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[Music]
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next on Unsolved
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Mysteries a young Nashville music
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journalist is gunned down was it a
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robbery gone wrong or a professional hit
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on the graveyard [Â __Â ] A Convenience St
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clerk vanishes who was the mysterious
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man seen behind the
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counter Padre Pio a Catholic priest with
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the marks of the crucifixion known as
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Stigmata many say that he has the power
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to heal and an abusive father leaves a
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young girl Angry and rebellious until
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foster parents change her life 30 years
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later she wants to thank
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them some hot cases some cold cases and
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some cases with surprising Revelations
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I'm Dennis finina and this is Unsolved
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Mysteries
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[Music]
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[Music]
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he
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Nashville
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Tennessee the country music capital of
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the world and a magnet for those trying
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to break into the music
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business 23-year-old Kevin Hughes had
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dreams of making it big but just as he
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began to establish himself in the
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Nashville Music Scene his dreams came to
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a violent
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end I'll talk to you next Kevin worked
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for cashbox magazine one of the nation's
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foremost music industry Publications he
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was the director of the Magazine's
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influential top 100 country and western
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chart from the time he was late grade
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school he started listening to music and
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started buying the magazines we'd have
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to go and pick up Billboards about 40 Mi
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away because we couldn't get them where
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we lived and uh he always read the
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Billboards and even when make up his own
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charts and that type of
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thing for Kevin Landing the job was the
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chance of a lifetime it was a lot of
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work it's a lot of work and um in my
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tenure as a promoter uh I've been
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through uh probably 12 15 maybe even
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more chart
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directors and uh he was uh
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probably
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overall not only the best but the most
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Fair Kevin received playlist reports
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each week from radio stations across the
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country based on those lists he would
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rank records from 1 to 100 according to
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their popularity a high chart position
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can be very important to a music artist
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but could it also be a motive for
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murder yeah I'll just leave the front
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door unlocked Thursday March 9th Kevin
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had been working at cashbox for almost a
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year he was working late making the
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final adjustments for that week's charts
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Kevin's friend Sammy Sadler a singer and
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songwriter dropped
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by after having dinner they made a quick
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unplanned stop at the company where
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Sammy worked so that he could use the
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Fone you know we were just out having a
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good time just popped in our head you
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know it popped in his head let's go eat
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and I just wanted to use the phone to
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call my
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parents we was in here about I would say
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approximately 10 minutes
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I was using the phone and while I was on
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the phone I heard something Ratt the
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door what was that I don't know check it
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out so Kevin got up and walked out into
