The Case of The Eastburn Murders Quiz

Answer: Summer Hill Road

Fayetteville, Fort Bragg, North Carolina had seen this type of murder before...in February 1970, when Dr. Jeffery MacDonald brutally murdered his pregnant wife and two adorable daughters, aged two and five. Nine years after the murders, MacDonald was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.

On Mother's Day, Sunday, May 12, 1985, Fort Bragg once again was in the news; this time for another triple murder of a mother and her two adorable daughters.

But only this time the outcome would be different...much different.

Bob Seefeldt, an army sergeant, drove back to his house on Summer Hill Road after bailing out one of his soldiers, who was in jail for a minor offense. Seefeldt was greeted by his wife, Jennette; then he asked his wife what was happening next door, as the daily papers were stacked on the curb, their car was still in the driveway, and the baby stroller was folded up near the door. Remembering that he hadn't seen the family for about three days, Seefeldt began to get worried and told Jennette that he was going to go over to see if anything was wrong. Seefeldt knocked on the door, but no one answered.

He then rang the doorbell, and that's when he heard a baby crying. Seefeldt instructed Jennette to call for help. Jennette immediately called Julie Czerniak, the Eastburns' babysitter, who rushed over. She peered in the side window into the baby's room and saw 21 month-old Jana standing in her crib, with her arms outstretched. Julie then attempted to get into the house, but Seefeldt stopped her until the police arrived.

At the time of the first police call, Officer William Toman was patrolling the area around Sante Fe Drive when he heard the dispatcher call out over the radio that help was needed at 367 Summer Hill Road. Toman radioed in that he would go to scene. When he arrived, he was met by Bob and Jennette Seefeldt, who told him that the baby was crying in the house. When Julie, talking too loud and basically ordering the police officer, told Toman that he had to let her in the house to get the baby, Toman dismissed her as an obnoxious teen. Toman knocked on the door, but didn't hear a baby crying. He was beginning to believe that everyone had pulled a panic alarm that was not needed. However, when Toman rang the doorbell, he was surprised to hear a baby crying. Going to the window that was indicated by Seefeldt, he saw that a baby was standing in her crib with her arms outstretched and crying.

Toman sliced the screen, opened the window, and retrieved the baby and a stack of diapers. He handed her out the window to Seefeldt and then told Seefeldt that there was a horrible smell. Going back in, Toman searched the house and discovered, to his horror, the body of 3 year-old Erin and her mother, Kathryn.

After discovering the two bodies, Toman immediately called for backup. When the backup arrived, a full scale search was on in the house. There, they discovered the body of 5 year-old Kara lying in her own bed with the covers pulled up over her body.

What kind of person or persons could have done this horrible crime? Was it a crime of passion? Was it a robbery gone wrong? Or was it an intentional "copycat" of the MacDonald murders?

Answer: Patrick Cone

When the investigators arrived at the Eastburn residence, they were amazed that the entire scene, except for the areas immediately surrounding the bodies, was completely clean of blood. The investigators used Luminal, a special liquid that glowed in the presence of blood, to determine where all the blood was. With the Luminal they discovered several size 9 shoe prints, all of which were from the left side, blood on the doorknobs, light switches, and in the kitchen and bathroom sinks; they also found several strands of hair that they would use when a suspect came into their midst.

The investigators, following the Luminal footprints, were shocked to see the trail of bloody footprints on the porch and in the driveway, even though it had rained during those three days between the murders and the discovery. Meanwhile, inside the house, the investigators discovered a piece of a rubber glove, which didn't fit with anything inside the house.

When the investigators went outside to search the immediate area of the residence, a man named Patrick Cone, an African American, walked up to them and told them that he had seen a man three nights ago, on a Thursday, when the murders occurred.

According to Cone, "I was walking home from my girlfriend's house about 3:30 AM.

As I was walking, I saw a white Chevette parked on the road. Then I saw this white dude walking down the lady's driveway. I passed right by him. He said, 'I'm getting an early start this morning,' or something like that. Then I watched him get in his white Chevette and drive off." Cone then went on to describe the man he saw. He said the man was about 6'4", with short blonde hair and mustache, wearing a black Members Only jacket, a black toboggan, a white shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes. He said that the man carried a garbage bag over his shoulder all the way to the car that was parked 200 yards from the Eastburns'.

Who was this man that Patrick Cone claimed to have seen? Was it the murderer? If it was the murderer, how was it that Patrick Cone was lucky enough to have seen him? Could it possibly have been just a guy walking down the street, a guy that had nothing to do with what took place at the Eastburns'?

Answer: Timothy Hennis

On Tuesday, May 7, 1985, Tim Hennis, an Army sergeant, answered the Eastburns' classified ad for a good home for their dog, Dixie. But Hennis and his wife, Angela, already had a dog, a mixed breed named Snowball, who was jealous of their new baby Kristina.

But Hennis and Angela wanted Kristina to have a dog to grow up with, and with that in mind, they decided to get a dog that had once belonged to a family with kids. When they saw the ad for Eastburns' dog, they thought that the dog would be perfect for Kristina. So, thinking of his daughter, Hennis went to the Eastburns' house to get the dog.

He arrived after 9:00 PM, and he and Kathryn talked about Dixie and their kids. Hennis stayed for about an hour, and before he left he used the bathroom.

Then he put a chain on Dixie's collar, put her in the car, and drove off...never seeing Kathryn Eastburn again.

