AP PSYCHOLOGY



AP PSYCHOLOGY

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILING CASE STUDY 9

I. BACKGROUND: Marie Hilley By Marlee Macleod

Huey Frazier and Lucille Meads worked just as hard as everybody else in North Alabama. Each came from a family whose life was centered on the local textile mills, and when they married in January, 1932, each was already accustomed to the long hours of labor required just to make a living in Depression. When her daughter Audrey Marie was born on June 4, 1933, Lucille Frazier returned to her job at Linen Thread Company as soon as she could, and relatives cared for Marie while her parents worked long shifts, fortunate to have work at all.

The Fraziers loved Marie—but they were, like the folks around them, realists. Times were hard and a single income didn't stretch far enough to meet the needs of a family. Huey and Lucille loved and trusted their families and were grateful for the help. They compensated by spoiling Marie. Her clothes weren't the best money could buy, but they were pretty and neat, and better than most kids. From an early age Marie got her way—the slightest correction or denial was likely to provoke a loud tantrum. The Fraziers, perhaps out of guilt, never saw fit to administer any real discipline.

 The Fraziers saw a brighter future for Marie. Their daughter, they proudly predicted, wouldn't have to spend countless years breathing the linty air of the mills. Unlike most girls, Marie would graduate high school and be a secretary, a humble ambition in those days. Marie would be different—she was special, and her parents told her so.

In 1945, the Fraziers moved to Anniston, and Marie began 7th grade Junior High School. Anniston had its own upper class, comprised of the owners of the various mills and factories where Marie's relatives had always worked. Marie found herself among children of privilege, and she cultivated friendships with them. She joined the student council and was serious about her studies, earning a reputation for maturity and intelligence. She was pretty, too, and well-dressed, and by the end of her 7th grade year she'd be chosen Prettiest Girl by the Anniston High School yearbook staff.

At Anniston High, Marie joined the Future Teachers of America and the Commercial Club, an organization for girls who planned secretarial careers. Her seriousness established her among her peers as a girl with depth and dependability. Her looks and style made the boys look twice, and while she enjoyed their attention, she was already spoken for. Marie was Frank Hilley's girl.

Frank and Marie

The Hilley men worked in the area's other big industry, pipe making. Clarence and Carrie Hilley had a close, warm family, composed of Frank, Freeda, and Jewel. Newly married Frank and Marie Hilley

Though Frank had a bit of a temper, he was loyal and reliable, and preferred not to get dirty. He met Marie when she was twelve and he was a junior in high school, and by the time he graduated he was smitten with her. Marie returned his affection. Frank treated her like royalty. He was jealous of other boys' attentions toward her and did his best to keep his temperamental girl happy. Like most young couples they had intense, dramatic arguments, but they always made up. When Frank went into the Navy after high school, he pined for Marie. He had been assigned to Guam, and the distance and time away were unbearable. Afraid of losing Marie, he married her while he was on leave in May, 1951.

Marie went on to finish high school while Frank went to Long Beach, California. At the end of his tour of duty, Marie was pregnant, and they moved back home to Anniston, buying a small home. Frank got a job in the shipping department of Standard Foundry while Marie worked as a secretary. Their first child, Michael Hilley, was born on November 11, 1952.

Outwardly the Hilleys seemed happy and settled, but the first stirrings of trouble had already begun. Marie liked to spend money. Though Frank liked to make Marie happy, he found it hard to keep pace with her constant buying of newer clothes and furnishings. There were arguments, but Frank didn't like to fight. It was easier to go along with Marie's whims.

By the time Carol Hilley was born in 1960, Frank had been appointed foreman of the shipping department at Standard Foundry, and Marie had a reputation as an excellent executive secretary. Though the family's collective income had increased, so had Marie's spending. Marie was developing a disturbing work pattern—though her employers always found her professional and effective at her duties, her coworkers thought otherwise. Marie judged and put on airs and played power games, but was always careful to remain respectful and subservient to the boss. At each job, she eventually became unpopular with those around her and left. Her references were always excellent, though, and she never had trouble getting another job. Marie worked for some of the most powerful men in Anniston, all of who spoke glowingly of her.

