1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:13,780
The views and opinions expressed in Cold and Missing are exclusively those of the hosts.

2
00:00:13,780 --> 00:00:18,400
All parties mentioned are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

3
00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:22,160
Cold and Missing also contains adult themes and languages.

4
00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:24,560
Listener discretion is advised.

5
00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:27,280
I'm your host, Ali McLaughlin-Sulkowski.

6
00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:29,680
And I'm your co-host, Eli Sulkowski.

7
00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:34,720
And this is Cold and Missing, where we cover cold cases and missing person cases.

8
00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:37,080
Hello everyone and welcome back to Cold and Missing.

9
00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:38,840
I'm Ali.

10
00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:39,840
And I'm Eli.

11
00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:41,280
Welcome back everyone.

12
00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:44,280
We are on episode 97 this week.

13
00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:47,000
Yes, this is episode 97.

14
00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:48,760
I hope everyone's having a great summer.

15
00:00:48,760 --> 00:00:52,720
We're cruising right into August, so I think we should just go ahead and get into this

16
00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:54,440
case.

17
00:00:54,440 --> 00:00:57,720
Could you remind myself and the listeners?

18
00:00:57,720 --> 00:01:01,760
Is this a cold case or missing person case this week?

19
00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:03,160
We're on a cold case this week.

20
00:01:03,160 --> 00:01:06,480
All right, well let's get into it.

21
00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:10,800
Today we are talking about the cold case of Connie Hiner.

22
00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:16,720
And this takes place in January of 1996 in Ruston, Virginia, which is just outside of

23
00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:18,200
Washington, D.C.

24
00:01:18,200 --> 00:01:21,920
But first, a little bit about Connie.

25
00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:25,640
Connie's full name was Constance, but she went by Connie and that's how everyone knew

26
00:01:25,640 --> 00:01:31,560
her, and she had recently just celebrated her 48th birthday a few weeks prior to the

27
00:01:31,560 --> 00:01:34,680
new year of 1996.

28
00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:37,560
Connie had built herself from the ground up.

29
00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:41,880
She had had several failed marriages by the time that she met her current husband, Bob

30
00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:43,120
Hiner.

31
00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:48,120
When Connie was in her early 20s, she found herself with a baby girl, her only daughter,

32
00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:50,920
Brittany, and needing to start her life over.

33
00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:55,680
With only a high school diploma, she got a job working as a secretary and would occasionally

34
00:01:55,680 --> 00:01:58,720
bartend on the evenings for extra cash.

35
00:01:58,720 --> 00:02:02,660
She put herself through real estate school and got her real estate license.

36
00:02:02,660 --> 00:02:06,960
From there, she went on to college and got an accounting degree and eventually a master's

37
00:02:06,960 --> 00:02:08,600
in business.

38
00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:13,260
She married again and got a job working for low income housing and was eventually a vice

39
00:02:13,260 --> 00:02:15,420
president of the company.

40
00:02:15,420 --> 00:02:17,920
It's here that she met Bob Hiner.

41
00:02:17,920 --> 00:02:22,600
The two were discreet, but eventually Connie left her marriage to marry Bob.

42
00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:26,480
Folks at work were shocked when the two turned up married because they had hid their feelings

43
00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:27,480
so well.

44
00:02:27,480 --> 00:02:32,600
Connie, around this time, also finds herself involved in Landmark.

45
00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:37,360
Landmark is a self-help program that some folks claim really works and transform their

46
00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:38,840
lives.

47
00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:43,800
Others have called Landmark, at best, a pyramid scheme and at worst, a cult.

48
00:02:43,800 --> 00:02:49,800
There is a French documentary about Landmark called Voyage au Père au Nouveau Gros, which,

49
00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:55,380
pardon my French if that is incorrect, but it translates roughly to The Journey to the

50
00:02:55,380 --> 00:02:57,920
Land of the New Gurus.

51
00:02:57,920 --> 00:03:03,500
The documentary is from 2004 and Landmark attempted to get it scrubbed off of the internet,

52
00:03:03,500 --> 00:03:07,500
but eventually they dropped the case and it can still be found if you look for it.

53
00:03:07,500 --> 00:03:10,440
For Connie, Landmark had really worked.