On Monday, May 13, 1985, Patrick Cone worked with a police sketch artist on a composite drawing of the man he saw.

On Wednesday, May 15, 1985, three days after the discovery of the bodies, the investigators went on the news requesting that the man who picked up the Eastburns' dog please come forward.

Hennis, along with Angela and Kristina, drove to the police station in his white Chevette to help out in anyway he could. Upon seeing Hennis, the investigators were amazed at the uncanny likeness between him and the composite drawing. They questioned Hennis on his whereabouts on Thursday, May 9, 1985, and requested blood, hair, and semen samples for a rape kit, since Kathryn Eastburn had been raped before being murdered. Hennis gave the investigators everything they asked for, and answered all of their questions without an attorney being present.

While Hennis was being interviewed, the police brought Patrick Cone in to go over mugshots of suspected individuals. After some 30 odd minutes, Cone picked Hennis' picture out of the photo line-up. Then the police drove with Cone to the police parking lot, and asked him to pick out the car he saw the night of the murders. Cone picked Hennis' white Chevette.

After helping the investigators, Hennis went home, thinking he had done the right thing. Later that night, to his surprise and horror, police were at the door, placing him under arrest for the heinous murders.

What started out as an innocent answer to a classified ad, turned out to be a nightmare for Hennis and his family. If Hennis was guilty, would he have willingly given hair, blood, and semen samples to the police? Would he have willingly answered all of their questions without an attorney being present?

Answer: Beaver, Holt, Richardson, Sternlicht, Burge and Glazier, PA

The day after Hennis was arrested for the rape and triple murder, his father, Bob, went to meet with Gerry Beaver and Billy Richardson of the law firm of Beaver, Holt, Richardson, Sternlicht, Burge and Glazier, PA (In 1996, long after the Hennis trials, the practice split into two: Beaver, Holt, Sternlicht, Glazier, Carlin, Britton and Courie, PA and Richardson Law Firm, PLLC).

Gerry Beaver and Billy Richardson were considered the best criminal attorneys that North Carolina had, no case was too small or too big for them.

They went head to head with the local prosecutors several times, and by the time that the Eastburn murders had happened, Beaver and Richardson had completely alienated the local law enforcement, because they had represented a drug dealer who had been kneed in the groin by a Fayetteville policeman, which rendered him sterile. Beaver and Richardson argued that the incident was part of a long series of police beatings, which completely embarrassed law enforcement all over the country. Because of Beaver and Richardson's quick wit, their client received $900,000, which outraged law enforcement and taxpayers alike.

Bob Hennis, fully aware of Beaver and Richardson's notoriety, wanted them to defend his son.

However, Beaver and Richardson fully believed that Hennis was guilty; their reason being that police, investigators, and prosecutors wouldn't arrest, and charge with murder, a man who was innocent.

After talking with Hennis, and looking into the case, Beaver and Richardson began to believe that Hennis was really innocent, and set out to prove his innocence at all costs.

Considering that Beaver and Richardson were completely alienated from local law enforcement, how could they prove that their client was truly innocent? And, even if they could prove his innocence, who would believe them? Would this case be the end of Beaver, Holt, Richardson, Sternlicht, Burge and Glazier, PA?

Answer: Julie Czerniak

To find out the truth about the Eastburn murders, Beaver and Richardson hired Bob Nelligar, a private investigator. Nelligar started off his investigation with Julie Czerniak, the Eastburns' babysitter, because Julie had told the police that she and Katie were receiving harassing phone calls, that started as soon as Gary Eastburn (Katie's husband) left to go to school. Julie had even told the police about her fascination with Jeffrey MacDonald, and told them that he called her for her birthday.

Nelligar figured that the harassing phone calls and Julie's fascination with MacDonald couldn't all be a coincidence. Julie told Nelligar that during the month, she and Katie had received no less than 20 harassing calls, and that they were all hang-ups except for two, one of them being when the caller asked how large Julie's breasts were, and the other being when the caller told Katie that he knew where she lived and that he's coming over. Julie then talked about MacDonald and her fascination with him and his case. Julie, born in Womack Army Hospital, the same hospital that MacDonald was taken to after the murders of his wife and daughters, became convinced of his innocence and wrote to him any chance she got. Julie told Nelligar that MacDonald had called her for her birthday, and that two months prior the Eastburn murders MacDonald's chance at parole was turned down and he wrote to her.

She also mentioned that after Hennis' arrest for the rape and triple murder, that MacDonald had wrote to her, telling her never to write to him again because all of her talking was ruining any chance he had at parole and receiving a new trial.

Julie told Nelligar that her two stepbrothers resembled Hennis, but when Nelligar found it hard to believe, she produced photos of them. Julie then went on to say that the morning after the murders she saw the front door swinging open. Then she told Nelligar something that was a key to the entire case against Hennis, she said that on Monday, May 13, 1985, a blue van followed her home after she visited with little Jana. She said that the driver had pulled up next to the car and glared at her; she described the driver as being freaky, kind of hippie looking. Julie also told Nelligar how she helped Keith Smith, a narcotics officer for the City-County Bureau of Narcotics, in setting up drug busts of local drug dealers.

