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- [00:00]
Mrs. Claus's Sister
Guys, thanks for helping me carry my Christmas tree.
- [00:03]
Drew Ski
Zoey, this thing weighs a ton.
- [00:04]
Mike Ferguson
Drew Ski, live with your legs, man.
- [00:06]
Mike Morford
Santa. Santa, did you get my letter?
- [00:07]
Drew Ski
He's talking to you britches.
- [00:09]
Mike Morford
I'm not.
- [00:10]
Mrs. Claus's Sister
Of course he did.
- [00:11]
Mike Ferguson
Right, Santa, you know my elf Drew Ski here. He handles the nice list.
- [00:15]
Mike Morford
And elf.
- [00:16]
Drew Ski
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- [00:25]
Mrs. Claus's Sister
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- [00:32]
Mike Ferguson
Give it as a gift.
- [00:33]
Mrs. Claus's Sister
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- [00:37]
Drew Ski
Nice. My side of the tree is slipping.
- [00:38]
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- [00:59]
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- [01:19]
Mike Morford
Hey everyone, it's Mike Morford here. Although Fergie and I are off this week for the holidays, we still wanted to put something out for listeners. So check out this replay episode from the Criminology Vault. It's the case of Rhonda Hinson, which Originally aired in December 2022 in episode 237. Happy Holidays. We'll see you back here with all new episodes starting January 3, 2026. Criminology is a true crime podcast that may contain discussion about violent or disturbing topics. Listener discretion is.
- [02:18]
Mike Ferguson
Hello everyone and welcome to episode 237 of the Criminology Podcast. I'm Mike Ferguson and this is Mike Morford. Morph, how you doing man?
- [02:28]
Mike Morford
I'm doing good. I'm excited. I'm pumped up for Christmas time holidays and this is our last episode of the year, so looking forward to this. How are you doing?
- [02:37]
Mike Ferguson
Yeah, I'm getting ready for vacation. You know, you and I are taking a week off. It's not something that we do a lot. So I look forward to it. And I'm taking the whole family and we haven't really had a family vacation in, I want to say at least four years. I know it was pre Covid, so I know everybody's just really excited to get away because we haven't done it in a while.
- [03:03]
Mike Morford
Yeah, that should be fun.
- [03:05]
Mike Ferguson
So let's go ahead and give our Patreon shout outs. We had Whitley, Jordan, Rosie, 16, Kyle and Charlotte, Gia Bowens, K. White and Kristen Adams. So that's a lot of great new support. We really appreciate it.
- [03:21]
Mike Morford
Yeah, thanks so much to everyone that helped support the show. It means a lot. And for anyone out there listening that would like to help support the show, you can go to patreon.com criminology all.
- [03:31]
Mike Ferguson
Right buddy, it's time to jump into this episode. We just mentioned it. It's almost Christmas and like most of you, we're definitely grateful for the extra time we get to spend with our families. I know a lot of people love Christmas holidays and really just downtime in general, but doing this sort of thing that you and I do every week, discussing the stories of families who will never be whole again after losing a loved one, it really kind of puts things into perspective for us when you realize that some of the families we talk about on Criminology will forever have an empty seat at their table when on Christmas, one less present to buy someone missing from the family Christmas photos. It's the holidays when many of these families feel that pain the most. But for some families, that pain is really amplified because it was around Christmas when they lost their loved one to violence. And one such family is the family of 19 year old Rhonda Henson. They have been searching for ANSWERS now for 41 years, since Rhonda was killed in cold blood in 1981, just days before Christmas.
- [04:45]
Mike Morford
Some listeners may be familiar with Rhonda's story if they're longtime watchers of Unsolved Mysteries. Rhonda's case was featured in a memorable segment on that show. On December 22, 1981, 19 year old Rhonda Net Hinson attended an office Christmas party at the American Legion hall in nearby Hickory, North Carolina. She did clerical work as a key punch operator at the Hickory Steel Company and they held their holiday gathering just three days before Christmas. For Rhonda, this was her first big company Christmas party and she was excited for it. Rhonda had worked before, but her last job had been a Dairy Queen while she was in high school. And as this was her first big office Christmas party, she was really looking forward to having fun with her new colleagues. Rhonda's mom, Judy, would later tell Fox News, she looked the most beautiful I had ever seen her on that night. Tragically, Rhonda's life was cut short that night. And 41 years later, her family's still seeking justice.