54
00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:15,160
She took most of 1995 off on a sabbatical so she could focus on her training courses

55
00:03:15,160 --> 00:03:16,840
and bettering herself.

56
00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:20,560
As the new year approached, Connie landed her dream job.

57
00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:26,240
She was hired as the Vice President of Finance for a real estate trust in Columbus, Ohio.

58
00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:29,880
The job would require her to fly to Ohio every week.

59
00:03:29,880 --> 00:03:34,120
She had rented a two-bedroom apartment there, but on weekends she would come home to be

60
00:03:34,120 --> 00:03:35,240
with Bob.

61
00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:38,260
The commute was a lot, but this was her dream job.

62
00:03:38,260 --> 00:03:43,680
She was going to get the chance to run a company and would be on her way to becoming a millionaire.

63
00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:46,280
And now a timeline of events.

64
00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:53,440
On Sunday, January 1, 1996, Connie and Bob attended New Year's Dinner Party.

65
00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:57,400
According to friends, the couple were happy and content with each other.

66
00:03:57,400 --> 00:04:00,360
Connie was her usual bright and bubbly self.

67
00:04:00,360 --> 00:04:03,960
She was excited and telling their friends about her new job.

68
00:04:03,960 --> 00:04:07,760
She said that she had about a month of clothes currently packed.

69
00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:11,320
Her dream was to be able to fly without suitcases in the future.

70
00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:15,480
She was just planning on having everything she needed at the apartment.

71
00:04:15,480 --> 00:04:19,680
Her friends joked with Bob, quote, well, she's coming back, isn't she?

72
00:04:19,680 --> 00:04:20,800
End quote.

73
00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:24,280
To which Bob responded, quote, oh, yes, of course.

74
00:04:24,280 --> 00:04:25,380
End quote.

75
00:04:25,380 --> 00:04:31,160
On Monday, January 2, 1996, Bob gets up to get ready for work.

76
00:04:31,160 --> 00:04:35,640
As Bob gets ready to leave, Connie is still asleep despite her needing to leave for the

77
00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:37,440
airport in an hour.

78
00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:40,720
According to Bob, she wanted just a few more minutes of sleep.

79
00:04:40,720 --> 00:04:43,760
Neighbors saw Bob leave around 710 that morning.

80
00:04:43,760 --> 00:04:46,560
He got into his Mercedes Benz and drove off.

81
00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:48,500
He had a work meeting that morning.

82
00:04:48,500 --> 00:04:52,920
The person that he met with said that she didn't notice anything off or different about

83
00:04:52,920 --> 00:04:53,920
him.

84
00:04:53,920 --> 00:04:57,800
Connie had ordered a taxi to take her to the airport that morning.

85
00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:01,480
The taxi driver arrived just a few minutes after eight.

86
00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:03,160
He idled for a minute outside.

87
00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:05,960
And when no one came out, he went up to the door to knock.

88
00:05:05,960 --> 00:05:08,600
When he didn't get a response, he knocks again.

89
00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:09,800
Still no answer.

90
00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:14,400
The taxi driver makes one last attempt by trying to call the house number from his car

91
00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:15,440
phone.

92
00:05:15,440 --> 00:05:16,800
No one picks up.

93
00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:20,920
Slightly annoyed, the taxi driver heads off, assuming that she had arranged another ride

94
00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:23,120
and forgot to cancel.

95
00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:26,640
Around noon that day, Bob returns home from lunch.

96
00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:29,000
He walks into a massacre.

97
00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:34,240
He finds Connie face down on their bedroom floor next to the bed.

98
00:05:34,240 --> 00:05:37,760
She was in a pool of her own blood and nude.

99
00:05:37,760 --> 00:05:42,400
Bob immediately calls the police, who swarm the upscale neighborhood.

100
00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:46,220
Neighbors are shocked as nothing like this had ever happened there before.

101
00:05:46,220 --> 00:05:48,760
Police begin to process the scene.

102
00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:54,000
There are no signs of forced entry and nothing of value appeared to be missing.

103
00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:59,660
Her purse was still there, her car was parked in the garage, and her suitcase still packed.

104
00:05:59,660 --> 00:06:04,280
Police are able to tell immediately that this was a violent crime.

105
00:06:04,280 --> 00:06:07,680
Later they'll refer to it as a crime of passion.

106
00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:12,240
Police are able to tell that she was bludgeoned with something and stabbed.

