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this program is about unsolved mysteries
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whenever possible the actual family
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members and police officials have
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participated in recreating the events
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what you were about to see is not a news
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broadcast September 1989 Seattle
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Washington one of the largest fires in
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the city's history erupts at a lumber
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warehouse authorities soon attribute the
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blaze to an elusive master arsonist
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whose reign of destruction resulted in
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millions of dollars in damage left at
00:00:37
least two firefighters dead six decades
00:00:41
ago senator Huey Long of Louisiana is
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one of the most powerful politicians in
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America a man many believed was destined
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to be President but in 1935 lon was
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felled by an assassin's bullet now some
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researchers believe it the man thought
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to be Long's killer was in fact innocent
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and that this may have been the first
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political assassination in America where
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the truth was concealed by a cover-up in
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1947
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girl was found badly beaten and
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abandoned in a field in weed California
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today that little girl is a successful
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businessman who is still searching for a
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long-lost brother who she met only once
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45 years ago jointly for these
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fascinating stories perhaps you may be
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able help solve a mystery
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[Music]
00:02:30
September 9th 1989 Seattle Washington
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just after 10 p.m.
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20 engine companies responded to a four
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alarm blaze at the vacant Blackstock
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lumber warehouse well the first company
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arrived the blaze appeared to be
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controllable isolated one wing of the
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building in a matter of minutes however
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it would become one of the largest fires
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in Seattle history
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Matt Johnson and Bill Meredith were two
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of the first firefighters to get inside
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we decided to explore what appeared to
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be a second-story mezzanine type of area
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while I was up there there is a
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tremendous release of heat from
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somewhere the roof had exploded into a
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5,000 degree wall of flame well now
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they're two stories below the infernal
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Meredith and Johnson were overwhelmed by
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a burst of radiant heat so strong they
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were in danger of being baked alive the
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lack of oxygen and tremendous heat left
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Matt Johnson unable to move bill
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Meredith went for help and became
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disoriented himself I've been happy for
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that
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experience that I've had my ears
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blistered but this was something else it
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was like being x-rated with heat it was
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absolutely stunning bill man was somehow
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survived despite the fact that his body
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temperature had climbed to a point which
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normally means certain death
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the next day his partner Matt Johnson
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will be found dead in the road
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he was 32 years old married and the
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father of a 15 month old son at first
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police suspected that the fire had been
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started accidentally by a vagrant trying
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to keep warm but the burned-out
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warehouse had a different look to one
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veteran investigator with the Seattle
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Fire Department
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- Dennis Fowler that carry the
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distinctive signature of an elusive
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criminal he'd been tracking for years a
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criminal who may be the world's most
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sophisticated and deadly arsonist on a
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scale of one to ten he's a 10 as far as
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his skills and his abilities go to bring
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a building down you can't put them out
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and the reason you can't is because they
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generate so much heat and energy that a
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hose water that simply cannot overcome
00:05:17
it
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Fowler first encountered the work of the
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arsonist in 1984 and Seattle's 40,000
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square foot carpet exchange warehouse
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burned to the ground in an astounding 19
