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48 Hours, we take [music] you there. We planned a life together [music] forever. Pat and Elizabeth were high
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school sweethearts. We very much [music] wanted to be married. >> They had two children, Chad and Chris.
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It's a devoted husband and certainly devoted father. >> Their lives seemed picture perfect until
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dad suddenly vanished. >> The last thing I remember is waiting for [music] him to come home at night. Then
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they found his suicide note. >> Please tell the boys I will watch over them from heaven. His family was sure he
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was dead. >> If he was alive, he would never be able to leave my brother and I behind.
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>> Now, after 15 [music] hard years on their own, My first thought was could this possibly be true? A stunning
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discovery. She called me and said, >> [music] >> "Elizabeth, sit down." >> Rush Mitchell and Harold Dow
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investigate. >> I think Pat may be alive. Dad's double life. >> [music] >> You're leading a perfectly normal life
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with a good job and a wonderful family. And things seem to be going along just fine. But then
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>> [music] >> comes a problem. It hangs on. You can't solve it. Truth is, after a while, you
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can't even face it. >> [music] >> Then one day, suddenly and with no warning, you vanish.
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What if someone you thought you knew well, someone you depend on, someone you love, just disappears? That is precisely
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what happened to a devoted husband and father who became desperate for a way out.
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Leaving those closest to him to wonder what really happened. Rush Mitchell begins to unravel the
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mystery of a dad's double life, a life that was once picture perfect. The spirit of the times was um you
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[music] know long blonde hair and beach boy music and the future is all yours to
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take and everything good is going to happen. In 1964, Elizabeth Shank, a 16-year-old
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schoolgirl, began dating a boy who would change her life forever, Patrick Hennessey Welsh. Pat was [music] the
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kind of person that would be characterized by anyone as a really [music] good catch. And so
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Elizabeth Shank became Elizabeth Welsh. Elizabeth, whose nickname is Peachy, and
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Pat had two sons. They are >> Ted the kind of sons and Chris that a mother would pray for, let alone be
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proud of. Tell me about those early days of your marriage. How would you describe them? Well
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at my characterization would be they were very very happy. >> And by all appearances the Welshes were
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happy. >> I would have to characterize him too as a as a devoted husband and certainly a
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devoted father. I mean he was close with those boys. >> But after a few years of marriage there
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were money problems. >> I was totally blindsided by it. Problems which Pat had kept secret from Peachy.
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We had been on a vacation and he was very distraught and it was hard to get him to stand still to tell me
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what the problem was. The problem was Pat had stolen $23,000 from Ohio State University. That was out
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of the blue. Where he worked as a fundraiser. And out of character as far as I was concerned and as far as
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everyone that knew Pat Welsh was concerned. He was the fair-haired boy. In 1980, Welsh was convicted of
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embezzlement, sentenced to 30 days in jail and ordered to pay restitution. It had been difficult to try to explain to
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the boys. They had to to understand that their dad had done something that wasn't right and he was making that
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better. For over two years, Pat did try to make things better. >> In a wedding anniversary card that he
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gave me, slipped a note which said "Things will be better. We'll be Pat and Tishy again. Just relax and trust me."
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And I believed that. >> Until January 21st, 1983. >> We had made um an agreement to uh meet up at my
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father's house that evening for dinner. Um Pat owed my father some money and he was going to repay it that night.
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>> But during dinner, Pat called from his office to say he wasn't going to make it.
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>> And if it was all right um with my father, he would repay him the money the next day.
