A Hidden Threat

Summary

---

48 Hours: "A Hidden Threat" (Oct 22, 2025)

CBS News | Summary by Podcast Summarizer

---

Overview

This episode of “48 Hours,” hosted by Peter Van Sant, investigates the horrifying 1998 murder of Vicki Robinson, a loving mother from Tampa, Florida, and the subsequent investigation that led to the arrest of her daughter, Valessa Robinson (then 15), and two of Valessa’s friends. The podcast explores the complexities of the case—from the disappearance, through multiple confessions and conflicting accounts, to the final verdict—raising questions about family dysfunction, teenage rebellion, and justice.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Disappearance and Early Investigation

• Vicki Robinson and her 15-year-old daughter Valessa disappear; their absence is first noticed by Vicki’s boyfriend, Jim Englert.
• Police find Vicki’s home unusually untidy, suggesting foul play ([06:42–07:03]).
• Both Robinsons’ van and Valessa are missing; evidence at an ATM shows a teenage boy (Adam Davis, Valessa’s boyfriend) using Vicki’s card ([07:15–07:37]).
• A multi-state manhunt ensues as the group’s movements are tracked via ATM transactions, culminating in a high-speed chase and arrest in Texas ([03:48–10:36]).

2. Conflicting Confessions and Chilling Details

• Three teens (Adam Davis, John Whispel, and Valessa) are involved; all had histories of drug use (LSD, ecstasy) and trouble at home ([12:19–14:00], [23:34]).
• John Whispel confesses first, blaming Adam for the murder and describing nights of drug use before the crime. He claims he thought Adam was joking about killing Vicki ([12:23–13:16]).
• Adam Davis’ confession is equally graphic, describing a violent and chaotic murder, dumping the body in a trash can and then a wooded area ([16:17–17:16]).
• Valessa's confession complicates matters when she claims sole responsibility for the murder, later recanting this account and shifting blame back to Adam ([18:18–21:00]).

Quote (on the drugs and detachment):
“We’re starting to feel the effects of the acid. Yes, it’s hitting us real good now.”
— John Whispel ([14:00])

3. The Broken Family: Root Causes and Warnings

• The divorce of Vicki and her husband left Valessa feeling abandoned ([22:27]).
• Vicki’s busy work and social life led to gaps in supervision, allowing Valessa increasing freedom, drug use, and risky associations ([22:54–23:42]).
• By age 12, Valessa was hanging out with much older people, joining a rock band and experimenting with drugs. Her relationship with Adam Davis quickly developed into an “obsession,” with Adam exerting controlling influence ([25:06–26:03]).

Quote (on parental absence):
“She just went places because her mom wasn’t there to ask.”
— Friend Christy Collins ([23:05])

4. The Crime, Motive, and Aftermath

• The killing appears premeditated but also impulsive, fueled by substance abuse and possible plans to send Valessa to a reform program ([26:26–26:56]).
• After the murder, the trio steals Vicki’s money and van and goes on a spending spree across several states ([17:20–17:39]).
• The motive remains ambiguous—was it escape, rebellion, or something darker?
• Family, law enforcement, and the public struggle to make sense of such a break in the mother-daughter bond.

Quote (on motive):
“What could possibly happen within a family to turn a loving mother and daughter, the best of friends really, into seemingly mortal enemies?”
— Peter Van Sant ([02:27])

5. The Trials: Shifting Blame and the Search for Justice

• Adam Davis, who confessed and was also implicated by Whispel, is convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death (later commuted to life imprisonment) ([31:29–32:57]).
• Valessa faces conflicting testimony. Whispel tells the court that she was not only present but actively participated, holding her mother down ([37:07–37:29]), while Valessa and her defense attorney portray her as a manipulated, frightened child ([29:44], [35:34]).
• Valessa is ultimately convicted of third-degree murder—there was no physical evidence against her, only her confession and Whispel’s statements ([40:39–40:48]). She receives a 20-year sentence, serving 13 years before release ([41:00–41:15], [42:43]).

Quote (on justice):
“In the end, jurors weren’t convinced that Valessa planned or participated... instead she gets 20 years.”
— Reporter ([40:48])

6. Lessons, Reflections, and Regrets

• The case explores deep questions about parental control, communication, emotional neglect, and adolescent mental health.
• Valessa herself, in hindsight, expresses regret and a wish for more discipline and boundaries from her mother ([41:30]).

Quote (on parenting):
“I wish that she had disciplined me more... I needed that discipline. It’s kind of like assurance.”
— Valessa Robinson ([41:30])

• Family members and law enforcement express remorse and cautionary advice for parents noticing early warning signs of trouble ([42:12–42:30]).
• The episode ends with a note; a foundation has been established in Vicki Robinson’s memory to help struggling families find guidance and support ([42:43]).

