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Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 2, Episode 9 - Full Episodes

May 21, 2019 / 45:46

This episode covers the mysterious death of Ralph Sigler, the tragic story of Maria Armstrong and Robert Argenti, and the survival of Steve Ross from a Nazi concentration camp.

Ralph Sigler was a double agent for the United States who died under suspicious circumstances in 1976. His family believes he was murdered, despite the official ruling of suicide. Journalist John Trento discusses the inconsistencies in the investigation and the possibility of KGB involvement.

The episode also tells the story of Maria Armstrong, who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. After moving to Arizona to live with Robert Argenti, her erratic behavior escalated, leading to Argenti's death. The investigation revealed that Maria was likely responsible for his murder.

Additionally, the episode features Steve Ross, a Holocaust survivor who was aided by an American GI during his time in a concentration camp. Ross expresses his gratitude and reflects on the impact of that act of kindness on his life.

Finally, the episode highlights the capture of Richard Ramirez, the Night Stalker, through the help of a key witness, Alejandro Espinoza, who provided crucial information to the authorities.

TL;DR

The episode discusses Ralph Sigler's suspicious death, Maria Armstrong's murder of Robert Argenti, and Steve Ross's survival from a concentration camp.

Episode

45:46
00:00:03
this program is about unsolved mysteries
00:00:07
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 are about to see is not a news
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broadcast
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Ralph singer was a double agent for the
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United States who for ten years for the
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Soviet KGB misleading information and
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exposed Russian spies in April of 1976
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he was found dead the Maryland motel
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room his family says he was murdered
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against his family's wishes robert
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Argenti asked maria arms to come live
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with him in Mesa Arizona
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despite her history of mental illness
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five months later Robert RJD was dead
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Andrea Armstrong had vanished we'll also
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tell you the inspirational story of a 14
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year old boy who survived the horrors of
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the Nazi concentration camp at Dachau
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thanks to an American GI who gave him
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food in the will to live Steve Ross is
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now an American citizen a happy family
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counselor two disadvantaged children he
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would like to say thank you the unknown
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kind-hearted GI who so dramatically
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turned his life around 45 years ago
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[Music]
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the Navajo Nation 25,000 square miles of
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their stark beautiful land lies nestled
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in the north central section of Arizona
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the landscape is dotted with tiny
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government housing settlements on
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November 9th 1988 one of the settlements
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bitter springs and a mysterious visitor
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a dark-haired girl who none of the
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townspeople had ever seen before
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wandered through the streets of bitter
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springs she called herself simply sandy
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and mystified everyone with her behavior
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she carried on an animated conversation
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with herself and walked into several
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homes uninvited
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he was secretive and seemed to be hiding
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from something or someone she asked can
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you dye my hair I said what for you cut
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my hair blond so I can change my
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identity
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as evening approached the girl asked one
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family if she could leave a pickup truck
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behind their house
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my niece told me that the sandy wanted
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to part her vehicle there for about a
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week
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immediately I said well why don't she
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park it out front but she said that she
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wanted to really park her vehicle for it
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was hit me from the road I didn't get
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this really suspicious until I asked my
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niece if she knew sandy and she said no
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I just had a funny feeling that things
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were not all right after two days
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dark-haired ruler roughly left the
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settlement none of the residents ever
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saw her again within a week the people
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of bitter springs would learn the truth
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about their mysterious visitor
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her real name is Maria Armstrong and her
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brief sojourn in the Navajo settlement
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was a climax to a tragic love story on
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that began nearly 10 years ago Maria
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Armstrong grew up in a small suburban
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city in southern New Jersey she was a
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sweet tempered attractive girl who had
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always had her choice of boyfriends one
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of the young men who courted Maria was
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Robert our jetty nicknamed Ron he had
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graduated high school at 17 with honors
