In 1969, Joan Robinson Hill died of an infection of unknown origin.

Her father was sure it was murder and due to pressure, charges were eventually filed.

But what happened next to muddied the water more than it already was in this case of unknowns.

I'm Charlie and welcome to crime lines.

Hello and welcome to crime lines.

This is a part two, so I hope you made it through part one first.

At the end of the last episode, I made a lot of promises of what's coming up next, so we need to get into that,

but I need to give you a quick recap of the timeline first, just so we're all on the same page about where we're picking back up.

Joan Robinson Hill died in mid-March, 1969. Two autopsies said she died of an infection,

different infections, but an infection nonetheless. The DA called a grand jury that didn't hand down an indictment. Then Joan's

widower John remarried less than three months after her death, and he married the woman he had

been having an affair with. The DA then called a second grand jury that also did not indict,

but they did hand down an exhumation order.

So Joan was exhumed and re-otopsied in August of 1969 by several doctors this time who were basically on two teams.

One of those teams found that Joan died of natural causes, specifically meningitis.

While the other team's results were still pending, John separated from his new wife in late October,

and they divorced in March of 1970. Right after the divorce was final, the new ex-wife, Anne Curth, testified in front of a

third grand jury. Why were there so many grand juries for a woman who died according to three

autopsies of natural causes? It's because Joan's father, Ash Robinson, was rich and powerful

in Houston, and he was convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that his son-in-law was responsible

for Joan's death. Some put forward a secondary motive for Ash. If John was found guilty of killing Joan, Ash would get all of the

shares in the house that John and Joan had purchased, and very likely custody of his grandson.

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