00:00:00
[Music]
00:00:04
next on Unsolved
00:00:07
Mysteries a shooting rampage in Colorado
00:00:09
kills one highway patrolman and wounds
00:00:12
several
00:00:14
others in South Carolina a powerful bu
00:00:18
of lightning then a man pronounced dead
00:00:21
comes back to life and becomes a
00:00:24
psychic meet Jonathan he impersonates
00:00:28
celebrities to steal women's hearts
00:00:30
and then their
00:00:32
money and an auto racing Legend Mickey
00:00:36
Thompson and his wife are Gunn down in
00:00:38
the driveway of their
00:00:40
home police determined it was a contract
00:00:43
killing but who hired the
00:00:47
Hitman murder missing persons wanted
00:00:50
fugitives and the Paranormal I'm Dennis
00:00:54
finina and this is Unsolved Mysteries
00:01:09
[Music]
00:01:17
[Music]
00:01:28
he
00:01:32
in the mountains and deserts of Western
00:01:35
Colorado an unexpected terrorist attack
00:01:38
was about to
00:01:41
begin 11 Cortez that truck is 1099 out
00:01:45
on May 29th 45-year-old police officer
00:01:49
Dale Claxton followed a stolen water
00:01:51
truck out of the small town of Cortez
00:01:55
Colorado Claxton was a relative newcomer
00:01:58
to the force he had been an officer for
00:02:00
only 3 years I'll laying behind it send
00:02:02
me some
00:02:04
backup for suddenly the water truck
00:02:07
pulled
00:02:13
over Dale never had a chance to unbutton
00:02:15
SE Bel even go for the
00:02:18
door it was terrible it was in 33 years
00:02:23
of being in this business is the most
00:02:25
violent thing I've ever seen
00:02:27
[Music]
00:02:32
it was an assault executed with brutal
00:02:35
military likee Precision who were these
00:02:38
people wielding
00:02:40
AK47s the police had no idea and the
00:02:43
murder of Officer Dale Claxton was only
00:02:47
the
00:02:49
beginning an APB was put out on the
00:02:51
water truck and the Cortez Police sprang
00:02:54
into action but deputy sheriff Jason
00:02:57
Bishop had no way of knowing the killers
00:02:59
had already stolen another vehicle to
00:03:01
continue their
00:03:03
assault I just happened to look in my
00:03:05
rearview mirror and I see this yellow
00:03:07
Fort pickup following me really
00:03:09
close that's when the shots started
00:03:12
coming
00:03:13
in I lost Consciousness and fell over
00:03:16
into the passenger seat and wrecked my
00:03:19
patrol
00:03:20
car for the next 5 minutes state and
00:03:23
local police were under siege
00:03:27
[Music]
00:03:30
when they came around the corner at me
00:03:32
it took me by surprise they went off the
00:03:33
road to go buy me and they were doing at
00:03:36
least 60
00:03:38
70 next the yellow pickup truck bore
00:03:41
down on detective Todd
00:03:51
M I was just overwhelmed with uh
00:03:55
automatic gunfire
00:04:00
my left arm
00:04:02
exploded Martin was hit twice once in
00:04:05
the arm once in the
00:04:07
leg Officer Jim Bob wies saw him go
00:04:11
down I lost so much
00:04:13
blood if it wasn't for Jim Bob I would
00:04:17
have died out
00:04:20
there nine law enforcement vehicles have
00:04:23
been riddled with 300 High caliber
00:04:25
rounds one officer was dead two were
00:04:28
hospitalized
00:04:31
it was as if they were fighting a a
00:04:35
military battle they were dressed
00:04:37
military fatigues full military gear and
00:04:41
uh as if they were going to
00:04:45
war an hour later the stolen pickup
00:04:47
truck was found in a ravine 41 Mi
00:04:50
Northwest of Cortez on the Colorado Utah
00:04:55
border it sparked the largest Manhunt in
00:04:58
Colorado history
00:05:00
mobilizing 62 police agencies where we
00:05:04
found the vehicle is some of the rugged
00:05:05
country in the state of Utah lots of
00:05:07
Indian ruins in it lots of Mines some
00:05:10
deep Canyons uh and just lots of uh
00:05:14
places to hide police identifi the
00:05:17
suspects in the shooting as 30-year-old
00:05:19
Alan Pon from nearby Dove Creek and
00:05:22
Durango residents Robert Mason and Jason
00:05:25
mcvine both 26
00:05:29
all three were known to have
00:05:31
anti-government views though they had no
00:05:34
criminal records the three men had once
00:05:36
tried to join a militia group but were
00:05:38
thrown out for being too
00:05:40
violent they had been going to that area
00:05:43
for the last four or five years had done
00:05:45
a lot of survivalist training in that
00:05:47
area had done a lot of backpacking
00:05:49
living off the land in that area it was
00:05:52
like them going to their
00:05:53
backyard a week later they struck again
00:05:57
this time they shot and wounded a dep
00:05:59
sheriff in Bluff Utah SWAT teams quickly
00:06:03
surrounded the
00:06:04
area a few hours later the body of
00:06:08
Robert Mason was discovered dead from a
