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Annie Hearin

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Annie laurie hearin1

Anne Hearin

Real Name: Annie Laurie Hearin
Nicknames: Annie Swaim (maiden name)
Location: Jackson, Mississippi
Date: July 26, 1988

Bio[]

Occupation: Retired
Date of Birth: November 2, 1915
Height: 5'4"
Weight: 120 lbs.
Marital Status: Married
Characteristics: White female with brown hair, brown eyes. She had pierced ears. She wore a light-colored (possibly pink) blouse and a khaki-colored linen skirt. She had a stooped gait from scoliosis and arthritis. She was diagnosed with ileitis, a chronic inflammation of the small intestine. She took daily steroid medications to regulate her condition and avoid life-threatening complications. A month's supply of it was missing from her home.

School picture map

Map of eight states with franchises named in ransom note

Case[]

Details: Seventy-two-year-old Annie Laurie Hearin and her seventy-one-year-old husband, Robert Hearin Sr., lived in the upscale neighborhood of Woodland Hills in Jackson, Mississippi. They were married for forty-eight years and had two children: Robert Jr., a New Orleans, Louisiana lawyer, and Laurie McRee, also of Jackson. Robert Sr. was one of the wealthiest men in the state. Annie was a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother, active in Jackson's social and civic life. On July 26, 1988, she was kidnapped from her home.
Annie's kidnapping was unusual. Rather than simply insisting on money for himself, the kidnapper left a note naming twelve people whom he felt were owed money by one of Robert Sr.'s companies. He hopes someone will come forward with information that will help find her.
Annie was originally from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. She and Robert Sr. met while attending the University of Alabama in the late 1930s. She was studying journalism and worked as an editor for the school newspaper. On June 27, 1940, they were married. They later moved to Jackson. After serving in World War II, he became a successful businessman.
Robert Sr. started as a leasing agent for the United Gas Company. In 1955, he joined Trustmark National Bank, and in 1958, he became its president. In 1981, he retired from Trustmark, which by then was Mississippi's second-largest bank. He became co-owner of the state's largest natural gas distribution company, Mississippi Valley Gas Co. He acquired major holdings in the state's second-largest insurance company, Lamar Life Corp. By 1988, his wealth was between $100 and $200 million.
Robert Sr. and Annie were involved in several charities and funded scholarships for local colleges. She was a patron of the Jackson Symphony and the Mississippi Museum of Art, president of the Jackson Opera Guild and the Jackson Junior League, and co-chairperson of the Mississippi Arts Festival. Her family, friends, and neighbors described her as courteous, friendly, and intelligent. She suffered from scoliosis, arthritis, and ileitis, with the latter requiring daily medication. By 1988, her ill health forced her to cut back on her civic involvements, and she spent most of her time at home.
At 10:15am on July 26, 1988, Annie hosted a bridge club luncheon at her home. She had played with the same group of seven women for thirty years. Her last guest left around 2:30pm. At around 3pm, her housekeeper left, leaving her home alone. She told her housekeeper she planned to read while waiting for Robert Sr. to return home.
When Robert Sr. came home from work at 4:30pm, he noticed Annie's car parked in the driveway. But when he came inside, she was not there. He initially thought she was with friends or Laurie. However, he became concerned when she had not returned by 7:30pm. In the living room, he found her purse, shoes, and glasses – items she normally took when she went out. He called Laurie, but her husband, Michael, answered and said she was out of town. He asked Michael to come over and help search for Annie.
Robert Sr. called other family and friends, but no one knew of Annie's whereabouts. He and Michael searched in and around the house, to no avail. At 9:50pm, he called the police to report her missing. Then, he and Michael made an alarming discovery. A folded, typewritten note, apparently left by a kidnapper, lay in the foyer by the front door. It contained several spelling and grammatical errors.
The note read, R bert Herrin, Put these people back in the shape they was in before they got mixed up with School Pictures. Pay them whatever damages they want and tell them all this so they can no what you are doing but don't tell them why you are doing it. Do this before ten days pass. Don't call police. It then listed the names of twelve men: Carl Sewart, Arnold Belnap, Victor Hannedol, Carl Patton, Hirmam Stutts, Hal Warner, Jim Combs, Vincent Price, N. Alferd Winn, George Meacher, Page Bruton, and Jerry Maroon. It ended: If any is dead, pay his children.
When Jackson police arrived at the Hearin home, they discovered blood drops on the carpet and blood smears on the front door and doorframe. The blood matched Annie's blood type. Based on the blood smears, the police believed she was struck on the head and then forcibly taken from the house. According to Jackson Chief of Police J. L. Black, the note said not to call the police. However, Robert Sr. did so before discovering the note.
The police and the mayor asked the local news media not to report on Annie's kidnapping, fearing she would be killed if the kidnapper discovered the police had been notified. But two days later, on July 28, her family and the mayor went public to let the kidnapper know they were willing to do whatever was necessary to secure her release.
The police learned that on the day of Annie's kidnapping, neighbors had reported seeing two vehicles that seemed out of place in the neighborhood. One was a light-colored Ford pickup truck, and the other was a white cargo van with a Florida license plate. The van was also seen near the Hearin home a week earlier.
