Edwin Hiatt: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Heavy Breaking news

Edwin Hiatt is the 52 year old man who was arrested and charged for the decades-old murder of a Hollywood director. The director, Barry Crane, was killed in Los Angeles in 1985. Now, police say they have new DNA evidence that links Hiatt to the crime. They also say that Hiatt has confessed to the brutal crime.

Barry Crane directed episodes of popular ’70s and ’80s TV shows like “The Incredible Hulk, “Hawaii 5-O” and “The Six Million Dollar Man.” He was found dead in his garage on July 5, 1985. Police said that Crane had been beaten with a sculpture and had been strangled with a telephone cord. His body was naked and wrapped in sheets. Police have not identified a motive for the murder. But on May 9, police arrested Edwin Hiatt and charged that he was the culprit.

Here’s what you need to know about Edwin Hiatt:


1. Police Say DNA from Cigarette Butts & a Coffee Cup Helped Connect Hiatt to the Crime

Police say they first started to connect Hiatt to the murder of Barry Crane after they found one of Hiatt’s fingerprints on a handle of Crane’s car. The FBI then got DNA samples from Hiatt by collecting his discarded cigarette butts and a coffee cup. Hiatt had discarded the butts and the cup in the parking lot of the auto repair shop where he worked in North Carolina. Investigators were able to match Hiatt’s DNA to DNA which had been found on cigarette butts in Crane’s car back in 1985.

Homicide detectives from the LAPD went to question Hiatt in March. They say that he confessed to murdering Crane. On May 9, police arrested him and he was charged with the murder of Barry Crane.


2. Hiatt Has Also Faced Charges of Domestic Violence After He Allegedly Beat & Strangled His Ex-Wife

Even before his arrest for the 34-year-old murder of Barry Crane, Edwin Hiatt had a criminal record stretching back decades. In 1985, he was caught with a stolen car in Utah. (The car did not belong to Barry Crane, who was killed in the same year.) Then in 1997, Hiatt was charged with domestic violence. A witness in that case told the court that Hiatt had beaten and choked his wife until she vomited. The couple later divorced. Hiatt apparently also threatened to burn down the house where his wife lived.

Police say that DNA evidence and a fingerprint link Hiatt to the 1985 murder of Hollywood director Barry Crane. LAPD detectives also said that when they questioned him, Hiatt confessed to the crime. He has been arrested and charged with murder.


3. Hiatt Told Reporters He Was ‘Big Into Drugs’ at the Time When Crane Was Killed & Said ‘Anything Was Possible’ Back Then

LAPD detectives said that when they went to question Hiatt about the murder of Barry Crane, Hiatt confessed to the crime. But Hiatt told reporters that he didn’t have a strong memory of Crane. He told local media that he didn’t really remember Crane’s name until homicide detectives reminded him of it. “I didn’t have any clue what was going on when they first met me,” Hiatt said, referring to his meeting with the homicide detectives.

When a reporter asked whether he had killed Crane, Hiatt said “Anything is possible back then because I was big into drugs.”


4. Hiatt’s Co-Workers Describe Him as a Generous & Gentle Man

At the time of his arrest, Edwin Hiatt was working at 2nd Chance Engine Repair, an auto repair shop in Rutherford College, North Carolina. Hiatt’s co-workers described him as friendly and harmless. One woman, Dee Hall, said that Hiatt “wouldn’t hurt a flea.” Another co-worker, Jason Smith, said that Hiatt had shared his small earnings with him and compared him to a father. “We were working in here last week, and he had only known me for two or three days,” Smith said. “He made like $40 that day, we didn’t get much done. But still yet, just him making $40, he gave me half of it right off the bat just to make sure I had cigarette money and gas money and stuff like that.”
2d Chance Engine Repair offers auto and small engine repair and prides itself on its friendly, Christian atmosphere. The shop’s website says “There’s never a reason to go anywhere else. Let us take care of all your auto repair, small engine repair and car detailing needs. Come enjoy the friendly, christian atmosphere.”


5. Hiatt Used a Wheelchair & Spoke in a Mumble When He Appeared in Court

Hiatt, 52, had his first court appearance on Friday, May 9. He was using a wheelchair and speaking in a mumble, according to reporters present at the court. Detectives with the LAPD say that Hiatt has confessed to the 1985 murder of Hollywood director Barry Crane. Hiatt was 18 years old at the time.

Crane was reportedly bludgeoned with a statue and strangled. His naked body was found wrapped in bedding in his garage. His car and wallet were stolen, although later recovered. The crime went unsolved for decades before police found fingerprint and DNA evidence which they said connected Hiatt to the brutal crime.