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Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 7, Episode 21

March 09, 2017 / 42:55

This episode of Unsolved Mysteries covers the mysterious disappearance of Strider Starfire, the brutal double murder of Roxan Cheves and her son Christopher, the 1917 Miracle of Fatima, and the reunion of millionaire Mack McDonald with his long-lost daughter.

Strider Starfire vanished after a fishing trip on the Snake River, leading to questions about whether he staged his own disappearance to evade felony charges of rape and sexual assault. His real name was Daniel Chafe, and he eluded authorities for 15 years before being captured in Montana.

The episode also details the shocking murders of Roxan Cheves and her 5-year-old son Christopher in Dallas, Texas, just before Christmas. The case remained unsolved for over two decades until DNA evidence linked George Washington Hicks to the crime, resulting in his conviction.

In a segment on the Miracle of Fatima, the episode recounts the 1917 apparitions of the Virgin Mary to three children in Portugal, culminating in a public miracle witnessed by thousands, which solidified the event's significance in Catholic history.

Finally, Mack McDonald, a self-made millionaire, reunites with his daughter Sherry after searching for her for over 50 years. The emotional meeting highlights the complexities of their past and the desire for connection.

TL;DR

This episode covers Strider Starfire's disappearance, the Cheves murder case, the Fatima miracle, and Mack McDonald's reunion with his daughter.