00:06:11
self-inflicted gunshot
00:06:17
wound the reasons for these attacks are
00:06:20
still a
00:06:22
mystery for the residents of Cortez
00:06:24
Colorado the brutal murder of Dale
00:06:26
Claxton is beyond tragic this one event
00:06:31
has taken our innocence taken the
00:06:34
innocence and the the safety away from
00:06:37
all of
00:06:38
us the children that I teach still go
00:06:42
home wondering when these guys are going
00:06:44
to be caught and they don't feel
00:06:47
safe none of us feel
00:06:50
safe a year after the Unexplained
00:06:52
attacks the body of Allan pylon was
00:06:55
discovered by a group of hunters just
00:06:57
like Mason he had died from a
00:06:59
self-inflicted gunshot
00:07:02
wound as to the third terrorist Jason
00:07:05
mcvine he seemed to have vanished Into
00:07:08
Thin
00:07:11
Air
00:07:13
update there was no sign of Jason mcine
00:07:17
until a raner LED sheriffs to a
00:07:19
weathered skeleton and a cash of guns
00:07:22
ammunition and exposis in a remote area
00:07:25
of
00:07:26
Utah dental records reveal it was J said
00:07:30
MC The Manhunt was
00:07:34
over but the authorities still wonder
00:07:37
what made mcvine and his buddies stage
00:07:39
these violent lethal attacks we will
00:07:43
probably never
00:07:48
know next a clever con wand impersonates
00:07:52
a race car driver to get into the hearts
00:07:54
and pocketbooks of his
00:07:56
victims and later the dramatic C capture
00:07:59
of a man suspected of multiple
00:08:11
murders in the high octane world of
00:08:14
Formula 1 Auto Racing danger and
00:08:17
destruction wait around every
00:08:19
curve it can drink Fain fortune and the
00:08:22
kind of aeration usually reserved for
00:08:25
rock stars and
00:08:28
royalty big Time Racing has spawned its
00:08:30
own special breed of
00:08:34
criminal case in point alleged scam
00:08:37
artist Jonathan Kern he has reportedly
00:08:40
made a very profitable career of
00:08:42
impersonating a well-known Formula 1
00:08:45
race driver named Jonathan
00:08:48
Palmer the real Jonathan Palmer was a
00:08:51
medical doctor before he became a world
00:08:53
champion driver he is all too familiar
00:08:57
with Jonathan Kern
00:09:00
he had most at home wearing bace clothes
00:09:03
eating caviar and smoked salmon and
00:09:05
driving Mercedes-Benz sports cars and
00:09:06
being escorted by gorgeous women and as
00:09:09
he cannot do that through genuinely
00:09:12
earned income he he resorts to fraud to
00:09:14
achieve his desired
00:09:16
lifestyle we Kar has reportedly
00:09:19
crisscrossed Europe racking up bills for
00:09:21
designer clothes elegant restaurants and
00:09:24
five-star hotels all in the name of
00:09:27
Jonathan Palmer all
00:09:31
unpaid police say that Kar then brought
00:09:33
his masquerade to America Elizabeth jez
00:09:37
met him at a hotel in Miami Florida
00:09:40
hello
00:09:41
hi I'm Jonathan
00:09:44
Palmer there's a race car driver by that
00:09:47
name Jonathan Palmer that's me Elizabeth
00:09:50
who happened to know about car racing
00:09:52
had some initial dos wasn't your hair a
00:09:55
little
00:09:56
blunder it was blond yes you're right
00:09:59
and I asked a few more questions and I
00:10:01
said well what did you do before you
00:10:02
raced cars and he said I was a medical
00:10:05
doctor and I said that's right I knew
00:10:07
some background I said who did you race
00:10:09
for and he told me T which I knew was a
00:10:11
British team and I thought wow it really
00:10:13
is you
00:10:15
here
00:10:18
proof Kern's passport was the
00:10:23
Clincher so and Elizabeth wasn't the
00:10:26
only one impressed by Jonathan Kern a
00:10:28
car de dealer provided Kern with a
00:10:31
$78,000
00:10:33
Jaguar free of charge they dropped the
00:10:37
keys at the desk and they said this is
00:10:38
for Mr Palmer for his use while he's in
00:10:41
in America and please make sure that he
00:10:43
gets it and we always believed him and
00:10:45
that just made us more convinced that
00:10:47
everything was okay oh you're too sweet
00:10:50
for Elizabeth Jonathan Kern was almost
00:10:52
too good to be
00:10:54
true don't toy with me
00:10:57
Jonathan I couldn't understand
00:10:59
intellectually why he was interested in
00:11:00
me I'm Just a Nobody and I said to him
00:11:03
why are you interested in me and he told
00:11:05
me he just wanted a steady relationship
00:11:07
he didn't want the Jet Set life and he
00:11:10
convinced me over the next few days that
00:11:12
I was what he was looking
00:11:16
for Elizabeth was impressed by Kern's
00:11:19
International connections indeed
00:11:22
everyone at the hotel from bellhops to
00:11:24
the manager had been totally snowed by
00:11:27
Kern's performance