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Vicki was always just a joy to be around.” — Friend ([01:09])
• “There are some crimes so heartless, so despicable, they cry out for justice.” — Peter Van Sant ([02:27])
• “Was Valessa a hostage or an accomplice?” — Reporter ([08:49])
• “I wish with all my heart that she was alive.” — Valessa ([02:24])
• “We have no doubt you will convict Valessa Robinson of this murder.” — Prosecutor ([36:22])
• “They need to be there for them, see that there’s something wrong going on... get them away from the crowd.” — Chuck Robinson, Valessa’s father ([42:21])

---

Important Segment Timestamps

• Incident & Disappearance: [01:09–07:13]
• Interstate Chase & Arrest: [03:48–10:36]
• Confessions: [12:19–18:52]
• Family Background/Downward Spiral: [22:02–26:56]
• Trials (Adam Davis): [31:29–32:57]
• Trials (Valessa Robinson): [33:05–41:15]
• Verdict for Valessa: [40:39–41:15]
• Aftermath & Reflections: [41:30–42:43]

---

Tone and Style

The tone is investigative, empathetic, and sometimes grimly reflective, capturing the emotional devastation experienced by both the victim’s and the perpetrator’s families. The episode avoids sensationalism, instead using honest, sometimes devastating personal testimony to reveal the complexities of youth violence, family breakdown, and the criminal justice system.

---

Conclusion

“A Hidden Threat” is a haunting true crime narrative that moves beyond the headlines, probing not just the who and how, but the why—highlighting the hidden fractures that can exist within families and the devastating consequences that can result when those cracks go unaddressed. Through detailed reporting, firsthand accounts, and searching questions about responsibility and forgiveness, the episode is both a cautionary tale and a call for greater vigilance and support for at-risk youths and their families.

Transcript

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Come to DSW for the shoes, stay for the fun. Because let's be honest, if shoe shopping isn't fun, are you even doing it right? So go ahead, try something new. Try something different. Good different. Try something that feels like you, you know, the real you. And then definitely brag about it later. Because at dsw, you've got unlimited freedom to play. Find the shoes that get you at prices that get your budget at DSW stores [e-mail] Let us surprise you. Just got a new puppy or kitten. Congrats. But also yikes. Between crates, beds, toys, treats and those first few vet visits, you've probably already dropped a small fortune. Which is where Lemonade Pet insurance comes in.

[Reporter/Investigator]

It helps cover vet costs so you.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Can focus on what's best for your new pet. The coverage is customizable, sign up is quick and easy and your claims are handled in as little as three seconds. Lemonade offers a package specifically for puppies and kittens. Get a'[e-mail] pet your future yourself will thank you. Your pet won't. They don't know what insurance is.

[Reporter/Investigator]

48 hours we take you there. Vicki was always just a joy to be around. Vicki Robinson, a loving friend.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

She always seemed to have just that special joy about her.

[Reporter/Investigator]

And a loving mother to 15 year old Valencia.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Just a happy go lucky kid on a skateboard. My mom was the best person in the world.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Then one day they both disappear.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Robinson and her daughter Valessa disappeared last week. What is your emergency?

[Reporter/Investigator]

Authorities get a tip.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

They said that they killed her.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Vicki has been murdered. But what happened to Valessa? All points bulletins are out. Across the United States, two teenage boys are being tracked in the Robinsons van across five states.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

They're in Mossy Head, Florida. Then they went into Alabama.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Over 1,000 miles.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

They're in Ozona, Texas. They were just there 20 minutes ago.

[Reporter/Investigator]

All leading to a dangerous high speed chase. Finally there's an arrest. And a shocking discovery. Vicki's daughter Valessa is with them. Is she an innocent victim? Or an accomplice to her mother's murder? Peter Van Sant investigates.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I wish with all my heart that she was alive.

[Reporter/Investigator]

The enemy within. There are some crimes so heartless, so despicable, they cry out for justice. But sometimes, even when justice is within reach, the whole truth remains elusive. What could possibly happen within a family to turn a loving mother and daughter, the best of friends really, into seemingly mortal enemies? One unsettling case. A mystery not only as to what happened in a cold blooded crime, but why. How could Two people, a mother and daughter, so close, grow so far apart to the point of no return. The elusive truth lies somewhere between a mother's struggle to raise a daughter alone and a daughter's need to be loved. Peter Van Sant reports on a once loving relationship that spun out of control down a road to destruction.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

This is interstate 10. Goes from coast to coast, from coast Florida to California. I think it's one of the most dangerous highways in the United States as far as criminals going up and down.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Sheriff Bruce Wilson says most of the trouble he sees in Pecos County, Texas drives off this stretch of highway.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

If I can stop them out here on the highway, I will not let them get into my tent and endanger the lives of other innocent people.

[Reporter/Investigator]

So back In July of 1998, when he heard car thieves were headed his way, he made sure he was first on the welcoming committee. He was on the lookout for two 19 year olds who stole a van a few days earlier in Tampa, Florida.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

They apparently were traveling west on Interstate 10.