- [05:42]
Mike Ferguson
Rhonda Annette Henson was born on December 13, 1962 in Great Falls, South Carolina to parents Bobby and Judy Henson. She had a younger brother, Robert Jr. Rhonda attended Eastburg High School in her Hometown of Valdez, North Carolina. Valdez is a town of less than 4,000 people and is located about 70 miles northwest of Charlotte. In high school, Ronda was popular and athletic. She excelled in tennis, basketball and track. She danced, trolled baton, and marched in Charlotte's annual Thanksgiving carousel parade. She also worked a part time job at the local Dairy Queen. And despite her active and busy lifestyle, she had a steady boyfriend named Greg McDowell. In June 1981, Rhonda graduated from Eastburg High School, excited for what the future had in store for her. Not long after graduation, Rhonda's parents helped her buy a tan 1981 Datsun 210 MP6. She loved her new car and she was ready to take on the responsibility of paying for it. It was then that she landed her job at Hickory steel, off Highway 321 on Old Lenore Road in Hickory, North Carolina, roughly 17 miles east of her family's home in Valdez. And more if I know a lot of people listening will probably remember back fondly on their first new car and maybe even their first car, because a lot of people have those thoughts as well. But I remember my first new car and man, I just thought that was the best thing ever. It really was kind of like the first thing that I felt as though was really mine, like I owned it, I was paying for it. And I remember, you know, washing it all the time, cleaning out the interior, making sure that the tires shined. I just took a lot of pride in, in that first new car.
- [07:53]
Mike Morford
Yeah, I was the same way. And I, there's a certain sense of responsibility that comes with a new car, you know, if you, you buy it. My first, very first car was a couple hundred hours a beater. I, you know, I milked it as much as I could and did what I could with it. But once I got a decent job and decided I needed good, reliable transportation, I got A new car. I was excited to keep it up, to keep the maintenance up on it, to clean it up and show it off and took a lot of pride in it. Rhonda left the company's Christmas party at around midnight with two of her friends and dropped them off around 12:30am before heading home. As we'll get into later, this was the last second change of plans. She had just 10 more miles to drive to her parents house in Valdez. So she should have been home before 1am but right around 1am Rhonda's mom Judy sat up in bed. She had been startled awake by a dream or a bad feeling. She just knew that something bad had happened to Rhonda. She would later tell Unsolved Mysteries. I woke up feeling panicky, scared because I felt like something had happened to Rhonda. I felt like Rhonda was dead. I felt like she had been in an automobile accident. Judy was so disturbed that she woke up her husband Bobby, who turned on his scanner to listen for any emergency calls. He was startled to hear chatter over the scanner. It turns out that just half a mile from their home there had been a homicide that night, apparently shooting on Mineral Springs Road. The victim would turn out to be their daughter, Rhonda Henson.
- [09:20]
Mike Ferguson
So morph, there's a lot of things that I don't believe in, you know, as it pertains to kind of the paranormal and things like that. I haven't really fully bought into a lot of that stuff. One thing I truly believe in is a mother's intuition. I've just heard too many stories, personal stories, people that I know very well who have had, I don't know if you want to call them premonitions or feelings about things that later turned out to be true in connection with their children.
- [09:59]
Mike Morford
It's hard to argue the timing of something like that, to just wake up with that feeling and it actually happened. And I've, you know, the same thing. I've heard that twins, for example, have some kind of connection sometimes where one will feel the other's pain. And I know that's been documented, so really interesting.
- [10:17]
Mike Ferguson
Rhonda's Datsun 210 was found by a police officer on patrol on the shoulder on the opposite side of the road she was traveling on, but still pointed toward her home. The driver's side door was open and Rhonda was laying outside of the car with her arms neatly down by her sides. The medical examiner would later determine that she had been shot by a high powered rifle. Later determined to be a.30 caliber. The bullet had gone through her trunk, the car's back seat, and the driver's seat before it finally hit Rhonda, damaging her heart. She would have been conscious for an estimated 10 to 15 seconds after being struck. At first, investigators thought the shooting could have been a stray bullet, perhaps from a poacher's gun illegally hunting at night. But then they were faced with the question, who pulled Rhonda out of her car? It was thought that she likely would not have been conscious for long enough to unbuckle herself, unlock her door, and get out of the car. And based on the position of her arms, it didn't seem like a natural position. And it looked like they had been placed at her sides. Police quickly shifted their thinking to Rhonda being a murder victim.
