Audrey Marie Hilley
Encyclopedia
Audrey Marie Hilley was an American
murderer. Her life and spree are the subjects of the 1991 telefilm Wife, Mother, Murderer
. The movie starred Judith Light
in the title role, with Whip Hubley
and David Ogden Stiers
.
In May 1975 Frank Hilley visited his doctor complaining of nausea and tenderness in his abdomen. He was diagnosed with a viral stomachache. The condition persisted and he was admitted to a hospital for tests that indicated liver
malfunction. Physicians then diagnosed infectious hepatitis
. He died early in the morning of May 25, 1975.
An autopsy
was performed with Audrey Hilley's permission. It revealed hepatitis
, swelling of the kidneys and lungs, bilateral pneumonia
, and inflammation of the stomach. Because the symptoms closely resembled those of hepatitis, no tests for poison were conducted. The cause of death was listed as infectious hepatitis.
Frank Hilley had maintained a moderate life insurance
policy that his widow redeemed for $31,140. Slightly over three years later, she took out a $25,000 life insurance policy on her daughter, Carol. A $25,000 accidental death rider took effect in August 1978.
Within a few months, Carol began to experience trouble with nausea and was admitted to the emergency room several times. A year after insuring her daughter, Hilley gave her daughter an injection that she said would alleviate the nausea. However, the symptoms did not disappear, and eventually worsened. Carol began to experience numbness in her extremities and was admitted to the hospital for tests.
Unable to diagnose any disease, Carol's physician brought in a psychiatrist because he feared the symptoms might be psychosomatic. While she was undergoing psychiatric testing at Birmingham's Carraway Methodist Hospital, Carol received two more injections from her mother, who warned her that no one was to know about the shots. Audrey explained that the shots were given to her by a friend who was a registered nurse
. That lady was not actually a friend, but a unit clerk who made her acquaintance while sitting with a relative in the waiting room after she got off from work. Lillie Boyd's nickname was "Toots" and Marie heard her cousin call her by that name. This made it difficult for them to locate Mrs. Boyd, since the hospital only knew her as "Lillie". Toots turned out to be a unit clerk who had a big heart and actually felt bad for Marie.......but, the bad news for Marie was that Toots had no access to medicine and actually testified at Marie's trial.
A month after Carol was admitted to the hospital, her physician said she was suffering from malnutrition
and vitamin deficiencies. He added that he suspected heavy metal poisoning
was to blame for the symptoms.
That afternoon, Hilley had Carol discharged from that hospital. The next day she was admitted to the University of Alabama
Hospital in Birmingham
. Coincidentally, she was arrested for passing bad checks — they were written to the insurance company that insured Carol’s life, causing that policy to lapse.
The University hospital physicians concentrated their investigation on the possibility of heavy metal poisoning, noting that Carol’s hands and feet were numb, she had nerve palsy
causing foot drop
, and she had lost most of her deep tendon
reflexes.
were present in Carol’s toenails and fingernails — an indicator of arsenic
poisoning.
Tests conducted on samples of Carol’s hair revealed that it had about 50 times the normal arsenic level in human hair. Her condition was then officially attributed to arsenic poisoning. Forensic tests on Carol’s hair conducted October 3, 1979, by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences revealed arsenic levels ranging from over 100 times the normal level close to the scalp to zero times the normal level at the end of the hair shaft. This indicated that Carol had been given increasingly larger doses of arsenic over a period of four to eight months.
That same day, Frank Hilley’s body was exhumed for testing. The analysis revealed abnormally high levels of arsenic, ranging from 10 times the normal level in hair samples to 100 times the normal level in toenail samples. As a result of these tests, Dr. Joseph Embry of the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences concluded that the cause of death was acute arsenic poisoning, and that Frank Hilley suffered from chronic arsenic poisoning, meaning that he had been given arsenic for months prior to his death.
Audrey Hilley was still incarcerated on her bad check charges when she was arrested on October 9, 1979, for the attempted murder of her daughter. The Anniston, Alabama
police found another vial in her purse that was in their possession and subsequent testing revealed the presence of arsenic. Two weeks later, Frank Hilley’s sister found a jar of Cowley’s New Improved Rat & Mouse Poison, which contains between 1.4 and 1.5 percent arsenic.
On November 9, 1979, Audrey Hilley was released on bond and registered at a local motel under the name Emily Stephens. She disappeared between the 9th and the 18th of November. A note indicating that she “might have been kidnapped” was left behind. A missing persons report was filed, and Audrey was listed as a fugitive.
On January 11, 1980, she was indicted in absentia
for her husband's murder. Subsequently, investigators found that both her mother and her mother-in-law had significant, but not fatal, traces of arsenic in their systems when they died.
