True Crime with Kimbyr - 80’s Halloween KFC Killing: Robin Hoynes

Episode Date: September 4, 2024

In this episode, Kim explores the tragic murder of Robin Hoynes, a 21-year-old assistant manager at a KFC in Torrance, California. On the night before Halloween in 1984, Robin was brutally attacked and killed during her shift by William Charles Marshall, a former employee who sought to rob the restaurant. Despite his initial arrest, the lack of evidence allowed Marshall to go free, leaving the case cold for over two decades. It wasn’t until 2006, when a crucial piece of foam from his boot linked him to the crime, that justice was finally served​. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was Halloween. Four sisters living in Southern California had been preparing for their favorite holiday all year long. When October finally came, they decorated their house, carved pumpkins, carefully chose their costumes, and got ready to hand out candy and go trick-or-trating. But that Halloween, one of them wouldn't be pretending to walk among the dead. She would be lying lifeless on a concrete floor waiting to be discovered. This family was about to experience a real living nightmare. and I'm going to be telling you their story. Own it all. Pay off your home, travel for life, drive a Ferrari. In celebration of the world premiere of the Monopoly

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Details at Yamava.com must be 21-20. Please gamble responsibly. Monopoly is a trademark of Hasbro. Hasbro is not a sponsor of this promotion. Today I'm going to be doing a double series. Actually, it might be a triple series because I think this one will be a deadly deep dive. This video is part of my Halloween All Hallows Horror series, but it also introduces a brand new series that I'm bringing to this channel called Death Through the Decades. This is where we're going to explore nostalgic memories of the 80s, 90s, and 2000s as I bring you true crime stories from each decade. I'm really excited about this. This is one of my favorite videos I've ever done in this channel, but I will warn you, the style of this video is a little more casual than my usual, but it's truly about sitting with me like a friend reminiscing about the past.

But it is going to be just as serious as all my other videos and well-researched like you are used to. I hope this series brings you back to a simpler time and is reminiscent of your past or you learn something new if you're part of the younger generation. These stories will be a little different as I dive into the culture around the the time the stories took place, including what police forces were like, technology or lack thereof, investigative tools, and of course what living in these decades was like at the time the homicides occurred. If you love how I deep dive into the biography of each victim, I think you're really going to appreciate this series because it adds an additional layer to connect with

them and what their life was like back then. Like I said, this case today is from the 80s I was born in 1982. This is my decade and so is the 90s and the 2000s. It's when I grew up. And what a time it was. I think we'll always look at the time that we grew up as the best times, but I feel like the late 70s going into the 80s and the 90s were just so great. And I also created a special Spotify playlist for all of you. I handpicked 80s hits to go along with the story and you can listen to them later and any time you want to. I listened to these songs when I was researching and writing for this video. I really hope you like it. I thought it would really get you into the moment and bring back memories.

The song that I want to dedicate to this story is California Dreamin by the Mamas and the Pappas. It's on that playlist, but of course, the most important aspect of today's story is the Hoynes family. Ethel Marie Titus married Virgil Hoins and the couple brought four lovely little girls into this world.

Their first daughter was born when Ethel was 25 and Virgil was 27 years old. Kim Marie Hoynes, sharing her mama's middle name, was born in August of 1960. She had the same birth, month as her dad and her mom Ethel had a Halloween time birthday October 20th and some people think that having a birthday near a holiday can be fun and other times holidays can actually overshadow someone's special day but the Hoyens made both

special Ethel's birthday and of course Halloween and Ethel was an amazing mother she was very dedicated not just to her own family but to others as well she was the type to make sure everyone around her was taken care of especially during the holidays she would embrace friends and considered them her extended family making sure that they had everything they needed and that they felt loved just two years after Kim was born Robin Lucille Hoynes came along on December 2nd, 1962 just a few days before Christmas so that's another holiday birthday. Robin's name fit her so well she stood out because she had beautiful natural red hair and that's very special. Less

than 2% of the world's population are natural redheads so embrace it if you have red hair and freckles too because that is what robin looked like and i wondered while i was researching this case whether her parents specifically pick that name because of her red hair robin red hair i'm not sure but it was also a very popular name for some reason i always think of cabbage patch kids when i think of red hair and freckles probably because i had one in the 80s that looked just like that with the bright green eyes and red hair and cute little freckles the hoines family lived in a modest 1300 square foot three bedroom, two-bath home, and a middle-class suburb in Los Angeles called Whittier and Southern California. It's an inland city, as we call it here, which means it's not close to the beach.

