Heather Tallchief, Once the "Most Wanted Woman in America," Turned Herself in a While Ago
Published July 14 2021, 6:17 p.m. ET
Once dubbed as the "Most Wanted Woman In America," Heather Tallchief pulled off the perfect crime on Oct. 1, 1993, aged 21. She spent the next decade in hiding, only turning herself in in September 2005.
Tallchief — whose story is explored in the "Sex Magick Money Murder" episodes of Netflix's documentary series Heist — drove away with a Loomis armored truck containing approximately $3.1 million worth of cash on Oct. 1, 1993, at her then-boyfriend Roberto Solis's instructions. So, where is she now? When was she released from prison?
So, when was Heather Tallchief released from prison?
Tallchief flew back to the U.S. from Amsterdam in September 2005. She surrendered to the U.S. Marshals Service in Las Vegas on Sept. 15, 2005. She was sentenced to 63 months in federal prison on March 30, 2006, a press release by the U.S. Department of Justice states. In addition, she was ordered to pay more than $2.9 million in restitution to the victims of the offense. Tallchief was released on parole in June 2010, spending the next five years under federal supervision.
As part of her defense, Tallchief stated that her then-partner, Roberto Solis, used a combination of sex magic and VHS hypnosis to beguile her into performing one of the most scandalous heists in Las Vegas history.
A testimony presented by a psychiatrist confirmed that Solis had brainwashed Tallchief into committing the crime. Expert testimony contended that her motivations also included "greed" and "the desire to please her boyfriend," the press release by the U.S. Department of Justice outlines.
Tallchief told NBC News in 2005 that she took no part in planning the heist. As she said, Solis made her watch various videotapes. One day, he gave her detailed instructions on how to do the robbery, ordering her to memorize the directions she had to follow after driving off with the van.
"I believe he manipulated and influenced my mind for his own means," Tallchief said. "That's how this evolved."
"I woke up one morning, and he had some instructions for me," Tallchief added. "And I was to drive my vehicle from Circus-Circus [Circus Circus Hotel and Casino] to a place that he had mapped out on a little bit of paper, and he made me memorize it."
It's understood that while Tallchief and Solis fled from the U.S. together following the heist, Tallchief eventually left Solis two months after their son, Dylan Eaton, was born. She told NBC News that she when she left with her son, she only took some pocket money and jewelry.
Tallchief surrendered partly because it was in the best interests of her son, Dylan Eaton.
As a fugitive, Tallchief relied on false identification information and fraudulent documents, including a U.K. passport issued for a woman named Donna Marie Eaton.
She would later use that passport to enter the U.S. through the Los Angeles Port of Entry in 2005 before making way to Las Vegas to surrender, the press release by the U.S. Department of Justice states.
As she told NBC News, she was unable to register her son under his real name or obtain documents correctly stating his country of origin.
"I also have a little boy I'm thinking about. I'm doing this for him. I feel that by turning myself in and surrendering, I can give him a better life, one that he deserves," Tallchief said. She added: "He doesn't exist basically."
It's understood that Tallchief has since then returned to her career in healthcare, which she started pursuing before she would have met Solis. She is still close to her son, Dylan, who reportedly graduated from college in 2019.