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EP 7: Dead Man’s Line – The True Story of Tony Kiritsis

February 10, 2017

Forty years ago (1977) in downtown Indianapolis, Tony Kiritsis went to the fourth floor of 129 E. Market Street – his left arm was in a blue string, carrying a department shoe box and blueprints. It wasn’t strange for the director of Meridian Mortgage, Richard Hall, to see Kiritsis sitting in the lobby of his office when he arrived after 8 a.m., as Kiritsis would regularly show up to discuss his plans for a strip mall on the west side of Indianapolis. But this morning was different. Richard Hall invited Kiritsis into his office and for the next 63 hours, Kiritsis held a sawed-off shotgun to Hall’s head with a dead man’s line wired to the trigger.

Alan Berry and Mark Enochs are Indianapolis filmmakers who have spent the last four years gathering information about Tony Kiritsis and have turned it into a true-crime documentary called “Dead Man’s Line – The True Story of Tony Kiritsis.” They have interviewed over 40 people – news reporters, police officers, lawyers, jury members, family, & friends – to help make this film.

We had Alan and Mark on the podcast to talk about this crazy story and how it changed policing, news reporting, and even state law. The footage of the event is absolutely remarkable and to have all of this film available later in 2017 will truly be a remarkable piece of Indianapolis History.

Below are a few photos, the film’s trailer, as well as the unedited 911 call from Tony Kiritsis himself.

Also, be sure to keep up to date with Alan and Mark as they are finishing up the movie now, and planned to be released later this year. They have compiled rare pictures, stories, and videos of the Tony Kiritsis hostage story on their website.

LISTEN NOW:

Tony Kiritsis 1

Tony Kiritsis 2

Tony Kiritsis 3

Tony Kiritsis 4

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