00:11:30
he just wo a web of intrigue around us
00:11:33
and managed to have a very nice holiday
00:11:35
at the hotel for 5 days and run up a
00:11:38
huge bill in the restaurant and have
00:11:40
bottles of champagne delivered to his
00:11:42
room and we always believed him despite
00:11:44
the fact that he was already having a
00:11:46
little bit of a problem with my front
00:11:47
desk about how he was going to pay his
00:11:49
bills excuse me David how are you this
00:11:51
even I'm fine we have some business to
00:11:53
in fact he never did pay Kar stiff the
00:11:56
hotel for about $3,000 thank you for
00:11:59
[Music]
00:12:03
eventually Kar Charmed his way into
00:12:05
Elizabeth's Connecticut home she still
00:12:07
believed he was Jonathan Palmer still
00:12:10
believed he had put his career on hold
00:12:12
to spend time with her come on inside
00:12:15
beautiful area but Kern's thoughts had
00:12:17
apparently turned to money Elizabeth's
00:12:21
money Elizabeth says that Kar wrote her
00:12:24
a personal check it was drawn on a bank
00:12:26
in Italy for 11 million l nearly
00:12:32
$88,000 at the time I was nervous about
00:12:35
it and the first question out of my
00:12:37
family and friends when I told him was
00:12:39
did you give them any money and I said
00:12:41
first I lied and I oh no no and then
00:12:43
once the check cleared I said see it was
00:12:45
fine yes I did give him some money but
00:12:47
now the check is cleared and and I have
00:12:49
the money back I've got a meeting
00:12:52
tonight during his stay with Elizabeth
00:12:54
Jonathan made frequent trips to
00:12:56
Manhattan he said they were business
00:12:58
trips
00:13:00
as usual he went in style now in a
00:13:04
$125,000 Mercedes lent to him by a local
00:13:07
dealer he also carried Elizabeth's ATM
00:13:10
card just in case of an
00:13:15
emergency and sure enough Jonathan had
00:13:18
an emergency you're not going to believe
00:13:20
this my wallet was
00:13:21
stolen once again Elizabeth put her own
00:13:24
money at kar's disposal you still have
00:13:27
my ATM card don't you
00:13:30
yeah Elizabeth never dreamed Jonathan
00:13:32
would use the card to drain her account
00:13:34
of cash I'm going to keep
00:13:37
you I didn't really check up on him I
00:13:40
could have gone through his things but I
00:13:42
didn't I just continued to try and
00:13:45
believe in
00:13:46
him I don't want to do this anymore Beth
00:13:49
you have to have patience eventually
00:13:51
Jonathan was spending more time in
00:13:53
Manhattan than with Elizabeth she had a
00:13:56
complete change of heart you'll have
00:13:58
your money on
00:14:01
day Jonathan cleared out the next day
00:14:05
suspicious Elizabeth began calling
00:14:07
numbers from her phone bill matching
00:14:09
them with names Jonathan had mentioned
00:14:12
do you know Jonathan Palmer the answers
00:14:14
came back the same the caller was
00:14:16
Jonathan Lake not Jonathan Palmer I mean
00:14:19
didn't he call you me I have your phone
00:14:20
number right here and that's when I knew
00:14:23
this hadn't been Jonathan Palmer that
00:14:25
was staying with
00:14:27
me call me when you get in I'll try now
00:14:30
I realized some of the numbers that I
00:14:31
called were other women he' been
00:14:33
Romancing other women while he was in
00:14:37
Manhattan I had been taken he hadn't
00:14:40
been in love with me he was just using
00:14:41
me I I just felt
00:14:44
awful there was one final insult nearly
00:14:49
a year after Elizabeth deposited the
00:14:51
check from karna the bank in Italy
00:14:54
reversed payment the check had bounced
00:14:57
after all police said say that Kern
00:14:59
swindled some
00:15:01
$115,000 Elizabeth jezek was forced into
00:15:06
bankruptcy Jonathan Kar has been charged
00:15:09
with forgery felony criminal
00:15:11
impersonation and Larsen he is 5' 10 in
00:15:15
tall and 180 lb though Kar is British he
00:15:20
is not the race car driver Jonathan
00:15:26
Palmer update
00:15:29
later in London Jonathan Kern allegedly
00:15:32
ConEd a well-known fashion executive out
00:15:34
of 10,000 British pound when she called
00:15:38
the police he'd fled once
00:15:41
again if you have any information about
00:15:44
Jonathan Kern please log on to our
00:15:46
website at unsolved.com
00:15:53
where you been it's none of your
00:15:55
business you know on a previous
00:15:57
broadcast an angry husband confronted
00:16:00
his estranged wife at her home you're
00:16:02
going to listen to
00:16:04
me Geraldine George ran next door for
00:16:07
help her ex Larry George then went on a
00:16:11
rampage a neighbor Janice Mar was shot
00:16:15
Point
00:16:16
Blank please stop Gerald deine could not
00:16:19
get
00:16:20
