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Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 8, Episode 12 - Full Episode

May 23, 2019 / 46:36

This episode of Unsolved Mysteries covers the haunted history of the Comedy Store in Hollywood, the mysterious death of Keith Warren, and a heartwarming reunion story involving Wendy Radcliffe and a Good Samaritan.

The Comedy Store, a famous venue for comedians, is said to be haunted. Former employees like Arthur Laurie Jacobson and Joey Gaynor share chilling experiences, including moving chairs and lit candles that seemed to have a mind of their own. The legends of ghostly encounters at the club are recounted, with many believing that spirits from the past linger in its halls.

The episode also investigates the suspicious circumstances surrounding Keith Warren's death in 1986. Initially ruled a suicide, his mother, Mary Kui, uncovers inconsistencies in the evidence, including strange clothing found on his body and the presence of toxic chemicals. As she seeks answers, the case raises questions about the investigation and the possibility of foul play.

Wendy Radcliffe shares her emotional story of loss and gratitude towards a stranger who comforted her during a tragic moment in her life. This unknown Good Samaritan provided support when Wendy faced the devastating news of her grandmother's death, leaving a lasting impact on her life.

Finally, the episode features an update on a previous story about Fritz Lincoln and Ralph Blanc, who reunited decades after sharing a Christmas dinner during World War II, showcasing the enduring bonds of friendship.

TL;DR

The episode discusses haunted tales from the Comedy Store, Keith Warren's mysterious death, and Wendy Radcliffe's gratitude towards a Good Samaritan.

