The unsolved murder of Rhonda Hinson

[wiseguy182]

The segment seemed to suggest that Rhonda had stopped her car to speak to someone and was in the process of driving away when she was shot. I'm curious to know if they were able to determine roughly how fast she was driving at the time. It was stated she wouldn't have pulled over for someone she didn't know, but a police officer could have. Someone said a police officer is suspected?

But considering everything, Rhonda asking her dad to accompany her to trips into town, the insomnia, the late-night showers, etc, I definitely think this was pre-meditated murder and no accident.

Btw, I know I've said this before, but I just love Judy Hinson. You could just tell she had a real close bond with Rhonda, and keeping her room the way it was after all those years. As sad as the segment is, I always enjoy her parts.

[Thiussat]

Originally Posted by everprincess

It really isn't that rural in that spot. I live in a bigger city near Valdese. Sure there are parts that were rural back in 1980 but in terms of hunting I don't see anyone that would be hunting deer off a interstate exit.

We don't know if Rhonda stopped for someone. The man that made a deathbed confession was a police officer. If Rhonda was having a affair with a police officer it would make alot of sense. But it is just a theory nothing came of the confession but I remember seeing it on the late night news clear as day because I'd seen the original segment when it aired plus I have a very good memory.

But a officer would be a pretty good shot IMO.

Do you have a source for this deathbed confession? I would be interested in reading about it.

[aura]

An afair with a police officer? I guess that woukd put a person on edge.
I thinking of someone that she worked with. Possibly just something that made her uncomfortable. Possibly a few rumors were tossed about at wotk or somewhere she frequented. Perhaps she witnessed something at work. That she became a target of.
A mother knows when there is something up with their kids. A father would make you feel safer. Theses things make sense. I'm hoping that if she did confide in someone that they have come forward.
Going to search for more info.

[aura]

This link is interesting. http://burkesheriff.org/hinson.htm
She picked her Datsun up and called her "boyfriend".

[jjmcgr]

I reread up on this case after someone said they lived near the site and thought the case was intriguing. The segment on Unsolved was not that great because it spent most of the time talking about what was bothering the victim (something they don't know) and little on the actual crime. The reenactment was done at night (as was the crime) but this gave little perspective for the viewer as to what actually happened.

After parsing all the available info several things seem apparent. First, the shot came from directly behind the car. The distance was not point blank but it wasn't that far either- at most a quarter of a mile. Since high powered rifles shoot in a straight trajectory and the round had enough energy to rip through three surfaces (trunk, seat, victim) before stopping, it had to have been a relatively close shot. If you Google Map the site the road from I-40 north gradually rose to a small summit after which the car would not be visible from the south except at real close range. The shot was apparently taken right before the cat peaked this summit. Looking southward the road crosses under I-40 at the interchange and there is no line of sight beyond the interstate. Since the shot had to be fired from directly behind, it had to have been fired from the underpass or a little closer. Given where the shot hit the car, however, it seems the person had to have been along the roadside or even in the road.
The car was immediately disabled and then rolled at a southwesterly angle across the road being stopped by a ditch on the opposite side of the road. Since the road was relatively narrow, this left the car in the southbound lane facing north at a slight angle. This was shown on the segment.

If someone was trying to kill Rhonda, this was a very odd way to do so. First from where the shot was apparently fired (somewhere near the underpass of I-40), she would have had to stop at the end of the exit ramp before turning right (north). This would have given the shooter a much more likely kill shot given the distance. But they let her pass and only fired at the last possible point where her car was still visible.

Accordingly I think the shooter did not intend to kill Rhonda. The actions afterwards where someone (probably the shooter or his buddy) checked on Rhonda tends to make this apparent. They must have seen the car stop then slide across the road. Finding her dead, they got out of there.

