Katharina Buczek
Additionally, Marilyn claimed that she was told not to take cabs or speak with anyone once she arrived in Atlanta. Instead, she was told to use mass transit to get to a downtown post office.
Newton also reportedly told Marilyn to change her clothes and dye her hair at the Atlanta airport in order to avoid identification of her appearance.
And according to court documents, Newton put on surgical gloves before taking a manila envelope out of his jacket and handing it to Marilyn. She was told that the envelope would be wrapped in a cloth napkin and mailed inside a manila envelope.
Marilyn was also not supposed to look at the front of the envelope. And finally, once at the airport, she was supposed to dispose of the manila envelope and napkin in the trash.
According to her testimony in federal court, Marilyn did follow most of these instructions– ultimately mailing Annie’s handwritten letter.
“There were so many parts of that story that were unbelievable. Who in their right mind would go to an airport, dye their hair in a bathroom to mail a letter,” said John Colette, the Jackson criminal attorney who represented Newton Winn.
Nonetheless, Newton was eventually found guilty and convicted of conspiracy to kidnap, extortion, and perjury. He received a sentence of 19 years and seven months in prison.
However, Newton always maintained that he was not behind the abduction, and investigators never found Annie.
According to the lead federal prosecutor James Tucker, the conviction of Newton was a success. But it did not bring Annie home.
“We put together an amazing assortment of facts and circumstances, including practice runs for the snatch, along with road maps, rented and bought white vans, notes by ALH, assistance by Winn compatriots, disguises, finding evidence by the road, lying to a grand jury, and a missing victim,” Tucker recalled.
“We got the right guy, but we didn’t solve the mystery.”