Episode

46:36
00:00:06
tonight on unsolved mysteries
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welcome to the Reliant comedy storm
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Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood many of
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America's most famous comedians got to
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start at this popular club but some
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people say that um certain nights you're
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likely to catch a very different kind of
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show one guaranteed to create a lot more
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chills than chuckle is a comedy store
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truly haunted from the basement to the
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rafters tonight we've come to the
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legendary night spot to see for
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ourselves
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join me this ghostly profile as well as
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these intriguing mysteries Keith Moon
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was a young man with everything to live
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for so when the police announced that
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his sudden shocking death was a suicide
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his family began their own investigation
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today eyewitness testimony and
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questionable evidence is that the more
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convinced than ever that Keith was
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murdered
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when she was just 16 Wendy Radcliffe
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found herself all alone in a moment of
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terrible crisis but in the midst of
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Wendy's tragedy a kindly stranger
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stepped forward to comfort and console
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her perhaps someone watching tonight
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knows the identity of Wendy's unknown
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Good Samaritan also Keely Shea Smith
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joins us from the phone center with a
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poignant update see how your calls
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reunited fritz thinkin the soldier who
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helped teach him the true meaning of
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Christmas
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stay with us for another fascinating
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hour unsolved mysteries
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[Music]
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[Music]
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if America's heartland is in the Midwest
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it's funny though is here in Hollywood
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at a Sunset Strip nightclub called the
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Comedy Store for more than 20 years the
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club has played host to legendary
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comedians like Richard Pryor film and
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television stars Jim Carrey Roseanne Jay
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level and Arsenio Hall each got their
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big break on delivering knockout punch
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lines to the club's delighted fans okay
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well we're the one I'm down fortified
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but some say the best show takes center
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stage when the crowd goes home and
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there's hardly a living soul around
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according to many employees past and
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present The Comedy stores hallowed halls
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are haunted Arthur Laurie Jacobson who
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once worked here as a waitress collected
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the stories for a book about ghosts and
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Hollywood
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this place is haunted from the basement
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to the rafters when I was a waitress
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here the waitresses would have to set up
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the showroom by putting tablecloths on
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the table and we wouldn't put an ashtray
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on every table and we would set up
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before an hour before the customers were
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due to arrive on occasion girls would
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set up the room leave for a moment come
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back and everything would be put back
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the tablecloths would be refolded and
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stacked the ashtrays would be stacked
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and we all knew exactly what we were
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dealing with here
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that what was happening in those rooms
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being set and unset was that was being
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done by ghosts it wasn't a figment of my
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imagination I wasn't drunk I wasn't high
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I wasn't I didn't get hit in the head
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with something and you know it's easy to
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know once you've seen it you believe it
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but it was just starting out Joey Gaynor
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worked as a doorman at the Comedy Store
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most nights he was the last one out of
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the building or so he thought
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it's about 3 o'clock in the morning
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everybody's down I'm locking up and I go
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into the original room and get my coat
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and there were two candles lit on the
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table I blew the mouth
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[Music]
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turn around they will it again we're
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back over a nice manner you know I blew
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him out again and I said well maybe they
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were still they stayed a little bit when
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I blew him out and I start to go down
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the stairs and it was freezing all of a
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sudden in there and I uh I turned around
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and candles were lit again so I said
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okay stay lit goodbye and I just split I
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didn't want to hang around to find out
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why it seems a comedy store spirits just
