True Crime with Kimbyr - Part 2: Sisters Killed After Sneaking On Abandoned Bridge At Night -Tragic Murder of Julie & Robin Kerry

Episode Date: November 26, 2025

In Part 2 of this emotional deep dive on True Crime with Kimbyr, Kimbyrleigha uncovers the harrowing aftermath of Julie and Robin Kerry’s final moments on the abandoned bridge. As investigators piece together the truth, shocking revelations, conflicting accounts, and chilling motives emerge. How did a night of curiosity spiral into a fatal encounter and who was truly responsible? This episode exposes the suspects, the courtroom battles, and the heartbreaking fight for justice led by the Kerry family. Join True Crime with Kimbyr as we follow the twists, turns, and truths that bring this tragic case into sharper focus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

That is when Tom's father was brought into the room around 1 p.m. And officer said that he encouraged his son to tell the truth. And it was then the police claimed that Tom made a really interesting admission that he had feelings for his cousin Julie. It's Mushrooms with me, Maddie Matheson. You know what's better than thinking about dinner too hard? Not stop that. And just choose mushrooms.

Five minutes. Done. Dinner's that easy and you feel like a genius. It's not magic. It's mushrooms. Stop stressing at mushroomcouncil.com. They had grown close during the summer in Florida, and on that bridge, he made an inappropriate advance towards her.

And, well, there was some evidence that kind of back this up. There was a card taken from his grandpa's house that Julie had given him back on April 1st. It was a poem that was written by Nikki Giovanni, and it read, quote, we're not lovers because of the love we make, but the love we have. We're not friends because of the laughs we spend. but the tears we save. I don't want to be near you for the thoughts we share,

but the words we never have to speak. I will never miss you because of what we do, but what we are together." End quote. And inside, Julie wrote, Tom, I love you. Don't ever forget that. No matter where you are

or how much time passes between us, I couldn't forget you in a million years. Remember me. Kisses and Revolution. Jules. Okay, so I have to admit, that's a little interesting. And there's more. In a recorded interview, it became obvious that Tom did have really deep feelings for his cousin Julie.

But don't take my word for it. You can listen to him, explain it. I've been very, very close vacation for last year. We did have, I feel a little strong, Bob, this whole was. We definitely felt for each other real good. That was it. You know, we put his plate down the ground, and it was right away. I had a girlfriend and she had a boyfriend.

The way he talked about her did seem more romantic than a family member or a friendship. He literally said they fell for each other real quick, but that was it. In his words, he explained to the officers that they laid down the ground rules right away. And I was thinking, right, because y'all are cousins. But instead, his rationale was he had a girlfriend and she had a boyfriend. So I was like, wait a minute, the cousin thing wasn't an obstacle? I think they would definitely raise a red flag for an investigator, I'm just saying. So the police told him they knew what happened.

They said that Julie rejected him, they got in an argument, and somehow, whether during a scuffle or some kind of outburst, she fell. Well, when he was pressed in this way, Tom allegedly claimed that he blacked out and he couldn't remember what happened. The police filled in all the details. They said maybe Robin jumped in after her, or maybe you pushed her too. But that version, the police's version, was never recorded. And that's convenient, isn't it?

Why wouldn't you record that if it was true? And later, Tom would deny ever saying those things. I mean, you heard some of them. He definitely said that. But I mean, the part about, you know, him making an advance at her and her falling off the bridge, he never said that. He said he was manipulated and he was overwhelmed. He told them, if that's what you want to believe, so be it.

And officers interpreted that as a confession, that he was responsible for all of this. Even though they had no physical evidence linking Tom to any violence on the bridge, no blood, no weapons, no motive, the police arrested him on suspicion of murdering his own cousins. This story, of course, made headlines, and the family was in total shock. But within 24 hours, the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office reviewed the evidence and they made a different decision. There was just not enough to charge him with a crime. The girls were missing. There was no proof that they were dead.

and Tom Cummins was released. The police shifted their focus now because while investigators combed the bridge for clues, a series of discoveries unfolded. On the bridge deck, detectives recovered a used condom, a pen, coins, and a cigarette butt. But one item stood out, a black flashlight with the inscription Horn One

attached onto its side. Now, it wasn't near the rest of the evidence. It was found several yards away, almost as though it had been tossed there. And remember what Tom said. He mentioned one of the men asked them if anyone had seen a flashlight. Well, this seemed like a lead.