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and immediately joined the National
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Guard he was outgoing and athletic yet
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he had always been fascinated by the
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introverted Maria Maria was she was um
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she was like innocent oh and she was
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beautiful she had long almost black hair
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um really gorgeous and I think that's
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what my brother was attracted to her
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because she was so unusual looking she
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was sweet she was kind to people she she
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was your friend
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in 1984 Ron RJD joined his family in
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Arizona
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Ron settled in the city of Mesa and got
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a job as a mechanic at McDonnell Douglas
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building helicopters
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back in New Jersey Maria had begun to
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behave strangely frequently slipping
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into a world of delusion and paranoia
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her parents feared she was using drugs
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and put her in both state and private
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mental hospitals
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finally in 1984 Maria was diagnosed as
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suffering from paranoid schizophrenia a
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physical disease of the brain which most
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commonly strikes its victims and their
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teens and twenties it is an illness over
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which the patient has no control
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schizophrenics often cannot tell the
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difference between the real world and
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the delusions of play there is no known
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cure for schizophrenia but the symptoms
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can sometimes be controlled with
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medication
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Rosetti never forgot the beautiful Maria
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here's her to move to Arizona so she
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could start over with a clean slate he
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seemed to think that she was fine and
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that all she wanted to do was get her
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away from New Jersey and get her away
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from the drugs and get her away from the
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bad influences back there and help her
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help her to re-establish her life out
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here in June of 1988 Maria finally came
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to Arizona despite his family's
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objections Maria moved in with Ron we
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were concerned because we did hear that
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she was in a mental institution and we
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knew she was on drugs back back east so
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we were kind of concerned about it but
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you know they were holding hands kissing
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they were like a couple for the first
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few weeks Maria's seemed happy in Mesa
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she blossomed into Ron's loving
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attention senior to Maria arrived Ron
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began working the graveyard shift
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so Maria was often alone at night before
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long she began pacing having imaginary
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conversations and sadly once again
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exhibiting symptoms of schizophrenia
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somebody in the apartment complex where
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they lived Maria had made friends with
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and Ron found out that this person was
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supplying drugs to Maria Maria's
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behavior became increasingly erratic her
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paranoia ran rampant time and time again
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she accused Ron of plotting against her
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all right Ron told his sisters at Maria
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often attacked him physically Ron said
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Maria once hit him so hard she ruptured
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his eardrum she wasn't going to the
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psychiatrist she had cancelled her
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appointment she wasn't taking her
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medication she said that it kept her up
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at night well she was already up all the
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time at night she never slept anyway I
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would talk to Ron on the phone
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and I would tell him Ronnie you have to
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do something you have to get rid of her
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send her home I don't want to do that I
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want to help her he would say I says but
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you can't help her it's obvious you
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can't help her she needs more than you
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to help her she needs psychiatric care
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and then he would get really mad by
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Tuesday November 8th Ron had finally
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reached the end of his patience Roxanne
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Roxanne
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I called him and he said the neighbors
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are complaining the management wants to
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kick me out and I want to get her out of
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here she is she's gonna bassoon she's
