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Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 3, Episode 19

March 09, 2017 / 42:55

This episode of Unsolved Mysteries covers a love triangle murder in Indiana, a haunting in Florida, a sabotaged train crash, and a remarkable police sketch artist.

In Indiana, Christy Mfield discovers her boyfriend Todd Kelly dead, having been stabbed multiple times. Christy was involved in a love triangle with Todd and another man, Mafus Huck, who becomes the prime suspect in the murder. Investigators find inconsistencies in Christy's story, leading to speculation about her involvement.

A haunting in Claremont, Florida, features June Ferris, who experiences eerie dreams about a house she later moves into. The family believes the ghost of a murder victim, John Harden, is present, as they encounter strange occurrences in their home.

The episode also discusses a train crash in Arizona caused by sabotage, drawing parallels to a similar incident from 1939. Investigators find evidence suggesting the sabotage was premeditated, with the FBI seeking information on the case.

Finally, Lois Gibson, a police sketch artist in Texas, shares her story of overcoming trauma to help capture criminals through her sketches. Her work has led to over 1,000 arrests, showcasing her unique talent and empathy for victims.

TL;DR

A love triangle leads to murder, a haunting reveals a ghost, a train crash is sabotaged, and a sketch artist captures criminals.

Episode

42:55
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[Music]
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next on Unsolved
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Mysteries Christy mfield Todd Kelly and
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mafus Huck all three were players in a
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toret lovers triangle that led to
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murder a burning truck turns out to be a
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trap and now the ghost of the murder
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victim is haunting the scene of the
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crime in the Arizona desert a pass
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passenger train crashes the result of
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sabotage 60 years earlier another train
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had been derailed is there a
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connection and a rape victim turns her
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personal trauma into an amazing ability
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to sketch criminals from eyewitness
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accounts five compelling Mysteries some
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just waiting to be solved I'm Dennis
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finina join us
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[Music]
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[Music]
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[Music]
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Hamilton
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Indiana early in the morning Christy
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mfield arrived at the home of her
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[Music]
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boyfriend only to flee in Terror moments
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later I saw him laying on the floor and
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I screamed his name I could just I could
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just see just by looking at him that
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that something was very wrong wasn't
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right Christy's boyfriend Todd was dead
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he had been stabbed seven times in the
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chest back and wrist Christy was in
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shock just hours earlier the two lovers
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had been here
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together investigator spoke with
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Christie and learned that she was at the
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very center of a love triangle she had
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been involved with both Todd and another
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man christe's other lover was now the
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prime suspect in Todd's
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murder Christy met Todd Kelly during
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their junior year in high school it was
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love at first sight especially for
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Todd after graduation he asked me to
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marry him I know I guess I said no I
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said I really wasn't ready I thought
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there was other things I really wanted
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to do right now
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and that's pretty much where we broke it
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off right
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there the next fall Christy enrolled in
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a small College just 7 miles from
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Hamilton she soon began dating a student
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named mafus
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Huck he was very outgoing very energetic
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he was interested in what I had to say
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and he was interested in what I thought
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and what I believed
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in but MAFO was not what he seemed to be
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shortly after he met Christie he was
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arrested for three separate
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robberies and one of them he stole
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$100,000 worth of jewelry from his own
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ant after he was arrested and he had to
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go on house arrest he uh became very
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possessive and he said that if he ever
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saw me with anybody else that he would
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probably kill him and then kill me
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a few months later Christy rekindled her
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romance with Todd but mafus who lived
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nearby did not back
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off the day before the murder Todd was
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at the home of a friend when mafus
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showed up
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unexpectedly what can I do for you the