- [11:37]
Mike Morford
No one with a clear motive really stood out to authorities. Rhonda was well liked. She was new to her job at the steel company, but she really liked the job and got along well with her co workers. She hadn't missed a day there in the three months she worked there. Bobby and Judy did recall some strange behavior from Rhonda shortly before her murder, though, which started a few weeks after she graduated from Eastbrook High School. Rhonda hadn't been sleeping much, and sometimes Judy would hear her take showers in the middle of the night. Judy asked Rhonda once why she was bathing at such a late hour, and Rhonda explained to her mom that she felt dirty. She also asked Bobby to go with her on trips into town, even though she had always been comfortable going alone. During one of their car rides, she told Bobby that she wanted to tell him something bad, and Bobby was all ears. But Rhonda second guessed herself and told him she would think about telling him later. Judy relayed to police that Rhonda had also asked her if it was okay under any circumstances to be in a relationship with a man who was married. And Judy advised her daughter that it would be just asking for trouble and cause people to get hurt. And Rhonda quickly changed the subject.
- [12:42]
Mike Ferguson
Police came to believe that Rhonda may have been targeted that night and that her killer laid in wait knowing she would drive by on her way home. They implored the public to come forward with any tips, and their pleas worked. One witness came forward saying they had been driving on Mineral Springs Road that night between 12:15 and 12:30am and recalled seeing a blue Chevrolet parked facing north next to the off ramp of Interstate 40, the same off ramp that Ronda would have used to exit the Witness could see that there were two white males inside the car. But outside of that really couldn't provide much more in the way of details.
- [13:28]
Mike Morford
A second witness came forward and said that they remembered seeing Rhonda's car pulled off the road where it was later found. As this witness drove by, she could see Rhonda was still inside her car, sort of slumped over the steering wheel. There was a man at the driver's door trying to rouse her. At the time, the witness figured they were a drunk couple and just kept driving without getting a good look at the unidentified man. After undergoing hypnosis, the witness recalled seeing a blue 70s model Chevelle with gray primer and a damaged front end leaving the scene with only one man inside the car. The man that the witness saw standing beside Rhonda was somewhere between 5 foot 10 and 6ft tall. The witness also remembered a second car parked down the road from Rhonda's car. It was a black or dark blue Trans Am.
- [14:14]
Mike Ferguson
Another witness, a woman named Marguerite Fletcher, came forward and remembered seeing two cars as well. She drove by around midnight before Rhonda was killed, and recalled seeing a blue Chevrolet parked on the wrong side of the road facing north toward Valdez. As she got to the bottom of the off ramp, when she turned and looked in her rearview mirror, she noticed a second car, a tan colored car described as a late model tan hatchback, parked further down the road under the interstate bridge. A man was walking toward the back of the car or the trunk like he was getting something. Another person saw the tan car parked under the bridge that night as he headed to Hickory to buy very last minute Christmas gifts. He also recalled that it was a hatchback. Police knew it was crucial to find these cars the witnesses had seen and their drivers because they could be potential suspects or at the very least, possibly witnesses.
- [15:17]
Mike Morford
The driver of the Trans Am seen in the area was tracked down by police. Tim Ponds and Mark Mickle were driving Mark's blue Trans Am that night. They claimed they had been drinking and were headed to their friend's cabin in Mineral Springs. When they saw Rhonda's car. They pulled over and went to check on her. Their story is that they never tried to open any of the doors and that when they got there, they only saw blood on the seat and a bullet hole. But not Rhonda herself. According to them, she wasn't in or around the car. Tim Pons got closest to the driver's door. But they decided to leave and go get the police around the same time. Their Friends Jerry Baker and Todd Garou, who were also on the way to the cabin past the scene, they also stopped and asked Tim and Mark what happened. Tim and Mark replied that they didn't know, but they were going to get police with that, they all took off from the scene. About 12 minutes later, authorities arrived on the scene and the first officer to respond found Rhonda lying outside the car. Due to Rhonda's injuries, it's not likely that she had wandered off and later come back to her car. So if these two men were truthful, who pulled Rhonda out of the car and where was she when they were at the scene? Tim and Mark both say they didn't kill Rhonda, and their friends Jerry and Todd were there at the scene and they didn't see anyone else around yet. Twelve minutes later, after they left the scene, Rhonda would be found dead near her car by the police officer.