away Janice's boyfriend Ralph
00:16:24
Swain was shot in the back of the head
00:16:27
in a matter of second
00:16:29
Janice Morris and Ralph Swain had been
00:16:32
fatally wounded Geraldine George was
00:16:35
left paralyzed from the was down for
00:16:38
more than 6 years she lived with a
00:16:40
bitter knowledge that her husband was
00:16:43
still at
00:16:43
[Music]
00:16:46
large
00:16:48
update Wilmington
00:16:51
Delaware and Unsolved Mysteries viewers
00:16:54
spotted Larry George on the banks of a
00:16:56
local River the police moved
00:16:59
in the officers recounted their dramatic
00:17:02
meeting with Larry George for our
00:17:05
cameras this is where we first
00:17:06
encountered Larry George at right here
00:17:09
at this time a brief struggle ensued
00:17:11
right about here we all three fell to
00:17:13
the ground here we got back to our feet
00:17:16
still struggling and at that point we
00:17:18
just turned and threw L into the
00:17:21
water George attempted to flee down
00:17:24
river but backup units quickly cornered
00:17:27
him and he surrendered with without
00:17:29
further
00:17:30
struggle Larry George was convicted and
00:17:33
sentenced to death his appeals have all
00:17:36
failed and he awaits execution in an
00:17:39
Alabama
00:17:44
prison next how can a man who was struck
00:17:48
by lightning help solve a murder case
00:17:52
and later a young American Tourist who
00:17:54
was reported dead in Baja California
00:17:57
mysteriously appears in tiny Mexican
00:18:10
villages aen South
00:18:14
Carolina it was a blustery night with
00:18:17
severe thunderstorms sweeping through
00:18:19
the southeast danian Brinkley and his
00:18:22
wife Sandy were at home oh I got to call
00:18:25
Tommy see if you got that I'm going to
00:18:26
check on dinner
00:18:29
danion was on the phone with his best
00:18:30
friend Tom when the storm passed
00:18:32
directly
00:18:35
overhead lightning
00:18:39
flash at least
00:18:42
180,000 volts of electricity shot
00:18:45
through dian's body a jolt so powerful
00:18:48
it left his shoes welded to the floor oh
00:18:51
my God Dan I couldn't move I couldn't
00:18:54
scream I couldn't talk I didn't know
00:18:55
what had happened I was on fire and
00:18:57
burning and then all of a sudden I'm out
00:19:00
of my
00:19:03
body I saw Sandy checking me to see if I
00:19:06
was breathing and start to work on me
00:19:08
and pushing on my chest and clearing my
00:19:11
Airway Tommy heard the explosion and he
00:19:13
was on his way over he got there he was
00:19:16
a Corman in the Navy he wrapped me he
00:19:17
went to work on me he's trying to get my
00:19:19
heart started he's pushing he's
00:19:21
breathing in my mouth he's talking to me
00:19:24
come
00:19:25
on for all intents and purposes danan
00:19:28
Brinkley was clinically
00:19:31
dead he claims that he had what is now
00:19:34
known as a near-death
00:19:37
experience I start down this tunnel I
00:19:40
see what appears to be a form coming out
00:19:43
of this beautiful Misty
00:19:46
Blue then all of a sudden I not only
00:19:49
felt everything I'd ever done and saw
00:19:52
everything I'd ever done I became every
00:19:54
person that I had ever
00:19:56
encountered in his youth Dan was by his
00:19:59
own admission self-centered
00:20:01
mean-tempered nothing short of a bully
00:20:05
the pattern continued during a tour of
00:20:06
Duty in Southeast
00:20:08
Asia and now danion was forced to
00:20:12
confront those that he had victimized
00:20:14
through the
00:20:16
years I felt the pain and the anguish
00:20:19
and the anger and the frustration that I
00:20:21
had caused these people and you know
00:20:24
people don't realize that you judge
00:20:26
yourself when this happens you just
00:20:29
judge yourself and that's what I
00:20:33
did danion was rushed to the hospital in
00:20:36
the emergency room his breathing
00:20:39
faltered then stopped minutes later his
00:20:42
friend Tom Hall was told danion was
00:20:48
dead they had wheeled Dan into a little
00:20:51
dark room I have no idea what made me go
00:20:54
back in there I just had to see for
00:20:56
myself and I just felt like that he
00:20:59
wasn't gone I saw the sheet
00:21:02
moving I all of a sudden went from a
00:21:05
spiritual place in world back into this
00:21:07
place where I'm in a hospital I'm under
00:21:10
this sheet and I'm looking up at it I
00:21:13
can't move I can't talk I'm on fire
00:21:16
again doctor
00:21:19
nurse miraculously danian Brinkley
00:21:22
returned to life nearly 28 minutes after
00:21:26
he had been declared dead
00:21:29
Dr William said he's in pretty bad shape
00:21:31
the way it looks that the lightning went
00:21:33
down his back and I think it just
00:21:35
shattered his nerve
