00:00:06
On September 17th, 1966,
00:00:09
Diane Kiddell met a boyfriend for a
00:00:12
drink at a local nightspot.
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After leaving the bar, she disappeared.
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Officials weren't sure whether she ran
00:00:21
away from the responsibilities facing a
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single mother with four young children
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or perhaps had been the victim of foul
00:00:29
play.
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That question was answered 27 years
00:00:34
later when her daughter came forward
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with a fantastic tale of something she
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saw when she was 5 years old.
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[Music]
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In 1956,
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21-year-old Diane Kiddell went to work
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in her father's grocery store in Peoria,
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Illinois.
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She needed the money since she was
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recently divorced and was raising her
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2-year-old daughter Susie. And it was in
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that store one day where she met a
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bachelor from town, Gene Kiddell.
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Gene wasn't the best-looking guy in the
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world, but he is a good talker. He's a
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very good talker and he was able to woo
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her. The couple dated for a year, fell
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in love, and eventually married.
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They moved to Phoenix, Arizona where
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Gene found work in the growing
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construction industry.
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Together, Gene and Diane had three more
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children, Greg, Kelly, and Lori.
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My siblings and I were really close,
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yeah.
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It was a lot of great childhood
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memories. Over time, Diane and Gene
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decided that it was best for all
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concerned if they divorced.
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On September 17th, the couple met for
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dinner at a nearby restaurant to discuss
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the final details of the property
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settlement and visitation.
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By all accounts, the meeting went well.
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Afterwards, Diane dropped Gene off at
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his apartment.
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From there, Diane drove to the Amber Inn
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where she met Bob Marlin, a man she had
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been casually dating since her
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separation.
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A few hours later, Gene Kiddell called
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Diane at the house and when the children
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said she still wasn't home, he went over
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to babysit and fell asleep on the sofa.
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The next morning, Gene said he found his
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wife's car in the driveway, but there
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was no sign of her. Gene called the
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police department and reported her
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missing.
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I know she arrived home. Her car was
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there. Her purse was in the house. Her
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keys were in the house on the table in
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the kitchen. Diane did not take any
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clothes with her that we learned of and
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there was no reason for her to run away.
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There was no no motive there.
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Missing persons investigators couldn't
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understand why Diane would have left
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town without her children.
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Her neighbors, her mother, and her
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brother all indicated that Mrs. Kiddell
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would never leave her children for any
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length of time. They described her as an
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excellent mother.
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Very concerned about her children.
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When police went to interview Bob
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Marlin, the man Diane was with at the
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bar, they were told an incredible piece
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of news.
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Bob Marlin suffered a heart attack and
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died the day after his date with Diane.
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Whatever Marlin might have known about
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Diane's disappearance
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went with him to his grave.
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[Music]
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Two days after Diane Kiddell's
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mysterious disappearance, Gene Kiddell
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moved back into the family home to look
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after the four children.
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My father's explanation to not only his
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children, but to neighbors and anybody
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that that would inquire about my
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mother's
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sudden disappearance was that my mother
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had run off with with a boyfriend.
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Gene provided police with a list of men
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he said Diane had been dating since the
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separation, but they all were dead ends.
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Over time, the Kiddell children adjusted
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to life without their mother. Although
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they all hoped that someday she would
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return.
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[Music]
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But 4 months later, tragedy struck once
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again. Around 9:00 at night, while Gene
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was at a nearby laundromat,
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a fire broke out in the Kiddell's home.
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The blaze quickly engulfed the entire
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house and the four children were trapped
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in their bedrooms.
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[Music]
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Susie, the oldest, led the others around
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the flames.
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[Music]
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But Lori ran back into her bedroom for
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her Winnie the Pooh stuffed animal.
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I fell on the floor. I was burned. I was
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crying. I wanted my mother.
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And my older sister Susie came in. The
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house was ablaze around us and so she
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laid on top of me.
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She said that they're coming for us now,
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Lori. They'll help us.
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Uh she said I love you.
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And she said I'll never ever leave you.
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[Music]
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And at that point we died and she held
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me.
