Theories About The Adam Hecht Case

[infinityluxe]

I have watched this segment over and over for years and I just happened to have Peacock on the Unsolved Mysteries channel today and it came on.

I don't know why but I somehow get the feeling Adam was doing drugs with Tony and began having a sexual relationship with him as well. Adam was very privileged and I think for the first time in his life he actually experienced how other people not as fortunate live. My theory is that Adam was scoring drugs with Tony and they created some type of bond while high out of their minds and Adam thought he was in love.

Most of us would have given Tony a few dollars or bought him a meal and kept it moving. I think Adam was intrigued by this man or felt it was his calling to "save" him. Adam seemed like he was genuinely a very nice person and caring.

Adam's sister said that he completely changed as soon as he met Tony and he became "mystical" and she didn't know him anymore. This supports my theory about the drugs often people who begin using drugs distance themselves from people they were close to and they seem to have a change in personality.

His mother on the other hand seemed very stuck up and racist in the segment she came off very elite and out of touch with people outside of her bubble. She couldn't fathom why Adam would have anything to do with Tony "When I saw Tony and how he talked and my God the smell it was unbelievable. Wow it was scary. It was really scary".

Adam moved Tony into his apartment a few weeks after meeting him is also very telling. The fact he took his new "friend" to meet his mother also made me think they were having a sexual relationship. Adam almost was seeking some type of approval from his mother. He wanted her to like Tony. "Once you get to know him from the inside out he is really a fantastic guy". Yeah something was definitely going on.

Adam began hanging on Skid Row with Tony and staying out on the streets at night is also a clear sign of drug use. I think the Hecht family was in denial that Adam had been using drugs and was possibly homosexual. They went out of their way to spin this segment as if Adam was just a Good Samaritan. Something more was going on with Adam.

Adam was young and I wouldn't even rule out the fact he could have been dealing with the early signs of mental illness himself. Many times mental illness doesn't manifest in a young man until early to mid 20's and a lot of people experiencing the symptoms will feel the need to self medicate with drugs or alcohol prior to being formally diagnosed. The fact he was performing rituals with Tony is very interesting as well. Adam was clearly going through something.

This segment never sat right with me because I feel like the family was trying to keep up appearances and not tell the whole truth. CrystalDawn's blog post also was quite informative. Its very telling that neither the police or Adam's family think Tony had anything to do with Adam's disappearance.

It seems his family thinks that he ultimately just walked away from his life but I find that hard to believe. I think Adam's disappearance was drug related. You have this young privileged Beverly Hills man hanging with street vagrants who are most likely using drugs so its not far fetched. The fact that Adam burnt his hand during a "ritual" with Tony also leaves me to believe he burned his hand probably smoking from a crack pipe.

The fact Adam's car was left with $600 in his wallet tells me he didn't just walk away. He was probably taken against is will and murdered or died from a drug overdose and those with him freaked out and disposed of him.

[Gelatinous Goo]

I just don't understand why Tony was so easily dismissed as a POI. It makes no sense. As far as the details have been presented to us, things didn't start getting strange around Chateau Hecht until he entered the picture. He has something to do with this, I guarantee you. He may not be guilty of anything himself--that much may be accurate--but he's a big piece of this puzzle.

As to Adam possibly being gay? Yes, that's plausible. (Not that it's really related to Adam, but my gaydar exploded in regards to his brother.)

Your drug theory may also have merit. He didn't really seem to be the type, but it was the 80's, he was in Hollywood. It's no great leap of the imagination to think that the Aspen Indoor Ski Lift was running at full powder inside the walls of that posh country club.

But who knows? Maybe he saw something at the club that he shouldn't have seen and was killed because of it. That would explain why his wallet and car weren't taken. You had better believe that there would be some heavy-hitting club members who could make a problem go away. Druggies and general derelicts would have all at least taken the wallet; wealthy club members wouldn't need his money.

[Stratego]

Nah, this case was really no different than the case of Tom Hood and David Freeman. They act the same as cult leaders and target vulnerable people. Drugs don't need to be involved.

[infinityluxe]

Originally Posted by Gelatinous Goo

I just don't understand why Tony was so easily dismissed as a POI. It makes no sense. As far as the details have been presented to us, things didn't start getting strange around Chateau Hecht until he entered the picture. He has something to do with this, I guarantee you. He may not be guilty of anything himself--that much may be accurate--but he's a big piece of this puzzle.