00:21:38
system after a week in the hospital Dian
00:21:42
was released he was hardly able to walk
00:21:45
or talk his eyes were so light sensitive
00:21:48
he had to protect them by wearing
00:21:49
welder's glasses at all
00:21:52
times and he began to experience Vivid
00:21:56
images of the future
00:21:59
I was partially paralyzed for 7 months
00:22:01
but the visions and things that had
00:22:03
happened in this now what we call the
00:22:05
near-death experience have stayed with
00:22:07
me longer and more coherently than
00:22:09
virtually anything that ever
00:22:11
happened danian claims that altogether
00:22:14
he witnessed
00:22:16
117 future occurrences including the
00:22:20
election of Ronald Reagan the collapse
00:22:22
of the Soviet Union and the Gulf War of
00:22:26
1991 danion later told his friend
00:22:28
friends about the visions and they
00:22:30
verified that he did indeed predict
00:22:32
events before they
00:22:38
happened danion first made started
00:22:40
making his predictions as uh as he was
00:22:43
convalescing he was talking about
00:22:45
Chernobyl and he was talking about the
00:22:47
food lines in Russia about their
00:22:49
starving and uh it was just a lot of
00:22:52
predictions that you know that I didn't
00:22:54
pay that much attention to him at the
00:22:56
time he' always talked about the Gulf
00:22:58
War and the collapse of Communism and
00:23:01
things like that but at the time you
00:23:03
didn't think that much about it but then
00:23:05
when it came about is when you really
00:23:06
stuck thinking about
00:23:08
it Danel now believes that his
00:23:11
near-death experience marked the birth
00:23:13
of his psychic
00:23:16
abilities he admits that in the months
00:23:18
just after the accident he was simply a
00:23:21
dazed and bewildered young man who had
00:23:23
undergone a dramatic transformation why
00:23:26
don't you just tell me about it talk
00:23:27
about crazy you being Dead all that's
00:23:29
just it Tommy I wouldn't did I was
00:23:33
really confused i' never heard of the
00:23:35
near-death experience and I literally
00:23:37
was driving people nuts cuz I wanted
00:23:39
somebody to tell me either it didn't
00:23:41
happen which I knew it did or please
00:23:43
explain it I've been astounded at the
00:23:45
number of people I've met who have had
00:23:48
such an
00:23:49
experience Dr Raymond Moody is one of
00:23:51
the country's most prominent Authorities
00:23:53
on near-death
00:23:55
experiences or perhaps someone here has
00:23:58
had a similar experience when I heard
00:24:00
his account it seemed very consistent
00:24:03
with what I had heard from many other
00:24:05
people it's something that happens to
00:24:07
quite a number of patients who get
00:24:09
resuscitated following cardiac arrest
00:24:11
and therefore for that reason doctors
00:24:14
need to know about this so that they can
00:24:15
reassure the patient that they're not
00:24:17
alone that in fact that this occurs
00:24:19
fairly
00:24:22
frequently in an attempt to verify
00:24:24
dian's psychic abilities we asked the
00:24:27
well-known Paris psychologist Dr William
00:24:29
R to conduct a series of
00:24:33
tests mind if I just see your hand
00:24:35
danion gave readings for eight people he
00:24:38
had never met before in several
00:24:41
instances he picked out details about
00:24:44
the lives of these individuals there
00:24:46
were facts that uh he could not have
00:24:50
known it was like you knew when to pull
00:24:52
out and that's recognized by your family
00:24:55
from the brief experiments we did this
00:24:57
time he is one of the more remarkable
00:25:00
psychics that I have worked with for
00:25:03
sure later dian's abilities were put to
00:25:06
the test he was asked to consult on a
00:25:09
brutal murder
00:25:11
case in Big Fork Montana John and Nancy
00:25:14
Bosco had been shot to death execution
00:25:17
style as they
00:25:19
slept the police investigation turned up
00:25:23
absolutely no leads 2 months later
00:25:26
John's mother Tony met met with Danon
00:25:29
Brinkley this is a slight little kid
00:25:32
with black hair this is someone who
00:25:35
knows John he knew the layout of this
00:25:37
house in the very early part of December
00:25:41
this little kid will be caught and he's
00:25:42
in a college Somewhere Out West I have
00:25:45
to say that I just shook my head and I
00:25:47
thought to myself uh I made a mistake in
00:25:49
coming down danion doesn't you know this
00:25:51
this isn't going to get me anywhere I
00:25:53
couldn't begin to make sense out of what
00:25:55
he was
00:25:56
saying but in incredibly danian Brinkley
00:26:00
was correct on all counts 18-year-old
00:26:03
John Shadow Clark was arrested in
00:26:05