Episode

42:55
00:00:00
[Music]
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next on Unsolved
00:00:07
Mysteries a man falls out of a boat and
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Searchers can't find his body he was set
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to be tried on rape charges is he truly
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dead or alive and On The
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Run just 2 days before Christmas a
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5-year-old boy and his young mother are
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brutally murdered can DNA left by the
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killer lead to his
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capture in
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1917 more than 70,000 pilgrims in
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fattima Portugal saw what they believe
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was a true Miracle it remains one of the
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great religious
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Mysteries and after searching for more
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than 50 years a man is finally reunited
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with his long-lost daughter the heir to
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his
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fortune whether it's murder Larsen or F
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play sometimes these cases are solved
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and often by people like you I'm Dennis
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finina and this is Unsolved Mysteries
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[Applause]
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[Music]
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[Music]
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the Snake River
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Washington after a late summer fishing
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trip Strider Starfire and another man
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head for home
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with night approaching they're worried
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about getting back before
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dark as the boat speeds across the water
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Strider reaches for a beer from an ice
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chest The Bu driver claims he gears his
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dog El and when he turns around Strider
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is
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gone he is never seen
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again the apparent accidental drowning
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of Strider Starfire has been questioned
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ever since it wasn't long before
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investigators learned that Starfire
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actually had a very good reason to
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disappear Strider Starfire was a family
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man hi guys let's go he his wife and her
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two young children lived in the small
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town of Roseberg Oregon the teenage
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daughter of a family friend often spent
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time with them we'll call her
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Lisa can you help
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me Lisa had grown up without a father
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and she became like a second daughter to
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Strider and his
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wife those who spent any time with
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Strider would usually fall under the
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spell of his incredible charm about 1200
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hours you know me and Tim were in this
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Foxhole all right and we're pinned down
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we can't get up and we were trying to
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get our he told romantic tales about his
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exploits while serving with the special
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forces in Vietnam spying for the CIA for
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fighting alongside the Irish Republican
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Army my belly dragging when he told us
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about being this Crusader to help the
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little man to pull the poor guy up by
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his boots and and give uh the underdog
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his day you tended to believe him he wo
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his stories very well so the reason why
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we're called the clan of Starfire is
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because Strider also claimed that he was
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the last surviving member of a Scottish
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plan and was the sole heir to its
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fortunes he
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should as Lisa grew up she spent more
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and more time with the Starfire family
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and Strider always made himself
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available to her he was a father figure
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when she had no father figure she had no
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qualms of believing and feeling safe
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with him because he'd always been safe
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something need I got to tell you but
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according to Lisa those feelings of
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trust and security were destroyed One
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Night in the Starfire home I'm in love
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with you out of the blue he started to
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profess his love to me tell me he'd been
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in love with me for
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years that
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was it was a really terrifying
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moment after making his Advance Starfire
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allegedly seduced and then had sex with
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Lisa
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for more than a year the traumatized
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teenager didn't reveal what had happened
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the secrecy took a heavy
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toll after strer did that to me my life
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really spiral out of control I couldn't
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make any friends at school so I quit
