Murder: True Crime Stories - SOLVED: Frank Hilley, Pt. 2

Episode Date: July 23, 2024

Despite an exhaustive search, the authorities couldn't track down Marie Hilley after she murdered her husband and tried to kill her daughter. With Marie on the run, her surviving family anxiously waited to see if she would be brought to justice. Murder: True Crime Stories is part of Crime House Studios. For more, follow us on Instagram @crimehouse. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is Crime House. Everyone wants to know what it's like to be someone else. Usually it's just for fun. Taking on a role in a school play, trying on our friend's clothes, even telling a stranger a little white lie about our background it's a thrill to dip our toes into another life but that rush can be addictive and that's when things go sideways because once that addiction sets in the liar isn't in control, the lies are. People's lives are like a story.

There's a beginning, a middle, and an end. But you don't always know which part you're on. Sometimes the final chapter arrives far too soon soon and we don't always get to know the real ending. I'm Carter Roy and this is Murder True Crime Stories, a Crime House original. Every Tuesday I'll explore the story of a notorious murder or murders. At Crime House we want to express our gratitude to you, our community, for making this possible. Please support us by rating, reviewing, and following Murder True Crime Stories wherever you get your podcasts. Your feedback truly matters. This is the second

and final episode on the murder of Frank Hilly, a 46-year-old father of two who was poisoned by his wife, Marie Hilly, in 1975. Last week, we traced Marie and Frank's troubled relationship until Marie killed Frank with a fatal dose of arsenic. Marie tried to poison her daughter, Carol, too, but this time her relatives realized her plans before it was too late. Police arrested Marie and charged her with attempted murder. But against her family's wishes, she was released on bail, and as soon as she was free, she disappeared. She disappeared. Today, we'll follow investigators as they try to track down Marie and realize just how dangerous she really is.

All that and more, coming up. Hey everyone, it's Carter. I have a favor to ask you. If you are enjoying Murder True Crime Stories, I would be honored if you took a moment to rate and review us on Apple and Spotify. Your valuable feedback helps us improve and expand our reach so other true crime fans can find us too. Your support means everything. True crime fans can find us too. Your support means everything. In October 1979, 46-year-old Marie Hilly was charged with attempted murder for poisoning her daughter Carol. About a month later, Marie posted bail and was waiting for her trial date in a motel. At least she was supposed to wait.

When one of Marie's lawyers came to meet her on November 18, 1979, he found her motel room empty. There was panic all around, from the lawyers to law enforcement to Marie's family. Marie was dangerous, and now she was nowhere to be found. It didn't seem like Marie was trying to make a run for it. All her clothes were still in the closet, and her toiletries were by the sink. Marie's purse was on the bed, with photos of her young grandson inside. And there was a note addressed to one of Marie's lawyers.

The messy handwriting read, You led me right to her. You will hear from me. Marie's lawyers and law enforcement puzzled over the menacing note. It appeared as though Marie had been kidnapped. menacing note, it appeared as though Marie had been kidnapped. But the more investigators examined the room and considered Marie's history, the phonier this kidnapping looked. Although Marie's purse was still in the room, her wallet and identification were gone. And the kidnapping note was scrawled roughly, like the writer was trying to disguise their handwriting. Investigators were pretty sure Marie had written it herself.

The handwriting was a perfect match for threatening messages Marie claimed to receive back in 1977 and 1978. But the local police always thought that Marie had actually written them herself as a way to get attention. Assuming this note was more of the same, then it seemed pretty obvious that Marie had staged her own kidnapping. Either way, Marie was missing, and the case couldn't move forward until she was found. Investigators linked Marie to a stolen car in a suburb of her hometown of Anniston, Alabama, and followed her trail to Savannah, Georgia. But about a week after her disappearance, they lost track of her.

As the search area widened, Anniston police turned to the FBI for help. Experts there used Marie's background to make the manhunt more efficient. The authorities knew Marie was particular about her appearance, so FBI agents went into upscale stores in cities surrounding Anniston to show Marie's picture to employees. They did the same in beauty parlors. They even published Marie's photograph in magazines that were likely to be read while women were getting their hair done. All these tactics turned up piles of tips to sort through, but never any solid leads. Progress was frustratingly slow. But if they did find Marie, she'd be in a world of trouble.