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the front I don't know whether he looked
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out the front door or the or the side
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window and when he come back in I just
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said what was that and he said I really
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couldn't tell on the street I didn't see
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who it was you know maybe if I'd have
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been alone down here maybe something
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would have you know sparked in my head
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that something was
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wrong how's it
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look man that guy he went he went away
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he's gone you know you kind of usually
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get a feeling inside you if somebody's
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behind you or walking up to you or
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something and and I never got that
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feeling are and even when we was walking
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across the street I turned around and
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looked behind us and and I didn't see
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anything
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so I walked in front of Kevin's car and
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opened the door and sat down as soon as
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I sat down and started reach for the
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door there was a guy out on the sidewalk
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and that's when it shot
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me help
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[Music]
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help Sammy survived the attack despite a
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bullet that severed a major artery in
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his arm Kevin was shot three times twice
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in the back of his head he was dead by
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the time police
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arrived we have no motive we have no
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suspect we have no uh uh no solid
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Witnesses even though we have five
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people that witness this we have none
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that can tell us what the suspect looked
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like the next day rumors began to
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circulate that Kevin's murder was a
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professional hit some people wondered if
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Kevin had either been mixed up in or had
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refused to participate in a music chart
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manipulation scheme on a surface it
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looks like a pretty good theory that
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Kevin was in a position to make a number
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100 song so he could make it number five
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or the the charts could be petted and
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and Kevin if he was taking money from
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somebody from a promoter or whoever from
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a singer he could in theory push this
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person's record up but we found no
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evidence of that Kevin was not involved
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in that a second theory is that Sammy
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and Kev were the tragic victims of a
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robbery gone wrong how can it be a
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robbery when nothing was ever spoken and
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the shooter chased Kevin down and killed
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and made it a point to make sure he was
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dead even after he' shot Kevin twice in
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the head he never once made any attempt
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to take any money from Kevin he ran away
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as soon as he fired the
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shots but you're going to lose your
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bullet this week yeah or Kevin may have
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been the target of an angry man manager
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or performer out for reveng tell me to
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do I got no control over it it might be
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a person that didn't understand that
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that maybe uh blame Kevin for the uh
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failure because he wrote a song and it
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didn't become successful and he needed
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somebody to blame I could say that could
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be a theory but that's the only way that
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I would ever believe that it was music
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related if you want to call that music
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related I
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don't one important clue left at the
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scene may help identify Kevin's killer a
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baseball cap believed to have fallen out
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of the gunman's coat the inscription