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going I did a lot of drugs and I decided
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that I
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couldn't couldn't deal with it
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anymore strider's Behavior became more
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BL in other ways one day he brought home
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an unexpected guest he introduced her as
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his new business partner I had been
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getting a little bit of rumor that there
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was more than just business going on
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between them and when they came home it
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was exceedingly obvious that they were
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being intimate who the hell is that are
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you out of your mind his wife was
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shocked when Strider proposed that she
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welcomed this woman into their home as
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his second wife that was the last draw
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within weeks she filed for divorce but
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it wasn't until after the divorce was
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Final that strider's ex-wife learned the
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true depth of his lies and his
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deceit Lisa left a note saying that she
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was running away with her boyfriend she
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also revealed The Dark Secret that she'd
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been keeping all these
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years hello Starfire's ex-wife received
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a call from 's
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stepfather he said she left a note and
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in the note she states that Strider
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molested her no I just and I was torn
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between disbelief and belief Lisa
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returned home the following day but
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Starfire's ex-wife was still grappling
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with the disturbing Revelation I was
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just overwhelmed with everything that
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had
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happened I just been through a whole
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time during the divorce of finding out
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that he wasn't who he said he was that
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the last 11 years really had nothing to
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do with
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reality Strider Starfire was formerly
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charged with felony rape and sexual
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assault and then authorities learned
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from Lisa that there might be more
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secrets to uncover in the Starfire
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home when going over her case she
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brought up another uh girl's name that
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she was aware was living there at the
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house during that time she was
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um that's when victim number two was
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brought up in
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this years earlier a girl will called
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Debbie had often babysat for the
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Starfire children this victim was in the
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ninth grade at the time that she was
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first seduced by
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Starfire I'm going to go back and I'm
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going to uh regain my kingdom
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really Debbie told police that Starfire
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had won her trust with fantastic tales
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and Promises to make her his princess
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anything you want cuz you're the
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princess you can have anything in the
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entire Kingdom it's like he made the
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fairy tale and Strider really created a
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fantasy world for a lot of people and
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for me it was the fantasy that was sort
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of where I really wanted to be in life
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not where I was it obviously wasn't just
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an isolated incident I had to come
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forward not only to give validity to the
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other girl's claims but also just to try
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and prevent this from happening to
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somebody
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else although Starfire was arrested he
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was later released without bail to wait
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for his
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trial and then just 10 days before the
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trial was due to begin Starfire
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vanished we have a lot of people come up
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missing or drowned in the Snake River
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but I in my 13 years experience I've
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never had one like this what time did
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you put the boat in water this morning
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did Strider Starfire stage his own
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disappearance when police examined the
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boat it was dry and it didn't appear to
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have been under water that day all the
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fishing gear on board was clean and
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neatly stowed away inside Starfire's
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pickup they found a fishing license in
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the name of Daniel chafe which turned
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out to be Starfire's real name police
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also learned that others knew Strider
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Starfire as Curtis
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jacobe man it's getting cold I'm sure Mr
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Starfire is alive and well I don't
