On this date in 1974, 19 year old heiress Patty Hearst was kidnapped from her Berkley, CA apartment by members of the Symbionese Liberation Army. The following April, she was photographed holding a weapon during a San Francisco bank robbery. She was eventually arrested in September of 1975. She would later claim she was brainwashed by the SLA. The jury at her trial didn’t buy it, and she was convicted and sentenced to 35 years in prison. Her sentence was eventually commuted to 7 years, and she was granted a pardon in 2001.
Further reading:
Crime Museum: Patty Hearst Kidnapping
Wikipedia – Patty Hearst
Nobody Move! 
[…] Source: this day in crime history: february 4, 1974 […]
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This mugshot looks like it could be a production still from a 1930s film.
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I hadn’t noticed that before, but you’re right, it does.
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John D.:
Pat’s right…looks JUST like a golden-era audition photos.
(ready for her close-up, Mr. DeMille)
Stay safe out there.
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Ha! Nice Sunset Boulevard reference. Love that flick.
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Even as an 8 year old I didn’t buy that story of hers. Jimmy Carter was a bit more gullible though.
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I’d always had my doubts about the brainwashing story, but the way I see it, she was a piker compared to some of the other SLA folks, so seven years was plenty.
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