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And that I should go ahead and go home. >> The last thing I remember is waiting for
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him to come home at night and watching the snowfall and just waiting for his car. But Pat Welsh never
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came back. >> I imagine that he probably ended up in a wreck or he was uh doing something, you know. Ted
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Welsh, was only 10 years old. He was going to be right back. >> He didn't appear
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on Friday night and Saturday morning and Sunday. Everybody had always told me that
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he has to be dead. Chris Welsh, 23, was only seven. >> If he was alive, he would never
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be able to leave my brother and I behind. >> Elizabeth, can you tell me what your
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reaction was when you got this letter? >> Oh. 15 years ago? I was devastated. Five
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days after Pat disappeared >> horrible. Elizabeth received a letter. >> I know you don't believe this now, but
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what you needed was freedom from my shadow, from my past and disgrace. The only way to give you that is through
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my death. Overwhelmed with debt and humiliated by his past crime >> I wish I could kiss you goodbye. Pat
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Welsh told his wife of 14 years >> Please have my body cremated and not buried. >> that he had gone to San Francisco to
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commit suicide. >> Please tell the boys I will watch over them from heaven. That I love them very
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much. And have the greatest hope for them. It was bad enough that Pat suddenly was
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gone, but then to receive this >> And despite an exhaustive search by the FBI, local police, and the Welsh family,
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Pat's body was never found. With two young sons and a mortgage, Pat had left Elizabeth with few options. She didn't
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sleep. She didn't eat. >> Clare Bailey is Elizabeth's sister. The anxiety that I saw in my sister's eyes,
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the fear that I saw in their little boys' eyes, the unnecessary and unjust guilt that my sister carried
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with her thinking that there's something that she should have done to keep this from happening is probably one of the
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hardest things for me to deal with. >> A wash in Pat's bad debts. >> I found out that he hadn't been paying
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bills for a long time. >> And with only $250 in a savings account >> I could not afford the house.
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>> Elizabeth had to move her sons into this apartment. I had to give away their dog
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because I couldn't afford to keep the dog. >> And 5 years later, Pat was declared
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dead. >> If it would just have been me, um I don't know where I would be today. I really don't. But because of Ted and
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Chris, I had I had no choice. I mean, there was nowhere to go but on. And that's exactly what
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Elizabeth Welsh did. >> She worked her way up really fast. Today, she is president of the Chamber
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of Commerce in Licking County, Ohio. >> She had to excel and she had to push herself in that envelope to be
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everything that she could be so that life would go on for her and for the boys. >> But 15 years after Elizabeth first read
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Pat's suicide note, a shocking revelation arrived in the mail. >> opened the envelope and pulled out the
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form and read it. And stood there in the middle of my living room and read it again.
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My first thought was could this possibly be true? When we come back I think Pat may be alive.
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I was the one who had to provide the explanations for what was happening. >> Five years after Pat Welsh disappeared
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without a trace. >> As far as you were concerned, there was no reason for you to think that he was
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still alive. >> Elizabeth divorced her husband and had him declared dead. >> Doesn't seem like a lot to have when you
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think you're closing the chapter on someone's life, does it? >> She was then able to collect a small
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amount of life insurance. I couldn't replace a father in their lives so easily. And
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some social security survivor benefits for her sons. But I could try to make a life for them that meant something.
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Little did she know those benefits would later provide the first clue to 15 years
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of lies and deception. My first thought was could this possibly be true? Elizabeth received a shocking letter in
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the mail. Boys survivor benefits partial survivor benefits that they had they had received
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um would have to be paid back within 30 days because the number holder was alive.
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Actually, the terminology was not deceased. According to the government, Pat Welsh was still alive. I was
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thinking wait now wait, Elizabeth. And they were demanding back their $56,000. Basically, I called Social Security and
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said, you know, what are you guys trying to do here? >> Shelly Testa was an aide to Elizabeth's
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congressman at the time, John Kasich. >> I mean, we did what we could. How could you not?
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>> With Shelly's help I called a friend I have at the FBI. >> Elizabeth was starting to grasp a
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difficult reality. She called me and said, "Elizabeth, sit down." Someone named Tim Kingsbury
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And I said, "Well, Sally, I'm sitting." >> who fit Pat Walsh's description And she
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said, "I think this could be your husband." >> was using his social security number.
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And you're thinking what? Timothy Kingsbury, who's this? In the winter of 1983, Patrick Welsh left his name and his past
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behind and pulled into Galveston, Texas on a bus with just a few dollars in his pocket.
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Residents say Galveston is a friendly and forgiving city, just the kind of place you might go if you wanted to
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reinvent your life. He was just a tenant at my mom's house here and he worked for my mom at
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Shlosky's restaurant. >> Kevin Doherty was just a teenager when a stranger named Tim Kingsbury moved into
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his mother's boarding house. >> What did you think of Tim? Nicest guy I remember in my life. Kingsbury told
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Doherty and others that he was a student here at the Galveston branch of the University of Texas Medical School.