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reads World War II veteran and damn
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proud of it I mean I can sit here and
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talk about it now you know then you know
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I
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couldn't but it still
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hurts you know you can't bring it
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back I hope that this helps solve the
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case cuz nobody knows nobody understands
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why
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update 14 years after Kevin Hughes was
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shot police arrested the gunman Richard
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De Antonio a former co-worker of Kevin's
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at cashbox magazine was charged with
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first-degree murder police were able to
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match the Fatal bullets with a gun that
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de anonio had owned they also discovered
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cat hairs on the baseball cap found at
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the scene that matched de Antonio's cat
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investigators say that Kevin had become
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aware that de Antonio was accepting
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money for putting artists on the cashbox
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list an illegal practice known as
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poola police believe de anonio shot
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Kevin to ensure his silence oddly it was
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de Antonio who had hired Kevin at
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cashbox in the first place Richard De
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Antonio was convicted of murder and
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senten to life in prison he will not be
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eligible for parole until
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[Music]
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2036 next The Amazing Story of Padre Pio
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a priest who many believe was a
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modern-day Miracle
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[Music]
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Worker San Giovani rotundo
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Italy in
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1987 Pope John Paul II homage at the
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tomb of one of the most well-known and
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controversial figures in the history of
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the Catholic
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Church to Millions around the world he
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was known as Padre Pio he was born
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Franchesco forano in 1887 the son of
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farmers you were about to hear the
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stories of two people who believed that
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their lives were saved by the miraculous
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powers of Padre Pio
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during his senior year in high school
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Paul Walsh was so badly injured in a car
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accident that doctors gave him almost no
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hope of survival yet Paul completely
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recovered when Vera Marie colandra was 2
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years old her parents were told that she
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had only a few weeks to live but at the
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age of 28 Vera Marie was a perfectly
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healthy adult with no traces of the
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illness that almost killed killed her
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both Vera Marie and Paul believe they're
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alive today because of Padre PE how did
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this unassuming priest become known
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around the world as a great healer his
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remarkable Story begins in 1903 when he
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became a
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priest Padre peo was ordained in 1910 at
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the age of 23 but it was the events of
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September 20th
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1918 that would give him a unique place
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in the history of the Catholic Church
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that morning Padre peel was deep in
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prayer when he experienced what is known
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in the Catholic faith as an ecstasy a
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profound Vision that left many believing
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that he had been touched by the hand of
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God when the Ecstasy was ended he
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noticed that his hands and feet and side
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were bleeding and he had to drag himself
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to his
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cell and there he cleaned his wounds and
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he um uh began to sing hymns of praise
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to God you know because of the vision