The flashlight was then sent to the media where they put it on TV and they told anyone out there with information to come forward. Well, within an hour, please get a phone call from a woman who recognized the flashlight. It belonged to her husband.

But she said, I think it was stolen by one of my son's friends. And his name was Antonio Richardson. And now, Tom's a guy. account, which was dismissed just days earlier, was starting to look a lot different. He described four men, the direction they came from, and the conversation about a flashlight. So it all started to match up. And on April 6th, just one day after Tom was released, police found and brought in 16-year-old Antonio Richardson for questioning. He was a high school

dropout with a troubled background and substance addiction. When Antonio sat across from the officers, his body language was withdrawn and he wouldn't even make a contact. But then, shockingly, he just confessed. He admitted that he was on the bridge that night, and he admitted to the attack, and even to being part of what happened to Julian Robin, that he forced himself on one of them at least, and he identified the flashlight as the one he brought there. He went to the bridge with police, and he described the events that mirrored Tom's original account, the ambush, the threats, the open manholes, and the screams. Antonio claimed that he didn't want to be involved.

He was pressured and afraid, and he named the one person he said orchestrated everything, 23-year-old Marlon Gray. Now, this man had a very commanding presence and a history of violence. According to Antonio, Marlon was the ringleader, the one who encouraged the attack and then threatened the others into silence. He said, Marlin warned him, if you talk, I'll find out, and I will kill you. So this interview was recorded, and I have a part of it, so let me play it for you now.

I think he was really saying that if whoever didn't cropped away with him, something bad was going to happen to him. Did Marlon ever tell you all that everyone was going to have to do the girls? Yes, and also told us if we got caught or the police came to us, if we wish to tell on him, when he'd get through doing with the police, he was going to hurt. heard of a bait. Antonio also implicated 19-year-old Reginald Clemens. He was known in the area, and police would later note he was visibly nervous when he was questioned.

His interview began as expected. He was quiet. He was defensive, and he was reluctant to share any details. But as the detectives mentioned Julie and Robin Carey, Reginald's composure began to crack. He started to break down and cry. And eventually, he admitted they was on that bridge. He confirmed that the group encountered two white girls

and a white guy, and he said the interaction started out friendly. Just some small talk. This is exactly what Tom said and what Antonio had mentioned. But then he revealed what came next, the idea to rob the guy and have their way with the girls. Reginald said that Antonio was the one that suggested the attack, and that he too participated in having his way with the girls. Reginald also admitted to robbing Tom and said that he was one of the men that was standing on the platform below the bridge with the others. According to him, the girls fought back really hard.

They screamed, they clawed, and when one was attacked, the other one tried to help. Reginald denied pushing anyone into the river, but he said that Antonio wanted to eliminate witnesses. So let's play part of his interview. He was telling the whip him. He got to jump, but he's going to be a shot. Can it make a jump? Yeah.

Reginald said that Antonio was the one that pushed the girls. And now it seemed like, Antonio, who was so forthcoming right away, may have had way more to do with this crime, and maybe that's why he was so quick to talk and to implicate others. Well, they finally tracked down 23-year-old Marlon Gray at a friend's house. They brought him in for questioning,

and he was tall. He was six for over 200 pounds, and he had a reputation. But he didn't really come off as aggressive at first. He actually confessed right away to forcing himself on both Robin and Julie. But he said that afterward he left the brinkered. and walked back to his car, distancing himself from the final moments.

He denied having any involvement in the murders. And according to him, by the time he learned that the girls had been pushed, they had already left the bridge. However, he did admit he was the leader of their group. Now, I recall that Tom said, the taller one seemed to be the leader. Well, it was his job to subdue Tom. Here's part of what he told police. They put up a small fight,

but they realized they would be in their best interest not to fight. After you took the clothes off of Julie, what happened that? He had sex. And you forced her to have sex. What did you do after you had sex with Julie? I went over to Robin and proceeded to do the same thing. Marlon said he left right after he was done with the girls, and he had no idea they were pushed into later.

He also provided detectives with the name of the fourth guy, Daniel Winfrey, only 15 years old. He was the youngest of the group and the last to be brought in. Now, his account echoed what the other said. He admitted he was on the bridge. He admitted to restraining one of the girls. And he admitted the idea to commit the attack came from Marlin, who Daniel claimed said he was in the mood to hurt someone after he saw the girls walking with Tom in that bridge.