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love to play games with Joey game one
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night I was going to shut the lights in
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the building takes four seconds five
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seconds tops
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walk back out chairs all these chairs
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piled in the middle of the aisle piled
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up and I never heard anything nobody
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could have come in and done that in five
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seconds even if it had been ten seconds
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if you compiled 810 chairs in that
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amount of time you should be in Vegas
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because that's a pretty that's pretty
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amazing born and raised in Georgia and I
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fought in Vietnam that's like being
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punished for the same thing twice what
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Joey gay night comedian Blake Clark
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served a tour of duty as a Comedy Store
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doorman
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Blake says he too was a target the
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club's disembodied pranksters I was a
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person who did not believe in ghosts
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absolutely unequivocally undeniably did
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not believe in any sort of paranormal
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manifestation so I started working here
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[Music]
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I was coming in to lock up the main room
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and her noise
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[Music]
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you know there's a movement just slow
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you know like somebody was just kind of
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dragging it across the stage except
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there was a little in there I'm not a
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scientist but it wasn't an earthquake it
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wasn't wind it wasn't a person it was
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some supernatural or as yet unexplained
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forced get the chairs okay Blake claims
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he also witnessed one of Joey gainers
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misadventures with us supernaturally I'm
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strange stuff going on his place this
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week just quit and what when I do this
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hey come on out come on ghost
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show yourself come on where are you
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I saw this ashtray just go across the
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room and burst onto the onto the wall
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and so Joyce what would you throw that
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at me no I came from over there it was
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like zoom you know
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to see it come up and take off is what
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was scared
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[Music]
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I was always skeptical because we're
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talking about comedians telling stories
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however I did see it
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there's no Michael Becker currently
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handles a comedy store's business
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affairs it took less than five minutes
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to turn him into a believer Katherine
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[Music]
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Becker says a phantom he saw dropped by
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in broad daylight in the middle of an
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important call no less yeah it's my
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pattern as I was standing there I saw
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someone with a kind of a tweed forties
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jacket just walk right into my office
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who's that guy okay the guy they just
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came in here there was nobody there
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except the guy that was on the phone
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originally nobody came in here
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and to top it off the guy that was on
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the phone didn't see anything
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Thanks so it was not a guy but it was
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something that walked in my office that
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something has been prowling the premises
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for decades or so they say
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long before the comedy storm moved in
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these walls were home to the nightclub
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series in the 1940s and 50s
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syros was a splashy flashy playground of
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movie stars like Tyrone Power Betty
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Davis and Lucille Ball Ciro's was the
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most popular nightclub in Hollywood and
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when a club is that popular the mob is
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often involved Mickey Cohen was the most
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notorious of the club's gangland
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regulars it has long been rumored that a
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few unfortunate souls who had run-ins
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with Korn ended up as ghosts at Ciro's
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it kind of all fits together that
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something happened back in the 40s
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perhaps because it's never like a hippie
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looking guy or it's never somebody from
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the 80s or or anything like that it the
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clothing is always 40s you know every
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time I've ever heard a story once you
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rule out all the prosaic logical
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explanations such as the hoax the fraud
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misinterpretation of natural events
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you know seismic you know transients
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electrical transients you're left with
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something that is totally inexplicable
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in terms of modern science
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modern science would have conniptions
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trying to explain what Blake Clark
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claims he and the co-workers saw late
