Virgin Islands Case Files continues its run this Thursday, May 18, featuring the unsolved murder case of a 57-year-old mother of four on St. Croix. Robin Hitesman, known to her friends and loved ones as Nancy, was reported missing in October of 2019, about a week after she returned to St. Croix from attending her eldest son’s wedding.
According to police, Nancy called 9-1-1 on October 4, 2019, and reported that her former boyfriend had entered her home uninvited and assaulted and threatened to kill her. “On the 4th, she made the police report. On the 5th, she vanished. Nobody saw her after the police officers actually saw her and spoke to her. That was it. Nobody saw her anywhere else,” said Virgin Islands Police Commander, Naomi Joseph.
Nancy’s ex-husband, retired VIPD forensics specialist Jonathan Hitesman, found Nancy’s remains on October 9, 2019, buried in a shallow grave near her home in the Rain Forest. “I felt shocked. I felt kind of overwhelmed, but I was also relieved that at least I had found her,” Jonathan Hitesman said.
“If, by chance, anybody does know something about the case that hasn't already been released to the Virgin Islands Police Department, it can only help us to put together the puzzle pieces of what actually really happened,” said Nancy’s son, Michael Paines. “It's more for closure, just so that we can all know what she went through before she was deceased.”
Anyone with information about the murder of Robin “Nancy” Hitesman is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers USVI at 1-800-222-TIPS.
Virgin Islands Case Files is supported by the Virgin Islands Police Department to help address the high number of unsolved homicides in the territory. The show serves as a call to action for residents to come forward with new information that could help detectives close longstanding homicide cases. Family members who wish to see their loved ones’ cases featured on future episodes of Virgin Islands Case Files should email vicasefiles@gmail.com.
Episode 8 of Virgin Islands Case Files airs Thursday, May 18, at 8:30 p.m. and repeats on Saturday, May 20, at 6:30 p.m. on WTJX-TV Channel 12, on the WTJX app, and by localizing WTJX on the PBS Video app which is available on iOS (Apple), Android, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast, and VIZIO.