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tonight on unsolved mysteries
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during the wildest days of the Wild West
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a stagecoach Massacre shocked the nation
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and led to the unwarranted persecution
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of hundreds of Native Americans today
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some researchers believe the real
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culprits were an army deserter and a
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beautiful madam we're looking to steal a
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fortune after six years in the minors
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tony Ameri Bella's baseball career was
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going nowhere fast then tony was
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stricken by a mysterious seizure in an
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acute case of amnesia which inexplicably
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made him a better ballplayer than ever
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Mesquite Nevada 1994 a casino payroll
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delivery an inexperienced driver on his
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first bank run a perfect setup for a
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heist police believe it may have been an
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inside job that no one is above
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suspicion but even the victims in
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Webster Texas 58 year old woman was
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gunned down in a dark deserted parking
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lot now her daughter is locked in a
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heated dispute with a man she believes
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as a prime suspect
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join me for these intriguing cases and
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more perhaps you may be able to help
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solve a mystery
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[Music]
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this much is known John Jeffries died
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alone and scared in a suburban parking
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lot the killer shot Joe twice in the
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head at close range
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[Music]
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her card coasted on his horse again the
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killer fired points both slugs pierced
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Jones heart no one has been charged with
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a murder of 58 year old Joan Jeffries
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however her family's convinced they know
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exactly who killed her a former business
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partner named Sam Patel I think Sam
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Battelle had the motive I think he had
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the opportunity and I think the facts
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speak for themselves I did not kill Joan
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I had no reason to kill Jon I had no
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reason whatsoever Sam hey Joan
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just the person I want to see you how
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you doing oh good Joan Jeffries was a
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clerk at a Houston Texas aerospace firm
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Sam Patel was employed there as a
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software engineer far bigger plans
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talked about a new business I'm getting
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involved in it's a private airline
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shuttle between Houston and Vegas it
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would be called best aviation a
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specialized commuter airline for gambler
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investors but I think I'll need you for
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public relations probably what would I
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do
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well you can talk to clients you can
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talk to the airline's the casinos see
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you are mature you're experienced and I
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trust you you know when see him
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initially offered this position to my
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mother she was of course flattered and
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excited because the money was very good
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now this file I've set up for all course
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in April of 1994 Patel hired Joan parts
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time to help launch best aviation he
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also named her to the company's board of
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directors oh no Peter was married he and
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Joan often met at the home of Richie
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Jian but tells girlfriend at the time
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Sam had arranged marriage he had told me
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that he could not get a divorce and so
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we lived as boyfriend and girlfriend
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thank you you guys me anything
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thanks and Joan look what I got for you
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a brand new laptop for bookkeeping but
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don't told Joan that overseas investors
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would fund best aviation in the coming
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months meanwhile a top priority was
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obtaining life insurance on the
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company's keep people Joan herself was
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insured for a quarter of a million
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dollars the initial idea was presented
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from the investor group because they
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wanted assurances that if something
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happened to one of the key people in the
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organization that the company could
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function and that they would recover
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their investment I know where she does