Nelligar then contacted Keith Smith, who told him that Julie was fascinated with mass and serial killers, especially Lizzie Borden and Jeffrey MacDonald, and that she talked to him in-depth about their cases. Smith then told Nelligar that Julie had helped him set up a drug bust on man named "Ox," who drove a blue van with no license plates. Smith told Nelligar that Ox was always with a skinny male, with shoulder length, ratty-looking blonde hair, who drove a Vega. Smith then said that Ox and Smith went underground shortly after the Eastburn murders.

Is it a coincidence that Julie described the driver as being "freaky, kind of hippie looking," the same terms that MacDonald used when describing the so-called intruders who attacked him and murdered his family? Is it a coincidence that Julie was a drug informant for a narcotics officer, just like Helena Stoeckley of the MacDonald case? Is it a coincidence that MacDonald, after Hennis' arrest, forbade Julie from ever contacting him again, saying that she would ruin any chance he had at parole and receiving a new trial?

Answer: False

Since the state's case hinged completely on Patrick Cone, Beaver and Richardson knew that they had to talk with him, but first they had to find him. They went to his parents' house, then his sister's house, they even went to his former job at Methodist College, and eventually found him at one of his friends' house.

When Beaver and Richardson questioned Cone about why he was hiding out, Cone told them he was in hiding for protection. Cone agreed to answer Beaver and Richardson's questions, and drove back to their law office.

During the questioning, Cone said that the white Chevette made a U-turn before leaving Summer Hill Road, as if the driver was considering if he should run over him.

This was something new to Beaver and Richardson, as they had not heard anything about the Chevette making a U-turn on Summer Hill Road.

Then, Richardson asked Cone about the photo lineup; according to Cone, the person he saw had a military haircut and wore a black jacket.

However, after Richardson saw the photo lineup, he was amazed that the only one of the six pictures that had blonde hair cut in a military style and wearing a black jacket was Tim Hennis. Cone said that the other five photos didn't look anything like the person he saw, but even though those five didn't look like Hennis' photo, Cone still took over 30 minutes to make a selection. Richardson felt that the lineup was extremely unfair and completely biased toward his client.

Because Cone's story preyed on Beaver and Richardson, they wanted to get a video recording of the reenactment of the night cone supposedly saw Hennis walking to his car. So, the next night Beaver, Richardson, and Nelligar went Summer Hill Road. Putting himself in Cone's shoes, Beaver, with video camera in hand, walked down Summer Hill Road, the same way that Cone had walked.

When he got to the Eastburn driveway, he turned and attempted to film Nelligar's car, which was parked along the chain link fence, the same fence that Hennis' Chevette was supposedly parked near. But, to Beaver's delight, Nelligar's car disappeared behind branches that were hanging over the fence. Beaver then looked up at the streetlight that would've lit Cone's supposed view of Hennis...it was covered by branches.

Needing a professional video tape of the reenactment, Beaver and Richardson hired Ken Cooke, of the "Fayetteville Observer," to video Richardson's tall, blonde brother-in-law walking down the Eastburn driveway in a dark jacket and toboggan, while Beaver and Cooke stood where Cone said he first saw Hennis, some 187 feet from the Eastburn driveway. Nelligar, Richardson, and his brother-in-law (the Hennis lookalike) waited in the driveway.

As the reenactment began, Beaver and Cooke yelled, "All right, start walking," and when they couldn't see anyone moving, yelled "have you started yet?" However, by this time, the Hennis lookalike was well into the street. The lookalike asked, "Didn't you see me?" This elated the attorneys, as it proved that Cone didn't see anyone on Summer Hill Road on May 9, 1985, on a night that was foggy and moonless.

Watching the reenactment was David Hill, a neighbor who lived across the street and one house down from the Eastburns' house. After the reenactment was completed, Hill approached them and told them what he saw on May 9, 1985. Hill said that he saw a van parked in front of the Eastburns' that night, and walked over to it. He said that a man, with a crewcut got out of the side door, and that he heard several voices inside the van. Hill said that he asked the man if he had a problem, to which the man responded that they had just stopped to talk. Hill said that he had a funny feeling about the van and walked back to his house to call the police; but before he could call, the van left the area. Hill then told Beaver and Richardson that a few weeks after the murders, he saw the van for sale in the parking lot of the Winn-Dixie, which was located on Yadkin Road, near Summer Hill.

Beaver and Richardson, overjoyed with what they felt fully exonerated Hennis and which punched holes in the state's case, wanted to get one more video tape...this one being of Cone himself reenacting what he saw. Retrieving Cone and heading back to Summer Hill, Beaver, Richardson, and Nelligar got into place. Nelligar parked his car along the chainlink fence, and Richardson turned on the video camera and told Cone to walk up the street just like the night of the murders. Cone stopped at the third streetlight. Richardson asked Cone if this was the area in which he first saw Hennis, and Cone said yes; Richardson had Cone continue his walk down the middle of Summer Hill Road. Cone said that the man walked at a normal pace in the lane to his left. Richardson had Cone stop where he met the man in the road. Richardson then told Cone to postion Nelligar exactly where Hennis was supposedly at when Cone saw him. Cone lined up Nelligar and the two passed each other while Richardson filmed the moment. However, as soon as Cone lined up Nelligar, Richardson and Nelligar knew that Cone couldn't have seen what or who he thought he had seen.

Because Beaver, Richardson, and Nelligar had already been to Summer Hill Road and measured all of the distances, they knew that Cone didn't know what he was talking about. For Cone and the man to have met where Cone said they did, the man would've walked about 63 paces to Cone's 37 paces.

