00:00:04
next on unsolved mysteries
00:00:07
a church secretary is savagely beaten
00:00:10
and has no memory of the attack
00:00:13
her husband denies being involved but
00:00:15
his mistress moves in
00:00:17
just two weeks later
00:00:19
a daring con artist steals hundreds of
00:00:22
thousands of dollars and then he
00:00:24
disappears
00:00:25
with his young wife
00:00:28
a killer's 15 years as a fugitive
00:00:31
comes to an end when one of our viewers
00:00:33
spots his photo
00:00:35
on our website
00:00:38
and two co-eds disappear from different
00:00:41
universities leaving two devastated
00:00:43
families
00:00:44
and two baffling mysteries
00:00:48
[Music]
00:00:50
cunning deceit and lies
00:00:53
maybe you can figure out who's telling
00:00:54
the truth
00:00:55
i'm dennis farina and this is unsolved
00:00:58
mysteries
00:01:14
[Music]
00:01:31
[Music]
00:01:35
winter haven florida
00:01:41
just before 1pm a church member stops in
00:01:44
to buy tickets for an upcoming event
00:01:49
[Music]
00:01:51
the woman finds 47 year old nancy drake
00:01:54
the church secretary
00:01:56
close to death
00:01:59
she has been beaten so viciously that
00:02:01
her skull split open
00:02:04
nancy survives but within two weeks
00:02:07
police discover that her husband thomas
00:02:10
has been cheating on her
00:02:13
while nancy recovers in the hospital he
00:02:15
even moves his mistress into their home
00:02:19
there are two other potential suspects
00:02:22
but thomas drake is arrested for
00:02:24
attempting to murder his wife
00:02:27
i did not beat nancy i could not beat
00:02:29
nancy i'm not that type of a person i
00:02:32
never have been
00:02:34
i've never been one to
00:02:36
fight anybody i've always turned from
00:02:38
fights
00:02:40
it's not me
00:02:41
thomas drake was convicted solely on
00:02:44
circumstantial evidence
00:02:46
nancy was the only witness but the
00:02:49
severe blows to her head erased all
00:02:51
memory of the attack
00:02:53
the prosecution refused to participate
00:02:56
in this story but it maintains that
00:02:58
thomas drake is guilty
00:03:04
when nancy and thomas drake moved to
00:03:06
florida one of the first things they did
00:03:08
was to join the local church
00:03:10
nancy sang in the choir and worked as
00:03:13
the church secretary
00:03:15
thomas was a truck driver who tape
00:03:17
recorded the church services every
00:03:19
sunday
00:03:22
i just loved doing
00:03:24
whatever i could at the church
00:03:26
it was not unusual for me to work 60
00:03:29
hours seven days a week but i loved
00:03:32
every moment of it the concert is on
00:03:34
saturday night
00:03:35
thomas says nancy's devotion to the
00:03:37
church was taking a toll on their
00:03:39
nine-year marriage they even talked
00:03:42
about a separation
00:03:44
nancy got so involved in everything she
00:03:47
thought everything that happened it
00:03:48
couldn't be done without her
00:03:50
i was very unhappy
00:03:52
with with our relationship at home
00:03:56
i didn't have a wife anymore
00:03:59
she wasn't there for me
00:04:02
the day of the attack nancy was busier
00:04:05
than usual selling tickets to a church
00:04:07
concert
00:04:08
she didn't have time to break for lunch
00:04:10
so thomas brought it to
00:04:12
her
00:04:14
i arrived at the church approximately 15
00:04:17
after 12. there was a green station
00:04:20
wagon parked there with a white-haired
00:04:22
gentleman in it that i'd never seen
00:04:23
before
00:04:25
but i didn't think too much about it
00:04:26
because there was a lot of people
00:04:27
attended church that i didn't know
00:04:31
hi tom brought you lunch thank you i
00:04:33
went inside and nancy said i'll be right
00:04:35
back and went to the back of the church
00:04:37
somewhere
00:04:39
you just miss mary oh i'll give her a
00:04:41
call nancy returned to her office
00:04:44
