00:00:00
wealthy businessman casey parker has
00:00:03
been murdered
00:00:04
you and a dedicated team of private
00:00:06
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case
00:00:10
the only problem the suspect list is
00:00:12
long and the list of potential evidence
00:00:15
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who can you trust
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same victim different crime
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case file truth and deception is 100
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fictional and not based on any real life
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[Music]
00:01:54
our episodes deal with serious and often
00:01:56
distressing incidents if you feel at any
00:01:58
time you need support please contact
00:02:00
your local crisis center for suggested
00:02:02
phone numbers for confidential support
00:02:04
please see the show notes for this
00:02:06
episode on your app or on our website
00:02:10
[Music]
00:02:15
newlyweds robbie and john homan were a
00:02:17
perfect match
00:02:19
they lived a happy and modest life in
00:02:21
marlow a rural town in the northeast u.s
00:02:24
state of new hampshire
00:02:26
the climate there suited the homans as
00:02:28
36 year old robbie loved the cold
00:02:32
when it snowed she and john would take
00:02:34
their snowmobiles out through the woods
00:02:36
that surrounded their small home or curl
00:02:39
up by the fire and read books
00:02:42
but their idyllic life was interrupted
00:02:44
in early 1982 when robbie began
00:02:47
suffering from migraines fatigue
00:02:49
blackouts and memory loss
00:02:52
a few years earlier robbie had been
00:02:54
diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor
00:02:58
initially the symptoms were mild but the
00:03:00
tumor itself was incurable and robbie
00:03:03
was aware she would eventually succumb
00:03:05
to the disease
00:03:08
as her condition worsened she sought the
00:03:10
opinions of local doctors
00:03:13
there was a clinic in dallas texas that
00:03:15
was offering an experimental treatment
00:03:17
that might help her
00:03:20
robbie was willing to give it a chance
00:03:24
in september 1982 robbie left her
00:03:27
secretarial job to undergo the
00:03:29
experimental treatment
00:03:32
john was supportive of his wife's plan
00:03:35
though uncertain when or if she would
00:03:37
return
00:03:39
luckily robbie would be in good hands
00:03:42
her identical twin sister terry martin
00:03:45
was going to care for her
00:03:48
terry only lived a short distance from
00:03:50
the clinic meaning robbie could stay
00:03:52
with her while she received treatment in
00:03:54
texas
00:03:56
months passed and the treatment proved
00:03:59
unsuccessful
00:04:01
as robbie's hopes for survival dwindled
00:04:04
she wrote a letter to her sister
00:04:05
stipulating her wishes in the event of
00:04:08
her passing
00:04:10
i'm afraid i won't make it home at red
00:04:14
i want so much to see my john again and
00:04:17
i know you have been torn between my
00:04:19
wishes and what you feel is right but i
00:04:22
don't want him to see me like this
00:04:26
i'm trying to hold on until december but
00:04:29
though my mind tells me not to give in
00:04:32
my body is too tired to listen
00:04:36
robbie went on to apologise for any
00:04:39
hardship terry had endured in caring for
00:04:41
her and expressed gratitude for how
00:04:43
wonderful her sister had been
00:04:46
she wrote of her love for terry as well
00:04:49
as john adding
00:04:51
i hope i will wake up one morning and
00:04:54
everything will be better but this is
00:04:56
just in case things go wrong
00:04:59
there is to be no funerals or memorials
00:05:03
i don't want either of you to waste time
00:05:05
grieving for me
00:05:07
life is too valuable and it doesn't last
00:05:10
that long
00:05:12
time is a slow healer but i know that
00:05:15
eventually it does heal
00:05:17
just keep that in mind terry
00:05:20
everything passes
00:05:22
just please take care of john
00:05:27
robbie wrote the date at the top of the
00:05:29
page
00:05:30
november 10 1982
00:05:34
she died the next day
00:05:43
[Music]
00:05:53
[Music]
00:06:02
the following day john homan stood alone
00:06:05
at boston airport
00:06:07
terry martin was now on route from texas
00:06:09
to meet with him as per robbie's wishes
00:06:13
because they lived so far apart john had
00:06:16
never met terry before but knew she and
00:06:19
robbie had been close
00:06:21
the twins wrote to each other often and
00:06:23
spoke on the phone nearly every day
00:06:27
in the letter robbie wrote prior to her
00:06:29
passing she expressed her hope that
00:06:32
terry would one day be friends with the
00:06:34
john
00:06:35
adding
00:06:37
if it doesn't upset jon too much please
00:06:40
stay with him as long as he needs you
00:06:42
he is so kind and you need a friend like
00:06:45
him and i think he will need you
00:06:48
[Music]
00:06:50
when john saw terry for the first time
00:06:53
he was brought to tears
00:06:55
while terry had a slimmer build than
00:06:57
robbie and her hair was blonde the
00:07:00
resemblance was still uncanny
00:07:03
at john's invitation terry decided to
00:07:06
stay with him in the home he had once
00:07:07
shared with robbie
00:07:10
the pair then visited the office of the
00:07:12
county newspaper
00:07:15
terry tearfully handed over a piece of
00:07:17
paper to the editorial assistant
00:07:19
explaining that she needed to have an
00:07:21
obituary printed
00:07:24
the assistant was surprised
00:07:26
usually funeral homes organized the
00:07:28
publication of obituaries
00:07:31
terry explained that her sister hadn't
00:07:34
gone to a funeral home
00:07:36
robbie had requested that her remains be
00:07:38
donated for medical research
00:07:42
robbie homan's obituary was printed the
00:07:45
following day
00:07:47
when employees at the office where
00:07:49
robbie had worked read it they were
00:07:51
shocked
00:07:52
this was the first they had heard that
00:07:54
she died
00:07:57
robbie had given the impression that she
00:07:59
would eventually return to work and even
00:08:01
left her belongings behind
00:08:04
a framed photograph of john still sat on
00:08:06
her desk
00:08:09
yet robbie's boss had seen the toll that
00:08:11
her brain tumor took on her in the
00:08:13
months before she left for dallas
00:08:16
her warm and bubbly personality faded as
00:08:19
she was overcome with pain
00:08:22
her face grew gaunt
00:08:24
dark rings formed under her eyes and she
00:08:27
was sometimes seen crying
00:08:30
when her boss learnt of robbie's passing
00:08:33
he thought it was quote
00:08:35
a rotten thing but probably the best for
00:08:39
her
00:08:44
meanwhile terry martin settled in with
00:08:46
her brother-in-law john homan
00:08:49
before long she had seemingly taken
00:08:52
robbie's place
00:08:54
when terry expressed plans to
00:08:56
permanently relocate to marlow to live
00:08:59
with jon his family were confused
00:09:03
but john made it clear that they had a
00:09:05
purely platonic friendship founded on
00:09:07
their mutual grief over robbie's death
00:09:11
terry wasn't like robbie anyway
00:09:14
john homan was an introvert with few
00:09:16
friends matching robbie who was quiet
00:09:19
and reserved
00:09:21
those who met terry found her talkative
00:09:23
and outgoing
00:09:25
terry also spent her spare time watching
00:09:28
television while robbie had hated tv and
00:09:31
preferred to read
00:09:34
despite these differences terry said she
00:09:36
and her twin sister had shared a special
00:09:39
bond
00:09:40