Anniston's citizens grew to know the Hilleys. Frank was a member of the Elks Club and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and was well liked around town. Marie was active in the First Christian Church and volunteered at her kids' schools. Some noted that she reacted badly when she didn't get her way, but mostly people dismissed her quirks, attributing them to a high-strung nature.

Carol and Mike Hilley wanted for nothing except their mother's attention. Like her own parents, Marie showered her children with material possessions but remained emotionally cold. She administered little discipline, leaving that task to Frank's mother Carrie, who cared for the children while Marie and Frank worked. Marie favored Mike and allowed him to grow into a little hellion. Carol was a tomboy, nothing like the demure, proper daughter Marie wanted, so they clashed continually. Frank Hilley took a special interest in Carol, taking her for ice cream and to football games. Their close relationship galled Marie.

From time to time Frank worried about his wife. Sometimes she would be awake all night, and he would hold her while she shook in nameless fear. She was restless and he was unable to soothe her. She taunted him with love letters she said she received from local men. And--Marie's refined tastes kept the bills coming to the Hilley home year after year. Sometimes Frank would reprimand her, but it did no good. Marie wanted the best, and she wanted it now. She rented a post office box and began having some bills routed there so Frank wouldn't know. Then, she began taking out loans. Frank Hilley was a respected, and businesses extended credit to his wife out of courtesy. Frank had always paid every bill on time, so when his wife's accounts came past due creditors took notice. This wasn't like Frank.

By the fall of 1974 Frank couldn't ignore the troubles in his home any longer. Word of his wife's credit arrangements leaked back to him. Worse still, he came home sick from work on day to find Marie in bed with her employer. Frank told his son, who was married by now and attending Atlanta Christian College, of these latest developments.

 Death of a Good Man

Frank was sick a lot during 1974. At first he attributed his weariness and periodic bouts of nausea and vomiting to something he'd eaten. He took Alka-Seltzer but his illness persisted. By May 1975, he was ready to consult a doctor. Dr. Jones first prescribed Kaopectate and Maalox, then an antispasmodic medication. Nothing helped. When Frank's sister Freeda Adcock visited him in May, he told her he was sicker than he'd ever been and that he feared he would die. He also told her that Marie had, on Dr. Jones's orders, given him an injection. At the time, Freeda thought nothing of it.

At 3:30 the following morning Marie found Frank wandering the yard in his underwear. She took him to the hospital, where tests showed that his liver had failed. Dr. Jones changed his diagnosis to one of infectious hepatitis and prescribed new medications. Frank's condition worsened; he was jaundiced, hallucinating and very agitated. It was all Mike Hilley could do to keep his father from jumping out the window. At around 4:00 am on May 25, Mike left the hospital to pick up his grandmothers and bring them to see Frank. When he returned about an hour later he found his mother asleep and his father dead. The official cause of death was infectious hepatitis, and Frank Hilley was buried on May 27, 1975.

The Grieving Widow

Frank Hilley's autopsy report stated that he'd died of natural causes, so Marie had no trouble collecting on the life insurance. The total of Frank's policies was around $31,000, not enough to make a woman wealthy, but still a nice windfall. Marie began spending. For herself she bought a car, clothes and jewelry. Her mother Lucille got a diamond ring. Mike and his wife Teri received appliances and clothes, while Carol Hilley got a car, a stereo, furniture and countless other gifts. But those closest to Marie noticed that the constant acquisitions did nothing to quiet her increasing restlessness. Marie was dissatisfied. She complained to several people that no one in her family loved her, she complained about her boss and her job, and about a string of petty thefts at her home she said began before Frank's death.

