00:00:04
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Next on "Unsolved Mysteries,"
00:00:07
in a brazen armored car robbery,
thieves get away with more
00:00:10
than $10 million in cash.
00:00:13
A vengeful ex-cop armed with
a powerful homemade bomb
00:00:18
holds an elementary school
hostage a woman's skull
00:00:23
and an anonymous note,
both clues to a murder.
00:00:26
Perhaps the victim's husband
knows more than he's saying.
00:00:30
A beautiful young
woman full of promise
00:00:33
vanishes in the glittery
lights of Reno, Nevada.
00:00:37
Join me for these
intriguing stories,
00:00:40
plus updates on cases
that were solved by you.
00:00:43
I'm Dennis Farina and this
is on Unsolved Mysteries.
00:00:47
[theme music]
00:01:23
Bridgeton, Missouri, the
Casa Gallardo restaurant.
00:01:28
Two having lunch notice
something strange
00:01:31
outside the window.
00:01:34
What they find soon has the
full attention of police.
00:01:38
There in the bushes
is a human skull.
00:01:43
It's very well-manicured
area, plants
00:01:45
and gravel and what have you.
00:01:47
And the way it was
situated, it would give one
00:01:49
the impression that
somebody put it
00:01:51
there so that you would see it.
00:01:53
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
The skull is determined
00:01:55
to be of an adult woman.
00:01:58
CHIEF WALTER MUTERT:
During that time period,
00:01:59
they were relocating a
cemetery that was in the area
00:02:03
and a lot of bodies
were being exhumed,
00:02:05
graves were being moved.
00:02:07
So it gives you the impression
that this may be a prank.
00:02:11
And there would be
no reason to suspect
00:02:13
that there was any foul play.
00:02:15
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): The skull
00:02:16
goes into the evidence
room at the morgues
00:02:20
and is soon forgotten.
00:02:23
One year later, a
mysterious letter arrives.
00:02:26
Right.
00:02:27
OK.
00:02:27
Get back with me.
00:02:29
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): It states
00:02:30
that the Bridgeton Police
have quote L. Sherman's skull.
00:02:36
Dental records show the
skull is, in fact, that
00:02:39
of Linda Sherman, a
27-year-old wife and a mother
00:02:43
who was reported missing
five years before.
00:02:49
A missing persons case was now
a puzzling murder mystery with
00:02:53
a lot of unanswered questions.
00:02:55
Why was Linda
Sherman's skull left
00:02:57
outside a local restaurant?
00:03:00
Where's the rest of her body?
00:03:01
And most importantly, who's
responsible for her death?
00:03:07
Linda was only 17 when
she married Don Sherman,
00:03:11
her high school sweetheart.
00:03:16
When her daughter,
Patty, was born,
00:03:17
Linda could always count on her
mom to watch the baby while she
00:03:21
completed her senior year.
00:03:24
Don, get out here.
00:03:25
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): Don took
00:03:26
a job at a local gas station
to support his new family.
00:03:31
It was hard, but
it was rewarding.
00:03:33
We were very happy together.
00:03:34
The relationship was rocky
later on in our marriage
00:03:36
several times, but not
in the early years.
00:03:41
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Money problems
00:03:42
and working opposite
shifts at their jobs
00:03:45
strained the relationship.
00:03:47
In their 10-year
marriage, Linda took Patty
00:03:49
and moved out several times, but
the couple always reconciled.
00:03:57
Come on, Don.
00:03:58
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
According to Linda's older
00:04:00
brother, Dennis, Don was
obsessed with knowing
00:04:02
Linda's every move.
00:04:04
No, she's not here.
00:04:06
Don was very
possessive over her.
00:04:08
She said, when I get
off of work, if I'm not
00:04:10
home within five minutes he
wants to know what's going on,
00:04:12
who are you seeing, what
are you doing out that late?
00:04:15
He's always hitting her and
things just weren't right.
00:04:18
I go to work every
day and I come home!
00:04:20
I don't run around on you.
00:04:22
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Linda
told her family that she was
00:04:24
afraid of Don's violent temper.
00:04:27
She even got a restraining
order to keep him at a distance.
00:04:31
She had already made
the decision to move out.
00:04:33
She had filed for divorce.
00:04:35
She had definitely made
plans to start a new life.
00:04:42
She was going
to do it this time
00:04:43
and she really
meant that she was
00:04:44
going to leave Don for good.
00:04:47
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): On April 22,
00:04:48
Linda left her night job at
around 2:00 in the morning.
00:04:53
She didn't come home from
work until about three o'clock
00:04:55
in the morning.
00:04:56
We got into an
argument about the fact
00:04:57
that she wouldn't
tell where she'd been.
00:04:59
We stayed up until at least
four o'clock in the morning
00:05:02
discussing that.
00:05:04
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Linda was still on the sofa
00:05:06
later that morning when
Patty left for school.
00:05:10
She always took me to
school, but my dad took me
00:05:13
to school that
day and I remember
00:05:14
her laying on the couch with her
face to the back of the couch.
00:05:17
And she didn't get up.
00:05:18
She didn't get up
to kiss me goodbye,
00:05:20
she didn't say anything to me.
00:05:21
She was just laying there.
00:05:24
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
That would be the last time
00:05:25
Patty ever saw her mother.
00:05:29
Don claims that when he returned
to the house that afternoon,
00:05:33
that Linda was on edge.
00:05:36
DON SHERMAN: When I came back
home, Linda was still there.
00:05:38
She should have been
at work by then.