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believe Mr Starfire was ever on that
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boat I don't believe he was ever on that
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River I believe he's hoping that at some
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point hopefully all this will just go
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away and he can lead on with a happy
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life update there are new developments
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in this case here's one of our staff
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with
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details Daniel chafe AKA Strider
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Starfire AKA Curtis jacobe managed to
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elude authorities for 15 years before he
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was finally captured in Montana chafe
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was wanted on several charges of rape
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and sexual abuse of minors chafe pled
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guilty to four of the charges and after
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plea bargaining was sentenced to five
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and one half years in
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[Music]
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prison next the brutal double murder of
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a mother and son in Dallas
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Texas Dallas
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Texas it's just 2 days before Christmas
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the Dallas County Sheriff's Department
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is setting the table preparing for their
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holiday lunch I'd like to but I need to
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get back on streets it's going to be
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good it's a day that no one in the
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department will ever
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forget officer Roy beard was still on
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duty patrolling an area 10 Mi outside
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Dallas a car parked on the wrong side of
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a dirt road caught his attention
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on the back seat was a pile of Christmas
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gifts on the front seat a blue sports
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bag a pair of women's gloves and a purse
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officer be concluded that someone was in
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trouble I felt that there was possibly a
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rape going on or that a female had been
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raped I then call for cover and made my
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entrance into the fied on the north side
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of the
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road I observed a small boy crumpled to
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the ground and lying next to him was a
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white female that was covered with a
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blanket I touched him and his body was
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still warm I felt that whoever did this
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was possibly still in the
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area later that day the victims were
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identified as 30-year-old roxan GS and
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her 5-year-old son
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Christopher the police in Dallas were
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shocked by these brutal killings solving
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this mystery became a high priority for
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detectives but more than two decades
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would pass before they got their first
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solid
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lead roxan Cheves had moved to Dallas
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with Christopher after a divorce she
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worked for an insurance company enjoyed
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country western dancing and was engaged
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to be remarried
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friends described Christopher as happy
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and an outgoing child he had turned 5
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years old on December
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23rd the very same day that he was
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murdered where you go that morning roxan
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and Christopher had planned to make a
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Christmas trip to visit relatives in
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Kansas concerned that their car might
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break down on the long journey roxan
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took along her
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toolbox an hour before the ERS a man
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that police believe was the killer was
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seen by a neighbor outside of Rox San's
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apartment with a female companion it was
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the first of many eyewitness reports
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that helped investigators piece together
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what happened to roxan and
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Christopher we located a neighbor of
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rock Sands who left about the time that
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Christopher came out the door with the
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red toolbox matter of fact she spoke to
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Christopher in the process of going to
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her car she saw the man carrying the
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toolbox in one hand and Christopher by
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the hand as they went around the corner
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where she believed Roan's car was parked
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she said they looked rough nervous she
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describe them uh as not fitting in the
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complex check under your hood the next
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time the suspect was spotted he was with
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roxan and Christopher in their car the
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woman seen near the apartment was no
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longer with
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them he was acting kind of nervous he
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never looked up at me he never said