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one night but
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[Music]
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you
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we look back and I saw the game and it
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just started just bending out into the
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hallway
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making that kind of noise and as I was
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looking at I thought this is certainly
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approaching the boundary of physical
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possibility that something can do that
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most of the ghosts at the Comedy Store
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are not dangerous at all but there is
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something in the basement that is very
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terrifying and you'll have a hard time
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convincing people to go down there at
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least alone it was a challenge
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tailor-made for Blake Clark and Joey
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Gaynor one time and one time only they
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braved an after-hours visit to the
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forbidden clutter of The Comedy Store
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basement
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Hey look at this Joey take them there
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for me
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[Music]
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[Applause]
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[Music]
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what do you want
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what do you want stay back stay back
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where you want
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[Music]
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it had no features no features at all
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just moved and I started to snake
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upwards and down towards us
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spirit demon whatever
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whatever was down there that basis is
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don't like it
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where you want
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[Music]
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apparently the feeling was mutual
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[Music]
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for sheer speed blake and joey sprint
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from the basement has yet to be eaten
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[Music]
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a funny thing happened to the comedian
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of the comedy store what a ghost story
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begins like that you're inclined to take
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it with a grain of salt but what of the
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waitresses and employees have little to
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gain by telling tall tales so far Laurie
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Jacobson has documented 50 mysterious
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episodes here at the Comedy Store
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perhaps you should make it 51 next
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during a time of tragic sorrow a young
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girl finds comfort in the arms of an
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unknown Good Samaritan and later a
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joyous reunion rekindles a spirit of a
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remarkable wartime Christmas
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[Music]
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[Music]
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it is a friendship that reached across
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the generations sixteen-year wendy
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radcliff weathering her pair stormy
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divorce found a best friend and
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confidant in her grandmother
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Bernice Gardner there was really
00:14:01
unconditional love between us and she
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accepted me it was total acceptance to
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spend time with my grandmother was
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safety it was kind of like my safety net
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whenever I had problems at home I went
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and stayed with her how are things with
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your mom and stepdad in 1984 Wendy and
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her grandmother spent Christmas vacation
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together in Oregon on December 30th they
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headed back home to Southern California
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[Music]
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light just came on I think we better
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pull over
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[Music]
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no one could have foreseen that the
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minor car problem would trigger a
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catastrophic series of events within
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hours Wendy would find herself all alone
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facing unbearable sorrow more than a
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decade later
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Wendy still wants to thank the total
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stranger who unexpectedly appeared at
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her side that tragic night in December
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of 1984
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the car repair had derailed Wendy and
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Vanessa's plan to drive home in one day
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Wendy called her mother from Modesto
00:15:14
California to say she and her
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grandmother would be staying over hungry
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start place across the street used to be
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pretty good what about try it again
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to walk across the street to the
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restaurant
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and I was ahead of her and I just kind
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of ran out into traffic and went across
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the street and she decided to wait
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[Music]
00:15:50
the feeling was just pure horror I can't
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describe it any better than that it was
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just to see her and to see her looking
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at me when it happened it was just pure
00:16:04
horror Wendy charged into the restaurant
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screaming for help by the time she
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returned to her grandmother's side a
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small crowded gathered there was a man
00:16:16
there and he kind of pushed me away I