Daniel told the police that it was Marlin who actually distributed condoms and was trying to push the guys into action. Daniel insisted that he didn't do anything with either one of the girls and he did not push them either. but he described in detail how Antonio and Reginal brought Julie and Robin to the open manhole with the intention of throwing them into the water. It was clear now. There were four men, four confessions, and every single one of them supported what Tom said from the very beginning.

And each one of them was a link in a chain that was now leading directly to the chain of Rocksbridge and to the murder of two beautiful, extraordinary young women. And this case was no longer about Tom Cummins. It was about something much deeper. And this was no longer a missing person's case. It was a rescue mission because they didn't think these women survived. The case was cracked open with a phone call triggered by a flashlight. And Tom, who had been arrested and publicly labeled a suspect at first, was now vindicated.

And that's because the police not only got the confessions from these other men, but they found the stolen watch. It was Tom's. They were searching a home. that Marlin had recently visited, and they found it there. And that was the final link. Tom had already returned to Washington, D.C.,

but when he was called back, he came down willingly. And in a lineup, he identified each one of the four men. By Monday, April 8th, just four days after the attack, all four suspects were in custody and charged with the murders of Julie and Robin Carey, who were sadly presumed dead. For their mother, Ginny, the details were unbearable, to hear about.

One investigators told her that her daughter's actually fought back. She nodded through her tears because she wasn't surprised. Julie and Robin were fighters. Even Robin, the quieter one of the two, wouldn't have given up without a fight. Ginny knew her daughter so well, and she believed that one thing was certain. They would have defended one another until the very end. And for 21 days, the Mississippi River kept its secrets as rescue teams scanned the depths with sonar, searched the banks with canines, and went through the three days.

and went through the water in painstaking efforts to bring Julie and Robin home. Ginny never stopped hoping, but with every day the past, that hope became harder to hold on to. They hoped that just like Tom made it to shore that the girls did too. Maybe a long way down, maybe in a neighboring town, or maybe even further. Perhaps they were living off nature and they would have this great story to tell of survival. But Ginny was also worried because she knew that Julie had recently injured her knee playing soccer. she feared that injury would make it impossible for Julie to stay afloat in that current. But even more than her physical fears, there was something far deeper that was just gnawing

at her day in and day out, and that was the silence. It was the emptiness, it was the space where her daughters once were. And just one night, imagine that two of her daughters were gone. You go from them laughing and carrying on at home and their voices vibrant and filling the house to just quiet. And then came April 26th of 1991, a fisherman in Caruthersville, roughly 200 miles south of St. Louis, spotted something unusual floating among the driftwood as he was fishing in a slew. As he got closer, his stomach dropped.

What he had found was a decomposed body of a young woman. He, of course, called the authorities, the body was pulled from the water, and it was taken for an examination. In the medical examiner's office, they used dental records to confirm with the kids. Carrie family feared so much. It was Julie Ann Carrie. Ginny had dreaded this moment, but she knew that it could happen, but the reality of it shattered her.

She'd always assumed her daughters would be found together that whatever happened, they would have stayed side by side. But only Julie had come home. And there was no trace of Robin anywhere, not a scrap of clothing, not a piece of evidence, nothing. But the family was holding out hope. But eventually,

It was time to face what they already knew in their hearts. Robin was gone to. Where she was, they would never know. Till this day, sadly, her body has never been found. The Mississippi River is the fourth largest river in the world. It snakes on the border of Missouri and Illinois, and then it winds down to meet the Ohio River, and then it cuts between Missouri and Kentucky,

then Tennessee, and breaks away from Missouri and borders Tennessee and Arkansas, and then branches off at the southernmost point, Louisiana and pours into the Gulf of, well, now it's called Gulf of America on Google Maps. And from there, into the vast oceans of the North Atlantic and the South Pacific. It was a miracle that Julie's body was ever found. The current is strong and it would quickly be carried downstream. Remember that Julie was 200 miles away.

The temperature, the microorganisms, they further contribute to faster decomposition. So scientifically speaking, it could essentially disintegrate or sink to the depths that we cannot even reach where marine life would take over. I know it's sad and it's heartbreaking, but it is the truth. And it has been over 30 years now, but I want to go back to 1991. With four men now in custody and their confessions recorded, the case was progressing quickly. But for the Carrie family, the legal victories felt really empty. They had lost two beautiful loved ones, daughters, sisters. They were so special to so many people.