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coming back soon and she's there in the
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room listening to all this the next
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morning Wednesday
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Maria Armstrong slowly drove into the
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Navajo settlement of bitter springs 260
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miles north of Mason she was calling
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herself sand trying to sell the pickup
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she was driving first thing she said to
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you interested in buying a truck and I
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said no I'm not you know where I could
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get a painting and she wanted no floors
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nears town so you can get her truck
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repainted it I just told her I have no
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idea her spacing you get truck repainted
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about 30 miles up north highway here and
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make a right-hand turn and I just
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thought maybe she's hiding from her
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boyfriend or something like that cuz she
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said she left her boyfriend someplace
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yeah I thought she doesn't leave right
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away but she never did
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the following morning around 10:00 a.m.
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the Arizona Highway Patrol responded to
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a complaint in bitter springs Maria had
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left her pickup truck parked behind a
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house there and the owner feared that
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the truck was stolen the officer ran a
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computer check on the trucks license
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plate he found it was registered to
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Robert our jetty and arranged to have it
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towed to a nearby town after searching
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several locations the officer got a lead
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or the mysterious girl was hiding in a
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nearby house come on Alice see you
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behind the bed come on out or I'm gonna
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come in and I'm gonna drag you out
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are you taking me I'm not gonna take you
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anywhere I just want to find out what's
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going on let's go out here and talk okay
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I've been getting word from around here
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that you're going around introducing
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yourself as sandy what's that all about
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I just never liked my name sandy sounds
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a lot friendlier do you have
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authorization to have the truck yeah
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gave it to you Oh Ron Robert I'm gonna
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give it to you well he realized he was
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too sick to go to work and he let me
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have the truck to come up here listen I
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need to get some cigarettes can I go now
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okay well I don't have anything on you
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right now but something is going on just
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watch yourself
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I did feel suspicious even after I let
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her go but I couldn't get a finger on it
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I just had the feeling that she had
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either done something was doing
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something or was going to do something
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four days later on Monday a maintenance
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man at Ron our Jenny's apartment complex
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asked the manager to come with him two
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runs apartment on Monday November 14th I
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noticed a stack of old newspapers in
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front of Ron's apartment when I've got
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the manager there we entered the
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apartment first at the door the door
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just flung wide open I walked in and I
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saw a pile of clothes on the couch
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didn't see anybody in there and
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everything was quiet so I walked through
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you know looking yelling anybody here
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yeah and been getting answer walk
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straight through the bedroom and
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I might have skipped out
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oh my god what
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according to the medical examiner report
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on the autopsy the cause of death was
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blunt force trauma to the head region
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and mr. Argenti had been dead for
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several days his body had been covered
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by bedding pillows clothing because if
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someone was trying to hide the discovery
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of the body okay come over here
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we found just left of the body a small
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hand sledgehammer we also found that he
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had been stabbed in the right rib area
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with a wooden handled knife but the
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knife wound came after the trauma to the
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head based on the evidence and later
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discussions with family and friends it
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was our theory that mr. Argenti had been
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sleeping in a sitting position on the