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for a living and basically she's a
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secretary and I can't see that as a key
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point person it just didn't nothin
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sounded right about that so
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Sam Patel had agreed to pay Joan a
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monthly salary but between April and
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November of 1994 she received only one
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check it bounced
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Kelly Walker claims it by the beginning
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of November
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her mother had had enough on best
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aviation and sam patel when confronted
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he became defensive and offended and
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that scared her and it also proved to
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her that something is wrong just worn
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out now I understand like I said you're
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upset why don't you say Joe never
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approached me and said that she wanted
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to leave the business there was a time
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when she said hey look this isn't
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working out and I don't like it she did
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come up and say that and and the
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compromise we had come up with was fine
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you can continue to be part-time until
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you feel comfortable and we'll go out
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and get somebody else to work part time
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also okay
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by then Jones back wages totaled close
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to $4,000 Kelly says that two weeks
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after the confrontation Patel showed up
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at her mother's apartment late at night
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and unannounced you'll never believe
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what he just did he brought the check
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you have it take it out and get it copy
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but she said that he had to go get this
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certified check xeroxed which was onto
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her and me Sam
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look Joan I I tried but I just going to
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find a Xerox machine and I don't have a
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car so I need to use your phone please
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well I Kelly's account Patel's behavior
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that night turned from merely awesome
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downright suspicious Kelly I've gotta go
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he was on foot that night call me right
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back told my mother he was doing
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computer time at a company ride around
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the block and his wife was bringing him
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a rent-a-car now a chunky Kelly says
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that Patel made no further mention of
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the check that we inexplicably presented
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Joan with some unusual gifts a door
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alarm and a taser gun what do I need
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something like this for Joan does for
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your prediction keep it no Sam I'm not
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comfortable outside waiting for penny
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and if she does not show up then I want
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you to give me a ride home no I can't do
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that I promised Kelly that I would call
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her right back will you call me I'll be
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outside when she told me that he
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mentioned getting into her car that I
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think was the the firmest I have ever
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been with my mother saying over and over
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absolutely not
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do not ever let him in your car so at
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the door according to Kelly Patel came
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to the door yet a third time
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Oh Kelly its Sam look Sam it's getting
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late
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go away I'll see you in San Bhutto's as
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Kelly Walker is flat-out wrong and I'll
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never met Joan like that I had been to
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her apartment on a couple occasions
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before but I never went took two weeks
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in the manner that Kelly had described
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to the police
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never ever
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in retrospect when I think about that
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night I truly believe it was a trial run
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and I think because I was on the phone
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and my mother continued to say Kelly
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it's same way I think it was I stopped
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it that night two weeks later after a
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business dinner with Sam Patel Joan
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Jeffries was murdered Kelly says that
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her mother was supposed to meet with
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both Patel and his wife penny Joan
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expected a check for back wages she
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intended to hand over the company files
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and sever her ties with best aviation
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[Music]
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she didn't sure because she had to work