uh yeah at that point i left the church
00:04:46
and it was right at 12 30 then
00:04:52
at 1 15 the pastor called thomas at home
00:04:56
he said that nancy had bumped her head
00:04:59
and had gone to the hospital
00:05:01
but when thomas got there he learned
00:05:03
that his wife was an intensive kid i
00:05:06
just can't be very optimistic when i
00:05:08
finally got in to see her her face was
00:05:10
swollen so bad her eyes were shut her
00:05:12
head was bigger than a basketball you
00:05:14
know it was just stumbled he didn't look
00:05:15
like a human being
00:05:17
and i couldn't believe that anybody
00:05:19
could beat
00:05:20
anybody that bad
00:05:22
at the church police found the safe and
00:05:24
nancy's office open and empty
00:05:28
they later found the weapon used to beat
00:05:30
her a claw toothed hammer there were no
00:05:32
fingerprints on it
00:05:34
outside an office window they found a
00:05:36
muddy footprint and inside they found a
00:05:40
fingerprint on the door it belonged to a
00:05:42
local man this person lived in the area
00:05:45
was a formal mental patient
00:05:48
and had no explanation for why his
00:05:51
fingerprints would have been on the door
00:05:53
another possible suspect was a
00:05:56
white-haired man one of the parishioners
00:05:58
noticed at the church that morning
00:06:01
this may have been the same man that
00:06:03
thomas saw when he brought nancy her
00:06:05
lunch
00:06:07
the police came up with this composite
00:06:09
sketch and issued an all points bulleted
00:06:14
the police hope that nancy would be able
00:06:16
to tell him who assaulted her but after
00:06:19
the attack her memory and her ability to
00:06:21
speak were severely impaired
00:06:24
three weeks later the drakes had a
00:06:26
conversation that would come back to
00:06:29
haunt thomas
00:06:33
i want to go home now
00:06:35
no nancy you can't just leave the
00:06:36
hospital without the doctor's permission
00:06:39
you don't care about me
00:06:41
you know that's not true
00:06:43
how would you like it if i hit you on
00:06:45
your habit
00:06:49
the police officer on duty overheard the
00:06:52
conversation
00:06:53
she thought it sounded like nancy was
00:06:55
accusing thomas of attacking her
00:06:58
her interpretation was that nancy said i
00:07:01
had hit her on the head
00:07:03
at that point she could not speak
00:07:05
without getting her words all messed up
00:07:07
she would say one word for another and
00:07:09
she said how would you like them to be
00:07:10
hit on your habit
00:07:12
they interpreted it as
00:07:15
me hitting her
00:07:16
[Music]
00:07:18
police put drake under 24-hour
00:07:20
surveillance
00:07:23
what is this kid
00:07:25
i didn't see anything in the report
00:07:26
about a kid
00:07:28
atta boy come on back at me hi guys
00:07:32
police learned that thomas had been
00:07:33
having an affair for almost a year
00:07:36
and investigators were shocked to
00:07:38
discover
00:07:39
that only two weeks after his wife was
00:07:41
attacked
00:07:43
thomas invited his girlfriend and her
00:07:45
child
00:07:46
to move into his home
00:07:48
he had met the woman we'll call her judy
00:07:50
on one of his trucking runs to fort
00:07:52
lauderdale
00:07:55
police stopped following other leads
00:07:59
thomas drake
00:08:00
became their prime suspect
00:08:03
i was trying to help this lady out she
00:08:05
was coming here to live there i needed
00:08:07
somebody stay at the house somebody to
00:08:08
care for it i said you do it
00:08:11
looking back i can see how it looked
00:08:14
at the time i didn't think anything
00:08:15
about it at that point the only thing i
00:08:17
could care about was nancy getting
00:08:19
well getting out you know the hospital
00:08:22
i didn't even think about it i really
00:08:24
didn't
00:08:26
thomas drake yeah i'm detective kirkland
00:08:29