- [16:37]
Mike Ferguson
With no clear motive or enemies, police considered the possibility that Rhonda wasn't specifically target, but rather that a sniper was out there that night randomly shooting at cars. And in fact, there was possible evidence to support that this could have been the case. There were incidents in the area after Rhonda's murder with at least two trucks being hit by either bullets or rocks, according to multiple AP news articles, both in the same week in January 1982, just weeks after Rhonda was killed. Eventually, three men were arrested for throwing rocks, bottles and and other objects at random vehicles from an overpass, but not for shooting at vehicles. Arrested in 1982 were 21 year old Bobby Ray Simpson, 18 year old Gregory Lynn Vines, both of Connolly Springs, North Carolina, and 19 year old Gwen Richard Metcalf of Valdez. The trio were charged with misdemeanor damage to property, and it's unclear if any of them were investigated for any more serious crimes, including Rhonda's death.
- [17:51]
Mike Morford
So with no evidence of a random sniper shooting vehicles in the area, police once again turned back to the theory that perhaps Rhonda was targeted. But again, the problem for them was that she seemed to have no enemies and she was well liked. There were no real motives to pursue, although they had to consider whether perhaps Rhonda had been involved with a marrying band and that maybe the wife of someone she was having an affair with or the married man himself had killed Rhonda when she broke it off, threatened to tell his wife or refused his advances. The clues in this case didn't really point in any one direction. Rhonda's parents Each had different opinions as to what happened to their daughter. Judy Hinson told Fox News, I think she was targeted. My husband thinks it was just a random shot by some people in that area playing around with a rifle. The investigation into Rhonda's case stalled.
- [18:39]
Mike Ferguson
An in depth investigative reporting series, an 89 part series, in fact, by Larry Griffin of the Wilkes Record tells us much more about what may have happened to Rhonda Henson that night in 1981. Much of the following details, theories and talking points are based on that series by Griffin. No one knows who Rhonda was talking about when she asked her mom about being in a relationship with a married man, or even why she asked. She could have been asking for a friend or considering dating someone married, but we do know that Ronda was in a relationship with an unmarried man, someone her age. She had been dating Greg McDow for two years. Just three months before she was killed, Rhonda had confided in her cousin, Christina Hardin, that Greg's father, Charles McDow, had touched her inappropriately and always tried to be close to her. During a trip to Myrtle beach in the summer, Greg had been in the shower and Rhonda went to get something out of the lower shelf of the fridge. As she bent over, she felt arms around her, which she assumed belonged to Greg. But when she turned around, she realized it was Charles. Greg was still in the shower. As for the relationship between Rhonda and Greg, Greg had reportedly once pushed Rhonda after becoming jealous over an interaction between her and a male tennis player. So a history of Greg putting his hands on Rhonda was troubling to many people.
- [20:18]
Mike Morford
Rhonda's actions the night of the Christmas party have been closely scrutinized. Before she left for the party, Rhonda asked her dad to move her car up the driveway for her so that she didn't get her shoes muddy walking to it. Some people seemed to think, though, that she was worried about something else and was afraid to go outside. It also came to light that Rhonda wasn't even supposed to return home that night from the work party. She had planned to stay over at her friend and colleague Sherry Pittman's house. When Rhonda got to Sherry's after the Christmas party at around midnight, Rhonda called Greg to check in with him. Both Sherry and Sherry's mom overheard Rhonda tell Greg she was going to head home soon, and eventually Rhonda came out of the bathroom. It looked like she had been crying. Greg was apparently Mad that she had been at the Christmas party, Judy Hinson told Fox News that there was some uncertainty around Rhonda going to the party in the first place, stating she was torn about whether to go to the party, but never told us why.
- [21:11]
Mike Ferguson
On the day of the Christmas party, Rhonda walked to work that morning because of the weather. She apparently didn't want to drive. She. She tried to walk out the door without a coat, but Judy stopped her. Rhonda explained that she had left her sweatshirt in her friend Jill's boyfriend's car after a shopping trip and that Greg had her letter jacket so she didn't have a coat. Her mom found her a multicolored jacket to wear so that she didn't steal her brother Robbie's coat and leave him with nothing warm that day. As Rhonda walked to the highway to catch a ride to work, she passed an accident and a small crowd of onlookers. One of the people standing there, Brian Lowman, asked Rhonda on a date as she passed, but she explained she had a boyfriend and she kept walking. Brian would become a suspect briefly, but the evidence that he may have killed Rhonda was not very compelling.
