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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 in the 1940s Elizabeth Short
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arrived in Hollywood with dreams of
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stardom but at the age of 22 her life
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was snuffed out by a gruesome unknown
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killer nearly 50 years later the death
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of the Black Dahlia remains one of the
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great unsolved murder cases of the
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century when she was just 16 Brenda
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Morel was abruptly thrust into adulthood
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left alone to care for five younger
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brothers and sisters after surviving a
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harsh cold winter Brenda could only
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watch helplessly as the children were
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taken from her one by one and from
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Deadwood South Dakota we'll bring you
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the bizarre tale of a ghostly alliance
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between a psychic in England the
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restless spirit of a legendary lawman
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join me for these intriguing stories on
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another edition unsolved mysteries
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[Music]
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[Applause]
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[Applause]
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[Music]
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her looks were unmistakable she had jet
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black hair and a penchant for wearing
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black dresses and lingerie those who
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knew her best said she had a tattoo of
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an exotic flower on her inner thigh
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[Music]
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around Hollywood she was known as the
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Black Dahlia and in 1947 she became the
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centerpiece of one of the most
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celebrated murder investigations in
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American history on a cool crisp morning
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that January the nude nude elated body
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of 22-year old Elizabeth Short was
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discovered in a weed infested lot in the
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Crenshaw district of Los Angeles what
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made the murder so unique was a barbaric
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nature of the crime the black dahlias
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body had been neatly severed in half
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gutted and drained of blood you know
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that's like whoever did this
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cleaned her up and then just dumped I
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mean their phones absolute drop of blood
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anywhere to be found
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as you can see the cuts on the body are
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incredibly clean precise almost as if it
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were done professionally her face had
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been very brutally cut from ear to ear
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and a grin like this her throat had been
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cut and she had been mutilated sexually
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and basically she was the worst case of
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a sex crime in history Los Angeles
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County it was in a quiet peaceful
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neighborhood not far from here the body
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of Elizabeth Short was discovered nearly
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half a century ago
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ever since the cases baffled law
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enforcement officials and crime buffs
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alike today large shared claims to have
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evidence which links the killer the
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black dahlia to another notorious
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murderer
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Cleveland's infamous torso Slayer he is
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best remembered for having evaded one of
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the country's most celebrated crime
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fighters a man I came to know quite well
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Eliot Ness between 1935 and 1940 - Eliot
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Ness served as Public Safety Director in
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Cleveland Ohio
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during his tenure the city was
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terrorized by a string of sadistic
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unsolved murders which Lawrence sure
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believes are directly connected to the
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Black Dahlia case how the life of the
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legendary lawman and the death of an
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obscure aspiring actress became
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intertwined is a story well worth
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exploring
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we can have someplace else where did you
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have in mind
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Elizabeth shorts life was as sad as it
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was brief like so many other young women
