Roberta “Robin” Ray Armtrout, a 24-year-old white female from Linden, California, was found murdered on September 8, 1985. Her body was discovered in Potter’s Creek, just outside the small town of Linden in San Joaquin County. Robin had last been seen on September 4, 1985, getting into a red truck with two unidentified men near her mother’s home in east Stockton. One of the men was described as tall and thin.
Her disappearance sparked immediate concern among her family, particularly her sister, who recalled Robin’s generous spirit and troubled past.
The white female victim’s body bore signs of extreme violence. She had been raped and stabbed 46 times before being left face down. The brutality of the attack was compounded by the presence of obscenities carved into her lower abdomen and wrist—tattoos that ultimately helped confirm her identity. Robin’s death was not only a personal tragedy for her family but also became part of a broader investigation into a series of murders that would later be linked to two men known as the “Speed Freak Killers.”
Investigators eventually connected Robin Armtrout’s murder to Loren Herzog and Wesley Shermantine, two childhood friends from the area who were later implicated in a methamphetamine-fueled killing spree across Central California. Although Robin’s murder was never officially solved in court, authorities strongly suspected the involvement of these two men. Loren Herzog, who was known by the nickname “Slim,” told investigators that Shermantine owned the red truck seen at the time of Robin’s disappearance and had killed her. However, Herzog’s account lacked sufficient detail to charge Shermantine directly in her case.
Loren Herzog was ultimately charged with Robin’s murder, among others. During his trial, prosecutors described the killing as a hate crime and an act of “overkill.” Herzog was also charged with four additional murders, including those of Cyndi Vanderheiden, Howard King, Paul Cavanaugh, and Henry Howell. Shermantine, meanwhile, was convicted in 2001 of four murders, including the 1985 killing of another young woman, Chevelle “Chevy” Wheeler, and was sentenced to death. Herzog, who had admitted to being present at several of the killings but blamed Shermantine for the actual murders, was also convicted and later died by suicide in 2012.
Although Roberta “Robin” Ray Armtrout, a 24-year-old white female, was never officially listed among the confirmed victims of the Speed Freak Killers, her case remains closely associated with their legacy. Her family continues to mourn her loss and seek closure in a case that, despite strong suspicions and partial confessions, has never been fully resolved in a court of law.