[Reporter/Investigator]

The van's owner, 49 year old Vicki Robinson, hadn't been seen since foul play.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Was feared to be on the lookout for. So I'm coming over that hill right there.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Once the teens spotted the sheriff, they took off. As you can see on this police.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Video, the chase was on.

[Reporter/Investigator]

The missing woman, Vicki Robinson was was a real estate agent and active in her church. By all accounts, Vicki didn't have an enemy in the world. She was really one of the nicest.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Women that I had ever met in my life. Vicky was such a dynamic individual and she always seemed to have just that special joy about her and it was contagious.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Divorced, Vicki lived in this quiet Tampa neighborhood with her two teenage daughters. The youngest, Valessa, was 15.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

My mom was the best person in the world. Nobody can replace her. Nobody. You can't replace a person like that.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Vicki's other daughter, 17 year old Michelle.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

We all had a special friendship that a lot of mothers and daughters don't have.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Yay.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I wish that I could see her right now and give her a big hug and say, you know, I love you mom. I love you. I wish I could do that, but I can't.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Vicki was always positive and cheerful and vivacious. Just a joy to be around. Vicki's boyfriend, Jim Englert was the first to notice her missing and persuaded police to break into Vicki's home. Went into Vicki's bedroom.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

The bed was unmade. I said Vicki would not leave and.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Leave the bed unmade.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

She was very tidy and kept the house Always in immaculate condition.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Then there was a far more disturbing discovery. Major Gary Terry from the sheriff's office. Her van was determined to be missing, as was her daughter, Valessa Robinson, who.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Was age 15 at that time.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Police then realized they were dealing with a missing mother and daughter. So all points bulletins are out across the United States.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

A mother and daughter have been missing for several days now.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Tonight, police are working Vicki's credit union discovered that her bank card was being used and security cameras had recorded the transaction.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

We printed photographs. The photographs did reflect that it was her van and there was a young male using the card.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Police were able to identify the young man who was using Vicki Robinson's ATM card. Surprisingly, it was Adam Davis, the 18 year old boyfriend of Vicki's daughter, Valessa. A friend of Davis's, John Whispel, was seen with him. A manhunt began for the two suspects. But where were Vicki and Valessa Robinson? We thought we'd be getting a ransom note, you know. Vicki's parents figured they were being held hostage somewhere.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

All I could think of was, well, they, they've got Vicki someplace tied up.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Who's they?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Adam and John. And it never dawned on me that they'd hurt her. But then you have Hillsborough County 9 11, what is your emergency?

[Reporter/Investigator]

Police heard from an anonymous caller.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I got a phone call from Adam. Adam Davis.

[Reporter/Investigator]

It was a call that voiced everyone's worst fears.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

And they hit her mom. She got knocked unconscious and then they said that they killed her.

[Reporter/Investigator]

The caller said Vicki Robinson was dead, but Valessa was apparently alive. He said that Valessa was with him? Yes. And that she's okay now?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Yes.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Police didn't know what to believe. Was Valessa a hostage or an accomplice? All along, Vicki's credit union had been tracking the teen's whereabouts through her ATM car. But the police kept missing them. And now the teens were on the run. They're no longer in Tampa.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

They're in Mossy Head, Florida. Then they went into Alabama.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Five days after Vicki Robinson had vanished, activity on the card showed Valessa, her boyfriend. Adam and John were in Texas, traveling west.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

They're in Ozona, Texas.

[Reporter/Investigator]

They were just there 20 minutes ago. Sheriff Wilson knew they were headed his.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Way, probably thought they were home free.

[Reporter/Investigator]

So when the van came over the hill, he was ready.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Turned on the sirens. It was apparent that they were going to run. They tried to run us off the road. I told my deputy to start shooting out their tires. And when he done that, they lost control of the van.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Adam and John were in the van as expected.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Well, we had to jerk them out of the car. They wasn't getting out.

[Reporter/Investigator]

And so was Vicki Robinson's 15 year old daughter Valessa. Within minutes, Sheriff Wilson realized Valessa was was not a hostage victim.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I saw a girl that was very much there because she wanted to be and probably a girl that took just as big a part or a bigger part than the two boys.

[Reporter/Investigator]

What did Valessa do to her mother? Next statement will be made by Adam Davis. Adam, John and Valessa tell police what happened to Vicki Robinson. After a five day spending spree and a nine mile police chase, Adam Davis and John Whispel, both 19 years old, are behind bars in Fort Stockton, Texas. Adam's girlfriend, 15 year old Valessa Robinson is sitting in a nearby juvenile detention center.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Adam, come on, why don't you talk, bud?

[Reporter/Investigator]

You messed up, didn't you?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Adam?

[Reporter/Investigator]

And now, just hours after their arrest. Hey John, why'd you guys run?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Now's the time to talk. Now's the time to talk.

[Reporter/Investigator]

John Whispel has agreed to talk. John, talk to us bud, and answer the one question everyone wants answered.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Why don't you tell us about your involvement?