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minutes flat the heat was so intense
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that it literally boiled concrete and
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vaporized steel beams the firefighters
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themselves said it was hotter than they
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had ever experienced before and this
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guys were in state-of-the-art
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firefighting a protective clothing and
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and they're still outside and they've
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got hose lines and they can't get in
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here that they can't get near the fire
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after the Blackstock lumber fire the
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Seattle Fire Department took the unusual
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step of investigating on a national
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scale
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they analyzed dozens of fires across the
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United States and Canada and found at
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least 20 which bore the hallmark of a
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person some call the king of arsonists
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the Seattle Fire Department now believed
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they were dealing with the most
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sophisticated arsonist in the history of
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the United States for fire fighters it
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was our worst nightmare come true the
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blazes set by this arsonist defied logic
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burning hotter and faster because of the
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oxygen and the water from the fire hoses
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in essence these arson fires were death
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traps
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one factor above all others made the
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arsonist extremely difficult to track he
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used a fuel of unknown origin an
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accelerant which left behind absolutely
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no residue burn thousands of square feet
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as little a time as three minutes
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generated temperatures which topped up
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between five and seven thousand degrees
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three times hotter than a normal fire
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here you can see some silicates which
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have boiled up out of the concrete from
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the high temperatures that we have with
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the thermite as the data developed it
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began to narrow the field as to what
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type of accelerators might be and
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actually what could be happening inside
00:07:22
these structural systems and it was it
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was something that had never been tested
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before and so we went through a series
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of tests involving various types of
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exothermic fuels high-temperature fuels
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that had never been burned in in
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building tests on March 25th 1990 after
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a year of intensive research the Seattle
00:07:47
Fire Department set a test fire an empty
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shopping center in Puyallup a Seattle
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suburb the entire complex was destroyed
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finis
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the queue up test fire allowed us to
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narrow the field of potential
00:08:02
accelerants down tremendously although
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it did not exactly duplicate what the
00:08:08
arsonist is able to do it reproduced
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close enough for us to know that this
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was the type of fuel that the artist is
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using and this is what we were looking
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for the fuel which is Seattle Fire
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Department is kept top secret was an
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oddball mixture of several common
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ingredients all readily available but
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only someone with highly specialized
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knowledge would know how to put those
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ingredients together the ceiling heights
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and those rafters
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he knows the fuel is important its
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credit and how much he needs to use to
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take a building down over all square
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footage he may not be an engineer but he
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certainly knows a lot about building
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construction this person probably has no
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contact at all with the people who are
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going to burn the building or who
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actually are going to you know have the
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building burned once the fuel is
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delivered anybody can light it
00:09:07
the only one of the arsonists fires to
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generate eyewitnesses was one of the
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largest Blackstock lumber fire in
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Seattle I read about the Blackstock
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lumber fire in the paper and I realized
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that I had been in the vicinity of the
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fire approximately 15 to 20 minutes
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before the alarm was called in I was
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driving along the road Blackstock
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lumberyard is located on I noticed a