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late I'm here I advised her not to go
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you can do this at work and she thought
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well it'll be okay
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it'll be in a public place Sam Patil
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insists that Joan had no plans to quit
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I asked Joan to meet with me and I told
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her we'll meet I can give you the check
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you can give me files we can arrange for
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our meeting with the investor group for
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you to be there and that was a purpose
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of the meeting it's all there great just
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what I need for the meeting
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guess what I have for you I've got you
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your chat is it good it will be in a few
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days see the maze beat the chuck was
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post dated to December 19 the day Patel
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said he expected the investors money to
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be in hand
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Sam Patel and Joan Jeffries left the
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restaurant around 10:00 p.m.
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Joan would never make it home
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[Music]
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well best I can tell a couple of shots
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to the head another couple to the chest
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by 9:00 a.m. detectives were beginning
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to piece together a scenario necklace
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Jones person keys were missing yet her
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golden diamond necklace was plainly in
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views Robert seemed an unlikely motive
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because of the multiple gunshot wounds
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to the body it would make you normally
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think that the person was angered or
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there was an overkill type situation
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which again would indicate that the
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offender is known to the victim
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or had a grudge or something of that
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nature I talked to the detective and I
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said well you know I know Joan and I was
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with her last night and he asked if I
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wouldn't mind coming in and I was you
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know I decided just go ahead and go in
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there was no reason for me not to talk
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to him could you account for your
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whereabouts right after leaving the
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restaurant what happened what we're
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actions yeah we walked out in the
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parking lot I spoke to her for 15-20
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minutes in the parking lot I walked to a
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car she went home and I went to my
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girlfriend's house now at any time were
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you in her car no sir I was never in the
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car are you sure about that yes I am
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positive that nobody
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card I was not in the car last night and
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the first interview that we had with
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Samba till he told us that he had not
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been in John Jeffries car later in a
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second interview he changed his story
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and said that he had in fact been in
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Jones car and that we would find
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evidence of such in in her car now can
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you account for your movements after
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leaving the restaurant yes when I went
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to my friend's house rode the bicycle
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for a few minutes
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you were the bicycle yeah Bron called
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the sack for a few minutes I guess your
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girlfriend I'll back you up on it she
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show again what's her name open your
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door and Sam was there with a shirt
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wrapped around his neck and I said you
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know what'd he do without your shirt on
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your you know it's cold out there you're
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gonna catch a cold and he said I've been
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riding my bicycle I was hot you know I
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hadn't hadn't ridden a bike undone any
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exercise in months and months and I know
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I thought was going into the house I
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took my shirt off and I had it over me
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and I was walking into the house and
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that shirt has never been found I think
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it's a very crucial piece of evidence
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because he would have had to reach
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across Joan to take the keys out and
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that shirt would have had a smear of
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blood all up the arm
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there's no bloodstains on it I have it
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in my closet and if whoever wants it if
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the Webster Police Department would send
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me a real nice note saying please could
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we have the shirt I would be glad to
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hand over the shirt to them