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anything you could tell that she was
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nervous and when I looked her she looked
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me right in the eyes and you could tell
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that something was
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wrong her little boy was in the back
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seat and I thought well he act like
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everything's all
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right very much I told one of my fellow
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employees I said it's going to be
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something if something happens to that
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woman cuz ated awful
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strange sometime during the next half
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hour roxan and Christopher were
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murdered I'm afraid that she saw her son
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killed and then she and the killer had
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quite a struggle before she was
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initially shot twice
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herself just as other deputies arrived
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at the scene a witness reported seeing
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the suspect running across a
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field a total of eight eight Witnesses
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saw the killer either running or
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hitchhiking away from the
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scene meanwhile less than a mile away
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investigators were combing the area for
00:15:10
evidence they got
00:15:12
lucky the killer had left behind his
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blue sports pack and it was full of
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Clues inside the bag deputies found a
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preor War II
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holster possibly a collector's item a
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set of burglary tools a brown knit cap
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and finally a bottle of formal deide it
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would be the first hint that the murders
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were linked to drugs Al it was popular
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among heavy drug users then to lace a
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marijuana cigarette with falah hiide
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locally here they called it a Sherman
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stick after the murder callers flooded
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police hotlines with tips many of them
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made the same Justin talked to Roxanne's
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brother Army private Kurt
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Jes police soon learned that just before
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he joined the army Kurt had been staying
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with roxan and Christopher in their
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apartment they also learned that roxan
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seemed relieved when he
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left we know that he was dealing in
00:16:20
marijuana and at some point in time he
00:16:22
had a disagreement with these folks over
00:16:26
some of their uh transactions uh with
00:16:29
regard to this
00:16:30
marijuana according to Roxanne's friends
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a man showed up at her apartment late
00:16:36
one
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night where's Kurt Kurt's not here what
00:16:40
do you mean he's not here police now
00:16:42
believe that when Kurt left to join the
00:16:43
Army he also left behind an angry
00:16:47
customer roxan may have been trapped in
00:16:49
the middle of a bitter dispute over
00:16:52
drugs Kurt owed me some money and I'm
00:16:55
going to find
00:16:57
him 2 years later Roxanne's brother Kurt
00:17:01
had been murdered during a drug buy he
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had always insisted that he knew nothing
00:17:06
about who might have killed his sister
00:17:09
and nephew this case occurred at
00:17:11
Christmas time and I'm sure that myself
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and all the other detectives will never
00:17:16
forget what we saw out there that day
00:17:19
whomever committed that offense doesn't
00:17:22
need to be free in our
00:17:24
society and I don't intend to ever give
00:17:27
up trying to find that person
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[Music]
00:17:35
update 22 years after roxan and
00:17:38
Christopher were murdered a man named
00:17:41
George Washington Hicks was convicted of
00:17:43
the killings police had recovered a
00:17:46
strand of human hair from the cap that
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was left in Bran's car on the day of the
00:17:51
murder the DNA from the hair sample was
00:17:54
compared with DNA from convicts serving
00:17:57
time in Texas state
00:17:59
prisons Hicks was The Identical match at
00:18:03
the time he was serving an 80-year
00:18:05
sentence for sexual assault and two
00:18:08
15-year terms for assault and robbery
00:18:11
after being convicted for the murders of
00:18:13
roxan and Christopher Hicks was
00:18:15
sentenced to life in prison this
00:18:17
sentence will not begin until at least
00:18:20
2024 when he completes his existing
00:18:26
terms next a 20 th Century miracle that
00:18:30
converted many Skeptics into
00:18:43
Believers Fatima
00:18:46
Portugal the shrine of Our Lady of
00:18:48
Fatima is visited by more than 4 million
00:18:51
people every year it is said that on
00:18:54
this very spot in
00:18:56
1917 the Virgin Mary appeared to three
00:18:59
young
00:19:01
children at the time Lucia santush was
00:19:05
10 years old she and her two younger
00:19:07
cousins yasinta and franisco Maru worked
00:19:11
as Shepherds near the small town of
00:19:15
Fatima their story began on Sunday May
00:19:18
13th
00:19:20
1917 Lucia santush and her cousins had
00:19:23
taken their sheep to an area known as
00:19:26
the kova D area land owned by lucius's
00:19:30
family as the flock grazed the children
00:19:34
began to
00:19:37
play they were building a little wall
00:19:39
around a tree when there was a flash of
00:19:42
light and Lucia thought the flash was a
00:19:45
sign of rain she thought that it was
00:19:47
lightning so she said let's go home so
00:19:50
we don't get caught by the
00:19:52
rain when the children saw a second
00:19:55
flash of lightning they realized it
00:19:57
meant more then
00:20:02
rain according to Lucia the glowing
00:20:05
figure said that she was from
00:20:25
Heaven the lady promised to return
00:20:27
several times always on the 13th of the
00:20:30
month she also asked the children to be
00:20:34
her Messengers but warned them to expect
00:20:37
great
00:20:41
hardships although word of the vision
00:20:44
spread quickly not everyone was inspired
00:20:47
by the rumors in fact Lucia's mother was
00:20:51
furious at her daughter's involv
00:21:02
her mother punished her every now and
00:21:04
again sha Maru luci's cousin was a young
00:21:08
boy at the time it wasn't that her
00:21:10
mother was bad but she wanted to have
00:21:12
her daughter to say that this was a lie
00:21:14
but Lucia kept saying how can I say it
00:21:17
was a lie if I actually saw her for
00:21:20
Lucia the suffering predicted by the
00:21:23