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vehicle probably a 1970s vintage early
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80s
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Mercedes coming out of a parking lot and
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it just seemed out of place at the time
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and out of character for the
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neighborhood it's that area is a
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industrial area and at that time of
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night everything is closed down another
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eyewitness said she saw a
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suspicious-looking man after the
00:10:02
Blackstock fire was already in progress
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he paid absolutely no attention to this
00:10:08
fire basically just going about his
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business and she found that to be
00:10:15
unbelievable
00:10:17
it would appear that the fellow was
00:10:19
possibly somebody who that actually
00:10:22
ignited the fire waited for a crowd
00:10:24
together so they could blend in and make
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a casual exit from the area under
00:10:31
hypnosis the eyewitnesses described two
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very different men neither one is
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considered a suspect but authorities
00:10:38
would like to question them both the man
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driving the Mercedes was between 35 and
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45 years old with blob possibly graying
00:10:47
hair and fair skin he had a mustache and
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beard and a receding hairline the man
00:10:55
seen leaving the fire was well dressed
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six feet tall in his early or mid 30s he
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had an athletic build a dark complexion
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and well-groomed dark hair there hasn't
00:11:08
been a single one of these fires where
00:11:09
we haven't had a large number of
00:11:10
firefighters who have suffered anything
00:11:12
from minor injuries to to extensive
00:11:16
injuries no very serious injuries and in
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one of the Seattle fires we we had a
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firefighter who died that's a murder and
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that's why it's important to me to date
00:11:31
the arson fires have claimed the lives
00:11:32
of at least two firefighters while a
00:11:35
search continues for the arsonist
00:11:37
himself authorities are analyzing
00:11:39
insurance files from suspicious fires
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across the nation
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[Music]
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when we return nearly 60 years after the
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death of Senator Huey Long his murder
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remains a subject of controversy
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[Music]
00:12:10
President John F Kennedy the Reverend
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Martin Luther King jr. and Senator
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Robert Kennedy political assassinations
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that changed the course of recent
00:12:22
history however an entire generation may
00:12:26
not be aware that three decades earlier
00:12:27
another assassination rocked this
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country to his foundations a man who was
00:12:33
killed was named Huey Peirce long
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senator from the state of Louisiana and
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a man who might very well have become
00:12:40
president
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to many he was a spirited visionary but
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to others Huey Long was a dangerous
00:12:46
radical will not destroy the
00:12:49
profitsystem will not destroy the
00:12:51
capitalistic system we won't destroy the
00:12:54
Constitution of the United States we
00:12:56
won't destroy the Declaration of
00:12:58
Independence on the contrary we'll make
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seeds that's the rates of Independence
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read in the words that was rich man
00:13:05
instead of having an imperfect
00:13:09
Huy long known as the kingfish came to
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prominence of 1920s his down-home style
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contrasted sharply with a brilliant
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legal mind he completed just one year of
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law school yet by the age of 29 he had
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already argued two cases successfully
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before the United States Supreme Court
00:13:29
when he was 34 long was elected governor
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of Louisiana he was swept into office
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thanks in part to his philosophy of
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redistributing American wealth no man
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must be allowed to have too much no man
00:13:44
must be allowed to have to live unless
00:13:47
you limit the size of the big it
00:13:49
necessarily means that the small people
00:13:51
must become more and more impoverished
00:13:54
as time goes on at the age of 37 Huey
00:13:58
Long was elected to the US Senate he was
00:14:01
clearly a national figure and there was
00:14:03
serious talk of a run for president in
00:14:05
1936 the very thought of Huey Long in
00:14:12
the White House prompted opposition
00:14:14
groups in Louisiana to arm themselves
00:14:16
hoping to shatter Long's power base in
00:14:19
his home state to the rich and powerful
00:14:21
long was a devil incarnate and many
00:14:24
believed Huey Long was better dead than
00:14:26
president in fact a viewer convinced it
00:14:29
was the only way to stop him
00:14:32
I was elected Railroad Commissioner of
00:14:36
Louisiana in 1918 and they tried to
00:14:39
impeach them in 1920 when they failed
00:14:45
impeachment 1920 then died him in 1921
00:14:54
and I when I wiggled through that I
00:14:57
managed to become governor in 1928 and
00:15:00
they impeached me in 1929 Huey Long we
00:15:08
had a great compassion for a lot of
00:15:10
people but that compassion did not
00:15:12
extend to people who crossed him once
00:15:15
you crossed Huey Long you had an enemy
00:15:17
for life people lost jobs they lost
00:15:20
businesses they lost lands they lost
00:15:23
everything because of the vindictiveness
00:15:24
of you along
00:15:28
Judge Henry papi of st. Landry Parish
00:15:30
was one of the many elected officials
00:15:32
long targeted for political destruction
00:15:36
by contrast javis 29 year old son-in-law
00:15:39
dr. Carl Austin Weiss was known to be a
00:15:42
political but it was dr. Weiss a
00:15:45
respected Baton Rouge physician whose
00:15:47
name was to become inextricably linked
00:15:50
to Huey Long's on September 8 1935 the
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two men would meet for the first and
00:15:56
only time it was a meeting that would
00:15:58
change history four days earlier Huey