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she had been lured Hollywood with dreams
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of becoming a star but she soon
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discovered that fame was an illusive
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fantasy with a career going nowhere and
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her money depleted Elizabeth eventually
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drifted into prostitution can you take
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me home yes I will I need to can you
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take me to Los Angeles yeah thank you
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Elizabeth Short final days were shrouded
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in mystery she seemed to be constantly
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on the move and was last seen leaving a
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diner in San Diego with a man who has
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never been identified
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she called him red when she spoke to him
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in the diner and he did have reddish
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colored hair however the police were
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never able to positively identify him
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although some people felt that he might
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have been Robert Manley Robert Manley
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was a hardware salesman who had dated
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Elizabeth Short police brought him in
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for questioning but cleared him of the
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crime other men who were involved with
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Adalia were also interrogated but each
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like man Lee had an airtight alibi the
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authorities were completely stumped then
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a mysterious package was mailed to a
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local newspaper a package from the
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killer
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look what I found in the man here's
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Dolly's belongings let her to follow
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inside the envelope they found Elizabeth
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shorts address book which was in reality
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her trick book one of the pages in that
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book is missing and it is undoubtedly
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true that upon that page was the name of
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the man who actually had killed her the
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package was a closest anyone ever got to
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the black daya's killer until Lawrence
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sure began to research the case in 1989
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and connected it to the torso slayings
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in Cleveland that investigation was a
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great unsolved case of Eliot neces
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career in 1935 after ness left the
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renowned crime busting team The
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Untouchables he was appointed public
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safety director in Cleveland oh can you
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throw any light on the Kingsbury run
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murders not at this time on the body
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girl 8:00 this morning
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the arms and legs have been cut off
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scene of the crime the minister looking
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into captain yes sir between 1934 and
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1938 no less than 13 mutilated bodies
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were discovered in the Kingsbury run
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district and surrounding areas of
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Cleveland the victims were all
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prostitutes or Drifters that killer had
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dismembered and bisected most of the
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bodies with surgical precision as would
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happen nine years later in the case of
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the Black Dahlia let's go Oh Pete I want
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you and your footmen concentrate your
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surveillance in Kingsbury by the end of
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1938 it had been several months since
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the last Cleveland killing in December
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the City Police Chief received a letter
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which gave the first indication that the
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torsos lair had moved west and it's from
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the butcher Eliot says he's killed a
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woman there in that letter the torso
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killer describes the fact that he is
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left Cleveland and has come to
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California as he described it sunny
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California
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and is now performing medical
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experiments upon his guinea pig victims
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here in Los Angeles
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excuse me can you direct me to Crenshaw
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and forth about three blocks down
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straight ahead in the letter a killer
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brag that he had already murdered one
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victim and buried the head in a gully in
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Southwest Los Angeles