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[Music]
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Susie gave her life protecting Lori from
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the flames. Although Lori suffered
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third-degree burns over 50% of her body.
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I was
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continually loved by my sister
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as she held me and died protecting me.
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The trauma,
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the nightmares, the horror of it,
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that doesn't go away.
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I just tried to overcome that with
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knowing that I was loved, that I was
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valuable enough
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to die for.
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What can you say? I mean, when you see
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that, it takes your breath away. I mean,
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you you you realize that that person
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made the ultimate sacrifice.
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8-year-old Kelly also died in the fire.
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9-year-old Greg survived.
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Gene Kiddell arrived at the scene just
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as firemen were pulling the children
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from the blaze.
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Investigators found a melted pot on the
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stovetop burner.
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The knob was in the on position.
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As a result, the fire was ruled
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accidental.
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After spending 4 months in a hospital
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burn unit, Lori went back to live in the
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family home her father had rebuilt after
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the fire.
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But 1 year later, there was an incident
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that helped Lori realize the terrible
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truth of what happened to her mother.
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It happened when Lori and her father
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went to a friend's funeral. His name was
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Michael, a boy from the neighborhood who
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was killed in the Vietnam War.
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Daddy, when is he going to wake up? He's
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not. He's dead. They're going to bury
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him today.
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Wake him up!
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Wake him up! And I began to cry and I
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threw a very large distraction, a very
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large fit
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trying to make people understand that we
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needed to wake Michael up, that I wasn't
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going to permit them to bury Michael in
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the ground. I was the only
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living
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person that now knew the
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But it took another 27 years for Lori to
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reveal the deep, dark family secret she
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had been harboring.
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[Music]
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In 1993,
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after Diane Kiddell had been missing for
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27 years, her only surviving daughter
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Lori walked into the Phoenix Police
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Department with a written statement. It
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described a terrible secret she had been
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too afraid to reveal.
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To whom it may concern, I need to convey
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to authorities what I witnessed as a
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child. First, I must greatly impress the
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fear I have of my father's violent
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retaliation.
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I was often told when I was a child by
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my father, I brought you into this
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world, I can take you out.
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The letter went on to say that as a
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5-year-old child, Lori saw her father
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beat her mother to death
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and then bury her in the backyard.
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At first, Lori thought her mother was
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sleeping as hibernating animals do. She
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said she once asked her father if she
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could dig a hole in the backyard to feed
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her mother.
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As a 5-year-old, I thought my mother was
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sleeping. I thought that my father made
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my mother go to sleep.
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And I thought he buried my sleeping
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mother in the hole in the backyard.
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I wasn't confused on where she was.
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I wasn't confused on who did it. I was
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confused between sleeping and death.
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She's only sleeping. Only after she went
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to her friend's funeral did she realize
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that her mother would never wake up.
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[Music]
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Detective Ed Reynolds at first wasn't
00:10:09
sure what to think. I've been lied to by
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some pretty good liars and I've been
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fooled by a lot of people and when that
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happens you tell yourself, well, I'm not
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going to let that happen again. I'm not
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going to fall hook, line, and sinker for
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every story that comes down the pipe.
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And in this case though, she did seem
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very believable, very truthful, very
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sincere in what she said, but I still
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I wanted more than just a story. I I
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wanted
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proof.
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Lori said that her father poured a
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concrete patio over her mother's grave
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the day after he buried her.
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The home had long since been sold by her
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father, who was now remarried and living
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across town.
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Reynolds was hesitant to ask the new
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owners for permission to dig up their
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concrete patio without more evidence
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than a 27-year recollection.
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I became very frustrated.
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I became angry.
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I thought that possibly the officials
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didn't believe me.
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I was terrified that my father would
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find out that I had confessed.
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Reynolds looked all over the country for
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the technology that could look
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underneath the concrete patio without
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damaging it.
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The search took almost a year and led to
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a non-profit agency in Colorado called
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NecroSearch,
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which brings applied sciences to law
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enforcement.
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In this case, NecroSearch recommended a
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ground penetrating radar system.
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To take a look within the ground and to
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see if it's disturbed. That's what we do
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in geophysics.