It's more affordable inland, obviously, and it would be perfect for a growing family like the Horns. Virgil was working as a maintenance man for suburban water systems in West Covina, which is a water utility service providing water to 300,000 residents in California. And their headquarters being in West Covina was quite a drive from the Hines residents. Definitely over 35 minutes or so, and that's without traffic. But Virgil, he was a hard worker provided for his family, which was going to get bigger. Ethel and Virgil's third daughter, Patricia Ann Hoyens, who went by Trisha, came just four years after Robin in June of 1966. And finally, just two years later, they welcomed their last child, Wendy Sue Hoynes in April of 1968.

She was the closest to being Robin's twin, also having red hair. And they really did look a lot alike. The Hoyne's family was finally complete. Four daughters, all close in age. They grew up like friends. It was great. Having these siblings, it was like having built in best friends right at home. Someone to talk to, play with, be entertained by.

And it's also great for parents because their children have playmates. And the Hoyne's girls were very close. They did everything together. And one thing they look forward to every year was Halloween. It was their favorite time of year celebrating their mom's birthday on the 20th. And then, of course,

doing all the Halloween festivities, dressing up, carving pumpkins, trick-or-treating. They look forward to decorating their house every year, not just for Halloween, but on every holiday. However, the highlight of Halloween for the Hoyn Sisters was undoubtedly the cherished tradition of trick-or-treating, and I'm sure most of us can relate. Dressed in their carefully chosen costumes,

the girls ventured into the neighborhood, excitingly knocking on doors and collecting their treats. The thrill of receiving candy from friendly neighbors and the anticipation of what a way to do you. them at each house, filled them with excitement, and sometimes something a little spooky. They went door to door to as many homes as possible, getting as much candy as they could. Then once their trick-or-treating adventure came to an end, the sisters returned home with their bags filled to the top with a vast assortment of sugary delights. Finally, they would gather around

the kitchen table ready to embark on the next phase of their Halloween tradition, which was sorting through their suites. With great care, they'd dump their bags onto the table, creating a colorful and mouth-watering mountain of candy. Yum. It's getting me really excited for trick-or-treating this year. Each sister would meticulously examine her collection and carefully pick out her favorites, sorting through all the rest, categorizing them,

and then trading each other for their favorite candies. The room was full of laughter and banter as they compared their treasures, and I hate to be like, me too, me too, but I think a lot of us can relate. It's exactly what I do with my daughter. We sort everything out, we pick our favorites, and it's so much fun.

And I'm so tiny, that I can still pass as a trick-or-a-treater, and you know I do. Every year in anticipation for the spooky holiday, the Hoyne sisters picked out costumes to wear to school on Halloween, a traditionally look forward to, and would eagerly prepare for in advance, carefully choosing their annual outfit.

Since each of the Hoyn sisters went through all four years at La Cerna High School in Whittier, their last name, which was unique, was recognized by teachers and students alike. With Kim being the first to experience high school life and Robin starting her freshman year in 1978 when her big sister Kim was a senior, and that feels so cool having a sibling that's not only an upperclassman and knows everyone,

but Kim was also a flagster at Lecernahe. I was able to track down her actual senior yearbook. Yes, I did. And here's Little Robin as a freshman with her glasses on and Kim in her senior picture, as well as in her Flagster outfit. So Flagsters were girls. that came out during the halftime shows at football games and they twirled their flags, they entertained the crowd with dance moves, and they just try to get the school spirit up.

They're kind of like cheerleaders. And Robin followed in her big sister's footsteps and became a flagster as well when she was an upper classman. Robin was pretty. She was popular and she was well liked in high school and friendly, outgoing, and also known to be a very good friend. She was there for others. And there was always a hoin sister at Lucerne High.

And Robin, of course, stood out as she always did. with her big bright smile and that beautiful red hair. The hair styles back then, for men, they were the long, shaggy hair, which I personally love, and the mullet, which has made a comeback. And sometimes I'm not sure whether I like it or not, but since it does bring back memories, I am kind of partial to it.

Women were loving the perms, or the Farah Fawcette feathered hair, which I absolutely love, which is also made a comeback with the fox cut and the curtain bangs. But the Hoy and sisters were definitely fashion with their cute hairdos. When Robin was a senior in 1981, Trisha was a freshman with Wendy following close behind starting high school a year later in 1982. Being in high school during the 80s would have been so much fun, especially in California where the beautiful weather stays like

this all year round. But I told you we were diving into what it was like growing up back then. California's economy was booming at the time. The entertainment industry, technology, and aerospace were all responsible and unemployment was at an all-time low. And speaking, of which, the Hoyne's sisters valued hard work, and as soon as they were old enough, they each got a job. And we'll get into what the sisters were doing in the 80s, but first, let me take you back in time. The 80s and pop culture at the time make it the decade most often associated with nostalgia, including some of the best movies, music, TV shows, and toys of all time, many of which are now remade and reintroduced to younger generations so that people can still enjoy them today. Growing up in the 80s,

like stepping into a neon-soaked wonderland where the future was as bright as the clothing and the lights. It was the first generation to be raised on science fiction and fantasy, where kids dreamed of a future where anything would be possible. Because if you didn't remember, the 80s was when the movie Back to the Future was finally made after the script was rejected over 40 times by every major production company. They'd all echo the same thing. Time travel movies don't make any money. But were they all wrong? And in 1985, it was finally created by Steven Spielberg, and it became a movie franchise, a three-part series. And get this, Back to the Future is actually connected to the Hoyne sisters, sort of.