00:16:07
Long had returned to Louisiana from
00:16:09
Washington DC for a special state
00:16:12
legislative session despite the threats
00:16:20
against his life
00:16:21
senator along strode boldly between the
00:16:24
Statehouse chamber and governor Oscar
00:16:26
Allen's office or history records at dr.
00:16:29
Carl Austin Weiss
00:16:30
lay in wait
00:16:33
[Music]
00:16:52
[Applause]
00:16:54
[Music]
00:16:56
dr. Carl Austin Weiss was killed
00:16:59
instantly shot more than 60 times by
00:17:01
Long's bodyguards his 32 caliber pistol
00:17:05
was found beside him Huey Long died 30
00:17:09
hours later he was just 42 years old
00:17:12
[Music]
00:17:16
Long's funeral drew 100,000 mourners
00:17:20
most of them working people no one could
00:17:25
believe that a force of nature like the
00:17:27
senator had been forever silenced five
00:17:35
days after Huey Long's funeral an
00:17:37
inquest seemed to establish dr. Carl
00:17:39
Austin Weiss as the assassin some
00:17:42
speculated that his motive was to stop
00:17:44
Huey Long from sabotaging the political
00:17:46
career Weiss's father-in-law Judge Henry
00:17:48
papi Weiss his own family in a state of
00:17:51
shock had no choice but to accept the
00:17:53
verdict however today strong evidence
00:17:56
has been amassed which indicates that ue
00:17:58
long may have been killed accidentally
00:18:00
and that dr. Weiss may have been
00:18:02
innocent on the day Huey Long was shot
00:18:09
my wife's family gathered as usual for
00:18:12
Sunday dinner at the home of Carl's
00:18:14
father and Baton Rouge Louisiana
00:18:16
and how was your father the judge he's
00:18:18
fine too in 1933 Carl Weiss had married
00:18:21
Henry Parvez daughter Yvonne at the
00:18:24
special legislative session then in
00:18:26
progress Huey Long was trying to
00:18:28
gerrymander Judge Bobby's judicial
00:18:30
district out of existence taking
00:18:33
people's jobs away their livelihoods
00:18:34
away and it's coming right in your
00:18:36
family how can you not be upset poppy
00:18:38
you just don't understand long is cut
00:18:40
from a different breed according to
00:18:43
those present it was Karl Weiss's father
00:18:45
who was reading against huge ironically
00:18:49
dr. Weiss himself minimized Long's
00:18:51
actions and tried to calm his father
00:18:53
down good morning in church we've got a
00:18:55
delightful dinner here let's not let
00:18:57
this destroy it you're right about that
00:19:00
son before the day was over dr. Weiss
00:19:02
would be dead and his name vilified he
00:19:05
left behind his wife and a son Carl
00:19:08
Austin Weiss Jr who was granted unsolved
00:19:11
mysteries a rare interview naturally
00:19:14
most of what I know of my father is very
00:19:18
secondhand but understandably it's been
00:19:21
one of my major life interests naturally
00:19:25
there's been a lot of interest folk
00:19:26
stun the minute-by-minute detail of my
00:19:30
father's day where he went what he did
00:19:32
etc he spent the afternoon at home and
00:19:35
then he left to visit the home of a man
00:19:39
named Morgan who was a patient of his
00:19:41
and I believe my father made a phone
00:19:43
call from the Morgan home to make plans
00:19:46
for the morning surgery thereafter he
00:19:49
left and for reasons that I don't
00:19:53
believe we'll ever know he didn't go
00:19:55
directly home but stopped and the rest
00:19:58
is as they say history at the state
00:20:03
capital that evening the career of
00:20:05
Yvonne Rice's father Judge Henry Poli
00:20:08
hung in the balance House bill number
00:20:10
one the redistricting plan was Huey
00:20:13
Long's top priority how much long time
00:20:16
off to wait for House bill number one to
00:20:17
pass we just got started I am tired of
00:20:20
Henry Pape is sitting on that judges
00:20:21
bench I thought y'all was gonna get him
00:20:22
out tonight we just started working on
00:20:24
this last night you got resistance y'all
00:20:26
you get resistance every bill you passed
00:20:28
I didn't no excuse no more we just got
00:20:29
to take our time time you're pushing too
00:20:31
hard
00:20:32
I built this building faster than you
00:20:33
boys I'm passing this bill now what's
00:20:34
the deal here Huey I don't think you
00:20:36
understand look we got a state
00:20:38
constitution that tells us how to run
00:20:40
things tell you some about this big
00:20:41
Constitution I am the state constitution
00:20:44
you understand me now do you have the
00:20:46
votes to pass this bill or not no other
00:20:48
well then get back down on the floor
00:20:49
with your little Constitution never mind
00:20:51
I'll go back out at 9:00 p.m. the
00:21:02
special session was still going strong
00:21:04
Huey Long trot is familiar territory
00:21:07
oblivious to the arrival of dr. Weiss
00:21:10
some people believe Carl Weiss went to
00:21:12
the Capitol not to shoot Huey Long but
00:21:15
to plead his father-in-law's case Carl
00:21:19
Weiss took his position outside of the
00:21:22
governor's office he was not hidden
00:21:23
outside of the governor's office he was
00:21:26
in plain view because it was approached
00:21:27
by other people who knew him who saw him
00:21:30
there approached him shook hands with
00:21:32
him talked with him
00:21:36
[Applause]
00:21:38
three times Weiss would approach Huey
00:21:40
long that night and three times he would
00:21:43
be brushed aside
00:21:48
[Music]
00:21:50
on another pass Weiss was a little bit
00:21:53
more urgent and he told long that he
00:21:56
really had to talk with him and long
00:21:58
once again said he didn't have the time
00:22:00
to talk to Weiss history records the
00:22:17
rest in some blue haze really but we're
00:22:22
uncertain as to what happened but that
00:22:24
is well how the scene was set for this
00:22:26
particular moment at 9:20 p.m. dr. Weiss
00:22:34
would approach Huey Long for the third
00:22:36
and final time revisionist historians
00:22:40
were convinced that Carl Weiss did not
00:22:42
kill Huey Long believe it happened like
00:22:44
this
00:22:46
[Music]
00:22:51
all right they go first thing in the
00:22:53
morning and this is the last time I'm
00:22:55
doing your job for you you understand me
00:22:56
mr. Vaughn I've got the tire you leave
00:22:59
me alone you little pissant
00:23:02
[Music]
00:23:09
[Music]
00:23:25
huyn was taken to a nearby hospital
00:23:28
despite his wounds the kingfish remained
00:23:31
very much in charge
00:23:37
Hughie long had been briefed as to who
00:23:40
the man was who was there who they
00:23:43
claimed had shot him he had been given a
00:23:45
lot of information somebody had to come
00:23:47
up with a story as to exactly what
00:23:50
happened there and Huey Long felt and he
00:23:52
was the man to do it matter what happens
00:23:55
in here you keep your mouth shut about
00:23:56
the capital you hear me I'll do all the
00:23:58
talking about that okay all right and
00:24:00
you tell him of the boys I said to shut
00:24:02
the hell up I'll do the talking about
00:24:04
that all right
00:24:08
Huey Long was shot around 9:20 he was
00:24:12
operated on sometime around 11 o'clock
00:24:14
they went inside found out that the
00:24:17
colon had been punctured in two places
00:24:20
that was a transverse colon that runs
00:24:22
across the the body they sutured the
00:24:25
colon in both places they're cleaned of
00:24:28
the spillage they sewed up Huey Long and
00:24:31
then pronounced him cured not really
00:24:34
understanding what the consequences were
00:24:36
but that was to dawn on them later on
00:24:39
too late it was discovered that the
00:24:42
surgeons had overlooked a serious wound
00:24:44
to the senator's kidney a day and a half
00:24:48
later on September 10th 1935 Huey Long
00:24:51
passed into history
00:24:55
[Music]
00:24:57
it was the end of an era
00:25:00
life in Louisiana and possibly in the
00:25:03
United States would never be the same
00:25:05
again
00:25:06
Huey Long to kingfish was gone at the
00:25:11
official inquest eight days later dr.
