Man pleads to 1980 rape, killing of North Carolina girl
December 18, 2020 GMT
DOBSON, N.C. (AP) 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.
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Forty years ago, Ronda Blaylock, a 14-year-old ninth-grader at Atkins High School in Winston-Salem, vanished. Three days later, her body was discovered. Authorities said she had been raped and stabbed to death.Â
On Thursday, Robert James Adkins, a 64-year-old Surry County man, pleaded guilty to charges connected to her death. Adkins entered guilty pleas in Surry Superior Court to second-degree murder and second-degree rape. He had initially been charged with first-degree murder and first-degree forcible rape.Â
Judge Angela Puckett of Surry Superior Court sentenced him to 21 years to 25 years each on the rape and the murder charges. He will serve both sentences at the same time, according to court documents.Â