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>> Would it surprise you to know that we checked with the folks at the medical school and they said he was never
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enrolled there? Very much so cuz I know his books were all there and he always seemed to be
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studying very diligently. It was the first of many deceptions as Tim Kingsbury slowly established himself in
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Galveston society. In his early years, he developed a reputation as a local character, writing for a small
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newspaper. He wrote about learning to scuba dive, to sail, and running a marathon complete with photos of
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himself. Responding to a feature on Galveston's eligible bachelors, the man who had
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abandoned his wife and two sons wrote, "Quote, can you imagine my surprise to find out I was not mentioned?"
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For a man on the run, Kingsbury didn't act like a man with much to hide. Six months after his arrival, he was
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hired as a part-time publicist for the prestigious Galveston Historical Foundation, referred to as GHF.
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He was eventually appointed president. This is a recording of his acceptance speech.
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>> GAHF is where I learned and grew professionally. It's through GAHF that I fell in love in every sense of the word.
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While working at the foundation, he met Anne Anderson, a woman from a prominent Galveston family. He moved into her
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waterfront home, where they lived together for 10 years. Kingsbury eventually made his way into
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the inner circle of Galveston society, known as BOI, Born on the Island. >> was a standout in helping the community
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and helping people. He became close with Anne's brother, Vandy. >> Another beautiful sunrise on Galveston
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Island this morning. >> Part owner of the local radio station. >> Vandy Anderson reporting KGBC News.
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>> Kingsbury later worked for him as general manager and reporter. >> was Tim Kingsbury's office. Uh, he's
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done what I think a radio station manager should do, and that is to get involved in the community. These are
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various civic groups that he worked on and just some symbols of their appreciation for what he'd done.
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Kingsbury made other close friends, all prominent Galvestonians. The passion that he poured into getting the schools
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improved in our community, you know, matched my own, and I had little children. >> Sheila Lidstone works for the local
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school district. >> come in with a lot of flash and and I'm going to be in charge. He just gradually
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built his way into our hearts. Dr. Brent Meisel says Kingsbury was his best friend.
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>> I only know Tim Kingsbury. Don't know Patrick Welch. Gerald Sullivan, a businessman and cattle rancher.
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>> put my hand on a Bible and swear that I know of nothing bad about Tim Kingsbury.
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But even his friends had some suspicions along the way. >> I wondered when we were having the
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school bond election, what would make a young man with no children who's not married get so involved?
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>> He never really talked about his family, and I thought obviously something very
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onerous had happened in his life that was so horrible that there was no way he could discuss it. And again, I was one
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of his closest friends. But they didn't ask, and Kingsbury didn't tell. >> In Texas, there's an old saying, you
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don't ask a man how many cattle he has. If he wants you to know, he'll tell you.
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For 13 years, he lived in Galveston, a pillar of the community. Then one day, late in the winter of
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1996, everything started to unravel. >> We had a citizen who came to us Mike Guarino, Galveston County District
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Attorney. >> He had seen certain things at the radio station in the office of Tim Kingsbury
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uh that looked funny. A co-worker had come across forgeries. >> Some partially filled out social
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security cards, a birth certificate or two. Now, just after you had seized those fraudulent documents, did you have
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suspicions about him? Did Certainly. Did you think that maybe he wasn't Tim Kingsbury?
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>> Oh, absolutely. At that point, Kingsbury confessed everything to the DA and to
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his friends. >> It's devastating to hear that someone that you talked to just about every day
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has a whole 'nother life that you didn't know about. It It's It's an incredible feeling. And maybe just as incredible,
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no one seemed to hold it against him. >> blame Patrick Welsh. I don't know Patrick Welsh. We know Tim Kingsbury.
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>> We're not talking about a rapist, a mugger, a murderer. He wasn't that awful a person. I don't think that I've been
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deceived. I have many emotions, but being deceived is not one of them. >> What about Patrick Welsh's wife and
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children? I'm only in a position to judge what he's done here, and that's been remarkable.
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>> They should have had those 15 years, they'll say. And they're right. I mean, they
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they missed out. Kids missed out, family, community. I guess I really don't blame his wife or
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for being angry. Gerald Sullivan's wife, Suzanne. >> has suffered. I mean, he's had his own
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hell. These 15 years. Well, why are you so willing to forgive? I I I guess that's
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the question. You all here in this room are willing to forgive him for the deception.
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>> He didn't hurt us. How did he hurt us? I mean, all he ever did here was good.
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There's no reason not to forgive him. Would you accept him back here? In a heartbeat. In a heartbeat.