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got the impression that he didn't know
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who I was he didn't know that we were
00:16:32
related that he just thought that I was
00:16:35
a bystander as Wendy washed helplessly a
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stranger stepped from the crowd this
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woman just grabbed me and held me and
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told me it was okay to cry and tried to
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tell me everything was gonna be okay and
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you know comfort me
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she was there I mean she reached out to
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somebody she didn't know and tried to
00:17:02
help at the hospital Bernice was rushed
00:17:06
to surgery Wendy was alone again adrift
00:17:09
in a living nightmare then out of the
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blue the stranger appeared once more hi
00:17:21
how are you doing I was very surprised
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to see her you know you just kind of
00:17:27
expect people to go on about their life
00:17:29
what are you doing here
00:17:31
I couldn't stand to think about you here
00:17:33
all night in this hospital alone
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have you gotten in touch with your
00:17:36
family yeah they're on their way
00:17:39
well how about if I stay with you
00:17:42
she knew I didn't have any family there
00:17:44
and so she wanted to be with me so that
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I had somebody there somebody that I
00:17:52
could look to
00:17:54
[Music]
00:17:56
miss you can go up and see your
00:17:58
grandmother now is she gonna be okay
00:18:00
she's stable the doctor will explain
00:18:01
everything
00:18:02
[Music]
00:18:04
at last the ordeals seem to be ending I
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was excited you know I thought that I
00:18:10
was gonna get to see my grandmother I
00:18:12
thought she was alive and and doing okay
00:18:16
[Music]
00:18:18
can you tell me which room is Bernice
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gardeners sooner said we women is to do
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now family she is I'm a granddaughter I
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don't know what they told you downstairs
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but I'm afraid you've been misinformed
00:18:32
the lecture the speech the money you
00:18:34
never want to hear in your life he told
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me that she died and
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I just fell apart I'm sorry we did
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everything we could
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I'm very sorry
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and she held me
00:19:01
from that point on I don't really
00:19:03
remember much the unknown woman stayed
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until Wendy's family began to arrive
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then without a word she slipped away
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I've looked back on it so many times and
00:19:17
I see over and over and over again how
00:19:20
important it was that she was there
00:19:22
because if she hadn't been there I
00:19:24
probably would have totally fallen apart
00:19:29
today a decade later
00:19:31
wendy is a happily married mother of
00:19:33
three but since that night she has felt
00:19:36
a debt of gratitude to the gentle
00:19:37
stranger who extended a helping hand it
00:19:41
was a real turning point for me she
00:19:47
helped me to become a person who can be
00:19:50
there for somebody else and I want her
00:19:52
to know that
00:19:54
it means a lot to me to find her to let
00:19:57
her know that one person made a
00:19:59
difference when we return in 1944 a
00:20:15
German boy and an American GI shared an
00:20:18
unforgettable Christmas dinner some
00:20:20
fifty years later our viewers helped
00:20:23
reunite them
00:20:27
[Music]
00:20:37
tonight we have a heartwarming update to
00:20:39
one of our most poignant lost love cases
00:20:41
perhaps you remember the story
00:20:46
December 1944 some of the most savage
00:20:50
fighting of the Second World War took
00:20:52
place in Belgium's Ardennes Forest
00:20:54
thousands of American and German
00:20:56
soldiers would lose their lives in the
00:20:58
infamous Battle of the Bulge Christmas
00:21:02
Eve brought no end to the carnage in an
00:21:05
isolated cabin within earshot of the
00:21:07
fighting a young German boy named Fritz
00:21:09
Lincoln and his mother tried to make the
00:21:11
best of the holiday
00:21:13
[Music]
00:21:22
my mother blew out the candle and went
00:21:27
to the door and I were with her she
00:21:29
opened the door and there were these
00:21:33
soldiers
00:21:36
we're Americans and we're lost our
00:21:40
friend Frenchman shot fritz his mother
00:21:45
knew that harboring the enemy was
00:21:46
punishable by death
00:21:48
but it was Christmas and she was willing
00:21:50
to take the risk
00:21:53
the gi's had just begun to relax an
00:21:56
anticipation of an unexpected holiday
00:21:58
meal when there was a knock at the door
00:22:01
[Music]
00:22:06
without automatic pages must be more
00:22:08
Americans
00:22:12
and I went to the door and opened the
00:22:14
door
00:22:15
[Music]
00:22:16
and there were four German soldiers
00:22:19
policy why nothing you can offer me no
00:22:23
one could have foreseen what happened
00:22:25
next
00:22:25
in a remarkable display of courage and
00:22:28
compassion princes mother bid the
00:22:30
Germans welcome provided they leave
00:22:32
their weapons at the door to posses akka
00:22:37
that night hostilities ceased in at
00:22:41
least one corner of the forest American
00:22:43
and German soldiers sat down together to
00:22:46
honor the Christmas spirit by the time
00:22:50
through our kind
00:22:54
not before sleep but the discs are
00:22:57
already here no even the German surgeon
00:22:59
I was very surprised
00:23:03
very aids and the tears disappears but
00:23:07
from then on there was a feeling of
00:23:09
friendship that permeated the whole
00:23:11
world
00:23:13
it was wonderful I never [ __ ]
00:23:20
Britt's never did forget the lessons he
00:23:22
learned that night that he never stopped
00:23:25
hoping that he would someday be reunited
00:23:27
with one of the American GIs against all
00:23:30
odds it was a dream that came true
00:23:32
here's CUNY to tell you how it happened
00:23:37
Bob after our most recent broadcast of
00:23:39
Fritz's story a man named Eldridge Ward
00:23:41
called our phone center he's a volunteer
00:23:43
chaplain at a nursing home in Frederick
00:23:45
Maryland
00:23:46
Eldridge recognized the stories one
00:23:48
often recounted by an elderly resident
00:23:50
named Ralph Blanc we did a little
00:23:54
research and found out that a 1944 Ralph
00:23:56
Blanc had in fact been a sergeant
00:23:58
serving with the US Army in Belgium
00:24:00
fritz immediately phoned Ralph who
00:24:03
confirmed that he was one of the
00:24:05
soldiers who had celebrated Christmas
00:24:07
with Fritz and his mother I was
00:24:10
completely unaware that we had looked
00:24:13
for him so I the week I asked him
00:24:16
whether he remember me from that night
00:24:17
in the Ardennes oh yes I remember you is
00:24:20
that you must be freeze On January 19th
00:24:25
1996 Fritz flew to Maryland to meet his
00:24:28
long-lost friend who is now 76 years old
00:24:31
and in fragile health I was very excited
00:24:34
I could hardly wait
00:24:48
I just had to look at his eyes and then
00:24:52
you this is him
00:24:53
and he recognized me apparently even
00:24:56
though we changed so much at a time but
00:25:00
it was a great experience if I never see
00:25:06
first again but I left there is a
00:25:11
special day for me
00:25:14
the emotional reunion took place just a
00:25:17
day after another exciting event
00:25:19
Ralph blanks 50th wedding anniversary to
00:25:22
cap the joyous celebration his
00:25:24
daughter-in-law fixed the same meal
00:25:26
Fritz's mother had served some fifty-two
00:25:28
years ago a hearty bowl of chicken soup
00:25:30
I can only tell you watch the
00:25:34
fulfillment of a lifelong dream
00:25:37
something I had given up all hope to
00:25:40
experience fritzsche Lincoln and Ralph
00:25:46
Blanc proof the true friendship and
00:25:48
brotherhood can endure time distance and
00:25:51
the ravages of war
00:26:03
[Music]
00:26:17
tonight an urgent appeal to police
00:26:19
departments across the country an area
00:26:22
decade a cunning serial rapist his prowl
00:26:24