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couch because he was afraid of maria
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armstrong and that sometime during when
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he was asleep
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ms Armstrong came up and inflicted the
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blows to his head with a sledgehammer
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and then subsequently stabbed him then
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we believe that she covered the body in
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an attempt to hide the crime she went
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into the bedroom changed her clothing
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and then took the keys to mr. gingy's
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truck and then left Mesa and drove up
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north to bitter springs
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[Music]
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the last sighting that we had on Maria
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was on November 11th of 1988 where she
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was seen hitchhiking on the highway next
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to bitter springs back towards the
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Flagstaff area I know that if Maria
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wandered off the track
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and didn't find shelter I don't think
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she could live through the elements up
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there because it's very cold in northern
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Arizona at that time of year if she was
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able to hitch a ride and get tied up
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with somebody then yes I would say she's
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probably very much alive and very
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dangerous there's no predicting what
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she's going to do
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[Music]
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Update Korea Armstrong has been captured
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shortly after this story aired the FBI
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received a call from one of our viewers
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with information regarding Armstrong's
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whereabouts
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we received a telephone call from an
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unidentified caller that Marie Armstrong
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had been living in the Memphis Tennessee
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area and that she was going to be at the
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airport
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on August 3rd of this year the FBI
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subsequently went to the airport and
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were able to identify her and a did
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place her under arrest
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Armstrong had changed her appearance by
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dyeing her hair blonde
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two weeks later she was returned to
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Arizona thanks a charge of first-degree
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murder
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[Music]
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next the story of a 14 year old boy who
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survived five years of Nazi
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concentration camps then was given the
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will to live by an unknown American GI
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now he desperately wants to say thank
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you to this kind soldier
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[Music]
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our next story is about the triumph of
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one boys will as well to survive the
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horrors of a Nazi concentration camp his
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name was then shmulik Rosenthal but
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today he lives and works in Boston and
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goes by the name of Steve Ross a mystery
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here is that at a crucial point in his
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flight from Germany he was prevented by
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an unknown American GI who gave him food
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and rekindled his broken spirit now 45
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years later he wants to say thank you
00:16:35
perhaps you can help 1939 the German
00:16:44
invasion of Poland Adolf Hitler's
00:16:46
blitzkrieg brought Poland to its knees
00:16:48
in three devastating weeks
00:16:54
Hitler's vendetta against the Jewish
00:16:56
people struck with special force against
00:16:59
the Jews of Poland
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at an isolated farm outside their home
00:17:07
in a city of Lud Joseph and Bahji
00:17:09
Rosenthal a Jewish couple hid their
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youngest son Zurich with a Catholic
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family they knew these farm people and
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they wanted me to go and live there
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hoping that when the war's over they can
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come back and pick me up again mother
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said help us keep my son the Schulich is
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too small to go with us I try to be a
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big man I tried to be like my father
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to emulate him but it was hard but I
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didn't cry they kissed me and they said
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be a good boy more like you have a nice
00:18:02
home here
00:18:04
[Music]
00:18:05
that mostly I have never seen them again
00:18:12
in less than a year the Nazis had found
00:18:15
a nine-year-old child and put him in a
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concentration camp Auschwitz Sobibor
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Treblinka the very names conjure
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unspeakable cruelty all of the camps
00:18:32
were mass exterminations took place were
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located in Poland and of the nearly 6
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million Jews murdered more than 50
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percent were Polish one and a half
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million children were among the dead
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[Music]
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shmulik Rosenthal was one of the few