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>> No question about it. >> He faked his own death. To his wife and his children for 15
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years. They thought he was dead. To do that kind of thing, to to leave every single thing you ever ever had behind,
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everybody you knew behind, and get on a bus penniless and just ride to the end of the line is an act either of
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incredible cowardice or incredible bravery born out of desperation. Which do you think it was?
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I think it was bravery born out of desperation. Kingsbury pleaded guilty to forgery and
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got 4 years probation along with a $2,000 fine. But word of his false identity never got
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out into the community, never made the newspapers, never made the local news. >> it is out of respect for Tim
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that people didn't gossip and didn't talk. People in the courthouse knew, people in the probation office knew.
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Lots of people knew. But they saw no need to rub Tim's nose in the dirt. And Patrick Walsh was
00:16:55
allowed to continue his life in Galveston as Tim Kingsbury. But because of the forgery conviction,
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he had to use his old Social Security number, triggering a chain of events in Ohio that would ultimately lead to his
00:17:09
arrest. >> you have anything to say before you leave Galveston? And the model citizen
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left Galveston in handcuffs. Come out up. It's too simple [music] to say, "Why did you do it?" Patrick Welsh
00:17:24
faces his family I had questions for him. for the first time in 15 years. It really is like someone coming back from
00:17:33
the dead. >> And Elizabeth seeks justice. >> [music] >> I don't have a sense of anger in this,
00:17:51
but I do have a very strong sense of justice. Mr. Welsh, why did you fake your own death?
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>> I know that if this were any other person >> Mr. Welsh, is it really good to be back?
00:18:00
than Patrick Welsh. You glad to see maybe getting this thing behind you? charming, articulate, handsome man. Do
00:18:07
you have anything to say to your ex-wife and your two sons who haven't seen you in the last 15 years?
00:18:12
>> that person already would have been behind bars. When Elizabeth Welsh discovered her ex-husband was alive and
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well, she had a difficult decision to make. How far was I willing to make another exception for Pat?
00:18:23
>> It's too simple to say, "Why did you do it?" And can I turn to my sons and say,
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"You were disposable people?" I wanted to know who I was. It's okay because look at all the good he's done in
00:18:36
Galveston. I had questions for him. This is wrong. >> Where did he go wrong? For the sake of
00:18:41
her children Where could I go right? >> Elizabeth pursued the man who had faked his own death and abandoned them 15
00:18:48
years earlier. I sent him an email to the attention of Tim Kingsbury. I know. Call me. When that didn't work Did you
00:18:55
hear back from him? No. She went to Galveston without Pat knowing. What did you see? A very comfortable
00:19:02
lifestyle, a very visible person with a Ford Explorer and a convertible in the driveway of his waterfront home.
00:19:09
Certainly had a better style of life than he had provided for Ted and Chris. She came
00:19:14
home from from her Galveston trip and said, "You know what?" Elizabeth's sister, Claire.
00:19:20
>> While the boys and I ate macaroni and cheese, Pat's been drinking margaritas.
00:19:24
Did that make you angry? It amazed me. It absolutely amazed me. Elizabeth felt she had no choice but to call the
00:19:32
authorities and have him brought back to Ohio. It really is like someone coming back from the dead and bringing
00:19:39
mystery with them. All right. >> On January 31st, 1998. This is the state of Ohio versus Patrick
00:19:47
Kennesy Walsh. Almost 15 years to the day he left his home and family. >> A motion was filed for a reduction in
00:19:54
bond. Patrick Walsh was arrested and charged with insurance fraud and non-support of his two sons.
00:20:01
>> This is not a situation where people have been harmed or anybody has been killed or
00:20:06
>> His defense attorney, Sam Weiner, is trying to get his $300,000 bond reduced.
00:20:11
>> This man is really no threat to society and certainly no threat to leave the jurisdiction.
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>> So he can be released to his girlfriend, Ann Anderson, and wait out his trial
00:20:20
back in Galveston. >> Mr. Beck, when he asked to be released from bond, what he's saying is trust me.