00:25:14
Carl Austin Weiss was named as Long's
00:25:16
assassin
00:25:17
however some made unconvinced
00:25:22
most assassins leave a paper trail they
00:25:25
leave some hint as to what they did and
00:25:28
why they did it there was nothing like
00:25:30
this Carl Weiss was not a man who was
00:25:32
preparing to shoot anybody and at that
00:25:34
dinner at noontime on September the 8th
00:25:37
he was a model of propriety and really
00:25:40
he was in complete control of himself
00:25:43
Carl Weiss was a father of a
00:25:45
three-month-old son he was making
00:25:48
provisions for the future he spent a
00:25:51
very normal Sunday and there was nothing
00:25:53
to Incline anybody to believe that he
00:25:55
had this on his mind I think was
00:25:58
altogether incomprehensible that he
00:26:01
could have been the perpetrator of this
00:26:03
crime no one disputes that Carl Weiss
00:26:07
owned a gun a 32 caliber pistol which he
00:26:10
kept in the glove compartment of his car
00:26:13
however Eadie Reid believes that he has
00:26:15
uncovered evidence that Huey Long was
00:26:17
not shot by Carl Weiss his gun the
00:26:21
discrepancies can be traced back to the
00:26:23
operating room here the official version
00:26:27
makes no mention of bullet being the
00:26:29
tree from Long's body but ed Reid has
00:26:32
heard a conflicting story from a
00:26:34
relative of one of the surgeons present
00:26:37
all right got a bullet here he looks
00:26:41
like about a 38 caliber when you say dr.
00:26:44
Loring yes I would all right during the
00:26:47
operation there was a 38 caliber bullet
00:26:49
removed from Huey Long this is
00:26:52
significant because Carl Weiss was
00:26:54
alleged to have been carrying a 32 but
00:26:57
the body cars were carrying a 38 and 45s
00:27:00
so therefore if a 38 was removed and I
00:27:03
believe it was then that could not have
00:27:05
come from Carl Weiss or his gun
00:27:07
certainly
00:27:09
according to read a second bullet was
00:27:12
found while Huey Long's body was being
00:27:14
prepared for burial
00:27:16
the mortician in charge told Reid he was
00:27:18
visited by dr. Clarence lore'l a close
00:27:21
friend of Long's who was one of the
00:27:23
surgeons who had operated on him merrily
00:27:26
we're gonna have to ask you to step
00:27:27
aside for just a moment while I
00:27:28
interrupt you work here for just a
00:27:30
moment what are you planning to do
00:27:32
Clarence Clarence this is highly
00:27:37
unethical just what your with a to a
00:27:39
moment Merle just bear with me what are
00:27:41
you looking for my god
00:27:45
instead of bullet as the mortician said
00:27:49
he rooted around and finally came up
00:27:51
with a spent slug and the slug was
00:27:54
described to me by the mortician as
00:27:56
being about as big as the first joint on
00:27:59
your index finger and if you conclude
00:28:02
that we're talking about 32 38 and 45
00:28:05
that would have had to be a 45 which
00:28:08
would have had to come from a bodyguards
00:28:10
gun because that was the type of bullet
00:28:13
that a lot of the bodyguards were
00:28:15
shooting to further support his
00:28:18
conclusions
00:28:19
Edie Reid believes it is highly unlikely
00:28:21
that anybody other than one of the
00:28:23
bodyguards could have gotten it of the
00:28:25
state capital with a gun that night
00:28:29
everybody who had a badge working for
00:28:32
the state of Louisiana was up at the
00:28:33
Capitol that night the place just
00:28:35
crawled with them how in the world could
00:28:38
call Weiss come past 100 security people
00:28:42
and nobody would frisk him or some
00:28:44
nobody would notice the outline of a
00:28:47
7.65 millimeter gun in a Palm Beach suit
00:28:52
within half-an-hour of the shooting dr.
00:28:55
Weiss had been tentatively identified as
00:28:57
long as a salient
00:28:58
Weiss's brother Tom n and cousin Jim
00:29:01
heard the rumors and proceeded to the
00:29:03
capital they still had no idea that dr.
