A Weatherford family got some long-delayed justice Thursday with a conviction in a 31-year-old murder case. 19-year-old Wendy Robinson was found dead back in 1987.
On Thursday prosecutors reached a plea deal to put the accused murderer behind bars for 35 years. But the case is still not closed.
"Wendy was this blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl,” said Wendy Robinson's longtime friend Dedra Vick. “She was so sweet, very soft-spoken."
Vick grew up with Robinson, from kindergarten through high school. When she disappeared at age 19, after a day of sunbathing at Lake Weatherford, it rocked the community.
"We were just completely shocked because it was Wendy, because she was so sweet,” Vick said. “It wasn't like she was this wild crazy girl that went out and would ever get in a vehicle with someone."
Her body was found four days later, bound and beaten. For nearly 30 years, the case sat cold, until a new set of detectives talked to the right people who led them to Ricky Lee Adkins and Adkins confessed.
On Thursday he took a plea deal, locking him up for 35 years.
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"To get a 35 year sentence on a case that happened in 1987 is a real victory for us in law enforcement and prosecution," said Parker County Assistant District Jeff Swain.
Investigators aren't revealing much but we know one big clue came five months after Robinson's murder when a fisherman found her wallet floating in Lake Weatherford.
Divers searched the lake and found evidence from another crime, a gas station robbery the day after Robinson's disappearance. Detectives worked with the victims in that robbery to develop a sketch that three decades later helped lead investigators to Adkins.
"We're glad that we can offer them some sort of closure with this case, however we do know that it's still active and ongoing," said Sgt. Jason Hayes, who heads the Criminal Investigation Division for the Weatherford Police Department.
Police believe there were other people involved in the crime and are actively following leads.
"It's never at peace, you're always wondering what happened," said Vick.
Just like the memories of that blonde-haired girl, the drive for justice never fades.
"You want them all to be convicted,” Vick said. “You want them all to pay."
