Presumably at this point, you've seen all of the film.
Hearst reported the second body because he found the second body. He was knew the girl, and perhaps arranged to meet her, which is how he came across the body -- but he had to concoct the 'phantom dog' story to explain how he came to be there.
The real turning point for Hearst in the film is when he comes to believe that his wife's 'green monster' of jealousy made her kill the children. "I can't believe she would go to these lengths -- to make this kind of point." He's shocked at the murder she would do, and that she would frame him ("farcical!") And at that point, convinced that she's guilty, and for love of his wife, he confesses to the murders.
A brilliant film and a brilliant character portrayal by Hackman.
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jgain
18 years ago
Did you watch the film? His wife didn't kill the girls. Some random third party who we are never introduced to killed the girls. They found pictures of the dead girls in his car when he was pulled over.
Henry reported the second body to the police, because he DID discover the body and it happened just as he said. In fact, his story about meeting up with the dog was true.
He confessed because of the enormous pressure and constant suggestions that he was put under. Notice that everything he said in his "confession" was something that Morgan Freeman had told him earlier...
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sockscats-1
18 years ago
Yeah i think it is fairly certain that hearst did not commit either murder.
The film demonstrates how a guy who was not guilty can still have his life ruined at least in part by over zealous law enforcement. There were some unusual coincidences and things that made him seem like he could be guilty but in the end we have to conclude he was not.
He loved young women not girls. He never did anything wrong with his niece so he was suffering for that. He was shattered because his wife a woman he loved deeply was willing to believe he could murder children.
It's a rich movie with great dialogue and superb acting. Henry hearst is a character with flaws but he didn't deserve that..
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phummers
18 years ago
"Did you watch the film? His wife didn't kill the girls. Some random third party who we are never introduced to killed the girls."
He _thought_ at this point that she killed the girls, just as she thought _he_ killed them.
P Hummers covers the scene on the OBX of NC at
http://phummers.typepad.com/obxonstage
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codebreaker2001
18 years ago
Actually, he thought that she thought that he killed them. Never did he thought that she did it (if he did, he would have mentioned it or had one of his visualizations of it, like how he visualized it like everyone else, like the whole "I fell asleep on a park bench" bit and how Victor walked him through how he did it with the "there was no dog, Henry..." bit).
But this one's eatting my popcorn!
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