The Glamorous Life of Joan and John Hill

• 💡 Joan Robinson, a wealthy and talented equestrian from an oil tycoon family, had a tumultuous love life before meeting John Hill.
• 🎯 John Hill, a handsome medical student specializing in plastic surgery and a talented pianist, seemed like a good match for Joan, despite some friends' suspicions he was a gold digger.
• 💍 They married in 1957, and despite John's infidelity with Anne Kurth and constant marital strife, they appeared to be a powerful Houston couple.

Joan Hill's Sudden Illness and Death

• ⚠️ Joan became seriously ill in March 1969 with severe vomiting, diarrhea, and low blood pressure, symptoms John, a doctor, initially downplayed.
• 🏥 Despite her deteriorating condition, John delayed taking Joan to a hospital, eventually choosing Sharpstown General, which lacked an ICU and ER.
• 💔 Joan died at age 38, with her husband showing apathy until after her death, when he displayed dramatic grief.
• ⚖️ A violation of Texas law occurred as Joan was embalmed without an autopsy, hindering later investigations into her cause of death.

Suspicions and Accusations of Murder

• 🧐 Following Joan's death, John quickly married Anne Kurth, fueling suspicions among Joan's loved ones, particularly her father, Ash Robinson.
• 🍰 Ash Robinson suspected John poisoned Joan, citing a pattern of John insisting she eat specific chocolate eclairs, which he brought home frequently.
• 📜 Joan had revised her will to exclude John from managing her inheritance, providing a potential motive.
• 👩‍⚖️ John was charged with murder by omission, accused of negligence in Joan's care, but the case resulted in a mistrial.

John Hill's Murder and Unanswered Questions

• 💥 In September 1972, John Hill was shot and killed during a home invasion, initially appearing to be a robbery gone wrong.
• 🕵️ Investigation revealed the shooter, Bobby Vander, was a killer for hire, allegedly contracted by a madam named Lyla Polus.
• 🔗 Bobby's girlfriend claimed Lyla met with Ash Robinson, Joan's father, leading to speculation he may have ordered the hit on John.
• 🕊️ Bobby Vander died in a shootout before fully implicating Ash, and Lyla Polus was convicted of conspiracy, but Ash Robinson was never charged due to lack of evidence.

Lingering Mysteries

• 💡 A decade later, a doctor proposed Joan may have died from toxic shock syndrome, a condition not well understood in 1969.
• ❓ The true circumstances surrounding both Joan and John Hill's deaths remain a mystery, with accusations and circumstantial evidence pointing in multiple directions.