Pipkin murder suspect will stay in jail, solicitor motion continued

A 47-year-old man charged with murder in the disappearance of an Aynor woman remains jailed after his motion for bond was continued.

Randy Gale Robinson, charged with the January 2014 murder of Angie Pipkin, stood in front of the judge Tuesday.

Judge Steven John continued the motions for bond and removal of the solicitor’s office at the Horry County Courthouse in Conway. A new court date for both motions will be set after at least 30 days, John said.

For the Pipkin family, the delay is just time for more grief.

“They’re just trying to get more time, they’re just procrastinating,” said Taylor Pipkin, Angie Pipkin’s daughter.

“The way I feel about him, he’s wrong,” she added. “My family is hurting, there’s this darkness, and it’s made our lives much more difficult.”

Robinson’s defense attorney, Morgan Martin, filed a motion last month after Christopher Helms, who was previously a public defender on Robinson’s case, was recently hired by the 15th Judicial Circuit Solicitor’s Office.

“We believe the mere fact that Helms and Robinson had a personal relationship is enough,” Martin said.

Helms met with Robinson once after Pipkin disappeared but before he was arrested, Helms said during court. Helms met Robinson through a mutual friend who knew Helms was working as a public defender, and Helms was eventually appointed to Robinson.

Helms met with Robinson again at J. Reuben Long Detention Center after Robinson was charged with murder, and they “discussed certain matters,” Helms said. That meeting was in April 2014, and the two spoke on the phone “several times” afterward, he said.

Judge John closed the hearing to the public and media halfway through the hearing so Martin – Robinson’s attorney – could ask Helms what Robinson disclosed about the case. The hearing was closed for about 30 minutes.

“I believe there are some legal matters that need to be explored by the defense before we move forward,” John said about continuing the motions.

The motion for bond was withdrawn by Morgan, John said, but will be resubmitted at a later date.

“I’m ready to just be done and get this over with,” Taylor Pipkin said. “It’s like a never ending road to never getting closure.”

Robinson, who is also charged with obstruction of justice in the case, was arrested in March 2014 and is still being jailed at J. Reuben Long Detention Center. He is being held without bond for the murder charge and on $5,000 bond for the obstruction charge, according to jail records.

Authorities filed the obstruction charge after they said on Jan. 26, 2014 Robinson gave false, misleading or inaccurate information about Pipkin’s disappearance and his activities during the evening of Jan. 16, 2014, when Pipkin was last seen, police said.

Pipkin was reported missing by her mother, who told police that Pipkin’s father took her to the IGA grocery store in Aynor to meet a friend, and Robinson is listed in the original police report, but it is not clear if he was the friend Pipkin was planning to meet.

Her remains were found in May 2014 in a Florence County wooded area at a private hunting camp about five miles south of the U.S. 76 bridge over the Great Pee Dee River.

“We do want to thank the community for their support, and thanks for praying,” Taylor Pipkin said. “We really need a lot of that in our family.”

This story was originally published January 19, 2016 at 1:59 PM with the headline "Pipkin murder suspect will stay in jail, solicitor motion continued."