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investigators say their attempts to
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obtain the shirt have been unsuccessful
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however early on they did believe that
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other evidence could link but tell to
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the crime scene we got some followed
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here needs to be claimed for evidence
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subsequent analysis revealed the
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contents precisely what Sam Patel had
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consumed during his dinner with Joe it
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was lowly evidence but it promised to
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break the case wide open if DNA could be
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extracted from the specimen if the DNA
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matched Sam Patel's
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but in the end the lab failed to
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retrieve any DNA though the evidence is
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inconclusive Jones family has no doubts
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I think Sam is responsible for the
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murder of my mother because he had a key
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man life insurance policy out on her
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life for 250,000 dollars she was ending
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her business relationship with him that
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night so he needed to do it that night
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while she was still an employee Sam
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Patil continues to maintain his
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innocence he insists that his actions
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after Jones death prove Kelly's
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accusations are groundless the very next
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day after her death the board of
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directors all got together and we
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decided that we would take the entire
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proceeds from the insurance and a either
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give it to the family be donated to some
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local charity that would leave a lasting
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memorial for Joe or a combination of
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both next will a mysterious case of
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amnesia to help a young ball player make
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it to the major
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[Music]
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my soon as I got home when everybody
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start telling me this is your house and
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this is where you sleep this is your
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brother I can remember my brothers and
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sisters my grandfather lives in us I can
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remember him and kind of disturb me so I
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didn't feel real comfortable at my own
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house that's when I started getting
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scared last season 22 year old Tony
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Mirabella played third base for the
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Harrisburg Senators a double A team in
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the Montreal Expos farm system he bats
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left throws right and has good speed on
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the base pads he also has an
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extraordinary story to tell Tony
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marabella's a walking talking medical
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mystery two years ago his career was on
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the skids his dream of playing in the
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big leagues fading rapidly today all
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that has changed Tony may well become
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the first third baseman to make it to
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the majors thanks to a case of acute
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amnesia
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Tony broke into professional baseball in
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1989 when he was just 16 everyone said
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he was destined to be a star but by May
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of 1994 after an assortment of injuries
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it looked like Tony was going nowhere
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ironically the turning point in Tony's
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career came when he showed up at the
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ballpark with a headache
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I was taking batting practice one day
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and the harder my head would hurt the
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heart I would try to hit the ball cuz I
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was getting man and it was getting worse
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and worse
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and for me I thought I'm I just thought
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if I swing harder I was kind of get
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loose or something I don't know and I
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took my last one and then I just
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couldn't take it anymore just walked off
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to a batting cage it's starting to get
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dizzy
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the team knew Tony was in serious
00:17:35
trouble he was a guy who had always
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played through every injury hey Tony
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Tony Tony look here I kind of woke up
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and saw like a lot of people your eyes
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and they started asking me questions
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where do you live Tony it's gonna
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partner in the City Dock what were you
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doing when you fainted Tony do you
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remember what you were doing when you
00:18:02
fainted for me it was everything was
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like so fast with like asking the
