Donna hartman murder

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Her name was changed to 'Donna Hartman' for TV audiences. Investigators note that she was vulnerable. They speculate that Virginia McGinnis befriended Deana during this time because she was seen as an ideal victim. The record shows that Virginia McGinnis took out a fraudulent life insurance claim on Deana, making sure that the policy payout was low enough that the insurance company wouldn't investigate. Virginia lied and told the insurance agent that Deana was romantically involved with her son who was currently in prison. The beneficiary listed on the insurance document was Virginia's son. The three had lunch together in the late morning, and investigators believe it was then that BJ McGinnis slipped Deana some of his prescription anti-depressants in her soft drink.

Donna hartman murder

Virginia committed several crimes throughout the course of her life. Among them were multiple cases of insurance fraud, suspected arson, and at least one known murder. Investigators were never able to definitively prove that she committed a number of crimes they suspect she did. Particularly fires- as several of her former residences burned to the ground. However, Virginia McGinnis is known to have collected on several different kinds of insurance policies over the years. The unofficial, but pretty much definitive opinion among law enforcement and criminal detectives is that Virginia McGinnis had been a sociopathic serial killer. She is best known for the murder of Deana Wild- the most gruesome crime she is proven to have committed. That murder took place on April 7, Her then husband BJ took part in the murder. A more than two hundred foot drop that she could not have survived The couple then tried to paint her death as an accident, which is not unlikely at Big Sur.

Forensic Files interviewed Keeney on camera, but the episode also focuses on the work done by homicide detective Scott Lawrence and prosecutor Luis Aragon.

Forensic Files is an American documentary -style series which reveals how forensic science is used to solve violent crimes, mysterious accidents, and even outbreaks of illness. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools.

For this case, I watched an episode of Forensic Files. A woman befriends the wrong people after separating from her husband. She later moved to San Diego when she got married. They separated in , when Deana was only years-old. Deana had moved in with the older couple after her marriage fell apart. When they turned around, Deana was gone, and had fallen off the cliff. They ran to the nearest store to notify someone that there had been an accident. In one of the photos that Virginia took, Deana can be seen wearing high heels, but looks happy and alert.

Donna hartman murder

Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! But on April 2, , the spot became the site of a tragedy when a young woman fell feet to her death from the jagged cliffs. Catch up on the Oxygen App. Virginia, a retired hospital worker, told officials that Wild was wearing high heels and may have stumbled along the cliffs, investigators told producers. Photographs taken at the lookout before Wild fell confirmed that. She had moved in with the pair in December , just four months before the tragic road trip. The autopsy report found Wild's injuries consistent with falling from a cliff. Her death was listed as an accident.

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Top picks Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations. Residents of Noel, Missouri were stunned to learn that their bank had been robbed and the recently divorced bank president, year-old Dan Short, was missing. Even more damaging for BJ and Virginia was the last photo taken of Deana alive, moments before her drop from the cliff. Then he pushed Deana off the cliff. Jurors heard evidence and arguments from the prosecution for three days during Virginia's trial. Deana Hubbard was born in Kentucky in , and her parents divorced three years later. The most damning photo of all was taken moments before Deana was pushed, and shows BJ supporting her at the edge of the cliffs, facing toward the ocean. Two years later, they married and moved to San Diego, where he was stationed, but his absences while at sea strained the marriage and they separated in But after a forensic examination of photographs taken at the scene, police had a very different picture of what had happened. July 22, The drug, usually taken just before bedtime, causes drowsiness. Investigators note that she was vulnerable. At some point while Deana was looking out at the ocean from the high lookout point, the drugs in her system began to make her drowsy.

A Superior Court jury convicted a Chula Vista woman Monday of first-degree murder in the death of a young woman pushed off a cliff in Big Sur in order to collect her life insurance benefits. The jury, after almost three days of deliberation, also found that Virginia Rearden, 55, killed Deana Wild, 20, for financial gain, special circumstances that mean Rearden will probably be sentenced to a life term without the possibility of parole.

Clinging to the sheet, they also discovered a tuft of red carpet fibers — threads of evidence, which led them straight to the killer. They soon exposed Virginia as a serial killer who murdered not only her previous husbands, children, and other relatives, but also her friends, all for collecting life insurance. Virginia was sentenced to life in prison, but B. She showed no signs of being able to resist and was slumped across BJ's arms- clearly disoriented. One of her blue high-heeled shoes lay at the site. Authorities hydrated the fingers and obtained a fingerprint, enabling them to identify the victim. I was secretly calling her friends to find out where she was. They even re-enact the photographs and get the critical one wrong, wtf Forensic Files? Book available in stores and online! Her mother, Bobbie Jo Roberts, who worked as a school teacher, then married a law student whose last name was Marshall, according to the True Crime Brewery podcast. Virginia's daughter had been just three years old.