The Wild True Story Behind Dead Man’s Wire

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I just saw Dead Man’s Wire, and it’s a truly unsettling film. What makes it even more impactful is that it’s based on a real event – a terrifying hostage situation that unfolded in Indianapolis back in 1977. The movie depicts how a businessman was held captive for three agonizing days, forced to walk the streets with a shotgun aimed at his head, connected to him by a wire around his neck. It’s a harrowing story brought to life on screen.

In the movie, Tony Kiritsis (played by Bill Skarsgård) kidnapped Richard Hall (Dacre Montgomery) because he believed Meridian Mortgage Co. had deliberately discouraged businesses from leasing space on land Kiritsis had bought with a loan from them three years earlier. This, he claimed, led to his inability to repay the loan.

On February 8, 1977, a man facing foreclosure kidnapped someone named Hall as an act of revenge. He rigged a wire connected to a shotgun around Hall’s neck, so any sudden movement could trigger the gun – inspiring the title of the movie, Dead Man’s Wire. The film follows the kidnapping and its consequences, showing how the kidnapper held the city of Indianapolis captivated for three days. He marched Hall to the Indiana Statehouse and then stole a police car, driving Hall to his apartment while claiming it was rigged with explosives.

I remember following the Hall kidnapping case closely. The guy holding Hall, Kiritsis, was just… strange. He wouldn’t talk to anyone except Fred Heckman on WIBC, and he used the radio show to constantly complain about Meridian. It was bizarre! Eventually, Kiritsis called a press conference just to rant more, and then, thankfully, he let Hall go after 63 hours. It’s just heartbreaking to know Hall needed ten years of psychiatric care after everything he went through.

Here’s what we know about the real Kiritsis and his crime. 

44 years of anger

A Korean War veteran, he worked various jobs throughout his life, including as a machinist, trailer park manager, and car salesman. According to his brother James, he chose to remain unmarried and didn’t even own a pet, preferring to avoid forming any strong attachments.

According to a 1977 AP report, Kiritsis was raised in a Greek Orthodox family as one of five children and didn’t learn English until he started school. His childhood friend, Bob Grey, fondly remembered their shared hobbies – watching NASCAR, gardening tomatoes, and enjoying garage sales and dances – as reported in the Star.

You know, my friend, Kiritsis’s brother, James, told me something really sad. After their mom passed away from cancer, he noticed a big shift in Kiritsis’s personality. James said Kiritsis was really haunted by why God would take his mom so young – she was only 41. He actually thinks that’s where it all began, that grief and questioning really marked a turning point for him.

James mentioned Kiritsis was a reserved child, but also quick to anger. He described how Kiritsis wouldn’t hesitate to confront someone who provoked him, saying, “If someone cut him off in traffic, a fight was likely to happen.”

According to court records obtained by the Associated Press, the man was arrested in 1968 for attempted murder, but the charges were dropped. He was also arrested for shooting at his brother, Tom, but that case was also dismissed. Detective Ronald Beasley of the sheriff’s department described him as someone with a quick temper, saying he’ll “do just about anything” when angry.

The reason for the hostage crisis

The film powerfully portrays Kiritsis’s rage. The story begins with Kiritsis, a fictional character, aggressively entering the Meridian office building in search of M.L. Hall (played by Al Pacino), the company’s leading executive.

Furious to discover the man was in Florida, he kidnapped his son, Richard Hall, and threatened to kill him if the company didn’t forgive his debt and grant him legal protection from being prosecuted.

Furious and feeling betrayed, he angrily confronted Hall, pulling him from the office and vowing to publicly expose the actions of both him and his father.

The film and real-life accounts show Kiritsis was seeking attention and wanted to be heard. Throughout most of the three-day standoff, he would only speak with local radio host Heckman, declaring, “I went there for revenge, and I will get it.” He portrayed himself as both an angry man, having felt that way for 44 years, and surprisingly, the most level-headed person he knew.

He thought of himself as a David standing up to a Goliath. 

In the film, Skarsgård expresses feelings of betrayal during a phone call with Domingo, complaining that the company always favored those with power. He accuses Hall and his father of attracting ordinary people with the promise of success, only to discard them. He claims they manipulated the system using financial advantages to exploit others.

According to the film, Meridian allegedly cheated and harmed him, as he told Heckman directly. Heckman then broadcasted a recording of their conversation, which prompted viewers to donate money, feeling sympathy for him as a small individual being taken advantage of by a larger company, as Heckman explained to the Star.

What the hostage crisis was really like

Indianapolis ground to a halt when Kiritsis walked Hall, who wasn’t wearing a coat, four blocks to the statehouse in temperatures near zero degrees.

During the first phone call with authorities, Dick Hall stated he had food and water and was being treated well. He also called his wife to let her know he was okay.

Police and Meridian cooperated with Kiritsis, hoping he would spare Hall and end the standoff soon. To encourage this, authorities promised Kiritsis immunity from prosecution, and Meridian publicly apologized, despite believing they hadn’t done anything to deserve an apology.

Tom Cochrun, news director at WISH-TV, told the Indianapolis Star that Kiritsis had unpredictable mood swings, ranging from intense outbursts to sudden tears or laughter. News staff were concerned that viewers might witness a live execution on television.

Similar to the movie’s portrayal, Kiritsis’s brother, James, remained devoted to him. He actually described his brother at the time as someone desperately trying to succeed in business. In the film, James’s character even speaks to a news reporter to defend his brother’s reputation.

After three days, the hostage situation concluded when Kiritsis told authorities he wanted to address the public. He led Hall out of the building, still with a wired shotgun around Hall’s neck. Skarsgård repeatedly asked if cameras were recording, eager to be featured on national news. He thanked Heckman for the attention, then removed the wire from Hall’s neck and fired a shot into the ceiling.

What happened to Tony Kiritsis

Officials had assured Kiritsis he wouldn’t be prosecuted if he freed Hall, but they broke that promise the moment Hall was released.

He was accused of kidnapping, demanding money with threats, and robbery, but the court found him not guilty due to mental illness. Following the trial, Indiana lawmakers created a law – often called “The Kiritsis Law” – that allowed juries to find someone “guilty but mentally ill” or “not responsible due to insanity,” as explained by the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council in 2001.

Kiritsis was in psychiatric care for eleven years before being released in January 1988. The film reveals that he could have been released after two years, but he refused to sign the release papers. These papers required him to continue receiving psychiatric treatment voluntarily, which he didn’t want to do.

The Star reported that Kiritsis struggled to find a rental apartment and never owned a car due to issues getting car insurance. He mainly relied on his military pension for income. His health declined after a diabetes diagnosis in 2000, leading to a diabetic coma and the amputation of part of his right foot that same year. He also battled alcoholism, which began after the 1977 hostage crisis.

Tony Kiritsis passed away in Indianapolis on January 28, 2005, at the age of 72. Following his brother’s death, James Kiritsis wrote a letter to the Star newspaper. In it, he explained that despite how the media often portrayed Tony, he chose to remember him as he was before the events that led to that portrayal—a proud Greek-American, a loving brother, a family man, and someone who was compassionate and cared for animals.

Kiritsis anticipated trouble following his reckless act. As he explained to Heckman during the hostage situation, he felt he’d embarked on a path with no turning back – a dangerous course leading to inevitable consequences. He put it bluntly: “Once I started down this road, I knew it would lead to a bad end.”

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2026-01-10 01:07