they could sense when the other was in
00:09:42
emotional or physical pain
00:09:45
she remarked that losing robbie was like
00:09:48
having a part of you die
00:09:52
like robbie terry was a trained
00:09:54
secretary and wanted to find a job so
00:09:57
she could contribute to her and john's
00:09:59
living costs
00:10:01
john suggested that she visit the same
00:10:03
employment agency that had secured a
00:10:05
position for robbie
00:10:07
terry agreed and although she didn't
00:10:10
perform as well on the typing and
00:10:12
shorthand test as her sister had she
00:10:14
found a job as an executive secretary at
00:10:17
a book printer
00:10:20
she soon paid a visit to her sister's
00:10:22
former employer
00:10:24
terry walked into the office with the
00:10:26
john and introduced herself to the staff
00:10:30
they were stunned as they had no idea
00:10:33
that robbie's twin was now living in
00:10:35
marlow
00:10:37
one of robbie's best friends showed
00:10:39
terry around pointing out the desk where
00:10:42
robbie had worked
00:10:45
an employee named sandra missed terry as
00:10:47
she toured the building but caught up
00:10:49
with her just as she was saying goodbye
00:10:53
sandra asked her colleagues what was
00:10:55
going on
00:10:57
another woman filled her in saying
00:11:01
that's robbie's twin sister terry martin
00:11:04
she wanted to see where robbie worked
00:11:07
in response sandra exclaimed
00:11:13
that's robbie
00:11:18
rumors ran rife amongst robbie's former
00:11:21
co-workers that terry was actually
00:11:23
robbie pretending to be her own twin
00:11:27
although terry was slimmer than robbie
00:11:29
had been there was no denying that she
00:11:31
had the same voice
00:11:33
she also had her sister's intelligence
00:11:36
and quick weird
00:11:38
terry's hair was not naturally blonde
00:11:40
but had been bleached fueling further
00:11:43
speculation that she was robbie in
00:11:45
disguise
00:11:47
others including robbie's former boss
00:11:50
found the idea preposterous
00:11:53
he urged his employees to stop gossiping
00:11:56
and to let robbie homan rest in peace
00:12:01
it wasn't just robbie's former
00:12:03
colleagues who thought terry was an
00:12:04
impostor
00:12:06
john horman's friends had also noticed
00:12:08
the bizarre similarities between robbie
00:12:11
and terry
00:12:13
terry chainsmoked the same uncommon
00:12:15
brand of cigarette that her sister had
00:12:17
and their handwriting was similar
00:12:21
terry like robbie didn't drink alcohol
00:12:24
both women also had gold caps on the
00:12:27
same teeth
00:12:30
one of john's friends broached the
00:12:32
sensitive topic with him
00:12:34
john listened respectfully but dismissed
00:12:37
his friend's concerns
00:12:40
he knew his wife better than anyone
00:12:43
there was no doubt in his mind that
00:12:45
robbie had died and terry martin was her
00:12:48
twin sister
00:12:51
some of robbie's former colleagues went
00:12:53
on a mission to uncover the truth
00:12:56
one re-read robbie's obituary and
00:12:59
noticed that listed her full name as
00:13:01
robbie l herman
00:13:04
this employee worked in personnel so she
00:13:07
knew that robbie actually went by her
00:13:09
middle name
00:13:11
her full name was the lindsay robbie
00:13:13
homan
00:13:16
other skeptics phoned to various
00:13:18
hospitals to find the facility that
00:13:20
robbie's body had been donated to
00:13:23
it was listed in her obituary as the
00:13:25
medical research institute in texas but
00:13:28
no such place existed
00:13:32
robbie's obituary also mentioned that
00:13:34
she had been a member of the sacred
00:13:36
heart church in the texan city of tyler
00:13:40
but tyler had no church by that name
00:13:45
the county police were notified of the
00:13:47
goings-on and were intrigued
00:13:51
one detective started checking births
00:13:53
deaths and marriages records for
00:13:55
documentation regarding robbie's passing
00:13:57
in texas
00:13:59
he didn't find any
00:14:02
the obituary also mentioned that robbie
00:14:05
and terry had been born in 1945 to hugh
00:14:08
and cindy grayson in albany new york
00:14:12
there were no birth records that matched
00:14:15
this information
00:14:16
[Music]
00:14:18
it begged the question
00:14:20
if robbie homan and terry martin never
00:14:22
existed
00:14:24
then who was the woman living with jon
00:14:26
homan
00:14:37
case file will be back shortly thank you
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it was a night like any other for case
00:16:07
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00:16:09
she ate dinner with her family talked to
00:16:12
the kids about school and then suddenly
00:16:14
she was gone off to play best fiends in
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her bedroom
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jess is currently on level 480.
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she is going on holiday soon and because
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best fiends
00:17:30
seven years earlier and one thousand
00:17:32
miles away a man named frank hilly fell
00:17:35
ill
00:17:36
frank lived in the town of aniston in
00:17:38
the southeastern state of alabama where
00:17:41
he worked as a shipping director at a
00:17:43
factory
00:17:44
what had started as regular headaches
00:17:46
gradually progressed to pain so intense
00:17:49
the 45 year old was often left in tears
00:17:54
frank went from being good-natured and
00:17:56
happy-go-lucky to quiet and withdrawn
00:18:00
then on friday may 16 1975 he suffered
00:18:05
severe stomach cramps while at work
00:18:08
believing he was burned out frank
00:18:10
excused himself and went home to recover
00:18:15
later that day frank developed a chills
00:18:17
and a fever
00:18:19
his wife marie called frank's doctor who
00:18:22
recommended he take aspirin and drink
00:18:24
fluids
00:18:26
this did a little to help
00:18:29
frank's symptoms intensified over the
00:18:31
weekend culminating in nausea vomiting
00:18:34
and diarrhea
00:18:36
by monday frank's fever had subsided but
00:18:39
he was still suffering abdominal pain
00:18:42
he was diagnosed with stomach flu and
00:18:45
prescribed medication to help his
00:18:47
digestive system
00:18:48
[Music]
00:18:50
news of frank's illness spread through
00:18:52
his workplace
00:18:54
colleagues noted that his condition
00:18:56
arose after a new drinking water system
00:18:59
was installed at the factory
00:19:02
they worried the supply had been
00:19:03
contaminated with wastewater from the
00:19:05
shop floor
00:19:08
staff were ordered to bring bottled
00:19:09
water from home until tests confirmed it
00:19:12
was safe to drink
00:19:15
meanwhile a week resting at home did not
00:19:18
help frank hilly
00:19:21
at 3 30 a.m on friday may 23
00:19:24
marie woke to find her husband's side of
00:19:27
the bed empty
00:19:29
she searched the house and after finding
00:19:31
no sign of him marie went outside
00:19:35
frank was in their front yard wearing
00:19:37
nothing but his underwear
00:19:40
he appeared confused as he wandered
00:19:42
about aimlessly
00:19:44
when marie called out to frank he turned
00:19:47
to her and asked
00:19:49
where's the car
00:19:53
it then became clear to marie that her
00:19:55
husband of 25 years no longer recognized
00:19:58
her
00:19:59
she rushed frank to the hospital
00:20:02
by this time his skin had turned yellow
00:20:05
and he had little energy to move
00:20:08
frank's delirium also worsened
00:20:12
at one point he picked up an imaginary
00:20:14
pen to ride on his bedsheets thinking he
00:20:17
was sitting at his office desk
