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Who Killed Rhonda
Hinson?
The most investigated case in the history of the
Burke County Sheriff's Office remains unsolved. The shooting death of Rhonda
Annette Hinson, an attractive 19-year old from Valdese, continues to frustrate
detectives assigned to solving a crime which has no apparent motive. |
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| On the evening of Tuesday, December 22, 1981,
Rhonda attended her office's (Hickory Steel Company) Christmas party at the
American Legion Hut in Hickory. After leaving the party around midnight, she
stopped by a friend's house to pick up her vehicle and call her boyfriend. |
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| After leaving the friend's residence, Rhonda
drove her beige Datsun 210 two-door west on Interstate 40 and exited onto the
Mineral Springs Mountain/Highway 350 off-ramp. She turned right (north) and
began traveling up a steep hill toward her home when a high powered rifle
projectile was fired into the vehicle. The bullet entered the Datsun through
the trunk and continued through the back seat and driver's side seat, entering
Rhonda's back and piercing her lung and heart. |
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| Rhonda was
found lying in a ditch beside the open driver's side door of her Datsun. She
was less than a mile from the home she shared with her parents in Valdese. The
vehicle was running and apparently had rolled backwards across the opposite
lane into a ditch near the top of the grade after Rhonda was shot. |
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| Numerous questions shroud Rhonda's death. There
are medical opinions which feel she would have been rendered incapacitated
after being shot, yet her body was found outside the vehicle. Did the assailant
pull her body from the car? Did Rhonda know her assailant? Was this an act of
random violence or a case of mistaken identity? Was anyone in the company of
the shooter? What was the motive behind firing the fatal shot? |
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| Throughout the years, hundreds of persons have
been interviewed by investigators assigned to the case. The file on the Hinson
murder contains thousands of documents and has expanded to fill several filing
cabinets. Potential suspects and witnesses have been polygraphed; psychics have
been called in to assist; the crime scene and evidence have been analyzed and
re-analyzed; yet Rhonda's death and the strange circumstances around it remains
a mystery. |
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| The Hinson case was featured on the NBC
television program "Unsolved Mysteries" in 1989. The program was filmed
on location at the actual site where the crime occurred, and many of those
involved with the case portrayed themselves. Hoping to gather new information,
investigators flew to Los Angeles and fielded telephone calls immediately after
the piece was aired. Although the documentary was well produced and meticulous
attention was given to ensure accuracy during filming, the new leads developed
from telephone calls across the country led to dead ends. |
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| On January 8, 1982, Governor James B. Hunt
issued a proclamation offering a $5,000.00 reward for information in this case
that will bring the killer to justice. The town of Valdese is also offering a
$5,000.00 reward. Along with funds set aside by Morganton-Burke Crimestoppers
and private donations and pledges, the reward exceeds $20,000.00. |
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| Rhonda's parents, Bobby and Judy Hinson continue
to seek answers. They are frequently in touch with Sheriff McDevitt and
investigators who are assigned to work the case, their lives shattered by this
cowardly act. If life were fair, they would be spending time with the children
Rhonda never had the opportunity to bear, rather than repeating trips to the
Sheriff's Office. In regards to the killer, they often wonder, "Does he or she
have a conscience?" It is their hope that Rhonda's assailant (or an
accomplice/person having knowledge of this crime) will one day understand the
heartache they feel from losing a child in such a senseless manner. If the
killer does have any semblance of a heart and is not the cold, callous person
as many perceive, perhaps one day he/she will face up to their deed and provide
the answers they deserve. |
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| To report information concerning the case of
Rhonda A. Hinson, contact Lt. Becky Brendle of the Burke County Sheriff's
Office at (828) 438-5506, or Crimestoppers at (828) 437-3333. The e-mail
address for the Sheriff's Office's Criminal Investigation Division is
cid@burkesheriff.org. Remember, you
may call anonymously and be eligible for the reward money listed above if your
information leads to the arrest and conviction of Rhonda's killer. |
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