And to honor them, the University of Missouri in St. Louis established the Julie and Robin Carey Memorial Scholarship. It was a tribute not only to their academic excellence, but to their spirit. The scholarship would be awarded to students who, like Julie and Robin, were brilliant and compassionate, students that held part-time jobs to support themselves while pursuing degree. And then on May 20th of 1991, about three weeks after Julie's body was found, a funeral and memorial service was held at St. Jerome's Catholic Church, where Julie and Robin had once attended school. The church overflowed. Friends, professors, classmates, neighbors, even people that didn't even know them, filled the pews in silence. They were struggling to reconcile the loss of these two young women that were so full of light and purpose. The pastor delivered these words. Maybe the world

wasn't ready for them. They were too special, too good for this place. And at the service, the music that they played was composed by Julie on an electric keyboard, and it played softly through the entire sanctuary. It was like a final goodbye that she had written herself. And even though only one of the Carrie sisters were physically laid to rest at Calvary Cemetery, both of their names were etched on the gravestone. And as loved ones gathered around their graves, a simple but powerful act of remembrance took place. They blew bubbles into the air. Something that we've all probably done as children with childlike innocence, and it was something the girls were known to do, even into adulthood. And now it was a send-off, floating and rising and shimmering in the sunlight. It was a tribute

that reflected who they were. They were bright, fleeting, and beautiful. Ginny stood by the gravesite filled with grief, but she was supported by so many people. The funeral wasn't the end, though. It was the beginning of a very long, painful journey through trials, appeal, controversy, and of course, media scrutiny. But in that moment, on that day, Julie and Robin were remembered, not for the violence they endured, but for the grace, intellect, and kindness they gave to this world.

I want to recap who the four perpetrators are. The group was made up of Antonio Richardson, who's 16 years old, Marlon Gray, who's 23, Reginald Clemens, who's 19, and Daniel Winfrey, who is just 15. Each boy had a different background, a different motivation,

and varying levels of involvement, but all four were there that night. And all four had a role that they played. And all four were now facing a first-degree murder charge. Antonio Richardson was the first to confess, and he's the one that admitted he was there. He participated in the indecent things done to at least one of the girls at his hands.

He was carrying the flashlight, and he also pointed to Marlon Gray as the one who instigated the violence. Now, Antonio also claimed that Marlon told them to rob and hurt the girls and the group. He said that Marlon pressured him, and the others, using his size and his presence to keep them in line. And he said that before Marlon left the bridge,

and after he did what he did to the girls, they discussed the plan to eliminate witnesses. And ultimately, he carried out that plan by pushing Julie and Robin into the Mississippi River. But Antonio said that he jumped in two, and he made it to shore, but I was like, another person saying they jumped in. It was interesting.

And then there was Reginald Clemens. He kind of echoed what Antonio said. He said he was on the bridge, and that he robbed Tom, and he forced himself on one of the girls. And he also described how the girls flop back and they screamed and they resisted and he denied ever pushing any of them into the water. He said Antonio did that because he wanted to silence them.

Now later, Reginald's lawyers would actually claim that his entire confession was coerced because he was being beaten by cops. His mother came forward later and testified that she saw bruises on his face, but photographs were taken after booking and they didn't show any visible injuries. So then there's 23-year-old Marlon Gray, who we've heard a lot about because everyone's saying he's the ringleader, right?

Marlon's confession was the most contradictory. He admitted to doing things to both girls, but he said he left the bridge afterwards and he walked to his car. He claimed he had no involvement in the murders, no knowledge that the girls were even pushed until afterward. Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is California's number one entertainment destination for today's superstars. Catch the Jonas Brothers return to the Yamava Theater stage on April 30th, the powerful vocals of Demi Lovato on May 17th, and the signature Southern Country Rock of Eric Church on July 19th. Tickets on sale now at Yamavatheater.com,

only at Yamava Resort and Casino, celebrating its 40th anniversary. You in? Must be 21 to enter. But so much more. Go bananas for banana ball with ESPN on Disney Plus. The greatest show in sports? Are you kidding me! the phenomenon everyone's talking about.

The trick! Catch the Savannah bananas and other fan favorite teams all season long. With select games streaming with ESPN on Disney Plus. Let's go! US residents, 18 Plus only. Select Banana Ball games available to all Disney Plus subscribers. Terms apply. But that's not what other people said, especially Daniel Winfrey.

