Rhonda Hinson’s Only Christmas Office Party

After a festive Christmas party in 1981, 19-year-old Rhonda Hinson was just miles from home when a deadly shot turned her bright future into an unsolved murder mystery.

(As heard in the Weird Darkness podcast, ‘Twas The Mystery Before Christmas)

Nineteen-year-old Rhonda Hinson was looking forward to a Christmas office party in December 1981. She had recently graduated from high school in Valdese, N.C., and was working as a clerical employee at a steel company. Rhonda had been a lively young woman and an excellent tennis player in high school, with many friends.

That night, December 22, Rhonda went to the company party with some friends. She exited the festivities with two girlfriends at midnight. After dropping them off, she started the 10-mile drive to her parents’ home, where she lived. But something terrible was coming.

Judy Hinson woke up suddenly at 1:00 AM in fear. She experienced a weird sense that something was wrong with her daughter. She soon found out her hunch was correct: Rhonda’s car was discovered just half a mile from home. And Rhonda was lying next to it on the ground, she had been killed.

Police later learned that someone had shot Rhonda with a high-powered rifle. The bullet had been powerful enough to pass through the trunk of car, through her car seat and into her heart. Initially, Rodriguez and Evans wondered if Rhonda had just been the victim of a random attack, but after digging a little deeper, they started finding signs that suggested someone who knew her might have done her harm.

In the weeks leading up to her death, Rhonda had been acting out of sorts. She began asking her father, Bobby, to accompany her when she drove into town, though she generally preferred driving alone. Once, she looked as though she wished to tell her father something significant, but she didn’t. She had also asked her mother if it was acceptable to date a married man, which was so not like her.

There were now witnesses who had observed some suspicious cars on the night that Rhonda died. Between 12:15 and 12:30 AM, a witness spotted a blue Chevrolet parked by the side of the road that Rhonda would travel by on the way home. Inside the car sat two men. Later, another witness passed the area where Rhonda lay. A similar blue car sped away in both instances, Rhonda’s car was parked with someone standing next to it. The witness thought the individuals might have been intoxicated and drove away.

To enhance her memory, the police had this witness hypnotized. The witness recalled, under hypnosis, that the blue auto was a Chevelle from around 1970, with some grey primer paint on it. They also recalled spotting another car — a black or dark blue Trans-Am — parked nearby. The witness described the man they had seen as approximately six feet tall with dark brown hair.

It has been many years since that terrible Christmas party, but Rhonda’s family still grieves her dearly. Her mother has preserved Rhonda’s room just as it was in her life, with her old baby doll and tennis trophies still displayed. A phrase echoing on Rhonda’s grave marker is “Always a ray of sunshine” – something her parents believe did their daughter justice.

The question of who killed Rhonda Hinson has never been solved. (The police continue to offer a $20,000 reward for information that leads to solving the case.) But hope all but fades with each passing year and with it the hope that somebody, somewhere will come forward with the information needed to explain what happened to the bright young woman who never made it home after her very first office Christmas party.

SOURCE LINKS: https://weirddarkness.com/christmasmysteries/