00:29:07
Weiss had been
00:29:08
this cars car his bags here give the
00:29:12
keys my dad's got a set at the house
00:29:14
let's go get them
00:29:16
[Music]
00:29:20
when Tom ed and his cousin went back to
00:29:24
the capital to try and find the car so
00:29:27
that they could unlock it and drive it
00:29:28
back home the car had been moved
00:29:31
it was just here I'm not going crazy
00:29:37
let's let's go around back and they
00:29:42
found the car on another side of the
00:29:44
Capitol building when my Uncle Tom
00:29:47
finally did open the car and go through
00:29:51
the interior he found that my father's
00:29:54
instrument bag was open and in some
00:29:57
disarray where it normally would be
00:29:59
packed in a very orderly fashion
00:30:00
somebody's gone through the bag Carl
00:30:03
would never leave his stuff like this
00:30:06
Weiss's brother and cousin also
00:30:08
discovered that the doctor's gum was
00:30:10
missing from the glove compartment to
00:30:12
this day no one can be sure who removed
00:30:15
the gun from the car
00:30:16
however Eloy psychic a security guard of
00:30:20
the state capital that night told ed
00:30:22
Reed that it was someone other than Carl
00:30:24
Weiss one of the bodyguards who is now
00:30:28
dead as all the rest of them are dead he
00:30:30
told me that he felt that that gun was a
00:30:32
throw down gun that one of the
00:30:34
bodyguards had gone out to the car that
00:30:37
Carl Weiss had driven up in had gotten
00:30:39
that pistol and had thrown it next to
00:30:42
the body Reed believes his theory is
00:30:46
bolstered by Weiss's own actions inside
00:30:49
the capital
00:30:50
if Carl Weiss was actually at the state
00:30:53
capital to kill Huey Long he had a
00:30:55
perfect opportunity that past Huey Long
00:30:59
had his back turned to Carl Weiss it
00:31:02
would have been very easy for Carl Weiss
00:31:04
to shove his pistol up against long
00:31:06
spotty emptied out the magazine and then
00:31:09
made his escape because of the rumors
00:31:13
that had been flying that there would be
00:31:15
an attempt made on Huey Long's life that
00:31:18
night because of that fuses were very
00:31:21
very short something that happened that
00:31:24
night
00:31:24
perhaps Carl Weiss hit Pierre along
00:31:27
perhaps she just moved too fast and I
00:31:30
think the bodyguards who were without
00:31:31
any training whatsoever in security I
00:31:34
think they overreacted
00:31:36
I think bullets that entered Huey Long's
00:31:39
body or the bullets that came from the
00:31:41
bodyguards guns
00:31:46
edie read offers up what he believes is
00:31:48
one final piece of evidence by all
00:31:53
accounts when Huey Long was admitted to
00:31:55
the hospital his lip was bleeding it was
00:32:01
Senator loan referring to his encounter
00:32:03
with dr. Weiss according to an affidavit
00:32:06
sworn to by one of those present he most
00:32:09
definitely was in hindsight the seams
00:32:15
considerable doubt about who actually
00:32:17
shot Huey Long but at the time it was
00:32:20
essentially an open-and-shut case
00:32:23
anyone who attempted to investigate
00:32:25
further was stymied because all the
00:32:27
official records as well as dr. Weiss's
00:32:30
gun disappeared a few years after the
00:32:32
inquest and remained missing for more
00:32:35
than half a century in 1987 professor
00:32:42
James Starr's a forensic expert renowned
00:32:45
for his ability to unearth missing
00:32:47
evidence began researching the case in
00:32:50
trying to find the gun and the state
00:32:53
police file I decided that the police
00:32:55
were the prime suspects should be looked
00:32:57
at starting from the top down I am
00:32:59
literally made a laundry list of the
00:33:02
individuals with Lewis F gear at the top
00:33:04
of that list Lewis F gear had been head
00:33:08
of the criminal Bureau of Investigation
00:33:10
in Louisiana at the time of Huey Long's
00:33:12
death
00:33:13
Geir died in 1966 in 1987 an
00:33:18
investigator engaged by Professor Stars
00:33:20
began an extensive search for gears will
00:33:23
when he found it
00:33:24
dr. Starr suspicions were confirmed
00:33:28
there was a listing in the inventory of
00:33:31
miscellaneous files listed as no value
00:33:35
now being a lawyer as well as a
00:33:37
scientist I realized that inventories of
00:33:40
estates do not list items of no value
00:33:43
they certainly don't list them in this
00:33:45
kind of mysterious way as miscellaneous
00:33:48
files and I said to myself those of the
00:33:51
state police files another item in the
00:33:55
will was not nearly so vague
00:33:57
listed under gears personal effects was
00:34:00
Carl Austin Weiss's gun the
00:34:04
investigations of dr. stars led to the
00:34:07
discovery that my father's handgun was
00:34:11
in fact in existence and its location
00:34:16
was eventually traced to a safe deposit
00:34:19
box in downtown New Orleans where it had
00:34:21
been in the possession of the daughter
00:34:24
of the then Chief of Police attendant
00:34:26
Gare acting on a court order a New
00:34:32
Orleans sheriff opened the safe-deposit
00:34:33
box
00:34:36
[Music]
00:34:40
after more than half a century dr. carl
00:34:43
weiss as gun a gun which allegedly
00:34:46
