circumstantial case, but a good case. going in? going in. coming out? coming out i felt like i had been kicked. nobody showed any interest, a complete rejection on prosecution. too circumstantial, said the d.a., and no incriminating evidence even on those items seized from marshall s car. marshall was released from jail. his girlfriend, yvonne, picked him up. once again, detective lancaster had to deliver the news to the hoynes family. the only suspect he had was back on the streets. maddening. his life goes forward and, you know, robin s is snuffed out and she never gets to meet her potential because of what he did. they all suffered, all the hoynes. perhaps mr. hoynes most of all. our dad felt like he had not done what he was supposed to do
to the torrance police department concerning thefts of cash from the safe. two thefts from the very same safe where robin had left the money, and though they couldn t exactly prove he did it, marshall was a suspect. he had the opportunity. he failed the polygraph when questioned about those previous robberies. and at the time, he knew the combination to the safe. so the night robin was killed, did marshall intend to rob that safe again? he knew the previous combinations. i don t believe he was aware they had changed it because it had happened just recently, several days earlier. so now detectives brought marshall in for questioning, and he was friendly, cooperative, said he was home the entire evening. and he could prove it, he said. all police had to do was go ask his girlfriend, yvonne hargrove, so, of course, without telling her why they were talking to her, they did ask. i told them william was with me that night, because that s what they wanted to know, and what did we do.
they asked you what happened 20 years ago, did you tell them the truth? i said, no, sir, i told them the same story they told them 20 years ago, but it wasn t the truth. he said, you know, maybe you should tell the truth. so she picked up the phone and called the torrance p.d. and i said i have something that you need to know. what happened 20 years ago with william being at my house was not true. he wasn t at my house that night. and now here it was, the awful secret she d kept all those years. i said, the next thing is he killed that lady, and he did not get a dime. he did it. yvonne was his confessor, and now she recited it all, every murderous moment that night before halloween at the kfc.
kim was the eldest, then robin, tricia and wendy. excited because this was halloween, one of the best days of the year. i loved it. we would trick-or-treat and then sort the candy and we would be trading what we liked. a halloween morning long ago, it was 1984, the morning after the incident in the fast food place. it started warm and sunny, that bubble of innocence, before anyone knew a thing. wendy donned her halloween costume, wore it to school, as did tricia who wore hers to work. kim, the eldest, left early for her job at the nearby mall. robin wasn t home. after working late, she told her family, she had arranged a sleepover at a girlfriend s place. she was due home any minute, as wendy remembers. she was good about reporting in, telling us where she was going to be and when she was going to be home. robin was 21 years old.
the foam, the murder, the coverup, yvonne s 20-year secret was finally out. when you were telling those things, what was going on in your tummy? a feeling of relief that i can finally get it out. i would think you would be pretty darn nervous. i was, but i was tired. i was tired of having that in my gut. i want to be normal again. i want my life back. then in 2006 up in the mountains, a delegation of policemen arrived at the fire station of the popular captain known as bill. i was totally surprised when i got the word he had been arrested and even more surprised when i heard what it was for. even to this day, i find it hard to believe. word about the arrest traveled fast to the hoynes home. very excited. relief. it sounds terrible, but thrilling because you know what? it was the beginning of the ball rolling that he s going to stay in prison for the rest of his life and never get out.