December and later convicted just as
00:26:09
diyan predicted Clark had lived in the
00:26:11
murder house had known the Boscos and
00:26:14
was attending college in the
00:26:16
west danyon had apparently solved the
00:26:19
case through the power of his
00:26:23
mind this is new to me and sometimes
00:26:27
it's troublesome because I pick up
00:26:29
things that I don't want to know about
00:26:31
and if someone's intense around me I'm
00:26:33
perceiving it but and I try to I'm still
00:26:36
trying to figure out ways to turn it off
00:26:39
okay and at the same time ways to
00:26:41
perfect
00:26:42
it Joseph Shadow Clark was convicted of
00:26:45
the murders of John and Nancy bosow he
00:26:48
is now in Montana State Prison where he
00:26:50
is serving a sentence of
00:26:52
150 years danian Brinkley now spends
00:26:57
much of his time volunteering at
00:26:59
hospices and nursing homes doing fine
00:27:01
you have the flowers looking really
00:27:03
great this morning he believes his
00:27:05
near-death experience left him uniquely
00:27:08
qualified to counsel
00:27:13
others next Mickey Thompson was a legend
00:27:17
in the high-speed world of auto racing
00:27:20
he and his wife Trudy were beloved by
00:27:22
fans everywhere why would someone want
00:27:25
them killed
00:27:31
[Music]
00:27:38
California a place where people love
00:27:40
fast cars and high velocity Mickey
00:27:44
Thompson was a legend in the world of
00:27:46
auto
00:27:48
racing cars were Mickey's
00:27:50
life racing and redesigning them made
00:27:53
him famous and Wealthy among his many
00:27:57
Innovations
00:27:58
were the slingshot Dragsters his
00:28:01
homebuilt Challenger was the first car
00:28:03
to break the 400 mph M Mickey was also a
00:28:08
Pioneer in promoting off-road
00:28:13
racing a good description of my dad was
00:28:16
he was flat out all the time and and he
00:28:18
was pedal to the floor and he did that's
00:28:20
the way he spent his life he loved to go
00:28:23
past me he loved
00:28:25
racing I think the businesses were a way
00:28:29
to help him continue to
00:28:32
race Mickey's obsession with speed drove
00:28:35
him far sometimes too
00:28:38
far a speedboat accident paralyzed him
00:28:42
from the ways
00:28:43
down doctors said that he would never
00:28:46
walk
00:28:47
again with the support of his wife Trudy
00:28:50
he made an incredible recovery and
00:28:53
returned to business as usual I'm sorry
00:28:56
again but we' had some real ch daily
00:28:58
routine was just about twice as frantic
00:29:01
as anybody else they did not work an 8
00:29:03
hour day they worked at least a 16-hour
00:29:06
day Mickey developed an extremely
00:29:09
profitable Stadium Racing
00:29:11
Venture but this deal with business
00:29:14
partner Richard Goodwin went
00:29:17
sour it ended up in a nasty lawsuit and
00:29:20
Mickey said he had received that
00:29:25
threats he had called me on the phone
00:29:27
and he said sis I'm really concerned and
00:29:30
I say what's the matter Mick and he said
00:29:32
I'm afraid Goodman's going to hurt my
00:29:33
baby meaning his wife
00:29:38
Trudy Mickey and Trudy lived in Bradbery
00:29:41
California an affluent rural community
00:29:44
located near Los Angeles early one
00:29:47
morning the peaceful quiet was shattered
00:29:50
by the sound of gunfire
00:29:59
the shots came from Mickey Thompson's
00:30:01
home at the bottom of the driveway
00:30:04
Sheriff's found
00:30:05
Trudy she was dead 57 1033 requesting
00:30:10
backup a few yards away near the garage
00:30:13
Mickey Thompson was also found
00:30:18
dead you rolled up here was all the
00:30:20
jewelry and the body the way you found
00:30:21
it here yeah everything was all the same
00:30:23
when Trudy was killed she was wearing
00:30:26
over $70,000 worth of jewelry she and
00:30:29
her husband were carrying $4,000 in cash
00:30:33
none had been taken robbery was an
00:30:36
unlikely
00:30:38
motive police also learned that one of
00:30:40
the neighbors was a
00:30:43
witness well my wife and I were sleep in
00:30:46
bed it was about 6:00 in the
00:30:49
morning when we heard the shots we
00:30:51
literally jumped straight out of the bed
00:30:53
and I ran over to the window to see
00:30:55
where the shots were coming from there
00:30:57
was probably about 15 seconds of silence
00:31:00
and at that time we heard Mickey
00:31:02
screaming please don't hurt my wife
00:31:05
please don't hurt my
00:31:10
wife my belief when Trudy got in the van
00:31:14
and backed it out people that murdered
00:31:16
him were waiting in the
00:31:20
bush and micke he just didn't have a
00:31:22
chance he walked right into where they
00:31:25
were
00:31:28
when Mickey came out through the garage
00:31:29
