Ten years ago, the biggest name to ever appear on the radio was incarcerated for the murder of her husband, Ronnie Hartley. One month prior to the day Christne was arrested, a missing persons report was filed for Mr. Hartley. They never found the body.  

           This may lead one to consider how Christne Hartley was arrested and sentenced, when there was a serious lack of physical evidence. To answer this question, we must look to the beginning.  

           It was the 70s; musicians were popping up everywhere, but no one had the impact Christne had. Christne owned New York, Los Angeles, Nashville; anywhere music was flourishing, her music could be heard.  

           Prior to their marriage, Ronnie served 7 years in the Vietnam War, before his honorable discharge. It is important that readers understand that the Hartley family owned Los Angeles at the time of the murder. Ronnie was one the biggest directors at the time and Christne, of course, after her start on the Hollywood boulevard, was the biggest voice. 

           After a solid four years in the spotlight, when Christne was a household name across the country, her first scandal arose, and it was no small feat.  

           The newspapers released quick and harsh statements.  

           “FAMOUS ROCK STAR CHRISTNE CHEATED ON” 

           “HARTLEY FAMILY LEGACY DESTROYED” 

           “ACTRESS SHERRY KNIGHT LINKED TO CONTROVERSY” 

           So, when her husband was mysteriously missing a few days later, the public came to a conclusion fast: she must have killed him. There was no need for evidence, the truth was clear: in a fit of rage from being betrayed by her only love, she killed him and hid the body far away from public eye. Humiliation; sadness; confusion; all must have been emotions she had felt after the news broke, but was murderous rage one of them? 

           The court case was over in two days. Although, the press wanted to drag it out for as long as possible, milking shots of her walking out of the courtroom or crying in the defense stands. Why, when there were absolutely no pieces of evidence–besides a gut feeling–to convict Christne, was she charged guilty? In the current American society women can be put away for almost anything, and thanks to the news, Hartley didn’t stand a chance.  

           A few weeks ago, I came across one of Christne’s records in a thrift store. Ten years ago, there was no chance her music would cost anything below 12 dollars, now they sat, collecting dust, for the bargain price of two dollars. Nevertheless, I bought the record, feeling nostalgic. After purchase, I quickly remembered the events of the scandal, and my curiosity was piqued once more.  

           In beginning my research, I looked for any person with a remote connection to the Hartley family and asked them for an interview. After a large number of nagging phone calls, I was able to ask her closest friend and renowned actress, Angeline Kim, how Christne was acting before that night.  

           “I don’t know what to tell you,” Angeline sighed. “I mean she was destroyed by the news; you know? It’s not like she knew before her fans and the rest of the world did, and that made it all the more heartbreaking.”  

           When the news broke it was revealed that Christne’s husband was cheating on her with actress Sherry Knight, which made plenty of sense to the fans who were aware of Ronnie’s career status as a director.  

           “They had a big fight that night, but you must already know that,” Angeline said. I asked her to retell me the story, from what she knew before the tabloids. “Well, Christne called me after, around six, and was crying. I was just trying to console her, as her friend, and not ask too many questions, it seemed like a very sore subject. But she did mention that he left the house in a hurry.”  

           Now this is where the story gets fuzzy for both the court and fans. Did he in fact leave after the fight Angeline and Christne claim happened? Or was that their cover up for his death and the time she spent to hide the body?  

           For a couple of weeks of countless interviews with almost every person who may be slightly connected to the murder, I had gained almost no new information. Everything I heard was something I had already read in a magazine back in 1974. Until I was finally able to talk to Peter Benson, Christne’s former colleague and Ronnie’s close friend. 

           “That was the thing about Ronnie, he had an awful–well awful for me and my lazy tendencies–but he had an awful habit of going outside just to move, whether it be hiking or running. Anytime something or someone upset him that was what he would do, just to blow off some stream I s’pose,” Benson informed me.  

           Such a simple comment, but you learn fast as an investigative journalist that there is no such thing as a small detail. I pressed further.  