00:20:25
Bob Beck is the Licking County District Attorney. I understand this is not a murder case, but I do take strong
00:20:30
exception to Mr. Weiner's characterization of this case as one without victims. There are, in fact,
00:20:36
real victims in this case who have suffered real harm. The motion for reduction in bond is denied. Clear the
00:20:42
hallway, please. When this whole thing's over, I may never see him again. I will never
00:20:47
know that until it's over. So even though you see him now in shackles and in prison gear,
00:20:54
at least you get to see him. It's great. I have a father for this brief moment. With Pat Walsh sitting in jail, I'm not
00:21:01
angry. I'm not nervous. unable to run from his problems this time. I'm here to see what he has in in terms
00:21:07
of plans for his future. Elizabeth and her sons finally had a chance to confront him face-to-face for the first
00:21:14
time in 15 years. Not our future, but his future as it still affects something that for him became a liability and for
00:21:22
me became the greatest assets, our kids. What do you think he wants? Out. Out of jail? Out of jail.
00:21:36
30 minutes later. Well, that was different. He said right off the top he was sorry.
00:21:43
I didn't believe him. Just like pressing charges, I had to press him to think about the reality of what he's
00:21:51
facing now and that he can't just fantasize about returning to Galveston. What was it like the moment you walked
00:21:57
into that jail and saw him? And it was a lot like looking into a mirror. We mimicked each other almost.
00:22:05
He said, "I love you." I said, "Take care of yourself. I'm going to go hide." I brought up the boys. It was clearly
00:22:10
painful for him. I expressed to him that he really needs to show some sort of admission
00:22:17
to his to his family, to to my mother, to my brother, and and to me that he has indeed
00:22:25
done us wrong. >> When he told you that he loved you, did you believe him? I don't know. I wanted to, but I don't
00:22:33
I don't know if I can trust him. More important than words are the actions. He can say he's sorry, but he has to
00:22:42
show me he's sorry. And he is yet to do that. Pat Welsh pleads no contest to eight felony and four misdemeanor counts
00:22:50
of fraud and non-support. >> You saw me swear an So, he not only needs his family's forgiveness. Mr.
00:22:55
Welsh, do you agree with the facts as has been stated by the prosecutor? Yes, your honor. He's also at the mercy of
00:23:01
the court. Are you entering a plea or changing your plea freely and voluntarily knowing what your rights
00:23:06
are? Yes, your honor. Coming up. You have no conscience. Your acts were cowardly and they were
00:23:12
criminal. Judgement day for Patrick Welsh. >> And for that [music] you will be punished. But first You'd have to lift
00:23:19
up a low rock in a wet place to find anybody as sorry as he is. The tide turns in
00:23:24
Galveston. How did Patrick Welsh, a father who disappeared, manage to outrun his past
00:23:47
for so long? Maybe it's because some of the people who got to know him in his new life,
00:23:53
alias Tim Kingsbury, simply wanted to believe the best about people. Or maybe they just didn't want to know the worst.
00:24:01
However it happened, now after 15 years a dad's double life is finally catching up with him. Here again is Harold Dow in
00:24:10
Galveston where they are changing their tune. While Patrick Welsh sits in an Ohio
00:24:16
jail, back in Galveston the tide of public support has begun to turn against him. I think he's probably one of the
00:24:23
great con men of all times. >> A.R. Schwartz is known to everyone here as Babe. >> Bezzler's con men, forgers, liars,
00:24:31
cheats, and thieves ought to do hard time when they're caught. As majority owner of the local radio
00:24:37
station at AM 1540 Schwartz hired Patrick Welsh, alias Tim Kingsbury, as general manager. In his application he
00:24:44
said he was single. Said he had no children. And he gave his name and he gave a fictitious social security number.
00:24:50
Schwartz, a former state senator, admits he's one of many people in Galveston who
00:24:55
got duped by Welsh. >> He conned me pretty good and I don't like it. I don't like being conned. I
00:25:00
don't like being that stupid. >> And Schwartz says the Galveston County District Attorney, Mike Guarino, was
00:25:06
also conned. >> I have written the District Attorney and I've told him he got conned, too. Even
00:25:10
though Guarino charged Welsh with forgery and knew that this well-known public figure was living a lie, he never
00:25:17
announced that accusation publicly. >> This man goes before the court, goes before the District Attorney. How come
00:25:22
nobody in the community knows about this? >> I don't know. If it'd been some kid that
00:25:26
jerked four hubcaps off a car, it'd have been in the newspaper. Some people thought the District Attorney
00:25:31
should have called a press conference, should have had his picture plastered out there for the entire community to
00:25:36
see. What's your response to that? The District Attorney is not a publicist or the town crier, so to speak. He's the
00:25:41
prosecutor and he's got to prosecute the case. >> Which Guarino says he did, right by the
00:25:46
book. >> We really didn't handle it any differently than we would than we would have handled, you know,
00:25:51
a a forgery case of this nature. >> He admits he knew about Welsh's abandoned family in Ohio. Did you know
00:25:57
he was married with children? >> Yes, we did know because he told us he had walked away from a family. We had no
00:26:01
current information on them or their whereabouts. But, at the court hearing to determine Welsh's sentence,
00:26:07
Guarino never informed the judge about Elizabeth and their two sons. Judge Carmona, the District Judge, got conned.
