Husband of slaying victim arrested, not charged with killing

None — The husband of a Great Falls murder victim is now charged because of something sheriff's deputies said he did in the days following her death.

Alfreda Hinson, 57, was shot in the face inside her home on Old Winnsboro Road on Nov. 28. The carport door had been violently forced open, but there was nothing reported missing from the house.  The couple ran a place called the Little Convenience Store on Highway 21.  Hinson was shot only a short time after she left work that night.

A few days after the murder, the victim's husband, Larry Hinson, filed a police report claiming that his wife's jewelry box was indeed missing, and had been stolen from the home.

However, on Tuesday, Eyewitness News was there when deputies and SLED agents searched the Hinsons' home, the convenience store, another home in Great Falls and another in Albemarle.  Investigators said during the search, they found some of the jewelry Larry Hinson had reported stolen and that some of it was even at the convenience store where he was every day.

Hinson, 59, was arrested and charged with filing a false police report, making a false insurance claim, and illegal possession of a firearm.   He has not been charged in his wife's murder; however, according to search warrants obtained by Channel 9, deputies believe he does have knowledge of the crime.

Alfreda Hinson's brother, Robert Wertz, is eager for answers about his sister's death. He couldn't believe Larry Hinson was arrested.  

"I'm shocked and stunned about it," Wertz said. "I would like to think they could charge somebody with killing her, though."

Chester County Sheriff Richard Smith said despite the forced entry into the home, it never appeared like a robbery to him.

"The way she was killed was like more of a hit from all appearances, but nobody knows for sure," he said.

Several guns were also found in the house and the convenience store.  Smith said they weren't there before on the initial search, but couldn't say if any of them could be the murder weapon.  He said they'll send them off to be tested.

Smith said tips are still coming in daily, and everyone is being checked out by local and often state police.

"We're trying to keep it fresh in people's minds," Smith said.

Wertz also told Channel 9 he never thought the crime was just a robbery.

"I think someone deliberately did this to her," he said.

Even though investigators don't think the murder was a random crime, neighbors on Old Winnsboro Road are still worried.  James Ervin often saw Alfreda Hinson leaving home for work, and waved to her.

"Somebody's running around here, he's pulled the trigger, and nobody's in jail.  If they'd do that to her, they'd do that to anybody," he said.

Larry Hinson was still awaiting a bond hearing late Wednesday afternoon.

WSOC