The Hill Valley High School in Back to the Future was actually filmed at Whittier High School in Whittier, California, the same city the Hoyens lived in. It was just 15 minutes away from their house. And of course, I made John drive me there. I had never been there before. And here it is. It is so cool getting to stand right in front of such an iconic location. Back in the 80s, the halls of high schools were filled with boom boxes and Walkmans with homemade mixtapes, playing music with the sounds of synthesizers and drum machines. And the streets were buzzing with excitement, like teens breakdancing and kids actually playing outside.

Parents were not afraid to let their kids be free and roam their neighborhoods playing completely unsupervised until the sun went to. And they got to explore their imaginations without limits because kids had to use their imaginations back then. There were no social media or cell phones or tablets and no computers in the home. Kids spent most of their time outside building tree forts, riding their bikes everywhere. Think stranger things. If you haven't had a chance to watch that show, I highly recommend it. The arcade was popular. Kids would save their coins and play Pac-Man and Donkey Kong.

And the local malls had food courts where kids would spend hours hanging out and when they were back at home or at a friend's house, they were playing board games. Robin loved the game of risk. She and her friends would play on the weekends and they would sit at the kitchen table until two or three in the morning. And this told me a lot about Robin. The game of risk is a strategy game. I can see people getting really serious about this game. It consists of things like diplomacy, conflict and conquest, and it's probably responsible for many family feuds. After all, it's a a war game, just look at it. The game board is a political map of the world

divided into 42 territories, which are grouped into six continents and the players take turns, controlling their armies of little playing pieces and attempting to capture territories from other players. This game can be lengthy and often requires hours, if not multiple days to finish. So wow, Robin was a dedicated person.

And imagine how much effort she put into more serious things in life, if she put that much effort into a game. It also looked like from this photo that Robin loved trivial pursuit, which I also played growing up. Who remembers that game? But back to less serious matters, after school was time for kids to tune in

to their favorite cartoons like He-Man, Shira, and Thundercats. And on the weekends, they would gather around the TV to watch sitcoms like Full House, The Cosby Show, and Family Matters. And I'm still singing. The Reading Rainbow Song, I don't know, it always reminds me of it,

but reading is the show becoming a lost heart. Back then, Sweet Valley High books were super popular and of course, the babysitters club. Wow. I hope this inspires you to blow some dust off the ones you might still have and read them or have your children read them or just read any book. But maybe the drop in reading started with the birth of sitcoms and TV. And here's what most of those TVs looked like. This one was really popular if you could afford it. And that's because it was at a price of $500, which would be a whopping $1,150 in today's money. So for that, you would get a 25-inch floor console model and look at this remote.

I'm telling you right now, I can hear and feel these buttons till this day. And I definitely did not have a TV like that in my house. Not at all. Mine look like this with that really big antenna on top. But if you did own this 25-inch TV, you'd definitely be keeping up with the Joneses, which was also a popular phrase in the 80s. And it refers to the constant pressure to keep up with. what your neighbors are doing. Their social status, their wealth, their popularity, and not much

has changed. People are still constantly comparing themselves to others online and striving to accumulate the same material things today. And of course, no childhood in the 80s would be complete without watching classic movies like E.T. Back to the Future, as I mentioned, and the Goonies. If you haven't watched these movies, do it this weekend. Have an 80s marathon. And speaking of TV, the 80s had some of the most awkward and maybe even controversial commercials of all time. I watched a lot of them. Commercials were themed around the traditional all-American family, consisting of a husband and wife and maybe two kids, a boy and a girl, their station wagon, a white picket fence, and of course, a dog. I watched hours of old 80s commercials while researching and wow. Just look at some

the clips of them. Now, I may have to substitute the music on these commercials because of copyright but be prepared anyway for some bad audio if you do hear any here's the first one um ego waffles we can't hear a thing with those headphones on which gives me the perfect opportunity to sneak up and grab that crisp delicious eggo waffle let go my ego ego ego waffles from kellogg's the things people will do to get their hands on one that egg goes commercial and the walkman brings me back and kids They are still annoying their parents with listening to music in their headphones.