The FBI was brought in to investigate Annie's kidnapping. They determined the ransom note was typed on a Royal typewriter manufactured between 1912 and 1927. No fingerprints were found on it. According to Special Agent Wayne Taylor, the note's demands were vague. The kidnapper wanted Robert Sr. to pay damages to certain individuals listed in the note who were allegedly harmed by School Pictures of Mississippi, Inc., a company of which he was president and chairman of the board of directors. The company sells franchises to photographers throughout the United States to develop and print photographs of schoolchildren.
Robert Sr. had a reputation as a tough businessman. When he took control of School Pictures, it was "floundering." He cut costs and put it back on the road to profitability. Between 1981 and 1983, to collect outstanding debts relating to operating loans, materials, and film processing fees, School Pictures filed lawsuits against twelve franchise owners in eight states: Florida, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia.
The police discovered that the twelve men listed in the ransom note were the same twelve sued by School Pictures. They were sued in the Hinds County Court in Jackson, and their names were available to the public in county court records. This meant the kidnapper did not have to be one of the twelve men. Chief Black believes it is possible that none of the men were involved in Annie's kidnapping. However, he cannot rule out that someone who knew of School Pictures and its operations was involved.
The FBI tracked down and surveilled the twelve men listed in the note. Many had financial troubles. One, Page Bruton, committed suicide in 1985 after filing for bankruptcy. The FBI also pored through Robert Sr.'s extensive business dealings for signs of a soured deal or a disgruntled employee. They point out that the kidnapper's motive could have something to do with School Pictures, or it could be something else, and the company was used as a diversion.
An FBI forensic psychiatrist examined the ransom note and believed the kidnapper was one of the men listed. He theorized the kidnapper intentionally misspelled words in the note and used an old typewriter to throw off investigators. He believed the kidnapper was a paranoid, middle-aged white male who kidnapped Annie by himself. He also theorized the kidnapping was an act of revenge against Robert Sr.
The police thought it was strange that Annie's kidnapping did not follow the predictable pattern of phone calls, specific monetary demands, and instructions on where to drop the money. Despite the ransom note's vagueness, her family wanted to comply. They wanted to do whatever they could to get her back. School Pictures was requested to look into their files on the twelve men in the note. In early August, letters were sent out to them, trying to determine what "damages" they had and what they wanted. Several replied that they wanted nothing.
Twelve days after the kidnapping, on August 7, Robert Sr. held a press conference at his home and made a personal plea to the kidnapper: "My name is Robert Hearin. My wife, Annie Laurie, was taken from my home over ten days ago. My children and I have done everything humanly possible to obtain her release. Like any businessman, I've made decisions which may appear to others as unfeeling. But those appearances are just not true. Moreover, those business decisions were mine, not my wife's. She had absolutely nothing to do with them. My children and I appeal to whomever has my wife that she may be safely returned to us. Thank you."
Eight days after the press conference, on August 15, Robert Sr. received a letter. He recognized the distinctive handwriting on the envelope as Annie's. Dated August 10, it read: Bob, if you don't do what these people want you to do, they are going to seal me up in the cellar of this house with only a few jugs of water. Please save me, Annie Laurie. The letter was postmarked from Atlanta, Georgia, on August 12. The FBI confirmed that the handwriting on the envelope and the letter was Annie's. A spot of blood was also found on it.
Annie's family had hit a "low ebb" before receiving the letter. It gave them an emotional lift because it meant that she had survived the initial kidnapping and struggle. However, the letter was still vague as to what the kidnapper wanted them to do.
To show a good-faith effort to comply with the vague demands, Robert Sr. instructed his attorneys to check their records and determine the amounts that School Pictures had sued the twelve men for. After conferring with the police and the FBI, on August 16, Robert Sr. sent checks totaling nearly $1 million to the men. At least half of the checks were returned.
On September 8, Robert Sr. offered a $100,000 reward for Annie's safe return. Neither her family nor the police have heard from her or the kidnapper since the letter Robert Sr. received on August 15. They fear for her health and safety. Robert Jr. notes that it has been their sincere desire from the beginning to do everything possible to comply with the kidnapper's demands. They want Annie back. They do not want to question the kidnapper's motives. Getting her back is their paramount concern.
Robert Jr. thinks about Annie all the time. He feels there is no way to quantify how much of a tragedy and ordeal this has been for their family.
Suspects: Two out-of-place vehicles were seen in Annie's neighborhood on the day of the kidnapping. One was a light-colored Ford pickup truck, and the other was a white cargo van with a Florida license plate. Neither vehicle has been located.
The police believe that Annie's kidnapping is related to one of Robert Sr.'s businesses, most likely School Pictures, as it was mentioned in the ransom note. They suspect that one of the twelve men listed in the note was involved in Annie's kidnapping. However, one of them, Page Bruton, died three years earlier in 1985. The other men's names are Cecil Stewart, Arnold Belknap, Victor Hanneld, Carl Patton, Hiram Stutts Jr., Hal Wagner, Jim Combs, Vincent Price, N. Alfred Winn, George Meador, and Jerry Maroon.
Extra Notes:

  • This case first aired on the November 9, 1988 episode. It was updated on the April 5, 1989 episode.
  • It was also featured on Cold Case Files and The FBI Files.
  • A similar case of a woman kidnapped and held for ransom was Martha Doe Roberts.
  • Seven-year-old Daphne Tullos disappeared from Jackson on the same day as Annie.
  • Some sources state: Annie had red/auburn hair and gray eyes; Robert Sr. was a primary stockholder in School Pictures; he had not been involved in School Pictures for five years; their housekeeper left at 3:30pm; Robert Sr. called the police almost immediately after he came home; Annie's ileitis medicine was left in the bathroom; the police found the ransom note; ten names were listed in the note; the police found blood on the brick stoop; Robert Sr.'s press conference was on August 8; and all but three of the men on the list returned the money.
N winn

Newton Alfred Winn (left) after his arrest

Results: Unresolved. On March 11, 1989, the FBI arrested sixty-five-year-old civil attorney Newton Alfred Winn in DeLand, Florida, on federal charges of conspiracy to kidnap, perjury, and extortion relating to Annie's kidnapping. He previously owned a Florida-based School Pictures franchise and was one of the twelve men listed in the ransom note. He had received a $145,000 check from Robert Sr. but had his attorney send it back.
In 1983, School Pictures sued Winn for failing to make required payments and taking money from a trust account that was supposed to be used for processing photographs. After a court battle, in 1984, he was ordered to pay the company over $153,000. Fines began accruing when he did not pay, and he eventually owed $500,000.
Under a court order, School Pictures started taking Winn's possessions, which included expensive stocks, cars, real estate, and jewelry. In March 1988, they obtained ownership of his St. Petersburg law office and put it up for auction. On July 6, he was notified of an eviction hearing scheduled for August 8. Within weeks, Annie was kidnapped.
An FBI profiler theorized the kidnapper was an attorney, since the legal term "damages" was used in the ransom note. Winn was the only attorney out of the twelve men listed, so the FBI started looking into him as a suspect. One week after Annie's kidnapping, on August 3, he testified before a federal grand jury. He denied knowing anything about the case.
Winn claimed that on the afternoon of Annie's kidnapping, he was at a bar in St. Petersburg with a prostitute called "Willie." At around 6pm, he called his paralegal, Don Ward, and had him bring $100 for Willie. Ward confirmed this to the grand jury. However, the FBI never located Willie, and neither Winn nor Ward could remember the bar's name. The FBI suspected Ward was lying for Winn because Winn had paid for his schooling and employed him.
The FBI learned about a 1979 white Dodge van registered in Ward's name. It matched the description of the one seen in the Hearin neighborhood. Its previous owner told the FBI that Winn was the actual buyer. He had purchased it one month before Annie's kidnapping and was adamant that his name not be on the title. However, the van was reportedly in a repair shop on the day of the kidnapping.
Three months before the kidnapping, around April 7 or 8, one of Annie's neighbors had seen a man sitting in a white van down the street from the Hearin home. Suspicious, the neighbor wrote down the van's license plate. The police discovered it was stolen from a car parked at the New Orleans airport. Records showed Winn had rented a white van from a New Orleans rental company on April 7. The neighbor identified the van's driver as Winn.
Two weeks before Annie's kidnapping, on July 15, another neighbor had seen a man sitting in a white van that was facing the Hearin home. When the neighbor returned home later that day, the van was still there. The neighbor asked the man if he needed help, and he responded, "Is there a law against parking in this neighborhood?" A few minutes later, he drove away. The neighbor identified him as Winn through a photo lineup.
One day before Annie's kidnapping, on July 25, a construction worker was repairing a church foundation around the corner from the Hearin home when he spoke to a man in a white van. He later positively identified the man as Winn.
After the Unsolved Mysteries broadcast, a Florida spiritual advisor contacted the telecenter. She said if Winn was listed on the ransom note, she had important information about him. Four years earlier, he had asked her for advice about his problems with the head of School Pictures. He said he wanted to kidnap and hold the company head hostage until he "got what [he] wanted." He also said he had the "perfect place" to put him.
After Annie's kidnapping, Winn sent a filing cabinet to the IRS regarding an unrelated dispute. In the cabinet, they found letters between him and an ex-girlfriend, Marilyn Taylor, that talked about a plot to kidnap and kill her ex-husband. Their plans included surveillance with aerial photos and topographical maps, stealing license plates, and using an old typewriter for communication. The FBI found many similarities between the murder plot and Annie's kidnapping.