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these are photographs of the wounds of
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Padre pio's hands along with the ones on
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his feet and side they generally
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correspond to the wounds suffered by
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Jesus on the cross they are commonly
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referred to as the Stigmata Padre peo
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was the first priest in history to have
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them some church officials suspected
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that the wounds had been self-inflicted
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it and called in doctors to examine
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them one of the doctors thought that he
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could solve the mystery he directed that
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the Friars bandage and the wounds and
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seal them for 8 days so that um nobody
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could uh open the bandage without being
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detected and he felt that after 8 days
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you would see uh the beginning of of of
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healing in the wounds and after 8 Days
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the wounds were undressed and they were
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still the way they were before there was
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no sign of
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healing as word spread Believers began
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flocking to San giovano Rotondo hoping
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to be blessed by Padre
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Pio you had almost like a carnival
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atmosphere there at sanjan Rotondo
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people were Hawking pictures of Padre
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Pio they were dipping um pieces of cloth
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in chicken blood or rabbit blood and
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selling them as bandages soaked with the
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blood of the Padre
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Stigmata that became a problem for the
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superiors the church took drastic action
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Padre peel was forbidden to appear in
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public or conduct any of his duties as a
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[Music]
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priest after 3 years he was restored to
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his former position but he was no longer
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allowed to show the Stigmata in public
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he wore gloves to hide the
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wounds as the years passed Padre PE
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developed a reputation as a man of of
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Miracles the faithful turned to him
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seeking divine intervention for their
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afflictions among them were Vera and
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Harry kandra of ble Pennsylvania their
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fifth child Vera Marie had been born
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with congenital defects of the kidneys
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and the urinary tract proced two years
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and four operations later the doctors
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delivered the worst news possible take
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your daughter
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home make her
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he came back to us immediately and said
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she's in recovery and we did remove her
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urinary
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bladder I thought I would pass out I
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said
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but how will she live without a bladder
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he said she's not going to
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live Vera Marie was fitted with a
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catheter but her condition became more
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desperate Vera sent a telegram to Padre
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Peele then 80 years old asking for his
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blessings a few weeks later she says
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that she received the sign that her
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prayers had been heard I was sitting in
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the living room of my home with ver
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Marie sitting on the floor and suddenly
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I
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experienced a most unusual fragrance of
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fresh roses something I never
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experienced before I had no flowers in
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my home yet all around around my head
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was an overwhelming powerful fragrance
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of
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roses and then suddenly Padre piia spoke
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to me he said I want you to bring your
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little girl to me here in Italy but do
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not delay come