[Reporter/Investigator]

What happened to Vicki Robinson? A mother growing more and more distant from her daughter. A daughter drawn closer to her boyfriend Adam Davis and friend John Whispel. Three teens spending hours together doing drugs, videotaping themselves.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I'll take a tape statement from John Wispel.

[Reporter/Investigator]

John Whispel's confession starts at the beginning. He describes how they came up with their gruesome plan completely out of the blue.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I remember I was sitting in Denny's with Adam Ivalesa and I heard something about killing mother and I was like, there's no way we could actually do something like that.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Next, Wispel tells detectives it was Adam who came up with the bizarre plan of how to kill Vicki Robinson.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

We went back to the house, got in the van and tried to go down to get some heroin for an overdose. Somebody planned to overdose? Yes. Less as well? Yes.

[Reporter/Investigator]

But Whispel says he didn't really believe Adam was serious.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

No, it looked like it was a joke or something.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Even after Adam tried to buy heroin and couldn't find any. So even when you went back to the house in your mind you still thought they were sort of play acting, kidding around. Shortly after midnight, they returned to Valessa's house. Her mother was fast asleep.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

When we got to the house, we went straight to Valessa's bedroom. When we got in there, Valessa closed and locked the door, turned her light off and turned the black light on. We're just sitting around tripping. I'm thinking, well, damn, you know, ain't nothing gonna happen. We're actually gonna stay here and trip out on the black light.

[Reporter/Investigator]

The three teens had taken LSD earlier in the evening. Are all three of you high?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

We're starting to feel the effects of the acid. Yes, it's hitting us real good now.

[Reporter/Investigator]

At that point, John says Adam Davis came up with another idea of how to overdose Vicki Robinson.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

After a few minutes, he jumps up, turns around and says, I need some bleach.

[Reporter/Investigator]

That's right, bleach.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Blessed Zeich, what do you mean? And I look at him and say, what for? He said, so I can do this. So Adam takes a syringe, uncaps it, fills it up.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Around that time, Valessa's mother woke up and came into her bedroom.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Ms. Robinson's like, what are you guys still doing here? So she's like, vlessa, get your sleeping bag, you go and sit in my room. Ms. Robinson turned around from the doorway and walked into the kitchen. I done followed her out there.

[Reporter/Investigator]

You knew a murder was about to be committed and you kept your mouth shut.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I didn't know if he was gonna turn on me, if I would have said something.

[Reporter/Investigator]

John Whispel then describes the last few moments of Vicki Robinson's life.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

All of a sudden it was quiet. I mean, you could hear a pin drop.

[Reporter/Investigator]

And in chilling detail, he blames most of the murder on Valessa's boyfriend, Adam Davis.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

And the next thing we hear is choking, struggling noises meaning blessed. We look at each other and, and we run down to the kitchen, we see Ms. Robinson sitting on the ground. And Adam had it like this, a chokehold. She was coughing and, you know, struggling, trying to get away from him. Adam was trying to take the syringe and stick it in her neck.

[Reporter/Investigator]

John, why didn't you do something?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I don't know.

[Reporter/Investigator]

If you had tackled Adam, if you had done anything, you might have saved Vicki's life. Yes, but you didn't. In fact, John says he handed Adam a knife, then returned to Valessa's bedroom.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Valessa came in, sat down next to me, and all of a sudden I hear this like escaping of air, breath, something like that type of noise from the kitchen.

[Reporter/Investigator]

49 year old Vicki Robinson was dead. Once Whispel confessed, statement will be made by Adam Davis. Adam Davis agrees to give his own numbing description of what he did to Vicki Robinson.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

And I started raging because I was tripping so hard And John brought out the knife. He said, here, use this. And I don't know how I did it. I don't remember what was going through my mind when I did it, but I just sliced. That's it. Look, we need to clean this up. And we put her body in the trash can and then started cleaning up the blood.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Adam says they then loaded Vicki's body into her van and drove to a wooded area behind John's house.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

We put her down a trail, covered.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Her up some dried up palm trees. What's Valesa doing?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

She's just sitting in the van. She watched what we was doing.

[Reporter/Investigator]

What they did next disturbs investigators almost as much as the crime itself. After stealing Vicki Robinson's van and her money, they went on a five day spending spree buying clothes, drugs and tattoos.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Adam got a tattoo and I had gotten this tattoo right here. This is skull.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Vicki Robinson is. Her body is inside a garbage can. You guys are partying.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Basically, yes. They say you confessed.

[Reporter/Investigator]

After their confessions, Adam and John are charged with first degree murder. 15 year old Valessa Robinson is being held at this juvenile detention center in Odessa, Texas. When Valessa tells her version of what happened, detectives are stunned. Velesa claims Adam and John didn't kill her mother. She did. And she tells them she did it alone.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I had pinned her down before. I like stabbed her. I had to pin her down. I had stabbed her in her throat and she wasn't dead yet. And so I stabbed her again twice in her back.