00:05:39
I overslept.
I'm late.
00:05:41
I've got to go.
00:05:42
DON SHERMAN: And she was mad
because she was running late.
00:05:47
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Don says Linda drove off
00:05:49
at about 6:00 PM, but there
were no witnesses that
00:05:52
saw her leave.
00:05:53
Linda never arrived at work
and she never returned home.
00:05:58
When she didn't
come back, I assumed
00:06:01
it was typical of the previous
times that she had left
00:06:04
and I thought that she'd
took off with somebody.
00:06:08
We knew that if
she left, there
00:06:10
was no way she was leaving
without the daughter
00:06:11
and the daughter
was still at home.
00:06:13
And so there was
definitely foul play.
00:06:17
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Linda's parents
00:06:18
insisted that Don go
to the police station
00:06:21
and file a missing
persons report.
00:06:26
Meanwhile, Sam and Fran
searched frantically for Linda.
00:06:30
On a hunch, they headed
to the local airport.
00:06:35
SAM MILLER: As we pulled into
to the short-term parking lot,
00:06:37
there's Linda's car
sitting right there.
00:06:39
Is that her car?
00:06:40
I know my sister's car.
00:06:42
Yeah, I know.
00:06:44
We could see
inside the car and we
00:06:45
could see her school books
and her hat and everything.
00:06:47
So we contacted the airport
police and they come
00:06:51
and the car was locked but they
tried the trunk and the trunk
00:06:54
was open.
00:06:55
I hate to say it, but
we fully expected Linda
00:06:58
to be in there and she wasn't.
00:07:04
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): Don claims
00:07:05
that he saw Linda
with another man days
00:07:08
after her disappearance.
00:07:10
He says that she drove
past him in a van
00:07:12
and quickly ducked out of sight.
00:07:14
Hey!
00:07:19
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Five years later,
00:07:21
when the skull was
discovered at the restaurant,
00:07:23
no one even thought of Linda.
00:07:26
A woman was
sitting there eating
00:07:28
and she looked out and saw a
skull looking right at her.
00:07:30
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
In a bizarre coincidence,
00:07:31
the restaurant was one of
Don's favorite hangouts.
00:07:36
I was at the
restaurant that evening
00:07:38
after the skull had been found.
00:07:39
I'd heard about it that
day when it happened.
00:07:42
But never any connection
to it until later on.
00:07:46
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
No one made a connection
00:07:48
until a year later, when
the mysterious letter
00:07:51
arrived at the Vinita
Park Police Station.
00:07:54
I was rather astounded.
00:07:55
It was obvious to
me that someone
00:07:57
wanted us to know that we had
obviously missed something
00:08:00
and was trying to
tell us that Linda's
00:08:02
remains had been recovered.
00:08:05
It was scary.
00:08:07
Somebody who had put those
remains there at the restaurant
00:08:09
obviously knew me or knew
that I hung out there.
00:08:13
We're not talking about a
place that I casually visited,
00:08:16
we're talking about a
place that I would visit
00:08:17
two or three times a week.
00:08:20
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Perhaps the skull
00:08:22
was put there to threaten Don.
00:08:24
Or did he have a reason
to put it there himself?
00:08:28
Some speculate Don wanted
to remarry and needed proof
00:08:31
that Linda was dead.
00:08:34
For Don, the skull provided
the perfect piece of evidence.
00:08:39
But for Patty, the
find was devastating.
00:08:43
When the skull
was found I just
00:08:45
kind of lost all hope in life.
00:08:47
I didn't know that she was dead.
00:08:49
I guess there was always some
hope that she had just left.
00:08:55
The only suspect that I've
been unable to eliminate
00:08:57
is Don Sherman.
00:08:59
At this point in
time, he has never
00:09:01
been ruled out as a suspect.
00:09:03
In my heart, I think
that he might have done it.
00:09:07
I can't think of anybody
else who would have.
00:09:10
I had nothing to do
with Linda Sherman's
00:09:12
disappearance nor her death.
00:09:15
I still think that
she left with someone
00:09:18
and obviously met with
foul play and died.
00:09:23
I would really like
to find the rest of her,
00:09:24
wherever it's at, so that we can
have a proper burial for her,
00:09:27
she can rest in peace.
00:09:29
And I'd like to know what
happened to her and who did it.
00:09:32
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): Police
00:09:33
hope that new technology
and soil sampling
00:09:36
will someday lead
them to Linda's body
00:09:38
and eventually her killer.
00:09:41
If you have any information
that might assist
00:09:43
in solving this case,
please log onto our website
00:09:46
at unsolved.com.
00:09:51
Next, a small town
faces tragedy when
00:09:54
a deranged ex-policeman takes
control of the local school.
00:10:00
And later, a young
woman's family
00:10:02
is sickened by her mysterious
disappearance in Reno, Nevada.
00:10:17
Cokeville, Wyoming, they
wheeled it into the school
00:10:22
just after the lunch
hour recessive,
00:10:23
a homemade bomb with the power
of 25 sticks of dynamite.
00:10:29
No fussing around.
00:10:30
Over there.
00:10:31
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
They ordered everyone
00:10:32
at the school, 136 students and
17 adults, into one small room.
00:10:38
What is all this?
00:10:39
Look, shut up and sit down!
00:10:41
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
His name was David Young
00:10:43
and he was no stranger to town.
00:10:46
He had worked briefly
as a policeman
00:10:47
before he was fired
for misconduct.
00:10:50
And now this.
