.”
Cox Media Group
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