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immediately next Vera kandra travels to
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Italy and meets Padre peel face to
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face for more than 50 years San Giovani
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rotundo in Italy was home to Padre peel
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a Catholic priest said to possess the
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miraculous healing powers of
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God Vera kandra hoped for her own
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Miracle she took her alien daughter from
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her home in Pennsylvania Halfway Around
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the World to the church at San Giovani
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rotundo the next day Vera and her
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daughter were granted a rare private
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meeting with Padre peo there he was
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right in front of me in the
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wheelchair and he put out his hand and
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touched my sick daughter on the top of
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the
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[Music]
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head I spoke to him through my
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heart please God make a miracle so that
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all the people will
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believe you told us little ver was two
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weeks later back in America it began to
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appear that a miracle had occurred this
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may have no significance whatsoever but
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we found what appears to be the remains
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of a bladder here I hit the ceiling and
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said but doctor you removed her bladder
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before we left on our
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trip and he said well it's there I don't
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know what it it is but we'll leave it
00:17:01
alone pyio has affected my life in um
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many different
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ways he's brought me closer to God he
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has he's made me survive when I should
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have been
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dead and in a lot of ways he's always
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there for me and my whole
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family on September 23rd
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1968 just a few weeks after he blessed
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Vera Marie Padre poo died curiously his
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Stigmata were said to have completely
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healed during the last days of his
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life the kandra family has established
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the national Center for Padre Pio in
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bardle Pennsylvania the center has
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worked with thousands who claim they've
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been healed by the priest's miraculous
00:17:50
Powers one of the most dramatic cases is
00:17:53
that of Paul
00:17:55
[Music]
00:17:56
Walsh after a serious car accident Paul
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was taken to the hospital with a crushed
00:18:01
skull and every bone in his face was
00:18:05
broken all they really said that night
00:18:08
was massive facial and head
00:18:10
injuries and the Outlook was not
00:18:14
good Paul developed water on the brain
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and spinal menitis and lapsed into a
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deep
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coma at this time Paul was totally
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unconscious burning up with fever the
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sweat was just pouring off
00:18:29
a woman at church gave me a prayer to
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Padre I started to say the prayer Paul's
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hand came up from his side very shakily
00:18:39
he reached toward his
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forehead I was shocked I could not
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believe it his hand didn't make his
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forehead all the way but he had made the
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sign of the
00:18:51
cross Betty contacted the Padre poo
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Center and Harry kandra stopped by to
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see Paul there's been some improvement
00:18:59
good let us
00:19:01
pray Harry covered Paul's head with a
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glove that had actually been worn by
00:19:06
pontre peel to conceal his stigma the
00:19:09
grace we ask of you it was to me as if
00:19:13
an electric shock went through Paul I I
00:19:16
knew something happened it was like a
00:19:18
sudden jolt he shook it only lasted for
00:19:21
a second but he opened his eyes and he
00:19:23
looked at me so with such clear eyes as
00:19:26
he had not done for a long time
00:19:30
but I knew something had happened even
00:19:31
though it didn't seem outwardly we left
00:19:34
he was still Kos we left the
00:19:37
room the next day I waited purposely
00:19:39
till in the afternoon but I knew
00:19:41
something would be different
00:19:44
Paul hey
00:19:48
Mom I couldn't believe it one of the
00:19:51
nurses came running in through the room
00:19:52
she was so excited she said he's been
00:19:55
talking all day I asked the one Nur
00:19:58
surgy assistant he who the day before
00:20:00
had shown me all the Dead brain cells on
00:20:03
the cat skan um what could have happened
00:20:06
I said you know this was a
00:20:08