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asked out if he was going to quit seeing
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her and T told him no she told me she's
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in love with me their voices were never
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raised or nothing like that they shook
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hands I mean and really just it seemed
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like it was pretty much all over and
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done with you
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know 36 hours later Todd was dead and
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his house was swarming with police
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authorities determined that he had been
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murdered around 3:15
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a.m. investigators immediately noticed
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that the crime scene had been tampered
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with Stacy is this where you found the
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body yeah Todd's Body had been cleaned
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up and then moved into the living room
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from another part of the house upon
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further checking into the house we
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noticed that there were no sheets on the
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bed in the
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bedroom uh we also discovered a spot
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where there was blood on the floor in
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the bedroom it was very hard to find
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this at first because it had been wiped
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clean two eyewitnesses told Poli they
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had seen mafus between 11:00 p.m. and
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1:00 a.m. on the night of the murder he
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had been walking barefoot in the
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direction of Todd's
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house you want to get married at that
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very same moment Christy and Todd were
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together inside I thought you wanted to
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when uh we were in bed I heard noises
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outside who's that what thought say it
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was probably just a dog cuz he had a dog
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tied up about back and he there was
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nothing to worry about it was getting
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kind of late and I told him I had to go
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home because I hadn't hadn't really been
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home home in quite a while and I knew my
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father would be upset so uh so we left
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and he said he was going to stay up all
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night and he wanted to get something to
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drink Christy says that at 2:30 a.m. she
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and Todd drove into town she believes
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mafus entered the house while they were
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gone we drove back to my to his house
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and um said goodbye in the car and they
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gave me a kiss I forget to come
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back Christy says she dropped hot back
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at his house around 300 a.m. the coroner
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determined that he was murdered just 15
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minutes
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later at 4:30 a.m. MAFO called Christie
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from his parents' home 10 mil away
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hey morning what time is it 2 hours
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later he showed up in her bedroom
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according to Christie she had broken off
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the relationship for good not knowing
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what he had done hope you're
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happy excuse
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me I hope you have a happy life it kind
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of scared me the tone of voice he I said
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excuse me he says I hope you have a
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happy life and then he walked out
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at first glance it seemed like an open
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and shut
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case mafus hu had murdered Todd Kelly in
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a fit of jealous rage and
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fled but Todd Kelly's family noticed
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some inconsistencies in christe's story
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they think she knows much more than
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she's saying according to all the
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evidence that we have dug up and the
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evidence that the police have there is
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no way that she was not there she had to
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be there during the
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murder when Todd and christe returned
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home and they probably started making
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love and mafus waited in the
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bushes when he saw what was happening
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that's when his jealousy took over and
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he could no longer control himself and
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decided to finish the
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[Music]
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ACT what was that what when Christy said
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she heard the noise it was MAFO coming
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in the door
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I do believe at that point mafus
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convinced her to help him cover up the
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murder I don't know why they want to
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blame me I mean I know T I had our