- [22:09]
Mike Morford
Rhonda had gone back and forth about going to the Christmas party, reportedly because of Greg and how he may react. Rhonda waited to put her name on the RSVP list as long as she felt she could. And immediately after that, Greg's mother, Betty, who also worked at Hickory Steele, put her and Greg's names on the list. Judy Hinson recalls that Rhonda didn't want to go to the party with Greg and that if she showed up and Greg and Betty were there, she would leave. It was pretty clear that the relationship between Ron and Greg wasn't in the best shape. When they first started dating. Greg sent Rhonda a lot of love letters, and it won her over. But as time passed, she stopped sending letters back to him. His irritation showed, and his tone reportedly became passive aggressive. Eventually, Greg's letters began to ask her things like if she would be successful on her diet and would be 2 pounds lighter the next time they saw each other. To many people reading these letters, it didn't sound like Greg was a loving, encouraging partner, but rather criticizing Rhonda. So you had this friction between Rhonda and Greg and this accusation by Rhonda that Greg's father had acted inappropriately around her. It seemed like Rhonda wanted a break from the situation.
- [23:18]
Mike Ferguson
Now, Morph, I don't claim to be an expert in relationships. I have been married 26 years. I feel pretty safe in saying that most women, and most people for that matter, would not want to receive a letter asking them if they would be 2 pounds lighter the next time a person saw them, their significant other. That seems so strange to me. And I would think it would be very off putting to the other person.
- [23:47]
Mike Morford
Yeah, I could see a supportive letter like, you're doing great on your diet. I'm so proud of you. Keep up the good work or something. But it did sound from the tone that he was telling her, hey, you need to do better here.
- [24:00]
Mike Ferguson
Well, and. And sometimes we read into things like this, but you get the feeling that maybe there were some control issues there and. And maybe that's just me reading into it. But I. I think you could make that argument.
- [24:14]
Mike Morford
Yeah. And I think in a case like this, you really start putting everything under the microscope and the people that are involved in looking for things. And a lot of things sometimes come to the surface.
- [24:24]
Mike Ferguson
Rhonda was supposed to be safe and sound at the Pitman home that night, the night she was killed. Judy Henson waking up with a bad feeling right around the time that Rhonda was shot leaves many wondering if she was awoken by the noise of the rifle just a half a mile away in the dead of the night. One interesting note for the timeline of events is that Judy didn't wake up and. And immediately have her husband turn on the scanner. First, they made some calls. They called the Pittman house where Rhonda was supposed to be. But they informed the Hensons that Rhonda had left and was headed home. They Next called the McDowell home, where Greg's father Charles, answered. Before giving Greg the phone. Greg told the Hensons that Rhonda was supposed to call him when she got home from the Pittman's. They called Rhonda's best friend, Jill, and she told them that she hadn't seen Rhonda.
- [25:23]
Mike Morford
At some point. Investigators ruled out the possibility of a random shooting or stray bullet killing Rhonda. They concluded that someone was aiming at Rhonda's car. Likely not trying to kill her, though, maybe just scare her. If someone had wanted to actually kill Rhonda, it makes more sense to shoot through the rear window, not the trunk. And to aim for her head. The path of the bullet ending up in Rhonda's heart would be an almost impossible shot to make on purpose, which is why the authorities think it was an intentional shot into the car. That unfortunately wound up killing Rhonda. A random killer would have also had no reason to open her driver's side door. Rhonda was apparently deliberately moved from the car and she wasn't found in the position she would have landed in if she had fallen out of the car. The angle also seemed to indicate that the shooter was on their knees at the time if they were aiming deliberately, although it's not clear if police pinpointed the exact spot where the shooter fired from.
- [26:16]
Mike Ferguson
Many people have theorized that possibly Rhonda had been stopped by something or someone in the road because her car appeared to have rolled backward. Her car, which had a manual transmission, would have been in neutral if she had to stop on the highway, but she didn't have to stop for her car to not be in gear and allow it to roll backwards. They felt that her car either being completely stopped or creeping along in neutral would have presented the shooter with an easier target. Investigators listened to the sound of cars as drivers heading up the hill switched gears. Most cars shifted into third around the area where Ronda would have been shot, indicating that she was in the act of shifting from second to third, which requires a pass through neutral. It's thought that she was shot before she could finish shifting. She only had one hand, her left hand on the steering wheel. Since she was shifting, the bullet incapacitating Rhonda could have caused her to drag the wheel slightly to the left. Stuck in neutral, the car then could have rolled backward across both lanes and onto the shoulder where it was found.
