Katharina Buczek
It demanded that Robert pay twelve different people– all of whom had been connected in some way to the businessman’s companies.
“The note said not to call the police,” added Jackson Chief of Police J.L. Black, “However, Mr. Hearin had notified the police prior to the note being discovered.”
Due to the contents of the note, it became clear that Annie’s abduction was somehow linked to Robert’s work.
“The demands in the note were very vague and made several demands of Mr. Hearin, concerning certain individuals listed in the note who were allegedly harmed by a company of which Mr. Hearin was president,” explained FBI Special Agent Wayne R. Taylor.
After selling franchises to photographers throughout the country, School Pictures filed lawsuits against 12 different franchise owners– residing in eight states, including Florida– between 1981 and 1983. The goal of the litigation was to collect money owed to School Pictures.
And on the day that Annie was kidnapped, witnesses claimed to have spotted a white cargo van– equipped with Florida plates– on the Hearin home’s street in Woodland Hills.
Investigators then connected the dots and realized that all twelve names signed on the ransom note were the same people who had been sued by School Pictures. Still, J.L. Black claimed that the correlation did not necessarily implicate all of the defendants.
“It’s possible that these 12 people had absolutely nothing to do with this abduction,” he said.
“However, you cannot rule out the fact that maybe somebody who had knowledge of School Pictures and its operation could’ve been involved with it.”
Due to this possibility, letters were subsequently sent to the 12 individuals listed on the ransom note. According to Robert, though, this did not lead to many answers.
“School Pictures was requested to look into the files on these 12 people. The transactions were reviewed, and letters were, of course, sent out to these people trying to determine what damages they had and what they had wanted,” he recalled.