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hardships and I hurt him and he hurt me
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the possibility of an accomplice is pure
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speculation at this point in time
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there's no hard evidence it amazes me
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how a man could alone could clean up
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that entire room clean up the entire
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messy he made move the body entirely
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clean the body and also walk all the way
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back home in the amount of time that
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they had reported receiving another
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phone call he had to have some
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help the Kelly Family believes that
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christe actually gave mafus a ride home
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they also question her statement about
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what happened when she returned to
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Todd's house at 7: that morning Christy
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claims that she did not immediately
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notice Todd's Body when she returned yet
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it was lying right at the front door
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we're not accusing Christie the only
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problem is is we feel that there's some
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inconsistencies in the things that she
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has told us um we've asked chrisy uh for
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a polygraph
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examination and she has refused to do
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that Tod's family they've just
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they've they've been very hard on me
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from the beginning they um they harassed
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me they accused me unjustly accused me
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of of
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everything they wouldn't even let me go
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to his
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funeral I I realize they're hurting and
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I and I don't think that they realize
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that I'm hurting
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too mafus Huck is still the prime
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suspect he was last known to be in
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Bangladesh but authorities believe he
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travels to to the United States
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frequently Huck is 5' 10 in tall and
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weighs
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approximately 160 lb he has a dark
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complexion with brown eyes and black
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hair
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update mafus hu has finally been
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captured and American officials have
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petitioned for his return here's one of
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our staff with details after hiding out
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in Bangladesh and India for 24 years
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mafus Huck was extra inded to the US he
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pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 40
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years in
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[Music]
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prison next a family in Florida claims
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the ghost of a murder victim has
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returned to haunt the scene of the
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crime for several months June Ferris had
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the same disturbing dream about a
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strange house that she had never even
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seen I would come out of the bedroom go
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out into the
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hallway and I would turn to the right
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and go down the narrow
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staircase I knew the house had a front
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staircase but I never used the front
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staircase in the dream it was always the
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back and I would turn to the left and go
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through the
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kitchen around refrigerator and stove
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that were on the one
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wall I had a feeling of anxiety that
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something was going to happen that I
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should know
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about and I would go out the kitchen
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door onto the
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porch and that's where I would wake
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up and I suppose that uh this dream
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continued maybe once a month until we
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moved to Orlando four years later
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after June and her family moved to
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Florida she was driving through the
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small town of Claremont when a
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particular house caught her attention
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this is great she returned with a friend
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for a closer
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look soon after entering June
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experienced an eerie
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sensation we went through the downstairs
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and went up the front
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staircase and I had a feeling of I guess
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you would say deja Vu I had definitely
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been here before oh and look more stairs
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I wonder where they