miracle and he said yes I know other
00:20:11
patients I've had uh that had the same
00:20:14
extent of injuries that Paul had um are
00:20:17
either still in rehabilitation homes or
00:20:20
are are dead I
00:20:24
frankly not any scientific basis for uh
00:20:29
explaining why he
00:20:31
survived when I did come out of the coma
00:20:34
I uh I was wondering what uh everybody
00:20:36
was making such fuss over me for at uh I
00:20:40
guess at the beginning uh before I was
00:20:43
told what happened to me uh I didn't
00:20:46
understand what the big uh deal
00:20:49
was Betty was certain that Padre was
00:20:52
responsible for her son's sudden
00:20:54
Improvement two weeks later Paul told
00:20:57
his doctors a strange story that seemed
00:21:00
to confirm it he described being having
00:21:03
a visitor whom he thought was his uncle
00:21:06
but he stated that his uncle was dressed
00:21:09
up in a brown robe and I I just thought
00:21:13
this might be some kind of
00:21:16
hallucination but was it a hallucination
00:21:19
not only Paul but also his roommate
00:21:22
reported seeing the mysterious visitor
00:21:24
Charlie Paul continued to believe that
00:21:27
the man was his uncle until his mother
00:21:29
showed him a folded leaflet that
00:21:32
featured a photograph of Padre
00:21:35
poo and I brought the picture in and
00:21:38
said to Paul is this who visited you on
00:21:41
Easter Sunday and I said yes it was that
00:21:43
is Uncle Charlie right and she had
00:21:46
folded the paper down and showed me that
00:21:47
it was potty pill and at the time I I I
00:21:51
I was I was laughing that that how could
00:21:55
it be Potter pill Potter p is dead
00:21:59
after they had told me what had happened
00:22:01
and all I I believe it was Potter pill
00:22:05
here was a man who lived in the 20th
00:22:07
century who did the same thing as the
00:22:10
apostles did whose Ministry confirms the
00:22:13
truth of the New Testament if you asked
00:22:16
him he would say that he didn't believe
00:22:18
in miracles he would say that he didn't
00:22:20
work miracles because everything is a
00:22:23
miracle everything is the work of
00:22:27
God on June 16th 2002 Pope John Paul II
00:22:31
elevated Padre peo to saood more than
00:22:35
200,000 people filled St Peter Square
00:22:38
for the ceremony the largest gathering
00:22:41
in the Pope's
00:22:42
tenure Padre peo is now known as St PE
00:22:47
of Pia
00:22:49
[Music]
00:22:53
Trina next a woman searches for the Good
00:22:56
Samaritans who saved her from a fiery
00:22:58
carve
00:22:59
[Music]
00:23:07
crash hi Colleen on a previous broadcast
00:23:10
we featured Colleen Fran Jon who was
00:23:13
paralyzed from the waist down in a
00:23:15
horrible car accident since then she has
00:23:18
spoken to thousands of high school
00:23:20
students about the importance of wearing
00:23:23
seat belts very simple buckle up I
00:23:26
didn't It's My slogan my every time
00:23:28
speaks in the classroom she relives the
00:23:31
night that changed her life
00:23:41
[Applause]
00:23:47
forever the hit of that second car just
00:23:50
Twisted me beyond the normal range and
00:23:54
that twist was so forceful that it broke
00:23:56
too lower vertebrae and severed my
00:23:58
spinal
00:24:00
cord two men pulled Colleen from the
00:24:03
burning car but both men disappeared
00:24:06
before anyone could get their names
00:24:08
Colleen has never stopped looking for
00:24:13
them
00:24:15
update the night this story aired both
00:24:18
of Colleen's Heroes called our phone
00:24:20
center and identified themselves as Ray
00:24:23
Myers and Mike
00:24:26
Kane just a few days after Christmas
00:24:29
Colleen was finally able to meet her
00:24:31
heroes in person Ray Meers was the first
00:24:35
to arrive oh God I can't believe I could
00:24:38
really touch you I really didn't think
00:24:40
that you existed thank
00:24:43
you I was in shock yes I do couldn't
00:24:48
believe it was me you know I mean I knew
00:24:49
it was me but it's like it's incredible
00:24:54
that's how I feel about this whole thing
00:24:56
I think it's incredible
00:24:58
[Music]
00:24:59
half an hour later Mike Kane showed up
00:25:02
hi hi Mike Mike you oh gosh how nice to
00:25:06
meet you thank you so much oh gosh you
00:25:11
know I tried to imagine what you look
00:25:12
like and and I can't do that I
00:25:15
don't I was surprised you know why 15
00:25:18
years
00:25:20
later why why you know why so important
00:25:24
but when she said she wanted to thank
00:25:25
the people and after I spoke to her on
00:25:27
the phone it was like this lady is
00:25:30
really sincere you know and that's what
00:25:33
she wanted she wanted to thank us is
00:25:35
your
00:25:36
name I feel the whole circle it's all
00:25:39
completed all the pieces of the
00:25:42
puzzle are all put together now and and
00:25:45
it's a real peaceful feeling
00:25:49
inside that's to me in in fact how many
00:25:52
times have I said in the last three
00:25:53
weeks how many people get to meet their
00:25:56
guardian angels and this is how I feel
00:26:03
for people who work in a convenience
00:26:05
store the most dangerous time of the day
00:26:08
is the graveyard shift in Florida three
00:26:11
women have disappeared while working
00:26:13
those hours and authorities are asking
00:26:15
for your help to identify a mysterious
00:26:18
man who may be a kidnapper and a
00:26:23
killer Orlando Florida 4:30 a.m. 91
00:26:28
sheriff's deputies respond to a call at
00:26:31
a convenience store two customers have
00:26:34
found the allight market open but
00:26:37
unattended a friend of mine works here
00:26:39
and I stopped in to say hello and she
00:26:42
wasn't here I don't know where she is
00:26:43
she's kind of
00:26:46
disappeared deputies search for any
00:26:48
signs of the missing clerk behind the
00:26:51
counter they find a Works Spock neatly
00:26:53
folded the cash register is locked and
00:26:56
there is no sign of a robbery
00:27:04
the missing clerk is 26-year-old Deborah
00:27:07
Dean Poe who worked days at a local
00:27:10
newspaper and nights at the store the
00:27:13
Debbie and I were more like sisters than
00:27:16
I am with my own
00:27:17
sister we had a very unusual friendship
00:27:20
we could fight like sisters do we could
00:27:22
ignore each other like sisters do but we
00:27:24
were there for each other if we ever
00:27:26
needed anything we could count on one
00:27:30
5 nights a week from 11:00 p.m. to 7
00:27:33
a.m. Deborah worked behind the counter
00:27:36
alone she needed to work and get the
00:27:39
money she had a brand new car to pay for
00:27:41
she wanted to buy a house and she wanted
00:27:44
to start a business so if it meant
00:27:46
working two full-time jobs that she
00:27:47
really didn't like that's what she'd
00:27:49
do just after 11:00 p.m. on the night
00:27:52
she disappeared a friend of Deborah's
00:27:55
dropped by to discuss some house plans
00:27:57