00:10:55
Innocent lives
hanging by a thread
00:10:57
at the whim of a suicidal
madman, an entire school
00:11:01
held hostage to violence.
00:11:04
This scenario, sadly familiar
today, came as a shock
00:11:07
to the town of Cokeville.
00:11:09
It seemed that only a miracle
could save their children.
00:11:15
OK, listen.
00:11:17
You are all part of
a great revolution,
00:11:19
one that began many years ago.
00:11:20
The government and
its schools have
00:11:22
filled your minds with lies!
00:11:23
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): David Young
00:11:25
made it clear that he was
prepared to kill himself
00:11:27
and everyone in the room.
00:11:30
Every child in Cokeville
between the ages of five and 12,
00:11:34
an entire generation,
was at his mercy.
00:11:38
Among them, Melanie Chadwick,
then eight years old.
00:11:42
Well, we're being held hostage
and I remember Kevin saying,
00:11:46
well, what does hostage mean?
00:11:47
We were really
young and we didn't
00:11:49
realize what was happening.
00:11:50
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Now,
so far you've been pretty good.
00:11:52
But if any of you
tries to escape,
00:11:54
we're going to
have to shoot you.
00:11:57
David told the kids that he
would shoot them in the legs
00:12:00
so that they couldn't run away.
00:12:03
He said, we don't want to hurt
you but if you try to run away,
00:12:05
we will.
00:12:07
You, come here.
00:12:08
Are you the principal?
00:12:09
Yes, I am.
00:12:11
OK.
00:12:11
You'll be my spokesman.
00:12:13
You tel them I want $2 million
apiece for each of these kids
00:12:17
and you tell them I'm
attache to this bomb.
00:12:20
If I go down and
this wedge pulls out,
00:12:22
this school blows sky high.
00:12:25
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
News of the crisis
00:12:27
spread through Cokeville.
00:12:28
Police converged on the scene.
00:12:31
They have all four of
my children in there.
00:12:33
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Distraught parents
00:12:35
confronted the sheriff,
determined to take
00:12:37
matters into their own hands.
00:12:39
Take that rifle and
put it back in your rig.
00:12:41
I've got my boys in there.
00:12:43
If you can't get
them out, I will.
00:12:46
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): David
Young was a human time bomb.
00:12:49
One tug of his
wrist could destroy
00:12:50
the school and everyone in it.
00:12:53
[?
00:12:54
CHRISTINE COOK: ?] At one time,
one of the children jostled Mr.
00:12:56
Young and he became quite upset.
00:12:59
OK, get out of the way.
00:13:00
Come on.
00:13:01
I guess he didn't want
to set the bomb off.
00:13:05
Either Mr. Mitchell or Mr. Moore
suggested that they put tape
00:13:09
in an area about
a nine-foot square
00:13:12
on the floor, what they
called a magic square, so
00:13:16
that the youngsters would
not step inside that square
00:13:19
and would not jostle
Mr. Young's arm.
00:13:22
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
- At the time,
00:13:24
Amy Bagaso was 10 years old.
00:13:27
I remember thinking, oh
my gosh, I am going to die.
00:13:29
I'm not going to see
my family, I'm not
00:13:31
going to be able
to grow up, I'm not
00:13:33
able to get my driver's
license, I'm not going
00:13:34
to be able to do anything.
00:13:36
May we please open doors and
windows and let some air in?
00:13:39
The fumes are making
the kids sick.
00:13:42
[?
00:13:43
CHRISTINE COOK: ?] There were
a lot of children getting ill,
00:13:45
throwing up and so forth from
the smell of gasoline fumes.
00:13:49
As the time went on and the
fumes got stronger, most of us
00:13:52
felt pretty nauseated.
00:13:54
Our dear Heavenly Father, we--
00:13:57
We prayed a lot.
00:13:59
I remember just sitting
there with my hands clenched
00:14:00
so tight, just praying
to Heavenly Father
00:14:02
to let something happen.
00:14:04
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): When
his hostages began to pray,
00:14:07
David Young became agitated.
00:14:11
He appeared to lose
his confidence.
00:14:14
Moments later, he handed control
of the bomb over to his wife
00:14:18
and he left the room.
00:14:21
By then, the children had been
inactive for nearly two hours.
00:14:25
They were restless
and irritable.
00:14:28
Could you please do
something about the noise
00:14:30
and help me get these
kids quiet right now?
00:14:33
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Eyewitnesses remember Doris
00:14:35
Young gesturing carelessly.
00:14:37
They knew that one false move
would trigger an explosion.
00:14:41
--move them
around a little bit.
00:14:42
We could get everybody
from that side.
00:14:44
We could move some of the
kids over here and then
00:14:46
we could move some
of the kids over--
00:14:47
[explosion]
00:14:51
My babies!
00:14:53
I could feel flames
so hot on my back.
00:14:56
I saw flames coming from
the corner of my eye
00:14:58
on my right shoulder
and started to burn.
00:15:00
So I dropped and rolled.
00:15:04
I had a fifth grader, a third
grader, and a first grader
00:15:06
in that room.
00:15:07
When I seen that smoke
coming out of the windows,
00:15:10
I expected to see this school
go in a million pieces.
00:15:15
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
A few children
00:15:17
stumbled from the smoke
seconds after the blast,
00:15:21
others were trapped
in the classroom.
00:15:26
AMY BAGASO: Teachers
were throwing
00:15:27
children out of the windows.
00:15:30
I could see all these
little feet just
00:15:31
scurrying out into the hallway.
