Katharina Buczek
Afterward, Robert ultimately sent checks totaling almost $1 million to all 12 people on the ransom note. But, half of the checks were ultimately returned, and neither the police nor Annie’s family ever heard from the abductor again.
Although, one of the checks that were returned had been sent to Newton Alfred Winn– a St. Petersburg Attorney. And soon afterward, Newton became a possible suspect in the investigation.
At first, after being questioned by authorities, he denied being in Jackson at the time of Annie’s abduction.
However, it later came to light that on July 29, Newton asked his paralegal– Don Ward– to corroborate an alibi and claim that they personally saw each other on July 26 in Florida.
When speaking to authorities, Don also revealed that Newton had called and asked him to bring money to a bar in St. Petersburg. Then, once Don arrived, he claimed to have found Newton intoxicated and with a woman outside the bar.
Netwon was then subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury on August 3. Afterward, his involvement in the abduction of Annie came flowing out in court.
It was discovered that Newton purchased a white cargo van– which matched the witnesses’ descriptions– just one month before Annie’s kidnapping. Additionally, the witnesses’ descriptions of the van’s driver matched Newton’s appearance.
So, two witnesses ultimately identified Newton as the man they had spotted sitting in the van in front of Robert and Annie’s home in the weeks leading up to the abduction.
A woman named Marilyn Taylor, who had at one point been Newton’s girlfriend, then testified on July 31, 1988. She claimed that Netwon contacted her and asked for a favor.
Marilyn explained how, first, Newton asked if she was trustworthy. Then, during an August 6 meeting, he reportedly asked if she had been followed and if her car was bugged.
Marilyn then testified that Newton had instructed her to fly under a fake name to Atlanta. He wanted her to purchase a one-way plane ticket to Atlanta and purchase another one-way ticket to travel back to a different Florida airport. Newton allegedly told her to only use cash for these purchases.