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- [30:29]
Mike Morford
The scenario that makes the most sense for many is that someone was standing behind Rhonda's car as she drove down the road and angrily fired one shot from the hip. When the bullet actually hit Rhonda's car, the shooter was likely surprised when her car stopped moving and started rolling backward across the road. They were likely scared, running over to see if she was okay. In this theory, the person would have found Rhonda slumped over the steering wheel in her car and shook her, trying to wake her up, maybe thinking she had hit her head when the car stopped. As they dragged her out of the car, they would have seen the blood in the bullet hole. Realizing what they had done, they fled. So this theory essentially has someone intentionally shooting at Rhonda's car, but not necessarily trying to hit her.
- [31:12]
Mike Ferguson
Of course, someone could have knelt down and aimed for Rhonda's tail light and missed. It's also possible that the killer is not the one who dragged her out of the car. It's entirely possible that one of the witnesses, though innocent, lied because they were shaken and didn't want to get into any trouble. In this scenario, the killer either leaves after firing their rifle, and one of the people passing by is the first to stumble upon Rhonda, fatally wounded in her car. They could have tried to wake her up and when that didn't work, tried to pull her out of the car, only to realize that she had been shot and it was much more than they were prepared to deal with. So they took off. Rhonda's driver's door window was rolled down partially, something she would have never done at night, according to those who knew her and had driven with her. This seems to indicate that she did stop for someone, though it wasn't in the middle of the road like an ambush, more like a scenario, and in which she recognized someone and felt safe enough to roll her window down at.
- [32:21]
Mike Morford
The end of the day. Many people feel that most of the clues, including Rhonda's window being down, point straight to Greg McDowell. He was already reportedly upset with her for going to the Christmas party, and she left the Pittman's house crying because of how angry he was. At 12:25am shortly before Rhonda was shot, her best friend Jill was dropped off at home by her boyfriend, Mark Turner. They had fallen asleep and she was late for her midnight curfew. As she said goodbye to Mark and hugged him, she turned and noticed Rhonda's gray sweater in the backseat and asked Mark about it. He explained that Rhonda had left it in his car a few days before when they went Christmas shopping together. Their trip had been kept secret from Jill because they had been shopping for a Christmas present from Mark. Jill offered to make sure that Rhonda got the sweater back, but Mark said he would give it to her boyfriend Greg, who he was friends with the next time he saw him. Jill headed inside and went to sleep, getting a call from the Hinsons about two hours later as they tried to locate Rhonda.
- [33:17]
Mike Ferguson
So somehow, in the span of 30 minutes, that sweater made it from the back of Mark's car to the rear of Rhonda's Datsun. So that very sweater was found in Rhonda's car by investigators taking an inventory of items at the crime scene. For his part, Mark says he has no recollection of how Rhonda would have gotten the sweater in that short period of time for it to have wound up in her car that night. He had hurt his back playing basketball days earlier and had been taken to the emergency room and prescribed medication, which he believes has impacted his memory of the night. Also found in Rhonda's car was her East Burke High leather jacket, which Greg McDowell had in his possession earlier the morning of the 22nd, and a pink snake stuffed animal that was usually on Greg's dresser. A lot of people have questioned how this jacket ended up in her car. Rhonda's father, who moved her car for her, her mother, who used the car that day briefly while Rhonda was at work, and and Sherry Pittman all agree the pink snake was not in the car earlier that day, and they definitely would have noticed it.
- [34:35]
Mike Morford
Some people interpret all of this as being indicative of a breakup and further evidence that Greg may have had a motive to kill Rhonda. In many breakups, couples would give each other back all of their belongings when their relationship was over. That seems pretty normal. Nothing suspicious. But Rhonda and Greg were still together when she left for the Christmas party on the 22nd and after midnight when she left the Pitman home. Some people theorize that this indicates that Rhonda pulled over to talk to Greg and he gave her back her stuff. The way they were placed in the car almost looks like they had been thrown in or tossed in in a huff. Other people theorize that Mark may have killed Rhonda Since Rhonda's sweater that was in his car 30 minutes before she was killed wound up back in her car at the crime scene.
- [35:18]
Mike Ferguson
So this seems to present only one real possibility. That Mark, somehow, in that short period of time, met up with Greg and gave him Rhonda's sweater, and then Greg gave it all back to Rhonda before she was shot. Or somehow both Mark and Greg interacted with Rhonda leading up to her murder, and both of them gave her her belongings back. The issue is there's really not much time for Mark and Greg to get in contact with each other and and arranged to meet each other anywhere in a matter of minutes before Ronda was killed. One possible scenario, however, is if Greg was already parked on the side of Mineral Springs Road when Mark was headed home. He might have passed back through and recognized Greg's car. Maybe he stopped thinking Greg was having car trouble, only for Greg to mention he was waiting for Rhonda. So he could have given the sweater to Greg to give back to Rhonda. At that moment and then left.