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questions 100 miles an hour and I
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couldn't comprehend what was going on I
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didn't because I didn't know my name so
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I was kind of getting scary and there
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was one guy answering all my shitty
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practice he just kind of walked back to
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screen and just keeled over okay so wait
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until everybody left not to be rude or
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even finish tears I don't want to be
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really go but how are you come on to him
00:18:28
the trainer man sure sure and then he
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told me it maybe was the trainer for the
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ball team baseball player no no one
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Oh baseball player goes yeah look I
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liked under at night and my baseball
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uniform okay okay
00:18:45
but then either no phone as a second
00:18:46
baseman third baseman
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[Music]
00:18:49
a battery of tests failed to reveal any
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neurological reason for Tony's collapse
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It was as if a tiny invisible bomb that
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exploded inside Tony's brain
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obliterating only his memory memory of
00:19:08
who we are is the most basic memory that
00:19:11
we have when we separate you know as
00:19:14
infants from our mothers we have some
00:19:17
basic concept of ourselves and other
00:19:20
music syndromes that can produce loss of
00:19:23
memory usually don't involve loss of
00:19:26
memory of ourselves so that was what was
00:19:30
quite bizarre
00:19:32
Tony's doctors tried everything to jog
00:19:35
his memory
00:19:36
they hope pictures of his girlfriend
00:19:37
would spark a glint of recognition now I
00:19:42
look at the pictures and there was a
00:19:44
pretty girl in there so I go cool I
00:19:46
always with everything all right I got a
00:19:47
good-looking girlfriend but I couldn't
00:19:50
remember who she was I mean I don't know
00:19:51
I in the back it said Isabelle and I go
00:19:54
okay I guess her name is Isabelle but I
00:19:56
couldn't remember
00:20:01
my god I'm so worried about you
00:20:04
what Isabelle came to visit Tony
00:20:07
pretended to know her it was like a
00:20:11
brand new girlfriend's like a blind date
00:20:17
good car yeah the one you got me plan oh
00:20:21
yeah okay I remember so see I did that a
00:20:24
lot of daughters not that I lied to a
00:20:25
lot of people what I said I remembered
00:20:27
stuff had to go off the blank did ask me
00:20:29
questions I do you remember this one
00:20:30
this happened I'd answer yet just not to
00:20:33
have any more questions about it so
00:20:34
that's what I kind of did to her what no
00:20:39
physiological basis was found for Tony's
00:20:41
blackout in subsequent amnesia
00:20:43
he and his doctors began searching for
00:20:45
another cause
00:20:46
perhaps Tony's problems stem from the
00:20:49
stress and frustration of a failing
00:20:51
baseball career he's in a very
00:20:55
competitive situation trying to make it
00:20:57
as a pro player he apparently was not
00:20:59
getting much sleep he was away from home
00:21:02
he's a young guy that was sort of
00:21:04
isolated and it's possible that things
00:21:07
that have came crashing down on him and
00:21:08
literally he collapsed after a three
00:21:13
months layoff Tony returned to the ball
00:21:15
field it was a best possible therapy
00:21:17
being around his old teammate suddenly
00:21:20
began to trigger his memories right
00:21:24
before I hit the homerun up a name and
00:21:26
when we signed that bra almost did
00:21:27
completely it kind of juice I just
00:21:32
jumped a guy's oh yeah I remember one
00:21:33
just happened and without knowing to
00:21:36
what I just and then I realize it hey
00:21:38
remember that and I remembered the whole
00:21:40
thing it was a beginning of what would
00:21:45
become a complete recovery
00:21:47
incredibly Tony soon found that his bout
00:21:50
with amnesia at one miraculous
00:21:52
side-effect
00:21:53
he was now playing the best ball of his
00:21:56
life
00:21:59
baseball was so fun I mean I would run
00:22:02
hard play dive everywhere just play like
00:22:04
a little kid when the game was over I'd
00:22:07
go home won't even think about it
00:22:09
because for me it was fun
00:22:10
and that's when my game got better and
00:22:13
it just kept getting better and better
00:22:14
customer my outlook on baseball and life
00:22:17
in general was just so much better than
00:22:19
a lizard for while there was still no
00:22:23
scientific explanation for Tony's and
00:22:25
neither its effect upon his play as
00:22:27
indisputable a career 250 hitter Tony
00:22:31
began batting at a mere 400 clip upon
00:22:34
his return coming up a 19th century
00:22:49
stagecoach attack has prompted a
00:22:51
contemporary debate who was responsible
00:22:54
in the Wickenburg massacre but first
00:22:58
authorities need your help to track down
00:23:00
the key suspect in a brazen payroll
00:23:02
robbery
00:23:04
[Music]
00:23:15
I didn't think that he was gonna leave
00:23:18
any witnesses
00:23:19
I really didn't and he had the perfect
00:23:21
opportunity to kill us and leave us this
00:23:24
man we will call jim says he was a
00:23:27
victim of an armed robbery in 1994 the
00:23:30
FBI however has a different take they
00:23:33
consider Jim a suspect
00:23:38
for the past six years Jim has worked as
00:23:40
a security guard at the Virgin River
00:23:42
Casino in Mesquite Nevada on Thursday
00:23:48
August 25th 1994 Jim and the assistant
00:23:51
cage manager picked up the payroll at
00:23:53
the local bank then headed back to the
00:23:56
casino how's the baby doing he's doing
00:23:59
good
00:24:00
he's sleeping through the night I only
00:24:02
had two bad nights so far
00:24:07
don't make any sudden weight shot don't
00:24:09
say nothing about doing a minute you
00:24:11
make any moves and I'm gonna kill this
00:24:12
girl next to you oh come to shut up
00:24:15
don't turn around or I'll kill you I
00:24:17
sick I looked looking back to the risen
00:24:21
mirror to see you know what was going on
00:24:23
back there and I couldn't see a whole
00:24:25
lot but he didn't know that I looked
00:24:28
back there and he said if I did that
00:24:29
again he was gonna he was gonna blow her
00:24:31
brains out right then with your left
00:24:34
hand
00:24:35
take your gun out and throw it on the
00:24:37
ground take your walkie-talkie and throw
00:24:40
it on the ground - don't turn around the
00:24:44
robber ordered Jim off the main road and
00:24:46
directed him to a deserted area outside
00:24:49
town but you know what's gonna happen
00:24:52
he's got the motive he's got everything
00:24:54
he's holding all the cards you're just
00:24:58
waiting to catch a bullet and you can
00:25:00
feel it you're just waiting to
00:25:03
but the gunman drove off leaving both
00:25:06
eyewitnesses unharmed he got away with
00:25:08
two hundred and twenty thousand dollars
00:25:10
in unmarked $100 bills from the start
00:25:16
the FBI and local police believe the
00:25:18
robbery was most likely an inside job
00:25:21
the gunman was either very lucky or
00:25:23
someone tipped him off every one of the
00:25:26
casino became a suspect not surprisingly
00:25:29
Jim and the assistant cage manager at
00:25:31
the top of the list investigators soon