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[Music]
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go I know where they
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go they go down through the kitchen so
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as we walk through the house it
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definitely was the same house of the
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dream and I knew every room in the house
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every closet where everything was it it
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was it was just a real unusual
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experience
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not scary it was a good feeling it was a
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feeling like I had come
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home June her husband and three of their
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children moved into the old house almost
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immediately odd things began to happen
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my father had brought the boat out on
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the trailer and the trailer hitch was on
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a saw horse type stand and it looked as
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if if someone had reached over picked
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the trailer hitch up and just dropped it
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on the ground Robin what are you doing
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do
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it it happened several times again
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afterwards it was so fast that you
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really wanted to think to yourself did I
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really see that did that really
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happen over the next few years the
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strange events became more frequent
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the music boxes coming on really assured
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me that we definitely had a ghost in
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that
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house but the switches were not on they
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were just wound up and they were playing
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all of them were playing and I felt like
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we did before then but it wasn't scary
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to me anymore it was kind of
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fascinating June's younger daughter Lori
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and her boyfriend Bob had another
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strange experience
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just my
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mom I heard something with boots come
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through the kitchen not your mother and
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walk down the hallway and stop in the
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opening going into the Parlor and I had
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feeling that whatever it was was
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standing right there watching
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us and the sound of its boots continued
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down the hallway and I followed it and
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at that point I was really very very
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scared
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I never encountered anything like that I
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was just so terrified I couldn't even
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move I was a firm disbeliever in ghost
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but after everything that's happened to
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me in that house there is such a thing
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as ghosts and there is a ghost in that
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house everyone was convinced the house
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was haunted but no one had actually seen
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a ghost yet
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I was walking up the stairway in the
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foyer of the house I felt a cold chill
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almost like when you open your freezer
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in the hot
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summertime it was just like a vape or
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just like a cloud of smoke kind of you
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know it's there and then it's gone but
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it was very definite it was very
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definitely a
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person 3 months later Lor's boyfriend
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Bob had another ghostly
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encounter I was upstairs preparing to
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paint paint I uh opened the attic door
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and there in front of me was a a white
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Vapor almost in the shape of a
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human and as I took another step forward
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this Vapor came at me and it went right
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through
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me Bob checked out old
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newspapers he was surprised to discover
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that the previous owner of the house had
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been gunned down in his own backyard
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the victim's name was John Harden and
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Bob began to believe that he was their
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ghost Bob learned that on the night John
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Harden was killed he was awakened by a
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disturbance
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[Music]
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outside his pickup truck was on fire
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Harden was shot once in the chest with a
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single barrel
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shotgun he died less than an hour
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later it was later determined that the
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fire had been deliberately set and no
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one was ever
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arrested had to have been a motive we