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Just because we find a disturbance could
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be could be caused by many things.
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The proof and the substantiation is
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going to have to be a careful
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excavation.
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When the radar was pulled across the
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cement decking, it revealed a ground
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disturbance 6 ft long by 2 ft wide in
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the corner of the patio.
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The very spot on the concrete where Lori
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Romaneck had taken me to earlier when we
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had walked through the backyard, where
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she suspected
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the body of her mother was buried.
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When police removed the concrete,
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they had to dig only 10 in
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before making a grisly discovery.
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A piece of human skull.
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Within hours, they uncovered the rest of
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the remains in the shallow 2-ft grave.
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They also discovered a bra and a girdle.
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Around the skeleton's neck were women's
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stockings.
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Lori Romaneck was not at all surprised.
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No, I I don't need any medical
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detectives to prove to me that that's my
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mother.
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There was no identification on the
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remains and bacteria in the shallow
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grave eliminated the possibility of DNA
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testing.
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Even the teeth were too badly damaged by
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bacteria to analyze the tooth pulp,
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usually a rich, protected source of DNA.
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So, detectives had to use other means to
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identify the skeleton.
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The first clue was a tree root from a
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neighbor's mulberry tree that had grown
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through the skull. The root was sent to
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Dr. Thomas Harlan, a dendrochronologist
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at the University of Arizona.
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By studying the age of the tree root and
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the manner in which it penetrated the
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skull, Harlan was convinced that the
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body was placed in the ground before the
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tree root.
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Since the root was 15 years old, the
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body was placed in the grave before
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1978.
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This will tell us the age of the tree
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root growing over the body means that
00:14:02
the body had to be there before the tree
00:14:04
root was there.
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Otherwise, it would have been cut,
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disturbed, would not have gone across.
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Um,
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this gives a minimum age for the body to
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be in that position.
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Forensic anthropologist Dr. Laura
00:14:19
Fulginiti analyzed the skeletal remains
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and determined it was a Caucasian woman
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between 5 ft 4 and 5 ft 5 in in height.
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The pelvic bones indicated that the
00:14:32
woman had given birth to at least two
00:14:34
children and was between 20 and 40 years
00:14:37
of age. All were consistent with Diane
00:14:40
Kyddell.
00:14:42
Dental X-rays are commonly used for
00:14:45
identification. Unfortunately, Diane
00:14:48
Kyddell's dentist was no longer in
00:14:50
practice and her dental X-rays had been
00:14:52
destroyed.
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As a last-ditch effort to identify the
00:14:56
remains, Dr. Fulginiti decided to try a
00:15:00
technique called skull photograph
00:15:02
superimposition.
00:15:04
What you basically are doing is taking a
00:15:06
picture of the person in life and
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superimposing it onto the skull of the
00:15:12
person that you think it might have
00:15:13
been.
00:15:14
Dr. Fulginiti photographed the skull in
00:15:17
the same position and size as the
00:15:19
photograph of Diane Kyddell taken
00:15:22
shortly before she disappeared.
00:15:25
A canine tooth that was slightly ajar.
00:15:27
It's it just stuck out slightly from her
00:15:30
mouth. We were able to line that tooth
00:15:32
up with the tooth in the photograph. I
00:15:34
have no questions. I'm sure that it's
00:15:36
her.
00:15:37
Police immediately arrested 61-year-old
00:15:41
Gene Kyddell and charged him with
00:15:44
murder.
00:15:46
Lori Romaneck was now ready to tell a
00:15:48
judge and jury what really happened on
00:15:52
the night her mother disappeared.
00:15:58
For years, Gene Kyddell told family and
00:16:01
friends that his wife Diane abandoned
00:16:04
her children and ran off with a
00:16:05
boyfriend.
00:16:07
But Lori Romaneck told a very different
00:16:10
story about what happened to her mother
00:16:12
on the night of September 17th, 1966.
00:16:19
Lori said her mother was wearing her
00:16:21
blue double-breasted dress when she left
00:16:24
to meet her father for dinner at a local
00:16:26
restaurant.