He's the 15-year-old. He was the one that described him as the ringleader. He said Marlon told him to hold down the girls and even suggested pushing them into the river to eliminate Winfrey. But Marlin denied ever giving such orders. When he was arrested, he too claimed that his entire confession was under duress. Here's part of that interview.

They beat me. And the whole time they beat me, they were telling me that I was guilty of murder. And at one point, they stood me up against the wall and were just punching me in my stomach and chest. At one point, you know, they put the hands around my neck, you know, they're choking me. And last, let's just go over Daniel Winfrey one more time.

He was the youngest, and probably the most complicated in the group. He confessed to being on the bridge, holding down one of the girls, and being present when they were pushed, but he said he wasn't down the manhole. He was on top of the bridge. And he said he didn't engage in anything with them, and he didn't do anything beyond watching them go over. Because of his age, though, and his lesser role, as far as they were concerned from his confession, prosecutors saw value in cutting a deal with him. In exchange for his testimony against Marlon, Reginald and Antonio, Daniel could plead guilty to second-degree murder, essay, and robbery, and he would receive a 30-year sentence. This would mean he would avoid life in prison or the death penalty.

Daniels' cooperation became the cornerstone of the state's case. The physical evidence continued to support the confessions. On the bridge, I told you, they found a used condom, which later was tested and revealed Marlon Gray's DNA. The stolen watch was recovered from a house that Marlon had visited, and the engraved flashlight tying Antonio directly to the scene. Some may say that these cases are cut and dry, but to me, they're complicated.

You can't really take anyone's word for it. There's no other witnesses besides these guys that are in a group and all know each other. But then I think to myself, well, you were all there. None of you ran to get help. None of you stopped another person from doing it. So it's almost like a conspiracy,

and when a conspiracy happens, everyone who planned to go into it is guilty of the same thing. So it would be first-degree murder. But to others, they don't see it that way. They say, no, everybody's different. They all played a different role and wasn't a conspiracy because they didn't talk about it before.

So there's differing viewpoints, and that's why I ask you what you think. Now for the Kerry family, each one of these confessions, each line up, every piece of evidence, was a reminder of the horror that those girls went through. But it was also a step forward. They wanted answers and they wanted justice and the trials were coming.

And with them, a long, emotionally grueling battle would test this family. Don't worry, I'm not going to go extensively into detail of each of these trials because that would take forever. But the first one was Marlon Gray's trial in October of 1992. He was the alleged ringleader, and this was a pivotal moment, not just because of his central role in the attack, but because he had not personally said he pushed Julie or Robin. Prosecutors had to convince the jury that Gray was just as responsible even if he didn't deliver the final push ending the girl's lives. He pleaded not guilty to all charges, and his defense team immediately began to undermine the state's narrative.

They focus on the methods used during his interrogation, and they claimed that Marlin had been beaten, and that he'd been thrown to the floor, and his confession had been coerced. He had an injured knee, and that made him very vulnerable, but the prosecution had something else. They had Daniel Winfrey, and when he took the stand, he laid out in detail a very chilling picture of Marlon's involvement. I think the most important part of his testimony was that he said Marlin looked at the girls and looked at Tom walking and he said they felt like hurting someone. And the claim that he handed out condoms and then one of the condoms had his DNA on it really went to corroborating that story as well.

But then I was thinking, well, they didn't find any other ones. Maybe the other ones were never used. And it was sad that DNA testing was in its infancy so we couldn't really get more out of this, like more DNA evidence. And Marlin didn't just sit there. He went against his own attorney's advice, and he took the stand in his own defense. And it's something that few defendants do,

especially in a capital murder trial, and his testimony was combative. He admitted to the essay, but he would not admit to pushing the girls. The thing that really sealed the deal, though, for the jury, I think, was the fact that the pictures showed there were no injuries on him. After six days of testimony,

and a few short hours of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict, guilty on two counts of first-degree murder. And two days later, Marlin Gray was sentenced to death by lethal injection. Now, Reginald Clemens' trial was next. And like Marlin, he claimed he was coerced into confessing that the police had beaten him during his interrogation,

and I told you his mother testified that she saw bruises on his face. But just like in Marlin's case, the state presented photos that were taken just after the interview, and there were no signs of injury. Now, the state heavily relied on testimony from Daniel Winfrey, once again and from Tom who had identified Reginald in the lineup and recounted how he was the one that robbed him and threatened him up on that bridge. This time for Reginal's defense, they pointed to Tom's credibility. They pointed out inconsistencies in his statements and also he reminded the jury

that there was no physical evidence directly tying Reginal to the acts of pushing the girls. But the jury wasn't swayed. After three hours of deliberation, Reginald Clemens was found guilty and sentenced to death. And this time, Tom testified again, recounting the events with very haunting detail. Prosecutors described Antonio as a very troubled teen who just fell into the wrong crowd. But they emphasized he knew exactly what he was doing.