- [36:19]
Mike Morford
Jill recalled the car that Mark drove her home in that night was a tan two door car. A theory is that Mark was headed home from Jill's house, saw Greg, stopped and talked to him, and then headed home. Rhonda then met up with Greg. They argued and broke up. And as she drove off, she was shot. Accidentally, impulsively, or planned, nobody knows. It then seems as if Tim Pons or one of his friends came along and one of them was the man. Witness is checking on Rhonda. In this scenario, it would explain the various cars seen around the crime scene that night. Mark Turner's car would have been the tan car Tim Pons and Mark Mickle would have been driving the Trans Am. And the blue Chevelle described by a witness might actually be a blue Chevy Nova, the kind of car reportedly driven by Greg McDowell that belonged to his father. One of Rhonda's co workers recalled Greg picking Rhonda up from work for lunch one day in the blue Chevy and noticed front end damage on the car, which also matched an eyewitness description.
- [37:15]
Mike Ferguson
Greg had talked to Rhonda right before she left for home. If he was going to confront her or ambush her, he knew what route she'd take. If Greg had been driving the car parked under the interstate bridge, then Rhonda would have had to turn left the wrong direction to meet up with him at the same spot. She would also then be facing away from home, so she would probably have had to make a U turn to face north again. It makes sense to many for Rhonda not to want to meet at her home late at night, have an argument with Greg that might wake her parents up. If she stopped to talk to Greg and rolled her window down, he could have shoved her belongings at her through the window again. Rhonda, being so safety conscious, would not have rolled down the window for anyone she didn't know at that time of night. Due to this, there have also been theories that she was pulled over by a police officer who committed the crime and it was covered up.
- [38:23]
Mike Morford
Though Rhonda normally called her parents when she was on her way home, the sudden change of plans and late hour meant that she didn't call to alert them. Only Sherry Pitman, her mother, and Greg McDowell knew that Rhonda was headed home that night. So if someone was lying in wait for Rhonda to pass by in an effort to ambush her, it was a short list of people that would have known when and where to strike. After the Hinsons called the McDowell home. Greg asked his father, Charles, to go look for Rhonda. Charles started by driving to the Pitman home and taking the route Rhonda would have taken home. Sherri Pittman has no idea how Charles knew where she lived. When he got to the crime scene, Charles explained to officers who he was and what he was doing there. Looking for Rhonda. And he was directed to go to the Hinson home. Once there, he called Greg and told him to come over and join him.
- [39:11]
Mike Ferguson
At the Henson home. Greg McDowell reportedly made a beeline to Judy in Bobby's room and sat down motionless, not saying a word to anyone. The only time he wasn't sitting there in a daze was when he was throwing up. Suspicion by many online still falls on rhonda's boyfriend, Greg McDowell. Of course, Greg has never been charged in relation to Rhonda's murder. And if he is a suspect in the case, police aren't saying. Other people point to Mark Turner. After all, his own girlfriend saw him with Rhonda's sweater minutes before she was killed. And that sweater wound up in Rhonda's car at the crime scene. And as we mentioned, he claims that due to medication he was taking, he has no memory of how and if he returned that sweater either to Rhonda or to Greg. Jill and Mark Turner eventually broke up their relationship, going downhill after Rhonda's murder. Due to Mark's coldness and lack of support toward Jill, his accounts of the night have been pretty shaky at best. But like Greg McDowell, Mark Turner has never been arrested in relation to this case.
- [40:25]
Mike Morford
As far as physical evidence, in this case, a.30 caliber rifle round is the main clue. And maybe one day ballistics can match that round to a suspect's gun. But as of now, that hasn't happened. The lid of Rhonda's trunk was stored outside of the evidence room, out in the open, and eventually lost. Fingerprints were taken from most of the doors of Rhonda's Datsun. But police didn't bother fingerprinting the passenger side door since it was locked. The prints too have been lost. So to put it mildly, the police in this case have been careless with evidence. And if you're Rhonda's family, that has to make you angry.
