The Death of Joan Robinson Hill- Part 2
Morbid
01/04/24
•92m
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Part 2/2 - On March 19, 1969, thirty-eight-year-old Houston socialite Joan Robinson Hill died at Sharpstown General Hospital from what doctors at the time believed was flu-related symptoms. Hill’s body was quickly taken to the mortuary and embalmed before an autopsy could be performed, violating Texas law and undermining any attempts determine the cause of Joan’s death. Nevertheless, Joan’s father, a wealthy oil tycoon, believed his daughter’s death to be a homicide, used his influence to have her remains exhumed and had not one, but two additional autopsies performed to determine the cause of death.
Despite conflicting reports from the pathologists regarding a cause of death, Joan’s father was eventually successful in convincing the district attorney that her death was no accident, but was in fact murder committed by her husband, John Hill. After two unsuccessful attempts to convince a grand jury of John’s guilt, the district attorney finally convinced a third grand jury that John Hill had intentionally contributed to Joan’s death and he was charged with “murder by omission,” a first in the history of the Texas courts.
John Hill was put on trial for the murder of his wife in the winter of 1971, but the jury would never get a chance to weigh in on his guilt or innocence. In September of 1972, after one mistrial and several delays leading up to a re-trial, John Hill was murdered by an intruder who’d broken into his home. Although investigators believed Hill’s murder to have been a robbery gone wrong, many in Houston suspected Joan’s father, believing his son-in-law had evaded justice, had paid to have John Hill killed, leaving the deaths of Joan and John Hill an enduring mystery.
As always, thank you to the fantastic David White, of Bring Me the Axe Podcast, for research assistance
References
Associated Press. 1971. "Doctor 'hated' first wife." Corpus Christi Times, February 26: 1.
—. 1972. "Houston doctor slain at home." Corpus Christi Times, September 25: 13.
—. 1969. "Meningitis said fatal to socialite ." Corpus Christi Times, October 11: 13.
—. 1971. "Judge calls mistrial in Houston slaying." Fort Worth Star-Telegram, February 27: 12.
—. 1970. "Panel indicts doctor in death of wife." Fort Worth Star-Telegram, May 23: 3.
—. 1973. "District judge clamps lid on Houston doctor's murder." Odessa American, April 27: 3.
—. 1971. "Testimony continues in trial of physician." Odessa American, February 23: 2.
Gonzalez, J.R. 2009. 40 years later: Joan Robinson Hill. March 19. Accessed November 7, 2023. https://blog.chron.com/bayoucityhistory/2009/03/40-years-later-joan-robinson-hill/.
New York Times. 1977. "Oilman is cleared in Houston murder of his son-in-law." New YorkTimes, October 22: 1.
Thompson, Thomas. 1976. Blood and Money: A True Story of Murder, Passion, and Power. New York, NY: Doubleday.
United Press International. 1980. "Heiress may have been toxic shock victim." United Press International, November 23.
Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)
Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)
Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley
Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally
Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Previous Episode
The Death of Joan Robinson Hill- Part 1
January 1, 2024
•88m
On March 19, 1969, thirty-eight-year-old Houston socialite Joan Robinson Hill died at Sharpstown General Hospital from what doctors at the time believed was flu-related symptoms. Hill’s body was quickly taken to the mortuary and embalmed before an autopsy could be performed, violating Texas law and undermining any attempts determine the cause of Joan’s death. Nevertheless, Joan’s father, a wealthy oil tycoon, believed his daughter’s death to be a homicide, used his influence to have her remains exhumed and had not one, but two additional autopsies performed to determine the cause of death.
Despite conflicting reports from the pathologists regarding a cause of death, Joan’s father was eventually successful in convincing the district attorney that her death was no accident, but was in fact murder committed by her husband, John Hill. After two unsuccessful attempts to convince a grand jury of John’s guilt, the district attorney finally convinced a third grand jury that John Hill had intentionally contributed to Joan’s death and he was charged with “murder by omission,” a first in the history of the Texas courts.