Although police and the FBI launched a massive manhunt, Hilley remained a fugitive for a little more than three years.
, where she met a man named John Homan. She was using the name Robbi Hannon. They lived together for more than a year before she married Homan in May 1981 and took his last name. The couple moved to New Hampshire
. She frequently talked about her imaginary twin sister, "Teri", who supposedly lived in Texas
.
Late in the summer of 1982, she left New Hampshire, telling her husband that she needed to attend to family business and to see some doctors about an illness. During this time she travelled to Texas
and Florida
, using the alias Teri Martin.
During the trip, using the alias Teri Martin, she called John Homan and informed him that Robbi Homan had died in Texas but there was no need for him to come to Texas because the body had been donated to medical science.
On November 12 or 13, after changing her hair color and losing weight, she returned to New Hampshire and met John Homan, posing as Teri Martin, his “deceased” wife’s sister.
An obituary for Robbi Homan appeared in a New Hampshire newspaper, but aroused suspicion when police were unable to verify any of the information it contained. A New Hampshire state police detective surmised that the woman living as Teri Martin was, in fact, Robbi Homan and had staged her death. That hunch paid off and shortly after police brought “Teri Martin” in for questioning, she confessed to being Audrey Marie Hilley. She was returned to Alabama to face trial.
She was quickly convicted and sentenced to life in prison for her husband’s murder and 20 years for attempting to kill her daughter.
In February 1987, however, Hilley escaped after she was given a three-day pass to visit her husband, John Homan, who had moved to Anniston to be near his wife. They spent a day at an Anniston motel and when Homan left for a few hours, she disappeared, leaving behind a note for Homan asking his forgiveness. Her escape prompted an inquiry into the prison system’s furlough
policy.
This time, she did not stay missing very long. Four days after she vanished, Anniston police responding to a call about a suspicious person, went to a home and found her. She apparently had been crawling around in the woods, drenched by four days of frequent rain and numb from temperatures dropping to the low 30s.
She was taken to a local hospital and underwent emergency treatment for hypothermia
. While at the hospital she suffered a heart attack and died.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
murderer. Her life and spree are the subjects of the 1991 telefilm Wife, Mother, Murderer
Wife, Mother, Murderer
Wife, Mother, Murderer is an American drama film about serial killer Marie Hilley, directed by Mel Damski.-Cast:*Judith Light.....Marie Hilley/Robbi/Terri*David Ogden Stiers.....John Homan*Kellie Overbey.....Carol Hilley...
. The movie starred Judith Light
Judith Light
Judith Ellen Light is an American actress. Her television roles include Karen Wolek on the soap opera One Life to Live, Angela Bower on the sitcom Who's the Boss?, Claire Meade on ABC's TV series Ugly Betty and Judge Elizabeth "Liz" Donnelly on Law & Order Special Victims Unit.-Early life:Light...
in the title role, with Whip Hubley
Whip Hubley
Whip Hubley is an American actor. He is best known for playing the role of Mischa in the 1987 film Russkies, and Hollywood in the 1986 film Top Gun. He later played Brian Hawkins in the Showtime miniseries More Tales of the City and its follow-up Further Tales of the City...
and David Ogden Stiers
David Ogden Stiers
David Ogden Stiers is an American actor, director, vocal actor, and musician, noted for his roles in Disney movies, as well as his performances in the television series M*A*S*H as Major Charles Emerson Winchester III and the science fiction drama The Dead Zone as Reverend Gene Purdy...
.
Early Life and First Crimes
Born Audrey Marie Frazier on June 4, 1933 to Huey and Lucille Frazier. She married Frank Hilley in May 1951.In May 1975 Frank Hilley visited his doctor complaining of nausea and tenderness in his abdomen. He was diagnosed with a viral stomachache. The condition persisted and he was admitted to a hospital for tests that indicated liver
Liver
The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. It has a wide range of functions, including detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion...
malfunction. Physicians then diagnosed infectious hepatitis
Hepatitis
Hepatitis is a medical condition defined by the inflammation of the liver and characterized by the presence of inflammatory cells in the tissue of the organ. The name is from the Greek hepar , the root being hepat- , meaning liver, and suffix -itis, meaning "inflammation"...
. He died early in the morning of May 25, 1975.
An autopsy
Autopsy
An autopsy—also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy , autopsia cadaverum, or obduction—is a highly specialized surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present...
was performed with Audrey Hilley's permission. It revealed hepatitis
Hepatitis
Hepatitis is a medical condition defined by the inflammation of the liver and characterized by the presence of inflammatory cells in the tissue of the organ. The name is from the Greek hepar , the root being hepat- , meaning liver, and suffix -itis, meaning "inflammation"...
, swelling of the kidneys and lungs, bilateral pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
, and inflammation of the stomach. Because the symptoms closely resembled those of hepatitis, no tests for poison were conducted. The cause of death was listed as infectious hepatitis.