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the butchered body of the Black Dahlia
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would be found in that same area eight
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years later the last Cleveland torso
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murder was committed in 1938 so when he
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describes coming to Los Angeles in late
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1938 that does correspond
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chronologically with the fact that the
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torso killer had stopped killing earlier
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that year in Cleveland in the letter the
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killer referred to himself as a DC a
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doctor of chiropractic he said quote I
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felt bad operating on those people but
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science must advance however the letter
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is just the beginning of the torsos
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layer black dahlia connection the killer
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apparently had a fetish for cleanliness
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and cleaned the dahlias body very
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carefully with water washed it very
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carefully shampooed her hair and
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scrubbed her with a bristle brush so
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severely that he left bristles embedded
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in her skin the cleveland victims also
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indicate that there were attempts to
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clean bodies and he was attempting to
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get rid of trace evidence a butcher
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knife was used to bisect the Dahlia and
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a butcher knife was definitely the
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weapon that was used to dismember
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decapitate and bisect victims in
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Cleveland police determined that
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Elizabeth Short had been held captive
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and tortured for several hours before
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being killed
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she had wounds on her neck arms and legs
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that indicated she had been tied with
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ropes several of the cleveland victims
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had exactly the same type of marks
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suggesting that they had been tortured
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in exactly the same manner also the
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dodgiest body had been arranged in a
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sexually suggestive position the same is
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true of some of the torso Slayers
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victims
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however there was one significant
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difference the Dahlia unlike most of the
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torso Slayers victims was not
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decapitated the torso killer killed
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other victims in other places in the 40s
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and he did not capitate some of those
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victims either so it is not necessarily
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true that the mere fact of decapitation
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sets all the victims of the torso killer
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apart and then if he didn't decapitate
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the Dahlia that means she could not
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possibly have been killed by the same
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man all he did was simply change his MO
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in a rather small way many people
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believe that Eliot Ness actually knew
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the Slayers identity but never had
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enough evidence to prove it in court in
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1947
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Eliot Ness retired from public life he
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later told his biographer Oscar Fraley
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but after he developed a profile of the
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killer he had been approached by a
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member of Cleveland's high society this
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lady socialite who was working with him
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came to him and said a member of one of
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our influential families fits your
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profile so Eliot said that's fine let's
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meet
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hello thanks for coming you're welcome
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may I ask what this is regarding yeah
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officer wouldn't have tell me Brian
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would you bring the gentleman a seat
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please
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this man admitted that he had been to
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medical school so Elliot thought surely
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he had the guy have you ever been to
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Kingsbury run after sunset no les said
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he gave the man to lie-detector tests
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both times the suspect failed do you
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live in Cleveland
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yes nest then directly confronted the