00:15:34
All these kids were just
stepping over me and stepping
00:15:36
on me and jumping over me.
00:15:37
And I looked up and saw
Mr. Moore and Jack Mitchell
00:15:40
and they were beating
the fire off of me.
00:15:42
And they picked me up and
they shoved me to safety.
00:15:45
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Ambulances rushed
00:15:47
injured children to hospitals.
00:15:49
Those who were unharmed were
taken home by their parents.
00:15:55
No one knew how many
youngsters had survived
00:15:59
or how many might lay
lifeless in the ashes.
00:16:04
Just inside the
classroom, police
00:16:06
found the body of Doris Young.
00:16:09
David Young had also died,
but not from the explosion.
00:16:14
He had killed himself with a
single gunshot to the head.
00:16:19
And now the grim search for
Cokesville's children began.
00:16:29
After an hour, dread turned
to hope and hope to joy.
00:16:34
Not a single child
died in the flames.
00:16:37
It seemed an
extraordinary run of luck
00:16:40
had helped the children survive.
00:16:45
By staying outside the
so-called magic square,
00:16:48
they were far enough away from
the bomb when it exploded.
00:16:52
With the doors and windows
open, much of the bomb's force
00:16:55
blew harmlessly out
of the classroom.
00:16:58
And then there was
the bomb itself.
00:17:01
This is a fully
intact blasting cap.
00:17:03
This bomb didn't even
completely detonate.
00:17:06
The potential of
this explosive device
00:17:08
could have and
should have destroyed
00:17:10
that whole end of
the school building,
00:17:12
had it functioned the
way it was supposed to.
00:17:15
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Police learned that Young had
00:17:17
built and exploded several bombs
exactly like the one he brought
00:17:21
to Cokeville, yet in
the classroom Young's
00:17:24
bomb had unexpected problems.
00:17:28
A container of blasting powder
had become thoroughly soaked,
00:17:31
rendering it a useless paste.
00:17:34
Detonation wires to other
tubs of powder had been cut.
00:17:38
The reason, no explanation.
00:17:42
There should have been 162
people dead in that room.
00:17:46
We should have been in there
just picking up bodies.
00:17:49
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): The people
00:17:50
of Cokeville came to
their own conclusion
00:17:53
about what happened that day.
00:17:55
I just have this
overwhelming feeling
00:17:57
that Heavenly Father
was there, that he
00:17:59
was watching out over us.
00:18:01
To me, I knew that the
Lord was there with me
00:18:04
and I knew that he
would make it all right
00:18:06
and that we'd make
it through it.
00:18:08
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
A few students
00:18:10
insisted that they had seen what
they described as a presence
00:18:14
hovering above the
room in the moments
00:18:16
just before the bomb ignited.
00:18:19
Some even believe the mysterious
presence saved their lives.
00:18:24
In my mind, the only
way out of that thing
00:18:26
would have been
divine intervention.
00:18:28
We've always said guardian
angels do help people out
00:18:31
and I believe it.
00:18:32
And there was people
that have went
00:18:33
on before us that help us out.
00:18:36
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Sheriff Deb Wolfley
00:18:38
says that outside
the school room,
00:18:40
he too felt the touch
of heavenly guidance.
00:18:44
I remember very clearly
thinking in my mind,
00:18:47
what am I going to do?
00:18:49
Here's a man in here with a bomb
who wants to blow our kids up.
00:18:52
How am I going to handle that?
00:18:55
I know that without a shadow
of doubt that god in heaven
00:18:58
answered my prayers.
00:19:00
A voice said to me,
everything will be OK.
00:19:06
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
One final discovery.
00:19:08
This ghostly image singed into
the north wall of the classroom
00:19:12
led some to believe that an
angel was in school that day,
00:19:19
protecting innocent lives.
00:19:24
Coming up, a ton of unmarked
bills, more than $10 million
00:19:29
in cash, and two violent
criminals still on the run.
00:19:34
But first, patients take
a turn for the worse when
00:19:37
this doctor makes his rounds.
00:19:39
The strange case
of Michael Swango.
00:19:55
An intern at a
hospital in Ohio checks
00:19:57
on a 69-year-old
woman recovering
00:20:00
from routine back surgery.
00:20:02
No one knows why Dr. Michael
Swango is in the room--
00:20:06
perhaps just to say hello.
00:20:08
During Swango's visit, Rena
Cooper seems to be doing fine.
00:20:15
Nurse, help!
00:20:16
She started convulsing.
00:20:18
I don't know.
00:20:18
The--
00:20:27
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
As doctors work on her,
00:20:29
Rena's struggles to
tell them what happened.
00:20:32
Why don't you write
a note to us, OK?
00:20:33
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): She writes,
00:20:35
the doctor put
something in my IV.
00:20:39
That was Dr. Swango.
00:20:40
When I was over there I
was taking some notes.
00:20:42
What was Dr.
Swango doing in here?
00:20:43
While this is going on, we
know that another nurse decided
00:20:48
to walk down the hall to calm
the other patients since there
00:20:51
was a great deal of
commotion and four rooms down
00:20:54
within minutes sees
Dr. Swango exiting
00:20:57
another room with a very
funny grin on his face.
00:21:04
The nurse goes into
that room and finds
00:21:07
a large hypodermic needle
with the plunger down
00:21:10
sitting on the sink,
which is very unusual.
00:21:12
Hypodermics aren't
left lying around.
00:21:16
Oh, Mike.
Good.
00:21:17
Glad you're here.