lady had begun but even in the face of
00:21:26
her mother's anger she returned with her
00:21:29
cousins to the kova DI area on the
00:21:32
appointed day June 13th they were joined
00:21:35
by some 50 villagers drawn by rumors of
00:21:39
the impending
00:21:43
[Music]
00:21:45
visitation once again the three children
00:21:48
claimed the lady from Heaven appeared to
00:21:50
them as in the first
00:21:53
visitation only Lucia spoke to the
00:21:56
vision
00:21:58
although some said that a strange Cloud
00:22:00
of light was visible no one else saw the
00:22:04
lady from
00:22:10
[Music]
00:22:18
heaven when news of the second
00:22:20
visitation reached Lucia's mother she
00:22:23
was outraged she believed that her
00:22:25
daughter was part of a hoax
00:22:30
her mother said you're going to go to
00:22:32
the priest and you're going to confess
00:22:34
to him in front of the altar in the
00:22:35
church that you li when confronted by
00:22:39
the local priest Lucia refused to
00:22:42
discuss what she had seen given the time
00:22:45
and place this was a startling Act of
00:22:48
disobedience
00:22:54
[Music]
00:23:15
later in life Lucia wrote about the
00:23:18
episode as I heard people say that the
00:23:20
devil always brings conflict and
00:23:23
disorder I began to think that truly
00:23:26
ever since I had started seeing these
00:23:28
things
00:23:29
our home was no longer the same for joy
00:23:32
and peace had fled what anguish I
00:23:38
felt July 13th
00:23:41
1917 the appointed day for the third
00:23:45
appearance by now word of the miraculous
00:23:48
Visions had spread across Portugal and
00:23:50
neighboring Spain pilgrims clogged the
00:23:53
roads leading to Lova at 12:00 noon the
00:23:57
mysterious vision appeared once more but
00:24:00
once again it was only visible to the
00:24:03
three
00:24:10
children the lady from Heaven reminded
00:24:13
Lucia to return at noon on the 13th day
00:24:17
of each month she also promised that on
00:24:20
her sixth appearance she would perform a
00:24:23
miracle for all to see and believe the
00:24:27
lady then presented a terrifying vision
00:24:30
of
00:24:31
Hell a vision that Lucia later described
00:24:35
in her
00:24:36
memoirs plunged in this fire were demons
00:24:39
and Soares in human form Amid shrieks
00:24:42
and groans of pain and despair which
00:24:44
horrified us and made us tremble with
00:24:49
[Music]
00:24:50
fear Lucia claimed that her vision of
00:24:53
hell was the lady's warning that God was
00:24:56
offended by the conflict in Europe
00:24:59
World War I was then in its third year
00:25:02
although the lady predicted that the war
00:25:04
would end soon she said that it would be
00:25:07
replaced by a more serious conflict a
00:25:11
war with
00:25:13
Russia Lucia said the lady from Heaven
00:25:15
revealed one more prophecy but made her
00:25:19
promise not to reveal it one month later
00:25:22
the promise would be severely
00:25:26
tested August 13th the day of the fourth
00:25:30
appearance a local government official
00:25:33
offered to take the three children to
00:25:36
the
00:25:44
C Lucia and her cousins were whisked
00:25:47
away to a government prison 9 miles from
00:25:51
Fatima the town official was convinced
00:25:54
that the children's Vision was a hoax
00:25:57
and he was certain that he could extract
00:25:59
the truth from Young
00:26:20
Lucia the children were held and
00:26:22
tormented for 3
00:26:25
days outside the Prison Walls their
00:26:28
family and friends gathered to express
00:26:31
their
00:26:34
outrage in spite of the harsh tactics
00:26:36
10-year-old Lucia kept her promise to
00:26:39
the lady from Heaven officials admitted
00:26:42
their failure and the children were
00:26:45
finally allowed to return
00:26:47
home according to Sister Lucia the lady
00:26:51
from Heaven appeared a fourth time and a
00:26:53
fifth just as predicted as the date for
00:26:56
the sixth appearance approached
00:26:58
excitement built coming up startling
00:27:01
eyewitness accounts of the legendary
00:27:04
Miracle
00:27:09
[Music]
00:27:11
at October 13th
00:27:15
1917 the day of the long awaited miracle
00:27:18
was wet and miserable thousands
00:27:21
descended on
00:27:22
FAA these photographs show some of the
00:27:25
estimated 70,000 people who gathered
00:27:29
with the hope of witnessing a Divine
00:27:31
Vision many had come from hundreds of
00:27:34
miles away soon after Lucia arrived at
00:27:38
the kova area the rain suddenly stopped
00:27:42
the huge crowd included both the curious
00:27:45
and the
00:27:46
faithful a handful of reporters from the
00:27:49
major newspapers squeezed in among them
00:27:52
the local priest fearing a public Fiasco
00:27:55
that would embarrass the church was one
00:27:57
of the most V local
00:28:19
doubters the crowd grew silent as Lucia
00:28:23
began to speak although to onlookers it
00:28:26
appeared that she was talking in to thin
00:28:34
[Music]
00:28:42
[Music]
00:28:47
air eyewitnesses reported that the sun
00:28:50
began to move and Rays of multicolored
00:28:53
light were seen shooting across the sky
00:28:56
then suddenly the sun seemed to
00:29:01
[Applause]
00:29:04
fall the crowd went silent until the sun
00:29:07
abruptly reversed course and returned to
00:29:10
its rightful place in the
00:29:12
sky the miracle of the son of Fatima is
00:29:15
certainly the most spectacular physical
00:29:17
manifestation uh physical miracle that
00:29:20
has been associated with our lady she
00:29:22
had to manifest her um presence in a
00:29:25
grand manner in a very convincing and
00:29:27
spectacular manner
00:29:28
because it was important that people all
00:29:31
over the world should believe uh what
00:29:33
she had
00:29:35
said according to Witnesses the amazing
00:29:38
display lasted for 12 minutes people as
00:29:42
far away as 600 mil from FMA reported
00:29:45
seeing the event and yet some
00:29:47
eyewitnesses at the coova claim they saw
00:29:50
absolutely nothing out of the
00:29:53
ordinary but for some Skeptics the
00:29:56
spectacular Accounts at Fatima were real
00:30:00
Aina D Ela the editor of A government
00:30:03
controlled newspaper became a believer
00:30:06
that
00:30:08
day at the hour foretold the rain ceased
00:30:11
to fall the dense mass of clouds parted
00:30:14
and the sun began to whirl around in a
00:30:17
wild and violent dance with such lovely
00:30:20
glowing colors passing successively over
00:30:22
the sun's surface over the years the
00:30:25
Miracle at Fatima became the subject of
00:30:28
considerable debate some dismissed the
00:30:31
events as a textbook case of mass
00:30:34
hysteria but others interpreted the
00:30:36
large number of eyewitness accounts as
00:30:39
credible evidence that a miracle had
00:30:43
occurred today a basilica stands where
00:30:46
Lucia and her cousins claimed to have
00:30:48
seen the lady from heaven in
00:30:52
1930 the Catholic Church recognized the
00:30:54
events at Fatima as a miracle Worthy of
00:30:59
belief Lucia's younger cousins both died
00:31:02
during a worldwide flu epidemic within
00:31:05
three years of the Visions many believe
00:31:09
their deaths fulfilled the lady's
00:31:10
promise that the children would soon be
00:31:13
called to Heaven soon after her cousins
00:31:17
passed away 14-year-old Lucia santush
00:31:21
retreated to the safety of a Convent for
00:31:24
most of her life she remained behind
00:31:26
cloistered walls
00:31:28
Lucia died in 2005 at the age of 97 the
00:31:34
day of her funeral was declared a
00:31:36
national day of mour in
00:31:40
Portugal over the decades Fatima's call
00:31:43
to the faithful has grown even more
00:31:45
powerful the tide of pilgrims has
00:31:47
swelled from the thousands who joined
00:31:49
Lucia in
00:31:51
1917 to several million in recent years
00:31:55
even those who remain skeptical of
00:31:58
Miracles are mystified by the events at
00:32:01
Fatima and the 10-year-old girl whom
00:32:03
many believe was chosen to be God's
00:32:08
messenger while there were some who
00:32:10
admired me and considered me a saint
00:32:12
there were always others who called me a
00:32:14
hypocrite and a
00:32:16
sorceress they are all
00:32:19
mistaken I am not a saint and I am not a
00:32:22
liar only God knows what I
00:32:26
am sister Lucia promised the Virgin Mary
00:32:29
that she would never reveal the secret
00:32:32
prophecy the Vatican also insisted that