Frank Hilley had maintained a moderate life insurance
Life insurance
Life insurance is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death of the insured person. Depending on the contract, other events such as terminal illness or critical illness may also trigger...
policy that his widow redeemed for $31,140. Slightly over three years later, she took out a $25,000 life insurance policy on her daughter, Carol. A $25,000 accidental death rider took effect in August 1978.
Within a few months, Carol began to experience trouble with nausea and was admitted to the emergency room several times. A year after insuring her daughter, Hilley gave her daughter an injection that she said would alleviate the nausea. However, the symptoms did not disappear, and eventually worsened. Carol began to experience numbness in her extremities and was admitted to the hospital for tests.
Unable to diagnose any disease, Carol's physician brought in a psychiatrist because he feared the symptoms might be psychosomatic. While she was undergoing psychiatric testing at Birmingham's Carraway Methodist Hospital, Carol received two more injections from her mother, who warned her that no one was to know about the shots. Audrey explained that the shots were given to her by a friend who was a registered nurse
Registered nurse
A registered nurse is a nurse who has graduated from a nursing program at a university or college and has passed a national licensing exam. A registered nurse helps individuals, families, and groups to achieve health and prevent disease...
. That lady was not actually a friend, but a unit clerk who made her acquaintance while sitting with a relative in the waiting room after she got off from work. Lillie Boyd's nickname was "Toots" and Marie heard her cousin call her by that name. This made it difficult for them to locate Mrs. Boyd, since the hospital only knew her as "Lillie". Toots turned out to be a unit clerk who had a big heart and actually felt bad for Marie.......but, the bad news for Marie was that Toots had no access to medicine and actually testified at Marie's trial.
A month after Carol was admitted to the hospital, her physician said she was suffering from malnutrition
Malnutrition
Malnutrition is the condition that results from taking an unbalanced diet in which certain nutrients are lacking, in excess , or in the wrong proportions....
and vitamin deficiencies. He added that he suspected heavy metal poisoning
Heavy Metal Poisoning
Heavy Metal Poisoning is a song by American rock band Styx. It was included as the fifth track on their 1983 studio album Kilroy Was Here.The song in the story of Kilroy Was Here has the character of Dr Righteous preaching the evils of rock and roll...
was to blame for the symptoms.
That afternoon, Hilley had Carol discharged from that hospital. The next day she was admitted to the University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
Hospital in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. Coincidentally, she was arrested for passing bad checks — they were written to the insurance company that insured Carol’s life, causing that policy to lapse.
The University hospital physicians concentrated their investigation on the possibility of heavy metal poisoning, noting that Carol’s hands and feet were numb, she had nerve palsy
Palsy
In medicine, palsy is the paralysis of a body part, often accompanied by loss of sensation and by uncontrolled body movements, such as shaking. Medical conditions involving palsy include cerebral palsy , brachial palsy , and Bell's palsy ....
causing foot drop
Foot drop
Foot drop is the dropping of the forefoot due to weakness, damage to the peroneal nerve or paralysis of the muscles in the anterior portion of the lower leg. It is usually a symptom of a greater problem, not a disease in itself. It is characterized by the inability or difficulty in moving the ankle...
, and she had lost most of her deep tendon
Tendon
A tendon is a tough band of fibrous connective tissue that usually connects muscle to bone and is capable of withstanding tension. Tendons are similar to ligaments and fasciae as they are all made of collagen except that ligaments join one bone to another bone, and fasciae connect muscles to other...
reflexes.
Caught
Ultimately physicians discovered that Aldrich-Mees' linesMees' lines
Mees' lines or Aldrich-Mees' lines are lines of discoloration across the nails of the fingers and toes.- Causes :Mees' lines appear after an episode of poisoning with arsenic, thallium or other heavy metals, and can also appear if the subject is suffering from renal failure.- Presentation :They are...
were present in Carol’s toenails and fingernails — an indicator of arsenic
Arsenic
Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As, atomic number 33 and relative atomic mass 74.92. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in conjunction with sulfur and metals, and also as a pure elemental crystal. It was first documented by Albertus Magnus in 1250.Arsenic is a metalloid...
poisoning.
Tests conducted on samples of Carol’s hair revealed that it had about 50 times the normal arsenic level in human hair. Her condition was then officially attributed to arsenic poisoning. Forensic tests on Carol’s hair conducted October 3, 1979, by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences revealed arsenic levels ranging from over 100 times the normal level close to the scalp to zero times the normal level at the end of the hair shaft. This indicated that Carol had been given increasingly larger doses of arsenic over a period of four to eight months.