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suspect and said to him I think you are
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the killer and the suspect said well
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think it you have to prove it have you
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ever paid for the services of a
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prostitute no soon after he took the
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lie-detector test
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the suspect voluntarily committed
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himself to a hospital
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Lawrence sure believes this act was part
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of a complex deal a killer made to keep
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his family name out of the newspapers
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around that time the torso slayings in
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Cleveland abruptly stopped Ness believed
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that this would be the end of the case
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because the suspect was so deranged that
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he would probably remain in a mental
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institution for the rest of his life but
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if the torso Slayer was locked away in
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Ohio
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how could the murders have continued in
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other parts of the Midwest than later
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Los Angeles
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perhaps one crucial point was overlooked
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when the killer entered the hospital I'm
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well sorry I was late sweetheart if one
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is voluntarily in a mental hospital you
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are free to legally walk out anytime you
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want and I think that's exactly what he
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did I think he used the Mental Health
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System most of his career when things
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got tough for the investigations heated
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up he simply checked himself into a
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mental institution waited until they
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cool down and then checked himself out
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again and departed and continued killing
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Eliot Ness never publicly identified the
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suspect and took the name with him to
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the grave it bothered Ness a great deal
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that the mad butcher was able to escape
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punishment Elizabeth Short was simply
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one of a number of victims who were
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slain by the same killer he was the most
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prolific mass murderer in the history of
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the United States
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and to this day his true identity
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remains unknown
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[Music]
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next the poignant story of a woman
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looking for her three youngest siblings
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whom she hasn't seen in years on a
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September afternoon in 1961 outside
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Lawrenceville Pennsylvania a woman named
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Betty Nickerson made a decision that
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would forever alter the lives of her six
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children Betty who was twice divorced
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had moved the children to a remote
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farmhouse leaving her teenage daughter
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Brenda Meryl in charge I'm gonna ride
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into town with the movers so you have to
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take care of your brothers and sisters
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well aren't you coming back up here
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tonight
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Betty yourself plan to live in town
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where she had just bought a restaurant
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but mom I can't take care of the kids
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all by myself
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Brenda we've already discussed this I'm
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not gonna argue now you gonna fix those
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children some dinner
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she said either the kids would have to
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go to a home or I could quit school and
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take care of them
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[Music]
00:16:02
I couldn't see the kids going man you
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know
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so why
00:16:07
it's cool
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I never thought my mother would do
00:16:14
things like that it was a deep hurt you
00:16:19
know like what did I do to deserve this
00:16:24
that day was the beginning of a
00:16:26
frustrating difficult year for 16 year
00:16:28
old Brenda Merrill still a child herself
00:16:31
brenda was forced to take on the burden
00:16:33
of parenthood virtually alone to
00:16:36
experience many of the traumas of
00:16:38
raising young children but also to
00:16:40
experience some of the precious joys
00:16:47
Brenda took over her mother's rolled
00:16:49
completely with all five of her siblings
00:16:52
Glenda Keith butch Linda and Eric the
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children ranged in age from two to nine
00:17:01
the oldest boy butch was death and none
00:17:05
of them except Brenda had ever been to
00:17:07