00:32:35
she not speak about her experience
00:32:37
without permission sister Lucia took the
00:32:40
Secret of Fatima to her
00:32:44
grave next a millionaire who became a
00:32:47
father during a youthful love affair
00:32:49
tries to find his long lost daughter the
00:32:52
heir to his fortune
00:32:58
[Music]
00:33:04
we recently featured the story of WB
00:33:06
Mack McDonald a self-made millionaire
00:33:09
who was searching for his long Lost Heir
00:33:12
a child whom Mack had seen only once
00:33:15
more than 50 years
00:33:18
before Pomona California
00:33:23
1948 when Mack was 18 he fell in love
00:33:26
with a 16-year-old girl named Mary Helen
00:33:29
Carr but her mother disapproved of their
00:33:32
relationship and threatened to have mac
00:33:34
arrested if their romance
00:33:37
continued so he decided to leave
00:33:42
town 3 weeks later Mary Helen ran away
00:33:45
from home to join Mac in
00:33:48
Houston had a new neighbor you did
00:33:51
pretending to be husband and wife the
00:33:53
young lovers moved in together but their
00:33:56
happiness didn't last long just a
00:34:00
minute you who is it I don't know Mac
00:34:02
received a call from a friend who said
00:34:04
that the police were on their way to the
00:34:09
apartment authorities carried warrants
00:34:11
charging Mac with statutory rape that's
00:34:14
fine that's fine I'll call
00:34:18
you mack made his escape with no time to
00:34:22
spare I was devastated again they jerked
00:34:27
her back to to uh
00:34:31
California and I hadn't I had no way of
00:34:33
contacting her
00:34:36
again A year had passed and Mac returned
00:34:39
to California for a new job one evening
00:34:42
he and a friend stopped off at a
00:34:44
drive-in in Long Beach
00:34:48
ma
00:34:52
Mary Mack was shocked to learn that he
00:34:54
was a father he visited Mary Helen and
00:34:57
met his child for the first and only
00:35:01
time fearing that police were still
00:35:03
looking for him he left after only 5
00:35:06
minutes he never even learned if the
00:35:09
baby was a boy or a
00:35:13
girl Mack is now a wealthy businessman
00:35:16
and wants to find the child that he'd
00:35:18
left
00:35:19
behind I feel that the youngsters
00:35:21
entitled to my estate and I'd want that
00:35:25
youngster to know that I love them and I
00:35:28
want him to have the
00:35:31
best the night of our broadcast M
00:35:34
McDonald learned that he had a daughter
00:35:36
named Sherry the long awaited news came
00:35:39
from a viewer in Texas Mary Helen Carr
00:35:43
Sherry's
00:35:45
mother one week after the story aired
00:35:48
Mack arrived at Sherry's home in Denver
00:35:53
Colorado
00:35:55
no come on in
00:35:59
it's hard to describe the feeling that I
00:36:02
had for my daughter when I opened the
00:36:03
door and she was there and I was able to
00:36:06
hold her he said I don't want to hold
00:36:09
you at this point in my life to find
00:36:11
that there is someone who is my father
00:36:13
and who wants to establish a
00:36:14
relationship with me it's just
00:36:16
emotionally very
00:36:18
traumatic I just try to come to the
00:36:20
realization that it really was my father
00:36:22
standing there and I just you know does
00:36:24
he does he look like me does he act like
00:36:27
me I have all these things I need to
00:36:28
learn about
00:36:31
him the fact that I didn't stay and
00:36:34
fight the battle it's most unfortunate I
00:36:38
don't believe I would do it that way
00:36:40
again however yesterday unfortunately
00:36:43
can't be
00:36:45
redone no matter how you look at it he
00:36:48
left my mother with a with a tiny baby
00:36:50
you know and I have to deal with that I
00:36:53
have to deal with the fact that I have a
00:36:54
father who loves for me who is raised me
00:36:57
who's cared for me but I believe there's
00:37:01
enough room in this family for everyone
00:37:03
and I sincerely mean
00:37:05
that M McDonald's search for his
00:37:08
long-lost daughter has come to an end
00:37:11
and he is determined to never lose touch
00:37:13
with her
00:37:14
[Music]
00:37:19
again Ashboro North
00:37:24
Carolina James Donald King a convicted
00:37:27
murder murderer is released from prison
00:37:30
King has served only 6 years of a life
00:37:33
sentence for killing his wife but is
00:37:35
granted an early parole for good
00:37:38
behavior prosecutors in nearby
00:37:41
Greensboro challenge the parole board's
00:37:43
ruling they argue strongly that King is
00:37:47
a vicious killer and his early release
00:37:49
could have deadly
00:37:54
consequences James King grew up in
00:37:56
Greensboro North Carolina the oldest of
00:38:00
12 children he was an honor student and
00:38:03
a senior class president at his high
00:38:05
school King got to hang it around the
00:38:08
wrong crowd the man we'll call Gordon
00:38:10
was a high school classmate of James
00:38:12
King he is now an undercover law
00:38:15
enforcement agent these guys that he was
00:38:18
hanging around with had been in uh
00:38:19
trouble with the law in the past and I
00:38:22
think they had a lot of influence over
00:38:26
him 20 years years later King was a
00:38:29
different person he was an angry man in
00:38:32
a dismal marriage he and his wife
00:38:34
Shirley fought
00:38:38
constantly I need to talk to you I need
00:38:41
to talk to you why you keep turning your
00:38:42
back on
00:38:44
me
00:38:46
[Music]
00:38:48
don't oh my baby shley king died
00:38:52
instantly James King was found by the
00:38:55
police the next morning less than a mile
00:38:58
away sound asleep in a
00:39:02
car King played guilty to first degree
00:39:05
murder and was sentenced to life all
00:39:08
right break time during his first four
00:39:11
years in jail King was a model prisoner
00:39:14
and then while working on a chain gang
00:39:17
he made a bold split-second
00:39:20
decision man run down
00:39:28
King stayed on the run and avoided
00:39:30
capture for 9 years police finally
00:39:34
received the tip that he was working as
00:39:35
a janitor in
00:39:38
Boston he was arrested without incident
00:39:41
and returned to prison in North
00:39:44
Carolina two years later the parole
00:39:47
board made a startling decision based
00:39:50
upon King's productive life and his
00:39:52
law-abiding Behavior while he was an
00:39:55
escaped convict they ruled that he was
00:39:57
eligible for early release due to
00:40:01
Goodtime credit when I learned of the
00:40:04
attempts to have Mr King parole I wrote
00:40:07
a letter to the parole board strenuously
00:40:10
objecting to him even being considered
00:40:13
for parole I didn't feel serving six
00:40:16
years on life sentence for first-degree
00:40:18
murder was anything close to
00:40:21
sufficient in spite of the objections
00:40:24
James Donald king became a free man once
00:40:27
again
00:40:28
again less than a year after his parole
00:40:32
King married Gloria Cornelius a nursing
00:40:35
home worker with three children from a
00:40:37
previous marriage within a few months
00:40:40
the destructive pattern of his first
00:40:42
marriage began to repeat itself where
00:40:45
have you been I've been working working
00:40:48
you're 2 hours late King was drinking
00:40:51
heavily and began to physically abuse
00:40:53
Gloria don't touch me finally she walked
00:40:58
out on
00:41:00
him 3 months later Gloria was playing
00:41:03
bingo with friends in Downtown
00:41:06
Greensboro at midnight king showed up
00:41:10
Gloria I need to talk to you I don't
00:41:12
have anything to say to do come on I
00:41:14
really need to talk to
00:41:16
you I'll be
00:41:21
back 30 minutes later Greensboro police
00:41:24
found the body of Gloria King she had
00:41:27
been shot five
00:41:29
times once again James Donald King was
00:41:33
on the
00:41:34
run when I heard that Gloria had been
00:41:37
killed and that King was the suspect I
00:41:41
felt that the parole board was the main
00:41:44
culprit because if they had followed the
00:41:47
rules and guidelines of the court system
00:41:51
properly Glory may still be
00:41:56
alive after date James King was arrested
00:42:00
in Dayton Ohio thanks to a tip from one
00:42:03
of our viewers at the time he was
00:42:05
working in a metal foundry James King
00:42:08
was tried and convicted of first-degree
00:42:10
murder and sentenced to death
00:42:15
[Music]
00:42:25
[Music]
00:42:37
[Music]
00:42:50
[Music]