[Reporter/Investigator]

It is a horrifying confession and now police don't know what to believe. We felt like she was absolutely involved in it, but she seemed to be protecting the other two individuals, especially Adam Davis. Melissa, did you actually take part in killing your mom?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I'm not answering any questions.

[Reporter/Investigator]

That day, Valessa is also charged with first degree murder.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

What about Adam? I love Adam.

[Reporter/Investigator]

What happened in Valessa's life to turn a once loving daughter into a teenager apparently involved in her own mother's murder? Do you wonder, how did I get here? How did this happen? Valessa's story when we come back.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

This episode is brought to you by cars.com on cars.com you can shop over 2 million cars. That means over 2 million new car possibilities. Like making space for your growing family. Becoming the type of person who takes spontaneous weekend camping trips or upgrading your commute wherever life takes you next. Or whoever you're looking to be. There's a car for that on cars.com visit cars.com to discover your next possibility. Here's Your chance, buddy. If I took the blame for everything. You messed up, didn't you, Adam? And he got out and continue on with his life. That was fine with me. Did you do it? Did you do it, Adam? How do you feel about Valencia? Because I was more concerned about his happiness than my own. What about Adam? I love Adam.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Although Valessa Robinson originally took the blame for her mother's murder.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I stabbed her in her throat and stabbed her again, twice in her back.

[Reporter/Investigator]

It was only a matter of a few months alone in prison, away from her 19 year old boyfriend, Adam Davis.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

That's my mom.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Before she had an abrupt change of heart. Describe Adam today.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I think he's the devil.

[Reporter/Investigator]

And a change in her story. Valessa, did you murder your mother?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

No, I did not. I did not do this.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Valessa now claims her boyfriend, Adam Davis, killed her mother while she was high on LSD in her bedroom.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I could have been a hero if I wanted to have been, but I didn't.

[Reporter/Investigator]

In fact, the only thing Valessa says she's guilty of is not rescuing her mother.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I didn't save her. And the one chance that I had to bail her out, I didn't. And it really sucks because I wish I had.

[Reporter/Investigator]

And for that, she has no explanation. What makes it even worse in a lot of people's minds is just the fact that you were there and you didn't do anything. How do you explain yourself?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I can't explain myself. I really. I hate myself for that. I hate myself that I didn't save my mom. As a child, she was full of laughter, full of love.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Everyone who knows Valessa, she always loved animals.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Not a malicious or vicious bone in her body.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Wonders how a child so innocent, just.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

A happy go lucky kid on a.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Skateboard, could turn into an out of control teenager somehow involved in her own mother's murder. For Michelle, her sister's troubles started at age 11, when her parents divorced.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

My sister took the divorce very hard. She changed a lot when that happened.

[Reporter/Investigator]

After the divorce, Valessa didn't see much of her father, Chuck Robinson. He moved out of state in search of a new sales job. I think when Vicki and I separated, she lost her father, you know, as far as she was concerned, her mother also wasn't around much. According to Valessa's friend, Christy Collins.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I'd get over there in the afternoon, her mom wouldn't get home till late at night and she'd leave early in the morning.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Vicki had a new job as a real estate broker and a busy social life.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

You know, I could call Valessa and her mom wasn't home. And she didn't have to ask her mom if she wanted to go anywhere. She just went places because her mom wasn't there to ask.

[Reporter/Investigator]

When Valessa was just 12 years old, she was even allowed to join a rock band with men in their 20s. That's when Valessa says she first started experimenting with drugs. In eighth grade, things only got worse. Valessa started skipping school and doing more drugs.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Acid was the main thing that we did. We also did ecstasy.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Valessa even started staying out all night.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

She was out of control pretty much. And I don't know what Vicki could have done differently.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Vicki's new boyfriend, Jim Englert, says Velesa was beyond discipline and Vicki was tired of it.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I mean, over and over and over.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Again, no matter what you said to.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Her, she was going to do what she wanted to do.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Then something happened during the summer after Valessa's eighth grade that Valessa's father says may have been a turning point. Vicki and Jim took a two week family vacation to Michigan. And when Valessa refused to go, Vicki just left her young daughter behind alone. I thought it was unconscionable. I thought it was nuts.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Of course not having Valessa.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Was a concern and if she was safe.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

But we did try to minimize that.

[Reporter/Investigator]

To some extent and enjoy our trip. For two whole weeks. Vicki Robinson never once called to check on her daughter. Valessa was just 14 years old. What do you think it said to Valessa when she was left behind? I think it said, hey, no one cares.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

No one gives a damn.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Shortly after that vacation, When Valessa started 9th grade, she met 18 year old Adam Davis.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

She started acting really weird. She always wanted to be around him and she kind of like separated from us.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Adam was living on the streets. His father was dead and his mother had abandoned him when he was 2. He was a high school dropout and a drug dealer. Lester, why on earth would you be attracted to a guy like that?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

He acted like he cared about me. I mean, that's why I started dating him in the first place is he acted like he really cared.