with her police verified that Deborah
00:28:00
waited on customers from the time her
00:28:02
friend left until 3:05
00:28:06
a.m. when her friend returned at 3:50
00:28:09
a.m. Deborah was gone her vehicle was
00:28:14
parked where she parked at that night
00:28:16
when she came to
00:28:18
work had not been Disturbed it was
00:28:21
locked and her purse was sitting on the
00:28:24
back
00:28:25
seat investigators concluded that
00:28:27
Deborah had had probably been abducted
00:28:30
and they soon discovered that she wasn't
00:28:32
the first store clerk in Florida to
00:28:34
disappear on the graveyard
00:28:37
shift 6 months earlier 29-year-old Donna
00:28:42
Callahan disappeared from a convenience
00:28:44
store in Golf Breeze Florida as in
00:28:47
Deborah's case there were no signs of a
00:28:49
struggle at the scene Donna was 3 months
00:28:52
pregnant and left behind a 2-year-old
00:28:55
daughter 5 Weeks Later 36-year-old
00:28:59
Darlene Messer was abducted from a Lake
00:29:01
City convenience store her body was
00:29:04
found in a nearby Creek she had been
00:29:07
beaten to
00:29:08
death 3 days after Debo's disappearance
00:29:12
authorities were contacted by a young
00:29:14
woman who said she may have seen the
00:29:17
abductor face to face I stopped by a
00:29:20
convenience store about 3:30 to pick up
00:29:22
a pack of cigarettes and there was only
00:29:24
one person in the store and it appeared
00:29:27
to be the clerk
00:29:30
looking back on it he didn't know where
00:29:32
the cigarettes were which isn't that
00:29:34
uncommon if it's a new
00:29:36
Clerk and I had to point out which ones
00:29:39
I wanted no the regular ones up top over
00:29:42
there he had long stringy hair he was
00:29:45
wearing an earring of a cross you really
00:29:47
should have smoke you and a skulls ring
00:29:51
yeah right and he had a rock t-shirt and
00:29:55
the name Mega Death across the top
00:30:00
we cannot locate anyone else that has U
00:30:02
been able to uh tell us whether or not
00:30:05
this individual was in the store when
00:30:06
they were in the
00:30:08
store he might have been a customer that
00:30:10
walked in and was walking around looking
00:30:12
for the clerk he might have been an
00:30:15
individual who was uh taken an
00:30:17
opportunity to to shoplift or steal some
00:30:19
things or he might be responsible or in
00:30:22
part responsible for the Abduction of
00:30:24
dero
00:30:30
update Donna Callahan's remains were
00:30:32
found in a remote area near Dunc Springs
00:30:36
Florida a man named William Alex Wells
00:30:40
confessed to killing Donna and led
00:30:42
police to her body Wells then implicated
00:30:46
his half brother Mark reeby in the
00:30:48
murder Wells and reeby were convicted
00:30:51
and each is serving a life
00:30:54
sentence Deborah pole is still missing
00:30:57
police police have named a friend of
00:30:59
hers as a suspect in her disappearance
00:31:02
they now believe that the mysterious man
00:31:04
behind the counter was just a customer
00:31:07
and not connected to the crime the
00:31:10
murder of Darlene Messer is still
00:31:14
unsolved if you have any information
00:31:17
please log on to our website at
00:31:20
unsolved.com
00:31:23
next the search for the foster parents
00:31:26
who rescued a girl from a stormy
00:31:28
[Music]
00:31:38
childhood Torrance
00:31:41
California Christmas morning
00:31:45
1957 Sharon Stevens and her family were
00:31:48
celebrating around the tree Sharon's
00:31:51
birthmother had died in a car accident
00:31:53
when Sharon was 3 months old since then
00:31:57
Sharon had become close to her father a
00:32:01
buckle this is great it's going to look
00:32:04
nice isn't it the Buckle was silver and
00:32:07
it was very
00:32:09
pretty it gives me goosebumps when I
00:32:11
think about it about getting beat a lot
00:32:14
with it please I told you not to run
00:32:18
I've been slashed in the face and the
00:32:20
legs and the arms uh all
00:32:23
over once he started it seemed like he
00:32:25
couldn't finish like he'd get outrageous
00:32:28
wasn't just keep going I guess until he
00:32:30
got
00:32:31
exhausted it wasn't a pretty Buckle
00:32:36
anymore the abuse continued for a year
00:32:40
until
00:32:40
1959 when Sharon was taken to live with
00:32:43
foster parents don't take any direction
00:32:47
you're just trouble you're nothing but
00:32:49
problems and trouble what does it matter
00:32:51
to you if you at her foster home Sharon
00:32:53
was angry and rebellious fights with her
00:32:56
new parents were
00:32:58
leave me alone okay I can take care of
00:33:00
myself can't you listen can't you
00:33:04
obey what do we do they just couldn't
00:33:07
handle me I had a chip on my shoulder
00:33:09
because of everything that happened in
00:33:11
the past and uh I just felt that uh you
00:33:14
know the world wasn't there for me you
00:33:17
know the world hated me and so I'm going
00:33:19
to be hard you know I was very hard and
00:33:22
very
00:33:24
cold one afternoon Sharon came home from
00:33:27
school to find her social worker waiting
00:33:30
she had been kicked out of her foster
00:33:32
home it was time to move
00:33:36
again I was very upset because of the
00:33:39
transition I had to make again I was
00:33:40
just a little girl and I knew no
00:33:42
one I had to make new friends and go to
00:33:45
new schools and I didn't know how the
00:33:47
new foster parents were going to be if
00:33:49
they were going to you know be abusive
00:33:51
in any way that I was already used to
00:33:55
Sharon was sent to the Gardina
00:33:56
California home of Bill and Cynthia
00:34:00
zalinski At first she treated her new
00:34:02
parents as
00:34:04
enemies But as time passed she noticed
00:34:07
that the zalinskis were someone here
00:34:10
just doesn't want to go to bed and we
00:34:12
have rules here and my other houses they
00:34:14
didn't care what time I went to bed oh
00:34:17
the other houses tell me about the other
00:34:19
houses they knew how to parent what were
00:34:21
they they really knew how to parent they
00:34:24
were childless and I don't understand
00:34:26
how they got all the patients they they
00:34:27
had but they hung in there with patience
00:34:29
with me and instead of just giving up
00:34:31
and throwing up their hands and saying
00:34:33
forget it she's the last cause they knew
00:34:35
that I was probably young enough to
00:34:37
change and they knew that there was a
00:34:39
good little girl under all that skin
00:34:41
somewhere you know I had a good heart
00:34:43
somewhere and they're going to bring the
00:34:44
goodness out of me and they
00:34:47
did life at the zalinsky home was unlike
00:34:50
anything she'd experienced every day
00:34:53
when Sharon came home from school for
00:34:55
lunch Cynthia was there she would tutor
00:34:58
her with flashcards hoping that it would
00:35:01
improve her gra yes you did2 she forced
00:35:04
