Voting Station

John Hill

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Doctor

The Resume

    (February 3, 1931-September 24, 1972)
    Born in Edcouch, Texas
    Plastic surgeon
    Married Houston heiress Joan Robinson (1957)
    Joan died after a short and unexplained illness (March 19, 1969)
    Was charged with ‘murder by omission’ for failing to obtain adequate care
    Case ended in a mistrial (1971)
    Murdered before his scheduled retrial (September 24, 1972)
    Gunman Bobby Wayne Vandiver died in a shootout with police (1974)
    Getaway driver Marcia McKittrick convicted of being an accomplice and sentenced to ten years in prison (1974)
    Lilia Paulus convicted of hiring Vandiver and McKittrick and sentenced to 35 years in prison (1974)

Why he might be annoying:

    While a medical resident, one of his patients died of peritonitis after he perforated the bowel during a routine operation and closed the incision without repairing the damage.
    After a decade of marriage, he began an affair with divorcee Ann Kurth.
    Guests at their home noted that shortly before Joan’s final illness, he brought home some pastries and was insistent that certain ones be eaten only by Joan.
    During a visit to the Hill home, Joan’s mother discovered her lying in a bed soiled with feces and vomit (March 18, 1969).
    When he drove Joan to a hospital, rather than taking her to Houston’s leading hospital, the Texas Medical Center – located only 15 minutes from the Hills’ residence – he took her to a suburban hospital 45 minutes away that lacked an emergency room or intensive care unit.
    Although he was informed that Texas law required that an autopsy be performed on any hospital patient who died within 24 hours of admission, he had a funeral home remove Joan’s body from the hospital and begin the embalming procedure.
    Because of the embalming, the doctors who eventually performed an autopsy on Joan were unable to determine the cause of death.
    Less than three months after Joan’s death, he married Kurth.
    He and Kurth got divorced after nine months.
    Kurth later claimed that he tried to kill her three times, including crashing their car against a bridge embankment and trying to inject her with a hypodermic needle.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was considered one of Texas’ top plastic surgeons.
    He was a talented musician, who was proficient on piano, trombone, tuba, flute and recorder.
    Joan’s father, oilman Ash Robinson, was suspected of paying Paulus to arrange for Hill’s murder, but the allegations were never proven.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 8 Votes: 37.50% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 8 Votes: 62.50% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 48 Votes: 50.0% Annoying