107
00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:17,840
Police do say that they're able to locate what they believe is the murder weapon.

108
00:06:17,840 --> 00:06:22,520
Investigators will never officially say what it is that they took from the home.

109
00:06:22,520 --> 00:06:25,720
Police believe that she was attacked while she was asleep.

110
00:06:25,720 --> 00:06:29,640
As police collect evidence from around the house, they collect a lot.

111
00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:33,520
They collect ashes from the fireplace, computers, date books.

112
00:06:33,520 --> 00:06:35,660
There's a lot taken from the home.

113
00:06:35,660 --> 00:06:40,640
One thing that they do notice is that despite the heavy rain that day, police didn't find

114
00:06:40,640 --> 00:06:43,920
any evidence that someone had tracked something in.

115
00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:48,240
No wet leaves, no mud, no shoe prints.

116
00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:52,620
While police are gathering evidence at the Hiner home, investigators have taken Bob

117
00:06:52,620 --> 00:06:55,200
to the station for an interview.

118
00:06:55,200 --> 00:06:59,220
According to police, he was very calm and businesslike.

119
00:06:59,220 --> 00:07:02,960
He was unable to provide any leads to police.

120
00:07:02,960 --> 00:07:07,840
When they asked him why would someone want to kill your wife, reports say that he responded

121
00:07:07,840 --> 00:07:14,100
with quote, it's a Washington thing, just crime in general, end quote.

122
00:07:14,100 --> 00:07:19,760
When asked outright if he had anything to do with the death of his wife, Bob said no.

123
00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:25,800
The next day, Tuesday, January 3rd, Connie's autopsy is conducted.

124
00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:30,080
It confirms that she was stabbed and bludgeoned with something.

125
00:07:30,080 --> 00:07:33,040
Most of the trauma was to her upper body.

126
00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:38,480
Despite being found in the nude, she had not been sexually assaulted.

127
00:07:38,480 --> 00:07:42,640
Police tell the media that they do have a strong lead, but again, decline to go into

128
00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:46,200
detail about what that strong lead is.

129
00:07:46,200 --> 00:07:50,320
Detective Dick Klein says quote, this was a crime of passion.

130
00:07:50,320 --> 00:07:54,560
It was not your random burglary or execution or robbery.

131
00:07:54,560 --> 00:07:56,400
This appeared to be personal.

132
00:07:56,400 --> 00:07:59,320
Whoever did this was very, very angry.

133
00:07:59,320 --> 00:08:01,840
No doubt about that, end quote.

134
00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:06,700
I personally believe that one of the strong leads that police were pursuing at this time

135
00:08:06,700 --> 00:08:09,400
is one of Connie's ex-husbands.

136
00:08:09,400 --> 00:08:14,880
He'll later tell the Washington Post quote, I was being looked at as a candidate for suspect

137
00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:15,880
hood.

138
00:08:15,880 --> 00:08:17,600
I was a good suspect.

139
00:08:17,600 --> 00:08:20,080
The ex-husband, I lived alone.

140
00:08:20,080 --> 00:08:21,960
I had no alibi.

141
00:08:21,960 --> 00:08:25,320
I was alone in my truck driving to work that morning.

142
00:08:25,320 --> 00:08:28,800
No one would remember seeing me, end quote.

143
00:08:28,800 --> 00:08:33,960
Four days after Connie's murder, on January 5th, Connie's wake is held.

144
00:08:33,960 --> 00:08:39,000
This is where Connie's mother and sisters find out that she had been cremated and they're

145
00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:40,000
upset.

146
00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:43,800
Connie had grown up as a strong Catholic and they do not believe that Connie would have

147
00:08:43,800 --> 00:08:45,080
wanted that.

148
00:08:45,080 --> 00:08:50,120
However, in more recent years, Connie had drifted away from the Catholic faith and she

149
00:08:50,120 --> 00:08:54,120
was more into New Age religion in the last years of her life.

150
00:08:54,120 --> 00:08:58,120
She would regularly connect with psychics as well for guidance.

151
00:08:58,120 --> 00:09:03,720
Brittany, Connie's daughter, will later tell the media that her mother did want to be cremated.

152
00:09:03,720 --> 00:09:09,640
Connie's mother and sisters become suspicious of Bob, but Brittany insists that Bob could

153
00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:11,680
not have done it.