Grandma Lucille had been diagnosed with cancer soon after Frank died, and Marie brought her into her home to care for her. She also extended an invitation to Mike and Teri for them to live with her. Mike had a job as assistant pastor and appreciated his mother's offer, relishing the idea of having his family close while he began his career in the ministry. He and Teri accepted, but soon regretted their decision. Marie and Carol fought constantly, and his mother's demands for his time and attention wore Mike down. On top of that, Teri was often ill with stomach trouble. During this time with Marie, Teri was in the hospital four different times and had a miscarriage. Her health problems only added to the tensions.

Mike and Teri found an apartment. But, the night before they were set to move out, Marie's house caught fire. Marie, Lucille and Carol moved into the new apartment until repairs could be completed. When the time came for them to move back home, the apartment next door to Mike and Teri's caught fire, forcing the couple to move back in with Marie until they could find new housing. When they finally succeeded in moving away from Marie, a strange new series of events began.

Lucille Frazier died in January, 1977The petty thefts had continued, she told Anniston police. She reported gas leaks and claimed she found a small fire in her closet late one night. Neighbor Doris Troy, to whose house Marie had a key, found a similar fire in her own hall closet, but had no idea who could've set it. Both Marie and Doris Ford reported harassing phone calls. Police responded to dozens of complaints from both Marie Hilley and Doris Ford. Every officer was familiar with Marie.

Increasingly restive, Marie, with Carol in tow, moved in with Mike and Teri in their new home in Pompano Beach, Florida. It was 1978 and Carol had just graduated from high school. Marie got an office job and returned home late most nights, but her nervous presence and well-established spending habits made life difficult in the Hilley home. She immediately ran up $600 worth of charges on Mike's Visa Card, saying she would reimburse him later. She and Carol still fought. Though Marie occasionally helped out with household chores and with Mike and Teri's new baby, they were relieved when she and Carol moved back to Anniston after a few months.

 Carol Falls Ill

Meanwhile, Marie had been buying insurance. There were several policies, including fire insurance, cancer coverage, and life insurance coverage on herself. But Marie also insured the lives of her children—Mike was insured for $25,000, while Carol, through two policies, was insured for $39,000.

Upon their return to Anniston, Marie and Carol moved in first with Frank's sister Freeda, then with his mother, Carrie Hilley. The strange occurrences began again—small fires, cut phone lines, and, increasingly, a tendency in Carrie Hilley toward nausea and vomiting. Marie got a job at a local construction company, working nights for her boss, Harold Dillard. She also began a manipulative, twisted affair designed to bring Dillard under her spell and make him leave his marriage. Almost simultaneously she began another affair with Calvin Robertson, an old school friend. She told Robertson that she had cancer and couldn't afford the treatments. He sent money, and she soon returned news that she'd been cured. When he came to visit her, he was like a schoolboy, and by the time he left he was convinced he would die for Marie Hilley

Carol Hilley first became ill in April, 1979 who was now nineteen and a freshman at a nearby college. Out for a night's festivities that included—food and drink—as the party wore on Carol became nauseated. It wasn't serious enough to impinge upon her gaiety, so she ignored it, concentrating on having a good time. The following day the nausea returned with a vengeance. Carol left church services early and vomited in the parking lot. On returning home she discovered that her grandmother, Carrie Hilley, was in the hospital after fainting at church. Sick, Carol accompanied Marie to the hospital.

Carol Hilley would not be completely well again for a long, long time. Over the summer she grew sicker and weaker. Yet, she was still feisty, and although she was becoming increasingly dependent on Marie's care, she insisted on moving into her own apartment. Marie was a constant presence there, expressing concern and acting as Carol's caretaker. She administered Carol's various medicines and cooked for her. She took her to several doctors, none of who was able to explain with any certainty what Carol's torturous symptoms meant. The nausea and vomiting, now almost constant, were accompanied by tingling sensations in her hands and feet and ever-worsening muscle weakness.

The Awful Truth

In August Carol was admitted to Regional Medical Center for the fourth time since April. Dr. Warren Sarrell was baffled and concerned, and he suggested to Marie that she should take Carol to see a psychiatrist. Upon Carol's release from RMC, Marie did just that, telling the doctor that Carol was despondent and had said several times that she wanted to die. On his recommendation, Carol was admitted to the psychiatric ward of Carraway Methodist under Dr. Elmore’s care.