00:20:20
marie called their 22 year old son mike
00:20:23
who lived interstate
00:20:25
the doctors can't seem to do anything
00:20:27
for frank marie told mike if he doesn't
00:20:30
get well he's going to die
00:20:35
mike arrived at the hospital two days
00:20:37
later
00:20:38
he went into frank's room to find his
00:20:40
mother sleeping in a chair and his
00:20:42
father still lying in bed
00:20:46
mike suddenly realized his father had
00:20:48
passed away in his sleep
00:20:52
an autopsy revealed that frank died from
00:20:54
kidney failure believed to have been
00:20:56
caused by infectious hepatitis
00:21:00
it was unknown how frank might have
00:21:02
caught the virus
00:21:06
his funeral was held two days after his
00:21:08
death
00:21:10
days later marie hilly started receiving
00:21:13
threats
00:21:18
it began with phone calls to the hilly
00:21:20
home
00:21:22
the caller would immediately hang up
00:21:24
when marie answered
00:21:26
other times they'd stay on the line but
00:21:28
remain silent
00:21:31
marie spoke of sensing that someone had
00:21:33
been in the backyard
00:21:35
then one day she arrived home to
00:21:37
discover some matured left out to thor
00:21:39
had been moved
00:21:41
nothing else appeared missing or out of
00:21:44
place
00:21:46
mike hilly had to make a three-hour
00:21:48
round trip to aniston to comfort his
00:21:50
mother and his fourteen-year-old sister
00:21:52
carol
00:21:54
however the hillies weren't the only
00:21:56
ones targeted
00:21:58
their neighbor a woman named doris ford
00:22:01
was also receiving nuisance phone calls
00:22:04
and thought an intruder had entered her
00:22:06
property
00:22:08
then just over three months after
00:22:10
frank's death doris noticed thick smoke
00:22:14
billowing from the hilly residence
00:22:17
marie hilly's mother had recently moved
00:22:20
into the home following a cancer
00:22:21
diagnosis and there were concerns she
00:22:24
might be trapped in the burning building
00:22:27
just as firefighters readied themselves
00:22:29
to rescue her marie and her mother drove
00:22:32
up to the house
00:22:34
they had been out running an errand
00:22:38
the fire was extinguished before it
00:22:40
inflicted any serious damage
00:22:44
a month later marie phoned the police
00:22:47
after smelling gas in her house
00:22:51
an officer arrived but was unable to
00:22:53
find evidence of a leak
00:22:56
next door the gas at doris ford's house
00:22:59
had also been meddled with
00:23:02
she noticed the switch on her outdoor
00:23:04
grill had been turned to the highest
00:23:06
setting
00:23:08
following this incident marie hilly
00:23:10
received another phone call
00:23:14
this time a man breathed heavily into
00:23:16
the receiver and said
00:23:19
i hope i have been scaring you before
00:23:22
hanging up
00:23:23
[Music]
00:23:26
over the next few months marie and doris
00:23:29
injured more attacks on their homes
00:23:32
windows were smashed and their screens
00:23:35
slashed
00:23:37
one night marie came home to find
00:23:39
someone had broken in and stole an
00:23:41
expensive jewelry and a handgun
00:23:44
she believed the culprit was an 18 year
00:23:47
old who lived in the street
00:23:49
police ruled him out
00:23:53
by mid 1977 frank hilly had been dead
00:23:56
for two years but his family was still
00:23:59
being harassed
00:24:01
in the early hours of friday july 22
00:24:04
marie woke to the smell of smoke
00:24:08
a small fire was burning in the
00:24:10
downstairs hallway closet
00:24:12
marie managed to extinguish it before it
00:24:15
took hold
00:24:18
two days later doris returned home to
00:24:20
find a fire had also started in a
00:24:22
hallway closet of her house
00:24:25
both marie and doris were unsure why
00:24:28
they were being targeted
00:24:30
they were friendly with one another but
00:24:32
had no other tyres
00:24:36
following the arson attacks marie
00:24:38
returned home to find an envelope
00:24:40
attached to her front door
00:24:43
it contained a note scrawled in tiny
00:24:45
block letters that read
00:24:48
you are going to be sorry if you don't
00:24:51
move
00:24:53
the letter was taken by the police and
00:24:56
marie took to sleeping with a crowbar
00:24:58
under her pillow
00:25:05
then in march 1979 marie received a
00:25:09
phone call
00:25:11
an unidentified man told her that frank
00:25:14
who had now been dead for well over
00:25:16
three years had owed him ten thousand
00:25:18
dollars in gambling debts
00:25:21
the man expected to be paid despite
00:25:24
frank's passing
00:25:26
he demanded a 5 000 down payment from
00:25:29
marie to be paid in cash
00:25:32
she was to place it in an envelope then
00:25:34
stash it behind cans of dog food in the
00:25:37
town's main supermarket
00:25:40
he gave marie a date and time for the
00:25:42
drop-off and told her if she didn't pay
00:25:45
he would come for her daughter carol
00:25:50
to marie this explained why the hillies
00:25:52
had been harassed and threatened in the
00:25:54
years since frank's death
00:25:57
on the day of the drop-off marie visited
00:26:00
the supermarket
00:26:02
she headed down the peck care aisle and
00:26:05
hid an envelope full of cash behind some
00:26:07
cans of dog
00:26:08
food then she left
00:26:13
a few people wandered down the aisle and
00:26:15
some paused to browse items
00:26:18
when the oil was empty a middle-aged man
00:26:21
wearing a suit and tie appeared
00:26:25
after checking the coast was clear he
00:26:27
headed to the dog food and began
00:26:29
searching the shelves
00:26:32
he moved some packs of kibble out of the
00:26:34
way put them back then turned his
00:26:36
attention to the tins
00:26:39
he pulled several aside and continued
00:26:42
his search
00:26:45
he was unaware that several undercover
00:26:47
police officers were watching
00:26:50
some were acting like regular shoppers
00:26:53
while others kept tabs on the goings-on
00:26:55
from unmarked cars outside
00:26:59
the drop was a sting operation
00:27:01
orchestrated by the fbi with marie hilly
00:27:04
willingly playing her part
00:27:08
the envelope she had stashed was full of
00:27:10
fake money
00:27:12
as the man in the suit was seemingly
00:27:15
looking for it a shopper turned into the
00:27:17
aisle and made eye contact with him
00:27:20
looking awkward the man thrust his hands
00:27:23
into his pants pockets and walked off
00:27:26
[Music]
00:27:28
as he hadn't found the envelope and
00:27:30
proved himself as the extortionist
00:27:32
officers had no grounds to stop him
00:27:36
they could only watch on as he left the
00:27:38
store
00:27:41
yet one recognized the man as a local
00:27:44
business owner named walter
00:27:46
clinton
00:27:48
police paid him a visit during which
00:27:51
walter denied looking for any cash at
00:27:53
the supermarket
00:27:55
ultimately there was nothing to charge
00:27:57
him with so the matter was dropped
00:28:01
the demands of the extortionist
00:28:03
targeting the hillies had not been met
00:28:07
as per his word carol hilly would be his
00:28:10
next target
00:28:17
nineteen-year-old carol was still living
00:28:19
at the family home while studying at a
00:28:21
local university
00:28:24
in april one of her younger friends
00:28:26
asked if carol would be their date to
00:28:28
prom
00:28:30
she accepted the offer
00:28:33
after the dance carol attended a party
00:28:36
where she drank a few cocktails and
00:28:38
smoked some cannabis
00:28:40
then she began to feel ill
00:28:45
thinking she had over-indulged carol
00:28:47
returned home and went to bed
00:28:51
the next day she was racked by waves of
00:28:53
nausea and vomiting
00:28:56