           “Any specific places you knew he liked to go?” I asked.  

           “Not really. He kept that time to himself for the most part, but I know he liked more isolated and quiet places. The further from the busy and bustling city, the better. I think he used the quiet to think, something like that,” Benson replied.  

           The next day, I laid out my biggest map on the kitchen table and circled every park, forest, or remotely green area in a 20-mile radius. And I drove. The first park was a dud, I found nothing but grass, trees, and shrubs. The second location was a hiking trail, still quite close to society, after walking at least 2 miles, I left. 

           The third location was further out, at least 20 miles east from the Hartley’s house and quite desolate. It was a large mountain, mostly isolated, with something with a slight resemblance to a trail up the hills. Over the years, the trail must have lost considerable popularity, but that matched Benson’s description of his favorite locations.   

           At this point, I realized I should not have gone this far. I should have either thrown in the towel or contacted the police, but whether it was the knowledge that the police may do nothing with such limited evidence, or just my persistent curiosity, I kept going.  

           Around 3 miles up the mountain, the bush grew thicker, and the trail shriveled. The sun was beginning to set, and I was beginning to worry that I would get lost up there. Until I looked down to the bush to my right.  

           And there he was. The husband of the biggest name in the country, lying dead on the ground, just to the side of the trail.  

— 

           After the police came, picked him up, and the autopsy was eventually conducted, the results matched what I could have seen with my own eyes, if only the body was not so decomposed: no signs of struggle, blunt force trauma, or visible attempts to kill him. There were, however, signs of a heart attack, odd for Ronnie, considering his abstinence from cigarettes and alcohol. It was a mystery, but the police took the evidence and sent the issue to release Christne.  

           The next day the news went live, and papers changed extraordinarily from those many years ago.  

           “CHRISTNE HARTLEY RELEASED, INNOCENT” 

           “HARTLEY MURDER SOLVED” 

           “HARTLEY MURDERESS INNOCENT” 

           It was surreal how fast everything turned around. Once again, as if no time had passed, the name on everyone in Hollywood’s lips was Hartley. Even the thrift store I bought that record from had now taken to putting one of Christne’s old records in the store window.  

           The world went from forgetting Christne Hartley to celebrating her freedom. I wanted to celebrate with them, but something was bugging me. What caused his heart attack?  

           Suddenly, something from the record I snatched from the thrift store resurfaced in my mind: Christne’s lyrics.  

           “In the harsh woods, he fought, 

           And I waited, I understood,  

           As he fought through the nightmares 

           I heard his fears” 

           And everything fell into place, like pieces of a puzzle. Fighting in a jungle, waiting and being an understanding partner, facing nightmares because of the fighting– I knew what Christne was singing of.  

           Once I arrived at the police station, I gave them the information, asking them to pass it onto the coroner’s office as well. The results came back, and the final piece of the puzzle slid into place: Agent Orange. Ronnie Hartley served in the Vietnam War for seven years, and during that time the harsh and toxic chemical, Agent Orange, was used in warfare. He was exposed to it, and it caused his heart attack just a few years later.  

           Once Christne was released, and the evidence was released to the media, she revealed one piece about the case that was never before mentioned.  

           “I was opposed to mentioning this before my trial, because my lawyer told me it did me more harm than good, seeing as it makes me sound like I had a motive,” Christne said when I asked her about the night of the murder a week after her release. “…but I got into a huge fight with Ronnie before his disappearance. We were screaming at each other, and I was so mad, so angry because of what he did to me. Then I said something I could never take back, and fuming, he ran out the front door, slamming it behind him.”  

           The final piece of the puzzle found its way into my hands. In a fit of anger, Ronnie Hartley must have taken off after their fight, and to blow off steam, drove to a mountain to take a long run. It was unfortunate timing for both of them that this would be when Agent Orange finally caught up to him.  

           Ten years ago, the biggest name of Hollywood was incarcerated for the murder of her husband, Ronnie Hartley. One week ago, she was released and proven to be not guilty.