Were you anywhere near room--
00:21:19
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Three different doctors
00:21:21
confront Michael
Swango about what
00:21:23
happened in Rena Cooper's room.
00:21:26
Swango tells them three
different stories.
00:21:29
At one point, he claims that
he was never even in the room.
00:21:33
But she just got
out of surgery.
00:21:34
It's common for patients
just out of surgery
00:21:36
to be delusional.
00:21:40
We expect a doctor to
be a hero, not a villain,
00:21:45
but sadly there are exceptions.
00:21:47
Sometimes a doctor
betrays a patient's trust.
00:21:50
He either becomes someone
who hurts or even kills,
00:21:55
someone like Dr. Michael Swango.
00:22:00
After graduating from an
Illinois medical school,
00:22:02
Michael Swango
enrolled at Ohio State
00:22:05
University for his internship.
00:22:08
By then, his personality
had already begun to change.
00:22:13
Michael Swango became
more and more withdrawn
00:22:15
as he proceeded through
his college classes
00:22:18
and eventually got
into medical school.
00:22:20
And though academically he did
very well, the more the classes
00:22:25
became advanced and the more he
needed to do hands-on patient
00:22:28
work, the more he pulled
away from that to the point
00:22:31
where he was held back a year.
00:22:34
Take a look at one
of these appraisals
00:22:36
and you can see what
I'm talking about.
00:22:37
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Swango's problems continued
00:22:39
during his internship.
00:22:41
His supervisors told him
that his medical career
00:22:44
was on the line.
00:22:45
Are you saying you may not
recommend me for residency?
00:22:49
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
It was shortly
00:22:50
after Swango was put
on probation that Rena
00:22:53
Cooper suffered her seizure.
00:22:56
Rena survived, but at least
five other patients died.
00:23:02
The upshot of it
is that whenever
00:23:04
these incidents occurred,
Swango was always there.
00:23:07
A black cloud seems to
follow Michael Swango.
00:23:10
Wherever Swango was, there
was an unexplained respiratory
00:23:13
arrest.
00:23:14
And it didn't happen
once or twice,
00:23:16
it happened five,
six, seven times.
00:23:18
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Even though some evidence
00:23:20
pointed to Swango,
hospital officials
00:23:22
chose not to call the police.
00:23:26
Instead, they watched
it closely and they
00:23:28
told him that his internship
would not be renewed.
00:23:32
Swango did not appear
disturbed by the university's
00:23:35
decision to let him go.
00:23:37
Chicken, extra spicy.
00:23:40
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
As a matter of fact,
00:23:42
on several occasions he
treated staff members to what
00:23:45
he called extra spicy chicken.
00:23:49
We know that from
interviews with three doctors,
00:23:52
they became violently
ill within hours
00:23:54
of eating this spicy
chicken, so ill
00:23:56
in fact that they needed
treatment for their eyes
00:23:59
from ruptured blood
vessels from the vomiting.
00:24:01
Whew.
00:24:02
You weren't kidding.
00:24:03
That really is spicy.
00:24:05
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Michael Swango
00:24:06
left OSU without being
formally investigated.
00:24:11
No charges were ever filed.
00:24:15
One month later, Swango
had a new job, not as
00:24:19
a doctor, but as a paramedic.
00:24:22
And one day, he brought
doughnuts for the whole crew.
00:24:26
I noticed there was something
different about the doughnut.
00:24:29
It didn't spring back
up like most donuts do.
00:24:32
You all right in there?
00:24:33
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Within 45 minutes,
00:24:34
Brent and several
others became very sick.
00:24:38
They wanted to test
the leftover doughnuts,
00:24:40
but somehow they disappeared.
00:24:43
No one had any suspicions
of Mike at all at that time.
00:24:46
They figured that that
was food poisoning.
00:24:48
Since the doughnuts were gone
and they couldn't analyze it,
00:24:52
they just more or less
thought that that's what it
00:24:54
was and let it go by at that.
00:24:56
The next night, I worked
with Mike at a football game.
00:24:58
At halftime, he offered
to buy me a soda.
00:25:01
I started sipping
the soda at halftime
00:25:03
and by the start of the third
quarter, I became deathly sick.
00:25:10
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Swango's co-workers became
00:25:12
more and more suspicious.
00:25:15
Finally, the paramedics
decided to fake
00:25:18
an emergency call to get
Swango out of the building.
00:25:22
They wanted to
search his locker.
00:25:24
And in his gym bag, they
found two bottles of ant
00:25:27
poison, one full, one empty.
00:25:31
Ant poison.
00:25:32
Michael Swango?
00:25:33
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
In Swango's apartment,
00:25:34
police discovered more
incriminating evidence-- dozens
00:25:39
of bottles of poisons,
books on poisons,
00:25:42
recipe cards for making poisons,
and an assortment of syringes.
00:25:47
One syringe was
full of ant poison.
00:25:52
Michael Swango was arrested,
tried, and sentenced
00:25:55
to five years in prison.
00:25:57
He served only half
that time and amazingly,
00:26:00
he found work again
in a hospital.
00:26:04
After losing jobs in
Virginia and South Dakota,
00:26:07
Swango resurfaced again at Stony
Brook University in New York.
00:26:12
But now, he was calling
himself Dr. Michael Kirk.
00:26:16
MICHELE SALCEDO: He's accepted
into the Stony Brook program
00:26:18
and they never bothered to check
him with a central registry
00:26:21
for medical residents,
which apparently had a file
00:26:23
that was an inch thick on him.
