Editor’s note: This story was originally published on Sept. 18, 2024.
A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives.
On Sept. 18, 1975, newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst was captured by the FBI in San Francisco, 19 months after being kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army. She cried out, “Don’t shoot,” as she was taken into custody.
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In February 1974, three armed kidnappers had burst into a Berkeley, California, apartment and carried off the 19-year-old newspaper heiress wrapped in a bathrobe. Newspapers carried daily updates as her parents tried to meet ransom demands and secure a safe release.
As the days wore on, one of the more bizarre sagas in U.S. history unfolded.
A couple of months later, the young woman appeared in the jerky frames of a surveillance video, holding a rifle as she and her kidnappers robbed a bank in San Francisco. She called herself “Tanya.”
Her kidnappers — a small band of self-styled revolutionaries — demanded her father, newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, feed the poor as a ransom, then spent the next year robbing banks and planting bombs.
Her trial in San Francisco’s federal courthouse was wild and dramatic.
In the trial, the young woman testified that she had spent 50 days in a closet, blindfolded. She claimed she took part in the bank robbery out of fear. The jury did not agree, and she was convicted of her crime.
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In 1979, after serving two years of a five-year sentence, President Jimmy Carter commuted her sentence.
Now 50 years after her kidnapping, there are still unanswered questions. Did Hearst suffer from Stockholm syndrome, defined as odd symptoms people exhibit after traumatic situations like abductions and abusive relationships. Was she a willing participant? Did she go along just to survive? Did she turn into a revolutionary?
She is now known as Patricia Hearst Shaw after she married a police officer who guarded her when she was out on bail. The 70-year-old woman has been in the news in recent years for her dogs, mostly French bulldogs, that have won prizes in the Westminster Kennel Club dog show, according to The Associated Press.
Here are some stories from Deseret News archives about the case:
“Hearst abduction gripped nation 25 years ago”
“Will case shed light on Hearst kidnapping? Testimony to implicate heiress, lawyers say”
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“Patty Hearst finding it’s not easy to clear name”
“Where does the term ‘Stockholm syndrome’ come from?”
“Last SLA fugitive arrested in ‘75 robbery”
“Former SLA radicals relieved to put past to rest”
“Patty Hearst defends pardon by Clinton”
“Pardon Hearst for unwilling participation in SLA”