From Paul Curtis White’s appeal: Viewed favorably to the verdict, the evidence established that Eidman was shot and killed at around 11 am on June 8, 2007. Eidman’s wallet was missing from his back pocket, and he had 3 gunshot wounds: a graze wound to the chin; a neck wound caused by a shot fired less than two feet away, which could have been fatal; and a fatal gunshot wound to the head that went through his eye and out the back of his skull. The shot through Eidman’s eye occurred when the victim was on his back with the shooter standing over him and firing at close range. There was no evidence of any other injuries or signs of struggle. All three shots had been fired from the same gun. There were two more unfired bullets on the floor, possibly resulting from the gun having jammed. The wallet and gun were never found.
Surveillance video from a neighboring business showed that a Ford Focus with two people inside had driven past the insurance office twice at 10:50 and 10:54 am on the day of the murder. Several months after the crime, White and Hines were pulled over in a Ford Focus that belonged to Hines. In March of 2010, investigators matched White’s DNA to a swab from inside the victim’s back pocket. The DNA match and the traffic stop led detectives to begin investigating White and Hines for this murder.
White was brought in for questioning multiple times between September of 2010 and June of 2012, and portions of those recorded interviews were played at trial. During the first two interviews, White denied all involvement in the crime and refused to believe the detective when he told White that they had found his DNA on the victim’s clothes. About two weeks later, White was interviewed again. Initially, he again denied any involvement, but ultimately—after discussing the hypothetical possibility that he might be guilty of something less than murder—he admitted that he and Hines committed the robbery together. He explained that he had not wanted to admit to this, but when he heard what Hines and the media had been saying about what happened, he decided to confess.
White told the following story with varying degrees of consistency. White had lost money at the casino early on the morning of the crime. He and Hines, his roommate, needed money and decided to rob people who were cashing checks at Walmart. In one version, White said they abandoned that plan because there were too many cameras at 2 Walmart. Later, he said he saw a man cash a check and sent Hines to get the gun from their house, but by the time he returned, the man had already left. In any case, after aborting the Walmart plan, White suggested they rob his insurance agent instead. He knew there would be cash in Eidman’s office because White and his wife had gone there and made a cash payment to him a little over two months before. White told Hines that Eidman would recognize him. During the first interview, White claimed that he and Hines wore ski masks they had stolen from Walmart. Later, he said they bought bandanas at Walmart and wore those over their faces. There was evidence at trial that Walmart does not stock ski masks in June, but does carry bandanas all year. White tried to explain that by “ski mask” he was only referring generally to having their faces covered. The State argued that the story about masks was a ruse to convince the jury that they only intended to rob Eidman and, therefore, needed to protect their identities.
White said that after leaving Walmart, he and Hines drove to Eidman’s office, drove around the building once, and then entered the office. White saw Eidman sitting at his desk, and they demanded money. In one version, White said Eidman tried to open the drawer where he kept the cash, and then White took the victim’s wallet out of his back pocket. Later, White said that first Eidman claimed there was no money, then White took his wallet and then at some point later White tried opening the desk drawer. White claimed that he started to leave the office after taking his wallet. At some point, Hines fired a shot that gave Eidman a bloody lip. When Eidman denied having any more
money, Hines shot him again and he fell to the floor. White asked Hines if he was dead, and Hines shot Eidman again. White admitted that the gun was his and said that he and Hines split the $300 they got from Eidman’s wallet. He said different things at different
times about how they discarded the evidence.
Robert L. Eidman obituary
Two men charged in connection with Mo. insurance agent’s murder
Cleo Hines indicted on capital murder in Robert Eidman slaying
Testimony opens in 2007 slaying of St. Charles insurance agent
Man found guilty in murder of St. Charles County insurance agent
Man who murdered St. Charles insurance agent sentenced to two life terms
Defendant pleads guilty in St. Charles murder case
Cleo Hines Sentenced to Life in 2007 MO Slaying of Robert Eidman
State of Missouri v Paul Curtis White 2014 (affirmed)
Movies/Documentaries
Nightmare Next Door: Risky Business
Defendants
Cleo Hines – pled guilty, sentenced to life in prison
Paul White – convicted, sentenced to LWOP
INMATE INFORMATION
DOC Id 1021930
Offender Name Cleo Hines
Race Black
Sex Male
Date of Birth 01/30/1979
Height/Weight 5’8″ / 163
Hair/Eyes Black /Brown
Assigned Location Potosi Correctional Center
Address 11593 State Highway O, Mineral Point, MO 63660
Assigned Officer Phone Number (573) 438-6000
Sentence Summary Life (Life, Life CC)
Active Offenses MURDER 2ND DEGREE;ROBBERY 1ST DEGREE
Completed Offenses Completed sentence not found
Aliases Ciero Hines; Cieo Hines; Cleo Scott Hines; Cieo S Hines; Cleo Hines
INMATE INFORMATION
DOC Id 507232
Offender Name Paul C White
Race Black
Sex Male
Date of Birth 10/15/1976
Height/Weight 5’9″ / 199
Hair/Eyes Black /Brown
Assigned Location Jefferson City Correctional Center
Address 8200 No More Victims, Jefferson City, MO 65101
Assigned Officer Phone Number (573) 751-3224
Sentence Summary Life W/O Parole {(6, 6, 5, 5, 5 CC) Life W/O, Life CS}
Active Offenses MURDER 1ST DEGREE;FORGERY(5 CTS);ROBBERY 1ST DEGREE
Completed Offenses Completed sentence not found
Aliases Paul C White; Paul C White; Paul Curtis White; Paul White