me to do it and after a while I started
00:35:06
liking it and I went from an F to an a
00:35:08
student and then I really liked
00:35:12
it one of Sharon's happiest childhood
00:35:14
memories is of a birthday party at a
00:35:17
neighbor's home Cynthia had bought her a
00:35:20
new party dress for the occasion and at
00:35:23
first I was a little skeptical of going
00:35:25
and Mrs sininsky went with me you know
00:35:27
and I thought okay and so she uh she
00:35:31
gave me the present you know she wrapped
00:35:33
it all up and uh I took it to the
00:35:35
birthday party and I think my present
00:35:38
was one of the best ones there and it
00:35:39
made me feel proud that she went out of
00:35:42
her way to uh you know make everything
00:35:46
you know work out and to make me
00:35:48
happy I felt very special for one of the
00:35:51
first times in my whole
00:35:54
life so I started to change in the right
00:35:57
respectful way they taught me respect
00:36:00
they taught me how to uh you know
00:36:02
respect other people and myself and that
00:36:04
uh they brought my self-esteem up and uh
00:36:08
cuz I had a very low self-esteem about
00:36:10
myself it really changed me I never
00:36:13
wanted to leave but I had to one day
00:36:16
Sharon had been with the zalinskis for a
00:36:18
year when unexpected news arrived
00:36:21
sharan's father had remarried the court
00:36:24
ordered that she return to his custody I
00:36:27
remember hugging Mrs zinsky goodbye and
00:36:30
I had no
00:36:31
choice and it was very very
00:36:35
scary I felt so safe at the zalinskis
00:36:39
and loved at the zalinskis and that's
00:36:40
what I wanted and that's what I needed
00:36:43
and uh that was no more so I went back
00:36:45
with my dad and uh my new stepmother and
00:36:48
six of her kids and none of us got
00:36:52
along I just didn't feel safe anymore I
00:36:54
didn't feel loved anymore
00:36:56
[Music]
00:36:58
not long after Sharon's return she came
00:37:01
home from a friend's house to find her
00:37:03
brother waiting dad's inside and he's
00:37:06
got his belt off and he wants you to get
00:37:09
inside what did I do all I know is that
00:37:13
he wants you to get
00:37:21
inside hello Mrs Linsky this is Shan
00:37:24
Stevens
00:37:27
the zalinskis immediately sent a cab to
00:37:30
pick Sharon up Sharon are you
00:37:37
okay a few hours later Sharon woke up to
00:37:40
the sound of her father's
00:37:43
voice my first thought was I was very
00:37:45
upset with the zalinskis for calling I
00:37:48
thought you know I felt
00:37:49
betrayed and uh I thought why would they
00:37:51
do this to me and I slept by a window
00:37:54
and my second thought was to go out that
00:37:56
window and run again
00:37:58
the zalinskis told Sharon that her
00:38:00
father promised not to hurt her although
00:38:02
afraid she left with him but when she
00:38:05
arrived home she knew that her worst
00:38:07
fear was about to come
00:38:10
true Jer get out of there my dad first
00:38:14
just said go to bed get your pajamas on
00:38:16
and go to bed and I thought no it's not
00:38:18
going to end here I know my dad too well
00:38:21
so I went in my dresser drawer I put on
00:38:23
four or five pair of pedal pushers which
00:38:25
they were called back then and bunch of
00:38:27
blouses and I put my pajamas over it
00:38:30
patting myself knowing something was
00:38:32
going to happen and so I got into bed I
00:38:34
put the covers way up on me and sure
00:38:37
enough about 10 minutes later my dad
00:38:38
came in with his belt off and he just
00:38:40
started swinging it and I mean I was
00:38:42
flying all over that bed when he left
00:38:44
the room he said uh stay in bed and I
00:38:47
was just shaking because it hurts so bad
00:38:49
through all those clothes he had cut me
00:38:52
all of them and um he walked back in and
00:38:57
I sitting on the side of the bed and he
00:38:59
screamed at me and said I told you not
00:39:00
to get up and he had still had the belt
00:39:03
in his hand and he slashed me right
00:39:04
across the face and uh I mean just zip
00:39:08
me just blood and with that belt
00:39:12
buckle and I thought my God what did I
00:39:15
do wrong you know I didn't do anything
00:39:17
wrong and uh then he left the room and a
00:39:20
couple of days later school started and
00:39:23
he was arrested for child
00:39:25
abuse Sharon was placed in three more
00:39:28
foster homes but not the
00:39:32
zalinskis eventually Sharon married and
00:39:35
became a parent herself it's not easy to
00:39:38
be a parent but it's easy when you have
00:39:40
the right tools I know I would have
00:39:43
turned out different and a lot of it is
00:39:46
because of zalinsky I know if it had
00:39:48
been for them I probably would have been
00:39:52
a child
00:39:54
abuser a drug addict a prostitute
00:39:59
uh very active
00:40:01
alcoholic I feel I would have turned out
00:40:05
very bad if it hadn't been for them
00:40:07
probably don't think much of us yet but
00:40:10
we think a lot of you already I would
00:40:12
like to be reunited with the zalinskis
00:40:15
to tell them how much I appreciate what
00:40:18
they've done for me in the past I've got
00:40:20
to find these people and I've got to say
00:40:22
thank
00:40:24
you update
00:40:27
just minutes after this story aired
00:40:29
Sharon's 13-year search came to an end
00:40:33
Bill and Cynthia zalinsky were watching
00:40:35
Unsolved Mysteries and called our phone
00:40:39
center a short time later Sharon
00:40:42
traveled to the zinsky home in Laguna
00:40:44
Niguel California and saw Bill and
00:40:47
Cynthia for the first time in almost 30
00:40:52
[Music]
00:40:54
years Bill and Cynthia were shocked when
00:40:58
they saw Sharon's story when you see
00:41:01
your your own life or part of your life
00:41:03
history unfolding on National Television
00:41:06
your mind goes blank you don't hear
00:41:09
anything else that's going on but your
00:41:12
mind goes back to 30 years ago and all
00:41:15
the the memories that it brings
00:41:18
back I was very surprised that they
00:41:22
themselves called in just got goosebumps
00:41:25
when I found out and I still get
00:41:26
goosebumps
00:41:28
okay everybody smile and give me a
00:41:30
pretty pose making a difference in
00:41:32
somebody's life is nice that's the only
00:41:36
way to describe it you feel like there
00:41:38
was a reason for what happened at the
00:41:41
time you don't know it but now you
00:41:43
realize there was a reason for what
00:41:45
happened it's it's the only dream that
00:41:48
I've ever had is to find the zinski and
00:41:52
it feels great and it's like a dream
00:41:55
come true
00:41:57
Sharon Stevens lived with these
00:41:59
zalinskis for only one year it is a
00:42:02
reminder that for a child even a brief
00:42:04
time with caring adults cannot weigh a
00:42:07
home filled with violence and despair
00:42:15
[Music]
00:42:21
[Music]
00:42:32
[Music]
00:42:45
[Music]