00:26:15
Never in his lifetime would he have given Patrick Welsh probation had he known that Patrick Welsh abandoned his
00:26:21
wife and children. District Court Judge Frank Carmona confirmed to 48 Hours that
00:26:27
he was not told about Welsh's family. Guarino says he never brought it up because it was not a legal issue
00:26:34
relevant to the forgery case. >> Did you feel it was your responsibility to try to seek out and locate the wife,
00:26:40
the children of Patrick Welsh? No, at the time we did not. We did not think about it. We had notified all the
00:26:45
agencies that we thought were proper, including the Ohio side of the equation. We thought they would seek them out, but
00:26:51
we really didn't think about it. Hindsight is 20/20. Uh I'd probably do it today.
00:26:55
>> He's not admitted publicly that he was conned like the rest of us, but he should.
00:27:01
But Schwartz is far more upset at his partner, Vandy Anderson, co-owner of the radio station and brother of Kingsbury's
00:27:09
girlfriend. >> I put it all on his back because he knew every bit of it. But Vandy was on the
00:27:13
air. >> Vandy was on the air every day. >> Schwartz believes Anderson had an obligation as a news reporter to inform
00:27:19
the public. >> Vandy Anderson should have come out here and said, "Tim Kingsbury has been
00:27:23
convicted of his second felony at the courthouse today." >> You think he should have went on the air
00:27:26
and said that? >> Absolutely. If he goes on the air and gives the news, that's news.
00:27:30
>> Because of that, Schwartz fired Anderson as news broadcaster. According to Babe,
00:27:35
this man known as Tim Kingsbury conned you, conned your sister, conned everybody.
00:27:40
>> Sure. >> Do you feel like you've been conned? No. Not at all. Anderson's sister, Ann,
00:27:45
remains loyal to him as well. She supports him 100%. I think they'll be together the rest of their lives.
00:27:50
>> think he conned your sister? No, I think we all knew that there was a past and we just didn't want to know
00:27:56
what it was. >> Ann Anderson declined our request for an interview. If this guy had conned my
00:28:02
sister, my first inclination would be to beat the hell out of him. What we know him as is a good person.
00:28:08
Uh if he did something years ago that was bad, he's made up for that. I think in his own life. I hope so. And that's
00:28:14
how we know him. But as the story unfolds, others in Galveston aren't so forgiving. The guy belongs in orange
00:28:21
jumpsuit. I guarantee you, 2 years in the general prison population will make a brand new man out of him. Doug
00:28:27
McCloud, chairman of Moody Gardens, a top tourist attraction, worked with Kingsbury in various civic groups.
00:28:34
>> This [music] guy was in fact nicknamed The Amazing Tim. That's understandable
00:28:37
now because he gained this trust. [music] Everyone felt like this guy was most trustworthy person in the world.
00:28:43
>> McCloud believes the people of Galveston are wiser from the whole experience. If
00:28:49
a new person came to town tomorrow and [music] donated a lot of time to community efforts, do you think you'd
00:28:54
still check him out? I think I think I know the answer to that. Just ahead. Elizabeth Welsh wishes to
00:29:04
make a statement. Thank you, Your Honor. The public confrontation. Every Father's
00:29:09
Day for the past 15 years was stolen from the lives of your sons. What will be the punishment for Patrick
00:29:17
Welsh's deception? >> [music] >> Are you telling me you're not [music] angry at this man?