he was suddenly confronted by two armed
00:31:31
gunmen uh one of the gunmen immediately
00:31:34
shot and immobilized Mickey while the
00:31:36
second G approached
00:31:38
Trudy the next thing we've heard is
00:31:40
another series of shots and silence
00:31:43
again and as Mickey laid helplessly on
00:31:46
the driveway he was forced to watch as
00:31:48
the second gunman shot his wife and
00:31:50
essentially he witnessed her
00:31:52
execution both gunmen then turned their
00:31:54
attention back towards Mickey and
00:31:57
executed him as well
00:31:59
well after the second series of shots I
00:32:02
saw two black men on 10-speed bikes
00:32:05
pedling as fast as they could to get out
00:32:08
of
00:32:09
here several neighborhood residents also
00:32:12
spotted the
00:32:13
men the two suspects were dressed in
00:32:16
jogging suits they were between 20 and
00:32:18
30 years of age and were approximately 6
00:32:21
ft tall police are certain that they
00:32:24
were hired to do the killings
00:32:28
I want to see this person or persons
00:32:32
brought to Justice in the very very
00:32:34
worst way and I'm going to do anything I
00:32:38
can with whatever it
00:32:43
takes
00:32:45
update after investigating the case for
00:32:48
13 years police finally arrested
00:32:51
Thompson's former business partner
00:32:53
Michael Goodwin and charged him with a
00:32:56
double murder we do do believe that Mr
00:32:58
Goodwin orchestrated the murders we
00:32:59
believe he planned the murders and we
00:33:01
believe that his motive was based on uh
00:33:04
a personal Vendetta uh along with
00:33:06
financial
00:33:07
gain Goodwin's lawyer however says he
00:33:11
was falsely accused there is simply no
00:33:14
evidence nor has there ever been that
00:33:15
implicates Mike good one of the murders
00:33:18
the key innuendo or motive has always
00:33:20
been the alleged civil dispute between
00:33:22
Mike Goodwin and Mickey Thompson Mike
00:33:24
negotiated a settlement with Mickey
00:33:26
Thompson there are third party Witnesses
00:33:27
to confirm
00:33:29
that however an eyewitness came forward
00:33:32
and said Goodman was seen sitting in a
00:33:35
station wagon in the Thompson
00:33:36
neighborhood spying on them with
00:33:39
binoculars several days before the
00:33:45
murders Michael Goodwin pled not guilty
00:33:48
however the jury didn't buy his story at
00:33:52
his trial they heard that Goodwin had
00:33:53
bragged that he would quote have Mickey
00:33:56
Thompson wasted further he had left the
00:33:59
country right after the
00:34:02
murder Michael Goodman was convicted and
00:34:05
sentenced to two consecutive life
00:34:07
sentences without the possibility of
00:34:11
parole the police are still trying to
00:34:13
identify and prosecute the two gunmen a
00:34:17
$1 million reward is being offered in
00:34:20
this
00:34:22
case this is a sketch showing what the
00:34:25
gunman might look like today
00:34:30
if you have any information that could
00:34:31
help please log on to our website at
00:34:34
unsolved.com
00:34:40
next a missing person's case turns into
00:34:44
a
00:34:54
tragedy the Baja California peninsula
00:34:57
300 miles south of San
00:35:01
Diego a young American disoriented
00:35:04
pennil and obviously out of place
00:35:07
wandered into the Mexican Village of
00:35:09
Colonia Vicente Guerero he lingered for
00:35:13
months living on handout depending on
00:35:16
the charity of
00:35:18
strangers for one California couple
00:35:21
tales of the young stranger were a ray
00:35:24
of Hope in the search for their
00:35:26
34-year-old
00:35:28
son Gordon Collins had been missing for
00:35:34
months I know he's alive I can't get on
00:35:37
with my business I can't get on with
00:35:39
nothing until uh you know we're get him
00:35:43
home Gordon was vacationing with his
00:35:46
girlfriend Anastasia seals and another
00:35:49
couple near Santa Rosalia a popular deep
00:35:52
sea fishing port near the middle of the
00:35:54
Baja
00:35:56
Peninsula 4 days after they arrived the
00:35:59
group secured a boat at a local hotel
00:36:02
Gordon's friend Wayne Schwarz had fished
00:36:04
off the Baja Coast many
00:36:08
times as the group left port a fisherman
00:36:10
on his way in warned them a storm was
00:36:24
rowing
00:36:26
dangers dangers several hours later a
00:36:29
fierce storm would indeed hit the area
00:36:32
Gordon Collins and his friends never
00:36:37
returned the next day a hotel employee
00:36:40
was sent out to look for them the search
00:36:44
ended 28 Mi
00:36:47
[Music]
00:36:50
Northeast Gordon's girlfriend Anastasia
00:36:53
seals and Wayne Schwarz were dead
00:36:59
but Gordon and Wayne's wife Arlene
00:37:02
Burlington were nowhere to be
00:37:06
