The hunt for one of America’s most elusive fugitives | Forensic Files

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

Case 221: Frank & Carol Hilley

In May 1975, 45-year-old Frank Hilley began experiencing severe nausea, vomiting and stomach cramps in his home in Anniston, Alabama. He died just over a week later. Soon after, his wife Marie Hilley began to receive threatening phone calls, messages and damage to her property. When her teenage Carol Hilley began to show the same symptoms as her late father, Marie flew into a panic trying to get to the bottom of what was happening.

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Jessica Forsayeth Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn

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Brief Summary

Robbie Homan dies from a brain tumor; her twin sister Terry assumes her identity, leading to shocking revelations about Marie Hilly's past.

Key points

Robbie's Final Wishes. Robbie writes a heartfelt letter to her sister, expressing her wishes if she doesn't survive.
The Mystery of Terry. Terry Martin moves in with John after Robbie's death, leading to speculation about her identity.
Discovery of Arsenic Poisoning. Doctors confirm Carol's illness was due to arsenic poisoning, leading to shocking revelations about her mother.
Marie Hilly's Disappearance. After being released on bail, Marie Hilly vanished, leading to a nationwide manhunt.
Marie Hilly's Arrest. Marie Hilly was arrested amidst a web of fraud and extortion claims, raising suspicions about her involvement in her daughter's illness.
Marie's Confession. Marie admits to her true identity and the exhaustion of her deception.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I want so much to see my John again.

Robbie's heartfelt letter to her sister before her passing.

4:16WatchSep 3, 2022

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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