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children who survived from the time he
00:18:52
was nine until he was 14 he was interred
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at 10 different camps the last one was
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Dachau in Germany
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[Music]
00:19:05
it was extremely difficult to survive
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because there was not enough food
00:19:12
we got the leadership for lunch and a
00:19:16
leadership for supper and we got one
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slice of bread that was divided up from
00:19:24
one pound of bread for 20 people the
00:19:29
best time we we fell apart by working 12
00:19:35
hours 12 to 14 hours a day and with lack
00:19:39
of food you couldn't survive much longer
00:19:42
so people kept dying constantly
00:19:46
cleanliness we never were able to wash
00:19:50
up now no hot water I didn't see any hot
00:19:53
water for five years there wasn't such a
00:19:55
thing as hot water
00:19:59
there was nothing in there to sleep on
00:20:02
except the board she slept on the board
00:20:04
no blankets you covered yourself with
00:20:06
what you had it was very difficult to
00:20:11
understand for me what is really going
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on I had dreams that I was with my
00:20:18
family and he I end up in that in a Hell
00:20:21
in a place where it's called Hell life
00:20:24
and death survival of the fittest as
00:20:27
long as you survive today from one day
00:20:29
to the next that's all you were worrying
00:20:31
about do I have another day to live we
00:20:35
all pray to God all the time in December
00:20:40
of 1944 allied forces turned back the
00:20:43
German army at the Battle of the Bulge
00:20:45
and one month later made their first
00:20:47
significant incursions on a German soil
00:20:49
nearly five years had passed since young
00:20:52
truly close it was first imprisoned in
00:20:57
April of 1945 Allied troops liberated
00:20:59
the concentration camps an American GI
00:21:03
snapped this photograph of the cheering
00:21:06
inmates at Dachau one of them was
00:21:09
fourteen-year-old shmulik Rosenthal
00:21:13
shmulik soldier brother had also been
00:21:15
captured by the Nazis and he too ended
00:21:17
up at Dachau the two boys would later
00:21:20
discover that their mother father and
00:21:22
six brothers and sisters had all
00:21:25
perished in the camps before the
00:21:29
American troops came I was 99% Dead was
00:21:34
1% of of life that my heart was taking
00:21:38
in me I weighed about 60 pounds at that
00:21:42
time I was infested with lies two days
00:21:49
after we were liberated we were released
00:21:51
from the camp and we were asked to go
00:21:54
Torche hospitalizations we walked by a
00:21:59
unit that was tanks and there was a
00:22:02
soldier sitting on the tank as I came
00:22:05
closer I could see he was eating with
00:22:07
his bayonet
00:22:08
into his mouth putting in with his
00:22:10
bayonet he jumped off the tank and he
00:22:19
gave me the can that he was eating from
00:22:21
it's okay it's okay it's okay I closed
00:22:25
it up and I gave it to my brother and I
00:22:28
fell down to on my knees and I held
00:22:32
hugged who his legs and I kissed his
00:22:34
boots for giving me the food hey
00:22:38
everything's gonna be all right he put
00:22:41
this hand around on me and he wasn't
00:22:44
scared he's gonna get my lies or my
00:22:46
diseases or my sicknesses like throw me
00:22:51
some rations yeah he was a good man he
00:22:54
looked to me as though he was rough
00:22:57
rough and tough but yet he knew how to
00:23:01
put his arm around me at that time in my
00:23:05
life well nobody ever done that before
00:23:13
you keep keep it hold it with you okay
00:23:17
that soldier gave me a handkerchief I
00:23:20
did not know till later on that this was
00:23:23
a flag the flag of freedom
00:23:28
I felt as though it was a miracle from
00:23:33
God that I was reborn it was starting a
00:23:37
new life from here on schooling never
00:23:42
left the flag out of his sight he
00:23:45
carried it with him when he came to the
00:23:46
United States in 1948 under the auspices
00:23:49
of the committee for the care of
00:23:51
European children
00:23:52
[Music]
00:23:55
shmulik Americanized his named a Steve
00:23:57
Ross married and had a son and a
00:23:59
daughter his brother Harry also came to
00:24:02
the States
00:24:03
and has stayed close to Steve and his
00:24:05
family for the past thirty years Steve
00:24:09
has been a licensed psychologist
00:24:10
counseling disadvantaged teenagers in
00:24:13
Boston he chose his career with the
00:24:15
American soldier in mind Steve wanted to
00:24:19
help other children the way the young GI
00:24:22
had helped him and you me a week from
00:24:24
this Saturday you're gonna take another
00:24:26
exam is that national
00:24:30
if I could ever find this soldier I
00:24:33
would say to him that he is part of my
00:24:38
life he would be proud of my family I
00:24:43
would have want him to know that what he
00:24:47
has done for me that I emulated and that
00:24:50
I love people because of him I have
00:24:56
experienced something in a critical
00:24:58
period of my life that I could never
00:25:01
forget and it always is with me that
00:25:05
this man was such a compassionate man a
00:25:09
soldier who was taught to kill could do
00:25:13
that
00:25:13
why couldn't we all be more sensitive to
00:25:18
each other's needs Steve thinks that the
00:25:23
American soldier belong to the hundred
00:25:25
and ninety-first army tank battalion
00:25:27
which was part of the 20th armored
00:25:28
division he was traveling from Dachau
00:25:32
towards me late around the 1st of May in
00:25:34
1945
00:25:38
[Music]
00:25:45
next ralph Sigler was a career army
00:25:48
officer with a wife loving daughter and
00:25:50
secret life in April of 1976 he was
00:25:54
found dead in the Maryland motel room
00:25:56
his family says he was murdered I think
00:26:09
this key will open it but he yes the
00:26:11
latch will have to break the door down
00:26:12
I'm sure he's in there rap 11:00 p.m. on
00:26:16
the evening of April 13th 1976 in a
00:26:20
motel room near Fort Meade in Maryland
00:26:21
an army electronics expert named Ralph
00:26:24
Sigler was found dead the army said that
00:26:27
Ralph had electrocuted himself by
00:26:29
wrapping wire around both forearms
00:26:31
their official verdict was suicide mom
00:26:37
can you take everybody
00:26:40
as I want to be running yet two weeks
00:26:43
later Ralph's Ziggler was laid to rest
00:26:45
but during the official viewing of the
00:26:47
body his family discovered telling
00:26:49
evidence to the official verdict may
00:26:51
have been wrong when I looked at him the
00:26:56
first time I didn't believe it was him
00:26:58
his body was so so bruised so mutilated
00:27:02
so it didn't look like my father at all
00:27:05
[Music]
00:27:09
I noticed that his nose was broken I
00:27:12
noticed that there was a dent in the top
00:27:15
of the head and it was blood I looked
00:27:18
inside his mouth he was missing his
00:27:21
partial plate the two front teeth but
00:27:24
all the teeth were cracked and and
00:27:25
jagged as if someone hit him I took off
00:27:34
one of his gloves
00:27:35
I saw cuts on the palm I rolled up the
00:27:40
sleeves Paula did the arms I found a lot
00:27:43
of bruises from looking at the body and
00:27:46
the condition that the body was in I
00:27:48
don't think he committed suicide I
00:27:50
believe that he was beaten to death I
00:27:53
believe he was murdered
00:27:57
Ralph Sigler's life was as unusual as
00:27:59
his death for Ralph Sigler was no
00:28:01
ordinary army officer from 1966 to his
00:28:05
death Ziegler was a double agent working
00:28:07
for the United States the idea that
00:28:10
Ralph Sigler committed suicide in the
00:28:13
way that the army and the Maryland State
00:28:15
Police described is patently and totally
00:28:18
absurd journalist john susan try to have
00:28:21