Sure, they had no doubt that Cone saw someone walking, but exactly when and whom was another story.

Interestingly, after Cone helped video tape his walk home, he told Richardson and Nelligar "I'm not sure that was the right guy." To which Richardson and Nelligar responded, "What was that, Pat?" and Cone said, "I'm just saying I could have been mistaken." To which Richardson and Nelligar responded, "How long have you felt that way?" and Cone said, "I've been having these doubts for a while."

If it wasn't Hennis that Cone saw, then who was it? Could it have been the murderer? Or could it have been someone who happened to look like Hennis?

Answer: CQ log

According to the Cumberland County Sheriff's office, Katie's Branch Banking and Trust instant teller card was used at 10:52 PM on Friday night, across from Methodist College, the same college that Cone had worked for but had quit soon after the murders, and which was miles away from Fort Bragg where Hennis was on CQ duty and had to sign the CQ log.

The second time the Branch Banking and Trust card was used was at 8:56 AM on Saturday morning at Methodist College. During this time, Hennis was burning trash in his yard, with several witnesses to this event.

Considering the fact that Hennis had several witnesses at CQ duty, and considering that he had several witnesses when he was at home burning trash, how is it that the investigators thought he was their killer? Could and would all of those witnesses lie?

Answer: Paul Stombaugh

There was evidence in the state's case that pointed away from Hennis, such as:
1.) unidentified fingerprints on the front edge of the clothes dryer in the utility room.
2.) unidentified fingerprints above the deadbolt lock in the living room.
3.) unidentified fingerprints above the door going into the master bedroom, some seven feet above the floor.
4.) unidentified fingerprints on the top dresser drawer in the master bedroom, where Katie's lock box and a check for $274.00 had been stolen.

There was also other pieces of evidence that pointed away from Hennis, that didn't matter to the state:
1.) a hair found on the body bag sheet that was wrapped around Erin.
2.) a hair on the top sheet on the bed in the master bedroom.
3.) a hair on the carpet of the master bedroom.
4.) a hair inside a detergent box (because this hair was gray, it was considered not relevant to the case).

Hennis' black Members Only jacket, which Hennis had taken to the dry cleaners on Friday, May 10, 1985, was tested for blood, but no blood was found.

Hennis wore a size 13 shoe, but the Luminal footprints, found the same day the bodies were discovered, were a size 9.

However, because the state didn't want to back down and say that Hennis was innocent, they trudged ahead. Beaver and Richardson, knowing that the state wanted to kill their client, asked Paul Stombaugh, the forensic expert made famous for putting Jeffrey MacDonald away by proving that 48 holes in the blue pajama top matched the 21 holes in Colette's chest, to look at all of the evidence against Hennis and give his professional opinion.

Because the state released the murder house before the defense could get their experts inside, Beaver had to rent 367 Summer Hill Road for the entire time that Stombaugh needed it to give his opinion. The house still had blood stains on the carpet, and hairs could still be found in certain areas of the house.

When Stombaugh and Richardson entered the crime scene months later, the house smelled of old blood. Stombaugh began his evidence search in the utility room, then made his way to the living room, dining room, hallway, and finally to the master bedroom. Stombaugh and Richardson went down on their knees, picking hairs out of the bloodstains in the master bedroom. Then Stombaugh noticed something underneath the dresser...it was a package that once contained a condom. To Stombaugh, this seemed odd, as rapists usually don't bring condoms to a rape, and suggested one thing and one thing only to him...that someone had consensual sex in the Eastburns' master bedroom the night of the murders.

Stombaugh presented a theory about what happened on the night of the murders to Beaver and Richardson: "After returning home from the Seefeldts', Katie put Erin and Jana to bed and began sorting the laundry, sometime around 9:00 PM. The assailants arrived, and Mrs. Eastburn let them inside because she knew at least one of them. The group went to the living room, where Katie resumed sorting the wash. She was grabbed, and during a brief struggle the basket of clothes was knocked to the floor. One of them tied Mrs. Eastburn's hands behind her back with a narrow binding, possibly a lamp cord or heavy twine."

"A man stayed with Mrs. Eastburn in the living room and began the rape, holding her at bay with a knife to the left side of her throat (Stombaugh had found a small cut in her blouse in that area). The man forced Mrs. Eastburn either to the couch or to the floor, where he pulled off her shoes, jeans, and cut her panties."

"Another assailant went down the hall for the children, probably expecting to find them in the same bedroom. Upon seeing an empty bed in the first bedroom on the left, he went to the master bedroom, where he found Erin and stabbed her. Then he went back and found Kara, stabbing her."

"Mrs. Eastburn somehow broke loose, perhaps while the man prepared for the rape, and ran to the back of the house, only to discover the fate of her children. An assailant pursued her and stabbed her at least once. In a final attempt to get away, Mrs. Eastburn ran across her bed, possibly losing a sock as she tried to ward off her attacker. She left ribbed impressions in her own blood on the bed before making it to the other side, where she was trapped against the wall. The chase was over."

"Erin was then pulled onto the floor and stabbed some more. The killers removed the binding from Mrs. Eastburn's wrists, cleaned up the house, and left."

Stombaugh ruled out the state's other motives for the murders, as rapists usually work alone, and the fact that there was more than one assailant in the house; robbery was also out, as no one would kill children for $300 from an instant teller machine.