The checks Marie had written for the furniture for Carol's apartment had bounced, as had many others, including some written for premiums on the policy on Carol's life. The bank filed charges, and Marie was arrested, and then released on bail. In Florida, Mike Hilley was slowly coming to the conclusion that his father had not died of natural causes. He placed a call to the Calhoun County coroner asking about the possibility of an exhumation, and was told that he would need lots of solid evidence for one to take place.

It was Eve Cole, Carol's friend, who sounded the alarm. She had been present at Carol's apartment when Marie had given Carol an injection. When Eve called Carol, she’d mentioned offhandedly that Marie had given her more injections during her hospitalization. Concerned, Eve told Carol's Aunt Freeda and Mike Hilley, who in turn called his sister to find out the truth. Yes, she told him, Marie had given her shots. Mike then called Dr. Elmore, who, although he didn't believe Marie was poisoning Carol, though she was part of the overall problem. He asked Marie not to visit Carol for a while.

Marie became frantic. The day after Dr. Elmore told her of his wishes, she removed Carol from Carraway Methodist Hospital, saying she was taking her daughter to the Mayo Clinic. Carol had been at Carraway Methodist for three weeks, she said, and hadn't improved. She was taking her where she could get better care. Mother and daughter spent that night at a motel, and the next day Carol was admitted to University of Alabama Hospital in Birmingham. Dr. Brian Thompson was assigned to her case.

On September 20, 1979, Marie was arrested again on more check charges and the rest of Carol's family took the opportunity to reveal their suspicions to Carol's doctor. Though the story was fantastic, Dr. Thompson took it seriously. He checked Carol's fingernails and toenails for Aldridge-Mees lines, white deposits clearly visible in the nails of those who've been dosed with arsenic. The lines appeared on every nail. Dr. Thompson felt sure that further tests would reveal that Carol Hilley was loaded with arsenic, and had been so for a long time.

Upon hearing his sister's diagnosis, Mike Hilley wrote a long letter to Ralph Phillips, the Calhoun County Coroner. He recounted his father's rapid decline and death, Lucille Frazier's death, Marie's various checking and banking troubles, and Carol's illness. His mother was mentally ill, he asserted, and he wanted to help her. Marie, still in jail on check charges, was now officially under suspicion of murder and attempted murder.

Evidence Mounts

Lieutenant Gary Carroll had grown familiar, even friendly, with Marie Hilley in 1977 when she'd been in almost constant contact with the Anniston Police Department with reports of suspicious fires and phone calls. From his dealings with her he had sized her up as a financially and emotionally troubled but likeable widow. Now he was heading her investigation.

On September 26, he conducted and taped a two-hour interview with Marie. Mostly, she dodged accusations and tried to lay blame and suspicion elsewhere. But with careful questioning, Carroll got her to admit that she'd given Carol injections both at home and in the hospital, and that she'd also given her mother injections. All of these, she claimed, were actually medicine, and she'd obtained one of Carol's injections from a woman at Carraway Methodist named Mrs. Hill whose daughter was a nurse there.

Frank Hilley's body was exhumed on October 3, 1979. Freeda searched the house and found a pill bottle half full of liquid. Tests proved the liquid was arsenic. Arsenic was also found in a pill bottle Marie had in her purse when she was arrested. Evidence mounted, and Marie was charged with the attempted murder of her daughter. Meanwhile, the toxicology reports from Frank Hilley's exhumation came back—arsenic was present in his tissues at many times the normal level, though it was too soon to tell conclusively if the poison had been the cause of his death. The day after the toxicology reports were released, Lucille Frazier's body was exhumed—arsenic in her tissues ranged from four to ten times the normal level, though it was cancer that finally killed her.

Marie's bail was remarkably low, considering the seriousness of the main charge against her. Marie was released on bond on November 11, 1979. In the coming days she claimed she was afraid of reprisals from Frank's sisters and asked to be moved to a motel, from which she made numerous phone calls to Mike and other relatives asking for money.