00:26:25
There were 180 people
who applied for 12 slots
00:26:28
and he managed to get
one of those 12 slots,
00:26:30
despite these clouds of
questionable activity
00:26:34
that followed him in
at least four states.
00:26:39
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
At this hospital,
00:26:41
Swango met Barron Harris,
a 60-year-old cabinet
00:26:44
maker from Long Island.
00:26:46
Yes, we have.
00:26:47
Hi, Mr Harris.
00:26:48
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): Harris
00:26:49
was hospitalized with
a 104 degree fever
00:26:52
and a slight case of pneumonia.
00:26:54
I'm going home tomorrow.
00:26:56
Well, we'll see if we
can't accommodate you.
00:26:57
My first impressions
of Dr. Kirk,
00:26:59
he seemed very professional.
00:27:01
He seemed to be
very concerned, he
00:27:02
seemed to know what he was
doing-- a very pleasant man.
00:27:06
Swango told Elsie to
go home, that there was
00:27:08
nothing more that she could do.
00:27:11
Love you.
00:27:12
Love you, too.
00:27:14
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Elsie Harris claims
00:27:15
that sometime during the night,
Swango-- alias Michael Kirk--
00:27:20
gave her husband a sedative.
00:27:24
By the next morning, Barron
had lapsed into a coma
00:27:28
and was in intensive care.
00:27:30
It doesn't make
any sense to me.
00:27:33
He was coughing, he
had a little fever.
00:27:35
I don't get it.
00:27:36
I don't understand.
00:27:37
Mrs. Harris, sometimes
people have allergic reactions
00:27:39
to certain drugs.
00:27:41
Now, that may have happened
in your husband's case.
00:27:43
He had a very smirky attitude,
like a half-cocked smile
00:27:47
on his face, like
a little kid with
00:27:51
his hand in the cookie jars.
00:27:52
Even though he had a
terrific bedside manner,
00:27:56
there was just something
sneaky about him.
00:28:00
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Before Michael Swango vanished,
00:28:02
Elsie says that he told
her that Barron would
00:28:06
never come out of this coma.
00:28:08
He was right.
00:28:09
Barron Harris died
not long after.
00:28:13
Once the story hit the wires
and porters started converging
00:28:19
on the Northport VA Hospital
and on his dorm room,
00:28:23
he very hastily packed
up and disappeared.
00:28:28
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Update-- Michael
00:28:30
Swango has been captured.
00:28:32
After leaving a job at a remote
hospital in Zimbabwe, Africa,
00:28:37
Swango returned to the United
States to obtain a new visa.
00:28:41
When his plane touched
down in Chicago,
00:28:44
authorities closed
in and arrested him.
00:28:46
He pleaded guilty to murder
and was sentenced to three
00:28:49
consecutive life terms.
00:28:51
Swango has no chance of parole.
00:28:58
Next, one of the biggest drug
dealers in the United States
00:29:02
is arrested, with your help.
00:29:13
West Glover, Vermont.
00:29:16
When Brian Brophil
arrived in town,
00:29:18
he charmed everyone--
that is, everyone
00:29:21
who didn't know that
he was the mastermind
00:29:23
of a major drug smuggling ring.
00:29:27
Most knew him as a
good-natured city
00:29:29
slicker who didn't seem to
have a clue about country life.
00:29:36
Brophil's taste in horses
ran to rare expensive breeds.
00:29:40
He spent thousands boarding
his horses with the neighbor,
00:29:44
Peggy DuPont.
00:29:45
He needs a blanket on.
00:29:47
He paid in cash for his board.
00:29:49
My husband immediately said,
oh, he's a drug dealer.
00:29:51
And I said, he's
not a drug dealer,
00:29:53
you're out of your mind.
00:29:54
He's a nice person.
00:29:57
[sirens]
00:29:58
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Peggy DuPont's
00:29:59
husband was absolutely right.
00:30:02
Four years after
moving to Vermont,
00:30:05
authorities paid a surprise
visit from Brophil's farm
00:30:08
and his secret life was exposed.
00:30:13
Inside the barn was a
forest of marijuana plants.
00:30:18
It was the biggest marijuana
bust in Vermont history.
00:30:22
Authorities estimated that
Brophil's sophisticated pot
00:30:25
plantation had grossed up to a
quarter of a million a month.
00:30:31
But the marijuana farm
was only a small part
00:30:35
of an international drug
smuggling operation.
00:30:38
Brophil dropped from sight
immediately and stayed hidden
00:30:42
for more than three
years, until "Unsolved
00:30:46
Mysteries" aired his story.
00:30:49
Update, alert viewers in
Paso Robles, California,
00:30:54
called our telecenter.
00:30:56
They recognized Brian Brophil
as one of their neighbors.
00:31:00
Local authorities immediately
moved in to make an arrest,
00:31:03
but Brophil had vanished again.
00:31:06
Our understanding is that
Brian watched the show.
00:31:09
The show aired at eight o'clock
and Brian was gone at 8:15.
00:31:12
He had left all his
personal belongings behind
00:31:15
and was just gone.
00:31:17
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Before he fled,
00:31:19
Brophil was using the
name Brian Jenkins.
00:31:22
He worked as a handyman
at local horse ranches
00:31:25
and became an accepted
member of the community.
00:31:28
Brophil never once drew the
attention of the police.
00:31:33
He was living
comfortably with no fears.
00:31:35
We weren't even close to him.
00:31:36
He could have wrote a
textbook on how to hide,
00:31:39
he was that good.
00:31:42
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
But Brian Brophil
00:31:44
wasn't quite that good.