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could have proceeded with the case
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investigation a lot better there was
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several things that was brought to our
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attention but they uh was never a firm
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motive
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established could John Harden Spirit be
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haunting his former home there do seem
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to be similarities between The Ghost and
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the man
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himself according to his first wife
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Harden was a loving and overprotective
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parent when our children were little
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Johnny would be very concerned about
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them always going to the other room to
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check them even as they got older was
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always
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concerned the feris family believes that
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the spirit in their house has the same
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nurturing attitude apparently he was
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very fond of children and babies because
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my grandson had an experience with
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him he would wake up and see this man
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standing over his bed and of course that
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would scare the beas out of me Mom Mom
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and it happened several times until
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Robin went into the room one night
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before Raymond went to
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sleep and uh she spoke to The Ghost and
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she said please do not come back in this
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room anymore and please leave raymon
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alone and after that uh he didn't come
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back or at least if he did Raymond
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didn't wake
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up when June Ferris learned the details
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of John Harden's life and death she saw
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a startling connection with the dream
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that had bothered her for
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years when I first learned that John
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Harden came down the back stairs into
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the kitchen and out the back door which
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was the same path that I took in my
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dreams I felt like there was something
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there that I should know maybe if the
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dream had continued I would have learned
00:19:53
something that there was a link and in
00:19:56
some way he's trying to tell us what
00:19:58
happened to him him and even help us
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find the
00:20:02
killer the ferris family eventually
00:20:05
moved out of the old mansion the new
00:20:07
owners also told Tales of a Restless
00:20:10
Spirit roaming the Halls at night as for
00:20:13
the murder of John Harden Florida police
00:20:16
reopened his case but it has never been
00:20:20
solved coming up a sabotaged train in
00:20:24
the Arizona desert and its Eerie
00:20:27
resemblance to a train wreck 50 years
00:20:30
earlier and next a veteran wounded in
00:20:33
Vietnam is searching for the GI who
00:20:37
saved his
00:20:45
life we're going to take a little run in
00:20:48
1964 Mitchell shimoto made it through a
00:20:51
rigorous training course and joined a
00:20:54
prestigious Airborne Division of the
00:20:56
army
00:21:00
the next year Mitchell and his unit were
00:21:02
transferred to Vietnam here within the
00:21:05
ranks of his own Army Mitchell ran into
00:21:08
a strange bias because he looks so much
00:21:12
like the enemy move on Jeb hey you got a
00:21:15
problem yeah I don't serve
00:21:18
zipperheads let's go you want to go come
00:21:21
on come on hey what's the problem why
00:21:25
don't you just do your job and serve the
00:21:27
soldier all right just relax
00:21:29
one soldier James Pearson stood up for
00:21:33
Mitchell Mitchell and James had become
00:21:36
best friends when they were stationed in
00:21:38
okanawa they were sent to Vietnam
00:21:45
together once on the ground their unit
00:21:48
ran into heavy
00:21:54
gunfire when Mitchell caught a bullet in
00:21:56
the thigh James came to the r
00:22:02
turn there was one sniper that was
00:22:04
keying in on us James took a position
00:22:08
right in front of me just like he was
00:22:09
trying to block off the shots you know
00:22:12
James actually saved my
00:22:15
life what I say to him I said James I
00:22:18
never had a chance to thank you
00:22:20
personally I want to thank you now I
00:22:23
really appreciate everything that he did
00:22:25
for
00:22:26
me James and another the soldier left
00:22:29
the firing line to carry Mitchell to
00:22:32
safety a few weeks later Mitchell was
00:22:35
sent home to Hawaii he never saw James
00:22:38
Pearson again until his story aired on
00:22:41
Unsolved
00:22:44
Mysteries on the night of our broadcast
00:22:47
one of our viewers retired lieutenant
00:22:49
colonel Truman plants was deeply moved
00:22:52
he took it upon himself to track down
00:22:55
James Pearson and found him in Chicago
00:22:59
we arranged a reunion for the two
00:23:01
veterans and their
00:23:05
families the two buddies saw each other
00:23:08
for the first time in 30
00:23:14
years
00:23:18
M how you doing great God it's great to
00:23:23
see you great to see you K the
00:23:26
te I wasn't going to leave him out there
00:23:29
alone under those condition I couldn't
00:23:31
have did it were regulations premitted
00:23:34
it uh rules PRM not I just couldn't have
00:23:37
did
00:23:39
it it took a lot from a from a real
00:23:43
special person to do something like
00:23:46
that and my wife she you know when she
00:23:49
heard that story she she made it a point
00:23:51
to try to locate him with no success
00:23:55
until you we found you guys
00:23:58
that's my next for James and Mitchell
00:24:01
the joy of being reunited is impossible
00:24:04
to
00:24:05
describe they haven't come up with that
00:24:07
word
00:24:08
yet when they come up with that word
00:24:11
I'll write you and let you know but
00:24:12
there's no word for this feeling you
00:24:15
know for for right now they haven't come
00:24:18
up with that
00:24:20
word James is retired now and lives in
00:24:23
Chicago Mitchell is still working at the
00:24:26
Navy shipyard at Pearl Harbor despite
00:24:29
the distance they still keep in touch
00:24:31
their friendship will never
00:24:38
die one October night 60 Mi Southwest of
00:24:43
Phoenix Amtrak Sunset limited passenger
00:24:46
train jumped the track at 50 m an
00:24:50