00:16:29
After dinner, Diane drove Gene home to
00:16:32
his apartment. Later, witnesses saw
00:16:34
Diane at the Amber Inn having drinks
00:16:37
with a boyfriend.
00:16:39
Around 11:00 p.m., Gene called the house
00:16:42
to speak with Diane and when he learned
00:16:45
that she wasn't there, went over to the
00:16:48
house to wait for her.
00:16:51
When Diane returned home around
00:16:53
midnight, the couple fought, waking
00:16:55
5-year-old Lori and her older sister
00:16:58
Susie.
00:17:00
The two girls went to investigate.
00:17:10
When she saw her children, she took her
00:17:13
defense down and it was at that point
00:17:16
that my father delivered her last blow
00:17:19
and she whipped back and hit her head
00:17:22
and slid to the floor.
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[Music]
00:17:28
Gene saw the girls run from the hallway
00:17:31
and they hid in the closet.
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[Music]
00:17:48
When the children eventually came out of
00:17:51
hiding,
00:17:52
they saw their mother's lifeless body on
00:17:55
the pool deck and they saw their father
00:17:58
digging a hole in the backyard.
00:18:03
[Music]
00:18:18
The next day, Gene Kyddell poured a
00:18:21
fresh layer of concrete over his wife's
00:18:23
grave for what he thought would be an
00:18:26
eternity.
00:18:28
Lori describes her father as an
00:18:30
alcoholic, cruel, and violent. We're
00:18:34
talking about the fact that my father
00:18:35
would beat my mother.
00:18:38
Violently.
00:18:40
My father would attempt to beat his
00:18:43
children, my siblings and I.
00:18:45
And when my mother was alive, she would
00:18:47
intervene.
00:18:48
And she would not permit my father to
00:18:51
beat his children.
00:18:53
She was very strong on that issue.
00:18:57
Lori also says that her father
00:18:59
threatened to kill her if she ever
00:19:02
revealed the tales of her mother's
00:19:04
death.
00:19:05
This was something that Lori says that
00:19:08
she never forgot.
00:19:10
And she had just been terrified for her
00:19:12
whole childhood and then adult life of
00:19:15
her of her father, even after she got
00:19:17
married and left the house and they
00:19:19
barely had a relationship at some
00:19:21
points. It was she remembered the thing
00:19:23
the whole way through and somehow, I
00:19:25
mean, I don't think there's anyone that
00:19:27
really could
00:19:29
exactly describe what was going on in
00:19:31
that head of hers all those years.
00:19:34
In 1995,
00:19:36
Gene Kyddell was convicted for the
00:19:38
murder of his wife Diane
00:19:42
and was sentenced to life in prison.
00:19:45
I think it says that the memory of a
00:19:47
5-year-old, even though it's some 29
00:19:49
years later, is sufficient to convict.
00:19:52
But again, remember the one unanswerable
00:19:54
question was if what she saw wasn't what
00:19:57
she saw, how could she have led us to
00:19:58
the body? And she did.
00:20:00
My father single-handedly murdered my
00:20:03
mother,
00:20:04
murdered my two siblings, and attempted
00:20:08
a murder on me, and a murder on my
00:20:10
brother.
00:20:11
I think that my father will
00:20:16
more meet his calling upon his death.
00:20:20
I I pray for my father.
00:20:22
I think that this judicial system will
00:20:25
have nothing
00:20:27
in the comparison of the wrath of God.
00:20:29
And that I'm sorry for.
00:20:32
My father will have to answer and be
00:20:34
held accountable.
00:20:36
What does a man tell
00:20:38
our creator God
00:20:40
when God says, "What did you do to that
00:20:43
beautiful wife and lovely children I
00:20:44
gave you?" And my father will reply, "I
00:20:47
beat them. I murdered them.
00:20:50
I burned them up in a horrible fire."
00:20:53
What will be my father's punishment?
00:20:57
I'm sorry. That causes me
00:21:02
the grief
00:21:03
that I feel today for him.
00:21:07
[Music]
00:21:17
[Music]
00:21:30
[Applause]
00:21:33
[Music]