On November 18, when attorney Wilford Lane came to the motel to visit Marie, he discovered she was missing as were her wallet, credit cards, and checkbook. A note scrawled on motel stationery read, "Lane, you led me straight to her. You will hear from me." On that same day, Carrie Hilley died of cancer in Anniston. Tests done on strands of her hair in the previous weeks had indicated elevated arsenic levels. Marie Hilley was now suspected of poisoning at least four people.

Marie's trail went cold almost immediately. On November 19 Margaret Key, Marie's Aunt, found that her house had been burglarized. Her car was missing, as were some clothes and a suitcase. The car was found a few days later in Marietta, Georgia. The FBI then joined the pursuit, tracking Marie from Marietta through Georgia to Savannah. After that, there was nothing. Most fugitives are eventually apprehended because of their old habits—something or someone in their past draws them to someplace familiar, where police, having studied the fugitive's past history, are waiting. Marie had no sentimental ties to bind her. She just disappeared.

Back in Anniston, the final toxicology reports from Frank Hilley's exhumation had come in—Marie was indicted on January 11, 1980 for the murder of her husband.

Robbi

Marie and John met in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in February of 1980. Marie was now going by an alias— Lindsay Robbi Hannon, and she hinted to John, the 33-year-old owner of a boat building business, that her past was tragic. She was 35 and from Texas, she told him, and she'd lost both her children in a car accident. John Homan's own life was no picnic—his alcoholic mother died when he was young, and he was an awkward, shy man. He was recently divorced, and Marie's solicitous attentions soothed him.

By March, Marie and John moved to New Hampshire, rented a tiny house and both found work. Using a fictional resume, Marie got a customer service job at Central Screw Corporation, where her efficiency and Southern charm enabled her to excel. Her co-workers found her fascinating. As Robbi, she told them of her children's' tragic death, of life in a wealthy Texas family, and of an inheritance which she would eventually claim. She complained of severe headaches and said she'd been to many doctors to try and find relief, but to no avail. Though some of her coworkers found her abrasive and pushy, most considered her a sympathetic figure. The men found Robbi Homan to be earthy and fun to be with.

Marie's now said she was dying of a rare blood disease. Though she and John were now married, she left her husband from time to time, telling her coworkers she was seeking treatment from various specialists. She began to speak in detail of a sister, her twin whom she called Teri Martin. Ahe would shut herself into an office, saying she was phoning Teri, who was having marriage problems. It was Teri who would take care of her during her upcoming trip to Texas, where they making one last attempt to find a treatment for her illness. Teri would see to her needs.

In September, 1982 Marie only stayed in Texas a few days. On September 23 she arrived in Florida and she had her hair bleached. As Teri Martin, Marie had secured a secretarial position. Working there for six weeks, she told her new boss, Jack McKenzie, about her gravely ill twin sister, Robbi. Her sister had recently developed cancer and Teri felt responsible for her. In November, when McKenzie received a call claiming that she was in New Hampshire and her sister, Robbi, had died, he wasn't surprised. Marie/Teri told him she'd be remaining in New Hampshire. On November 10, Marie called John Homan to break the news that his wife, Robbi, had died. The next day she flew to New Hampshire.

Teri

John Homan believed Marie Hilley's new ruse until the moment she was apprehended. Her hair was still bleached, and while in Florida she had lost quite a lot of weight. As Teri, she carried herself differently, so John was fooled. They went to the local paper to place Robbi Homan's obituary. The short piece contained several fabricated details. They later went to Central Screw where Marie introduced herself to Robbi's former coworkers as Teri, the twin sister they'd heard so much about. Some there believed her; others weren't fooled for a second. The speculation began.

Teri Martin moved in with John Homan, claiming they needed to be together to get over Robbi's death. She got a job at Book Press, a book printing company. Teri was a competent secretary;, settled into her new job comfortably.