Now they're just connected to their phones. Excuse me, this raisin brand's Kellogg's. So? Well, it's got two scoops. So? Well, I don't deserve something this special. Why not? Well, I haven't done anything good enough to deserve the two scoops of Kellogg's.

Nothing? Oh, I want you free to be stuck to my windshield wiper. Well, there you go! You deserve the two scoop, Raisin Brand. Raisin brand from Kellogg's. Everyone deserves two scoops. Remember Raisin Brand? Maybe you still eat it today?

I don't know. But here he just said he didn't deserve the two scoops of raisins. That's so wholesome. I remember Raisin brand and I remember raisin commercials. Raisins were like a big thing back then. Does anyone remember this, the California clay raisins? I remember that my grandma would always bring home those little red, sun-made raisin containers for me. And they did taste really good, especially like the yellow raisins.

I even found an 80s horror movie commercial for Hollywood. Halloween 4. Wow, that is too funny. And I'm ashamed to say, I've never watched any of the Halloween movies with Michael Myers. I think that's who it is. I'm not a big fan of horror movies, but this year I am getting into a new tradition since my daughter is finally old enough. And we're going to be watching all of the old movies. But going back to the 80s commercials, I have to say the ads seemed actually a lot more scandalous back then, like this one with sweaty men and couples seductively kissing in the rain and doing whatever that is in their car? All for a Cologne commercial. You get the picture. And I hope that some of those brought back

memories of the 80s. It's also when MTV Music Television launched on Saturday, August 1st, 1981 at 12.01 a.m. Eastern Time. The first broadcast opened with Video killed the radio star. And it wasn't for nothing because that's exactly what video did. And this debut featured footage of the Apollo 11 rocket launch and an astronaut planting an MTV flag on the moon instead of an American flag, which became a very well-known image associated with the MTV brand. MTV had landed. They were staking their claim. Instead of DJs on the radio, MTV had VJs, serving up the top 40 music videos. And MTV had a huge impact on the music landscape. Kind of how YouTube has impacted podcasting now. We're all doing video podcasts, not just audio. But what

was Halloween like in the 80s, the Hoyne sisters' favorite holiday? Well, this is the part of the video that I was really looking forward to because it connects me to these women so much, knowing what was popular back then, what they were surrounded by. Halloween in the 80s was more of a family event. People would dress up as their favorite TV characters or wear costumes that they made themselves. No, uh, Lig Avenue sexy maid costumes. No, no. I also noticed that kids would like to dress up as their favorite brands which i thought was kind of funny like this colgate tooth base tube costume but the most popular type of costumes especially among children in the 80s were these plastic masks by ben cooper or knockoff brands you could hardly breathe or see through the holes they were so small

and the costumes came in a lot of varieties ghosts devils gorillas you name it you'd pair them with a matching outfit that came with it and these came in your favorite characters from tv like heman Superman, Voltron Smurfs, Madonna, the Hulk, Rainbow Bright, Care Bears, and Alf. By the way, did you know he ate cats? If you know, you know. 80s kids dressed for the part, not for practicality or comfort. And look at these things. I found these Dukes of Hazards ones on eBay. They're pretty creepy. And the costume included was basically like putting on a colored trash bag. Seriously, you were like walking in a trash bag. and they were really noisy, but back then, this was all new and exciting and fun.

And this is such a classic picture with the kids on the striped couch with their masks on and their bags in hand before a night out trick-or-treating. There was also a lot of costumes of Cabbage Patch Kids, Freddie Kruger, Pac-Man, and Barbie, which has definitely made a comeback this year. And Jason Hockey Mask and, of course, Star Wars characters, which is what I'm named after, Princess Leia. But I don't want to leave out the kooky spooks costumes. They were popular in the late 70s and early 80s and they had these inflatable creatures on hats. Look at the way they were packaged. It said, as seen on TV.

And the commercials were a riot. I looked at them and I'm going to show them to you. You just blow up the hat and put them on and you can still find these today. I found some on Etsy. I'm leaving all these links below just in case you want to wear them this year. There's your costume. You can thank me later.

They come with a blow up air cap. It adjusts to any size head and an all-weather poncho because, yes, rain or shine, and even if it was below zero, no worries, you just pull your costume over your snowsuit because nothing was going to stop you from collecting candy. You may do. These kooky spooky costumes even included state-of-the-art high glow reflective tapes so the cars could see you at night. And it had water-based makeup in the package. You can see how that turned out on his face. It's a little questionable, but here's some others. I can see why kids would like these because they're super funny and they're easy and parents like that.