co-written the book call widows in this
00:28:24
book they shed new light on the strange
00:28:26
life and death at Ralph's Ziggler
00:28:28
Ziggler was a central thing an Aspie
00:28:31
annachi operation run by the FBI and
00:28:33
army intelligence whose purpose was to
00:28:35
deceive the soviet KGB and exposed
00:28:37
soviet spies for 10 years throughout
00:28:40
Ziegler walked a razor's edge in the
00:28:42
service of his country his family
00:28:44
believes that this is the reason why his
00:28:46
life was brutally cut short they want to
00:28:48
know who was responsible
00:28:53
Ruff's Ziggler secret mission began in
00:28:55
Mexico City in December of 1966 he had
00:28:59
been recruited by army intelligence
00:29:00
after an exhaustive search one of the
00:29:04
Centers for Soviet espionage on the
00:29:05
western hemisphere of the dear Mexican
00:29:07
Embassy
00:29:08
one afternoon Sigler calmly walked
00:29:10
through the front door it's like to
00:29:16
speak to the KGB risk
00:29:23
Siegert old KGB official that he was
00:29:25
prepared to deliver stolen documents
00:29:27
outlining the latest us developments of
00:29:29
missile defense what do you want I want
00:29:39
to come to work for your government
00:29:41
Soviets took the bait and Ralph Sigler's
00:29:43
double life began but ten years
00:29:50
Ralph Sigler contacted his Soviet
00:29:51
employers through various clandestine
00:29:53
methods disseminating misleading
00:29:55
information given him by his army
00:29:57
superiors one of these army officers was
00:29:59
Lois Martel Ralph was considered a yeah
00:30:04
a very good double agent by the
00:30:05
community he was a shining star and in
00:30:09
my state community I mean Mos Eisley FBI
00:30:11
and to a degree the CIA as a very
00:30:15
valuable asset in a man who was doing a
00:30:19
very good job the documents Ralph gave
00:30:24
of the Soviets were crafted to
00:30:25
deliberately trick them into trying to
00:30:27
duplicate inoperative technology the
00:30:29
ruse succeeded time after time
00:30:32
Ralph gave them plans for a missile
00:30:35
launcher there was a multi tube missile
00:30:37
launcher and the missile launcher was
00:30:38
supposed to launch maybe 10 missiles at
00:30:40
the same time well when we built it the
00:30:42
thing fell over backwards that would
00:30:44
never work when we invested millions in
00:30:45
it we got the Russians to invest
00:30:47
millions and also and that never did
00:30:48
work so a lot of this is to get the
00:30:51
Russians to invest money in operations
00:30:53
and time that failed Ziegler also
00:30:57
exposed Soviet agents to the FBI
00:30:59
one of the most important of these was
00:31:01
Rudolph Hermann the Soviet master spy
00:31:04
who lived and worked in the United
00:31:05
States according to the Trenton's the
00:31:08
FBI was concerned about the Army's
00:31:09
internal security and asks Ziggler to
00:31:11
keep this part of his mission secret he
00:31:14
agreed
00:31:15
[Music]
00:31:17
1976 San Francisco ralph was ordered by
00:31:21
army intelligence to take a routine
00:31:22
polygraph examination is your last name
00:31:25
Ziegler yes it is please answer with a
00:31:29
simple yes or no
00:31:31
the results surprised Seger suppose have
00:31:35
you ever passed any unauthorized
00:31:36
intelligence to the Soviet Union
00:31:39
no the question or question that showed
00:31:45
something was bothering no were
00:31:47
questions involved with what he had
00:31:51
given to the Soviets that he was not
00:31:54
authorised no to give that question in
00:32:00
many forms was asked time and time again
00:32:03
on every poly and every poly had shown
00:32:06
indications of deception Jo Trento
00:32:10
believes Ziggler's failure to pass the
00:32:12
lie-detector test was due to his secret
00:32:14
relationship with Rudolf Herman the
00:32:17
operation the army never knew about
00:32:20
Rudolf Herman was the number one Soviet
00:32:23
spy in America and this was the great
00:32:26
secret that the FBI kept for the army
00:32:29
they were never told that Ralph's secret
00:32:30
was servicing Herman so when they asked
00:32:32
him questions did you ever have any
00:32:34
unauthorized contacts with the Soviets
00:32:35
we're off would say no and it would show
00:32:38
up his deception Ralph of course thought
00:32:40
that the FBI would clear it for the army
00:32:42
they never did that Fort Meade Maryland
00:32:46
the headquarters of Army Intelligence
00:32:50
outside of what you already told us have
00:32:52
you passed any other unauthorized
00:32:53
information to the Soviets Ralph's
00:32:56
failure to successfully pass the San
00:32:57
Francisco examinations led to more tests
00:33:00
we failed everyone any other money no
00:33:05
the next day Ralph was scheduled for a
00:33:07
hostile interrogation session the
00:33:09
session that would be conducted assuming
00:33:11
that he was a traitor no
00:33:19
24 hours before this interrogation
00:33:21
Ralph called his wife at the dress shop
00:33:23
though she was working now listen to me
00:33:26
this is important where are you I want
00:33:29
you to hire a respectable lawyer
00:33:31
well sounded distraught as if he was
00:33:34
under tremendous pressure I want you to
00:33:37
sue the US Army I'm dying I never lied
00:33:43
then the phone went dead
00:33:47
the dohsa rushed home and called army
00:33:49
intelligence several hours later Luis
00:33:52
Martel found Ralph dead in his motel
00:33:55
room the Maryland State Police were
00:33:56
called sergeant Roger Castle was a
00:33:59
trooper in charge of the investigation
00:34:01
as far as the the room look there did
00:34:04
not appear to be have been a struggle
00:34:09
there was no indication that mr. Seiler
00:34:12
had suffered any other injuries other
00:34:14
than the fact he had apparently fallen
00:34:16
from a height of the chairs which he had
00:34:19
stacked next to a light switch
00:34:20
there was a bleeding from the nose area
00:34:22
and the blood had deposited on the rug
00:34:24
there was no other indication of any
00:34:26
signs of injury other than the wires
00:34:29
which had been attached to his arms the
00:34:32
locks on the door to the room had been
00:34:35
double locked from the inside as a
00:34:40
result of our investigation we found it
00:34:42
sometime during that evening of the 13th
00:34:44
of April Ralph Ziegler placed two chairs
00:34:47
one larger chair on the bottom a smaller
00:34:49
chair on the top
00:34:51
near a light switch which is which
00:34:53
activated the electrical outlet at that
00:34:56
time he had apparently a cord lamp cord
00:34:59
cut it off spliced the wires and wrapped
00:35:03
both wires around his biceps he plugged
00:35:08
the outlet in the socket
00:35:13
got on top of the chairs used a cup of
00:35:15
water as a conductor and turned a light
00:35:18
switch on causing him to be electrocuted
00:35:26
there was no evidence developed to
00:35:28
indicate that the death of Ralph Ziegler
00:35:30
was anything other than suicide the
00:35:33
suicide theory makes no sense because
00:35:35
Ralph had no motive for a suicide the
00:35:38
army told us throughout the entire week
00:35:40
of their polygraphs that they were
00:35:42
giving him they're outside of Fort Meade
00:35:44
that they they over and over and over
00:35:47
told him that no matter what he had done
00:35:49
they didn't care they weren't gonna
00:35:52
prosecute him
00:35:53
they weren't gonna punish him they
00:35:54
weren't gonna hurt him in any way that
00:35:56
the worst that could happen would be the
00:35:58
end of the operation that they would
00:36:00
give him letters of immunity all they
00:36:02
wanted to know was what he had done the
00:36:04
fact of the matter is the experts we
00:36:06
talked to about electrocution electricty
00:36:08
told us that the amount of damage caused
00:36:10
his Sigler Czar's by the presence of the
00:36:12
electrical wire wrapped around them
00:36:14
couldn't have been made by a hundred and
00:36:16
ten volt circuit that you'd find in a
00:36:17
normal motel lighting situation as as
00:36:19
you did at this motel and in fact it
00:36:21
would take a much greater amount of
00:36:23
electricity to do this sort of damage