hour four cars plunged more than 30 ft
00:24:54
off a Trestle into a dry rivered one
00:24:57
person was killed scores were injured
00:25:00
the cause of the wreck was
00:25:05
sabotage when we arrived at the scene it
00:25:08
was apparent that someone had tampered
00:25:11
with the rails the investigation
00:25:13
determined that 29 spikes were removed
00:25:16
purposely removed and not only were the
00:25:18
spikes removed but someone had pushed
00:25:20
the rail inside so that the two rails
00:25:24
were not
00:25:27
connected a additional evidence
00:25:29
convinced authorities that the sabot
00:25:32
knew a lot about railroads the signal
00:25:35
circuits electrical wires that run
00:25:37
through the track had been kept intact
00:25:41
that meant the train crew had no warning
00:25:44
that there was a problem with the rails
00:25:46
the FBI believes that they picked that
00:25:48
particular spot in order to create the
00:25:50
most damage and possibly the most
00:25:53
injuries or
00:25:54
death the train was going about 50 mph
00:25:57
it's on a curve
00:25:59
and it occurred right before
00:26:01
Trestle investigators soon discovered
00:26:04
many similarities to another Act of
00:26:06
sabotage more than a half a century
00:26:09
before in
00:26:10
1939 24 people were killed
00:26:14
and7 injured in another suspicious train
00:26:17
wreck in the Nevada desert the most
00:26:21
mysterious connection between both
00:26:22
accidents is the fact that the sabotage
00:26:25
was done ahead of a bridge in a desert
00:26:27
country of remote location there was
00:26:30
definitely care in advance that the
00:26:32
wires were intact at all
00:26:35
times merely moving one piece of metal
00:26:37
in this case one rail a matter of less
00:26:40
than 4 in allowed both trains to carine
00:26:43
off on the curve as they crossed the
00:26:45
river and uh the damage
00:26:49
occurred curiously the story of the 1939
00:26:53
crash had been published in a journal
00:26:55
for train Buffs shortly before the the
00:26:58
Amtrak accident federal agents
00:27:00
questioned many of the readers but came
00:27:03
up empty-handed investigators have just
00:27:06
one other concrete clue near the
00:27:09
accident site FBI agents found four
00:27:12
copies of a computer printed letter
00:27:15
attacking the federal government it was
00:27:17
signed sons of the
00:27:21
gapo we have not been able to determine
00:27:24
uh the existence of such a group but
00:27:27
we're still trying to investigate uh to
00:27:30
determine whether or not that is a red
00:27:32
herring to try to throw us off the
00:27:34
investigation or whether or not that
00:27:36
particular group
00:27:38
exists the one person killed in the
00:27:40
crash was a sleeping car attendant named
00:27:43
Mitchell Bates whoever is responsible
00:27:46
for this tragic wreck will be charged
00:27:48
with murder as well as
00:27:51
sabotage if you have any information
00:27:54
please log on to our website at
00:27:56
unsolved.com
00:28:00
next over 1,000 criminals have been
00:28:03
arrested because of this sketch artist
00:28:06
incredible
00:28:12
[Music]
00:28:16
Talent you're about to meet a police
00:28:19
sketch artist whose drawings are
00:28:21
amazingly accurate Lois Gibson is her
00:28:24
name and her sketches have resulted in
00:28:27
the arrest of more than 1,000 criminals
00:28:30
but Lois's Story Goes far beyond
00:28:33
artistic talent she herself was the
00:28:36
victim of a vicious
00:28:45
crime Lois Gibson has been a police
00:28:47
sketch artist in Texas for more than 20
00:28:51
years now for the easy part just relax
00:28:54
to be able to look through the eyes of
00:28:55
the victim I think you have to have a
00:28:57
lot of empathy you have to be in their
00:29:00
shoes and I've gotten real good at that
00:29:03
and I empathize greatly well you know I
00:29:07
know people Lois's ability to relate to
00:29:09
a victim of crime comes from an incident
00:29:11
that happened when she was a young
00:29:13
aspiring actress in Los
00:29:18
Angeles listen can I call you back some
00:29:20
isit my door okay all right
00:29:25
okay yeah who is it
00:29:28
oh
00:29:30
hey what's going on a man pretending to
00:29:33
be a neighbor pushed his way into her
00:29:35
who are you look like you need a little
00:29:38
he immediately started choking me he
00:29:40
went to my throat and just almost
00:29:42
snapped my head off the ass salent
00:29:44
sexually assaulted Lo and nearly
00:29:47
strangled her to death before
00:29:50
flame she never reported the assault
00:29:53
because she was overwhelmed with shame I
00:29:56
was so destroyed I couldn't even walk
00:29:58
out of my
00:29:59
apartment and the idea that I would
00:30:01
actually tell anybody was ridiculous it
00:30:04
was absurd it was
00:30:07
undoable 6 weeks later an amazing
00:30:10
coincidence
00:30:12
happened I drove up this street that I
00:30:14
didn't mean to drive up and then when I
00:30:17
got to the top of this winding Hill I
00:30:19
looked on a balcony and I saw that guy
00:30:22
that attacked me you filthy pigs I know
00:30:25
my rights neighborhood look at everybody
00:30:27
what are you looking I got to see
00:30:30
Justice and that's when I fell in love
00:30:32
with what police
00:30:33
do following her attack Lois moved to
00:30:36
San Antonio got married and had a family
00:30:40
she continued to keep her traumatic
00:30:42
memories to
00:30:44
herself as an outlet she began to
00:30:47
develop her talent for
00:30:50
art it would become her answer to the
00:30:52
rage she felt when confronted by crime
00:30:56
so business is good I was over visi on
00:30:58
my girlfriend and they came on the news
00:31:01
talking about a dance instructor who had
00:31:05
been raped in front of her 11 and
00:31:06
12-year-old
00:31:08
students God that's horrible I had these
00:31:12
vicious feelings I couldn't stand it and
00:31:14
then all of a sudden in less than a
00:31:15
second it hit me and I told her Diane I
00:31:18
could draw that guy that would help the
00:31:20
cops catch him and if they did I knew in
00:31:23
my mind I didn't tell her that would
00:31:25
make me healed that would would heal up
00:31:29
my bad feelings from my
00:31:31
attack but Lois realized she needed to
00:31:34
prove to herself and the police that she
00:31:37
could draw someone only from an
00:31:39
eyewitness description so a friend of
00:31:41
hers went to a nearby gas station looked
00:31:44
at the attendant and then returned to
00:31:46
describe the man to a lot harder than I
00:31:49
thought it was and all of a sudden I
00:31:50
started relieving my attack and I
00:31:52
realized I needed to be able to do this
00:31:55
really bad and that it was going to kill
00:31:57
me if if I couldn't do
00:31:59
it the two women brought the sketch to
00:32:02
the gas station and compared it to the
00:32:04
attendant it matched
00:32:09
perfectly the Houston Police Department
00:32:12
decided to give Lois a
00:32:14
shot the results were
00:32:17
astounding her sketches have helped
00:32:20
capture suspects in 30% of the cases she
00:32:23
worked on over 1,000 criminals have been
00:32:27
arrested
00:32:29
the drawings that Lois uh has done in
00:32:32
the past for us have proven to be
00:32:34
extremely accurate it is almost uncanny
00:32:37
the resemblance that the composite
00:32:40
carries to the actual physical
00:32:42
appearance of the individuals that we
00:32:44
have
00:32:46
arrested Lois's sketches are
00:32:48
significantly different than the ones
00:32:50
that you traditionally see there's a
00:32:53
three-dimensional depth there it's like
00:32:56
Lois is seeing the suspect just the way
00:32:59
the victim
00:33:02
did Lois was called in to help with a
00:33:04
case that involved the Abduction of Two
00:33:07
Brothers Jason and Philip
00:33:11
Bowmer gentlemen gentlemen excuse us
00:33:14
excuse how you guys doing the boys were
00:33:16
at a shopping mall when they were
00:33:17
approached by two well-dressed men who