To me, then, there are three possibilities: an accidental shot, a prank shot or a shot meant as a warning. In the first case maybe the shot went off by accident. However, this seems unlikely given the accuracy of the shot. The second and third choices seem more likely. IMO the shooter was aiming at the left rear taillight and was trying to shoot it out either for sport or a warning. The shot missed going a little to the right and was a freakishly unlucky shot. Were there instances of random taillights getting shot out in the area?
It also could have been meant as a warning. Maybe the brothers of the unknown wife of the man being dated (or some other unknown situation) wanted to warn Rhonda to keep away from him and wanted to shoot out her taillight to get her attention. After the car stopped they came up and if she was ok might have just pretended to be bystanders. But she was dead in a freak occurrence.
How did they know she'd be passing by if it was intentional? This adds complexity to the case. Someone must have told them of the party and her rough timetable. This would imply that maybe the wife too was at the party. They set up early because they did not know she was stopping off on her way home.

Just some thoughts.

[everprincess]

Originally Posted by Thiussat

Do you have a source for this deathbed confession? I would be interested in reading about it.

No I don't. I don't remember the time of the confession but it was on the late night news before I moved out of my mothers home. I know it was a Charlotte news station but this would have been way before the days of the internet.
I once saw another person comment about it on a video on the forbidden site but of course that video is no longer up for viewing.

And yes Rhonda did have a boyfriend that was mentioned in the segment.

[jjmcgr]

>>>>But a officer would be a pretty good shot IMO<<<<<

I don't think it took a good shot (and most cops are armed with hand guns, not high powered rifles so being a cop does not indicate a good shooter one way or another) given the distance (like 150 yards with the target moving in a direct line from the shooter making its movement away from the shooter not a factor) and the ability of the firer to use the car's tail lights as aiming points. I don't even think he needed a scope.

It was not a dififcult shot but it surely was a lucky shot. Since the shooter undoubtedly would not be depending upon a lucky shot, it would seem his intent was to shoot at the car, not to kill the driver.

[Clockworkhigh]

In my opinion her actions prior to her death are related to her death. Think about it. She asks her mom about if it were okay to have an affair. She's 19, just started working in an office and she's rather pretty. She would have had offers, I guarantee it. Then she showers late at night. That could be a sign that she felt dirty if she was having an affair. The insomnia makes sense too. Asking her dad to accompany her. Someone could have easily been after her.

[JC1957]

I hadn't see this episode for awhile so I watched it again and I'm convinced someone was waiting for her. What are the odds of this happening to her at random when she obviously knew he life was in danger? The signs were definitely there. She should have reached out more than she did to her parents and at the same time maybe they should have asked more questions.

I think the police should have reinterviewed some people that may be tied to this case and reopen it with a team of cold-case detectives.

[Cooker3]

Originally Posted by aura

This link is interesting. http://burkesheriff.org/hinson.htm
She picked her Datsun up and called her "boyfriend".

"psychics have been called in to assist".....

[Huskerz85]

Post #79 in this other thread does it for me

[Guardian]

I’m for the teenagers or other delinquents taking lot shots at cars. One gets “lucky” and manages a hit. It’s just to much to assume that someone would try making a shot like that through the body of the car. It would be way too much of a variable as to the trajectory of the bullet if they tried to shoot through the car intentionally. Now if they were trying to kill her and missed but got “lucky” and the bullet went on through and got her, that’s too much for me. I think it has to be random.

They shoot from the overpass and realize that they actually hit the person and not just the car. They panic, rush up to check and see she is seriously wounded. They are in a panic and don’t think to hide from anyone passing by at first. After a few moments of trying to revive her, they leave her figuring “she is already dead and reporting it won’t bring her back”, so they stay quiet.

That’s my theory. The other things are just red herrings IMO.