Because you could also just use the Kooky Spook's makeup and make your own costume. Just listen to this commercial. What strange creatures are lurking in the night? Oh, skull face. Mummy face too. What a frightful sight. Yes, Mom, this Halloween, your kids can have fun creating their own scary disguise with Kooky Spook's makeup. They just smear it on when the makeup dries it cracks.

to make them look really old and ghoulish. It dries and cracks to make you look old. Add to cart said no one our age right now. You thought this was your run club era. Turns out it was more of a thinking about run club era. The good news? Someone's marathon training is about to start. Sell your workout gear on Deepop.

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All Free Clear uses only essential ingredients that tackle tough stains and odors. And it's gentle on the skin. It's a powerful clean you can feel good about. So go on. Pick up a bottle of all free clear for your next laundry day. It's definitely not the look. Unless it's Halloween. And the simplicity of the costumes of the 80s has been overshadowed nowadays

with such extreme and over-the-top decor and pricey outfits that are much more about like who went all out than just having fun. But then again, I want to point out, and I can't forget, Michael Jackson's thriller music video dropped in December of 1983. This was a 14-minute, almost like a movie music video, and it was full of extremely realistic zombies. And it had a lasting impact on pop culture, especially the famous zombie dance. So that may have inspired more over-the-top costumes, but not right away, because their tradition was simple and more DIY. I definitely don't know how I feel about this 80s couples costume, Trojan condoms.

I guess the mom's the rapper and the dad is, well, uh, and it even says extra large. Anyway, what do you think the children are? Just take a guess. Wow, that's the 80s. I told you that dressing as brands was the thing. Well, look at this cool kid, as in cool brand cigarettes. I doubt that you would see anything like this today.

Kids are not dressing as cartons of cigarettes. Maybe they're dressing as vapes. I don't know. But as I said, the 80s were wild. This teen in the brick costume has a sign on her that says, just been laid. Get it? I'm sure she's talking about the bricks. Halloween in the 80s was all about trick-or-treating with friends and attending school parades. Kids would wait all year long for their annual school Halloween party with pizza and games throughout the entire school day.

And then after school, they'd run to their local blockbuster video store and rent a scary movie. And then they would spray shaving cream all over the place as a Halloween prank. Those were the days. Now schools have so many restrictions. You basically need a permission slip just to bring in anything that you expect a child to ingest. Where's the fun in that? I can't forget to mention one other thing. The neighborhood, community, haunted houses.

Even churches would create them. All the kids would line up to walk through handmade attractions, followed by Halloween bakeoffs and all the fall festival activities. But let's get into the real MVP of Halloween that still reigns supreme today. and that is candy. So what was popular back then? Well, first of all, you either grabbed these plastic bags or a plastic pumpkin bucket to collect your candy,

and maybe that's why it seemed like we got so much more back then. But a lot of the candy would be handed out in these tiny Halloween print paper bags, and people weren't stingy. They didn't, like, buy a pre-packaged mix full of candy. No, they took their time. They bought them piece by piece, and many times they were full-size candy bars.

Yes, not those wimpy little bite-sized ones you see today. That's why you had to get ready and get out there early, right when the sun started to set. The most popular candy was, of course, Reese's peanut buttercups. They're still going strong today. And as far as chocolate is concerned, Snickers, Milky Way, Eminem's, Butterfinger, and 100 grand are at the top of the list. Bubblegum was also popular, especially this Halloween version, the pumpkin face kind. But what every kid really wanted was wax lips, the ones with thangs, and you could chew them just like gum. I love them.

Among other favorites were runts and skittles. And skittles mostly because that is when their Taste the Rainbow campaign launched in 1980. You also had sugar daddies. Those were highly coveted as well as pixie sticks, sixlets, airheads, fun dip, bottle caps. And all of this was mixed in with the often hated peanut butter kisses. Do you know what they are? They looked like this. They were unmistakable and equally questionable. Their taffy wrapped in black, orange, and I guess that's supposed to be white wrappers. To me, they just always looked dirty. They're peanut butter and molasses taffy.

And I think people just added them as filler because nobody seems to like them, but they're still around today, surprisingly, and it's probably because of nostalgia. And speaking of which, If you're ever craving these 80s candies, you can go to your closest cracker barrel because their gift shop has a bunch of Halloween candy from the past. But if you don't have one near you or you just want convenience, I'm going to put a link below to vintage Halloween candy on Amazon. But I didn't want to forget to mention McDonald's and them releasing their own boo buckets, which was kind of like an evolution of the plastic pumpkin buckets. And these were released during October of 1986 for Happy Meals. And they brought them back here and there over the years, but then they were just gone completely for years. Well, guess what?