killed Huey Long had been located
00:34:55
with the gun were several unused 32
00:34:58
caliber bullets and one spent 32 slug
00:35:02
initially many people assumed this was
00:35:04
the bullet that killed Huey Long
00:35:06
however ballistics tests conducted by
00:35:09
the Louisiana State Police showed that
00:35:12
the slug had not come from dr. Weiss's
00:35:14
gun the discovery of the alleged murder
00:35:19
weapon only served to deepen the mystery
00:35:21
if the 32 slug had not been fired by
00:35:24
Weiss's gun and where did it come from
00:35:26
and why had it been kept with a gun some
00:35:33
believe that the answer lay with the
00:35:34
official state files which are also
00:35:36
recovered however the Louisiana State
00:35:40
Police have reviewed the files and
00:35:42
determined there is nothing in them that
00:35:43
changes the verdict of history
00:35:47
it's my opinion that dr. Weiss was the
00:35:50
assassin in this case we believe from a
00:35:53
law enforcement standpoint that he had
00:35:54
motive we believe he had opportunity and
00:35:58
we believe he had the means to do the
00:36:00
job and we know that he was there the
00:36:03
amount of time that may have elapsed
00:36:04
since an occurrence really doesn't
00:36:06
change one's desire to see the truth
00:36:12
brought out and I care probably more
00:36:15
today than I did when I was a youngster
00:36:18
about the truth concerning my father if
00:36:25
I were asked whether my father shot Huey
00:36:27
Long today I would say categorically no
00:36:30
he didn't perhaps we will never
00:36:36
completely resolve the controversy did
00:36:39
dr. Carl Weiss acting alone murder Huey
00:36:42
Long but it Long's bodyguards go he WA
00:36:46
killing the man they should have
00:36:48
protected
00:36:50
[Music]
00:36:54
update a former superintendent of the
00:36:57
Louisiana State Police has come forward
00:36:59
with a startling admission that he
00:37:01
believes Huey Long was killed by his own
00:37:03
bodyguards Colonel Francis Griffin burg
00:37:06
claims he was told by two eye witness
00:37:08
state troopers that dr. carl weiss was
00:37:10
unarmed when long was shot the state
00:37:13
troopers went on to tell a story that is
00:37:15
nearly identical to historian ed reads
00:37:17
that long was accidentally killed by his
00:37:20
own bodyguards who then planted a gun on
00:37:22
weiss greven berg says he waited 40
00:37:24
years to come forward because the
00:37:26
Louisiana Legislature was packed with
00:37:28
prolonged politicians who would not
00:37:30
believe him or support an inquiry the
00:37:32
official position of the Louisiana State
00:37:35
Police is a dr. Weiss and killed Huey
00:37:37
Long
00:37:37
[Music]
00:37:52
next the compelling story of a brother
00:37:55
and sister separated more than 40 years
00:37:57
ago on a warm summer's morning in 1947 a
00:38:11
housewife in weed California took a
00:38:14
shortcut home from the store through an
00:38:16
overgrown field
00:38:17
[Music]
00:38:23
[Music]
00:38:25
oh my god oh you poor baby
00:38:29
hidden by the tall grass was a two year
00:38:31
old girl who had been severely beaten
00:38:34
and apparently abandoned the toddler was
00:38:42
taken to the nearest hospital and placed
00:38:44
in an intensive care
00:38:46
she had contusions on her head and face
00:38:48
and lacerations all over her body
00:38:51
traumatized and suffering from shock she
00:38:54
was unable to tell authorities what had
00:38:55
happened to her or even who she was the
00:38:58
hospital staff began to call her baby ex
00:39:03
today the two-year-old girl known as
00:39:06
Baby X is a successful businesswoman
00:39:08
mother of four named Mary Jane poke Mary
00:39:12
Jane has courageously overcome many of
00:39:14
the hardship suffered during her
00:39:16
childhood
00:39:17
however she feels that the wounds cannot
00:39:19
be completely healed until she finds her
00:39:21
brother whom she met only once 45 years
00:39:24
ago tonight Mary Jane tells her tragic
00:39:27
story in the hope that someone in our
00:39:29
audience can help
00:39:31
[Music]
00:39:37
physically she'll recover but
00:39:39
emotionally I'm not so sure she's doing
00:39:41
awful charlie they kept me in as an
00:39:44
Ospital because they didn't know what to
00:39:46
do with me I was not able to communicate
00:39:49
with the doctors and nurses anybody that
00:39:53
I came in contact with if we just send I
00:39:57
was very afraid and very afraid that if
00:39:59
I did speak or do anything that I would
00:40:03
might be hurt again
00:40:05
police had absolutely no idea who Mary
00:40:08
Jane was they distributed her photograph
00:40:11
to dozens of newspapers throughout
00:40:13
Northern California Oregon and
00:40:15
Washington two weeks later a witness
00:40:19
came forward and identified baby X as
00:40:22
Mary Jane and told authorities that Mary
00:40:24
Jane's mother was Lucille Medellin of
00:40:26
Selma Oregon
00:40:32
Lucille Medlin was staying at a logging
00:40:34
camp in Selma she had recently given
00:40:36
birth to her third child and was living
00:40:39
with a new boyfriend I'm the sheriff of
00:40:41
Siskiyou County you live here
00:40:44
yes I do sure how can I help you stay
00:40:48
feed ask her a couple of questions for
00:40:50