that afternoon carol was taken to the
00:28:58
hospital but all her tests came back
00:29:01
clear
00:29:03
over the following weeks carol was
00:29:05
plagued with abdominal cramps nausea
00:29:08
vomiting headaches and fevers
00:29:12
doctors couldn't pinpoint the problem
00:29:15
carol was offered a variety of
00:29:17
antibiotics and painkillers none of
00:29:20
which helped
00:29:22
the usually outgoing carol became
00:29:25
withdrawn depressed and hardly left the
00:29:27
house
00:29:29
her weight plummeted while her days were
00:29:32
spent sleeping
00:29:35
more hospital and doctor visits followed
00:29:39
it was suggested that carol's condition
00:29:41
was psychosomatic caused or aggravated
00:29:44
by a mental factor such as stress
00:29:48
one doctor believed she suffered from
00:29:50
anorexia and her symptoms were the
00:29:52
result of carol starving herself
00:29:56
at one point carol overdosed on
00:29:58
paracetamol in an attempt to end her
00:30:00
suffering
00:30:03
she was subsequently admitted to a
00:30:04
psychiatric facility where she was
00:30:06
prescribed sedatives and antidepressants
00:30:09
and given vitamin injections
00:30:13
during the stay carol's hands and feet
00:30:15
became numb and she had difficulty
00:30:17
walking
00:30:19
it got to the point where she couldn't
00:30:21
even feed herself as her extremities
00:30:24
were non-functional
00:30:26
her mother had to spoon feed carol baby
00:30:29
food which was easier to swallow
00:30:33
when carol suffered a fall marie decided
00:30:36
she'd had enough
00:30:38
it had been five months since carol's
00:30:40
ordeal started and she was only getting
00:30:43
worse
00:30:44
against the doctor's recommendations
00:30:47
marie removed carol from the facility
00:30:49
and took her to the nearby university of
00:30:52
alabama hospital for a second opinion
00:30:56
carol was promptly admitted to the
00:30:58
neurology ward
00:31:01
on the afternoon of wednesday september
00:31:03
19 marie was reading by carol's hospital
00:31:06
bed as her daughter slept
00:31:09
suddenly there was a knock at the door
00:31:13
marie answered and stepped into the hall
00:31:16
to speak with the visitors
00:31:19
they were police officers acting on a
00:31:21
warrant
00:31:23
marie hilly was placed under arrest
00:31:32
despite outwardly looking like a happy
00:31:34
couple tension had brewed between marie
00:31:36
and frank hilly in the years before his
00:31:39
death
00:31:40
marie's love of high fashion and her
00:31:42
desire to maintain a luxurious home
00:31:45
burned through their earnings
00:31:47
she also showered her children with
00:31:50
pricey gifts
00:31:52
frank was easygoing and went out of his
00:31:54
way to give marie anything she wanted
00:31:57
but the growing financial burden
00:31:59
strained their relationship
00:32:02
frank once told a friend that
00:32:05
marie can spend more money than anyone
00:32:08
she can spend more than i can make
00:32:12
the couple's friends and family knew
00:32:14
marie lived well beyond her means but
00:32:16
were powerless to stop her
00:32:19
she was adept at spinning lies and
00:32:22
making excuses to cover her tracks
00:32:26
following her husband's death marie
00:32:28
sought other means to satisfy her
00:32:30
expensive taste
00:32:33
her arrest followed the discovery that
00:32:35
she had written bad checks to a
00:32:37
furniture company and obtained six and a
00:32:39
half thousand dollars under false
00:32:41
presences from a bank
00:32:44
these were just two examples of a year's
00:32:46
worth of fraudulent activity conducted
00:32:49
by marie hilly
00:32:51
she owed thousands to local businesses
00:32:54
and was behind on loan repayments
00:32:57
she'd even gotten her son into debt
00:32:59
using him to co-sign multiple loans that
00:33:02
she never repaid
00:33:05
when marie failed to appear at a hearing
00:33:07
for a fraud charge contempt of court was
00:33:10
added to her rap sheet
00:33:14
the extent of marie's financial woes
00:33:16
raised questions about the
00:33:18
four-year-long harassment campaign waged
00:33:20
against her family
00:33:23
significant investigations had been
00:33:25
conducted to identify the perpetrator
00:33:28
but they went nowhere
00:33:31
a lieutenant later told the anniston
00:33:33
star newspaper
00:33:36
there was a point in time when marie
00:33:38
would call me almost daily to report
00:33:41
something
00:33:42
harassing phone calls people coming to
00:33:44
her home people stealing trivial things
00:33:49
after a period of time things didn't
00:33:51
make sense
00:33:55
a trace was placed on the hilly's phone
00:33:57
line
00:33:58
it revealed that one of the nuisance
00:34:00
calls marie received was from a pay
00:34:03
phone outside her house every other time
00:34:07
investigators tried to trace calls to
00:34:09
the hilly home the calls would suddenly
00:34:11
stop
00:34:13
as soon as the tracing device was
00:34:15
removed marie alerted police that the
00:34:18
calls had started up again
00:34:21
a trace was also placed on the phone
00:34:23
line of her neighbour doris ford as she
00:34:26
had also received nuisance calls
00:34:29
one no talk call made to doris was found
00:34:32
to have originated from the office where
00:34:34
marie worked as a secretary
00:34:39
investigators came to suspect that marie
00:34:41
had orchestrated her own torment as a
00:34:43
means of receiving insurance payouts
00:34:47
tried unsuccessfully to sue the alabama
00:34:50
gas company for 75 000
00:34:53
following claims of a lake and received
00:34:56
money after the fires that damaged her
00:34:58
home
00:35:00
in november 1977 carol's car was stolen
00:35:04
from a shopping mall car park
00:35:06
it was found two hours later on fire
00:35:11
marie collected an insurance claim that
00:35:13
she had taken out on the vehicle shortly
00:35:16
before it had been allegedly stolen
00:35:20
then there was the time marie claimed
00:35:22
her harasser was a man chasing a debt
00:35:25
left by her late husband
00:35:28
while marie blamed frank's gambling
00:35:30
addiction for her finance problems there
00:35:32
was zero evidence that he'd had a
00:35:34
problem at all
00:35:36
marie's children believed marie was the
00:35:38
problematic gambler
00:35:41
she'd return late at night with hundreds
00:35:43
of extra dollars that she said was
00:35:45
payment for late night secretarial work
00:35:48
but her claims of extortion gained
00:35:50
credence when local businessman walter
00:35:53
clinton tried to collect a money drop
00:35:55
that marie left in a supermarket
00:35:59
when quizzed about his suspicious
00:36:01
behavior walter revealed that he'd been
00:36:04
following a tip-off he had received the
00:36:06
night before
00:36:08
walter was engaged in a lawsuit against
00:36:11
a former client and a woman called him
00:36:13
to say she had documents that would help
00:36:15
his case
00:36:17
she told him that she would leave them
00:36:19
behind the tins of dog food at the
00:36:21
supermarket
00:36:23
when he couldn't find them he left the
00:36:25
store
00:36:27
walter didn't recognise the voice of the
00:36:29
woman who rang him as she had spoken in
00:36:31
whispers
00:36:34
marie hilly knew about walter clinton's
00:36:37
court case as she had previously been
00:36:39
his secretary
00:36:41
she also knew walter on a more intimate
00:36:43
level
00:36:44
she'd been having an affair with him
00:36:46
when frank was alive
00:36:49
the day frank had abdominal pain and
00:36:51
came home early from work he found
00:36:53
walter and marie in bed together
00:36:56
by that time he was too sick to address
00:36:59
the matter
00:37:02