154
00:09:11,680 --> 00:09:16,520
It is noted that around 25 people from the Landmark organization come to the funeral

155
00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:18,920
to pay their respects.

156
00:09:18,920 --> 00:09:21,920
Some of the family are suspicious of them as well.

157
00:09:21,920 --> 00:09:27,540
The next day, January 6th, Connie's funeral was supposed to be held, but a snowstorm forces

158
00:09:27,540 --> 00:09:29,680
Bob to cancel it.

159
00:09:29,680 --> 00:09:32,080
It's never rescheduled.

160
00:09:32,080 --> 00:09:37,520
Years later, Brittany will say, quote, Bob and I asked the crematorium to dispose of

161
00:09:37,520 --> 00:09:38,520
the ashes.

162
00:09:38,520 --> 00:09:42,800
Then we lied and told everyone I was going to keep them.

163
00:09:42,800 --> 00:09:45,480
Bob had the right to make that decision.

164
00:09:45,480 --> 00:09:47,480
We didn't want to carry them around.

165
00:09:47,480 --> 00:09:51,120
I didn't want to be 60 years old and carrying them around.

166
00:09:51,120 --> 00:09:52,480
I didn't want them buried.

167
00:09:52,480 --> 00:09:53,760
I didn't want a stone.

168
00:09:53,760 --> 00:09:56,560
I didn't want to go to Kentucky to visit a grave.

169
00:09:56,560 --> 00:10:00,000
I didn't want to have to take my kids there to visit a stone.

170
00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:01,400
End quote.

171
00:10:01,400 --> 00:10:06,080
Eventually, Connie's mother will convince Brittany to send her the ashes and she does

172
00:10:06,080 --> 00:10:08,240
bury them in Kentucky.

173
00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:14,320
In August of 1996, so it's been about eight months since the murder of Connie, police

174
00:10:14,320 --> 00:10:18,900
make a plea to the public for any information in the murder.

175
00:10:18,900 --> 00:10:24,120
Police say that Connie had no enemies and she was well liked by everyone in her life,

176
00:10:24,120 --> 00:10:28,760
but investigators say they also haven't been able to rule anyone out as a suspect.

177
00:10:28,760 --> 00:10:32,840
A thousand dollar reward is offered for information.

178
00:10:32,840 --> 00:10:36,680
Connie's case will fall out of the media until 1998.

179
00:10:36,680 --> 00:10:40,200
At this point, it's been two and a half years since her murder.

180
00:10:40,200 --> 00:10:43,080
Police say that Bob is still a person of interest.

181
00:10:43,080 --> 00:10:46,720
He has never been named a suspect officially in the case.

182
00:10:46,720 --> 00:10:51,160
According to police, he hasn't done anything to help clear himself.

183
00:10:51,160 --> 00:10:55,840
Detective Dick Klein says, quote, when a survivor doesn't call you ever to ask what I can do

184
00:10:55,840 --> 00:10:58,480
to help, that is out of the norm.

185
00:10:58,480 --> 00:11:00,240
That is a big red flag.

186
00:11:00,240 --> 00:11:01,240
End quote.

187
00:11:01,240 --> 00:11:05,040
However, Bob and his lawyer refute this.

188
00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:09,120
They point out that Bob handed over everything to the police that they asked for and let

189
00:11:09,120 --> 00:11:12,000
them search the home without a court order.

190
00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:16,560
Brittany remains close to Bob and has cut people out of her life that questioned him,

191
00:11:16,560 --> 00:11:19,540
including her grandmother and aunts.

192
00:11:19,540 --> 00:11:23,600
She does reveal that shortly after the murder, when her and Bob were still living in the

193
00:11:23,600 --> 00:11:29,200
home, one morning Bob was looking for a knife that they used to cut bagels with.

194
00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:30,200
He couldn't find it.

195
00:11:30,200 --> 00:11:33,740
And when they both searched for it, neither one of them could find it.

196
00:11:33,740 --> 00:11:37,880
They think that this was the murder weapon that police took with them.

197
00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:42,080
She also says that police recovered a hammer as well.

198
00:11:42,080 --> 00:11:45,800
Brittany at this point is trying to move on with her life.

199
00:11:45,800 --> 00:11:49,620
She's a mother now and her focus is on her child.