On February 10, 1989, the FBI interviewed Taylor. She claimed that the murder plot was Winn's idea and that she broke up with him after realizing he was serious. They asked if she had been in contact with him since then. She said he had contacted her a few days after Annie's kidnapping and asked her to do a favor for him. At 7:30am on August 6, 1988, they met behind the Quality Inn in DeLand, Florida.
After confirming she was not followed or bugged, Winn told Taylor he was having legal problems with his ex-wife. He asked Taylor to mail a letter for him, offering her $500 plus travel expenses. He instructed her to do the following: fly to Atlanta, Georgia, on August 9, 10, or 11; use someone else's car to drive to the airport; use cash and an assumed name to purchase a one-way ticket to Atlanta; change clothes and appearance once in Atlanta; talk to no one and use public transportation; mail the letter from a high-volume post office; and then purchase a one-way ticket to a different Florida airport.
Winn then put on surgical gloves and handed Taylor a manila business envelope. Inside the manila envelope was the letter, wrapped in a gray linen napkin. He told her not to touch or look at the letter and to dispose of the manila envelope and napkin after it was mailed. He then gave her $500 cash for travel expenses.
Taylor followed most of Winn's instructions. On August 11, she used an assumed name to fly from Daytona Beach, Florida, to Atlanta. She changed her clothes and dyed her hair in the airport bathroom. She then took a taxi to a post office and mailed the letter. After that, she returned to the airport and flew back to Florida under a different name and airline. Two weeks later, Winn gave her the first $250 for mailing the letter.
Taylor told the FBI the letter would have been postmarked August 12 because she mailed it after 5:30pm. Although Winn told her not to look at or touch the letter, she had to remove the linen napkin to deposit it in the mail slot. She then saw the writing on the letter's envelope. When shown a photograph of the envelope Robert Sr. had received from Annie, she identified it as the one she had mailed for Winn.
The day after the interview, Taylor led the FBI to a remote area in DeLand where they found the linen napkin. Work and telephone records also corroborated her story. A week after her interview, she wore a wire and met with Winn. He gave her the remaining $250 he had promised her. She asked if he had settled things with his ex-wife, and he said, "What ex-wife?"
When Winn was arrested, the FBI found several maps of Mississippi in his car. One map had an exit to Jackson marked in pen. In his office, they found several aerial maps of Jackson. On one map, the Hearins' street was circled in red, several of Robert Sr.'s businesses were marked with an "X," and the word "farm" was written over a farm owned by the Hearins. Also found in the office were two guns, a list of people sued by School Pictures, and an old Royal typewriter, similar to the one used to type the ransom note.
The FBI confronted Winn's paralegal, Don Ward, who was also his alibi. Ward admitted that three days after Annie's kidnapping, Winn had asked him to lie to the police about their meeting at the St. Petersburg bar. Ward said Winn was out of the office that week. According to Ward, when Winn received the check from Robert Sr., he said, "That's not what I wanted," and that he wanted his life and seized possessions back. Also, before the kidnapping, Winn had directed Ward to investigate Robert Sr. and School Pictures. This included taking pictures of the Hearin home.
On January 29, 1990, Winn went on trial for conspiracy to kidnap, perjury, and extortion. Taylor and Ward received immunity in exchange for their testimony. Prosecutors believed Winn kidnapped Annie as revenge against Robert Sr., rather than for monetary gain. Winn and his defense attorneys claimed he was framed. They suggested Robert Sr. had Annie kidnapped, then set up Winn to take the blame. According to them, hair samples found in the Hearin home were not Winn's, and his typewriter did not match the ransom note. However, the FBI believed he left that typewriter in his office as a decoy, so they would not look for the typewriter used to create the note.
On February 7, Winn was convicted of conspiracy to kidnap, perjury, and extortion by mail. On April 20, he was sentenced to nineteen years and seven months in federal prison without the possibility of parole. He was also sentenced to five years' probation. In April 2006, he was released from prison after serving sixteen years. On August 6, 2012, he died at eighty-eight.
The police and the FBI believe Winn kidnapped Annie and took her to his cabin in the Florida swampland. They think she died within the first month of her kidnapping. Sadly, she has never been found. On November 28, 1990, Robert Sr. died of a heart attack at seventy-three. In August 1991, she was declared legally dead. She continues to be remembered by the Jackson Art Society, which holds several annual events in her honor.
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