00:36:24
I'm sorry folks were conducting a police
00:36:26
investigation please clear the hallways
00:36:28
the trends believe that Ralph Sigler was
00:36:30
kidnapped by the KGB tortured and then
00:36:33
murdered his double life had finally run
00:36:36
out the phone call to rouse wife is very
00:36:40
interesting and very smart on the
00:36:42
Soviets part they knew Ralph was going
00:36:45
to be questioned standard tradecraft on
00:36:48
the part of the KGB were claimed that
00:36:50
they would take Ralph and put him
00:36:52
through their own Hospital interrogation
00:36:54
probably torturing the Soviets have a
00:36:56
history of using electricity for torture
00:36:58
and get the answers they needed was he
00:37:03
one of their agents or was he really a
00:37:05
double agent for the army
00:37:06
Eddie snookered him all these years and
00:37:09
Ralph may have been forced to give up
00:37:11
those answers had he compromised Rudolph
00:37:13
Herman to the army end of the FBI that's
00:37:16
why the Soviets had every reason in the
00:37:18
world to kill Rahl Sigler at this point
00:37:20
my feelings about the theory is that the
00:37:23
KGB did not kill Ralph Seaver
00:37:27
in fact my opinion and strictly my
00:37:30
opinion based on facts is that Ralph
00:37:34
Ziegler committed suicide
00:37:39
but based on the evidence she found in
00:37:41
the open casket rouse wife is convinced
00:37:43
that his death was no suicide the
00:37:48
government told me all the time if
00:37:51
anything happened we'll be here for you
00:37:55
we are taking care why they lied to me
00:37:58
when he died he wasn't double-agent
00:38:02
respected national security so details
00:38:06
with me for 11 years if even something
00:38:11
happened they could it come and tell me
00:38:14
the truth I want to know the thought and
00:38:18
I will not rest till I know didn't
00:38:24
if Ralph Sigler committed suicide as the
00:38:27
authorities believe why did he use such
00:38:29
an unusual and potentially ineffective
00:38:31
method why is there such a discrepancy
00:38:35
between the official verdict of suicide
00:38:37
and the Sigler family's own observations
00:38:41
but if Ralph Sigler was tortured and
00:38:44
murdered then who was responsible
00:38:46
[Music]
00:38:51
as ralph Sigler a traitor or a hero if
00:38:55
he committed suicide because he knew
00:38:57
he'd betrayed his country then he was a
00:38:58
traitor if he was murdered by the KGB as
00:39:01
punishment for his disclosure of their
00:39:03
secrets then he was a hero his family
00:39:06
will not rest until they know just who
00:39:08
Ralph Sigler really was when we return a
00:39:12
story of one of the heroes who put the
00:39:14
notorious Night Stalker behind bars he
00:39:17
has disappeared
00:39:19
[Music]
00:39:28
in the summer of 1985 los angeles
00:39:31
california was paralyzed by fear for
00:39:34
more than six months a serial killer -
00:39:36
terrorized the city and that was
00:39:37
seemingly no method to his madness or
00:39:39
limit to his horrific crimes Los Angeles
00:39:44
County shares departed a site of one
00:39:45
hundred and twenty member task force -
00:39:47
the case detectives interviewed
00:39:49
thousands of witnesses that checked out
00:39:51
all possible leads but for months the
00:39:53
unknown killer remained at large he
00:39:56
became known as the nightstalker
00:39:58
and he killed at least 13 people before
00:40:00
his sadistic spree of kidnapping rape
00:40:02
and murder came to an animal 18 citizens
00:40:07
collected rewards for their assistance
00:40:09
in solving the Nightstalker case but one
00:40:12
of the largest rewards remains unclaimed
00:40:14
authorities hope that someone watching
00:40:16
tonight can help locate the man who's
00:40:18
crucial information helped end the night
00:40:20
stalkers deadly rampage on August 26
00:40:25
1985 an unidentified man called the task
00:40:29
force's hotline
00:40:34
kind of information yet I know he is
00:40:38
detectives immediately sense that the
00:40:40
Connors information was legitimate and
00:40:42
arranged a meeting what about this
00:40:44
afternoon at 3 o'clock Alex thank you
00:40:48
for calling we'll see you at 3:00 that
00:40:54
afternoon the Connor met with detectives
00:40:56
guilt cutter you and Carlos Avila the
00:41:00
man identifying himself as Alejandro
00:41:02
Espinosa the individual that he wish to
00:41:04
identify he knew as Richard or by a
00:41:07
moniker that he knew on the streets is
00:41:09
this Bernardo which translated into
00:41:13
English means the uncombed one he tells
00:41:15
me about all these burglaries he commits
00:41:17
how the Honda was telling us about
00:41:19
burglaries were Richard had told him
00:41:22
about that coincided with the murders
00:41:23
that we were investigating where there
00:41:25
had been a murder burglary
00:41:27
what's he generally do with the property
00:41:28
that he takes on the burgers he takes it
00:41:31
to this fence and I can show you where
00:41:34
that's at I know where the house is that
00:41:36
I don't know where the address is you
00:41:37
know that information that he had that
00:41:39
we had not heard coming from other
00:41:42
individuals that were calling in and it
00:41:43
was information that we knew that
00:41:45
perhaps only the suspect himself or
00:41:48
associates of the suspect might know
00:41:53
Alejandro Espinoza
00:41:55
told the detectives that on several
00:41:57
occasions he had accompany the man he
00:41:58
knew is Richard to a house in the Echo
00:42:00
Park area of Los Angeles
00:42:08
according to Espinoza Richard would
00:42:11
enter the house alone and exchange
00:42:12
stolen property for cash
00:42:15
alejandro became suspicious and as he
00:42:20
said had put two and two together after
00:42:23
realizing that a lot of the property
00:42:25
that richard had taken on days that he
00:42:27
had talked about doing a recent burglary
00:42:30
Alejandro had read in the paper that
00:42:31
coincidentally there had been another
00:42:33
burglary or another homicide that the
00:42:36
quote-unquote Night Stalker had been
00:42:39
attributed to he finally realized that
00:42:42
his friend who he knew as Richard was
00:42:46
anticipating the Night Stalker three
00:42:49
days after their meeting with Espinoza a
00:42:51
sheriff's detectives made a positive
00:42:53
match of a fingerprint taken from one of
00:42:55
the Night Stalker crime scenes with a
00:42:57
possible suspect 25 year-old Richard
00:42:59
Ramirez because Ramirez had a prior
00:43:02
arrest record there was a booking photo
00:43:04
on file
00:43:10
as soon as we got that booking photo we
00:43:11
then went to alejandro out on the
00:43:14
streets showed him a copy of the booking
00:43:17
photo
00:43:18
yeah that's richard positive i'm
00:43:20
positive no doubt that's him
00:43:22
when alejandro identified the mug shot
00:43:25
that my displayed for him and that
00:43:30
richard was the man we are in fact
00:43:32
looking for the following morning
00:43:35
Richard Ramirez photograph appeared on
00:43:37
the front page of every major newspaper
00:43:39
in Los Angeles
00:43:41
[Music]
00:43:44
within our Ramirez was chased and
00:43:46
captured by a group of angry citizens
00:43:48
after he allegedly tried to steal a car
00:43:50
I know he was the police custody night
00:43:54
stockers seven-month reign of terror and
00:43:56
finally come to an end on September 20th
00:44:01
1989 nearly five years after the demonic
00:44:04
rampage began Richard Ramirez was
00:44:06
convicted on 43 felony charges including
00:44:09
13 counts of first degree murder six
00:44:13
weeks later Ramirez was sentenced to die
00:44:15
in a California gas chamber big deal
00:44:18
death always went with the territory
00:44:24
Alejandra Espinoza is entitled to 6388
00:44:28
dollars for the vital information he
00:44:30
provided authorities but Espinoza has
00:44:32
not come forward to claim his reward
00:44:35
Alejandra Espinoza is 26 years old and
00:44:38
according to police he may have a wife
00:44:40
and a young son
00:44:49
join me next week for another edition of
00:44:53
unsolved mysteries
00:44:59
[Music]
00:45:21
[Applause]
00:45:25
[Music]