ask officer carlton how are you doing
00:08:30
this evening we'd like to take you down
00:08:31
to the station please uh uh yeah sure
00:08:34
what what for we're placing you under
00:08:35
arrest for the attempted murder what's
00:08:37
going on here
00:08:38
no
00:08:41
in addition to arresting thomas police
00:08:43
took his girlfriend judy and her son to
00:08:46
the police station
00:08:49
thomas agreed to be questioned without
00:08:51
an attorney present
00:08:53
that
00:08:54
was a mistake
00:08:56
i've already heard nancy i don't want to
00:08:58
hurt judy i just want to drag judy into
00:09:00
this mess
00:09:02
and he said then you cooperate with us
00:09:04
and you tell us how you beat nancy i
00:09:06
said i didn't beat nancy he said well
00:09:08
you just said you heard her and i said
00:09:10
yes but i'm telling you by getting a
00:09:13
divorce and splitting up i said that was
00:09:15
enough hurt for her i said i've done her
00:09:17
enough harm i meant i said i didn't
00:09:19
physically hurt her and i couldn't i
00:09:21
couldn't do that to anybody
00:09:23
i woke up the other night
00:09:25
screaming thomas said that he had
00:09:26
dreamed of nancy calling out to him
00:09:29
saying no tom no
00:09:31
also he admitted that he agreed in
00:09:34
theory with the police hypothesis
00:09:36
that it was possible for him to have
00:09:38
attacked his wife and then blocked all
00:09:40
memory of it police felt that both
00:09:42
statements suggested thomas was guilty i
00:09:45
don't know why there was a portion of
00:09:47
the tape recorded statement that tom
00:09:49
gave to the police when tom's denial
00:09:52
sounds like a hypothetical one and it
00:09:53
was only after the detectives took him
00:09:55
to hypothetical questions that they got
00:09:58
him to say i don't believe i could have
00:10:00
committed this
00:10:03
how crime have you known tom
00:10:05
police also questioned thomas's mistress
00:10:08
judy you were planning on living with
00:10:10
tom
00:10:11
yes
00:10:13
did you know he's married
00:10:15
no
00:10:16
he told me he was divorced judy would
00:10:18
eventually become a witness for the
00:10:20
prosecution
00:10:23
thomas was charged with robbery and
00:10:25
attempted murder
00:10:27
and then his attorney brought an offer
00:10:29
from the prosecutor he's agreed to drop
00:10:31
the charges of attempted murder and
00:10:33
robbery if you plead guilty to grand
00:10:35
theft
00:10:36
he said the only reason they offered
00:10:38
this they know they don't have any
00:10:39
evidence against you
00:10:41
and they're hunting a way out
00:10:43
i said well i'm not going to plead
00:10:44
guilty to something i didn't do
00:10:47
he said that's all i need to hear
00:10:49
and that was it
00:10:51
i turned it down
00:10:55
coming up nancy's memory returns and she
00:10:58
thinks that she can identify her
00:11:00
attacker
00:11:01
was it thomas
00:11:11
thomas drake was about to go on trial
00:11:13
for attacking his wife nancy and it was
00:11:16
known that thomas had been having an
00:11:18
affair
00:11:19
yet nancy stood by him she even visited
00:11:22
him in jail
00:11:24
i'm happy that you came
00:11:26
i wasn't sure that you would don't be
00:11:28
silly
00:11:29
i'm here because i want to be
00:11:32
the term that i knew did not do it
00:11:34
and that's the reason why i wanted to go
00:11:36
visit him
00:11:38
because that side of tom yes i loved him
00:11:42
the other side of tom that was have an
00:11:44
affair i didn't know him
00:11:46
and like any other human being i can
00:11:48
honestly say that side of him i hate it
00:11:54
at the trial nancy didn't testify
00:11:57
because she had no memory of the attack
00:12:00
the prosecution's case was based
00:12:02
primarily on circumstantial evidence
00:12:05
i've already heard nancy i don't want to
00:12:07
hurt judy
00:12:09
