What happened to Patty Hearst? Details about her kidnapping and events that followed

Patty Hearst is the granddaughter of American media magnate William Randolph Hearst. She is well known all over the world because of her kidnapping in 1974 by the Symbionese Liberation Army, or SLA and the events that followed after it. There have been several movies made on her kidnapping and her time when she was held captive. A lot of people are still curious to know about what happened to Patty Hearst.

What happened to Patty Hearst?

According to fbi.gov, Patty Hearst was kidnapped at around 9 PM on February 4, 1974. A 19-year-old Patty Hearst was taken by a group of men and women who had their guns drawn from apartment #4 at 2603 Benvenue Street in Berkeley, California. It was later discovered that she was kidnapped by a group of armed radicals called Symbionese Liberation Army, or SLA. It was led by a notorious criminal Donald DeFreeze. The group aimed at destroying what they called a ‘capitalist state’ of the US. Ranks of this SLA included people from different races anarchists and extremists from various walks of life.

FBI has termed them as “a band of domestic terrorists. And dangerous ones.” They had already shot two Oakland school officials with cyanide-tipped bullets that killed one and left one seriously wounded. The reason behind them kidnapping Patty Hearst was to get the attention of the country as Patty was from a wealthy and powerful family. The plan of SLA worked out and the kidnapping made front-page news leaving the country stunned. However, there was more to Patty Hearst's kidnapping than it looked like.

Patty Hearst's stockholm syndrome

Soon after the kidnapping, SLA released several audiotapes and demanded millions of dollars in food donations in exchange for her release. At the same time, the group started brainwashing and abusing Patty Hearst in an attempt to turn this young heiress from the highest reaches of society into a poster child for their purposes. This plan of SLA also seemed to work as they released a tape later where Patty Hearst said that she has joined Symbionese Liberation Army and its fight to free the oppressed and had even taken a new name. Patty Hearst's Stockholm Syndrome became a talk of the nation as she was from one of the wealthiest and powerful families in the country. After a dozen days later, Patty was spotted wielding an assault weapon on a bank surveillance camera during an SLA bank robbery. She was also shouting orders to bystanders while providing cover to her confederates.

Patty Hearst's capturing

In the meanwhile, FBI launched one of the biggest agent-intensive searches in its history to find Hearst and stop the SLA. They ran down thousands of leads but SLA had frightened the potential informants and made sure they remained silent. However, one breakthrough came in Los Angeles on May 16. Two members from SLA tried to steal an ammunition belt from a local store and were nearly caught in their attempt. Their getaway van led authorities to an SLA safe house. It was surrounded the next day by LA police. In a massive shootout, the building was up in flames and left six members of SLA dead including their boss Donald DeFreeze.

But Patty Hearst managed to escape with several others and then travelled around the country in an attempt to not be captured. FBI finally got a hold of her on September 18, 1975. She was charged with bank robbery and other crimes. Just like Patty Hearst's kidnapping, the trial which followed after her arrest was also sensational. Despite the claims of brainwashing, the jury found her to be guilty. She was sentenced to seven years in prison for her crimes. Patty Hearst served two years in prison before 39th US president Jimmy Carter commuted her sentence. She was later pardoned off her sentence. SLA was also finished after all these happenings with the last two members of the group being arrested in 1999 and 2002.

Patty Hearst's documentary

Patty Hearst's documentary is available to watch on Amazon Prime Video for its subscribers. The documentary titled The Radical Story of Patty Hearst gives the viewers insights into the case and the kidnapping. The official description about the documentary on Amazon Prime reads as, “The transformation of Patty Hearst from kidnapped heiress to terrorist is a saga of privilege, celebrity and violence that gripped the nation. Over forty years later, firsthand accounts shed light on one of the most bizarre stories in modern American history. The series explores who Patty Hearst really is: victim or villain?” Here is a look at the trailer of Patty Hearst's documentary.

Image: A still from The Radical Story of Patty Hearst trailer