[ArmadilloArtist]

An investigative reporter, originally from Valdese, is working this story.
Rhonda Hinson was my first cousin. Let me enlighten a few of you. She was not having an affair. She was not pregnant. She was an enthusiastic athlete that excelled in track, tennis, and basketball. She was well liked. She loved life and her family. She had a future! She didn't date until she met Greg McDowell, whom was never interviewed about his whereabouts at the time of her murder. He drove a blue car with a messed up front end. He was home from college that holiday season. Rhonda tried desperately to break up with him due to his jealous streak, physical abuse, and emotional instability. He showed up to Rhonda's house two hours after Rhonda's mother called him and he only lived 15 minutes away. When he showed up that night, he was freshly showered. He went straight to Rhonda's parents bedroom and sat on the bed for several hours, periodically vomiting, but never speaking to anyone. Greg's father, Charles McDowell, was a preacher that "touched" Rhonda in inappropriate ways. (He is now located in Barney GA.) Rhonda dodged him every chance she could. Charles McDowell was an avid hunter with a nice collection of hunting rifles and shotguns. He was a pilot. In the wee morning hours of December 23rd, he suddenly scheduled a flight "out of the area." Greg did not go to Rhonda's funeral, nor has he ever spoken to the family since that day. Now, you have a few more facts. Revise your thinking...

News Feature about Rhonda Hinson published 4.2.19

http://the-record-newspaper.tumblr.c...Qz0KZrq7BCuMe0

[JC1957]

Originally Posted by ArmadilloArtist

An investigative reporter, originally from Valdese, is working this story.
Rhonda Hinson was my first cousin. Let me enlighten a few of you. She was not having an affair. She was not pregnant. She was an enthusiastic athlete that excelled in track, tennis, and basketball. She was well liked. She loved life and her family. She had a future! She didn't date until she met Greg McDowell, whom was never interviewed about his whereabouts at the time of her murder. He drove a blue car with a messed up front end. He was home from college that holiday season. Rhonda tried desperately to break up with him due to his jealous streak, physical abuse, and emotional instability. He showed up to Rhonda's house two hours after Rhonda's mother called him and he only lived 15 minutes away. When he showed up that night, he was freshly showered. He went straight to Rhonda's parents bedroom and sat on the bed for several hours, periodically vomiting, but never speaking to anyone. Greg's father, Charles McDowell, was a preacher that "touched" Rhonda in inappropriate ways. (He is now located in Barney GA.) Rhonda dodged him every chance she could. Charles McDowell was an avid hunter with a nice collection of hunting rifles and shotguns. He was a pilot. In the wee morning hours of December 23rd, he suddenly scheduled a flight "out of the area." Greg did not go to Rhonda's funeral, nor has he ever spoken to the family since that day. Now, you have a few more facts. Revise your thinking...

News Feature about Rhonda Hinson published 4.2.19

http://the-record-newspaper.tumblr.c...Qz0KZrq7BCuMe0

Wow! Thanks for the information.

This right here seems to put everything about this case in a whole new light.

[mozartpc27]

If this information is accurate, it certainly does. I am amazed to find that I posted this 12 years ago in this thread:

Originally Posted by mozartpc27

It's difficult to parse this, because it seems so rampantly illogical (and that in itself may be reason enough to discount some of the witness testimony here), but this scenaio, reconstructed from eyewitness testimony, leans heavily, at least to me, in the direction of either an ex-boyfriend of Rhonda's getting together with a buddy after a party or just a night of drinking together to go wait for her underneath the interstate, with a gun ready to shoot at her car and scare her, OR a random yet accidental killing, the result of a couple of drunk or high or just plain stupid kids thinking it would be funny to shoot at cars coming off the interstate, to test their marksmanship. In this case, the two don't quite realize that, for example, a bullet to the trunk could eventually pass through the cabin of the car and eventually kill someone. In either case, once the fatal shot is fired and the car has swerved off the road, one of the two, likely the gunman in my scenario (in the first cae, almost certainly the ex), rushes up to the car to see if she is alright, while the other bolts. When he sees she is dead, he leaves too, knowing his culpability in the matter.