Buffalo New York and his suburbs local
00:26:27
detectives now feared that the suspect
00:26:29
may be targeting women outside the state
00:26:31
perhaps investigators in other areas can
00:26:33
help put an end of the growing list of
00:26:35
victims that was 17 years old and I was
00:26:40
walking there summer school I was
00:26:43
running a little bit late for school so
00:26:46
I decided to cut through the pass and I
00:26:49
was almost at the end of the path and I
00:26:52
heard something up behind me you doing
00:26:56
and I didn't think anything of it
00:26:58
so I turned around and I kept walking
00:27:00
you know I mean he didn't look like
00:27:02
someone I could I had to fear he looked
00:27:05
like a normal everyday guy
00:27:11
shut up
00:27:13
[Music]
00:27:14
he started dragging me back into the
00:27:17
woods and then he started strangling me
00:27:20
and then I thought that said I was gonna
00:27:23
die it was I really thought I'd never
00:27:26
see any my feeling and when he was
00:27:31
finished I asked him what's gonna happen
00:27:34
and he told me he said nothing
00:27:36
he's almost sounded sorry and then he
00:27:40
left
00:27:41
[Music]
00:27:44
the reign of terror had only begun in
00:27:48
June of 1988 the rapist was lying in
00:27:51
wait as a sixteen year old girl walked
00:27:53
to school along an isolated railroad
00:27:55
track once again the assailant would
00:27:58
double wrap a rope around his victims
00:28:00
neck and tape her eyes shut
00:28:03
almost a year later in May of 1989
00:28:05
another young girl was using this as a
00:28:07
shortcut on her way to school
00:28:09
the same individual passed her and
00:28:12
immediately afterwards double wrapped a
00:28:14
rope around her neck gained control of
00:28:15
her and took her to the bush area behind
00:28:17
me he forced her to place tape over eyes
00:28:19
he found her and sexually assaulted her
00:28:26
now there were four two of the women
00:28:30
said the rapist had worn a blue baseball
00:28:32
cap each victim described a short stocky
00:28:35
mustachioed man in his mid-30s four
00:28:39
months passed then a fifth attack
00:28:41
[Music]
00:28:44
a woman alone in a secluded place early
00:28:48
morning
00:28:52
he placed a rope around her neck he
00:28:55
wrapped it twice she described him as a
00:28:57
very powerful man he lifted her over
00:29:00
this fence and took her into the wooded
00:29:02
area over here where he found her hands
00:29:06
behind her back and he placed surgical
00:29:09
tape over eyes and at that point he
00:29:11
raped her
00:29:15
five five two five eight stocky build
00:29:18
black hair black mustache
00:29:20
quite possibly Hispanic it was a rapist
00:29:24
that he would savage two more victims in
00:29:26
Amherst 32 year-old female was using
00:29:31
this path early in the morning for
00:29:33
exercise as she got to this point right
00:29:35
here a rope was placed around her neck
00:29:39
and she was immediately rendered
00:29:40
unconscious she was then dragged into
00:29:42
these woods up this way which we think
00:29:44
was a pre-selected site the woman was
00:29:50
found one hour later still unconscious
00:29:53
double wrapped marks on her neck told
00:29:55
police who they were dealing with but
00:29:58
this time was different this time yet
00:30:00
Daly killed his victim
00:30:05
[Music]
00:30:07
twenty-two-year-old Linda Yellen was a
00:30:09
student at the state university in
00:30:11
Buffalo when she crossed paths with a
00:30:13
rapist Linda was a seventh known victim
00:30:21
she would be the first to die Linda
00:30:28
Yellen was left in the woods her mouth
00:30:30
and nose wrapped tight with duct tape it
00:30:34
was premeditated murder he planned on
00:30:37
killing her when he when he grabbed her
00:30:39
that day once he put that tape over her
00:30:43
nose in her mouth there was no chance
00:30:44
for survival
00:30:47
an unexpected lull followed two three
00:30:52
four years authorities wondered that the
00:30:55
suspect moved gone to prison or even
00:30:59
perhaps died then in October of 1994 a
00:31:04
14-year old girl was raped in Buffalo
00:31:07
New York he was back this guy strikes so
00:31:12
and frequently he's very hard to to
00:31:15
profile very very difficult
00:31:17
he's either get tremendous self-control
00:31:20
or else he's hitting in other parts of
00:31:23
the country that were not aware of
00:31:26
[Music]
00:31:34
[Music]
00:31:57
in a moment the mysterious case of Keith
00:32:00
Warren did a killer cleverly arranged
00:32:03
Keith's death scene to make it look like
00:32:05
suicide
00:32:06
[Music]
00:32:22
the 9-1-1 call came in just before 2
00:32:26
p.m. on July 31st 1986 a mother's quiet
00:32:30
world is about to be shattered her only
00:32:33
son was dead
00:32:37
Keith Warren was just one month from
00:32:39
starting college he had lived with his
00:32:41
sister and mother sis's parents divorced
00:32:43
when he was 10 by all accounts a
00:32:46
well-liked and dependable young man
00:32:47
keeps seem destined for a promising
00:32:49
future instead he had come to an
00:32:52
untimely end paramedics found Keith in a
00:32:58
wooded area behind his family's
00:33:00
townhouse he was hanging by the neck
00:33:02
from a small tree that was bent double
00:33:04
with his weight the elaborate
00:33:09
arrangement of the hanging room would
00:33:11
later be the source of bitter debate the
00:33:13
cord was anchored around the base of a
00:33:15
large tree it extended some 25 feet to
00:33:18
the small sapling it encircles a
00:33:21
saplings trunk and then arched up
00:33:23
through a fork
00:33:24
[Music]
00:33:28
the authorities however saw nothing
00:33:30
suspicious about the scene after a brief
00:33:33
visual inspection the county's deputy
00:33:35
medical examiner to determine that Keith
00:33:37
Warren had committed suicide no autopsy
00:33:40
was ordered and the body was dispatched
00:33:43
to a funeral home for embalming it was
00:33:45
already dark when Keith's mother was
00:33:47
informed I didn't realize at the time
00:33:51
that Keith's body was not at a morgue
00:33:54
there'd been no investigation and his
00:33:57
body had been discovered maybe five or
00:33:59
six hours earlier about 12:30 I didn't
00:34:02
know at the time the officer had chosen
00:34:04
a funeral home a few days later Mary cuy
00:34:09
received her son's personal effects some
00:34:12
audio tapes a jacket and his trademark
00:34:14
brown boots
00:34:15
I saw the boots and that's when I just
00:34:19
got really I mean it was just I knew it
00:34:22
was all over but to see the boobs that
00:34:24
was Keith in deficit
00:34:32
initially Keith's mother accepted the
00:34:34
finding of suicide but over time she
00:34:37
found as crepin sees too numerous to
00:34:39
ignore today Mary Kui totally rejects
00:34:43
the official explanation her doubts
00:34:45
began after she heard from a friend of
00:34:47
Keast named Rodney Kendall Rodney
00:34:49
reported that operator suspicious
00:34:51
characters have been looking for Keith
00:34:52
shortly before his death nothing much
00:35:03
man just some friends looking for seemed
00:35:05
around the first 10 Siddhant occurred in
00:35:08
front of the townhouse a week before
00:35:10
Keith's body was found it was mainly
00:35:14
black males that were in the car and
00:35:17
Keith denied he associated much with
00:35:20
black males most was friends with white
00:35:22
males so I thought that was pretty
00:35:23
strange and after I told him that I
00:35:25
haven't said and Saint Keith's play left
00:35:28
he said they weren't from the
00:35:29
neighborhood or our school area so I
00:35:31
kind of kind of feel why would they be
00:35:33
looking for Keith but you know no one
00:35:34
had an answer for me
00:35:36
several days later Rodney had another
00:35:39
odd encounter this time with a
00:35:41
high-school acquaintance of Keith's name
00:35:43
mark Finley Rodney B sinky mouseup I
00:35:47
need to find a work that was lost every
00:35:49
song I don't know we were our last night
00:35:51
it's what I saw when he seemed pretty
00:35:53
urgent I thought was pretty strange was
00:35:55
he act like he needed to find Keith very
00:35:57
quickly and I told him I couldn't I
00:36:01
didn't know where Keith was and he left
00:36:02
and that puzzled me because I said you
00:36:05
know in the past eight seven eight years
00:36:07
we lived in Maryland mark never came by
00:36:09
nor nor did he ever call for Keith
00:36:11
I never saw him in house I don't recall
00:36:13
him and my last recollection of mark was
00:36:16
warned eighth grade and they got into a
00:36:18
fight Keith it marked it a couple of
00:36:20
weeks after that
00:36:21
my mom came to visit me and I've never
00:36:26
gone to the site that the tree was found
00:36:29
and she wanted to go to the tree Rodney
00:36:33
captain what earlier identified Keith's
00:36:36
body for the police led the way
00:36:39
when we got there I looked around and
00:36:43
couldn't find the tree but I was sure I
00:36:46