Because in the meantime, Anniston police were building their murder case. A few weeks after Marie's disappearance, Frank Hilly's autopsy results finally came through. The results were undeniable. Frank was murdered with arsenic. Now Marie was wanted for the attempted homicide of her daughter, Carol, and the homicide of her husband. the homicide of her husband. With two confirmed victims, Anniston Police started looking into the possibility that Marie had poisoned other people too. Frank's mother, Carrie Hilly, had been living with Marie for about a year before Marie's arrest. Carrie had been fighting cancer and died around the same time Marie disappeared.

Frank's sister Frida remembered that their mother had been sick with flu-like symptoms a few times after having lunch with Marie. It seemed like nothing at the time, but now Carrie's upset stomach looked much more sinister. An autopsy confirmed cancer as Carrie's cause of death, but she also died with traces of arsenic in her body. The police wondered if maybe Marie had also poisoned her mother Lucille, who had died in 1976. They exhumed the body and ordered an autopsy. The results were shockingly similar to Carrie's.

Lucille's cause of death remained cancer, but there were traces of arsenic in her body. In Lucille's final months, the effects of the poison might have been mistaken as side effects of cancer treatment. A few Anniston police officers wondered if they were victims themselves. Many of them had been to Marie's home in the months following Frank's death, when Marie was filing all those reports about burglaries and threatening notes. Like any good Southern host, Marie would always offer the visiting policemen a drink or homemade snack. Those that accepted remembered being acutely ill immediately afterwards. As the entire town of Anniston came to grips with Marie's crimes, everyone thought back to

their interactions with her and wondered if they'd ever had a brush with Marie's poisonous cooking. For them, it was a fun source of gossip. But for Marie's children, it was all too real. As Marie's son Michael looked back on the last several years, one thing stuck out to him. several years, one thing stuck out to him. His wife Terry's miscarriage right after Frank's death. She'd lost the baby right on the heels of a sudden gastrointestinal illness. It seemed possible, likely even, that Marie was responsible for that tragedy. Michael also remembered his own acute vomiting episode during a confrontation with Marie. Marie had failed to pay bills in Michael's name, and Michael's credit had plummeted. But when Michael tried to get Marie to fix the problem, he suddenly became ill. He spent an evening in bed, too nauseated to do anything. With all this in mind, Michael and Terry got themselves tested for arsenic poisoning. As expected, there were traces

of arsenic in their systems, but it wasn't enough to be useful. There was no way to confirm when it was administered or in what amount. The couple felt overwhelmed by the scope of Marie's betrayal. But their struggle paled in comparison to what Michael's sister Carol had been through. Months of an illness that left her on the verge of death. And it was all caused by the one person who stuck by her side through it all, her own mother. The more Carol and Michael absorbed the reality

of what Marie did, the more they had to confront a new emotion, fear. Marie was still out there. She'd harmed them before, and she could do it again. But Marie stayed missing. As much as they could, the Hillies tried to move on. Carol's health recovered and she returned to college. Michael and Terry moved to Tennessee in the spring of 1981 with their young son Matthew. Terry gave birth to another son a few months later. After two years with no contact for Marie, they were finally starting to relax. In the fall of 1982, Michael was awoken in the

middle of the night by a familiar sound, the baby crying. As he pulled himself out of bed, he saw something alarming. The silhouetted figure of a woman was standing outside the window of his son's room. She was trying to pry it open. She was trying to pry it open. Michael dialed the police while Terry rushed to the baby's room and gathered their son in her arms. She got a good look at the attempted kidnapper right outside. It was Marie.

Michael watched through the window as Marie jumped into a vehicle waiting at the end of their driveway. By the time the police arrived, she was long gone. help the investigation. The next few months passed and things remained at a frustrating standstill. But a break in the case was coming, just not from the direction anyone expected. Hey there, Carter Roy here. If you're enjoying the chilling tales of murder true crime stories, then you'll love the Crime House original Mind of a Serial Killer. What sets Mind of a Serial Killer apart is its focus on the twisted psychology of the world's most notorious serial killers. Names like Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, the Night Stalker, featuring expert

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where we go deep into notorious true crime cases. With significant research and careful analysis, we examine the psyche of a killer, their motives and targets, and law enforcement's pursuit to stop their spree. Follow Serial Killers wherever you get your podcasts and get new episodes every Monday. After Marie skipped bail at the end of 1979,

the FBI and local Anniston police searched for her doggedly, but they never came close to catching her. And they never would. It was law enforcement in a small New Hampshire town that were closing in. But they had no idea who they were chasing. By the summer of 1980, Marie had been on the run for roughly six months. of 1980, Marie had been on the run for roughly six months. Around that time, a man named John Homan moved to Marlow, New Hampshire with his new bride, a woman named Robbie. They moved into a cozy cottage, and Robbie found work as a secretary at a local screw manufacturer. She was friendly