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 70
    Most inspiring
  • 70
    Most heartbreaking
  • 65
    Most shocking
  • 60
    Most emotional

Episode Highlights

  • The Mysterious Visitor
    A dark-haired girl named Sandy appears in Bitter Springs, leaving residents puzzled.
    “She mystified everyone with her behavior.”
    @ 02m 29s
    May 21, 2019
  • Steve Ross's Survival Story
    Steve Ross, a Holocaust survivor, shares how an American GI saved his life.
    “I want to say thank you to this kind soldier.”
    @ 15m 57s
    May 21, 2019
  • Ralph Sigler's Mysterious Death
    Army officer Ralph Sigler is found dead under suspicious circumstances in 1976.
    “His family says he was murdered.”
    @ 25m 54s
    May 21, 2019
  • Ralph Sigler's Mysterious Death
    Ralph Sigler, a double agent, was found dead under suspicious circumstances. His family believes he was murdered, not a suicide.
    “I believe that he was beaten to death.”
    @ 27m 50s
    May 21, 2019
  • The Night Stalker Captured
    Richard Ramirez, known as the Night Stalker, was captured after a series of horrific crimes in Los Angeles.
    “The Night Stalker's reign of terror finally came to an end.”
    @ 43m 54s
    May 21, 2019

Episode Quotes

  • I would like to say thank you to the unknown kind-hearted GI.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 2, Episode 9 - Full Episodes
  • I felt as though it was a miracle from God that I was reborn.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 2, Episode 9 - Full Episodes
  • Why couldn't we all be more sensitive to each other's needs?
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 2, Episode 9 - Full Episodes
  • Ralph Sigler's life was as unusual as his death.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 2, Episode 9 - Full Episodes
  • The suicide theory makes no sense because Ralph had no motive.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 2, Episode 9 - Full Episodes
  • I want to know the truth and I will not rest till I know.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 2, Episode 9 - Full Episodes

Key Moments

  • Unsolved Mysteries00:03
  • Mysterious Visitor02:24
  • Tragic Love Story04:03
  • Survival Against Odds16:13
  • Murder Investigation25:54
  • Double Agent28:05
  • Night Stalker39:36
  • Capture43:46

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown

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May 22, 2019
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46:53
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 4, Episode 16 - Full Episode
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 1, Episode 2 - Full Episode
May 16, 2019
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50:38
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 1, Episode 2 - Full Episode
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 1, Episode 16 - Full Episode
May 16, 2019
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48:29
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 1, Episode 16 - Full Episode
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 6, Episode 4 - Full Episode
May 23, 2019
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43:53
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 6, Episode 4 - Full Episode
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 6, Episode 22 - Full Episode
May 23, 2019
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49:39
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 6, Episode 22 - Full Episode
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 3, Episode 4 - Full Episode
May 22, 2019
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45:33
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 3, Episode 4 - Full Episode
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 7, Episode 2 - Full Episode
May 23, 2019
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46:37
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 7, Episode 2 - Full Episode
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 3, Episode 5 - Full Episode
May 22, 2019
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47:55
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 3, Episode 5 - Full Episode
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 3, Episode 14 - Full Episode
May 22, 2019
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48:06
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 3, Episode 14 - Full Episode