Considering that Stombaugh is a world reknowned forensic expert, how is that the state still believed that Hennis was guilty? Was the state that blinded by Patrick Cone that they were willing to let an innocent man die? If Stombaugh's theory is to be believed, someone basically did a copycat killing of the MacDonald murders. If this is true, why would someone go through all that trouble to copy the MacDonald murders? Could it be that MacDonald is really innocent and that the perpetrators of his family's murders savaged another family? Or, is it possible that MacDonald himself, needing an unsolved murder case that was similar to his made the Eastburn murders happen?

Answer: False

When the blood, hairs, fingerprints, and semen failed to match Hennis in any way, and since Cone and recanted his identification of Hennis to Hennis' lawyers, Beaver and Richardson decided to get Hennis out on bond.

The hearing was on December 11, 1985, and Judge D.B.

Herring ordered that since the state's evidence basically eliminated Hennis as a suspect, he would release Hennis on bond for $100,000.

The state argued that the lab reports were inconclusive, meaning they weren't incriminating, but that they didn't eliminate Hennis.

The judge didn't buy it, but he also didn't dismiss the bogus charges against Hennis.

Answer: His mother

Beaver and Richardson knew that the state's cased rested solely on the shoulders of Patrick Cone; so they requested a suppression hearing to bar Cone's testimony and to have the charges against Hennis dropped.

At the suppression hearing, the state was flabbergasted when they heard Cone saying he wasn't sure who he had seen on the night of the murders, so the state requested a break.

During the break, the state placed Cone in an interrogation room and left pictures of the Eastburns' broken bodies; they also left a pad and pencil nearby.

When the break was over, the state basically pulled a loaded gun on Beaver and Richardson. For it seemed that during the "break" Cone had written a letter to his mother, begging her to believe him:
"Mom, it seems like everything I say to the other guys turns out backwards. I mean everything I say.

They are changing it around, because I really don't remember signing that paper, but they're saying I did. If I did sign that paper, it was because I thought it was a subpoena, and I'm telling you the honest to goodness truth, Mama.
The other day when you asked me if I signed the papers saying I couldn't be sure of who I saw, when I said, "No," I wasn't lying to you so please believe me.
Now, Mama, if the judge doesn't believe me, I hope you do because I really don't care what everybody thinks. Mama, they're trying to say that I don't know what I'm talking about. But, Mama, I know one thing. I was there. I know what I saw when I saw them because I know deep in my heart I know that the man I picked out in the lineup is the man I saw that night.

It's the one who killed those people and I know this is true. I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize anybody's life if I were not sure.
And Mama you know this because I don't want to play with anyone's life, and Mama, I don't care what they say in court about me that I don't know what I'm talking about because I do. Don't worry about it. I've got something for them, Mama, don't tell anybody but I have a tape of the lawyers and me on it when they brought me back from Shawn's house, but I left it at Terry's."

Cone had resolved all doubts by 2:30 PM, and when he was asked by the state if he saw the man in the courtroom, Cone pointed at Hennis and said he was the man he saw walking down the Eastburns' driveway.

Beaver and Richardson were angry, and rightly so. It seems the state wanted Hennis at all costs, even if it meant his life. Richardson was particularly angry at Beaver, because Beaver went for the suppression hearing and played their card early. If Richardson had it his way, they would have used Cone's uncertainty at trial and let the jury hear that Cone wasn't sure. This would be one mistake that Richardson wouldn't soon forget.

If Cone really had a tape recording of his conversation with Beaver and Richardson, why was it that it was never produced?

Answer: Chuck and Cheri Radtke

Because they could no longer use Cone's uncertainty to dismiss the charges against Hennis, Beaver and Richardson decided to find other witnesses to help prove his innocence. To their amazement, one such couple existed that could prove that Hennis was nowhere near the crime scene the night of the murders. That couple was Chuck and Cheri Radtke, who lived on Summer Hill Road.

The Radtkes said two nights before the murders, at about 2:00 AM, they heard a man and woman arguing from the direction of the Eastburns' house.

Then, on the night of the murders, the Radtkes walked right passed the Eastburns' at about 3:30 AM, the same time that Cone said he saw Hennis walking. The Radtkes didn't see anyone, including Cone, walking down Summer Hill Road.

They also didn't see a white Chevette parked near the Eastburns. However, the Radtkes told Richardson that they did see a man walking down Summer Hill, but not on the night of the murders. They had seen a man, with short blond hair, cut in a military style, mustache, wearing a black beret, a black Members Only jacket, and carrying a bag over his shoulder walking down Summer Hill a few weeks after the murders occurred.

This delighted Richardson and also intrigued him, for he knew he had to find this walker. If he found the walker he would win the case.

Could it be that the walker was the real murderer?

Answer: Charlotte Kirby

Charlotte Kirby was not glad to see Nelligar when he stopped by to question her about the night of May 9, 1985, and the early morning hours of May 10, 1985. Nelligar asked Charlotte if she saw anything unusual, and she said yes she did. She said it was drizzly that night and that she had to bag the papers.

She then said that as she drove on her route, she almost ran into a van parked near the Eastburns' house. She said that the time was near 1:45 AM. When Nelligar asked if she saw anyone, Charlotte said that she would testify anonymously, either on tape on in the judge's chambers, but that she would not testify in open court.

One other person that Nelligar talked to was Miss Lucille M. Cook, who used her instant teller card on Saturday, May 11, 1985, before 9:00 AM.