200
00:11:49,620 --> 00:11:54,320
She tells the Washington Post, quote, I often talk to Bob about not caring to know what

201
00:11:54,320 --> 00:11:58,040
happened because to me, it was not about what happened.

202
00:11:58,040 --> 00:12:00,360
It was about her being gone.

203
00:12:00,360 --> 00:12:05,760
The desire to put the pieces together, to find out, was never important to me.

204
00:12:05,760 --> 00:12:09,120
It was not going to bring me closure to know who did it.

205
00:12:09,120 --> 00:12:13,740
If they caught him, I couldn't sit through a trial and hear described what happened.

206
00:12:13,740 --> 00:12:16,560
It would be too incredibly painful.

207
00:12:16,560 --> 00:12:18,260
I'd have a face.

208
00:12:18,260 --> 00:12:19,760
How scary would that be?

209
00:12:19,760 --> 00:12:21,520
They'd have a face.

210
00:12:21,520 --> 00:12:24,080
For me, it's much easier this way.

211
00:12:24,080 --> 00:12:27,840
I don't have to be afraid to turn around and see that face.

212
00:12:27,840 --> 00:12:29,080
End quote.

213
00:12:29,080 --> 00:12:33,520
And after this, the case truly falls out of the media.

214
00:12:33,520 --> 00:12:38,480
There doesn't seem to be any updates until the next time that her case is mentioned is

215
00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:44,440
2020, when Fairfax police launch a new cold case website and Connie's case is one of

216
00:12:44,440 --> 00:12:46,600
the first ones they feature.

217
00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:52,680
Connie's case is the only unsolved murder from 1996 for Fairfax County.

218
00:12:52,680 --> 00:12:59,600
So with that, if you know anything about the murder of Connie Hiner in January of 1996,

219
00:12:59,600 --> 00:13:07,640
please call the Fairfax County police at 703-246-7511.

220
00:13:07,640 --> 00:13:11,160
So that is the case of Connie Hiner.

221
00:13:11,160 --> 00:13:15,040
I found myself writing down multiple times.

222
00:13:15,040 --> 00:13:24,400
I somewhat understand Connie's daughter's reaction, having now lost my mother myself.

223
00:13:24,400 --> 00:13:27,160
Granted it was in a very different way.

224
00:13:27,160 --> 00:13:36,000
I just really understood where she was coming from in terms of the ashes and just the after

225
00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:39,360
parts of what happens after you lose someone.

226
00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:46,400
And again, the tragic ending to her mother's death was very different from my own mother's,

227
00:13:46,400 --> 00:13:50,880
but there I think probably when you go through this and maybe some of our listeners feel

228
00:13:50,880 --> 00:13:54,280
the same or agree in some way.

229
00:13:54,280 --> 00:14:02,520
Yeah, I just, I was glad that she said something and felt firm in it and was like even vocalized

230
00:14:02,520 --> 00:14:08,840
afterwards about she didn't want to put a face to this person, you know, in full belief

231
00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:12,040
that it was not Connie's husband.

232
00:14:12,040 --> 00:14:14,200
Yeah, I don't know.

233
00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:15,600
It's really sad.

234
00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:22,560
It was difficult to listen to because you could just really sense that the trajectory

235
00:14:22,560 --> 00:14:28,080
of all of the lives affected by this, that they were changed forever.

236
00:14:28,080 --> 00:14:34,360
And that's always really heartbreaking because it's at the core of cases like these is the

237
00:14:34,360 --> 00:14:38,120
heartbreak of the people who are left behind.

238
00:14:38,120 --> 00:14:39,120
Absolutely.

239
00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:44,680
And I just wanted to take a moment to kind of address why I chose to cover this case

240
00:14:44,680 --> 00:14:49,720
since you know that quote I kind of read at the end and you even referenced it of Brittany

241
00:14:49,720 --> 00:14:53,520
not wanting to know like it wouldn't help bring her closure.

242
00:14:53,520 --> 00:14:58,880
I really wrestled with if I should cover this case since that's kind of Brittany's thought

243
00:14:58,880 --> 00:15:03,360
and I always try to keep the family at the front of everything I do and always trying

244
00:15:03,360 --> 00:15:05,600
to be respectful to the family.