the jury heard the tape of thomas's
00:12:11
interrogation
00:12:13
they also learned that the day before
00:12:14
the attack
00:12:16
thomas had been in the church equipment
00:12:18
room working with the same hammer that
00:12:21
was later used to bludgeon nancy
00:12:24
but the most damaging testimony came
00:12:26
from judy
00:12:28
his former mistress and could you tell
00:12:30
the jury the progress of your
00:12:32
relationship
00:12:33
it became gradual like friendly and then
00:12:36
became more personal
00:12:38
according to thomas judy's testimony was
00:12:41
not given freely
00:12:43
and you could be charged as his
00:12:45
accomplice
00:12:46
hi
00:12:47
i haven't been involved in anything when
00:12:50
she was taken to the police station the
00:12:51
night of my arrest they told her if you
00:12:53
don't cooperate with us and testify
00:12:56
against him we will take your son if not
00:12:59
i can't guarantee when you're going to
00:13:00
see your son i said you haven't done
00:13:02
anything
00:13:03
she said but they threatened he said if
00:13:04
i don't cooperate with him they're going
00:13:06
to take my son and arrest me
00:13:09
and that was the last conversation i'd
00:13:11
had with her
00:13:12
did he ever tell you that he'd gotten a
00:13:14
divorce
00:13:15
yes what were your plans
00:13:18
that he was going to take care of us
00:13:19
from now on and i wouldn't have to work
00:13:21
i could stay home and raise my son
00:13:24
it's very difficult for the jury not to
00:13:26
see
00:13:27
tom drake in the context of all of his
00:13:29
sins living two lives while nancy was in
00:13:32
the hospital not just having an affair
00:13:34
but bringing the woman home
00:13:37
to their home
00:13:39
the jury found thomas drake guilty
00:13:42
but a few days later his attorney got a
00:13:45
surprise phone call from nancy
00:13:48
her memory of the attack
00:13:50
had returned
00:13:53
i remember a white man with white hair
00:13:56
and thick glasses
00:13:59
he was a tall slender person who wanted
00:14:02
some tickets for the church concert uh
00:14:03
yeah morning i like a couple of tickets
00:14:05
for the cotch
00:14:06
they're five dollars each so that would
00:14:08
be ten dollars
00:14:10
just go down
00:14:11
oh um nancy said the man wanted to pay
00:14:14
for the tickets with a hundred dollar
00:14:16
bill but she didn't have enough change
00:14:18
he convinced her to go to the equipment
00:14:21
room and open the safe
00:14:25
i
00:14:26
went down to the safe and i opened it
00:14:30
and
00:14:30
just after i'd done that he came back
00:14:33
and hit me
00:14:36
[Music]
00:14:38
the last thing i remember
00:14:41
is
00:14:42
that i should have never opened the safe
00:14:45
nancy told the judge her story and he
00:14:47
agreed to give thomas a new trial
00:14:51
once again thomas was offered a plea
00:14:54
bargain and once again he rejected it
00:14:58
thomas believed that nancy's testimony
00:15:00
would clear his name
00:15:02
nancy drake tom drake's wife says that
00:15:05
tom did not attack her
00:15:08
and i expect her to come before you and
00:15:10
testify as to her memory of these events
00:15:13
i don't know if i can do this however
00:15:15
just moments before she was due to take
00:15:17
the stand nancy's memory suddenly failed
00:15:21
her medication had been changed the day
00:15:23
before and she couldn't tell the
00:15:25
difference between
00:15:26
what she had been told and what she
00:15:28
actually remembered
00:15:30
the pressure she felt of tom spade her
00:15:33
husband's fate being on her shoulder was
00:15:35
such that
00:15:36
emotionally she was not
00:15:38
capable able to testify
00:15:41
call your next witness please defense
00:15:44
rest john
00:15:45
thomas's lawyer was forced to rest this
00:15:47
case
00:15:48
without calling nancy to the stand
00:15:52
and without nancy's testimony the jury