As to Adam possibly being gay? Yes, that's plausible. (Not that it's really related to Adam, but my gaydar exploded in regards to his brother.)

Your drug theory may also have merit. He didn't really seem to be the type, but it was the 80's, he was in Hollywood. It's no great leap of the imagination to think that the Aspen Indoor Ski Lift was running at full powder inside the walls of that posh country club.

But who knows? Maybe he saw something at the club that he shouldn't have seen and was killed because of it. That would explain why his wallet and car weren't taken. You had better believe that there would be some heavy-hitting club members who could make a problem go away. Druggies and general derelicts would have all at least taken the wallet; wealthy club members wouldn't need his money.

I was thinking the same in regards to the wallet, but honestly I believe Adam parked that car and left all of those items inside. There were a month's worth of parkng tickets on the car. He was parked in Beverly Hills and no forced entry.

There was no mention of a girlfriend or even female acquaintances. Idk but I believe Adam was into subculture a little deeper than his family wanted to lead on.

The fact they never mentioned his shady dealings with that real estate agent speaks volumes to how much they were trying to spin the story. Also Bob Stacks was a friend of the family so I'm sure the family had a lot of input in how the story was presented to the masses.

Remember this was the 80s and reputation meant everything to the rich. Any type of scandal they would try to cover up.

I do think Tony was bad news that is why I personally think he got Adam hooked up with some drugs.

Its very possible Adam OD'd in Skid Row and they freaked and disposed of his body never coming in contact with his car or belongings.

I simple can't fathom Adam just walking away from his posh life because he was disenchanted with being rich.

As far as the police dismissing Tony as a POI is also very telling. The family hired a PI and spent a pretty penny having the PI work for 6 months I am positive the PI had to uncover something but they didn't mention anything.

Mrs. Hecht made a comment on how she didn't understand how the police simple let Tony go. However, if there was no evidence of foul play and Tony was that developmentally delayed what exactly could the police do?

If Tony had killed Adam I think there would have been some evidence. It took more than one person to get rid of Adam in the manner he vanished.

Being gay was extremely taboo even 20 years ago so 35 years ago you know it was something rarely even mentioned. I felt the same with Keith Warren's case that he was gay and his family didn't disclose this information.

[Gelatinous Goo]

I am really more leaning towards somebody with money having done this. The car and wallet make me feel strongly about it.

Perhaps your gay angle and the points you mentioned about being gay/closeted in that era might come into play here. What if Adam discovered that somebody else was in the closet? Again, someone of means who did not need this information coming to light at whatever cost?

So many possibilities.

[ghosthouse]

Am I crazy -- or have I read that Adam had voluntarily "wandered off" to find himself several times prior to disappearing for good?

Something like that is a classic UM thing to leave out when covering a missing person.

[infinityluxe]

Originally Posted by ghosthouse

Am I crazy -- or have I read that Adam had voluntarily "wandered off" to find himself several times prior to disappearing for good?

Something like that is a classic UM thing to leave out when covering a missing person.

I don't think so. Adam's entire personality and habits changed after meeting Tony is what I have always understood.

I do feel that since Bob Stack was a friend of the family that the family had a lot of control on how that segment was filmed/executed.

They did leave a lot about Adam out of the segment on purpose and that gives me pause.

I noticed his sister and brother seemed rather cold. Perhaps Adam was their mother's golden child? They didn't seem too emotional but perhaps that is an elitist character trait?

[infinityluxe]

Originally Posted by Gelatinous Goo

I am really more leaning towards somebody with money having done this. The car and wallet make me feel strongly about it.

Perhaps your gay angle and the points you mentioned about being gay/closeted in that era might come into play here. What if Adam discovered that somebody else was in the closet? Again, someone of means who did not need this information coming to light at whatever cost?

So many possibilities.

Adam's car had been sitting for over a month with many tickets. The segment leads us to believe someone may have put it there. I'm leaning towards he probably just left the car there.

I'm wondering if the shady real estate agent Crystal Dawn says was omitted from the segment may have actually been the person to get rid of Adam. Apparently they had some shady dealings.