found the bodies and all the
00:37:08
paraphernalia out of the boat was all
00:37:10
within one square mile of each other cuz
00:37:13
I talked to the fellow that fish the
00:37:14
bodies out and uh and so and we say Hey
00:37:19
where's the other two jackets where's
00:37:21
the other two
00:37:23
people for 3 Days the United States
00:37:27
Coast Guard searched a
00:37:28
250m
00:37:31
area nothing it seemed obvious that
00:37:34
Gordon and Arlene had also
00:37:40
perished in time Gordon and Arlene's
00:37:43
parents were asked to sign death
00:37:45
certificates however reports that Gordon
00:37:48
was still alive had already begun to
00:37:50
filter across the border some thought
00:37:52
that he might be suffering from Amnesia
00:37:55
his parents went South to Mex Meo to
00:37:58
find
00:38:03
out we got Flyers made of and two
00:38:06
Mexican fishermen come running up to us
00:38:09
and kept pointing to the
00:38:11
flyer he said they seen a guy that come
00:38:14
out of the water just had shorts he was
00:38:16
all cut up waiting there at trying to
00:38:18
get on the bus
00:38:20
station I was very
00:38:23
excited thing started fitting together
00:38:25
because this is where the accident
00:38:27
happened
00:38:27
uh they found the bodies uh just a mile
00:38:30
and a half off of this Shore it's got to
00:38:32
be
00:38:35
gording around the same time Gordon was
00:38:38
also spotted on a nearby beach by a man
00:38:41
named Jose
00:38:42
Peralta can I have your blanket okay can
00:38:46
I have your blanket I'm cold Jose said
00:38:49
that gy said he was waiting for friends
00:38:51
he went fishing with and could he have
00:38:54
Jose's blanket cuz he was going to sleep
00:38:56
on the beach there at Cabo and wait for
00:38:58
his friends
00:39:04
okay on one trip we headed toward laas
00:39:08
and we stopped at a few of these taco
00:39:10
places and they says yeah seen him an
00:39:13
hour ago so we went on down for him
00:39:15
probably another 3 or 4 miles we stopped
00:39:17
again the guy said yeah we we' seen him
00:39:20
about 30 minutes ago so we finally got
00:39:22
right into town and it says yeah within
00:39:25
5 minutes
00:39:27
and then they seen us all seen us
00:39:30
together and I don't know what happened
00:39:32
but everybody just clammed up we
00:39:33
couldn't get no we couldn't get no uh no
00:39:36
more
00:39:37
information over the next 3 months
00:39:40
Gordon Collins was spotted at least 50
00:39:43
times in seven different locations all
00:39:46
in the area of laaz and Cabo San Lucas
00:39:50
at the southern end of the Baja
00:39:52
Peninsula Gordon's parents hired Bill
00:39:55
Garcia a private in investigator who
00:39:58
alerted newspapers in
00:40:00
Baja after the Articles ran Garcia
00:40:03
received several calls from a village
00:40:06
300 mil south of
00:40:10
Tijana it was four or five months here
00:40:13
in town he never worked here never work
00:40:16
and he only hang around here in town he
00:40:18
was walking all the time and almost in
00:40:21
the town everybody knows him we've shown
00:40:24
them pictures and everyone recognizes
00:40:26
him and they're positive that it's him
00:40:29
the people that have talked to him know
00:40:31
some things about Gordon and feel
00:40:34
confident that he is
00:40:36
there the man identified as Gordon was
00:40:39
eventually arrested for stealing food a
00:40:42
local sheriff brought in James Hatfield
00:40:45
an American living in the village to
00:40:47
translate my name's James what's
00:40:50
yours hi I'm I'm Gordon there's no doubt
00:40:54
in my mind it's Gordon because when we
00:40:56
met in jail I introduced myself to him
00:40:59
and he gave me his name Gordon and then
00:41:02
when the flyer came out it was right
00:41:03
there on the flyer Gordon and you can't
00:41:05
get the two pictures mixed up it's the
00:41:09
same he moved on shortly before we were
00:41:11
able to get to that area and we haven't
00:41:14
been able to find where he's gone from
00:41:17
there over the next year sporadic
00:41:20
sightings of Gordon continued the US
00:41:23
Consulate has officially reversed its
00:41:25
position and no longer presumes that
00:41:27
Gordon Collins is
00:41:32
dead you just can't up and give up
00:41:35
because it's your
00:41:36
son I know it keeps me driving and keeps
00:41:39
me going and I want to get him
00:41:41
home Gordon Collins is 6'2 in tall and
00:41:45
has light hair and blue
00:41:48
eyes based on eyewitness descriptions a
00:41:51
police artist made this sketch of the
00:41:53
man thought to be Gordon Collins
00:41:58
if you have any information that might
00:42:00
help find him please log on to our
00:42:02
website at unsolved.com
00:42:04
[Music]
00:42:22
[Music]
00:42:36
[Music]