00:25:36
discovered that the day of the robbery
00:25:37
was marked by a series of eight typical
00:25:40
circumstances first the cage manager and
00:25:44
the security chief ordinarily handled
00:25:46
the bank runs were gone
00:25:48
second the assistant cage manager
00:25:51
decided to make the bank run two hours
00:25:53
early third Jim had never before been
00:25:56
assigned payroll duty finally the casino
00:26:02
hospitality van driven to the bank was
00:26:04
not commonly used for payroll runs so
00:26:08
the question came up how was the robber
00:26:10
gonna be so sure that this was gonna be
00:26:12
the day that that van was gonna make
00:26:14
that run too much coincidence too many
00:26:18
times too many things fell into place
00:26:20
too many things happen right in this
00:26:22
thing somebody in my opinion gave him
00:26:26
some information we still had
00:26:28
inconsistencies with both of the
00:26:31
accounts of the teller and the security
00:26:35
officer things that just didn't make
00:26:38
sense he even asked me at one time why
00:26:40
didn't you slam on the brakes on the
00:26:42
vehicle it's it's a big ban you know
00:26:45
they don't lock up like I do in the
00:26:47
movies you don't click your radio on
00:26:49
like they do in the movies and
00:26:51
everything goes smooth an everybody
00:26:52
hears where you're at and what's going
00:26:53
on don't talk there was no way to reach
00:26:57
over let's make that mic without him
00:26:58
know about it every time he saw me
00:27:01
trying to get a description everyone he
00:27:03
would tell me that he was gonna kill us
00:27:04
why did that again
00:27:06
we'll take that chance an hour after the
00:27:11
robbery police located the van abandoned
00:27:14
about a mile south of the spot where the
00:27:16
gunman at dunk gym and the assistant
00:27:18
cage manager Jim's gun and radio were
00:27:21
missing police took plaster casts of
00:27:24
footprints and tire prints that
00:27:26
indicated the robber had walked from the
00:27:28
van to another vehicle and driven away
00:27:32
despite a thorough investigation the
00:27:35
authorities could not let casino
00:27:36
insiders to the robbery the case stalled
00:27:39
then the police got lucky about a month
00:27:43
and a half after the crime the mesquite
00:27:46
police were following a simple domestic
00:27:50
dispute call in Mesquite Nevada there
00:27:55
was a gun involved in the in the dispute
00:27:58
and it turned out that that gun was in
00:28:01
fact the security officers weapon that
00:28:04
was stolen during the robbery the man in
00:28:08
the domestic dispute was ruled out as a
00:28:09
robbery suspect the FBI turned to the
00:28:12
man who had sold him the gun Louisa Choa
00:28:15
the owner of a local pizza parlor
00:28:19
it was nervous and defensive from the
00:28:21
very beginning mr. Ochoa would it be
00:28:23
okay if we go inside and have a talk
00:28:25
there actually it's okay we could talk
00:28:28
out here he didn't want us to come in
00:28:30
the pizza shop we found that a little
00:28:33
bit.i he immediately set our alerts off
00:28:38
that he didn't want us to be there and
00:28:40
he really didn't want to talk to us I
00:28:42
didn't sell anybody any gun I don't know
00:28:44
nothing about any guns I wasn't nothing
00:28:46
about the robbery
00:28:48
shoving the pizza business guys I'm not
00:28:50
in the gun business that was probably a
00:28:53
great stroke of luck for us that he kept
00:28:55
us outside because we were standing by
00:28:57
the pickup truck we're here doing our
00:28:59
investigation during the month and a
00:29:01
half after this robbery I sat and I
00:29:04
looked at this plaster casting of a tire
00:29:06
print until my eyes were gonna fall out
00:29:11
I knew what the tire print looked like I
00:29:14
looked down at the tires on his truck
00:29:17
and they matched the FBI obtained search
00:29:24
warrants in Ochoa's house they found
00:29:26
$5,000 and hundred-dollar bills tucked
00:29:29
in the toe of a cowboy boot you know
00:29:34
chores truck they found a bullet the
00:29:36
same kind used in Jim's gun as the
00:29:40
searches were going on mr. Ochoa was in
00:29:43
fact with an attorney and they were
00:29:45
making arrangements to come and meet
00:29:47
with myself to discuss mr. Otto's
00:29:53
involvement in the case and possibly his
00:29:56
accomplices things were starting to
00:29:58
unravel very quickly for him and I think
00:30:00
at that point Luis decided it was time
00:30:03
to get out of Dodge his attorney got
00:30:06
word to us that mr. Toa had left his
00:30:09
office on a break and had never returned
00:30:13
he was unaware of his whereabouts and
00:30:16
from that point on we don't know where
00:30:18
he is
00:30:20
[Music]
00:30:28
[Music]
00:30:46
on a quiet highway 60 miles from Phoenix
00:30:49
Arizona stairs a small often overlooked
00:30:52
Monument memorializing the victims of a
00:30:55
tragic incident from the long ago days
00:30:57
of the Wild West
00:30:59
[Music]
00:31:07
[Applause]
00:31:12
[Music]
00:31:19
in all six men lay dead one had been
00:31:23
scalped another had been dispatched with
00:31:25
a lance through his chest the atrocity
00:31:28
would come to be known as the Wickenburg
00:31:30
massacre miraculously two people did
00:31:34
survive though injured William Krueger
00:31:37
and Mollie Shepard lived to tell what
00:31:39
would become the official account of the
00:31:41
massacre but a Krugerrand Shepard tell
00:31:46
the true story Krueger blamed the attack
00:31:49
on the Apaches the government retaliated
00:31:51
and as a result scores of innocent
00:31:54
Native Americans died but there is
00:31:56
evidence to suggest that Krueger and
00:31:58
Shepard were in fact notorious outlaws
00:32:00
who orchestrated the attack hoping to
00:32:03
pocket a fortune today many believed
00:32:05
Krueger and Shepard caused a great
00:32:07
injustice to be committed and injustice
00:32:09
demands to be righted November 5th 1871
00:32:16
dawned peacefully giving no indication
00:32:19
in what was to come
00:32:20
when William Kruger and Molly Sheppard
00:32:23
climbed aboard the stage in Wickenburg
00:32:24
that morning they seemed an unlikely
00:32:26
pair to change the course of history
00:32:29
molly was a well-known prostitute in
00:32:31
matter would recently sold her bordello
00:32:34
Kruger was a two-time army deserter but
00:32:37
somehow managed to hire own as a
00:32:39
civilian clerk for the military
00:32:42
William triggers a wonderful character
00:32:44
just kind of a floater and a gambler and
00:32:47
to all he didn't have any holdings he
00:32:50
didn't own anything and was apparently
00:32:53
traveling with Molly from what I know of
00:32:57
the story is that it was done by Indians
00:33:00
fewer than 20 and they set up an ambush
00:33:03
and just shot the heck out of things and
00:33:06
the two that got away he got away
00:33:08
because the Indians were on foot they
00:33:10
didn't have horses so they were unable
00:33:12
to chase him down well so this is how it
00:33:15
happened we got into Wickenburg this
00:33:17
morning
00:33:18
we switch teams of horses to get fresh
00:33:20
horses the day after the attack on Molly
00:33:22
lay nursing her who wants Kruger was
00:33:24
questioned by Captain Charles mynhardt
00:33:26
who had been assigned to investigate the
00:33:28
incident we started out and I think it
00:33:31
might have been about nine or ten
00:33:32
o'clock but don't quote me exactly on
00:33:34
that we started out and everything was
00:33:36
just fine I mean it was a nice trip and
00:33:38
and everybody was happy and in fact
00:33:39
everything up to here was fine it was a
00:33:41
very pleasant trip and then sir I
00:33:46
believe it was about 11 a.m. or so that
00:33:48
I heard the driver yell Apaches Apaches
00:33:50
and the next thing I know he's Indian
00:33:52
firing on us and they got mr. lorring
00:33:56
you know that the famous officer he was
00:33:58
up top they got him in the driver sir to
00:34:01
be honest they didn't even have a chance
00:34:02
up there and then they wounded mr.