00:31:46
Viewers' tips helped
authorities track
00:31:48
him south, to Carlsbad, near San
Diego, where he was arrested.
00:31:53
He was convicted on
narcotics charges in Vermont
00:31:56
and spent seven years in prison.
00:32:05
Rochester, New York, 6:45 AM.
00:32:09
An armored car was on the
way to a scheduled delivery.
00:32:12
Inside the truck was
nearly $11 million in cash.
00:32:17
Just after 7:00 AM, the armored
truck made an unauthorized stop
00:32:22
at a convenience store.
00:32:25
A guard who we'll call Mary
Wilson went inside the store.
00:32:28
The driver, Albert Ranieri,
waited in the truck.
00:32:33
We'd stop there about
once or twice a week
00:32:35
and usually they get
about the same thing.
00:32:38
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
While Mary was
00:32:39
buying coffee and doughnuts--
00:32:40
Put your hands on the wheel.
00:32:41
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
--a daring assault was
00:32:43
unfolding just 100 feet away.
00:32:45
We'll all get home tonight.
00:32:49
Don't move or I'll kill you.
00:32:51
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Five minutes later, Mary Wilson
00:32:52
returned to the truck,
unaware that her partner
00:32:56
was no longer in control.
00:32:58
Here's your sandwich.
00:33:01
Get down on the ground.
00:33:02
MARY WILSON
(VOICEOVER): It happened
00:33:03
so fast I didn't really
get a chance to get scared.
00:33:06
He pushed knee to the floor
and tied my hands and my feet
00:33:08
together with plastic handcuffs.
00:33:11
When I say drive, you drive.
00:33:13
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Albert Ranieri
00:33:14
was forced at gunpoint to
drive to a secluded location
00:33:18
one and a half miles from
the convenience store.
00:33:21
One couldn't have
picked a better location.
00:33:23
It was about 75 to
100 yards off the road
00:33:26
and it completely disappears
from sight behind a small hill.
00:33:29
And we know that
the site had been
00:33:31
prepared prior to the robbery.
00:33:33
There are several
tree branches that
00:33:35
had been freshly cut to make
sure that this large vehicle
00:33:37
would fit.
00:33:39
Shut up.
00:33:40
Don't talk to me.
00:33:41
Crawl through that
window or I'll kill you.
00:33:42
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): Authorities
00:33:43
believe that the two
robbers were met by at least
00:33:45
one other accomplice.
00:33:49
Albert Ranieri was bound
and gagged and forced
00:33:52
on top of Mary Wilson.
00:33:54
There was little dialogue
between the robbers.
00:33:58
The money was
transferred quickly,
00:34:00
all 2,000 pounds of it.
00:34:03
A tray of $1,000 bills, $1
million in hundreds, $8 million
00:34:07
in $20s, a total of about
$11 million in cash.
00:34:13
This was a lot of money, so
we believe that it took probably
00:34:16
in the neighborhood of five,
maybe 10 minutes to offload
00:34:19
that amount of [inaudible].
00:34:24
I sat there quiet to make sure
I didn't hear any more voices.
00:34:27
I was scared for my life.
00:34:28
I kept thinking about
my son and I just
00:34:31
thought I was going to die.
00:34:32
That why I broke
loose because I wasn't
00:34:33
going to sit there
and wait for somebody
00:34:34
to come back and kill me.
00:34:35
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): It took
00:34:37
Mary Wilson 15
painful minutes to rip
00:34:40
through the plastic handcuffs.
00:34:42
Unable to free her
partner, she drove
00:34:44
the armored truck to
company headquarters
00:34:47
and reported the robbery.
00:34:49
The next day, the getaway van
was discovered five miles away.
00:34:54
The interior was littered
with over $13,000
00:34:58
in small bills, the leftovers
from the largest on the road
00:35:02
armored car robbery in
the United States history.
00:35:06
It looked like an inside job.
00:35:09
A conveniently broken
porthole allowed one robber
00:35:12
to hold a driver at
gunpoint while the other
00:35:15
used a key to get in through
the truck's side door.
00:35:19
Both gunmen more
clothing which was
00:35:21
nearly identical to the uniforms
worn by company employees.
00:35:27
And only a few people were
aware of the huge amount
00:35:30
of untraceable cash being
transported that day.
00:35:35
Update.
00:35:37
It was, indeed, an inside job.
00:35:40
Albert Ranieri, the driver
of the hijacked vehicle,
00:35:43
was tried and found guilty of
unrelated racketeering charges.
00:35:47
But at the same time, he also
pled guilty to the armored car
00:35:51
robbery.
00:35:52
Ranieri refused to
name his accomplices
00:35:54
and none of the $11 million
has ever been recovered.
00:36:02
A young, beautiful girl
becomes lost in the neon
00:36:05
glitter of Reno, Nevada.
00:36:08
Her family prays that our
viewers can help Starr
00:36:10
Palumbo find her way home.
00:36:25
It's early morning
at the local airport.
00:36:28
A young woman is spotted
wandering in a restricted area.
00:36:32
She appears disoriented
and frightened.
00:36:36
An airport police
officer is called.
00:36:39
He finds the woman
hiding behind a truck.
00:36:42
Are you OK?
00:36:43
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): The woman
00:36:44
says that her name
is Starr Palumbo
00:36:46
and she claims that she's trying
to find her younger sister, who
00:36:50
is running loose on the tarmac.
00:36:52
We searched the
grounds for your sister
00:36:54
with the description
that you gave us
00:36:55
and she's nowhere to be found.