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 80
    Most shocking
  • 75
    Most heartbreaking
  • 75
    Biggest twist
  • 70
    Most emotional

Episode Highlights

  • The Disappearance of Strider Starfire
    Strider Starfire vanishes under suspicious circumstances, raising questions about his past.
    “Did Strider Starfire stage his own disappearance?”
    @ 08m 55s
    March 09, 2017
  • Brutal Double Murder in Dallas
    A mother and her young son are found murdered just before Christmas, shocking the community.
    “This case occurred at Christmas time, and I’m sure we’ll never forget it.”
    @ 17m 11s
    March 09, 2017
  • Miracle at Fatima
    In 1917, three children claim to see the Virgin Mary, igniting a religious phenomenon.
    “The lady from Heaven promised to return several times.”
    @ 20m 34s
    March 09, 2017
  • The Miracle of Fatima
    Eyewitnesses reported the sun moving and multicolored rays shooting across the sky, marking a miraculous event.
    “The miracle of the sun at Fatima is certainly the most spectacular physical manifestation.”
    @ 29m 12s
    March 09, 2017
  • Lucia's Promise
    Sister Lucia promised the Virgin Mary that she would never reveal the secret prophecy.
    “I am not a saint and I am not a liar; only God knows what I am.”
    @ 32m 22s
    March 09, 2017
  • A Father's Love
    Mack McDonald learns he has a daughter named Sherry after decades of searching.
    “I feel that the youngsters are entitled to my estate and I want them to know that I love them.”
    @ 35m 21s
    March 09, 2017
  • Tragic Consequences
    James Donald King, released on parole, becomes a suspect in his wife's murder shortly after.
    “If they had followed the rules properly, Gloria may still be alive.”
    @ 41m 56s
    March 09, 2017

Episode Quotes

  • My life really spiraled out of control.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 7, Episode 21
  • I was overwhelmed with everything that had happened.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 7, Episode 21
  • He created a fantasy world for a lot of people.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 7, Episode 21
  • I don’t intend to ever give up trying to find that person.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 7, Episode 21
  • The miracle of the sun at Fatima is certainly the most spectacular physical manifestation.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 7, Episode 21
  • If they had followed the rules properly, Gloria may still be alive.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 7, Episode 21

Key Moments

  • Strider's Vanishing Act08:39
  • Brutal Christmas Murders10:32
  • Fatima Visions19:11
  • Miracle of the Sun29:12
  • Lucia's Secret32:22
  • Father's Search35:21
  • Murder and Parole41:56

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown

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