00:34:05
Sammon spell just like the fish you know
00:34:06
and he got out the back of the coach and
00:34:09
he went running the other way and these
00:34:10
Indians they they swooped down on him
00:34:12
sir they swooped down them and they
00:34:14
scalped him so they they scalped him
00:34:15
there it was horrible sorry nice honor
00:34:17
and I fired back out and I got a couple
00:34:20
but that just left me and mr. Hamill you
00:34:22
know in the coach itself and and and we
00:34:25
did everything we could but there just
00:34:27
wasn't nothing left that we could do and
00:34:29
how was it that you and Miss Shepard
00:34:31
were able to escape sir that was only
00:34:34
about the grace of God I mean Paul Molly
00:34:36
she was wounded so badly she couldn't
00:34:37
even really run and mr. Hamill and I you
00:34:40
know we were fighting and he was hit so
00:34:42
bad that you couldn't go anywhere and I
00:34:43
knew our only chance
00:34:45
all only champion let's make a run for
00:34:49
Molly now we got out the other side and
00:34:52
we just took off running in the opposite
00:34:53
direction sir until we finally got away
00:34:55
you say the attackers were Apache
00:34:58
are you sure that absolutely sir if we
00:35:01
put only about 20 or 30 yards on them I
00:35:03
mean they had on them blue cavalry pants
00:35:05
you like like you got on you know the
00:35:06
time they give them on the reservation
00:35:08
you know the kind of exactly how many
00:35:10
attackers were there well sir I counted
00:35:12
at least 15 but you know there might
00:35:14
have been more 15 yes sir maybe more
00:35:18
Thank You mr. Kruger for your
00:35:20
cooperation thank you sir lieutenant
00:35:22
tell the men will ride at sunup I want
00:35:24
to get a look at this site myself
00:35:40
by the time mine hope reached the site
00:35:43
the bodies of the victims have been
00:35:44
returned to Wickenburg for burial mine
00:35:47
hold uncovered several signs it
00:35:49
indicated the Native Americans had been
00:35:51
present a mine hole was a military
00:35:55
person and looked at it today I guess
00:35:57
like military wood and he really
00:35:59
carefully he studied the footprints the
00:36:02
the moccasin prints which they were
00:36:04
wearing moccasins and that most of the
00:36:07
moccasin that most of them were towed in
00:36:09
which is typical of the way the Native
00:36:11
Americans walk the tracks led toward the
00:36:14
camp date Creek reservation 25 miles
00:36:17
away the reservation is home to 750
00:36:20
members of the Yavapai tribe but
00:36:23
curiously several miles before the
00:36:25
tracks reach camp they Creek they veered
00:36:27
off in a different direction this to me
00:36:31
would indicate possibly a non Native
00:36:33
American group that is heading towards
00:36:36
camp date Creek to make it look like the
00:36:38
perpetrators are heading back to the
00:36:39
military reservation the Yavapai were
00:36:43
often misidentified as Apaches were a
00:36:46
largely peaceful people many worked as
00:36:49
laborers and Scouts for the settlers to
00:36:51
those who knew them it seemed
00:36:53
inconceivable that the Yavapai would
00:36:55
have attacked the stagecoach it was it
00:36:58
was impossible it would have been the
00:37:00
most bizarre Indian Massacre Native
00:37:03
American mascar than ever occurred there
00:37:06
were only six occasions throughout the
00:37:09
entire western frontier when American
00:37:11
Indians actually Native Americans
00:37:14
attacked stagecoach if this was a Native
00:37:16
American attacked we would find that the
00:37:19
livestock certainly would have been
00:37:21
missing we would have found that the
00:37:22
ammunition and the weapons certainly
00:37:25
would have been missing and we would
00:37:27
also found that any blankets would have
00:37:30
been taken but in this particular case
00:37:32
none of it was touched whatsoever but
00:37:35
the most baffling discrepancy centered
00:37:37
on several bags of mail that had been
00:37:39
loaded onto the stage at Wickenburg
00:37:41
after the attack most of the letters in
00:37:44
the bags were found intact and
00:37:45
undisturbed however a number of letters
00:37:48
addressed to the army quartermaster had
00:37:50
been open and the contents carefully
00:37:52
reinserted your the mail going through