That same day, Frank Hilley’s body was exhumed for testing. The analysis revealed abnormally high levels of arsenic, ranging from 10 times the normal level in hair samples to 100 times the normal level in toenail samples. As a result of these tests, Dr. Joseph Embry of the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences concluded that the cause of death was acute arsenic poisoning, and that Frank Hilley suffered from chronic arsenic poisoning, meaning that he had been given arsenic for months prior to his death.
Audrey Hilley was still incarcerated on her bad check charges when she was arrested on October 9, 1979, for the attempted murder of her daughter. The Anniston, Alabama
Anniston, Alabama
Anniston is a city in Calhoun County in the state of Alabama, United States.As of the 2000 census, the population of the city is 24,276. According to the 2005 U.S. Census estimates, the city had a population of 23,741...
police found another vial in her purse that was in their possession and subsequent testing revealed the presence of arsenic. Two weeks later, Frank Hilley’s sister found a jar of Cowley’s New Improved Rat & Mouse Poison, which contains between 1.4 and 1.5 percent arsenic.
On November 9, 1979, Audrey Hilley was released on bond and registered at a local motel under the name Emily Stephens. She disappeared between the 9th and the 18th of November. A note indicating that she “might have been kidnapped” was left behind. A missing persons report was filed, and Audrey was listed as a fugitive.
Escape
On November 19, there was a break-in at the home of her aunt. A car, some women’s clothing and an overnight bag were missing from the home. Investigators found a note in the house reading, “Do not call police. We will burn you out if you do. We found what we wanted and will not bother you again.”On January 11, 1980, she was indicted in absentia
In absentia
In absentia is Latin for "in the absence". In legal use, it usually means a trial at which the defendant is not physically present. The phrase is not ordinarily a mere observation, but suggests recognition of violation to a defendant's right to be present in court proceedings in a criminal trial.In...
for her husband's murder. Subsequently, investigators found that both her mother and her mother-in-law had significant, but not fatal, traces of arsenic in their systems when they died.
Although police and the FBI launched a massive manhunt, Hilley remained a fugitive for a little more than three years.
New names, new lives
She first travelled to FloridaFlorida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, where she met a man named John Homan. She was using the name Robbi Hannon. They lived together for more than a year before she married Homan in May 1981 and took his last name. The couple moved to New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
. She frequently talked about her imaginary twin sister, "Teri", who supposedly lived in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
Late in the summer of 1982, she left New Hampshire, telling her husband that she needed to attend to family business and to see some doctors about an illness. During this time she travelled to Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, using the alias Teri Martin.
During the trip, using the alias Teri Martin, she called John Homan and informed him that Robbi Homan had died in Texas but there was no need for him to come to Texas because the body had been donated to medical science.
On November 12 or 13, after changing her hair color and losing weight, she returned to New Hampshire and met John Homan, posing as Teri Martin, his “deceased” wife’s sister.
An obituary for Robbi Homan appeared in a New Hampshire newspaper, but aroused suspicion when police were unable to verify any of the information it contained. A New Hampshire state police detective surmised that the woman living as Teri Martin was, in fact, Robbi Homan and had staged her death. That hunch paid off and shortly after police brought “Teri Martin” in for questioning, she confessed to being Audrey Marie Hilley. She was returned to Alabama to face trial.
She was quickly convicted and sentenced to life in prison for her husband’s murder and 20 years for attempting to kill her daughter.
Incarceration and death
She began serving her sentence in 1983 and was a quiet, model prisoner. This good behavior earned her several one-day passes from the prison, and she always arrived back on time.In February 1987, however, Hilley escaped after she was given a three-day pass to visit her husband, John Homan, who had moved to Anniston to be near his wife. They spent a day at an Anniston motel and when Homan left for a few hours, she disappeared, leaving behind a note for Homan asking his forgiveness. Her escape prompted an inquiry into the prison system’s furlough
Furlough
In the United States a furlough is a temporary unpaid leave of some employees due to special needs of a company, which may be due to economic conditions at the specific employer or in the economy as a whole...
policy.
This time, she did not stay missing very long. Four days after she vanished, Anniston police responding to a call about a suspicious person, went to a home and found her. She apparently had been crawling around in the woods, drenched by four days of frequent rain and numb from temperatures dropping to the low 30s.
She was taken to a local hospital and underwent emergency treatment for hypothermia
Hypothermia
Hypothermia is a condition in which core temperature drops below the required temperature for normal metabolism and body functions which is defined as . Body temperature is usually maintained near a constant level of through biologic homeostasis or thermoregulation...
. While at the hospital she suffered a heart attack and died.
Related Links
- Poisoned Blood: The True Story of a Cold-Blooded Killer and Her Life of Deception, Sexual Cunning, and Murder! by Philip Ginsburg at True Crime Book Reviews. Includes updates, current as of March 2011.