and unreserved with her co-workers. She shared stories about growing up in Texas with her twin sister Terry and the tragedy of losing her first husband and their two children in a car accident. and warm with an energy that seemed to lift up everyone in her presence. And she was always so put together with carefully curated outfits and perfectly done makeup and hair. They all agreed she was something special. John and Robbie seemed settled and happy for their first two years in Marlow. But in the summer of 1982, Robbie gave her co-workers some grave news. She was suffering from a rare blood disorder. Robbie's colleagues were devastated as they watched her health quickly deteriorate. Robbie's headaches were so terrible, they often left her in tears.

Sometimes she even blacked out, losing her memory of the previous few hours. Robbie would search frantically through her desk for her lunch, only for her co-workers to tell her she'd already eaten it. When the nearest hospital didn't provide adequate treatment, Robbie planned to return to Texas to see a specialist there. John would stay in Marlowe, and Robbie's twin sister Terry would see Robbie through her treatment. Robbie hated to leave her husband and job, but she had no choice. If she didn't find relief soon, she would die. choice. If she didn't find relief soon, she would die. Robbie left Marlowe in September 1982,

which happened to be around the time Marie Hilly tried to kidnap her grandchild. Robbie called the office a few times to speak with one of her closest friends there, Claudia, but in mid-November, Robbie's twin sister Terry called Claudia instead. She had terrible news. Robbie was dead. Claudia kept the news to herself, so the rest of her co-workers were still in the dark when a grief-stricken John Homan showed up in the office a few days later. He had a blonde woman with him who looked strikingly like Robbie. John introduced her as Robbie's twin sister, Terry. She wanted to see where her sister had worked. When Claudia came up to say hi, she found Terry's presence completely overwhelming. It felt unnatural, eerie even, to see another person that looked so much like her dead friend. Terry was a bit thinner than Robbie, and her hair was blonde instead of Robbie's brown.

She did her makeup a bit differently, but otherwise, the resemblance was striking. As John and Terry toured the office, another employee greeted Terry as Robbie in passing. John explained who Terry was. The co-worker was embarrassed, but also dubious. A few other employees made the same mistake. After John and Terry left, a few people in the office started gossiping. They were convinced that Terry wasn't real. That had to be Robbie. The question on their minds was, why? Suspicion around town only grew as Terry's visit with John seemed to become permanent. She stayed with him for several weeks and even got a job nearby.

weeks and even got a job nearby. In December 1982, the police got wind of the rumors that Terry was not who she said she was. They thought it all sounded more like a soap opera than a police report, but impersonating someone else was a crime, so they got to work corroborating the workplace gossip. They pulled Robbie's obituary from the local newspaper. But when police tried to confirm the details, they kept running into dead ends. So they tried a more basic record search for things like birth certificates, social security numbers, and driver's licenses for either of the sisters. They came up with nothing. Something was definitely

off. But the police still hadn't found evidence of a crime. If they wanted to know more, they'd have to go to the source. In January 1983, investigators confronted Terry as she left her job. They identified themselves but kept things light, hoping to avoid spooking her. Casually, they mentioned that there were rumors about her around town, that Terry wasn't who she said she was. Officers later said they could almost see the dam inside Terry break. Her face loosened, her shoulders drooped, her eyes drifted to the ground, and then she calmly agreed to go with them to the station. In an interrogation room, Terry gave her real name, Audrey Marie Hilly. She said she was wanted in Alabama on a few fraud charges. Investigators used a teletype machine, basically an early fax machine, to confirm Marie's

name with a national crime database. The machine responded quickly, spitting out pages of information. The New Hampshire cops were shocked. This wasn't a small-time white-collar criminal. They had just nabbed a sought-after fugitive wanted for murder. As police arranged for Marie's transfer back to Alabama, they called in her new husband, John Homan. John said he'd met Robbie at a bar in Florida in 1980. They married just over a year later. Robbie said she liked snow, so they decided to settle in Marlowe to be close to John's brother. so they decided to settle in Marlow to be close to John's brother.