was in the right spot and we looked down
00:36:49
on the other tree had been cut down it
00:36:51
was just the stop left
00:36:56
I've had it and I called the police and
00:36:59
they're very rude Rudy told me that well
00:37:03
what do you want us to do you know we
00:37:05
cut it down and what do you want us to
00:37:07
do about it
00:37:07
speak very better than a multiracial
00:37:09
community group known as clans her
00:37:12
helping Keith's mother with a case the
00:37:15
police had cut down the tree and they
00:37:18
were saving it as evidence now this was
00:37:20
a big surprise to us because heretofore
00:37:23
they had said that a case was closed and
00:37:27
we were surprised that they would be yes
00:37:29
still collecting and saving evidence
00:37:34
case mother no longer trusted the police
00:37:36
are there explanations she launched a
00:37:39
letter-writing campaign targeting state
00:37:41
and federal officials but for six long
00:37:44
years Mary Kui hit a stone wall every
00:37:47
way she turned then came April 9th 1992
00:37:50
her son's birthday Keith would have been
00:37:53
25 that afternoon Barry found a plain
00:38:00
manila envelope at her doorstep the
00:38:02
stunning contents would sweep her back
00:38:05
to the day of her son's death
00:38:09
[Music]
00:38:16
[Music]
00:38:19
and sherry came up and she saw the
00:38:21
pictures scanned her I should pick them
00:38:23
up and of course she panicked and then
00:38:26
she says oh my god this is Keith there
00:38:30
were five pictures at all they looked
00:38:33
official when each showed a different
00:38:34
view of Keith Warren hanging by his neck
00:38:37
Mary forced herself to look and in the
00:38:40
process she found a glaring discrepancy
00:38:44
his clothing
00:38:45
he didn't fit him that's when he started
00:38:48
to realize he was wearing somebody
00:38:50
else's clothing he's got a long sleeve
00:38:53
shirt on looks fairly new he's got like
00:38:56
corduroy jeans on that he didn't own but
00:39:00
the real eye-catcher was that he was
00:39:03
wearing white sneakers and those white
00:39:08
tennis shoes he did not own he did not
00:39:11
own a pair of white tennis shoes for
00:39:14
Mary cuy it was a nightmarish
00:39:16
inconsistency yes that was her son in
00:39:19
the photographs but whose clothes was he
00:39:21
wearing whose white tennis shoes and why
00:39:24
was he wearing them the only items of
00:39:29
clothing a police returned to the family
00:39:31
had been Keith's jacket and brown boots
00:39:33
neither was shown in the photographs
00:39:35
although authorities said that they had
00:39:37
been found near Keith's body my brain
00:39:41
started to just really go into a
00:39:42
tailspin because I didn't feel that the
00:39:44
police for my friends at all I started
00:39:48
to talk around to legal people and I was
00:39:52
advised to go to a local investigator
00:39:54
and find out the source of the photos
00:39:57
the police department conceded that
00:40:00
there were copies of original police
00:40:02
photos but they had no idea where they
00:40:05
came from
00:40:05
none whatsoever they were questioned
00:40:07
numerous times
00:40:09
when jeweler SIA examined the pictures
00:40:11
he noticed leaves on the back of Keith's
00:40:13
shirt to Alessia this suggests that
00:40:16
Keith had been lying on the ground and
00:40:18
was hoisted into a hanging position by
00:40:20
someone else Alicia says that his theory
00:40:25
is bolstered by the complex path of the
00:40:27
rope found at the scene apparently the
00:40:32
the perpetrators noticed that the tree
00:40:34
was small and would hold the body
00:40:36
therefore they needed some security by
00:40:39
tying her out of victory here when you
00:40:42
talk to police off the record you get
00:40:44
this was a travesty of errors on the
00:40:46
record you get a lot of there are
00:40:48
logical explanations for everything and
00:40:50
yet no logical explanations have ever
00:40:51
been given the fact of the matter is no
00:40:54
one seems to know whose clothing keith
00:40:56
warren is wearing in those photographs
00:40:57
and whether or not keith warren was
00:41:00
hanged or whether or not he committed
00:41:01
suicide
00:41:03
finally he keeps fairly had his body
00:41:05
exhumed at long last there was an
00:41:08
autopsy and the results were shocking
00:41:10
I believe that Keith Warren's death
00:41:13
being listed as suicide is medically not
00:41:17
supportable toxicology tests have
00:41:21
revealed the presence of potent
00:41:22
chemicals most importantly
00:41:24
trichloroethane or TCE they are usually
00:41:27
found in glue and solvents the levels
00:41:30
found in keith warren were more than
00:41:32
enough to kill him
00:41:34
these substances can get in there by
00:41:38
inhalation or that could be actually
00:41:40
even to be taken in by mouth the other
00:41:44
possibility of courses injection as part
00:41:46
of an embalming solution the embalming
00:41:51
process is exactly our Maryland's chief
00:41:53
medical examiner explained away the
00:41:55
toxic chemicals when he reviewed the
00:41:57
autopsy report doctor Mahalo cos
00:42:00
disagrees the substance is found in
00:42:04
Keith Warren's body could not have been
00:42:06
introduced by the embalming fluid
00:42:09
because one the embalming the embalmer
00:42:11
in his report and never mentioned using
00:42:14
any of the substances secondly the
00:42:16
distribution of the key substance
00:42:19
trichloroethane is more consistent with
00:42:21
inhalation and third they were found at
00:42:24
two additional substances which are
00:42:26
totally unrelated to any embalming
00:42:28
solution he could've been at a party
00:42:31
with some drugs involved and he
00:42:32
accidentally killed himself and they
00:42:35
were afraid and then they decided to
00:42:37
take and hang and make it look like a
00:42:39
suicide
00:42:40
okay or he could have been attacked from
00:42:43
the back and that particular chemical so
00:42:45
potent that one chemist said that he was
00:42:48
dead before he hit the ground he
00:42:49
couldn't have done this and placed
00:42:52
himself on the tree that's the bottom
00:42:54
line he could not have taken these
00:42:56
chemicals and then hung himself
00:43:01
if Keith Warren didn't hang himself and
00:43:04
who did hang him in a final disturbing
00:43:07
twist the one person who might have
00:43:09
answered that question has also turned
00:43:11
up dead under suspicious circumstances
00:43:16
mark Finley was one of those who came
00:43:18
looking for Keith around the time he
00:43:20
died I 96 years later when Mary Kui
00:43:23
received the photographs
00:43:25
Finley again figured prominently affixed
00:43:28
to one of the pictures was a threatening
00:43:29
note which appeared to target Finley and
00:43:32
another man
00:43:34
the note read in part don't worry mark
00:43:37
Finley will be next two months after
00:43:40
mark learned he had been singled out he
00:43:42
contacted Mary Kui mark called my
00:43:45
residents left a message on my answering
00:43:48
machine to the effect of something that
00:43:51
said miss Warren this is mark Finley I
00:43:54
got your message and I will be by to see
00:43:59
you
00:44:00
I do remember specific words but I need
00:44:03
to unload one month later mark Finley
00:44:07
was dead according to the Montgomery
00:44:10
County police Finley died accidentally
00:44:12
when he struck a curb and was thrown
00:44:14
from his bike that was a strange death
00:44:19
the original ambulance crew said the
00:44:23
damage to mr. Finley didn't fit the
00:44:27
accident itself the damage in his face
00:44:30
it was looked like somebody either hit
00:44:32
him with a car his waiting for with a
00:44:34
baseball bat and with a baseball bat
00:44:36
mark Finley made his statement at a
00:44:38
party saying that Keith didn't kill
00:44:40
himself I helped hang him in the tree it
00:44:43
just seemed kind of strange that he
00:44:44
happened to expire when he hadn't made
00:44:46
that statement
00:44:47
[Music]
00:44:48
why was Mark Finley targeted in a
00:44:51
threatening note did he truly of
00:44:53
information about Keith Warren's death
00:44:55
as with all the other nagging questions
00:44:57
the authorities have a standard answer
00:44:59
this case is closed we're still being
00:45:04
stonewalled and whilst you're being
00:45:05
fought and that's incredible I can't I
00:45:09
can't understand that what what what is
00:45:12
what is it that the system does not want
00:45:15
me to know about my child
00:45:17
life or death despite repeated requests
00:45:21
officials in Montgomery County Maryland
00:45:23
declined to comment on the case or
00:45:25
participate in this broadcast
00:45:26
Mary cuy vows that she will continue to
00:45:29
press her own investigation until each
00:45:32
and every question about her son's death
00:45:33
has been answered
00:45:35
[Music]
00:45:45
join me again next Friday perhaps you
00:45:49
may be able to help solve a mystery
00:45:53
[Music]
00:46:29
[Music]