officers believed it was likely marie
00:37:04
hilly had called walter clinton
00:37:07
embroiling her former employer and lover
00:37:09
in a phony extortion bid she'd
00:37:11
orchestrated to bolster her claims
00:37:15
in a similar vein she was deemed
00:37:17
responsible for the harassment of her
00:37:19
neighbor doris ford
00:37:22
she likely hoped a second unrelated
00:37:25
victim would make her own stories seem
00:37:27
more plausible
00:37:30
despite receiving large insurance
00:37:32
payouts marie denied any involvement in
00:37:35
the criminal acts
00:37:41
following her mother's arrest for fraud
00:37:44
carol hilly was preparing for bed in her
00:37:46
room at the university of alabama
00:37:48
hospital when a doctor suddenly stopped
00:37:51
by
00:37:52
carol was surprised to see him so late
00:37:54
at night and even more so when he asked
00:37:57
to examine her hands
00:38:00
running horizontally across each of
00:38:02
carol's fingernails were white lines
00:38:07
known as aldrich maze lines they
00:38:09
confirmed one thing
00:38:11
carol's illness was the result of metal
00:38:14
poisoning
00:38:17
the doctor had spoken with the
00:38:18
physicians who treated carol at the
00:38:20
psychiatric facility prior to her
00:38:22
arrival at the hospital
00:38:25
he'd learnt that marie hilly had made
00:38:27
the snap decision to remove carol from
00:38:30
their care because there were
00:38:31
discussions about carol having metal
00:38:34
poisoning
00:38:36
everyone is exposed to the naturally
00:38:39
occurring chemical element arsenic
00:38:41
through a normal diet
00:38:43
however high enough amounts can be fatal
00:38:48
hair is one biomarker for arsenic
00:38:50
exposure and when samples of carol
00:38:53
hilly's hair were tested it was found
00:38:55
she had more than 100 times the normal
00:38:58
amount of arsenic in her body
00:39:02
marie hilly was seen giving carol
00:39:04
injections throughout her daughter's
00:39:06
months-long illness
00:39:08
marie said that she had received
00:39:10
permission from carol's doctor to do so
00:39:13
and that the medicine would help with
00:39:14
her nausea
00:39:17
she explained that she had sourced the
00:39:19
medicine from their neighbor doris ford
00:39:21
who was a registered nurse
00:39:25
the needle's contents were cloudy and
00:39:27
white
00:39:29
on one occasion marie administered
00:39:31
carol's medicine orally
00:39:34
the liquid was bubbly and it burned as
00:39:36
carol swallowed it
00:39:39
marie made her daughter swear not to
00:39:41
tell the staff about the medicine saying
00:39:43
that doris would lose her job if she did
00:39:48
the revelation that marie had likely
00:39:51
been poisoning her daughter confirmed
00:39:53
suspicions held by many of their friends
00:39:55
and family
00:39:58
it wasn't an outrageous scenario to
00:40:00
contemplate
00:40:02
carol had a tempestuous relationship
00:40:04
with her mother
00:40:06
the pair fought often mostly about carol
00:40:09
smoking cannabis and being a lesbian
00:40:11
which marie disapproved of
00:40:15
the previous year marie had taken out a
00:40:17
25 000 life insurance policy on carol
00:40:22
she was the sole beneficiary
00:40:25
[Music]
00:40:30
talk of poisoned injections got mike
00:40:32
hilly thinking about his father
00:40:36
in hindsight the symptoms frank hilly
00:40:38
had suffered were the same as arsenic
00:40:40
poisoning
00:40:43
during the peak of frank's illness he
00:40:45
was witnessed rubbing a swollen red
00:40:47
pinprick in his upper arm
00:40:50
he said that marie was giving him shots
00:40:53
on doctor's orders and she had just
00:40:55
administered one as practice
00:40:58
frank died the next day
00:41:02
this didn't entirely explain his illness
00:41:05
as he'd been unwell for some time and it
00:41:07
appeared marie had only injected him
00:41:09
once
00:41:11
however because the liquid arsenic is
00:41:13
clear and odorless it was possible that
00:41:16
she'd slipped it into his food or drink
00:41:18
undetected
00:41:21
with this in mind mike hilly wrote to
00:41:24
the coroner hoping to establish the
00:41:26
truth
00:41:28
on wednesday october 3 a crowd of
00:41:30
spectators gathered at the forest lawn
00:41:32
garden cemetery on the east side of town
00:41:36
they watched on as police guided an
00:41:38
excavator that was removing dirt from
00:41:41
frank hilly's grave
00:41:44
frank's corpse bore hardly any signs of
00:41:46
decomposition despite being buried for
00:41:49
four years
00:41:52
arsenic also preserves body tissues
00:41:57
a search of the hotel room where marie
00:41:59
hilly had been staying during her
00:42:01
daughter's hospitalization uncovered a
00:42:04
small bottle of clear odorless liquid
00:42:06
inside a cosmetics case
00:42:09
it tested positive for arsenic
00:42:13
an empty brown medicine vial found
00:42:15
inside marie's purse after her arrest
00:42:18
had previously contained arsenic
00:42:22
arsenic was also the active ingredient
00:42:24
in a bottle of rat and mouse poison
00:42:26
stored amongst tins of baby food in
00:42:29
marie's home
00:42:32
marie hilly was charged with the
00:42:34
attempted murder of carol hilly which
00:42:37
she steadfastly denied
00:42:40
the news sent shockwaves through the
00:42:42
small community of aniston
00:42:45
a family friend told reporters
00:42:48
the hillies were just a typical family
00:42:51
big churchgoers
00:42:53
you'd never have thought anything like
00:42:55
this would happen to them
00:42:58
marie hilly was initially held on a
00:43:00
fourteen thousand dollar bond
00:43:03
her lawyer a man named wilford elaine
00:43:06
successfully petitioned five locals to
00:43:08
come up with the money and marie was
00:43:10
subsequently freed
00:43:13
with the help of wilford she used a fake
00:43:16
name to book into a hotel where she was
00:43:18
to lie low until her day in court
00:43:23
six days later wilfred arrived at
00:43:25
marie's hotel room to discuss her
00:43:27
upcoming trial
00:43:29
but when he knocked on the door there
00:43:31
was no answer
00:43:34
the door was unlocked so wilford let
00:43:37
himself
00:43:38
in marie's belongings were inside but
00:43:42
she was nowhere to be found
00:43:44
[Music]
00:43:46
a note had been left on a table
00:43:49
it read
00:43:51
wilford elaine you led me straight to
00:43:53
her
00:43:55
you will hear from me
00:43:57
[Music]
00:44:06
case file will be back shortly
00:44:08
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00:46:04
wilford elaine handed the note to police
00:46:07
around the same time a friend of marie's
00:46:10
arrived home from an outing to discover
00:46:12
that someone had broken in
00:46:15
they had taken some of her clothes cash
00:46:18
social security card and car
00:46:21
there was also a note that bore the same
00:46:23
handwriting as the one left in marie's
00:46:26
hotel room
00:46:27
this one read
00:46:29
do not call the police we will burn you
00:46:32
out if you do
00:46:34
we found what we wanted and we won't
00:46:36
bother you again
00:46:38
[Music]
00:46:40
based on the evidence police were
00:46:42
convinced that marie had staged her own
00:46:44
kidnapping and fled
00:46:47
the incident became a major news story
00:46:49
with the local district attorney
00:46:51
revealing that he'd been opposed to
00:46:53
marie being given bail in the first
00:46:55
place
00:46:56
quote
00:46:58
we felt that she would not honor the
00:46:59
bond that she would fly the coop
00:47:02
and if she doesn't show up and honor the
00:47:04
bond we will order her a rest
00:47:07
we feel sure she'll be found
00:47:12
the car marie stahl was eventually found
00:47:14
abandoned in the neighboring state of
