How a California rich girl joined the radical group that kidnapped her -

Patricia Hearst, better known as Patty Hearst, made headlines in the 1970s when she was kidnapped from her California apartment by a far-left militant group. Heiress of a media empire, America was shocked to learn that Hearst later joined her kidnappers and robbed a bank. Was she brainwashed? Or was she not the victim she continues to claim to be?

Intrigued? Click through and get to know all the details of this fascinating true crime case.

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Patty Hearst -

Patricia Campbell Hearst was born on February 20, 1954, in San Francisco, California. She is the daughter of Randolph Apperson Hearst and Catherine Wood Campbell. 

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Heiress -

Patty Hearst’s most famous family member was her grandfather, media mogul William Randolph Hearst, the man behind the Hearst empire.

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Student life -

In 1974, 19-year-old Hearst was studying at the University of California, Berkeley. She lived with her fiancé, Steven Weed, in apartment 4 at 2603 Benvenue Street in Berkeley. All seemed perfect, but her life was about to change.

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Kidnapping -

On February 4, 1974, there was a knock on Hearst’s apartment door. Shortly after, a group of armed men and women stormed in.

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Kidnapping -

The group beat up Patty Hearst’s fiancé, grabbed her, and put her in the trunk of a car and drove off.

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Abduction -

Hearst had just been kidnapped by a left-wing extremist group called the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA).

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Symbionese Liberation Army -

The abduction was claimed by the SLA. Led by Donald DeFreeze (aka Cinque), the militant group’s mission was to incite a guerrilla war against America’s capitalist government.

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Motive -

The SLA planned the kidnapping to gain advantage of Hearst family's political influence. The goal was to free two SLA members, Russ Little and Joe Remiro, who had been arrested for murder. The SLA wanted to make headlines and grab the country’s attention, and they got it.

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Request -

The SLA didn’t get their men released, but they did get Hearst's family to make a food donation worth US$2 million to poor people in the Bay Area, through a program called People in Need.

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People in Need -

But the food giveaway was a disaster at the distribution stage, leading to riots, injured people, and arrests. The SLA then refused to release Hearst, though their plan seemed to be even more sinister.

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Abduction -

According to Hearst, the left-wing radicals kept her in a closet for a week, where her hands were tied and she was blindfolded. She was allowed to get out for meals, and later was given a flashlight to read SLA material in what was believed to be a brainwashing strategy.

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Patty Hearst joins the SLA -

"DeFreeze told me that the war council had decided or was thinking about killing me or me staying with them, and that I better start thinking about that as a possibility. I accommodated my thoughts to coincide with theirs," Hearst said.

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Patty Hearst joins the SLA -

The SLA made their demands through audiotapes, and 59 days after the kidnapping a new audiotape was released. This time, it was Patty Hearst saying, "I have been given the choice of being released...or joining the forces of the Symbionese Liberation Army and fighting for my freedom and the freedom of all oppressed people. I have chosen to stay and fight."

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Nom de guerre -

Patty Hearst also announced that she changed her name to Tania, after a "comrade who fought alongside Che in Bolivia." Hearst was making reference to communist guerrilla fighter Tamara Bunke, better known as Tania (pictured).

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Hibernia Bank robbery -

On April 15, 1974, Hearst and other SLA members robbed Hibernia Bank. Surveillance video footage showed Hearst wielding an M1 carbine rifle while carrying out the robbery.

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Hibernia Bank robbery -

In the surveillance footage, Patty Hearst can be heard saying "I am Tania" and "We are not fooling around," ordering customers to lay on the floor.

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Hibernia Bank robbery -

Two people were shot by the SLA, one fatally, during the robbery. The group took around US$10,000 in cash.

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Post-robbery tape -

After the robbery, another audiotape was released. Hearst’s message was as follows: "Greetings to the people, this is Tania. Our actions of April 15 forced the Corporate State to help finance the revolution. As for being brainwashed, the idea is ridiculous beyond belief. I am a soldier in the People's Army."

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One month later… -

On May 16, 1974, following the Hibernia Bank robbery, Patty Hearst and SLA couple William and Emily Harris (pictured) tried to rob an ammunition belt from Mel's Sporting Goods Store in Englewood, California. Shots were fired by Patty Hearst.

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SLA hideout bust -

The runaway van was later discovered by authorities parked outside the SLA safe house in LA. It was game over for the radical group.

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SLA hideout bust -

There was a shootout, and six SLA members who were inside the hideout died after the building went up in flames (including DeFreeze).

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Arrest -

Patty Hearst, however, was nowhere to be found in the safe house. Hearst, as well as Emily and William Harris, was eventually captured in San Francisco on September 18, 1975.

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Trial -

Despite claiming that she was brainwashed by the SLA, on March 20, 1976, the jury found Hearst guilty of armed robbery and use of a firearm to commit a felony.

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Sentence -

Patty Hearst was sentenced to seven years in prison, but only served two, as President Jimmy Carter then commuted her sentence.

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Saved by the presidents -

Not only did President Carter reduce her sentence, but on January 20, 2001, President Bill Clinton granted Patty Hearst a full pardon.

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What happened to the SLA? -

The last two members of the SLA were arrested by the FBI in 1999 and 2002, respectively.

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Life after prison -

Patty Hearst has since starred in a number of John Waters’ films, including ‘Cry-Baby’ (1990).

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Other projects -

Hearst has also written the book ‘Every Secret Thing’ and participated in a number of dog shows.

Sources: (FBI) (Britannica) (Biography) (PBS) (Famous Trials) (History)

See also: Notorious female gangsters of the underworld

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