[Reporter/Investigator]

By the time Vicki realized things were out of control, Adam and Velesa had a devotion that bordered on obsession.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Looking back, I realized that he had this overwhelming control over me. He definitely had a obvious influence over her. Some kind of a power. Sick power. A sick person.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Why didn't your mother look you in the eye and just say, valessa, it's over between you and Adam. I don't ever want you to see him again.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I think she was afraid that if she stepped in, put her foot down and said, you're not seeing this guy anymore. I think she was afraid that I'd leave and I probably would have. I probably would have. Thank you, girls.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Finally, Vicki Robinson took action. Without telling Valessa, she made plans to send her daughter to a year long program for troubled teens called Stepping Stone.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I had no idea she never talked.

[Reporter/Investigator]

To you about it.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

She never talked to me about sending me anywhere except for my dad's.

[Reporter/Investigator]

But just ten days before Valessa was scheduled to start the Stepping Stone program.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Happy birthday to you.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Vicki Robinson was murdered.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I wish with all my heart that she was alive.

[Reporter/Investigator]

And now it's up to a jury to decide the fates of Adam Davis and Vanessa Robinson.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

State of Florida versus Adam William Davis.

[Reporter/Investigator]

That's next. 49 year old Vicki Robinson, divorced mother of two teenage girls, is found viciously murdered in her Tampa, Florida home nearly two years later. There is so much about the case that remains a mystery, but especially what role, if any, her 15 year old daughter Valessa played in the crime. Valessa and her mother had an increasingly strained relationship. Valencia admits that she probably would have run away if her mother tried to get between her and her boyfriend, Adam Davis. For the jurors, the truth about Vicki Robinson's murder is being sought in a maze of shifting stories and conflicting confessions from three teenage friends. Peter Van Sant picks up the story.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Two minutes pounds the top of the hour.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Not a gate rock the bubble up sponge show. What kind of psycho 15 year old.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Would ever want to kill your mom?

[Reporter/Investigator]

I think they ought to fight the tomorrow.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I know that what they did is horrible, wrong and they deserve whatever the law gives them.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Valessa Robinson, having celebrated her past two birthdays behind bars, has had plenty of time to hear what most people think of her.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

They think I'm like some horrible person that hurt her mom, doesn't care.

[Reporter/Investigator]

But it's the jury she's about to face on charges of killing her own mother that 17 year old Valessa is most worried about. Valessa is relying on this woman, her defense lawyer, to convince a jury she's not a monster. Did Valessa kill her mother?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

No, she did not.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Did she participate in any way in her mother's murder? She did not as a mother of three girls.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Hey, how about a kiss for your mother?

[Reporter/Investigator]

Deanne Athan has taken a special interest in Valessa beyond her call of duty as a public defender. What is it about Valessa that's touched your heart?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

She's a child. She could be my child. Win the case. When I look at my children's faces, you can do it. I see her and I want to protect her.

[Reporter/Investigator]

D.N. athan's defense strategy is simple. To paint 18 year old Adam Davis as a manipulative, dangerous drug dealer and Valessa as the young, vulnerable child who is under his spell. And that's Deanne's answer to the question she knows jurors will be asking. How could Valessa willingly go on the run with her mother's killers? In search of answers, Deanne retraces the wild road trip that ended in Texas with Valessa's capture.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I'm heading down the highway here. I'm listening to Shania Twain. She's singing I'm holding on to love to save my life. And I'm thinking that's what Vlessa was doing. She was holding on to love to save her life. I'm holding on to love to save my life. The words of that song totally describe her dependence on Adam. She would have done anything for him. They went down over there on that embankment.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Mm.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

She was so in denial about what he had done to her mother. Traveling all those days with Adam and fearing him, wanting to love him, depending on him, and then ending up here. And the hope is that the jury can understand all of that and decide what's the truth here. Now you're approaching the scene where we made the arrest. And sheriff, who was the driver of that van? Adam Davis.

[Reporter/Investigator]

On November 3, 1999, a year and a half after Vicki Robinson was murdered, the young man who says he cut her throat goes on trial.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Adam Davis grabs the knife again and says the won't die.

[Reporter/Investigator]

The evidence against Adam Davis is overwhelming. Not only do prosecutors have Davis confession to the murder.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I don't know how I did it, but I just sliced.

[Reporter/Investigator]

They also have John Whispel.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Then what happened? Adam's still trying to get to kneeling in, but he couldn't.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Wispel agrees to testify against his best friend in exchange for a plea bargain.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

And how much time were you sentenced to total? 25 years.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Wispel implicates Davis in each and every step of the murder.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

The idea of overdosing with heroin came up. And whose idea was that? Adams. And when I handed him the knife, he used it and cut her right here on the left hand side. He stabbed her here and here and tried to break her neck. May I step down, Mr. Wispel?

[Reporter/Investigator]

The defense rests without calling a single witness. In less than two hours, there's A verdict.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

You will publish the verdict. State of Florida v. Adam William Davis. The defendant is guilty of murder in the first degree as charged.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Six weeks later, Adam Davis, abandoned as a child, is sentenced to death.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Adam, do you have anything to say to Mrs. Robinson? Adam, are you afraid to die?

