On a Saturday afternoon in 1987, in the Chesapeake Bay area of Virginia, two people met for the first time at an arcade. The most popular games of the time were Street Fighter, Double Dragon, Outrun and Road Blasters. 14-year-old Robin Edwards and 20-year-old David Knobling struck up a conversation and an interest in each other. He was there with his two brothers. All together they left the arcade and rode around in his truck until she had to be home, presumably for her curfew. Knobling dropped her off at her home in Newport News and then he returned to his home in the next town over, Hampton, Virginia. He didn’t stay long though. His brothers reported that he left shortly after and never returned. Robin Edwards left her home too. She snuck out late Saturday night and met up with Knobling. He drove them across the James River Bridge to the Ragged Island Wildlife Refuge in Isle of Wight County near Smithfield, Virginia. He parked the truck in a lot at the south end of the James River bridge. Late on a Saturday night, he might have thought it was the perfect place to be alone. They weren’t alone for long, however, and they wouldn’t survive the night.
Music:
Currents 8 bit - Sleeping At Last (Remixed by Mike & Steve of The Reign of Kind)
Among the Ruins - Trinity Ward
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