00:47:16
georgia 120 miles east of where it had
00:47:19
been taken in anniston
00:47:22
despite an extensive search there marie
00:47:25
was not located
00:47:29
marie hilly was due to appear in court
00:47:31
on monday december 3 1979 but was a
00:47:35
no-show
00:47:37
a further charge of unlawful flight to
00:47:39
avoid prosecution was added
00:47:43
by now the examination of frank hilly's
00:47:46
remains had concluded
00:47:49
they'd revealed that he had ingested
00:47:51
small amounts of arsenic over a long
00:47:53
period of time with one massive dose
00:47:56
given near the end of his life
00:47:59
as a result marie hilly was indicted for
00:48:02
the first degree murder of her husband
00:48:05
yet six months passed with no leads on
00:48:08
her whereabouts
00:48:10
[Music]
00:48:11
a five thousand dollar reward for
00:48:13
information failed to generate any
00:48:15
worthwhile leads
00:48:19
one evening in late 1980 mike hilly and
00:48:22
his wife were in bed when they awoke to
00:48:24
the sound of their baby crying
00:48:28
as detailed in the book poisoned blood
00:48:30
by author phillip ginsberg mike went to
00:48:33
check on his infant son
00:48:36
when mike entered the nursery his eyes
00:48:38
were drawn to a window that opened out
00:48:40
to the front porch
00:48:43
outside and partially illuminated by
00:48:46
light emanating from the house
00:48:48
was a person
00:48:51
as mike rushed to call the police the
00:48:54
person fled
00:48:56
their movements triggered a spotlight in
00:48:58
a neighbor's front yard prompting the
00:49:00
homeowner to investigate what was going
00:49:02
on
00:49:04
the person sprinted past them and
00:49:06
climbed into a waiting car with two men
00:49:08
inside which promptly took off
00:49:12
the neighbor identified the intruder as
00:49:14
marie hilly
00:49:17
she had managed to travel 400 miles
00:49:20
north from aniston to her son's house in
00:49:22
the state of tennessee
00:49:25
where she went from there was a mystery
00:49:27
as police couldn't pick up her trail
00:49:30
[Music]
00:49:31
mike lived in fear from then on
00:49:34
believing his mother would return to
00:49:36
take his child
00:49:38
[Music]
00:49:39
two months later at christmas flowers
00:49:42
were found on the gravestones of marie's
00:49:44
mother and father in anaston
00:49:48
no one knew where they had come from
00:49:50
leading some to believe marie placed
00:49:52
them there
00:49:54
if so it was a bold move for her to be
00:49:56
back in town right under the noses of
00:49:59
the police who were hunting her
00:50:02
yet she still managed to elude them
00:50:09
carol hilly fully recovered from being
00:50:12
poisoned and was able to resume her
00:50:14
university studies
00:50:16
she was left with thousands of dollars
00:50:18
in hospital bills because her mother had
00:50:20
fled before paying them
00:50:23
but carol stood by marie telling a
00:50:25
journalist for the aniston star
00:50:27
newspaper
00:50:29
i'm not going to believe it until it's
00:50:31
proven
00:50:32
i love her because she's my mom
00:50:35
if she did it she didn't realize what
00:50:37
she was doing
00:50:39
my mother is not a bad person or
00:50:41
anything she's just had a lot on her
00:50:43
since my dad died
00:50:45
it's just all been so weird
00:50:50
carol hoped marie would contact her
00:50:52
adding if she called me and asked would
00:50:56
i come meet her i'd go
00:50:59
i think that's what you call being an
00:51:01
accessory to a crime but i'd take that
00:51:03
risk
00:51:06
carol was certain that her mother would
00:51:08
never be found
00:51:09
quote
00:51:11
my mother has done it she's outsmarted
00:51:14
them
00:51:17
one of marie's friends wasn't as
00:51:19
convinced
00:51:20
while marie's charisma and charm would
00:51:22
help her blend in anywhere her friend
00:51:25
stated
00:51:27
i think one of these years they'll find
00:51:29
her she'll make a mistake
00:51:31
it's just a matter of time
00:51:35
police were convinced that marie had
00:51:37
since changed her name and altered her
00:51:39
appearance with one officer conceding
00:51:43
if you take a new identity don't contact
00:51:46
people you knew and don't violate any
00:51:48
aspects of the law it's hard to get
00:51:51
caught
00:51:54
one fbi agent told the anniston star
00:51:56
that he believed he knew everything
00:51:58
about marie hilly necessary to apprehend
00:52:01
her
00:52:02
problem was they were likely chasing a
00:52:05
new identity that they didn't know a
00:52:07
thing about
00:52:09
the behavioural sciences unit profiled
00:52:11
marie as someone who will likely be in a
00:52:14
man's company with a respectable job she
00:52:17
will be in secretarial work
00:52:20
she'll be living the good life she will
00:52:22
be in a beauty shop at least twice a
00:52:25
week
00:52:25
she is always dressed nice and her
00:52:28
appearance pleasant
00:52:29
she can be kind laughing considerate and
00:52:33
then brutal and hateful
00:52:38
jon homan was besotted by robbie hannon
00:52:41
from the moment he met her at a florida
00:52:43
bar in february 1980
00:52:46
she was a glamorous woman in her 30s
00:52:49
with manicured nails flawless makeup and
00:52:52
high-end clothes
00:52:54
a whirlwind romance was followed by a
00:52:57
wedding before robbie and john settled
00:52:59
into a cozy life together in the small
00:53:01
town of marlow new hampshire
00:53:05
john was completely unaware that the
00:53:07
woman he had fallen for was actually 49
00:53:10
year old marie hilly
00:53:14
were also oblivious that robbie homan
00:53:17
was actually one of the fbi's most
00:53:19
wanted fugitives
00:53:22
in early 1982 marie hilly decided it was
00:53:26
time to kill off her robbie homan
00:53:28
persona
00:53:30
she concocted a story about having a
00:53:32
brain tumor and needing experimental
00:53:34
treatment in texas
00:53:37
when asked who would care for her marie
00:53:39
spoke of her identical twin terry martin
00:53:42
who lived near the clinic
00:53:45
the truth was terry martin didn't exist
00:53:49
this didn't stop marie as robbie
00:53:52
pretending to talk to terry on the phone
00:53:54
and writing up a bogus letters
00:53:57
everyone including her husband were
00:54:00
fully convinced by the ruse
00:54:04
in late september 1982 marie hilly left
00:54:08
marlow
00:54:09
instead of going to texas she traveled
00:54:11
to pompano beach in florida
00:54:14
she went straight to a beauty salon to
00:54:16
have her hair bleached platinum blonde
00:54:20
over the next six weeks she also lost 20
00:54:24
pounds
00:54:26
transformation complete marie began the
00:54:28
next phase of her elaborate con
00:54:32
she penned an emotional farewell letter
00:54:34
on behalf of robbie
00:54:37
in it she expressed wishes that would
00:54:39
deter questions such as refusing a
00:54:42
funeral and having robbie's remains
00:54:44
immediately donated to science
00:54:48
she then called john homan posing as
00:54:50
terry martin and revealed that robbie
00:54:53
had died
00:54:55
marie now as terry flew to meet with the
00:54:58
jon and managed to fool him into
00:55:00
believing she was a different person to
00:55:02
the one he had recently married
00:55:06
marie thought she'd fooled everyone in
00:55:08
marlow again
00:55:10
she wasn't expecting her former
00:55:11
co-workers to pick up on the deception
00:55:17
on wednesday january 12 1983 marie hilly
00:55:21
arrived at the book printer where she'd
00:55:23
found work as terry martin nearly two
00:55:26
months prior
00:55:28
as she sat behind her desk she busied
00:55:30
herself with a stack of papers
00:55:34
soon two men entered the building