He recounted the same details as Robbie's co-workers about the mysterious blood disorder. While Robbie was in Texas, John didn't hear much from her, just a few phone calls. Then on November 10, 1982, John got another call, this one from Terry. Robbie was dead. Terry told John that Robbie wanted the two of them to spend time together grieving after her death. They were Robbie's only surviving relatives and the people she loved most in the world. She asked if John would be willing to honor Robbie's request and host Terry up in New Hampshire. It was a lot for John to take in, but he wanted to honor his wife's final wish, so he said yes. Terry arrived the very next day. John knew that he'd be meeting his wife's identical twin, but the experience was even stranger than he imagined. He knew Robbie was dead, but when he picked up Terry at the airport,

it was like his wife was walking down the tarmac. Investigators stopped John there. There was something he needed to know, and there was no easy way to tell him. Terry and Robbie were the same person, whose real name was Audrey Marie Hilly, and she was wanted for murder. John sat back in his chair in disbelief. Investigators found his reaction authentic. He didn't know anything about his wife's real identity or crimes. After asking him a few more questions, they told John he could go.

But he refused. He wouldn't leave without seeing his wife first. Police led John into another interrogation room with Marie. She was contrite. She hadn't expected to see John again after what she did. But John just wanted to know one thing. Did she do it? Marie didn't miss a beat. No, she was innocent. John nodded. Then he wasn't leaving her side. couldn't believe it. Marie had lied to her husband from the day they met, and yet he was still committed to her? They could only hope that influence wouldn't work on an Alabama jury. Marie was finally headed back to her hometown to stand trial for murder.

But she still had a couple tricks up her sleeve. In early 1983, 49-year-old Audrey Marie Hilly returned to her hometown of Anniston, Alabama in handcuffs. After three years on the run, Marie had become notorious. The entire town was buzzing with the news. Reporters from all over the country swarmed the area. Locals gossiped excitedly about the emerging details of Marie's time as a fugitive, which were juicier than a soap opera. For Carol and Michael Hilly, these details weren't fascinating. They were disturbing. Now that she was back in their lives, they once again had to confront everything she'd done to them. For Michael, the process felt

simpler than it had when Marie was arrested back in 1979. He'd become a seasoned pastor while Marie was away, and it was easier to look past his own feelings, even his anger and fear over the break-in attempt less than a year ago. In Michael's mind, Marie was mentally ill and in need of treatment. If she asked forgiveness for everything she'd done, then Michael would grant it. For Carol, it was more complicated. While Marie was away, she had moments of clarity about the evil things Marie had done. But now that Marie was back, things Marie had done. But now that Marie was back, the evil felt hard to remember. Carol was still a daughter who craved her mother's affection. As soon as Marie was settled in the local jail, Carol went to see her. She thought her mother looked pitiful in her prison jumpsuit,

like someone who needed her help. During the visit, Marie heaped affection on her daughter. It only intensified Carol's heartbreak. She couldn't believe that the loving person in front of her, who she'd missed the past three years, could be the same person who almost killed her. who almost killed her. After the visit, Carol had a difficult choice to make. Her testimony would be instrumental to the prosecution, but if she agreed to testify, she couldn't see her mother again until the trial was over. Carol clearly agonized over the decision writing anxiously to Marie that she hoped Marie would still send letters even if Carol worked with the prosecution She emphasized how much she loved her mother But in the end, Carol agreed to testify

and to stay away from Marie. Carol's alliance with the prosecution was one of several early advantages for the state. By the time the trial began in May 1983, prosecutors had momentum and they never let up on the pressure. Marie's defense hinged on two strategies. One, discredit Carol, the prosecution's most important witness. Two, cede the possibility that someone else was responsible for poisoning Frank and Carol. Ultimately, neither approach was effective. Carol dodged every attempt by the defense to undermine her testimony.

She clarified how the poison affected her, refusing to let Marie's lawyer downplay its significance. When the lawyer tried to insinuate that Carol used hard drugs, she was honest and calm. She admitted to using marijuana, but that was it. Any hope of building a case that Marie was framed fell apart under the weight of the prosecution's evidence. Every lie Marie told to defend herself, that she thought she was injecting Frank and Carol with medicine, that the injections were prescribed by a doctor, was proven untrue. In June of 1983, Marie was sentenced to life in prison for murdering Frank and an additional 20 years for attempting to murder Carol. She served her sentence in Tutwiler Prison in Anniston.