Back at Central Screw, the controversy raged—was she or wasn't she? A group of doubters decided to focus on the obituary. They first discovered that the hospital to which Robbi's body had supposedly been left—did not exist. They found that the church to which the obituary stated Robbi had belonged in Texas was fictitious too. A check of obituaries and coroner's records in the Dallas area around the date of November 10, 1982 yielded nothing. The gossip about this amateur investigation spread through Central Screw, and it wasn't long before local police were informed that something wasn't right about the woman who claimed to be Teri Martin. Police Authorities began watching Teri. They soon decided she must be Terry Lynn Clifton, another fugitive.

On January 12, 1983, they apprehended her at Book Press. When they asked her name, she said she was Audrey Marie Hilley, and she was wanted on bad check charges. When police put her name out on the wire the word came back quickly—she was indeed Audrey Marie Hilley, but she had more than just check charges to face back in Alabama.

Marie on Trial

Authorities brought Marie back to Anniston on January 19, 1983. When Carol, now recovered but confused, visited the jail, Marie cried and hugged her and professed to love her. She missed her terribly, she claimed. However, she offered no explanation for the poisoning. After that first visit, Marie and Carol saw each other often and spoke on the phone frequently. Carol wanted badly to believe that her mother had never meant to hurt her, which worried the prosecutors.

Judge Sam Monk presided over the trial. From the beginning it was obvious that the defense was going to sully Carol's reputation, to make her seem unstable enough to poison herself. Carol's performance under cross-examination, though, was admirable. Prosecutors needn't have worried—Carol's testimony that her mother had given her mysterious injections during her illness rang lucid and true. Freeda's testimony served to establish that arsenic had been found among Marie's possessions. At Carrie Hilley's home, Freeda also found a bag containing jars of baby food, a spoon, and rat poison. Freeda also testified that Frank Hilley told her that Marie had given him an injection. Eve Cole corroborated Carol's claim that her mother had given her injections.

Marie had told her attorneys that police had interviewed her after her 1979 arrest, but she hadn't told them that the interview had been taped. In that recording, Marie admitted to giving Carol two injections, saying they were anti-nausea medicine, and claiming to have obtained one at the hospital. From that point her defense crumbled.

It took the jury just three hours to come to its verdict—Marie Hilley was guilty of the murder of Frank Hilley and of the attempted murder of Carol Hilley. The following day she received a life sentence for the murder and twenty years for the poisoning. At the sentencing hearing, she again professed her innocence.

On June 9, 1983, Marie entered Tutwiler State Women's Prison in Wetumpka, Alabama. Despite reports that she talked constantly of escape, she was reclassified as a minimum security prisoner, which made her eligible for leaves from the prison. In late 1986, her first eight-hour pass was approved. That pass and three others came and went with no trouble; Marie returned to prison promptly each time. By February, 1987 she had qualified for a three-day furlough. On February 19, she left Tutwiler Prison for the last time.

Unexpected Ending

John Homan had relocated to Anniston, so he and Marie could spent the leave weekends together. On Sunday, February 22, she told John that she wanted to visit her parents' graves and would meet him. She didn’t. John found a note. "I hope you will be able to forgive me," it read. "I'm getting ready to leave. It will be best for everybody. We'll be together again. Please give me an hour to get out of town." Marie wrote that a man named Walter was taking her out of town and contact John later. John called the sheriff. Given Marie's history, authorities assumed she had a well-crafted plan of escape and had left the state quickly.

It was rainy and cold on February 26 when police were called to a house near Blue Mountain. A strange, delirious woman was on Sue Craft's porch and she needed help. She said her name was Sellers and that her car had broken down. She was suffering from hypothermia. Within a few minutes Marie lost consciousness and began convulsing, and her heart stopped in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. No one knew how long she'd been wandering, but her body temperature had fallen to 81 degrees. Marie Hilley, who had always aspired to wealth and position, died an ugly, lonely death very near her childhood home. On February 28, 1987 Marie Hilley's children buried her beside Frank Hilley, the husband she'd murdered.

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