00:55:37
they subtly watched marie from afar then
00:55:40
left having failed to raise her
00:55:42
suspicion
00:55:45
at 4 30 pm as marie left the building at
00:55:48
the end of her shift she was approached
00:55:50
by the same two men
00:55:53
one held out some identification
00:55:56
he was an fbi agent as was his partner
00:56:01
we have reason to believe you're not who
00:56:04
you claim to be one of the agents said
00:56:08
upon hearing those words marie replied
00:56:11
in a defeated voice
00:56:14
yes
00:56:16
she was taken into custody and led to an
00:56:19
interrogation room where she waved her
00:56:21
right to an attorney
00:56:23
a detective asked her to give her real
00:56:25
name
00:56:27
after a brief pause she revealed
00:56:30
my name is marie hilly
00:56:39
it's a relief to stop running she
00:56:42
admitted i'm tired it's been so
00:56:44
confusing
00:56:47
marie made a full admission about her
00:56:49
elaborate triple life detailing her
00:56:51
process of becoming robbie homan and
00:56:54
terry martin
00:56:57
she couldn't explain why she had decided
00:56:59
to kill off her robbie persona except to
00:57:02
say that she didn't want to involve her
00:57:04
husband jon homan in her deception
00:57:08
authorities speculated that terry was
00:57:10
invented to create even more distance
00:57:13
from marie's criminal past
00:57:16
when asked why she had instigated the
00:57:19
whole charade marie replied
00:57:22
i don't know
00:57:23
i kept trying to decide whether to keep
00:57:26
running or to give myself up
00:57:30
marie was extradited back to anniston
00:57:32
where she pleaded not guilty to the
00:57:34
murder of her husband frank hilly and
00:57:36
attempted murder of her daughter carol
00:57:39
hilly
00:57:41
this time bale was set at more than
00:57:43
three hundred thousand dollars ensuring
00:57:46
marie remained in custody until her
00:57:48
trial began in may 1983
00:57:53
the prosecution portrayed marie as
00:57:55
someone cold and callous who thought so
00:57:58
little of her husband and daughter that
00:58:00
she was willing to kill and make a
00:58:02
profit from them
00:58:04
they filled two blackboards detailing
00:58:07
the number of insurance policies marie
00:58:09
had in place and the various payouts
00:58:11
she'd received
00:58:14
frank hilly's death granted marie the
00:58:16
biggest windfall of 42 thousand dollars
00:58:21
a woman who shared a jail cell with
00:58:23
marie prior to trial testified that
00:58:26
marie said she had poisoned carol
00:58:28
because she was a lesbian and frank was
00:58:30
always defending her
00:58:33
the inmate asked how she did it and
00:58:36
marie replied
00:58:38
i put a little arsenic at a time in
00:58:40
their food
00:58:44
the defense tried to depict marie as a
00:58:46
loving mother who went above and beyond
00:58:49
for her family
00:58:51
in doing so they painted frank and carol
00:58:54
in a negative light with the latter
00:58:56
described as unruly and rebellious
00:59:01
when carol testified she confidently and
00:59:03
politely deflected these accusations
00:59:07
by this stage carol's opinion of her
00:59:10
mother had changed
00:59:12
while carol said she still loved marie
00:59:15
she now considered her a dangerous woman
00:59:19
marie just smiled as her daughter
00:59:22
recounted all the instances of poisoning
00:59:24
that she had endured
00:59:28
in her testimony marie admitted to
00:59:30
injecting carol with medicine but
00:59:33
maintained it was under doctor's orders
00:59:36
but there were no records from any of
00:59:38
carol's doctors to prove this
00:59:42
on day 7 of the trial as the jury left
00:59:45
the court to deliberate marie hilly
00:59:48
stood
00:59:49
she turned and looked directly at carol
00:59:52
who began sobbing
00:59:55
marie smiled and mouthed the words i
00:59:58
love you
01:00:00
[Music]
01:00:05
within three hours the jury returned
01:00:07
with their verdict
01:00:09
marie hilly was found guilty
01:00:13
she frowned when the verdict was read
01:00:15
and muttered
01:00:17
i still maintain my innocence
01:00:21
marie was sentenced to life in prison
01:00:23
for frank hilly's murder with an
01:00:25
additional 20 years for the attempted
01:00:27
murder of carol hilly
01:00:30
while pleased with the outcome for what
01:00:32
he called the most vicious woman he had
01:00:34
ever dealt with the assistant district
01:00:37
attorney admitted
01:00:40
this is the type of case that could be
01:00:42
investigated for the next three years
01:00:44
full time and you would still not know
01:00:47
the full story behind marie hilly
01:00:52
many have speculated that marie hilly's
01:00:54
victims extended beyond her husband and
01:00:57
daughter
01:00:58
marie's mother passed away from cancer
01:01:01
while living with her in january 1977.
01:01:05
marie had been tasked with giving her
01:01:07
mother morphine injections in the days
01:01:10
before she died
01:01:12
her mother was exhumed in october 1979
01:01:16
for arsenic testing as was marie's
01:01:18
mother-in-law who had also died from
01:01:21
cancer
01:01:23
non-lethal levels of arsenic were found
01:01:26
in both women however long-term arsenic
01:01:29
exposure can cause cancer
01:01:35
mike hilly also suspected he had been
01:01:37
targeted
01:01:39
both he and his wife suffered bouts of
01:01:41
extreme nausea and vomiting whenever
01:01:43
they stayed with marie
01:01:46
she had even served them with a special
01:01:48
tomato soup that supposedly combated
01:01:51
nausea but only made things worse
01:01:55
mike's wife was so ill at one point that
01:01:58
she miscarried
01:01:59
on another occasion mike was planning to
01:02:02
take marie to the bank to sort out her
01:02:04
finances
01:02:06
she was reluctant to go
01:02:09
ten minutes after eating the breakfast
01:02:11
his mother prepared mike became so
01:02:14
violently ill that he had to cancel the
01:02:16
trip
01:02:18
but that wasn't all
01:02:21
as detailed in the book black widow by
01:02:23
author robin mcdonald one police officer
01:02:26
who responded to marie's harassment
01:02:28
calls later noted
01:02:32
marie hilly always had something fixed
01:02:34
for me to eat and drink
01:02:36
i drank so much coffee ate so much cake
01:02:39
had so much chicken at her house over
01:02:42
the years
01:02:43
it seemed like i was sick a lot with
01:02:46
gastrointestinal problems and vomiting
01:02:51
neighborhood children who visited the
01:02:53
hilly home to play with carol and mike
01:02:56
also complained of stomach pain
01:02:59
one fbi agent who had investigated
01:03:01
marie's disappearance said
01:03:05
there was a family who lived next to
01:03:07
marie hilly for years
01:03:09
the children were sick all the time but
01:03:11
the doctors could never find out why
01:03:15
the family eventually moves away and the
01:03:18
kids get well in no time at all
01:03:25
marie's various attempts to appeal her
01:03:27
conviction failed in prison she was a
01:03:31
model inmate
01:03:32
she even managed to convince some guards
01:03:35
that she was innocent
01:03:38
marie was given a minimum security
01:03:40
status which meant she could leave
01:03:42
prison with other inmates on a day pass
01:03:46
in an application to the warden
01:03:48
requesting longer leave marie wrote
01:03:52
i have never learned to live with lies
01:03:55
i have no desire to make my life more
01:03:57
difficult than it already is and running
01:04:00
for the rest of my life is not exactly
01:04:03
my idea of living
01:04:06
marie's request was granted
01:04:10
she was permitted three days leave for a
01:04:12
long weekend from friday february 20
01:04:15
1987.
