"We have Robert" warns $750,000 ransom note

All the Wiles family has left are memories, videos and voicemails to remind them of their beloved brother and son:

"Hey Mom, it's Robert. I just wanted to call and thank you for... Anyway, I hope you have a good weekend and a happy Easter, and I'll talk to you later."

"I'd give anything for - to hear him again. Just to touch him again," Pamela said tearing up [after listening to the voicemail from her son.]

Nearly four years after Robert Wiles went missing, the man accused of taking Robert from his family is about to hear his fate.

The jury spent only four hours deliberating.

"It was almost an adrenaline rush. I was shaking," said Tierney Wiles.

Then, the judge read the verdict: "We the jury find as follows as to count one of the charge - the defendant is guilty of manslaughter."

"It was clearly a compromise," defense attorney Howardene Garrett said. "When you have one side saying, 'He didn't do it at all,' and the other side saying, 'He did it, and it was kidnapping and premeditated and et cetera.' And then you get a verdict of manslaughter, that's a compromise verdict."

"Were you disappointed that it's manslaughter and not first-degree murder?" FBI agent Jim Bucenell.

"Not at all," he replied.

"It's like a high-five moment for all the members of the task force. Felt justice was served, with the exception of finding Robert Wiles," said Tommy Ray.

Surprisingly, Holt is found not guilty of kidnapping. But Robert's family knows he's going to prison.

"I'm very happy. I'm very happy he's going away," Audra Wiles told Van Sant outside of the courtroom.

"I was basically in disbelief. ... There's no evidence to support the conviction. I think the FBI failed to-- follow up on some unanswered questions with other people," Holt told Van Sant in their jailhouse interview. "I'm upset because I'm an innocent man convicted of manslaughter."

Six weeks later, at Holt's sentencing hearing, Tom Wiles addresses the court:

"Keep this man off the street, and maybe someway, somehow, somewhere he'll decide to tell us where, what he did - what he did with Robert ... We have a son ... We don't know where he is. We wanna bring him home. I wanna know where my son is," he said, choking back tears. Addressing the judge, he continued, "I'm sorry, I'm not doing very well..."

Then, it was Holt's turn to speak:

"Thank you, Your Honor. As everyone else has done, my heart goes out the Wiles family ... I still maintain my innocence. I have from the beginning."

"They're probably hopin' that I'm gonna tell them where to find Robert. And I just do not have that information," Holt told Van Sant in his jailhouse interview.

"He knows. He knows what happened to my brother," Audra said. "Why doesn't he just come out and say it? Why don't you just tell us, you know? Just, just tell us. What's it gonna hurt anybody? You're already done."

The Wiles family isn't buying Holt's story and neither is Judge Donald Jacobsen.

"A young man, Robert Wiles, is dead as a result of the actions of Mr. Holt," Judge Jacobsen addressed the court. "...in what appears to be, in my mind, a failed attempt at an extortion."

Holt is sentenced to a total of 30 years in prison for manslaughter and extortion.

"Toby didn't do this. I know he didn't do this," his ex-wife, Beverly, said. "To be taken away just because he had affairs and he can't account for an alibi I think is just ridiculous ... Toby would never ever take a life."

Despite Holt's conviction, Robert's mother still has unanswered questions.

"I can't imagine just one person bein' a part of this," she told Van Sant. "I believe there was a plot. ... Right now, it's a mystery. A mystery to be solved."

With Robert's body not yet found, no remains yet buried, no memorial service yet held, one yearning never dies.

"Do I hope every day that he's still alive? Absolutely," Tom Wiles said. "I'd give everything I have, everything I could borrow or steal or anything else to get him back."

"You have no idea how awesome it would be," said Tierney, "if he just walked through the door. We would all lose it. Oh my gosh. Give anything for that to happen."

"Do you ever dream of your brother?" Van Sant asked Audra.

"Yes. All the time," she replied, smiling. "One of my favorite ones is of him taking me out on the boat. And he's smiling... He's so happy in my dreams. That's what gets me through, 'cause I know wherever he is, he's happy."

Toby Holt is appealing his conviction based on insufficient evidence.

Holt is currently scheduled for release in 2039. He will be 72 years old.

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[brorip]

ERROR ALERT:

I think the following paragraph should change the word "clued" to "glued."

From that point on, an FBI agent was CLUED to Tom's side and the family's personal life was being examined closely.

Otherwise, good article.