00:29:29
>> I'm not angry with this man. >> Not even a little bit? I don't believe so. >> It's been 7 months since Patrick Welsh
00:29:35
was brought back from the dead. >> He has chosen his course and I have chosen mine. And today I feel that I
00:29:42
have done the right thing for my son. Judgment day for the charges of non-support and insurance fraud. Pat
00:29:49
maintains that he believes he [music] did the right thing when he deserted us. All right. Besides
00:29:54
facing his punishment >> This is State of Ohio versus Patrick Kennessey Welsh. Pat Welsh must also
00:29:59
face his family, including his own father. Elizabeth Welsh comes to court with a
00:30:05
new look and new determination that what she did was right. Today's date is May 21, 1998. We're here today for the
00:30:12
purposes of sentence. I've made it clear from the beginning that I believe a term
00:30:16
in prison is appropriate in this case. Seems to me this is this man's third felony conviction.
00:30:23
For that fact alone, he ought to go to prison. Welsh has pleaded no contest. >> This court finds that the defendant is
00:30:29
guilty as charged. >> And will be sentenced by Judge Gregory Frost. Come in now to the matter of
00:30:33
sentence. But first The court has been informed that Elizabeth Welsh wishes to make a statement and also Christopher, I
00:30:40
believe, wishes to make a statement. Ms. Welsh? Thank you, Your Honor. Pat, you started
00:30:46
on this sad journey by stealing money from Ohio State University, from your father, and from mine. You
00:30:52
took our love, you took our trust, you took our innocence, our home, and any hope we had for a normal life.
00:31:01
Every trip to Colorado, every South Padre Island vacation, every Christmas, every Easter, every 4th of July,
00:31:09
every Father's Day for the past 15 years was stolen from the lives of your sons.
00:31:15
Instead of being a father that they can respect and emulate, you are a 50-year-old kept man. And what was I to
00:31:21
make of your last letters to me? Do you remember what you wrote? "You are my light and my deepest love.
00:31:30
You know how much I treasure life, I treasure you and your future more. You know how much you are a part of me, so I
00:31:37
hope you know that a part of me will live on. Know that there was no one on Earth
00:31:42
that I cherished more." But you did cherish someone more, Pat. And that person was you. I'm sorry for
00:31:49
you, Pat. Christopher, do you wish to make a statement? Yes. Come forward. How can you turn your back
00:31:56
on a family that loves you? How can you in one breath say you love somebody and then
00:32:01
turn your back and run? How for 15 years can you never call your sons and say hello?
00:32:07
How can you look me in the eye right now? I hope you think about this and maybe give me some sort of reply.
00:32:14
Finally, Mr. Welsh, is there anything you wish to say before the court pronounces sentence in this matter? Yes,
00:32:19
Your Honor. You may proceed. Ted and Chris, I love you deeply. I really do. The great sadness of my life is that
00:32:28
because of what I've done, you may never know how much I love you or how much I missed you. Peachy, I'm
00:32:35
I'm You did a wonderful job with the boys. I'm sorry for what I've done. And I'm ready to continue my punishment.
00:32:43
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Welsh. And finally, with Elizabeth, Chris, and Pat's father,
00:32:49
Richard, watching. You have no conscience. Your acts were cowardly, and they were
00:32:55
criminal. His sentence. And for that, you will be punished. You therefore have a total sentence to be served of 4 years
00:33:03
at the Orient Correctional Receiving Center. There is restitution to be made, and you will pay every penny of that. 4
00:33:10
years of prison, and over $92,000 in fines. Is this ever going to be over for you?
00:33:17
It doesn't come to closure, exactly, but this part of it does. The hurtful [music] part of it that involved
00:33:26
deception, betrayal, hardship, is done. It's done. Now, [music] it gets settled. The debts
00:33:33
get paid. Next. >> I know I did bad things. I know I did terrible things. Pat Welsh [music] tells
00:33:39
his side of the story. I need to explain that I never stopped being a loving father.
00:33:51
I know I did bad [music] things. I know I did terrible things. But I tried once and for all to make something
00:33:59
positive of my life in Galveston. >> Patrick Welsh has never spoken publicly about his disappearance. I need to
00:34:05
explain that I never stopped being a loving father. >> Until now. I did this thing to make life
00:34:11
better for my boys without having to live under the shadow of this criminal who was Pat Welsh.