John Hill was put on trial for the murder of his wife in the winter of 1971, but the jury would never get a chance to weigh in on his guilt or innocence. In September of 1972, after one mistrial and several delays leading up to a re-trial, John Hill was murdered by an intruder who’d broken into his home. Although investigators believed Hill’s murder to have been a robbery gone wrong, many in Houston suspected Joan’s father, believing his son-in-law had evaded justice, had paid to have John Hill killed, leaving the deaths of Joan and John Hill an enduring mystery.
As always, thank you to the fantastic David White, of Bring Me the Axe Podcast, for research assistance
References
Associated Press. 1971. "Doctor 'hated' first wife." Corpus Christi Times, February 26: 1.
—. 1972. "Houston doctor slain at home." Corpus Christi Times, September 25: 13.
—. 1969. "Meningitis said fatal to socialite ." Corpus Christi Times, October 11: 13.
—. 1971. "Judge calls mistrial in Houston slaying." Fort Worth Star-Telegram, February 27: 12.
—. 1970. "Panel indicts doctor in death of wife." Fort Worth Star-Telegram, May 23: 3.
—. 1973. "District judge clamps lid on Houston doctor's murder." Odessa American, April 27: 3.
—. 1971. "Testimony continues in trial of physician." Odessa American, February 23: 2.
Gonzalez, J.R. 2009. 40 years later: Joan Robinson Hill. March 19. Accessed November 7, 2023. https://blog.chron.com/bayoucityhistory/2009/03/40-years-later-joan-robinson-hill/.
New York Times. 1977. "Oilman is cleared in Houston murder of his son-in-law." New YorkTimes, October 22: 1.
Thompson, Thomas. 1976. Blood and Money: A True Story of Murder, Passion, and Power. New York, NY: Doubleday.
United Press International. 1980. "Heiress may have been toxic shock victim." United Press International, November 23.
Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)
Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)
Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley
Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally
Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Next Episode
The Murder of Mary Stannard
January 8, 2024
•72m
On the afternoon of September 3, 1878, twenty-two-year-old Mary Stannard d left her home in Madison, Connecticut, telling her father she was going blackberry picking and would be back before dark. When night came and Mary hadn’t returned, her father went out to look for her and eventually found her body by a creek in the woods. The investigation into her murder was truly wild and remains TECHNICALLY unsolved.
Thank you to the amazing Dave White of Bring Me The Axe Podcast for research!
References
Bendici, Ray. 2015. "The CT files: the 'unsolved murder of Mary STAN-ard." Cennecticut Magazine, August 23.
Foote, William. 1970. "Mary STAN-ard, she was murdered." Hartford Courant, March 5: 16.
Hartford Courant. 1878. "Hayden re-arrested." Hartford Courant, October 9: 3.
—. 1878. "Strong circumstantial evidence against a clergyman." Hartford Courant, September 7: 2.
—. 1878. "The Madison murder." Hartford Courant, September 6: 3.
Hayden, Herbert. 1880. The Reverend Herbert Hayden: An Autobiography. Hartford, CT: Press of the Plimptron Manufacturing Co.
New York Times. 1878. "A young woman's ruin and death." New York Times, September 6: 1.
—. 1878. "Is Rev. Mr. Hayden guilty." New York Times, September 14: 5.
—. 1879. "Mary STAN-ard's death." New York Times, November 7: 5.
—. 1878. "Mrs. Hayden's testimony." New York Times, September 21: 1.
—. 1880. "The Hayden case: beginning of the closing arguments." New York Times, January 15: 5.
—. 1879. "The long murder trial." New York Times, November 21: 2.
Pearson, Edmund. 1927. "Mary STAN-ard and the Reverend Mr. Hayden." Vanity Fair, March 01.
Unknown author. 1879. Poor Mary STAN-ard: A Full and Thrilling Story of the Circumstances Connected with Her Murder. New Haven: Stafford Printing Company.
Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)
Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)
Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley
Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally
Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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