Last year, they came back and I got one. I waited in line for these. You know it. And I got my hands on a few of them, and I hear that they're doing it again this year. So look for your local McDonald's. I'm also wearing earrings that are the McDonald's little buckets. So I thought those were really festive, especially for this video. But this just gives you an idea of what the Hoyne sisters were looking for.

to every Halloween. And October 1984 was not that much different. Sure, they were older, with Kim being 24, and now living outside the family home and Robin being 21, Trisha 18, both graduated and now working, and 16-year-old Wendy was a junior at Lucerne High. But they were still looking forward to the Halloween festivities, especially dressing up

and getting together. I told you I would let you know all about where the Hoyne sisters were working in the 80s. Well, Kim had gone gotten a job at a local mall, which was down the street from her parents' house, and it was most likely the Whitwood Center. It's only three minutes away from the Hoyne's residence. Trisha worked as a waitress at Sizzler.

There was one 12 minutes away, but I don't see many Sizzlers anymore. And I know it was known as the home of steak lovers, and that's because that's what they serve, along with other traditional American cuisine like grilled shrimp, popcorn shrimp, French fries, lobster tails, and a self-serve salad bar, which was very very. popular back then. This place was kind of like bougie on a budget. It was the fast food of steakhouses. And I know that I haven't really touched on the food of the 80s, but fast food was becoming increasingly popular, especially Burger King, Wendy's, Taco Bell, McDonald's, and Kentucky fried chicken. And that is where Robin worked as a manager at the Kentucky Fried Chicken

restaurant on Palis Ferdes Boulevard, just south of Pacific Coast Highway in the city of Torrance. We drove out there, and this is exactly where it used to be. It's about a 40-minute drive from the Hoyne's family home where Robin still lived in Whittier with their two younger sisters and their mom and dad. But Robin was dedicated to her job. That's how she gained the title of manager. She was a responsible, reliable, hard worker

who took her job very seriously. And I know that sometimes people scoff at fast food jobs, but look, they pay the bills, and these were very popular establishments back then. People were honored. They were proud to wear their fast food uniform. Minimum wage was $3.10 in California at the time, and Robin worked hard enough to get her own car, a yellow Dotson.

Remember, this is death through the decades, and I'm going to be talking about what things were like in the 80s, and Kentucky Fried Chicken was founded by the good old Colonel Harlan David Sanders, who started selling fried chicken in an old gas station that he acquired, the least to, in Corbin, Kentucky during the Great Depression. Governor Ruby Lofoon loved his fried chicken so much,

that he made Harlan Sanders an honorary Kentucky colonel. That's how he got that title. And when fast food restaurants started opening and becoming franchises in the 50s, he saw the potential for Kentucky fried chicken to do the same. He opened the first one in 1952 in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was one of the first fast food chains to expand internationally to Britain, Mexico, and Jamaica

by the mid-60s. And it became the very first Western restaurant chain to open in China. Believe it or not. By the 80s, Kentucky Fried Chicken was competing with the hamburger, which was popular at McDonald's, Wendy's, and Burger King. And it dominated the fast food industry. So Kentucky Fried Chicken had campaigns focusing on their chicken being more of a family meal that was quick. And then everyone could enjoy along with their mashed potatoes and gravy, buttermilk biscuits, and coleslaw.

When made Kentucky Fried Chicken the best, according to them, was their original recipe. A special blend of 11 herbs and spices called the kernels. secret formula, which they would brag about in every commercial. And it was said to make their chicken their slogan, which was finger licking good. I kid you not. I guess you gotta get that last drop. And it was apparently pressure cooked to hold in the flavor.

They also used the tagline, We Do Chicken Right. And it was emphasized that Kentucky Fried Chicken made sense because the colonel served a good meal. And if it was good enough for him, it was good enough for moms to take home to their entire family. Makes even better sense. Why is that? Because I know the Colonel serves a good meal.

Uh huh. A real meal. A fresh quality chicken. And what's more, they love it? It was advertised as a real meal with quality ingredients served in their signature white and red striped bucket with the Colonel's face on it. That bucket was also their sign. And it used to rotate on a long pole outside their restaurants. This TikTok video says that this is one of the last remaining rotating bucket.

I'm going to be calling it Kentucky Fried Chicken because the name didn't change to KFC until 1991 when the company rebranded. They wanted to make the name easier to say and to appeal to a health conscious consumer. Yeah, they're clever. Taking out the word fried was a marketing tactic and shortening the name also let the customers know according to them that they served more than just poultry. And back in the 80s, it was a deal. For just $9.99, you would get a bucket of 10 pieces of chastews. of 10 pieces of chicken, a large order of mashed potatoes with a large gravy, four hot biscuits, and a large order of their creamy coleslaw. That really can feed a family. I've personally never

taken even one bite of anything from Kentucky Fried Chicken. I've been a vegetarian for almost 10 years, but before that my mom never let us eat fast food. I will eat meat from time to time. Like, as someone cooks something special, I'm not going to say no to that and offend them. But my favorite foods came from McDonald's and Taco Bell. And I always got it at Grand's house. What about you? Tell me what your favorite fast food is or was? And all the fast food uniforms were so much cooler in the 80s.