01:04:17
that day jon homan picked her up
01:04:22
even though jon had been caught in
01:04:23
marie's web of deceit he remained her
01:04:26
staunch defender
01:04:29
when speaking of his thought process
01:04:31
upon learning the truth about his wife
01:04:33
robbie terry and marie
01:04:36
john said
01:04:38
it's very difficult to describe the
01:04:40
feelings i had
01:04:42
i believed i had just lost my wife i
01:04:45
felt she was two different people their
01:04:48
actions were different
01:04:50
there was nothing to tie the two
01:04:52
together
01:04:55
after marie was incarcerated john moved
01:04:58
so he could visit her in prison as much
01:05:00
as possible
01:05:02
john homan quote
01:05:05
our relationship worked out to be one of
01:05:07
the best things that has ever happened
01:05:09
to me
01:05:10
it's been the happiest years of my life
01:05:15
john was convinced marie was innocent
01:05:18
and sad
01:05:20
i don't believe that woman has a mean
01:05:22
bone in her body
01:05:23
she's been nothing but a warm and
01:05:26
wonderful woman
01:05:30
for their brief weekend getaway john and
01:05:32
marie drove to their old town of aniston
01:05:35
where they planned to stay in a hotel
01:05:38
at 9 00 am on sunday morning marie left
01:05:41
their hotel room telling jon she wanted
01:05:44
to visit her mother's grave
01:05:47
she said she would meet him at a nearby
01:05:49
restaurant an hour later
01:05:52
john ordered breakfast at the restaurant
01:05:54
at 10 a.m
01:05:56
but as the minutes ticked by
01:05:58
marie didn't appear
01:06:02
jon then headed back to their hotel room
01:06:05
marie wasn't there either but there was
01:06:08
a note under his pillow
01:06:11
it read
01:06:14
dear john i hope you will be able to
01:06:16
forgive me i'm getting ready to leave it
01:06:20
will be the best for everybody
01:06:23
we'll be together again
01:06:26
please give me an hour to get out of
01:06:28
town
01:06:30
destroy this note
01:06:32
[Music]
01:06:34
the rest of the letter explained that
01:06:36
marie was meeting a man who would drive
01:06:38
her to atlanta where she would board a
01:06:40
plane to canada
01:06:43
john handed the letter to the
01:06:45
authorities who immediately commenced a
01:06:47
search
01:06:49
marie's escape outraged to them and
01:06:51
aniston's residents alike
01:06:54
many questioned how a woman with a
01:06:57
history of absconding was permitted a
01:06:59
three-day pass with no supervision
01:07:03
the assistant district attorney who
01:07:05
prosecuted marie hilly's case said
01:07:09
this is not just insane it's gross
01:07:11
negligence
01:07:14
the system came under further scrutiny
01:07:17
when it was revealed that marie talked
01:07:19
to fellow inmates about escaping and was
01:07:21
named as an escape risk in internal
01:07:24
correspondence
01:07:26
this led to an investigation by the
01:07:29
alabama commissioner of prisons which
01:07:31
implemented stricter criteria for
01:07:33
inmates receiving furlough
01:07:37
upon learning of his mother's escape
01:07:40
mike hilly told the press
01:07:43
i don't think they'll ever hear from her
01:07:45
again
01:07:46
she's a very clever person and she can
01:07:49
become just about anything she wants to
01:07:51
become changing her looks and blending
01:07:54
into the environment
01:08:00
five days after marie fled an aniston
01:08:03
woman named sue kraft was driving along
01:08:06
old gadsden highway just outside of town
01:08:10
sue was preparing to turn onto post oak
01:08:13
road a winding woodlined stretch that
01:08:16
led to her house when something caught
01:08:18
her eye
01:08:21
she couldn't quite make out what it was
01:08:23
on account of the drizzling rain but it
01:08:26
appeared as though there was a woman on
01:08:27
the back porch of a nearby house
01:08:31
she was on her knees and reaching for a
01:08:33
door handle
01:08:36
sue drove home phoned the police to
01:08:38
report what she had witnessed then
01:08:40
headed back to the house to confront the
01:08:42
woman
01:08:44
she found her slumped over by the front
01:08:46
door
01:08:49
the woman explained in a slurring voice
01:08:52
that she was not breaking in but looking
01:08:54
for help
01:08:56
her car had broken down further along
01:08:58
the road
01:09:00
she had half walked half crawled through
01:09:03
the forest in the freezing cold and
01:09:05
pouring rain until she found her house
01:09:09
the woman's skin was blotchy and purple
01:09:13
sue covered her with a sheet of plastic
01:09:15
for warmth while they waited for police
01:09:17
and paramedics
01:09:20
the responding officer immediately
01:09:22
recognized the woman as marie hilly
01:09:26
soon after the ambulance arrived marie
01:09:28
suffered a seizure and lost
01:09:30
consciousness
01:09:32
she went into cardiac arrest as she was
01:09:34
loaded into the ambulance
01:09:39
marie was treated for hypothermia and
01:09:41
placed on life support
01:09:44
a few hours later
01:09:46
she passed away
01:09:49
a coroner later determined that marie
01:09:52
had walked and crawled about 15 miles
01:09:55
for 24 to 36 hours before she was found
01:10:00
she was only wearing light clothing and
01:10:02
conditions were cold enough to kill
01:10:04
someone in as little as eight hours
01:10:08
it was assumed she had travelled along
01:10:10
the old train lines that led out of
01:10:12
downtown aniston as she was found nearby
01:10:16
but a search along these tracks revealed
01:10:19
no clues as to where she had been prior
01:10:21
to her death
01:10:23
no broken down car was ever found
01:10:27
the area marie ended up in was less than
01:10:29
a mile from where she was born
01:10:34
the district attorney was perplexed that
01:10:37
marie hilly seemingly had no escape plan
01:10:40
saying
01:10:42
this goes against everything she's done
01:10:44
in the past
01:10:46
the biggest escape artist in this area
01:10:49
in 10 years and what does she do
01:10:52
she ended up crawling in the woods
01:10:59
marie hilly was laid to rest alongside
01:11:02
her first husband frank hilly
01:11:05
her children mike and carol attended the
01:11:07
service as did marie's second husband
01:11:10
john homan
01:11:13
mike petitioned the state of alabama to
01:11:15
cover marie's funeral costs arguing she
01:11:18
shouldn't have been allowed out and
01:11:20
therefore the state was responsible for
01:11:22
her death
01:11:24
the request made local papers and
01:11:27
prompted carol to write to the aniston
01:11:29
star in defense of her brother
01:11:32
an excerpt read
01:11:35
our whole family has suffered more than
01:11:37
i care to think about anymore
01:11:40
what i want to know is why we were left
01:11:42
out of our right to state our opinion of
01:11:45
a three-day unsupervised release of
01:11:47
someone who tried to kill me and
01:11:49
destroyed my family
01:11:51
i don't expect the state of alabama has
01:11:54
any answers for us which makes me sicker
01:11:57
and more angry than marie hilly ever did
01:12:02
mike's claim was rejected by state
01:12:04
officials
01:12:08
jon homan was cleared of having anything
01:12:11
to do with marie's final escape
01:12:14
he mourned his wife telling the aniston
01:12:17
star seven months after her death
01:12:20
i think the two of us were destined for
01:12:22
each other
01:12:23
there's so little happiness in the world
01:12:26
and we were both so happy
01:12:30
john died two and a half years later
01:12:35
many still wonder why he chose to stand
01:12:37
by a woman who deceived and used him
01:12:41
the judge who presided over marie's case
01:12:43
said
01:12:45
i always felt that jon homan was as much
01:12:48
of a victim as frank hilly
01:12:50
marie used him he was gullible
01:12:53
he fell for it
01:12:57
many books and documentaries have been
01:12:59
made about marie hilly
01:13:02
the assistant district attorney once
01:13:04
said
01:13:05
she's like a black widow spider they
01:13:08
tell me that the black widow spider
01:13:10
mates and then it kills its mate and
01:13:12
there's no reason for it
01:13:15
that's what she reminds me of
01:13:19
the black widow has since become maurice
01:13:21
monika
01:13:22
[Music]
01:13:25
in her farewell letter as robbie homan
01:13:28
marie hilly had written
01:13:31
one last thing
01:13:33
i'm not afraid to die
01:13:35
i've tried to live my life without
01:13:37
hurting anyone
01:13:39
maybe i haven't always succeeded but i
01:13:41
have tried so don't feel that god will
01:13:44
judge me too harshly
01:13:47
don't ever live in the past
01:13:50
it will destroy you
01:14:12
[Music]
01:14:20
you