[Reporter/Investigator]

And now it's Valessa's turn to face a jury.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

It's scary. It's made me really nervous.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Valessa will claim she was not in the room while her mother was murdered.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I could never hurt my mother. Never.

[Reporter/Investigator]

But the state's star witness is about to say something entirely different.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

When I came out of the bedroom, I seen Ms. Robinson laying on the ground and Valessa sitting on top of her straddled.

[Reporter/Investigator]

And there is no question in your mind you absolutely saw that?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

That's what I saw.

[Reporter/Investigator]

What exactly did Valessa do that night? And who is the jury to believe? Velesa, on your mother's memory, on everything you hold precious, are you telling me you are innocent?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I am.

[Reporter/Investigator]

When we come back, I'm investigator Slater.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Host of the Cyclopedia True crime podcast. Spooky season is officially here and for the entire month of October, we are transforming into Spookopedia. All episodes, including bonus content, will delve.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Into true crime with a dark twist.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Blending the spooky, creepy, gory and the haunted. No matter the story we cover, by the end of each episode, you are.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Going to feel it.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Make sure to follow and listen to Cyclopedia everywhere you get your podcasts. I didn't have a part in this. I would never do anything to hurt my mom.

[Reporter/Investigator]

As Vanessa Robinson's trial gets underway.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Well, can we believe Valessa? I don't know.

[Reporter/Investigator]

The sides are quickly drawn.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I believe she needs to be punished for what she did.

[Reporter/Investigator]

On one side, Vicki's parents, Valessa's grandparents.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Because I don't feel she should be able to walk the street again. We're afraid if she gets out, she'll come into Michigan and try to kill us. You know, I mean, she's just a killer.

[Reporter/Investigator]

On the other, her father.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

One thing my child is not, she's not a murderer. And sister, I looked her in the eye and I said, did you. Did you do it? Did you kill my mom? Did you kill our mom? And she said, no. And she looked me right in the eye. And only a sister knows that look. So I didn't get you dressed.

[Reporter/Investigator]

To influence the jury, the defense presents a made over Valessa for court.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I am very nervous. I want her to look like the young, sweet, charming, engaging teenager that she is.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Deann Athan hopes to prove that Valessa was in another room, drugged on LSD when Adam Davis and John Whispel killed her mother.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

The evidence will show that Adam Davis murdered her mother. Sexter drugged her and dragged her halfway across the country.

[Reporter/Investigator]

If the jury believes her, Valessa could be acquitted and walk free.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Ladies and gentlemen, it's real simple. These men, these men murdered her mother and she is not guilty.

[Reporter/Investigator]

But if they believe that Valessa did participate in the murder of Vicki Robinson in any way, 17 year old Valessa could spend the rest of her life behind bars.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

That's my life. My life is going to be in their hands. We have no doubt you will convict Vlessa Robinson of this murder.

[Reporter/Investigator]

There is no physical evidence against Valessa. No fingerprints, no DNA.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I'm taking a tape statement from Valessa Robinson.

[Reporter/Investigator]

So the prosecution builds its case on Valessa's confession.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Stabbed her in her throat.

[Reporter/Investigator]

And the eyewitness account of their star witness, John Whispel. What was it like to see Valessa again?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Hard. I couldn't look at her.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Wispel opens with a bombshell.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

All of a sudden she gets happy smiles, jumps up and down, says, let's kill my mom. Me and Adam, we're shot, we're like, what? She's like, let's kill my mom.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Wispel tells the courtroom Valessa not only wanted her mother dead, she also helped kill her.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

And what was Valessa doing? She was sitting on her mom's legs, like, you know, straddled around the knees.

[Reporter/Investigator]

John, I gotta ask you, are you absolutely certain that you saw Valessa holding her own mother down?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Yes, I did. And did you ever see her striking her mom? Uh, after Adam got the needle in, took it out or whatever, about a minute after she was, you know, hitting her mom's stomach.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Wispel's testimony is overwhelming.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Your attorneys were able to get you a deal, right? You are not facing the death penalty, right?

[Reporter/Investigator]

Right. Valessa doesn't take the stand, so Deanne Athan builds her defense by attacking Whispel's credibility.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Do you want this jury to believe that Adam Davis called for this little girl, this little thing here, to sit on her mother and he didn't call you? That's right. You've looked at your transcript of your statement, right? That's right.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Deann reminds Wispel that his story has changed since he first confessed to police.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

You didn't tell the officers that Valessa was jumping up and down and saying, let's kill my mom, did you? No. And you didn't tell them that she sat on her mom's legs, did you? No. In fact, you didn't tell them that she was doing anything, did you? No.