But that wasn't the end of Marie's story. Even in prison, Marie's charm still had value. She quickly sussed out the power dynamics and focused on the people who could help her, the prison staff. She paid particular attention to the male assistant warden. She confided in him about the many tragedies of her life, the illnesses plaguing her family, losing her first husband before they could grow old together, and on top of all that, being falsely accused of hurting her husband and daughter. Marie shared her theory that there had been a plot to frame her. Even after her trial and conviction, Marie

could still spin her story to her advantage. Like so many other people Marie had come into contact with, her work colleagues, her defense lawyers, both her husbands, her children, the assistant warden was taken in. He believed everything Marie said. With consistent reports of good behavior and the support of the assistant warden, Marie earned the privilege of a furlough pass after serving four years. While on furlough, after serving four years. While on furlough, Marie was allowed to leave the prison for three days and spend time with her husband John anywhere within a certain geographical area. John was thrilled. He booked them a hotel room and picked Marie up at the prison gates in February 1987. The couple spent a glorious three days together, eating whatever Marie wanted, taking walks, and of course spending some quality time together in the hotel.

On the morning of the third day, prison officials were expecting Marie after breakfast. Marie had a special request. She wanted to visit her parents' graves. They were just a few blocks from the hotel. Marie planned to walk to the cemetery, then meet John at a Waffle House for breakfast. John got them a table and read the menu. He put in an order for coffee. He watched the door. But Marie never showed up. But Marie never showed up.

John raced back to their hotel room, where he found a note under his pillow. It was from Marie. She told him that he was the love of her life, but she couldn't return to prison. She was leaving the country. John immediately alerted prison officials and the local police department. The second manhunt for Audrey Marie Hilly got underway. The weather was lousy, cold and icy, with more freezing rain in the forecast. As far as investigators could tell, Marie had fled wearing just the clothes on her back. Without a winter coat or boots, Marie couldn't possibly get far on foot. The local police department threw all the manpower they had into the hunt,

keeping a close watch on the homes of Marie's friends in Anniston and scouring the rural area around town. Two days went by without a sign of Marie. Everyone was getting nervous. They wondered if somehow she had slipped through their fingers once again. On the morning of the third day, officers got a phone tip. A woman living up on nearby Blue Mountain called in to report a stranger lying on her porch. She was bruised and bloody, like she'd been walking through the wild terrain, and she was soaked to the bone and shivering. Officers called for an ambulance to accompany

them. Sure enough, the pathetic, dripping woman lying on a stranger's porch was Audrey Marie Hilly. She'd spent three days wandering around the rural mountain neighborhood that her parents had escaped when she was just a girl. Now, it had beaten her. Marie was suffering from hypothermia so advanced, she was delirious. Paramedics rushed her to the hospital, but Marie didn't survive the trip. She suffered a stroke and died en route. She was 53 years old. Marie's death echoed her life. It made sense to her alone. After successfully disappearing yet again, nobody knows why she ended up wandering on a chilly mountainside. a few have made guesses. During Marie's trial, one of her cellmates testified that Marie poisoned Frank for supporting her wayward daughter, and then poisoned Carol for continuing to disappoint

her. The prosecution laid out evidence that showed life insurance payouts were Marie's motivator, but Marie never confessed to poisoning her family, so we will never know the real reason that she systematically drained away their health over months, a little bit at a time. Marie's death couldn't provide answers, but it did provide her children with their first taste of true closure. Finally, they were unburdened from their complex, painful relationship with their mother. Finally, they were in control of where Marie would be, and they could trust she would stay there. In a private ceremony presided over by her son, Reverend Michael Hilly, Marie's family laid her to rest. She would have to spend eternity confronting her crimes. She was buried in a plot she'd purchased many years ago,

next to her husband. Thanks so much for listening. I'm Carter Roy, and this is Murder True Crime Stories. Come back next week for the story of a new murder and all the people it affected. Murder True Crime Stories is a CrimeHouse original powered by Pave Studios. Here at CrimeHouse, we want to thank each and every one of you for your support. If you like what you heard today, reach out on social media at Murder True Crime Pod on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube. Don't forget to rate, review, and follow Murder True Crime Stories wherever you get your podcasts.

Your feedback truly makes a difference. We'll be back next Tuesday. Murder True Crime Stories, a Crime House original powered by Pave Studios, is executive produced by Max Cutler. This episode of Murder True Crime Stories was sound designed by Ron Shapiro, written by Hana McIntosh,

edited by Alex Benidon, fact-checked by Sheila Patterson, and included production assistance from Kristen Acevedo and Sarah Carroll. Murder True Crime Stories is hosted by Carter Roy. You may know a serial killer's crimes. Now, uncover the psychology behind them. Mind of a Serial Killer is a Crime House original. New episodes drop every Monday. Just search Mind of a Serial Killer and follow wherever you listen to podcasts.

Thank you. analysis, we examine the psyche of a killer, their motives and targets, and law enforcement's pursuit to stop their spree. Follow Serial Killers wherever you get your podcasts, and get new episodes every Monday.