On a summer day in August 2022, 22-year-old Adam Simjee and his girlfriend, Mikayla Paulus, were driving through the Talladega National Forest in eastern Alabama, near Cheaha State Park. The couple, both students at the University of Central Florida, were enjoying a final trip before the start of the school year when they were flagged down by a woman who appeared to be a stranded motorist. The woman, Yasmine Hider, claimed her car needed a jump-start, and Simjee, a kind-hearted man, pulled over to help.
Once they had stopped, Hider, armed with a gun, revealed her true intentions and attempted to rob the young couple, ordering them into the woods. In an act of self-defense, Simjee, who was legally carrying a concealed firearm, drew his own weapon. A gunfight ensued between Simjee and Hider. Both were hit by gunfire. Simjee sustained a fatal wound and died at the scene, despite Paulus's desperate attempts to save him by performing CPR. Hider was also wounded in the exchange.
As the tragic events unfolded, another woman, Krystal Diane Pinkins, who had been hiding in the woods, briefly emerged after Hider called out for help before fleeing the immediate area. Authorities were called to the scene and found Paulus with Simjee's body and the injured Hider nearby. Hider was taken to a hospital for treatment of her injuries. The investigation quickly led law enforcement to a makeshift camp in the forest where Hider and Pinkins had been living 'off the grid.'
At the encampment, police located and arrested Krystal Diane Pinkins. During her arrest, a shocking scene unfolded as Pinkins' five-year-old son emerged from the woods holding a loaded shotgun, which he put down without incident at the officers' command. Both Yasmine Hider and Krystal Pinkins were arrested and subsequently faced multiple charges, including murder, kidnapping, and robbery.
The two women were prosecuted in federal court. Yasmine Hider, who was 20 at the time of the incident, pleaded guilty to murder, kidnapping, and robbery. She agreed to testify against Pinkins as part of her plea agreement and was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Krystal Diane Pinkins, who was 36 at the time, was convicted by a jury of murder, robbery, and unlawful use of a firearm. She was sentenced to life in prison.