me here first of all have you ever seen
00:40:51
this little girl before you recognize
00:40:53
her
00:40:53
no can't say I do excuse me ma'am could
00:40:56
I have you come over here and just take
00:40:57
a look at this photograph for me please
00:40:59
when confronted with a photograph of her
00:41:01
badly beaten daughter
00:41:02
Lucille Medlin could no longer hide the
00:41:05
truth we already have two children we
00:41:11
have boyfriends and I beating Mary Jane
00:41:17
but did admit that he had taken her to
00:41:20
California where he abandoned her
00:41:22
because there was going to be another
00:41:24
child born they decided that they needed
00:41:27
to get rid of one of their children
00:41:29
that was their reasoning they couldn't
00:41:31
body train me they couldn't you know I
00:41:34
was incorrigible child the couple was
00:41:44
arrested on charges of child abandonment
00:41:46
an assault to commit murder Lucille was
00:41:53
allowed one visit with Mary Jane in the
00:41:55
hospital she brought along her newborn
00:42:02
son Jimmy it was a first and last time
00:42:05
that Mary Jane would see her brother
00:42:09
two weeks later Lucille and her
00:42:12
boyfriend pleaded guilty to all charges
00:42:13
and were sentenced to 20 years in prison
00:42:17
Mary Jane her three-year-old sister
00:42:20
glioma and her four week old brother
00:42:22
Jimmy became Ward's of the state
00:42:24
and were eventually separated Mary Jane
00:42:28
initially went to live with her
00:42:30
biological father was spent most of her
00:42:32
childhood in foster homes
00:42:34
she married at 16 and today she and her
00:42:37
husband owned a successful restaurant in
00:42:39
Placerville California they have four
00:42:41
children and ten grandchildren several
00:42:44
years ago Mary Jane began searching for
00:42:46
her missing brother and sister in 1991
00:42:52
she finally found her older sister Leona
00:42:54
but after more than 40 years apart Mary
00:42:57
Jane was unsure if she would be accepted
00:42:59
I worried that she was gonna reject me
00:43:04
and and I was ready for that and I was
00:43:06
willing to accept it
00:43:08
[Music]
00:43:13
it hasn't happened it's good it feels
00:43:18
good it I'm proud of her she's she's
00:43:22
beautiful she's got a good life she's
00:43:24
she's a good nice person
00:43:27
real nice I have two brothers by my
00:43:32
adoptive parents but had never had a
00:43:34
sister and so it was wonderful to meet
00:43:36
with Mary to know that she's there and
00:43:40
know that I can pick up the telephone to
00:43:42
talk to her if I need to or what - is is
00:43:44
wonderful Mary Jane and glioma have
00:43:49
joined forces in the search for their
00:43:50
missing brother he was born James
00:43:53
Gilreath on June 14th 1947 in either
00:43:56
Selma or Grants Pass Oregon they believe
00:43:59
that Jimmy was adopted out of the Yreka
00:44:01
County California Hospital by a family
00:44:04
from Oregon that his first name may have
00:44:06
been changed to Donald I feel that the
00:44:12
missing link is Jimmy to make our family
00:44:15
complete and I would like to know where
00:44:19
he is what happened to him what kind of
00:44:21
a life he has and like him to know that
00:44:24
we're here and and would die where his
00:44:28
sisters the night of our broadcast Jimmy
00:44:33
was not watching unsolved mysteries but
00:44:36
his adopted sister was she immediately
00:44:38
called her mother who then contacted
00:44:40
Jimmy his name is now Donald Barrow and
00:44:44
he was just as anxious to meet his
00:44:46
sisters as they were to meet him
00:44:51
two weeks after our broadcast Donald and
00:44:54
his family drove from their home in
00:44:55
Fresno California to Mary's home in
00:44:57
Placerville
00:44:58
Donald Mary and glioma had not seen each
00:45:01
other in 45 years the one thing that I
00:45:13
was concerned about is was it going to
00:45:15
be okay and I knew when I met him out of
00:45:22
the car that it is okay and I am so
00:45:26
happy I just think that seeing him and
00:45:42
knowing that he's had a good life that
00:45:44
was something that Mary and I both were
00:45:45
concerned with that we wanted to make
00:45:47
sure that he had had a good life and
00:45:49
knowing that he did makes us very happy
00:45:52
I'm not very good at emotion so I don't
00:45:55
know how to explain all of it we're
00:45:57
going through my mind but there were
00:45:58
there were a lot of them and there still
00:46:05
are
00:46:08
[Music]
00:46:12
now I'm gonna find out what it's like to
00:46:14
be a baby brother nice don't get to be
00:46:18
the oldest we all know I'm the middle
00:46:21
child on our next turn saw mysteries in
00:46:35
June of 1992 two brothers and their
00:46:38
girlfriends left Los Angeles and
00:46:40
journeyed to the beautiful beaches of
00:46:41
Mexico but the weekend getaway quickly
00:46:44
turned tragic the 29 year old Mario
00:46:46
Amato was arrested and then found dead
00:46:49
in a jail cell just 90 minutes later his
00:46:52
family and friends are convinced he was
00:46:54
murdered join me next time for this
00:46:58
intriguing case and three other
00:47:00
fascinating stories to another edition
00:47:03
unsolved mysteries
00:47:09
[Music]
00:47:31
[Applause]
00:47:34
[Music]
00:47:43
you