245
00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:12,200
And with Connie's case, I feel that Brittany clearly has very strong boundaries, personal

246
00:15:12,200 --> 00:15:14,360
boundaries in her life.

247
00:15:14,360 --> 00:15:17,760
And I imagine she still has those today.

248
00:15:17,760 --> 00:15:22,960
But there are still people in Connie's life like her mother and sisters who do want to

249
00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:24,660
know what happened to her.

250
00:15:24,660 --> 00:15:29,040
And ultimately, somebody should have to answer for what happened to Connie.

251
00:15:29,040 --> 00:15:31,480
They shouldn't just be able to get away with it.

252
00:15:31,480 --> 00:15:39,480
So that is why I ultimately chose to cover Connie's case because I really couldn't find

253
00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:44,160
that many like podcasts or recent media about her.

254
00:15:44,160 --> 00:15:46,840
So I wanted to get her name out there again.

255
00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:47,840
Totally.

256
00:15:47,840 --> 00:15:56,560
And I know you obviously and know that you treat every case with the utmost respect and

257
00:15:56,560 --> 00:16:02,800
honestly tenderness always of how you approach it, how you investigate.

258
00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:04,560
So I know that about you.

259
00:16:04,560 --> 00:16:10,880
But just a second voice to echo what Ali said.

260
00:16:10,880 --> 00:16:17,920
There's always a delicate line to walk when we choose to engage with any case.

261
00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:25,640
And I also know that you weren't saying anything in a disparaging way towards her daughter

262
00:16:25,640 --> 00:16:33,320
not wanting to put a face to the person who committed this crime, to the person who ended

263
00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:35,160
her mother's life.

264
00:16:35,160 --> 00:16:41,160
Yeah, it's very, it's heartbreakingly complicated.

265
00:16:41,160 --> 00:16:45,120
But yes, at the end of the day, a crime was committed.

266
00:16:45,120 --> 00:16:50,040
That person should be held responsible and the people who want answers deserve to have

267
00:16:50,040 --> 00:16:51,040
them.

268
00:16:51,040 --> 00:16:52,460
Exactly.

269
00:16:52,460 --> 00:17:00,440
My question for you is to kind of circle back right to the beginning to January 2.

270
00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:09,480
How tight is that timeline from when Bob leaves for work until he comes home for lunch?

271
00:17:09,480 --> 00:17:15,260
So neighbors saw Bob leave around 710 a.m. that morning.

272
00:17:15,260 --> 00:17:16,680
And we know he gets to work.

273
00:17:16,680 --> 00:17:18,400
He has work meetings that morning.

274
00:17:18,400 --> 00:17:19,800
People see him.

275
00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:25,640
The taxi arrives just a few minutes after 8 and Connie doesn't come out.

276
00:17:25,640 --> 00:17:27,520
There's no answer.

277
00:17:27,520 --> 00:17:30,840
He doesn't see any movement in the house.

278
00:17:30,840 --> 00:17:34,600
And then Bob returns home for lunch right around noon.

279
00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:38,360
Okay, so that's about five hours.

280
00:17:38,360 --> 00:17:47,440
My initial thought with that timeline was, oh, it does give time to, at least to me,

281
00:17:47,440 --> 00:17:55,060
it does give time to make it look like no one ever came in or came out.

282
00:17:55,060 --> 00:18:01,960
If you localize the crime to one room, had the ability as someone who's committing this

283
00:18:01,960 --> 00:18:06,600
type of crime, like a breaking and entering, if you have the ability to make it look like

284
00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:12,460
nothing was broken to get in, you know, take your shoes off, I guess what I'm trying to

285
00:18:12,460 --> 00:18:19,040
say is I thought it was plausible that it would still be someone who did not live in

286
00:18:19,040 --> 00:18:23,920
the home, I guess is what I want to say, to take the eyes off of her husband.

287
00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:26,880
And I guess I wanted to know what your thoughts were.

288
00:18:26,880 --> 00:18:31,060
Yeah, the timeline is very critical here.

289
00:18:31,060 --> 00:18:37,420
Police have mentioned that they think the crime took place after Bob left and before

290
00:18:37,420 --> 00:18:39,080
the taxi driver arrived.

291
00:18:39,080 --> 00:18:42,360
So that would make the timeline around 50 minutes.