00:33:20
said they had a computer to sell
00:33:22
cheap the men LED them to a van in the
00:33:25
mall's parking lot get in the van get
00:33:30
at gunpoint Jason was forced into the
00:33:33
back seat of the van and philli into the
00:33:36
front the kidnappers then headed for the
00:33:40
freeway a lot of stuff goes through your
00:33:42
mind when you're sitting there with a
00:33:44
gun at you how you going to get out of
00:33:46
the situation or what that's basically
00:33:49
main thing that was in my head how am I
00:33:50
going to get out of this as the van
00:33:52
approached 70 mph the brothers became
00:33:56
convinced they were going to die both
00:33:59
felt there was only one thing to do hey
00:34:02
hey hey what are you
00:34:05
doing they both hit the freeway shoulder
00:34:08
with devastating Force Philip suffered
00:34:11
cuts and asphalt burns from head to toe
00:34:14
Jason's collar bone was shattered and
00:34:16
his leg was severely
00:34:22
fractured shortly after being released
00:34:24
from the hospital Jason sat down for a
00:34:27
session
00:34:28
with Lois Gibson I don't know if I going
00:34:31
to be able to pick out different eyes I
00:34:34
tell the witnesses immediately that
00:34:36
someone tried to kill me for fun so I
00:34:38
understand and they always like hearing
00:34:40
that what's the letter and number under
00:34:41
my attack has turned into a tool to
00:34:44
relax my Witnesses and help them get
00:34:47
Justice police are looking for these two
00:34:50
men in connection with the kidnapping
00:34:52
and attempted robbery of Jason and
00:34:55
Philip Bower
00:34:58
if you have any information please log
00:35:00
on to our website at unsolved.com
00:35:06
next patients put their faith in a
00:35:08
doctor and his wonder drug but both are
00:35:22
fakes Helen root packs her bags for a
00:35:25
trip to the Dominican Republic sounds
00:35:28
like you're in good hands but she is not
00:35:30
headed for a tropical vacation she's on
00:35:32
a mission to save her
00:35:34
life I had third stage colon cancer and
00:35:39
the whole right side of my colon was
00:35:42
removed they wanted me to have uh 6
00:35:45
months of
00:35:46
chemotherapy and I did chose not to have
00:35:50
that and I look was looking for an
00:35:52
alternative so Helen and her husband
00:35:55
William mortgaged their home for $40
00:35:57
,000 that's what they needed for the
00:36:00
experimental drug
00:36:07
therapy a friend told them about Dr
00:36:10
kaplinger in the Dominican Republic on
00:36:14
his resume was a long list of medical
00:36:16
schools including Harvard
00:36:20
University Klinger's remedy a drug
00:36:23
called Imus could supposedly fight
00:36:25
cancer AIDS and
00:36:28
hepatitis in Santo Domingo this drug did
00:36:31
not need FDA
00:36:36
approval at first Helen was not
00:36:39
impressed by Klinger's facility right
00:36:41
down here is Dr caplinger's office but
00:36:43
within a few hours she was relieved to
00:36:45
finally meet the doctor she had heard so
00:36:48
much about nice to meet you nice to meet
00:36:51
you he looked very professional and very
00:36:54
caring and very concerned about my
00:36:57
condition
00:36:58
and so I thought well finally I'm going
00:37:00
to get some good help here it could
00:37:03
become malignant and Klinger said his
00:37:07
review of her file revealed a small
00:37:10
tumor that needed aggressive
00:37:14
treatment because of the degrees that he
00:37:16
had because of his background I thought
00:37:20
I was in excellent
00:37:23
hands hello 9:00 a.m. Saturday morning
00:37:26
and it's my husband
00:37:28
on the phone almost hysterical saying
00:37:31
Helen you've got to come home that man
00:37:35
is not a
00:37:36
[Music]
00:37:37
doctor Helen's husband discovered that
00:37:40
kaplinger was a fugitive wanted by the
00:37:43
FBI and his cure all drug probably just
00:37:47
a combination of illegal steroids
00:37:50
vitamins and
00:37:54
amphetamines kaplinger was a medical
00:37:56
impostor he had more phony credentials
00:37:59
than any other medical impostor in
00:38:02
history kinker is a conman because he
00:38:06
plays on the people that are dying he
00:38:08
plays on their families he gives them
00:38:11
that one last hope to live takes their
00:38:14
money and provides very little care he
00:38:18
never went to any medical school he got
00:38:20
some of his
00:38:22
papers by sending money to British
00:38:25
diploma Mills that
00:38:28
simply issued them when they got his
00:38:31
money Dr Barrett has created an
00:38:34
extensive website dedicated to Medical
00:38:37
scams that's how Helen's husband learned
00:38:40
the disturbing truth about
00:38:43
Klinger when I heard that he was a fraud
00:38:45
I feared for her life there she is down
00:38:47
there all by herself I thought boy how's
00:38:50
she going to handle this she doesn't
00:38:51
speak any Spanish she doesn't know
00:38:54
anyone and now her friends or the
00:38:58
enemy what could be more important than
00:39:01
your life he said there's no emergency
00:39:04
at home that's more important Helen than
00:39:08
your health I can save your life I think
00:39:12
you're making a great
00:39:14
mistake Helen
00:39:16
insisted the next day kaplinger agreed
00:39:19
to return half of the $40,000 payment
00:39:23
she
00:39:25
made years after her ordeal Helen is
00:39:29
cancer-free but she's one of the lucky
00:39:32
ones in many many cases they'd never
00:39:35
make it out of of the Dominican Republic
00:39:37
most of them many of them died
00:39:39
there Linda and Dave cernon also put
00:39:43
their faith in kaplinger Dave was
00:39:46
suffering from hepatitis C and could not
00:39:48
get a liver
00:39:50
transplant so they decided to use
00:39:53
Linda's inheritance and go to Santo
00:39:56
Domingo I'm Mrs cernon and I'm here to
00:39:59
check in my husband Dave the money that
00:40:01
we had to come up with you know was
00:40:02
worth every penny because Dave wanted to
00:40:05
live we would have done anything in
00:40:07
which we did do everything we could and
00:40:09
by going down there I felt like you know
00:40:11
it was an answer from
00:40:14
God Dave was hooked up to an IV for 6 to
00:40:17
8 hours a day and on alternating days he
00:40:20
received vitamins the other days was a
00:40:23
clear liquid that we were told that was
00:40:25
the Imus stem
00:40:28
Dr kaplinger assured us that Dave's
00:40:30
chances of living were very very good
00:40:34
kaplinger was lying Dave's condition got
00:40:38
worse well with mu stem things actually
00:40:41
get worse before they can get better Dr
00:40:43
kaplinger reassured me that a lot of
00:40:46
times a patient will go downhill before
00:40:49
the drug really kicks in before the
00:40:50
vitamins really kick in before the
00:40:53
treatment really produces extravagant
00:40:55
results
00:40:57
look I'm going to go
00:40:59
home want to see
00:41:02
John Dave hadn't been strong enough to
00:41:04
get out of bed for weeks but Linda
00:41:08
wanted to get him home to see his
00:41:10
son we realized we had made a mistake at
00:41:13
this point and we were going home and we
00:41:17
left when we got to Santa Domingo Dave
00:41:21
was weak but he was walking he was
00:41:24
eating at the end of 6 weeks my Dave
00:41:27
could not stand he could not eat he
00:41:30
could not even talk to me he was too
00:41:32
weak to even hold a
00:41:34
phone Dave cernon died just 24 hours
00:41:38
after returning to the United States I
00:41:42
very much believe Dr kaplinger killed my
00:41:46
husband
00:41:48
update after avoiding arrest for 2 years
00:41:51
Gregory kaplinger turned himself in to
00:41:54
Dominican Republic officials he was
00:41:57
brought to the US for
00:41:59
trial it is estimated that Gregory
00:42:02
kaplinger swindled over a million dollar
00:42:05
from patients and investors at his trial
00:42:09
he was convicted of Fraud and is
00:42:11
currently serving a 14e sentence
00:42:29
[Music]
00:42:43
[Music]