However, Miss Cook said she never saw anyone.

What was so horrible about what Charlotte Kirby saw that made her not want to testify in open court? Is it possible that she was the true sole witness of the murderer or murderers?

Answer: May 27, 1986; William VanStory IV

The state of North Carolina versus Timothy Baily Hennis began on May 27, 1986, and was in Courtroom 3C. The jury consisted of seven men and five women. It took two weeks for the jury to be selected, and on Friday, June 13, 1986, testimony began.

The prosecutor was William VanStory IV, a tough prosecutor who used the law to his satisfaction, even against an innocent man. VanStory refused to give Beaver and Richardson, whom he called "Butch and Sundance," full discovery. VanStory wasn't the top district attorney in the 12th Judicial District for nothing.

After viewing the inside of the Eastburns' and after viewing all of the evidence, VanStory wanted this case. VanStory made sure that Hennis regretted answering that classified ad for Dixie.

Answer: Margaret Tillison

Margaret Tillison, who had told the Beaver and Richardson weeks before that she was not certain of who she saw sitting in a white car the week before the Eastburn murders, testified that she was positive it was Hennis in the car. This testimony shot a hole into the defense.

Captain Gary Eastburn then took the stand and told of his love for his wife and daughters, and also confirmed what was stolen from his house.

After Tillison and Eastburn testified, the state put on a slide show, with the screen right above Hennis' head.

The state showed more than 40 gory colored photos of the crime scene and the autopsy. The only thing that Hennis could do was keep his head lowered, so as not to be in line of the light from the slide projector.

Answer: False

After the state presented its case against Hennis, the defense presented its case. They set out to prove that Hennis was indeed innocent; but every thing they used to prove his innocence backfired on them...from Patrick Cone, to Margaret Tillison, to Paul Stombaugh.

But what really sank the defense's ship was the fact that Hennis didn't testify. The reason Hennis didn't testify was because Beaver and Richardson felt he showed too much anger, and that VanStory would show what a loose cannon Hennis was.

VanStory's closing argument made the evidenceless case against Hennis work in his favor. According to VanStory, just because the blood, hair, saliva, fingerprints, and semen samples didn't match Hennis, it didn't mean that Hennis didn't do it, because in about 80 percent of all cases only hair, blood, saliva, and fingerprints from the victim showed up. Surprisingly, the jury bought VanStory's theory hook...line...and sinker.

On July 4, 1986, at 4:19 PM, ending 12 and a half hours of deliberation over three days, the jury came back with the verdict.

The court clerk asked the jury foreman to stand to read the verdicts, "We the jury, in the case of State of North Carolina versus Timothy Baily Hennis, 85CRS22175, has unanimously returned as its verdict that the defendant is guilty of first degree murder as to Kara Eastburn."

"We the jury, in the case of State of North Carolina versus Timothy Baily Hennis, 85CRS22175, has unanimously returned as its verdict that the defendant is guilty of first degree murder as to Erin Eastburn."

"We the jury, in the case of State of North Carolina versus Timothy Baily Hennis, 85CRS22175, has unanimously returned as its verdict that the defendant is guilty of first degree murder as to Kathryn Eastburn."

Hennis was also found guilty of first degree rape as to Kathryn Eastburn. The next phase of the trial was the sentencing phase...Hennis received three death sentences.

Answer: Central Prison in Raleigh, North Carolina

On July 8, 1986, the day he was sentenced to death three times, Hennis was brought to Central Prison in Raleigh, North Carolina, and given the inmate number of 10258IL; this number told prison officials that this inmate was a white male, born in February 1958, in Illinois.

Before being sent to Central, Beaver and Richardson gave Hennis some sound advice: do not talk about the case, because even death row inmates have a code of honor and they don't like baby killers, even if the person accused of the crime is innocent.

Days after being at Central, Hennis received a postcard, with a July 8, 1986 postmark on it.

The post card read:
"Dear Mr. Hennis,
I did the crime,
I murdered the
Eastburns.
Sorry you're doin
the time.
I'll be safely out of
North Carolina when you
read this. Thanks,
Mr. X"

When Hennis showed the post card to Beaver and Richardson, they told him it was probably a joke.

They kept the post card in file, but little did they know that the post card held a key to who the murderer really was.

Answer: 845

Beaver and Richardson went through the appeals process, but each time they were shot down on the appeals. They then took the case to the United States Supreme Court, where a month after making their appeal, the justices unanimously agreed that Hennis needed a new trial because the first trial was filled with so many errors.

After two years, three months, and twenty five days on death row, Tim Hennis was removed and brought to the county jail in Fayetteville to await his new trial.

With this feather in their caps, Beaver and Richardson knew that this was their last chance to prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Hennis was innocent.

Their first order of business was to get a change of venue, which they won; the new trial was held in Wilmington, a coastal town 90 miles southeast of Fayetteville.

They also agreed with the DA office to allow Judge Giles Clark to oversee the case. The prosecutors for the new trial were John Dickson and Calvin Colyer, the top two assistants in the district attorney's office, and known to all as "The Surgeon and The Bulldog."

Unfortunately for Dickson and Colyer, their case had major problems, problems caused by VanStory who was then in private practice, and by the death of a witness, Margaret Tillison.