school god is great God is good let us
00:17:14
thank you
00:17:18
the children's mother Betty never once
00:17:21
visited the farm house even though her
00:17:23
business was thriving occasionally
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Brenda's boyfriend brought up food from
00:17:28
Betty's restaurant
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Brenda supplemented their meals with
00:17:33
vegetables from the garden it was just
00:17:36
like a normal family because I was like
00:17:39
their mother you know it just went you
00:17:41
wash clothes you you did the dishes you
00:17:43
got their dinner and you got to
00:17:45
breakfast and you got their supper and
00:17:47
you get him scrubbed up for bed you know
00:17:49
and you sing them songs before they go
00:17:51
to sleep you know like a normal
00:17:54
household
00:17:55
[Music]
00:17:59
as cold weather came on Brenda was
00:18:02
forced to Hut small game to feed the
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children memories of her old life began
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to hurt her there was a time did you
00:18:12
think why can't I go out dancing her why
00:18:14
can't I go out bowl and you know or why
00:18:17
can't I just go out with the kids to
00:18:19
have a good time but you know after you
00:18:21
leave school and you quit you have no
00:18:22
friends no more so I didn't have no
00:18:25
friends after that because there was
00:18:27
nobody up there to be friends with so
00:18:29
the kids were my friends you know they
00:18:32
were my my life Brenda and the children
00:18:42
made it through the winter
00:18:43
and just as adapt chilly spring arrived
00:18:46
their fuel ran out in desperation Brenda
00:18:50
chopped the children's rubber tire swing
00:18:52
into pieces and fed the pieces into the
00:18:55
old wood stove I don't know where how I
00:18:59
even got her who told me that if you put
00:19:01
tires in with your wood it'll burn good
00:19:04
you know you get good heat so that's
00:19:06
what I did and boy did I get good eat
00:19:09
Brenda there's something burning I
00:19:13
thought on that word you know get the
00:19:16
kids out that's all I can think of is
00:19:17
get the kids out here it's gonna blow
00:19:23
the second floor of the farmhouse was
00:19:25
completely destroyed but for Brenda it
00:19:28
was a blessing in disguise
00:19:33
I really felt relieved that I would
00:19:35
never have to go back there again it was
00:19:40
a great relief from my chest you know
00:19:47
mom will have to take some
00:19:49
responsibilities further these kids when
00:19:51
I get them off there you know
00:19:54
reluctantly Betty took her children in
00:19:57
the man Betty lived with assumed that
00:19:59
the three youngest were Brenda's a few
00:20:03
weeks later
00:20:03
Brenda married her boyfriend they moved
00:20:06
to Corning New York twenty-eight miles
00:20:08
away and took Eric with him Betty
00:20:11
immediately began to farm the other
00:20:13
children out Linda went to live with a
00:20:16
family across the street butch was
00:20:19
enrolled in a State School for the Deaf
00:20:22
Glenda and Keith were kept together and
00:20:24
sent to live with an acquaintance of
00:20:26
Betty's a week later Brenda and her new
00:20:35
husband took Eric to visit Glinda and
00:20:37
Keith Brenda was horrified by the
00:20:42
children's living conditions it was just
00:20:46
a blanket on the floor with the kids
00:20:48
laying on the floor and there was
00:20:50
cockroaches crawling all over
00:20:52
I got furious Glenda Keith get up I'm
00:20:56
getting you out of here
00:20:56
what do you think you're doing I'm
00:20:58
taking the kids wanna tell you are I'm
00:21:01
calling the cops I said that's just what
00:21:03
I want you to call the cops cuz I know
00:21:05
they want these kids playing this mess
00:21:07
go on take him get out of it you're
00:21:10
right I don't want no trouble so that's
00:21:13
what I did I took the kids Brenda went
00:21:20
straight to her mother's house
00:21:23
what do you want what a blended Keith's
00:21:26
doing here I just took him out of that
00:21:29
pigsty where you left him it's time you
00:21:31
started taking care of them
00:21:32
Brenda take those kids right back there
00:21:34
now I will not I wouldn't keep a dog in
00:21:37
that place I can't do anything about
00:21:39
that right now right now you never took
00:21:42
care of him though he's been too busy
00:21:44
catting around to take care of him right
00:21:46
now don't talk to your mother like that
00:21:47
why don't you mind your own business
00:21:49
her boyfriend brought back his hand was
00:21:52
gonna hit me for call my mother names
00:21:54
and I said you better stop and listen
00:21:56
before you strike because these are my
00:21:59
mother's kids these are not my kids
00:22:01
these are Betty's kids Betty is that
00:22:04
true look I'm taking the kids with me
00:22:10
tonight but you better tell mama to do
00:22:12
something about him tomorrow
00:22:14
I hated my mother for that I hate her
00:22:18
bad right then I really felt like I
00:22:22
liked to hurt her you know I really
00:22:25
wanted to hurt her because she I felt
00:22:27
she took a lot of my young life away
00:22:35
beti notified the child welfare
00:22:37
department and at Glendon Keith placed
00:22:39
in foster care
00:22:43
Brenda thought it was only a temporary
00:22:45
measure the Glendon Keith never came
00:22:48
back
00:22:54
[Music]
00:23:01
the following week Brenda was forced to
00:23:04
turn Eric over to foster parents as well
00:23:06
I said nobody's taking Eric and she said
00:23:11
yes they are they'll have legal papers
00:23:13
they'll show you you take good care of
00:23:18
him okay don't worry honey we'll take
00:23:19
good care of them give you this too I
00:23:24
just had that feeling you know a
00:23:26
mother's instinct let's say that you're
00:23:29
not gonna see your child again you know
00:23:33
and I never did
00:23:36
[Music]
00:23:38
two years later the house was torn down
00:23:41
Eric and his foster family disappeared
00:23:45
[Music]
00:23:52
30 years have passed brenda has been
00:23:55
reunited with her sister Linda and her
00:23:57
brother butch their mother Betty is now
00:24:00
78 and in a nursing home brenda butch
00:24:07
and linda the search for the younger
00:24:09
siblings has deep and varied meaning
00:24:12
yeah it's hard to explain missing
00:24:17
somebody and not being able to Sam it
00:24:22
takes when you love somebody and you
00:24:23
lose them it's like losing your whole
00:24:25
life you have nothing more to go you
00:24:29
know no place to go without him butch
00:24:35
Erskine also has a message for his lost
00:24:37
sister and brothers I love you and miss
00:24:44
you I do
00:24:49
I do
00:24:52
[Music]
00:24:57
Brenda hopes at when Eric Glenda and
00:25:00
Keith are found she can finally make
00:25:02
peace with her mother I feel that they
00:25:05
can forgive her then I can forgive her
00:25:08
you know cuz I'm still here and they're
00:25:11
gone you know and I feel if they can
00:25:14
forgive her I can do on the evening of
00:25:18
our broadcast
00:25:19
Brenda Merrill single-minded
00:25:20
determination to bring her family back
00:25:22
together finally began to pay off an
00:25:25
hour after Brenda's story aired a man
00:25:27
named Keith Robinson of Hornell New York
00:25:29
contacted our telecenter and said that