00:36:57
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
The airport police officer
00:36:59
feels that Starr's
story might not be true,
00:37:03
but he also believes that
Starr has no criminal reason
00:37:06
for being out on the runway.
00:37:10
He had no idea why
she was out there.
00:37:12
She gave no logical explanation.
00:37:13
But instead of arresting her,
he decided to release her.
00:37:17
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Starr
is dropped off near a hotel.
00:37:21
The next day, an
illegally parked car
00:37:24
is discovered at the airport.
00:37:28
I ran a routine
license check on it.
00:37:29
The registered owner came
back as Starr Palumbo.
00:37:32
It appeared to be loaded with
all her personal possessions.
00:37:36
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
In the is Starr's cell phone,
00:37:38
her purse, and $600 in cash.
00:37:41
But other items
cause more concern.
00:37:44
There are copies of three
emails sent to the White House.
00:37:47
It seems that Starr
felt that the government
00:37:50
was trying to murder her.
00:37:52
Police also find
a morbid drawing
00:37:55
that depicts a woman
bound and gagged,
00:37:58
and finally they find two books
on how to change your identity.
00:38:04
Starr never shows
up to claim her car.
00:38:08
There are two very
likely possibilities.
00:38:11
The first is that
she is suffering
00:38:13
from some type of either
organically caused
00:38:16
or drug-induced psychosis
and is a sick woman
00:38:20
and doesn't know
who or where she is.
00:38:23
And the second
possibility is that she
00:38:25
has been the victim
of a serious crime
00:38:27
and has either been
murdered or she can't
00:38:29
contact her friends and family.
00:38:32
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Starr Palumbo was once
00:38:34
a beautiful young woman
full of hope and promise,
00:38:38
but authorities believe that she
drifted into a world of drugs
00:38:42
that threatened her life.
00:38:44
Her family is convinced
that she is alive
00:38:47
and with your help
will one day come home.
00:38:51
Starr lived a
very happy childhood
00:38:53
and she was very dependable and
she's a very trusting person.
00:38:58
She's a very happy
person, sociable person,
00:39:01
and she trusted people too much.
00:39:05
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): One
year before she disappeared,
00:39:07
Starr left her home in Arizona
and moved to Reno, Nevada.
00:39:11
It was here, investigators
believe, that her life
00:39:14
took a tragic turn.
00:39:17
In this particular
case, Starr seems
00:39:19
to have fallen in
with a very bad crowd
00:39:22
and had been involved with
methamphetamine at a level
00:39:26
that could only be disastrous.
00:39:30
Starr worked as a
cashier at a pawn shop,
00:39:33
but according to her
friends, her drug
00:39:35
habit cost more than she made.
00:39:38
Police believe she began to look
for other ways to make money.
00:39:43
There is an indication
that Starr had
00:39:46
been dabbling in prostitution.
00:39:48
In her phone books, there was
reference to a number of men.
00:39:52
We really don't
have a good feeling
00:39:53
for the extent of
the relationships
00:39:55
with a number of those men.
00:39:57
However, certainly prostitution
is a high risk occupation
00:40:01
and one of the
factors that causes
00:40:03
us concern about
what has befallen
00:40:06
Starr and her disappearance.
00:40:09
DENNIS FARINA
(VOICEOVER): Starr lived
00:40:10
with her grandmother and she
called her mother every week.
00:40:14
In her final phone call, Starr
sounded anxious and paranoid.
00:40:19
She said that she felt
somebody was following her,
00:40:23
and when she talked
on the phone she
00:40:25
thought maybe the
phones were tapped
00:40:27
and somebody was listening.
00:40:28
And she mentioned how
something was going on
00:40:30
and she was afraid for
her life and she wouldn't
00:40:33
discuss it any more than that.
00:40:34
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
According to her mother,
00:40:36
Starr wanted to turn
her life around.
00:40:39
She talked about flying home
to Tucson and starting over.
00:40:42
I love you.
00:40:43
Bye.
00:40:44
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
But Gayle Palombo
00:40:46
has not heard from her
daughter since that call.
00:40:48
Starr's parents began a massive
search for their daughter.
00:40:53
Her picture was posted
throughout the State of Nevada.
00:40:57
A casino owner,
Linda Fields, claims
00:40:59
to have seen Starr
in her Casino eight
00:41:02
months after she disappeared.
00:41:04
Honey?
00:41:05
Honey?
00:41:06
Are you all right?
00:41:08
Ms. Fields described
seeing a young woman who
00:41:11
had come into the
bar one evening,
00:41:14
had looked
frightened, was alone,
00:41:16
and that the young woman
had volunteered to her
00:41:19
that her name was Starr and
that she was being chased
00:41:23
or was trying to
escape from a pimp.
00:41:27
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER):
Linda says that Starr became
00:41:28
extremely upset when
she saw a man looking
00:41:32
at her through the bar window.
00:41:34
Starr quickly left with
another young woman.
00:41:39
The disappearance
of Starr Palumbo
00:41:41
is still an open investigation.
00:41:45
Starr, mom and
dad really love you
00:41:48
and no matter what
you've done or anything
00:41:51
that we wish you'd contact
us, see if we can help you.
00:41:56
Starr's friends have created
a MySpace page about her.
00:42:01
She's described as
5 feet 4 inches,
00:42:04
approximately 125 pounds,
and has brown hair.
00:42:08
If you have any information
about Starr Palumbo,
00:42:11
please log onto our
website at unsolved.com.
00:42:15
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