Other key pieces of evidence that once was a secret, was now no longer a secret: the CQ log that fully corraborated Hennis was now known to Beaver and Richardson, and the surprise of Lucille M. Cook, who at one time claimed to have not seen anyone near the instant teller machine on the Saturday after the murders, and who claimed at the first trial that she remembered seeing Hennis on that Saturday...some 11 months after the fact, was no longer a surprise.

However, the defense had a surprise of their own...a surprise that Richardson wanted to hold until trial...the identity of the walker.

Answer: February 27, 1989

February 27, 1989, began the second trial for Tim Hennis. Beaver and Richardson advised him that no one had ever come off of death row to win the second trial, but they also told him that they would do everything within their power to ensure that he would win the trial, thus becoming the first person in North Carolina to come off of death row and win the second trial.

Richardson had also acquired a new witness, one of Cone's friends, to testify about a wallet that was lost that contained a letter about Cone, claiming he wasn't sure about his identification of Hennis.
Prosecutor Dickson's opening statement was: "One man and one man only is responsible for the deaths of Katie and the girls, and that man is the defendent, Tim Hennis."

Before the second trial even began, there was some friction between Beaver and Richardson, as Richardson wanted to have the opening statement, but Beaver wanted to do it because of Richardson's slow start at the first trial. Beaver won out, and his opening statement was: "The evidence will show Tim Hennis did not rape and kill Kathryn Eastburn, and did not kill Kara and Erin Eastburn.

The evidence will show that throughout the week preceeding his arrest, the defendant acted in a manner inconsistent with guilt. The Sheriff's department asks for the person who purchased the dog to come forward and with an hour, Tim Hennis walks into the Cumberland County Law Enforcement Center with his wife and child and says, "I am that person." He signs a written waiver of rights and gives a statement. More important, he consents to allow physical evidence to be taken from his person. From 1 to 7 o'clock they pull pubic and head hair from him, take his fingerprints, and stick him with needles. But, rather than taking the physical evidence and matching it with the evidence at the crime scene, Cumberland County law enforcement officials jump the gun, summon the press, and declare the case to be solved. But it wasn't. This physical evidence designates Tim's innocence. Physical evidence does not lie. Physical evidence does not have lapses of memory. Physical evidence is not mistaken. Physical evidence cannot be pressured into testifying."

The state called a new witness, one they never called at the first trial, Ilsa Peabody, a neighbor who lived behind the Eastburns, and whom three years earlier told Richardson that she never saw anything. At the new trial, Peabody said that she saw a man, Tim Hennis, in the Eastburns' backyard with the dog on the Wednesday before the murders.

If the state wanted to hurt the defense's case, they were sadly mistaken, as Peabody helped the defense by stating that what she saw was on the Wednesday before the murders, suggesting that someone other than Hennis was there.

Answer: By showing that the person who used the instant teller didn't wait for 3 minutes and 35 seconds before leaving.

When the state put Miss Lucille M. Cook on the stand, she testified that she used her card at 8:59 AM that Saturday morning, and that before she used her card she saw Hennis at the instant teller window. She said he waited for a minute or two before getting into his car and driving off.

Beaver and Richardson, knowing that Cook was lying, set out to prove it.

They had bank documents, which stated that the Eastburns' card was used a little after 8:55 AM and was done being used at 8:56 AM. Beaver and Richardson did a demonstration in the courtroom: Richardson walked underneath the courtroom's clock and clapped his hands, getting everyone's attention.

The room remained silent, no one spoke or moved for 3 minutes and 35 seconds. Even Cook was beginning to feel uncomfortable.

Nonetheless, the defense's demonstration of Cook's memory and story proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the lady was lying. Which led the jury to think that if she was lying, then who else in the state's case was also lying.

Richardson then put on the stand two police officers who arrested Patrick Cone for instant teller theft; they testified that they arrested Cone, but he was never brought to trial for the offense. Next on the stand was Sean Buckner, one of Cone's friend who lost a wallet that contained a letter, the letter stating that Cone did not know who or what he saw on May 9, 1985.

Answer: John Raupach

Richardson knew that John Raupach, the walker, had to be called. The only thing was that Raupach was afraid that the defense was trying to pin the murders on him, but Richardson assured him that that wasn't so.

On the day that Richardson called Raupach to the witness stand, every head in the courtroom turned to stare...they were staring because Raupach could have been a dead ringer for Hennis, and for the police composite that Cone helped the police with. Just Raupach's presence alone was enough to place doubt in the jury's minds.

Raupach testified that he had insomnia and always walked the streets, starting out on Summer Hill Road, as that was the street he lived on when the murders occurred. Raupach said that he 6'4", always wore a black Members Only jacket, black toboggan, white T-shirt, and dark corduroy pants, and that he always carried his book bag over his shoulder.

Raupach was the man that Cone had saw the night he walked down Summer Hill Road...the night the Eastburns were murdered.

The next witness that the defense put on the stand was Charlotte Kirby, who finally overcame her fear of testifying in open court.

She testified that she drove her car to deliver papers in the neighborhood of Summer Hill Road. She said that the night the Eastburns were murdered, she almost ran into a van parked near the Eastburns house. She said she kept on driving on her route, and on the way back the van was still there. She said she saw a blonde man, short, and thin and that he glared at her. When asked why she didn't testify at the first trial, Charlotte said that she started to get harassing phone calls soon after the bodies were discovered. She said the caller had said, "I know where you live and I'm coming over," and that the caller had threatened her children. However, when she realized that Hennis might actually die, she knew she had to come forward.