00:25:32
he was Brenda's long-lost brother
00:25:35
Brenda call me that same man like five
00:25:37
minutes later he was talking and I
00:25:40
mentioned about having a photograph that
00:25:42
she had aired on the program and I
00:25:45
basically told her in or detail for
00:25:47
detail what was in the photo so she knew
00:25:49
that I was her brother on December 19th
00:25:53
1992 just in time for Christmas
00:25:56
Keith Robinson and his wife and children
00:25:58
traveled to Montour Falls New York for
00:26:00
an emotional reunion with his sisters
00:26:02
Brenda and Linda and his brother butch
00:26:04
he had not seen them in more than 30
00:26:07
years I thought a lot about what they
00:26:12
were gonna be like you know if they were
00:26:13
gonna love me for just being our brother
00:26:15
or lovey for what I am now today if they
00:26:19
were gonna accept my family into their
00:26:20
hurt because it was over over a 30-year
00:26:24
period of waiting and looking
00:26:27
it's a great Christmas present you don't
00:26:31
know he is the greatest Christmas
00:26:33
present especially his wife and kids -
00:26:35
he has a nice wife and kids for everyone
00:26:41
involved the reunion was bittersweet
00:26:43
their joy tempered by the knowledge that
00:26:45
one brother was still missing
00:26:49
Eric Nickerson was still a toddler when
00:26:51
his family was split apart just five
00:26:54
weeks after we filmed this update
00:26:56
he too was found Eric's name is now
00:27:00
Richard Moore and he lives in Tulsa
00:27:01
Oklahoma with his wife and two children
00:27:03
in February of 1993 he was reunited with
00:27:08
his sisters Brenda and Linda after more
00:27:11
than 30 years of separation
00:27:13
Brenda Miller's long search to find all
00:27:16
her brothers and sisters was finally
00:27:18
over when we returned a ghostly tale of
00:27:24
the Wild West some ghost stories no
00:27:37
matter how unbelievable are just too
00:27:38
good to pass up we next have the unusual
00:27:42
tale of a legendary lawman a psychic in
00:27:45
England a small town of South Dakota
00:27:47
where fact fantasy and history have come
00:27:49
together to tease the imagination it all
00:27:53
began more than a century ago
00:27:57
in the late 1870s out dakota was booming
00:28:00
with cold fever attracting out Dells
00:28:03
gamblers and swindlers mining towns
00:28:06
dotted the landscape perhaps the most
00:28:08
infamous was deadly it was here that
00:28:12
Wild Bill Hickok was shot to death and
00:28:15
Calamity Jane practiced her trade of a
00:28:17
house of ill repute
00:28:19
it was a wild wooly town the miners just
00:28:23
absolutely were raising hell in this
00:28:26
town most towns are 95% solid citizens
00:28:30
and 5% characters and dead with the
00:28:34
reverses grew finally in the summer of
00:28:38
1876 a call went out for a man who could
00:28:41
bring law and order to the community the
00:28:44
call was answered by Seth Bullock would
00:28:46
come into town from Montana a few months
00:28:48
earlier he became Deadwood's first
00:28:51
sheriff after what I have read he didn't
00:28:56
have to use a gun actually the story is
00:28:59
that one look from his very penetrating
00:29:04
gaze was enough to quit almost all
00:29:07
breakers
00:29:24
[Music]
00:29:28
sheriff Bullock took his cleanup
00:29:30
campaign throughout the territory one
00:29:33
afternoon in 1887 he encountered three
00:29:36
men whom he took at first glance to be
00:29:38
cattle rustlers what the hell's going on
00:29:42
here what are you boys doing in these
00:29:43
parts
00:29:43
we're looking for a horse thief what's
00:29:46
your name my name is Theodore Roosevelt
00:29:48
I'm the deputy sheriff of Billings
00:29:49
County were these other fellas you got
00:29:52
with You sheriff
00:29:53
big kin Theodore Roosevelt but all to
00:29:56
become the best of friends
00:29:57
when Roosevelt formed the Rough Riders
00:29:59
Seth joined up Teddy of course would
00:30:02
later be elected president and in 1905
00:30:05
Seth was an honored guest at the
00:30:07
inauguration but even in Deadwood not
00:30:11
many people knew that when President
00:30:13
Roosevelt died in 1919 the sheriff
00:30:16
arranged to have this memorial called
00:30:18
the friendship tower erected just
00:30:20
outside of town nine months later Seth
00:30:23
Bullock himself passed away and was
00:30:26
buried at a gravesite overlooking the
00:30:28
monument today Deadwood is once again a
00:30:35
boomtown
00:30:35
thanks to the passage of the law
00:30:37
legalizing low stakes gambling the
00:30:40
Bullock hotel founded by Seth in 1895
00:30:43
has been revitalized and according to
00:30:45
some the spirit of Seth Bullock can
00:30:48
occasionally be seen meandering through
00:30:50
the hallways at this point over 30
00:30:54
employees and a handful of hotel guests
00:30:57
have had experiences here to the point
00:31:01
where it's commonplace to the point
00:31:04
where we laugh about it and just take
00:31:07
kind of a lot of fun in the fact that we
00:31:11
feel that we're not alone here
00:31:15
gnorm Stephens a slot machine supervisor
00:31:18
at the hotel says that one morning he
00:31:20
was working in the basement but a
00:31:21
mysterious shadow fell across the wall
00:31:24
it was a figure of a man but when norm
00:31:27
turned the shadow vanished
00:31:32
a few weeks later operations manager
00:31:35
Joey George had his own ghostly
00:31:37
encounter
00:31:38
he claims that when he walked by the bar
00:31:40
after closing time all of the stools
00:31:43
were lined up in a row
00:31:44
Joey stepped into the office and heard
00:31:47
unusual noises behind him he returned to
00:31:52
the bar all of the stools had been moved
00:31:58
but both of these mysterious incidents
00:32:00
paled in comparison with another hotel
00:32:02
workers experience in 1989 we had a
00:32:06
young employee who was I think about 18
00:32:09
at the time and he was working in the
00:32:13
back which is his the restaurant now and
00:32:16
he came flying out of the back room and
00:32:18
he was just ghost white and said that he
00:32:21
saw a figure in western attire with
00:32:25
jeans tucked into the boots and what he
00:32:29
had seen
00:32:30
scared him because he felt that it
00:32:32
wasn't real and he was very very much
00:32:36
afraid and he would never go back into
00:32:37
the kitchen by himself after that and
00:32:39
thereafter quit the people of Deadwood
00:32:44
always assumed it was a ghost of Seth
00:32:46
Bullock who was haunting the hotel then
00:32:48
in April of 1991 apparent confirmation
00:32:52
came from a most unlikely source
00:32:54
[Music]
00:32:57
5,000 miles away in Dorset England a man
00:33:00
who claimed to be a psychic said he
00:33:02
began receiving messages from beyond the
00:33:04
grave by pure coincidence the psychics
00:33:07
name was sandy Bullock occasionally
00:33:10
various people popped through and the
00:33:13
name Seth Bullock I thought perhaps it
00:33:16
was an ancestor that was coming through
00:33:17
to say hello or something like that and
00:33:20
I rather dismissed it but the spirit of
00:33:24
Seth Bullock did not go away sandy
00:33:26
claims herself communicated with him
00:33:28
through a Native American guide who
00:33:30
issued a warning to the people of
00:33:32
Deadwood a period of lawlessness loomed
00:33:34
on the horizon may happen in 1993 it
00:33:40
