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September 2, 2010
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Remembering Tina Marie Hill
Published November 3, 2009
I can remember sitting outside what was then Social Circle City Hall, watching as giant excavators dug up a nearby yard in an attempt to find the body of Tina Marie Hill.
It was June 2005, and it would prove to be my first real involvement with what was then a missing persons case. I remember it well – the fiasco the TV news crews turned the whole scene into, seeing the emotionally drained family for the first time.
Out of all of the murder cases I have followed in my career, and trust me when I say it is too many, this one and its many details will stick with me forever.
I can see why a TV producer would want to make a show about this. I experienced much of this case firsthand – from the dig in the yard to when the then-Social Circle Department of Public Safety Chief Jeff Johnson personally showed me where the body was found to seeing the cold stare of Fred Maloy in a courtroom more than two years after Hill was first reported missing.
I will forever remember seeing Hill’s sister Fredia Christopher lean over her younger sister’s grave on a Friday afternoon in July 2006 and say, “They got him.”
I was not surprised to see an e-mail Friday from Fredia after the story ran about the Tina Marie Hill murder being used as a basis for a TV show.
“Thank you for bringing this to everyone’s attention,” the e-mail read. “We owe a lot to all of the law enforcement personnel who spent countless hours, trying their best to find our beloved Tina. Now, the rest of the country will know of their endeavors …”
I thought it a good opportunity to catch up with Fredia and let you all know how life has continued on for the family.
“I had promised Tina the night before her brain surgery that I would always look after her children … I intend on keeping that promise,” Fredia said. That task has had its ups and downs. Tina’s daughter is married and has a 1-year-old daughter. Tina’s son has had a harder time following the murder of his mother, starting first with small acts of mischievousness that led up to some time in a youth detention center. But it has not all been for the worst, as Fredia said he has been saved during his incarceration and has done a complete turnaround as far as attitude. Fredia and her husband have filed for custody and if all goes well, he will have a loving family to come home to when he is released in the coming months.
“At times, I feel the strain of Tina’s aneurysm, disappearance and murder, followed by the hearings, have taken a great toll on all of us. Life is not quite the same when you realize, as in my case, that you’ve outlived your entire immediate family.”
Life has gone on for those who knew Tina Marie Hill. While I have never met her two children, I wish them the best the world can offer. And as I told Fredia, it was good to hear from her and I wish her and her family all the best as well.
I have been somewhat reserved about what to think about this whole TV show. But I hope the dedication can be captured of those law enforcement officers involved and the emotions run true for what was a tragic point in Social Circle’s history.
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