Robin probably wore something like this. A light brown kind of grayish colored colored shirt with a dark brown vest and a striped tie. And yes, even the women wore ties, especially the managers at the time. Brown pants along with these very popular, I don't know, boat-looking hats. Tell me what their official name is because I don't know.

Or Robin could have worn the signature hat that a lot of females wore. It was a painter style cap or a paperboy hat with the brim in the front and the button on the top. And this would match the shirt and had a red stripe in front. The uniforms were definitely important for branding back then. It was part of the ambiance and the experience. All the fast food places had them. And it's almost like they competed for who had the coolest, most memorable outfits. Here's a few on the screen so you get a feel for what I'm talking about.

And I feel like red was an ongoing color scheme, but here's McDonald's. Wow. And it's so professional. The vest and the collared button up shirt. There's that paper hat again too. And then we have the very famous maroon uniform for Taco Bell. It's almost like a crossing guard uniform. And it seems so off brand for what the style currently is.

They had those visors and the collared shirts with the stripe across them. Then we've got Hardee's. And again, the red stripes, the hat. But look at Wendy's. The baby blue and white striped outfits. Oh my gosh, and those hats. How fun is that? But last but not least, look at Burger King.

Those hats are so funny, but they're also really cool. They remind me of strawberry shortcake. So there you have it. The uniforms were a lot different back then. I feel like we've gotten really lazy. Except for maybe in and out. In 1984, 21-year-old Robin was a trusted employee. employee as a store manager she held a position of great responsibility in fact

Robin was one of only three people at that restaurant who had access to the combination and keys for both the safe and the restaurant it was just her a general manager named Gregory Rabdow and one of their new assistant managers Cheryl Fuller not only did Robin excel in her role as a manager but she was also highly regarded by her co-workers her kindness and her friendly nature and dear to to everyone on her team. Whether it was helping out a colleague or just simply greeting every single person.

With a warm smile, Robin always went above and beyond to make others feel valued and appreciated. She was also responsible daughter and sister. She would always keep her family apprised of her plans and her whereabouts. And as I mentioned earlier, there were no cell phones back then. We had to trust someone's word. And that's why in a lot of these cases from the 80s

and even the 90s, when someone says a person was responsible and they checked in, they probably knew them as someone with habits that spanned a long period of time because parents would have to trust their children to come home from playing outside when the sun came down if over the years they had a habit of not coming home or coming home late and that extended into their teen years and beyond you would know that's part of their character because even without cell phones there were ways to keep in touch if you wanted to but it took some more effort one was pay phones i know that some of you watching have never actually

used a public pay phone before and that is the beauty of these death through the decades videos but they were located at high traffic areas like malls department stores street corners they were public phones that required 25 cents for a local call up to three minutes and then you would hear this pre-recorded message that would tell you to deposit more money so that you could continue talking you could use quarters dimes and nickels but you couldn't use pennies excuse me please deposit five cents for the next three minutes. If five cents is not deposited within 25 seconds, your call will be automatically terminated. And if your call wasn't local within like a

certain boundary line, it costs more. I actually found an Instagram account called payphones of Los Angeles and it's run by a man named Ryan Green who hunts down all of the remaining pay phones all over Los Angeles. And to him pay phones are personal. They remind him of his youth and he was running around town those days before cell phones existed and like many of us he relied on public phones to keep in touch and that's why he's nostalgic about them he also said it's part of his life that has died he said quote i don't see a lot of people singing the praises of payphones and yet they played such an essential role in our society and these things are disappearing everywhere you look end quote it's true and here are some pictures from his instagram account this payphone is outside a

laundry mat and here's a couple outside of a liquor store and one like I said on a random street corner it is sad that things change but back when this case was unfolding pay phones were as Ryan said essential we always carry change or we could call collect if we were in a bind but that wasn't until the 90s so I won't go into that in this video right now Robin made sure to tell her parents or at least her sisters what she was doing if she wasn't going to be home she worked either the day shifts or night shifts and was responsible for opening or closing the restaurant There always had to be one key holder on duty for each shift.