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 80
    Most shocking
  • 75
    Most inspiring
  • 75
    Most surprising
  • 70
    Most dramatic

Episode Highlights

  • Love Triangle Turns Deadly
    Christy mfield's boyfriend Todd was found dead, leading to a shocking investigation.
    “I could just see just by looking at him that something was very wrong.”
    @ 01m 56s
    March 09, 2017
  • Haunted House Experience
    June Ferris discovers her dream house is eerily familiar, leading to ghostly encounters.
    “It was just a real unusual experience, not scary, it was a good feeling.”
    @ 13m 28s
    March 09, 2017
  • A Soldier's Reunion
    Mitchell Shimoto reunites with James Pearson, the soldier who saved his life in Vietnam.
    “It took a lot from a real special person to do something like that.”
    @ 23m 46s
    March 09, 2017
  • Lois Gibson: The Sketch Artist
    Lois Gibson's sketches have led to over 1,000 criminal arrests, stemming from her own traumatic experience.
    “Her sketches have helped capture suspects in 30% of the cases she worked on.”
    @ 32m 20s
    March 09, 2017
  • The Medical Impostor
    Dr. Gregory Kaplinger, a fugitive and medical fraud, swindled patients seeking hope in desperate times.
    “Kaplinger was a medical impostor with more phony credentials than any other in history.”
    @ 37m 59s
    March 09, 2017
  • A Tragic Outcome
    After seeking treatment in the Dominican Republic, Dave Cernon died shortly after returning home.
    “Dave Cernon died just 24 hours after returning to the United States.”
    @ 41m 38s
    March 09, 2017

Episode Quotes

  • I could just see just by looking at him that something was very wrong.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 3, Episode 19
  • It was just a real unusual experience, not scary, it was a good feeling.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 3, Episode 19
  • There is such a thing as ghosts and there is a ghost in that house.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 3, Episode 19
  • I was so destroyed I couldn’t even walk out of my apartment.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 3, Episode 19
  • I know my rights neighborhood!
    Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 3, Episode 19
  • He plays on the people that are dying.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 3, Episode 19

Key Moments

  • Murder Mystery00:13
  • Love Triangle02:26
  • Haunted House13:28
  • Ghostly Encounters15:41
  • Sketch Artist Success28:00
  • Lois's Attack29:44
  • Medical Fraud Exposed37:43
  • Tragic Loss41:30

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown

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