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

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

Episode Highlights

  • The Comedy Store's Haunting
    The Comedy Store in Hollywood is said to be haunted, with employees sharing eerie experiences.
    “This place is haunted from the basement to the rafters.”
    @ 03m 30s
    May 23, 2019
  • Wendy's Tragic Night
    Wendy Radcliffe recalls the night she lost her grandmother in a tragic accident.
    “I thought that I was gonna get to see my grandmother.”
    @ 18m 10s
    May 23, 2019
  • A Stranger's Kindness
    Wendy expresses gratitude for a stranger who comforted her during a traumatic time.
    “One person made a difference.”
    @ 19m 59s
    May 23, 2019
  • The First Victim
    Linda Yellen was the seventh known victim and the first to die.
    “She would be the first to die.”
    @ 30m 21s
    May 23, 2019
  • A Mother's Quest for Truth
    Mary Kui's investigation into her son's death reveals shocking discrepancies.
    “I didn't feel that the police were my friends at all.”
    @ 39m 41s
    May 23, 2019
  • Mysterious Deaths
    Mark Finley, who had information about Keith's death, dies under suspicious circumstances.
    “It just seemed kind of strange that he happened to expire.”
    @ 44m 44s
    May 23, 2019

Episode Quotes

  • This place is haunted from the basement to the rafters.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 8, Episode 12 - Full Episode
  • I thought that I was gonna get to see my grandmother.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 8, Episode 12 - Full Episode
  • One person made a difference.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 8, Episode 12 - Full Episode
  • There was no chance for survival.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 8, Episode 12 - Full Episode
  • I didn't feel that the police were my friends at all.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 8, Episode 12 - Full Episode
  • What is it that the system does not want me to know about my child?
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 8, Episode 12 - Full Episode

Key Moments

  • Wendy's Crisis01:02
  • Haunted Comedy Store03:30
  • Stranger's Comfort19:59
  • Premeditated Murder30:34
  • Mother's Distrust39:41
  • Suspicious Deaths44:44

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown

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Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 8, Episode 7 - Full Episode
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49:20
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 8, Episode 7 - Full Episode
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 8, Episode 13 - Full Episode
May 23, 2019
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45:05
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 8, Episode 13 - Full Episode
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 7, Episode 10 - Full Episode
May 23, 2019
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47:10
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 7, Episode 10 - Full Episode
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 7, Episode 6 - Full Episode
May 23, 2019
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01:29:02
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 7, Episode 6 - Full Episode
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 6, Episode 1 - Full Episode
May 23, 2019
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43:40
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 6, Episode 1 - Full Episode
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 6, Episode 10 - Full Episode
May 23, 2019
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43:55
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 6, Episode 10 - Full Episode
Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 2, Episode 22
March 09, 2017
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42:50
Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 2, Episode 22
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 1, Episode 14 - Updated Full Episode
March 16, 2022
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46:45
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 1, Episode 14 - Updated Full Episode