Back in late October of 1984, Cheryl Fuller had recently been put in the role of assistant manager at Robbins' Kentucky Fried Chicken location. Cheryl was around Robin's age in her early 20s and she had been transferred from another Kentucky Fried Chicken location and had only been working in the Torrance location for two weeks when she reached out to Robin to see if she could get someone to cover her shift on the night of October 30th. Cheryl was supposed to close the restaurant at 9 p.m. that night, but she just started dating a new guy and he invited her to a concert at the last minute. Robin was scheduled to work the opening shift on October 30th and October 31st, but she kindly offered to trade shifts with Cheryl so that she could go out and enjoy herself at a concert. So now Cheryl would be working the morning shift on the 30th, and Robin would close, and then Cheryl would pick up Robin's day shift the next morning on the 31st,

since Robin would have worked late the night before to cover for Cheryl. Made sense, right? Easy. Robin told her family she was going to be working the night shift on October 30th the night before Halloween, and then she was going to go over her friend's house and have a sleepover. She'd come back home the next day in the afternoon on Halloween in time to celebrate with her sisters and her family, handing out candy and just having fun.

Jump forward to the morning of October 31st, 1984. Halloween day. 16-year-old junior, Wendy, got up early and picked out a costume to wear to school that day. She chose to be a lion. And when she was done styling her costume, she left for school, like any other ordinary day. 18-year-old Trisha woke up and did pretty much the same thing. She searched around for a costume that was acceptable to wear to her shift that day at Sizzler. She decided to try looking in her big sister's closet, and she found Robbins Flags her uniform from back when she was at Lecernah High. It was cute. It was

It wasn't too unusual to wear at a restaurant, so she was like many other little sisters and decided to borrow it. And then she was off to work. Here's a picture of her at Sizzler that day with that outfit on, and you can see Robin's name embroidered across the front. Both Wendy and Trisha anticipated the fun that they were going to have that night with Robin and Kim. Later that afternoon, 24-year-old Kim Hoins was working at the mall when lunchtime came around.

She was suffering from a migraine. So instead of using her lunch hour to eat, she opted to drive the few. blocks away to her parents' house and lie down, hoping that she could make it through the rest of her shift if she took a little nap. It was a beautiful fall day. The sun was shining. There was a crisp, cool breeze in the air, and Kim parked her car in the driveway and walked up to the festively decorated front door like she had done so many times in the past.

Except this time, something was different. There was a note tucked into the front door. Kim grabbed it, opened it, and read these words. Please contact the Torrance Police Department regarding Robin Hoins. It was alarming to Kim, who was a very protective older sister. What would the police want with Robin? She wondered. No one was home at the time when she walked in.

She was all alone holding this note and wondering what to do. Who should she call first, the police or her parents? Kim decided to call the Torrance Police Department. She had to know what was going on. So she ran to the kitchen phone. and called the operator to connect her with Torrance Police. When someone from the department answered, Kim explained that she'd received a note at her home

regarding her sister Robin Hoyt's. The person on the other line told Kim that she would need to call back in about 20 minutes because the officers with the pertinent information regarding that matter were not currently at the office. Kim started to get worried. She hung up and she immediately called over to a family friend's house where her mom, Ethel,

was babysitting that day. When she spoke to her and she explained note on the door, Ethel wasn't that concerned. She told Kim, don't worry. Robin had plans to spend the night at a friend's house. It was most likely related to car trouble. But would police come to a person's house about car trouble? It seemed odd. Did Robin do something wrong? Because Robin, of all people, wouldn't have been the type to commit a crime. She was churchgoing, responsible, level-headed. So Kim started to think that something bad may have happened to her sister. She hung up with her mother and quickly called the police department for a second time.

Detective Jeff Lancaster answered, and it was as though he was anticipating Kim's call. When he picked up, Kim said, I'm Kim Hoins, calling about Robin Hoins. Is she okay? The detective responded bluntly with no. I'm sorry, she's not. She's dead. I can't even imagine what would be going on in someone's mind getting that news. It's just an ordinary day.

And then in a second, it turns into the way. worst day of your life. So what happened to Robin? Well, let's go back to that morning on October 31st at 9 a.m. Opening time for the Kentucky Fried Chicken Store in Torrance. Cheryl pulled up into the parking lot, picking up Robin's shift that day, and she was surprised to see Robbins Yellow Dotson parked outside and she was confused. She thought, why was Robin here? Did she forget they were switching shifts? Was there some kind of mix-up? But with her key in hand, Cheryl proceeded to the entrance designated for employees and when she went to unlock the deadbolt that was supposed to be secured every night of closing time she noticed it was already unlocked which could be a sign that robin had possibly

opened the store that morning and had mistakenly come into work that day Cheryl opened the door and walked inside the empty restaurant looking around for Robin nothing seemed unusual except for the fact that it appeared both girls had come in that morning but once she got to the back of the store in the kitchen area that's when Cheryl got even even more confused. As she was scanning the room, she noticed what appeared to be Robin sleeping on the floor. And Cheryl's initial thought was like, what's going on? Why did Robin spend the night here last night? But once her eyes adjusted and her mind registered what she was looking at, she realized... It's Mushrooms with me, Maddie Matheson. You know what's better than thinking

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