And after nine hours of deliberation, the jury returned a guilty verdict. But they were deadlocked on his sentence. Some jurors wanted death, and others wanted life without parole. The final decision was left to the judge. And on July 2nd of 1993, Antonio Richardson was sentenced to death by lethal injection.

These three trials delivered what the Carrie family had hoped for. Convictions. But closure? Not so much. Because the girls were still gone, and Robin's body was never recovered. And what came next was a new error of legal challenges, the appeals, the clemency hearings,

and all kinds of questions about fairness, coercion, and punishments. But for now, justice, even if it was imperfect, it had begun. But as a years past, the stories grew more complicated. In 2001, nearly a decade after the girls were killed, Antonio Richardson's execution date was set. He was scheduled to die by lethal injection. He was 16 when he was involved in the attack,

and now at 26, he was about to face the full consequences of that night. Now, initially, the girl's mother, Jenny, she supported the death sentence. But as the date was set, something shifted. She started to revisit everything, not just the night of the murders, but the legal system, his youth, his background, and even his mental capacity. She came to believe that while Antonio was guilty, he needed to remain in prison and not be executed because that felt wrong to her.

She told reporters, I think Antonio Richardson is responsible for what he did, but I requested clemency for him because of his youth and his diminished mental capacity. Because test showed Antonio had an IQ of just 70. It's a score that placed him on the borderline for intellectual disabilities, and Ginny said she couldn't live with herself if she didn't speak up. She called the governor, and she asked for mercy for Antonio.

But her ex-husband, Richard Carey, disagreed. He also called the governor, but he urged him to reject Ginny's plea. So now this case had not just broken apart their city, but also started to break apart their family. And at the 11th hour, the US Supreme Court intervened in this case. Antonio's execution was halted.

The court ruled that it was unconstitutional to execute individuals with intellectual disabilities. And in 2002, a second decision, Roper v. Simmons, determined that minors could not be sentenced to death at all. So as a result, Antonio Richardson's sentence was commuted to life without the possibility of parole. And he remains in prison. He continues to maintain his innocence.

Now, Marlon Gray's execution was in 2005. While Antonio was spared, Marlin remained on death row because his appeals were denied. His lawyers argued that his confession was coerced and he never pushed the girls, but the state didn't accept that argument. And under Missouri law, anyone who plans participates in or facilitates a murder is just as culpable as the person who delivers the fatal blow. Despite the last minute pleas from death penalty opponents, Marlon Gray was executed by lethal injection on October 26 of 2005. at 12.07 a.m. He declined a final meal, but he did have some final words before the injection. He said, as I go forward, now on wings built by love and support of my family and friends, I go with peace of mind that comes from never having to take a human life.

I forgive those who have hardened their hearts to the truth, and I pray they ask for forgiveness, for they do not know what they do. This is not a death, it's a lynching. Now, as the drugs entered his system, witnesses say that he smiled and he mouthed the words, I love you, to someone in the crowd. But there is a twist in this story. In 2015, the case against Reginald Clemens began to unravel. For years, his legal team had insisted that his confession was coerced through police brutality. And even though earlier courts had rejected those claims, new evidence and advocacy reopened his case.

