Yasmine Marie Hider, Murder, Alabama 2023

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A gruesome crime in the Talladega National Forest has led to a 35-year prison sentence for one of the perpetrators.

Yasmine Marie Hider, 21, of Edmond, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 35 years in prison for murder, kidnapping, and robbery committed in the Talladega National Forest.

Hider pleaded guilty to the crimes in October 2023 and cooperated with the prosecution, testifying against her co-defendant, Krystal Diane Pinkins.

Pinkins, 37, of Memphis, Tennessee, was convicted of murder, robbery, and unlawful use of a firearm during a crime of violence in September 2023 and received a life sentence.

According to court documents, on August 14, 2022, two college students from Florida were driving to Cheaha State Park in Clay County, Alabama, to hike to the waterfalls when they were flagged down by Hider to help ‘jump start’ Pinkins’s car, which was broken down. Hider robbed the young couple and shot the male as he attempted to defend himself and his girlfriend.

Officers found Hider with four gunshot wounds several feet away from where the murder occurred. Pinkins provided the firearm and assisted in the planning of the robbery, watching from the woods as the robbery and murder took place. Pinkins was found six hours later at a secluded campsite.

The FBI and the Forest Service Law Enforcement Investigations – U.S. Department of Agriculture investigated the cases, with assistance from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, Alabama State Park Rangers, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, St. Clair Correctional Facility K9 Tracking Team, District Attorney of the 40th Judicial Circuit of the State of Alabama, Clay County Sheriff’s Office, Cleburne County Sheriff’s Office, Lineville Police Department, Ashland Police Department, Clay County Rescue Squad, Shinbone Valley Volunteer Fire Department, Tri-County Children’s Advocacy Center, and Jacksonville State University Center for Applied Forensics.

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