Answer: False

While Hennis was on death row, the prosecutors received a Mr. X postcard, nearly identical to the one Hennis received:
"I'm passing thru Fayetteville
on my way to New Jersey.
I murdered the Eastburns.
I did the crime, Hennis is
doing the time.
Thanks again
Mr. X"

The prosecutors didn't show this postcard, even when the defense asked for full discovery during the second trial, but that didn't bother the defense. Who they really wanted brought up on charges of prosecutorial misconduct was VanStory.

Answer: William VanStory IV

Beaver and Richardson wanted VanStory to be brought up on charges of prosecutorial misconduct, and Judge Giles Clark allowed those charges to be brought. After the Hennis' case went to the jury, the prosecutorial misconduct hearing went into effect. The hearing was still on when the jury came back that same afternoon, stating that Hennis was innocent of the rape and triple murders of Katie, Erin, and Kara Eastburn.

The judge asked Beaver and Richardson if they wanted to continue with the prosecutorial misconduct hearing, and Richardson said no, but Beaver wanted to continue; however, Richardson won out and the prosecutorial misconduct hearing was dismissed.

Answer: WHJR

When Richardson looked closely at the two postcards, he noticed an anomaly; on the first postcard, the writer had combined the "U" and "R" in the word "Eastburns." A stray mark split the "U," turning it into a "W." The same mark connected with the "R" to create an "H." That mark curled up at the bottom, making a "J." To Richardson, those were the initials of an assistant manager at the Winn-Dixie.

According to police documents, WHJR's girlfriend had stated that the day after the Eastburn murders, he had scratches on his face, and when he was questioned about them, he told her that he was mugged by three African Americans out to steal his motorbike.

When questioned by the police, WHJR stated that he fell off of his motorbike.

Also, everyone the police questioned had given hair, blood, fingerprints, and semen samples, except for WHJR.

Is it possible that WHJR is the murderer? Or is it possible that WHJR helped the mastermind behind the murders?

Answer: False

After Hennis was found not guilty, he inquired to Beaver and Richardson about suing the state of North Carolina and the Cumberland County Sheriff's office for wrongful imprisonment. Richardson said that it wouldn't be a good idea, because it would reopen all investigations into the murders, and that the investigators were still looking for anything that might tie Hennis to the case. If Hennis sued and lost, he could conceivably be retried for the murders or possibly just the rape.

Hennis followed Richardson's advice and didn't sue.

Hennis went on to serve in Operation Desert Storm and was stationed in Somalia. On January 28, 1992, Tim and Angela had a baby boy, whom they named Andrew Allen Hennis, after Tim's brother who died in an auto accident some years before.

Answer: "Ah! history!"

Eight years after the murders, and five years after Hennis was found not guilty in the second trial, Beaver received a postcard from the same author of the first two postcards. The postcard read: "Ah! history!"

The state of North Carolina reinvestigated the murders, and still came to the conclusion that Hennis was the perpetrator.

They claimed to have talked with Julie Czerniak and Keith Smith about Ox and his skinny friend.

Charlotte Kirby said she saw a skinny, ratty-looking, blonde man and a van near the Eastburns' house the night of the murders; yet the investigators claim she is lying...they insist that everyone, but Cone, is lying.

Considering that the investigators hadn't looked into all possible outlets as to who committed the crime, we must look into these possibilities:

1.) Considering that John Raupach liked Dungeons and Dragons, and considering that he lived on the 100 block of Summer Hill Road, it's possible he and his friends committed the crime and unknowingly let himself be seen by a witness (Patrick Cone).

2.) Raupach was involved with Ox and the skinny guy with ratty blonde hair, all three men knew Cone and promised him a cut of the money that would be taken from Katie Eastburn's lock box, not knowing that all she had was an instant teller card worth $300.

3.) Maybe real intruders did kill the Eastburns, and on their way out they dropped the instant teller card, which Cone found and used on that Friday night and Saturday morning at Methodist College were he used to work at. And Raupach...he was doing exactly what he said he did...walking, and was the man that Cone innocently claimed was Hennis.

But, in my opinion, this is what really happened:

Julie Czerniak, the Eastburns' babysitter and known drug informant like Helena Stoeckly, fascinated by Jeffrey MacDonald and corresponding with him every chance she got, believed MacDonald to be completely innocent of the murder of his family. MacDonald, knowing Julie believed him to be innocent, told her that he needed and unsolved murder case like his family's murder in order to have a new trial. Julie, wanting desperately to help MacDonald arranged for Ox, his skinny friend, and her stepbrother to murder the Eastburns in an almost exact replica of the MacDonald murders.

However, there was a hitch: Colette and Jeffrey had two daughters and a baby on the way, whereas Katie Eastburn had three daughters and was not pregnant. In order for it to be a copycat killing of the MacDonald murders, Julie let it be known that Jana was not to be touched, and she wasn't.

Julie knowing the evidence in the MacDonald case, knew what was needed for the Eastburn murders. Three men, three different weapons, and a piece of rubber glove would have made the Eastburn case identical to the MacDonald case. But they had not counted on Patrick Cone identifying Tim Hennis as the murder. Soon after Hennis was arrested, MacDonald cut off all communication with Julie, because the case was botched, and he would not get a new trial because of this.

All information contained in this quiz comes from the book "Innocent Victims" by Scott Whisnant.