00:34:16
>> We've seen pictures of you with the boys, and you look so happy. You look like the the model dad. What
00:34:22
happens to a guy? How do you go from that to doing what you did? It I mean, it was very uh
00:34:28
very vivid in my mind when it happened. I I had had told Elizabeth that I was going to pay her father back money that
00:34:35
I didn't have. That was January 21st, 1983, the day Pat Welsh disappeared. >> I thought there was some way I could get
00:34:44
that money, and when I couldn't get that money, uh I knew that what was going to ensue
00:34:50
was just just the disintegration of of everything. And I said, "This is it. This is the moment that I
00:34:58
have to just go kill myself." Did you really intend to kill yourself? Absolutely. Absolutely. I I I went to
00:35:04
the edge of the pier. I was a bad person to myself. I thought they would eventually be happy to have been rid of
00:35:11
that bad person. In the end, I couldn't face that. That In the last second, you can't say
00:35:17
you're sorry for killing yourself. The person that I just saw on those tapes was
00:35:23
acting. 48 Hours showed Pat's interview. >> I did a bad thing. >> To Elizabeth and her sons.
00:35:29
>> My interpretation was that he was acting the part of someone who was supposed to
00:35:33
be contrite, who dearly loved his sons and was really trying to do the right thing by them. How did you come up with
00:35:40
the name Tim Kingsbury? Looked in a newspaper for someone who was born about that time. Really? Just looked in the
00:35:46
newspaper, saw this name, said that sounds good. Yeah. Why Texas? Far away. I'd never known anyone from Ohio who'd
00:35:59
ever gone to Texas. Couldn't afford to go to the East Coast or to California. Um
00:36:07
Texas. You say you did this for your family. What did you think was going to happen
00:36:12
to them? How did you think they were going to get by? I knew that my family had the resources
00:36:18
to take care of the boys. I knew that Elizabeth was beautiful and talented, and someone else would come
00:36:24
into her life and and become a new father for the boys. But that's not how things worked out.
00:36:29
>> I'm lucky that I had a lot of books to read and but and I had Chris and my mom and Aunt
00:36:37
Claire and around and he we did we never did find another dad. Did you like being
00:36:42
a husband and father? Oh, sure. Sure, that was um It was absolutely wonderful. Trust,
00:36:50
there's no trust there whatsoever. I mean I cannot trust this man. At all. I I do not trust anything he says. In
00:37:00
those 15 years, how often did you think about the boys? >> Every day. Every day? Every day. Every
00:37:06
day. Why not just pick up the phone and call? Hi, just wanted you to know I'm alive. I'm here. I did this for this
00:37:15
reason, that reason, whatever, but I'm here. It was bothering you so much, why couldn't you do that? I thought about
00:37:21
picking up the phone and calling them. That's That's those are the times when you would say the the price I'm paying
00:37:27
is not knowing and I'm going to pay that price today. >> Let me just make sure I understand this.
00:37:32
You but you thought you were punishing yourself by not picking up the phone and calling them.
00:37:36
>> Exactly. I mean it's It certainly wouldn't have brought them any joy. You know what they told me when
00:37:42
I first met them? I was so happy. Okay. I had a dad. Oh, good. My father is still alive.
00:37:48
So maybe if you picked up the phone it wouldn't have been as bad as you thought. Thanks for telling me that. I
00:37:53
keep thinking that how can he say these things and keep a straight face? Would you like
00:37:58
to have a relationship with Ted and Chris? Absolutely. I want it desperately. I know I don't deserve it.
00:38:04
I know it's on their terms. But when that day comes, I hope it does come. When that day comes, I hope it's
00:38:10
pure and simple that when they see me, they're glad. But since Pat Walsh's sentencing, Ted and Chris say their
00:38:16
father has not contacted them. >> He's obviously erased my brother and I from his lives. What do you owe boys?
00:38:23
What do you think you owe the boys? A game of catch. >> [snorts] >> A game of catch. You can't even say he's
00:38:31
a father. That's There's nothing behind those words. Despite his 4-year sentence, I'll pay my debt. Had Walsh is
00:38:38
likely to be released in a few months, and I'll make a contribution to this world, and plans on returning
00:38:45
to Galveston. As Tim or as Pat? As Pat. I mean, there's there's no charade anymore. It's
00:38:52
It's my name. I got to tell you Elizabeth has been very gracious when it comes to to you.
00:38:59
She's a better person than I am. She really is. I don't know why I would expect anything else.
00:39:12
>> [music] [music] [music] [music]