292
00:18:42,360 --> 00:18:45,680
I don't know exactly what supports them in that.

293
00:18:45,680 --> 00:18:50,320
Like if they have the evidence, if it's coming from the medical examiner, as far as like

294
00:18:50,320 --> 00:18:54,800
a time of death, if they were able to kind of put that within a few hours, or if it's

295
00:18:54,800 --> 00:18:58,800
just the simplest and she didn't get in the taxi, they assumed she was already dead by

296
00:18:58,800 --> 00:19:00,440
that point.

297
00:19:00,440 --> 00:19:06,880
For me, it is a very complicated case.

298
00:19:06,880 --> 00:19:13,080
According to you know, Bob and his lawyer, they have been very forthcoming with information

299
00:19:13,080 --> 00:19:17,200
anything that was asked, Bob turned it over, he turned over the house, he didn't ask for

300
00:19:17,200 --> 00:19:23,560
warrants or anything, and immediately went down to the police station to answer questions.

301
00:19:23,560 --> 00:19:28,160
Police appear to have been suspicious of him from the beginning.

302
00:19:28,160 --> 00:19:32,840
Again, police always have to look at the spouse and kind of rule them out first.

303
00:19:32,840 --> 00:19:37,040
And it doesn't seem like they've ever really been able to rule Bob out.

304
00:19:37,040 --> 00:19:39,880
So, that's complicated for sure.

305
00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:47,240
I will say as far as like, could a stranger have committed this crime?

306
00:19:47,240 --> 00:19:54,440
According to investigators, they do believe that this was like a crime of passion and

307
00:19:54,440 --> 00:19:56,960
that this was personal.

308
00:19:56,960 --> 00:20:01,600
That's some language that they used right at the beginning of the investigation.

309
00:20:01,600 --> 00:20:07,960
But Bob's lawyer also pointed out that there was construction crews down the street that

310
00:20:07,960 --> 00:20:12,840
were already working that morning when Bob had left and there was a utility worker next

311
00:20:12,840 --> 00:20:20,160
door who was also around throughout the morning who didn't hear anything or see anything.

312
00:20:20,160 --> 00:20:29,480
So, there is a lot of opportunity for just a random act of violence to have happened.

313
00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:35,360
But with all that being said, I think that just it all boils down to like, we don't know.

314
00:20:35,360 --> 00:20:37,600
We don't really know who did this.

315
00:20:37,600 --> 00:20:39,360
We don't know what the motivation was.

316
00:20:39,360 --> 00:20:40,400
Nothing was stolen.

317
00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:41,880
There was no sexual assault.

318
00:20:41,880 --> 00:20:44,440
It just was a murder.

319
00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:49,040
I would be curious to know what the police know and what came out through interviews.

320
00:20:49,040 --> 00:20:55,800
And if there was anybody, if they did interview the construction workers and the utility worker,

321
00:20:55,800 --> 00:20:56,800
what did they see?

322
00:20:56,800 --> 00:20:57,800
What did they hear?

323
00:20:57,800 --> 00:21:00,600
I would be curious to know all that to see if it points anywhere.

324
00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:07,800
Yeah, I think first and foremost, just you bringing it to our podcast and getting her

325
00:21:07,800 --> 00:21:09,960
name back out there again.

326
00:21:09,960 --> 00:21:11,880
This didn't happen that long ago.

327
00:21:11,880 --> 00:21:17,200
And as we know with cases that, especially cases that have happened within the last 30

328
00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:24,080
years, there is the possibility that if someone knows something, they are still alive.

329
00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:30,640
And I think that that's completely possible in this case as well, given the dates that

330
00:21:30,640 --> 00:21:32,880
this crime fall within.

331
00:21:32,880 --> 00:21:40,480
So I think really, you know, just you doing the investigative work of an unknown case

332
00:21:40,480 --> 00:21:46,240
and bringing it here will hopefully shake some information out.

333
00:21:46,240 --> 00:21:51,200
And I don't mean directly, I just mean with more people listening, hopefully more people

334
00:21:51,200 --> 00:21:56,640
talking about it, people talking about it on Reddit, maybe more podcasts cover Connie's

335
00:21:56,640 --> 00:21:57,640
case.

336
00:21:57,640 --> 00:22:00,640
And, you know, that's always the goal here.

337
00:22:00,640 --> 00:22:01,920
Yeah.