Its convenient for the family to want to blame Tony, but perhaps it had nothing to do with Tony or his newfound vagabond lifestyle.

You are right it could have simply been something he knew that he wasn't supposed to know.

I don't believe Adam disappeared at all I believe someone made him disappear. The fact no trace of him was ever heard of again and he disappeared from Beverly Hills tells me someone of means got rid of him. Contract kill perhaps.

I also think its very telling that police did not pursue Tony and did not consider him a person of interest. Perhaps they had evidence but not enough to accuse someone else.

All things point to Tony just being a distraction in this case and having little to nothing to do with his disappearance. I still stand by my theory Tony and Adam had a sexual relationship going.

[freakbook]

Originally Posted by infinityluxe

Adam's car had been sitting for over a month with many tickets. The segment leads us to believe someone may have put it there. I'm leaning towards he probably just left the car there.

I'm wondering if the shady real estate agent Crystal Dawn says was omitted from the segment may have actually been the person to get rid of Adam. Apparently they had some shady dealings.

Its convenient for the family to want to blame Tony, but perhaps it had nothing to do with Tony or his newfound vagabond lifestyle.

You are right it could have simply been something he knew that he wasn't supposed to know.

I don't believe Adam disappeared at all I believe someone made him disappear. The fact no trace of him was ever heard of again and he disappeared from Beverly Hills tells me someone of means got rid of him. Contract kill perhaps.

I also think its very telling that police did not pursue Tony and did not consider him a person of interest. Perhaps they had evidence but not enough to accuse someone else.

All things point to Tony just being a distraction in this case and having little to nothing to do with his disappearance. I still stand by my theory Tony and Adam had a sexual relationship going.

what is the story about this real estate agent? this is the first im hearing about it

[TheCars1986]

Originally Posted by freakbook

what is the story about this real estate agent? this is the first im hearing about it

It was mentioned on crystaldawn's blog about Adam's disappearance.

[freakbook]

Originally Posted by TheCars1986

It was mentioned on crystaldawn's blog about Adam's disappearance.

Wow had no idea. Wonder why UM didn't mention this?

Thanks!

[Jon]

Originally Posted by infinityluxe

I noticed his sister and brother seemed rather cold. Perhaps Adam was their mother's golden child? They didn't seem too emotional but perhaps that is an elitist character trait?

Martine Hecht is British, and with the Hechts being upper class it's likely they were raised to show very little emotion/sentiment. It might also explain somewhat why Adam was driven to help the poor, as a way of rebelling (for lack of a better word) against the environment in which he was raised.

Sort of related to that, at the beginning of this segment Stack says that Beverly Hills has "an average yearly income of $75,000 per household". Of course UM is full of reminders that times have changed, but that has to be one of the biggest.

My theory for this case is that Adam was murdered just after he disappeared. It would have been extremely obvious that he was from a wealthy family, and with his generous spirit it would have put a big red target on his back. If he was gay, or using drugs I don't think that has any relevance to his disappearance or death, I think it is more likely that someone took advantage of his charitable nature, asked for his help to lure him, then robbed and murdered him. They just haven't found his body.

[Labonte18]

Adam's sexuality is.. Irrelevant to this in my eyes. Do I think he and Tony were in a 'relationship'? Not particularly.

I've always thought that he probably met his end rather quickly after leaving his car. I think he went to get drugs.. And.. Maybe just wound up in a dumpster, wasn't noticed and decayed in some landfill.

I also hold out the possibility that he was an unclaimed body somewhere.

Even the family doesn't believe Tony had anything to do with it.

[mtaylor72]

Wait, Robert Stack knew the family? This is the first time I've heard that.. I don't recall that mentioned in the segment. The UM Wiki doesn't mention it either.

[Jon]

Originally Posted by mtaylor72

Wait, Robert Stack knew the family? This is the first time I've heard that.. I don't recall that mentioned in the segment. The UM Wiki doesn't mention it either.

Check out the Wikipedia page for Harold Hecht Sr. who produced a number of high-profile Hollywood films including the 1955 Oscar winner for best picture, Marty. He was especially active in the 1950s and 60s so it’s not surprising at all that he would have rubbed shoulders with Stack in Hollywood