and a special master was appointed to review the details. There was a bunch of questions about fairness, racial biases, and interrogation practices that resurfaced in this case. And ultimately, his conviction was thrown out. In 2017, after years of legal battles, they reached a plea deal to avoid a retrial. As part of this agreement, Reginald pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder

and two counts of SA, and one count of first-degree robbery. And he was sentenced to five consent. executive life terms. And at this hearing, he stood in front of the court and he addressed Ginny, who had once watched him receive a death sentence. And this time, he offered something that she had never received before. And that was an apology. He said, I'm sorry, Mrs. Carey, for all I have put you through. And Ginny responded outside the courtroom to a reporter. She said, it's been 26 years. I'm glad it's finally over. I'm tired of all the lies. So for Ginny,

the apology, it didn't seem to do much, because of course it wouldn't bring her daughters back. But it did allow her to have some peace. She said he's on the road to being sorry, and I couldn't even pray for that man before, but now I can. And because of legal technicalities, Reginald became eligible for parole in 2020, but he still remains incarcerated today. Now, Daniel, the first free man who took a deal back in the day who testified against all these men, he was paroled in 2007 after only serving a fraction of his sentence. But his freedom

was very short-lived because he returned to prison in 2011 and again in 2012 for parole violations. For years after these murders, Tom carried a different kind of trauma. Not only did he witness this attack, he escaped with his life, but he was also identified as the person responsible. He had been falsely arrested, he had been interrogated for hours, and accused of heart harming his cousins that he tried to save. And eventually he did file a lawsuit against the police, and that settlement was sealed, so I couldn't really see the details. But at least they took accountability.

Tom did not go into the spotlight and speak about what happened. It was too hard for him. It was the grief and the shame and the betrayal from the system. But even though Julie and Robin are gone, their voices carry on through their poetry, through their music, through their activism, and through every moment of courage, shown by a mother who chose compassion over vengeance. And it's true that some tragedies fade with time, but others leave a really deep mark,

and the world can still feel it so many years later. When people do videos walking down this bridge, and they put it on YouTube and I've watched many of them, it brings back not just the story of what happened to Julian Robin, but it brings back the message that they dared to write and what they stood for. Their mother described them as fighters, a word that she didn't use lately.

She knew what they stood for. She knew they would never have gone without a struggle. And Julie's words as a published poet are forever captured in that literary magazine. And I told you that one of her poems really became haunting for her family and I would like to read it to you in its entirety. It says,

picture yourself, a thousand tiny pebbles rushing downstream in the current that presses your skin against huge, jagged rocks. As frightening as you are frightened, remember that the undertow can take you in so easily. Then imagine that I am the silt,

thick and coarse, and not nearly as lovely as the waterfall. Think how I can bury you and my cool, muddy layers beneath all that brings you pain. Imagine how tenderly I can fold my flesh around you. It is beautiful, but it is eerie.

But Julie's words weren't the only ones that carried forward. Her cousin, Janine, who was 16 at the time that this happened, and was also on spring break and lost her two cousins at night. She carried the weight of their memory in her own way. In 2004, she published a book called an RIP in Heaven. It was a memoir that told the story of the chain of rocks' murders from the family's perspective, not just the crime,

but the deep injustice they endured when Tom, Janine's brother, was wrongly arrested. I read the book. If you want to, I will link it below in the description box. In writing this book, Janine wanted to reclaim the narrative because everyone wanted to talk about the criminals, but she wanted people to remember her cousins. And that was my focus as well.

Julie and Robin were more than just a true crime case. They're more than headlines. They were artists, readers, writers, activists, sisters, and beloved daughters. I hope that you will never forget their story, especially every time you see a bridge or hear about the Mississippi that never let go of Robin. In the years since the murders, the Chain of Rock's Bridge has been repurposed into a pedestrian and bike trail, and it's part of the Regional Greenway Project.

Families stroll along its now safe path and tourists take in the sweeping views of the river, but for those that know about the history, the bridge is something more than just a tourist attraction. And somewhere on that concrete, whether it's painted over now or weathered with time, are Julie and Robin's final message. United we stand, divided we fall. It's not a black or white thing, where a new generation, we take a stand. It wasn't just graffiti to them. It was a mission statement and it still is.

And the lesson we can take from the story isn't about evil. It's about courage. Julie and Robin remind us that even the smallest acts of goodness matter. And we all have a choice. So never underestimate the impact you can have on another person's life. And thank you so much for being here for Julie and Robin's story.

All right, everyone, welcome to ARCO rewards orientation. I'm Hannah. Whoa. Is everything okay? That's a code green. Someone just earned at least five cents a gallon in rewards. Wow. Another one?

Well, that one's a code gold. The customer just redeemed savings of up to a dollar a gallon. Impressive. What does that one mean? Oh, that's just piggy. He gets excited when we talk about rewards. Savings of up to $1 per gallon redeemable with $20 rewards dollars in your loyalty account. At participating locations, terms and conditions apply.

I will see you in my next video. Bye.