338
00:22:01,920 --> 00:22:05,960
Because ultimately, this was just a very horrific crime.

339
00:22:05,960 --> 00:22:12,960
And whoever did this doesn't need to be out amongst other people until there's been a

340
00:22:12,960 --> 00:22:16,960
chance for rehabilitation and some correction there.

341
00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:22,080
Because if this crime lacked any motive, it was just a random act of violence, like that's

342
00:22:22,080 --> 00:22:23,080
scary.

343
00:22:23,080 --> 00:22:26,360
And that person needs to answer for what they did to Connie.

344
00:22:26,360 --> 00:22:33,280
They don't just get to live their life without having to admit to what they did.

345
00:22:33,280 --> 00:22:41,680
I think that the true, like best case scenario here is a true balance of both peace and justice.

346
00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:47,800
Like what the justice system is supposed to do in cases like this is to bring peace to

347
00:22:47,800 --> 00:22:51,160
the people who so desperately deserve it.

348
00:22:51,160 --> 00:22:55,320
And justice do where justices do, you know?

349
00:22:55,320 --> 00:22:56,320
Absolutely.

350
00:22:56,320 --> 00:23:02,280
So again, if you know anything about the murder of Connie Hiner in January of 1996, please

351
00:23:02,280 --> 00:23:10,680
call the Fairfax County Police at 703-246-7511.

352
00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:16,560
Until you are listening to this episode as you reach the end, please, please, please,

353
00:23:16,560 --> 00:23:23,840
if you haven't yet already, leave us a review, especially if you are in Apple podcasts.

354
00:23:23,840 --> 00:23:30,340
And a rating right along with that at five stars would be great as well.

355
00:23:30,340 --> 00:23:34,360
We love reading the reviews every week.

356
00:23:34,360 --> 00:23:39,400
Oftentimes I will be brushing my teeth or shaving or usually doing something in the

357
00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:46,640
bathroom and Allie will run in and tell me something lovely that one of you has written

358
00:23:46,640 --> 00:23:50,240
for us in your review, which we always appreciate.

359
00:23:50,240 --> 00:23:55,800
We also have our Instagram, which I make all the graphics for.

360
00:23:55,800 --> 00:23:59,840
You can find us on Instagram at Cold and Missing.

361
00:23:59,840 --> 00:24:04,480
We'll have photos of Connie up there this week and we also post other active missing

362
00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:09,460
person cases or other podcasts that are covering cold cases or missing people.

363
00:24:09,460 --> 00:24:12,120
So if you're not following us, please check us out.

364
00:24:12,120 --> 00:24:16,720
It's a great resource for what's happening in the true crime community as well as what's

365
00:24:16,720 --> 00:24:19,280
happening in the podcast.

366
00:24:19,280 --> 00:24:23,440
And if you or someone you love is hard of hearing, we have transcripts on our website,

367
00:24:23,440 --> 00:24:24,440
www.coldandmissing.com.

368
00:24:24,440 --> 00:24:30,240
I do know Apple just came out with their new transcript feature.

369
00:24:30,240 --> 00:24:32,920
I don't have any control over that right now.

370
00:24:32,920 --> 00:24:35,000
It's just like an AI generated thing.

371
00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:36,960
So it's not always correct.

372
00:24:36,960 --> 00:24:40,520
Sometimes it doesn't spell the names correctly or it doesn't quite pick up what I'm saying

373
00:24:40,520 --> 00:24:41,520
correctly.

374
00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:48,160
So if you want the corrected transcripts, you can find those at www.coldandmissing.com.

375
00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:49,460
You can also review us there.

376
00:24:49,460 --> 00:24:50,720
You can donate to us.

377
00:24:50,720 --> 00:24:52,640
There's a lot of resources over there.

378
00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:53,640
So check us out.

379
00:24:53,640 --> 00:24:55,400
But that is all I have.

380
00:24:55,400 --> 00:24:58,280
Thank you so much for listening to Cold and Missing.

381
00:24:58,280 --> 00:24:59,680
I'm your host Allie.

382
00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:01,440
And I'm your cohost Eli.

383
00:25:01,440 --> 00:25:03,560
Have a great week and stay safe, y'all.

384
00:25:03,560 --> 00:25:31,560
Stay safe, y'all.