could happen again in Deadwood in 1993
00:33:45
that way the psychic warning seems so
00:33:48
urgent the sandy immediately wrote an
00:33:50
open letter to the proprietors of the
00:33:52
Bullock hotel I thought if I write to
00:33:56
someone in this place called Deadwood
00:33:58
they'll just think I'm a nutty old
00:34:00
Englishman and forget it you know throw
00:34:02
it away a few weeks later
00:34:05
Sandy's letter arrived at the Bullock
00:34:07
Hotel which at the time was undergoing
00:34:09
extensive renovations all information at
00:34:13
the time as I read it I thought to
00:34:14
myself well he found a book someplace on
00:34:17
Deadwood read it and wrote to me but at
00:34:20
the very bottom of the letter it
00:34:23
mentioned that says says he can't haunt
00:34:26
the hotel right now
00:34:27
because of all the banging that's going
00:34:29
on and I thought to myself what's
00:34:31
driving me crazy too so but he also said
00:34:35
but that he'll be back and you'll know
00:34:37
it's old Seth quote unquote and that is
00:34:41
when again the hair stood up on the back
00:34:43
of my neck because that was my aunt's
00:34:46
pet name for Seth anytime something
00:34:49
strange would happen Jerry would say old
00:34:52
Seth is up to his tricks again local
00:34:56
journalist Trina Webb was intrigued and
00:34:59
decided to write back to Sandy Bullock
00:35:01
and in this letter I said to him I am
00:35:06
categorized I suppose neither as a
00:35:08
believer or a non-believer I will treat
00:35:11
your story with the utmost respect
00:35:13
however I have a lot of readers who will
00:35:16
be totally skeptical about your story
00:35:18
because of the skepticism I would like
00:35:22
to pose to you a test question who
00:35:27
was the well-known person who was a
00:35:29
close friend of Seth bullocks and how is
00:35:34
Bullock's grave positioned in relation
00:35:37
to that friendship when I got his letter
00:35:43
in response to my test question he said
00:35:47
tall trees block the view from his old
00:35:51
bones but Teddy and he still meet in the
00:35:54
afterlife and I said whoa and I still
00:35:59
get goose pimples when I think about
00:36:00
that Rena believes the message referred
00:36:05
to a stand of pine trees which now
00:36:07
obstructs the view of Theodore
00:36:09
Roosevelt's monument from Seth Bullock's
00:36:11
gravesite it was a story that was not
00:36:15
well known and I there was no way sandy
00:36:18
Bullock sitting in Dorset England could
00:36:20
have researched this I mean it's just
00:36:23
not possible
00:36:24
[Music]
00:36:26
there's just too much evidence of Seth's
00:36:29
presence in this town and particularly
00:36:32
at the Bullock hotel to discount it
00:36:35
perhaps other people might feel
00:36:38
differently all I know is the evidence
00:36:41
seems to point very strongly in the
00:36:44
direction of Sheriff Seth Bullock still
00:36:48
being on the job in Deadwood South
00:36:50
Dakota today
00:36:52
[Music]
00:36:55
now about Seth Bullock's dire prediction
00:36:58
we just have to wait and see curiously
00:37:01
in 1993 there are plans to raise a
00:37:04
gambling stakes from the present $5
00:37:06
limit some fear this will introduce a
00:37:08
new criminal element in Deadwood perhaps
00:37:11
that is what prompted ol says urgent
00:37:13
warnings Friday March 1st 1991 for most
00:37:30
of the patrons at a biker bar in central
00:37:32
New Jersey it seemed like the start of
00:37:34
an ordinary weekend however Gloria Brown
00:37:40
a friend of the owners would soon become
00:37:42
a key witness in a bizarre
00:37:43
missing-persons case she was helping up
00:37:46
behind the bar when a young woman a
00:37:48
stranger drifted in at about 3:45 p.m.
00:37:52
can I get something honey I'm sorry if
00:37:58
you're gonna sit here if you have to
00:37:59
order something I don't do you want a
00:38:04
soda she seemed very depressed she
00:38:09
didn't smile
00:38:10
she didn't hardly speak and very strange
00:38:14
very strange
00:38:18
several days later Gloria Braun saw this
00:38:20
flyer she was startled to realize that
00:38:23
the sad young woman strongly resembled
00:38:25
Dede Rosenthal would vanished under
00:38:28
peculiar circumstances the week before
00:38:32
Gloria Browns account was a first
00:38:34
indication that Dede might still be
00:38:36
alive but before police could talk to
00:38:39
the stranger in the bar she too had
00:38:41
disappeared
00:38:44
the uncertain fate of Dede Rosenthal has
00:38:47
left her family heartbroken and
00:38:49
authorities baffled DD's trail is
00:38:52
obscured by conflicting clues
00:38:53
unexplained phone calls and not one but
00:38:56
two alleged sightings nothing about the
00:38:59
case makes any sense Dede Rosenthal
00:39:02
hardly seemed the type to be at the
00:39:03
center of an unsolved mystery 32
00:39:09
year-old Dede Rosenthal was a highly
00:39:12
regarded therapist who worked with
00:39:13
autistic children while she failed to
00:39:16
show up at her clinic on Monday February
00:39:17
25th 1991 her colleagues naturally
00:39:21
became concerned one of Dedes co-workers
00:39:28
notified police and met them at DD's
00:39:30
apartment immediately it was clear that
00:39:36
something was wrong the front door was
00:39:39
unlocked
00:39:40
and the Sunday paper was still untouched
00:39:45
inside everything seemed to be in order
00:39:47
without signs of ransacking or a
00:39:49
struggle however investigators
00:39:52
discovered that Dede was being evicted
00:39:54
from her apartment she apparently spent
00:39:57
money freely and occasionally went into
00:39:59
debt the missing girl had been having
00:40:03
some financial difficulties so it kind
00:40:07
of gave rise to the belief that maybe
00:40:10
became overwhelming and she left of her
00:40:13
own volition Dede just would not be the
00:40:16
person just to take off if she was going
00:40:19
to take off or was gonna go away she
00:40:22
would either call her mom or she would
00:40:24
call me
00:40:27
disquieting evidence hinted that didi
00:40:29
had met with foul play her purse had
00:40:32
been left behind with her keys
00:40:34
identification and credit cards inside
00:40:36
one discovery in particular suggested
00:40:39
the didi might have been abducted
00:40:42
there's a cat out here John didi would
00:40:50
not have left her cat her most loved
00:40:53
possession
00:40:54
she took her cat everywhere where she
00:40:57
went she would never have let it let
00:40:59
alone alone in the apartment but let it
00:41:00
lone sitting out on a balcony she would
00:41:03
not have put it out the door and say
00:41:04
alright goodbye I'm leaving that that's
00:41:07
not that's totally out of Judy's
00:41:09
character police found Dee Dee's car
00:41:13
parked in his usual spot but oddly her
00:41:16
briefcase with all her client records
00:41:18
had been left in the car
00:41:20
if didi or two take off on her own
00:41:24
why wouldn't she take her car I knew
00:41:29
something was horribly wrong with this
00:41:34
scenario
00:41:37
the evidence of foul play was mounting
00:41:39
the investigation raised the distinct
00:41:42
possibility that Dede Rosenthal had been
00:41:44
kidnapped and perhaps murdered sometime
00:41:47
between 10:00 p.m. Friday and dawn
00:41:49
Sunday that conclusion was bolstered by
00:41:56
an account from one of Dee Dee's
00:41:57
neighbors
00:41:58
the woman was awakened around 3:45 a.m.