[Reporter/Investigator]

How would you describe John Whispel's testimony?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I think it's a pack of lies. I don't know why he's saying what he's saying.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Valesa says you're a bold faced liar.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Well, if I'm a bold faced liar, then I swear to let God strike me down. Now you know, because everything I said was all the truth.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Velissa, did you suggest to Adam Davis and John whisper, let's kill my mom?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

No, I didn't.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Did you hold down?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

No.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Your mother's body?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Mm.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Mm.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I didn't want my mom to be gone. I didn't want to lose my mom.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Who is to be believed? John Whispel.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

John Whispel is a liar and not to be believed.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Or Valessa Robinson?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

It was no one's idea but hers, and she could have stopped it at any time.

[Reporter/Investigator]

When we come back now, we just.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Wait and wait and wait and see what happens.

[Reporter/Investigator]

The surprise verdict.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Jury's deliberating. They're trying to find a verdict. Getting really intense. Scary.

[Reporter/Investigator]

With her fate in the hands of a jury, Valessa Robinson can only wait.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Please, Lord, just let that jury come back with a not guilty. Please, Lord. She's a kid. She's scared to death. I'm a big kid. I'm scared to death.

[Reporter/Investigator]

The panel of six men and six women will decide if the 17 year old is guilty or not guilty of first degree. It's an agonizing wait for her father, her sister and her attorney.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Oh, boy. My hope for less is that she gets out and that we can give her the help that she needs.

[Reporter/Investigator]

But as the hours turn to days, they prepare for the worst. After deliberating for almost 18 hours over three days, the jury finally reaches a verdict.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

State of Florida v. Walesa Lynn Robinson. We the jury found as follows. As to count one of the indictment, the defendant is guilty of murder in the third degree.

[Reporter/Investigator]

If she had been convicted of first degree murder, 17 year old Valessa Robinson would have been sentenced to life. But instead she gets 20 years.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I want her serving every bit of it.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Ever want her to see her get out on parole.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

She's got to pay for her sin.

[Reporter/Investigator]

In the end, jurors weren't convinced that Valessa planned or participated in the murder of her mother. Honestly, you couldn't ask for anything better.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Other than an acquittal.

[Reporter/Investigator]

A mother murdered her daughter behind bars. Are there any lessons to be learned from a tragedy that makes so little sense? What do you wish your mother had done differently in raising you?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I wish that she had disciplined me more. I wish she had laid down the rules, told me, you know, this is what you can do, this is what you can't do. I needed that discipline. It's kind of like assurance. I think Vicki just got tired of disciplining her because she was very willful. And Vicki just said, you know, I give up. Do what you want to do. And basically Valessa did whatever she wanted to do.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Do you feel as though you let Vlessa do down? Sure. I think had that divorce not happened, Vicki would still be alive, Walesa wouldn't be in jail, and Adam Davis wouldn't.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Be anywhere near my family.

[Reporter/Investigator]

What if someone has a teen that is. That is doing drugs and may even have a boyfriend like Adam? What should they do? What should their parents do?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

They need to be there for them, see that there's something wrong going on and if it's possible, get them away from the crowd that they're around.

[Reporter/Investigator]

That, of course, was Vicki Robinson's intention. But it was too little, too late. Just 10 days before Valessa was to enter a program that may have saved her, Vicki Robinson was murdered.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I wish to God that I could.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Just bring her back away from drugs, away from Adam Davis. Would Valessa's story have had a different ending? In this whole tragic case where three teenagers retreated into their own destructive, murderous world, One thing is clear. The courts may satisfy our need for justice, but they're not designed to solve a family's problems. Vicki Robinson, a mother going it alone, aware she had lost control. Valessa, a daughter with more and more control but ill equipped to handle it. Both were desperate, both in need of help. In the end, everyone lost. The family and friends of the victim, Vicki Robinson have set up a foundation in her memory to help parents who are struggling with troubled children to find residential treatment programs, counseling and parental support groups. Justice has been served in this case, but for all of us, there is so much more to do. In 2013, Belessa Robinson was released from prison after serving 13 years of her 20 year sentence. John Whispel was released from prison in 2019. In 2021, Adam Davis death sentence was reduced to life in PR streaming October 26th on Paramount. Plus, it's the epic return of mayor of Kingstown. Warden, you know who I am, Starring Academy Award nominee Jeremy Renner. I swear in these walls, Emmy Award winner Edie Falco.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

You're an ex con who ran this place for years. And now.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Now you can't do that. And BAFTA award winner Lenny James, you're.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

About to have a plague of outsiders.

[Reporter/Investigator]

Descend on your town.

[Narrator/Interviewer]

Let me tell you this, this.

[Reporter/Investigator]

There's gonna be consequences. Mayor of Kingstown new season streaming October 26th on Paramount plus the Secrets Out. May I speak freely?

[Narrator/Interviewer]

I prefer English.

[Reporter/Investigator]

The Naked God is now streaming on Paramount plus. I've seen it a hundred times. It's a return to comedic glory. A little lower. A return to comedic glory? That's awesome. The naked God of PG 13 now streaming on Paramount Plus.