00:37:56
the mail this is something that an
00:37:57
Indian Indian or Native American would
00:37:59
not do is go through the mail this
00:38:02
certainly won't to me would indicate
00:38:04
that it was a non non Indian attack but
00:38:08
if it wasn't the Yavapai who was it
00:38:10
in those days gold bullion was often
00:38:13
transported by stage according to at
00:38:15
least one account Mexican bandits
00:38:18
disguises Apaches were responsible
00:38:20
others point to another more intriguing
00:38:23
possibility Kruger and Shepard
00:38:26
masterminded the entire thing it had to
00:38:29
be them if it was bandits Mexican
00:38:32
bandits or typical highwayman why did
00:38:36
they let Krueger and Sheppard get away
00:38:37
so these Indians they're slithering up
00:38:40
on us like like vipers coming back to
00:38:42
the nest
00:38:42
Kruger's account of his escape seemed
00:38:44
hard to believe especially given the
00:38:47
condition of his gun
00:38:49
Kruger's gun supposedly hadn't even been
00:38:52
fired he probably had another gun or he
00:38:56
had switched guns with one of those was
00:38:59
killed which is why he ended up with a
00:39:01
gun that hadn't been fired Jeff Hammond
00:39:04
believes that Krueger and Sheppard hired
00:39:06
the bandits to assist in the heist
00:39:09
Krueger probably fired first to begin
00:39:12
with inside the coach the attackers
00:39:14
shooting on the outside would have been
00:39:16
easy to wipe out anybody inside the
00:39:18
stagecoach they would have expected
00:39:19
somebody inside the coach to start
00:39:21
shooting
00:39:22
I think they either meant to wound
00:39:26
Shepard to make it look like an actual
00:39:28
attack I mean Krueger himself has a very
00:39:30
slight wound Mollie had a more serious
00:39:32
wound but she may have been willing to
00:39:36
do it on purpose depending on how much
00:39:38
money they were getting or somebody
00:39:40
simply got carried away when they were
00:39:41
attacking a stage and accidentally hit
00:39:43
her in his report captain mine hold
00:39:47
acknowledged rumors that quote the
00:39:49
scheme was intended to rob the male of
00:39:51
the bullion generally ship on or shortly
00:39:53
after the first of every month but mine
00:39:56
Holt made no mention of a gold shipment
00:39:58
on the ill-fated stagecoach there had to
00:40:02
be something worthwhile whatever it was
00:40:05
it was something that was privately
00:40:07
owned that was the reason it wasn't
00:40:09
officially reported the person that
00:40:12
owned the money that was taken was dead
00:40:14
was nobody left to be upset about it
00:40:17
Jeff Hammond believes that Kruger hid
00:40:20
the loot somewhere near the massacre
00:40:22
site where only he and Molly could find
00:40:24
it Kruger had expected to walk out there
00:40:28
a few days later and dig it up he
00:40:31
couldn't he had no idea that this was
00:40:35
caused national attention to it he knew
00:40:37
there was nothing he can do if he
00:40:38
anybody found him out there outside a
00:40:40
Wickenburg to get in the ground he would
00:40:42
he ended up on the other side of a rope
00:40:43
I mean everybody suspected him anyway
00:40:45
but they couldn't prove it if there was
00:40:49
a treasure it seems unlikely that
00:40:51
William Kruger and Molly Shepard ever
00:40:53
recovered molly dropped from sight soon
00:40:56
after the incident and there were rumors
00:40:58
that she had died of her wounds Kruger
00:41:00
was last heard from 13 years later when
00:41:03
he sued the government for money he
00:41:04
claimed to have lost in the attack the
00:41:09
Wickenburg massacre caused a national
00:41:10
outrage within 18 months of the attack
00:41:13
the Yavapai were driven out of camp date
00:41:15
Creek by a government bent on
00:41:17
retaliation eventually hunters of
00:41:20
innocent men women and children would
00:41:22
die from starvation and disease we may
00:41:25
never know who was responsible for the
00:41:26
Wickenburg massacre but there was one
00:41:28
undeniable fact the list of victims
00:41:31
stretches far beyond the six men who
00:41:34
were gunned down on that
00:41:35
tragic fall morning more than a century
00:41:37
ago join me next time for another
00:41:49
fascinating edition unsolved mysteries
00:41:53
[Music]
00:42:30
[Music]