00:42:01
Sunday morning by strange sounds coming
00:42:03
from Dedes apartment she heard what
00:42:11
sounded like a scream followed by a thud
00:42:14
and she likened it to someone falling
00:42:18
out of bed and being startled
00:42:21
[Music]
00:42:26
five hours later at around 8:30 the same
00:42:29
neighbor heard the balcony door open and
00:42:31
assumed Dede was at home however no one
00:42:34
can be certain whether it was Dede or an
00:42:36
assailant in the apartment but
00:42:41
unexpected evidence a Dede might still
00:42:43
be alive surfaced a week later when the
00:42:46
woman who resembled her wandered into
00:42:48
the New Jersey biker hangout if it was
00:42:51
in fact Dede she was pitifully confused
00:42:53
about her identity I do believe it was
00:42:59
her I really do she she looked so much
00:43:03
like the picture if she had only smiled
00:43:06
I I would have known definitely but it
00:43:10
looked like her the young woman said her
00:43:20
name was Laurie and that she was trying
00:43:22
to get to Florida she left with one of
00:43:24
the bikers who is not a suspect he told
00:43:27
police he dropped her off the next day
00:43:29
at a liquor store near a major highway
00:43:36
just one week later ladies and celia was
00:43:40
startled by a mysterious phone call who
00:43:44
is this is that you
00:43:53
Celia called me she was very excited she
00:43:58
told me that she just received a phone
00:44:01
call from someone that she swore was my
00:44:05
sister indeed
00:44:08
five weeks went by with no more news
00:44:10
then Dedes brother received a tip that
00:44:13
his sister was in Florida
00:44:16
approximately April 15 I received a
00:44:20
phone call from a male party who asked
00:44:23
me if I was blaming Rosenberg I was her
00:44:25
brother which I said yes they said we've
00:44:28
seen D D or we spotted D D in the sand
00:44:31
the Fort Lauderdale area as I started
00:44:35
talking the phone disconnected
00:44:41
a year passed and Deedee's family still
00:44:44
had no idea whether she was dead or
00:44:46
alive then on September 5th 1992 the
00:44:50
woman who called herself Laurie returned
00:44:52
to the biker bar
00:44:53
she had dyed her hair blonde and claimed
00:44:56
to have been in Florida my impression
00:45:00
was that she had had a nervous breakdown
00:45:02
excuse me well if you are DeeDee you
00:45:11
better get in touch with your mother
00:45:12
she's pretty upset I believe that she
00:45:17
just turned away from me because she
00:45:20
didn't want to have anything to do with
00:45:23
what I was saying because I knew and she
00:45:26
knew that I knew
00:45:32
the woman known as lorry was last seen
00:45:35
in Lakehurst New Jersey tavern where she
00:45:37
was dropped off by a patron of the bar
00:45:40
once again she disappeared before she
00:45:43
could be interviewed by police who were
00:45:45
skeptical the DD and Laurie are one in
00:45:47
the same person today investigators
00:45:49
still lack sufficient evidence to
00:45:52
determine whether Dede was murdered or
00:45:54
is wandering the streets uncertain of
00:45:56
her own identity
00:46:15
[Music]
00:46:28
join me next time perhaps you may be
00:46:32
able to solve a mystery
00:46:37
[Music]
00:46:59
[Applause]
00:47:03
[Music]