- [41:00]
Mike Ferguson
Authorities have not stopped working on this case despite the length of time that's gone by and the lost evidence. In 2001, Sheriff John McDavid explained the complexity of the investigation to a newspaper called the Record. He said one of the most discouraging factors of this case is. There are so many suspects. I've never zeroed in on one suspect and wouldn't be surprised to clear or arrest any of the suspects. I can sit down with you and convince you that 10 people did it, but none of the suspects are any better than the others. In 2007, two investigators, Captain Becky Weatherman and SBI Agent Mark Sharp, were in the audience at a seminar regarding touch DNA. After this seminar, the two realized that they may have evidence they didn't even know they had sitting there the entire time. They told the Record that they realized one of the few pieces of evidence kept at the sheriff's office. Henson's sweater likely contained DNA from the person who pulled her from the car. Analysis at the SBI lab found that the DNA on the armpits of Rhonda's sweater, likely where someone hooked their arms or hands under hers to pull her from the car, did not belong to Ronda. Who it does belong to is still a mystery to this day. There has never been a match, despite having been entered into CODIS and the National DNA Index System. Importantly, though, it did not match Brian Lowman, the young man who had asked Rhonda out. On the morning of the 22nd in.
- [42:45]
Mike Morford
2015, Sheriff Steve Wisenant of the Burke County Sheriff's Office said to Fox News, we recently pursued what appeared to be a promising and viable lead several months ago that fell to produce the results we had hoped for, indicating that the case was still actively being investigated at the time. In December 2021, investigators announced that they had new leads in the case, but they haven't disclosed what those were, and the case is still open. They told SoCTV.com, we hold it deep in our heart to try and make an arrest, at least to find out who's responsible so the family can be at peace with it.
- [43:20]
Mike Ferguson
Rhonda Henson loved the Christmas season, and she was born just days before Christmas and died days before Christmas. She was laid to rest on Christmas Day 1981, 41 years ago. And for the last four decades, Rhonda's family has wondered who murdered her and why. If you have any information about Rhonda's murder, please call the Burke County Sheriff's office at 828-438-5506 or contact Crime Stoppers by calling 828-437-3333. You can remain anonymous. There has been a $20,000 reward for information in this case. So morph, you know, as we wrap this one up, and I think to many this is a Very baffling case. There are a lot of players, and when you think about Greg, Mark, some of the individuals who, you know, happened upon the scene, the problem is, obviously to this point in time, there is nothing that police have that concretely points to one person specifically, at least to the point where, you know, they would be able to charge someone. But I think one of the reasons why so many people are fascinated by the death of Rhonda Henson is, is because of all the mysteries that surround it. First, there are a number of people with whom she interacted that night or is thought to have interacted with that night. And then you have this shot from a high caliber rifle that ended up killing her. I want to go back to that shot for a minute and kind of talk about it. If someone was deliberately trying to kill her, that would be a very tough way to do it. Now, obviously it did kill her, but to think that a bullet fired through a trunk, a back seat, and then traveling through the front seat would find its mark. There are no guarantees there whatsoever.
- [45:43]
Mike Morford
I think if someone was targeting her and wanted to kill her and ensure that she was dead, they could have just as easily, you know, figured out a way to pull her over, walked up to the car and shot her at close range through the window. So the idea that they would try this sniper style shot we see in the movies, and, you know, sometimes we see on police chase videos or something like that where they're shooting back and forth between. Between moving vehicles. But I think in reality, it would be very hard for anyone to get a shot at a moving vehicle and be so precise that they're able to hit the driver in the way they did and do that intentionally. So to me it seems more of just a potshot. And whether that was fired by someone she knew or just some random person, I just don't think there's enough at the end of the day to conclude in my mind.
- [46:38]
Mike Ferguson
No, because for me, there's just no way to know how that bullet would react going through, you know, so many different layers and different materials, you know. But to your point, was this fired by someone who was angry with her and maybe didn't mean to kill her, but fired a shot in anger that ultimately did kill her? Or was it a shot fired indiscriminately that ended up killing her? So you've got that question, and then you, you know, you have the question surrounding her relationship with her boyfriend, possible breakup. There's the sweater with Mark. I mean, there's, there's.
- [47:24]
Mrs. Claus's Sister
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Drew Ski
Zoe, this thing weighs a ton.
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Mike Ferguson
Drew Ski, lift with your legs, man.
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Mike Morford
Santa, did you get my letter?
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Drew Ski
He's talking to you, Bridges.
- [47:32]
Mike Morford
I'm not.
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Mrs. Claus's Sister
Of course he did.
- [47:35]
Mike Ferguson
Right, Santa, you know my elf, Drew Ski here. He handles the nice list.
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Mike Morford
And elf.
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Mike Ferguson
Give it as a gift.
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Drew Ski
Guys, my side of the tree is slipping.
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Mike Ferguson
Timber.
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- [49:07]
Mike Morford
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