Tony Kiritsis

Anthony George Kiritsis (August 13, 1932 – January 28, 2005) was an American kidnapper. Kiritsis was a resident of Indianapolis, Indiana, US, who had obtained a piece of land for commercial development with a mortgage from Meridian Mortgage but fell behind in making payments. His mortgage broker, Richard O. Hall, refused to allow Kiritsis additional time for payment, so in February 1977, Kiritsis held Hall hostage at gun point demanding "justice", in an event that was widely followed by the local and national media.

Early life Kiritsis was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on August 13, 1932, the fourth of five children in the family of Greek immigrants George and Magdelina Kiritsis.

Background to the crime In 1968, Kiritsis was arrested and charged with assault with intent to murder; the case was dismissed. Later, after an altercation with his brother Tom, he fired two gun shots; charges in that case were also dismissed. A sheriff's detective told the press, "[Kiritsis] is a very hot-tempered individual, who, when he gets mad, does just about anything he wants to."

Aftermath At the time of the trial, Indiana law (and that of some other states) required the prosecution to disprove a defendant's claim of insanity, that is, to prove the defendant sane, beyond a reasonable doubt. Directly as a result of the Kiritsis trial—particularly the testimony of chief defense psychiatrist Larry M. Davis—and the trial of John Hinckley Jr., Indiana and other states substantially revised their law to place the burden of proof for insanity-pleading on the defendant.

John H. Blair, a freelance photographer for UPI, took a photograph of the incident that won him the 1978 Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography. Footage of the incident was included in the 1982 documentary The Killing of America as one of many examples of gun violence in the United States.

A feature-length documentary about the hostage incident called Dead Man's Line was released in 2018.

A dramatization of the hostage incident starring Jon Hamm as Fred Heckman was released as an 8-episode podcast called American Hostage in 2022. The television series adaptation of the podcast will be released by MGM+ on September 20, 2026, with Hamm reprising his role as Heckman. Kiritsis was played by Giovanni Ribisi in the series.

A 2025 film adaptation directed by Gus Van Sant, titled Dead Man's Wire, based on the Kiritsis documentary Dead Man's Line, featured Bill Skarsgård and Dacre Montgomery.