00:15:54
had every reason to believe
00:15:56
that thomas was guilty
00:16:00
count one
00:16:01
we the jury fined us to the defendant
00:16:03
thomas eugene drake
00:16:05
guilty of attempted second-degree murder
00:16:07
with a weapon
00:16:09
it was just unbelievable that with no
00:16:11
evidence they could return a verdict
00:16:13
that way
00:16:14
but they did the jury
00:16:16
the state played totally upon their
00:16:18
emotions of this
00:16:20
affair i was having with another woman
00:16:23
and that's the only thing they convicted
00:16:24
me of
00:16:26
the guilty verdict came as a major shock
00:16:29
to thomas but even a bigger shock came
00:16:32
the day he was sentenced
00:16:34
the sentencing guidelines called for a
00:16:36
five-year sentence
00:16:38
and the judge decided that five years
00:16:40
wasn't enough he then gave me
00:16:43
life with no parole
00:16:45
plus 30 years to run consecutive
00:16:49
which means i will never get out of
00:16:51
prison
00:16:53
nancy returned to her hometown in
00:16:55
indiana and remarried it's been over 25
00:16:58
years since the attack and she still
00:17:01
can't work and doesn't remember anything
00:17:04
about that day
00:17:05
i don't know whether he's guilty or not
00:17:08
don't rightfully give a darn either
00:17:11
he deserves to be where he is
00:17:14
not for trying to kill me
00:17:16
because i honestly don't know whether he
00:17:18
did or not
00:17:21
but just for everything he had done
00:17:24
previously
00:17:26
today thomas drake lives behind the
00:17:28
razor wire at a prison in florida
00:17:30
while he serves his life sentence he has
00:17:33
filed a number of appeals so far
00:17:36
all have been denied
00:17:40
coming up he's been hired to manage a
00:17:42
company's finances
00:17:44
what they don't know is that he's a
00:17:46
master con man
00:17:59
baton rouge louisiana
00:18:02
when brent trouth decided to sell his
00:18:04
nissan sports car he found the perfect
00:18:07
buyer
00:18:08
john maggio
00:18:10
all maggio needed to seal the deal was a
00:18:12
cashier's check and brent agreed to
00:18:14
drive him to the bank
00:18:16
during the short trip the conversation
00:18:18
was friendly yeah and the bank should be
00:18:20
right over right over here
00:18:23
and then without warning brent suddenly
00:18:25
found himself on the wrong end of a gun
00:18:29
fighting
00:18:30
for his life
00:18:31
he had the meanest look on his face
00:18:34
cold-blooded killer
00:18:37
he pulled the gun to the right
00:18:39
and it went on the side of my leg the
00:18:41
bullet went on the side of my leg and
00:18:42
came out on the corner by my kneecap
00:18:45
and that's when i bit him on his
00:18:46
shoulder
00:18:49
and he let go of the gun and i threw the
00:18:51
gun out of the car
00:18:52
stop the car i'm not gonna stop laughing
00:18:55
i said stop the car
00:18:57
maggio dove out the passenger side door
00:18:59
and brent drove himself to the hospital
00:19:03
he nearly lost his leg
00:19:09
the next day
00:19:10
police arrested john maggio and charged
00:19:12
him with attempted murder to those who
00:19:15
knew him the attack came as no big
00:19:16
surprise
00:19:17
maggio had always been troubled
00:19:21
[Music]
00:19:24
john maggio spent five years in prison
00:19:26
and was released on parole
00:19:29
he immediately went to mobile alabama
00:19:31
where family connections helped him land
00:19:33
a job
00:19:34
in a typical display of bravado maggio
00:19:37
had listed his prison jobs on his resume
00:19:40
failing of course to mention that he was
00:19:43
behind bars at the time
00:19:45
[Music]
00:19:48
at his new job maggio processed payroll
00:19:51
accounts for ships in dock a job that
00:19:53
involved handling large amounts of cash
00:19:57
the owners of the vessel would wire us
00:20:00
the money that the captain requested
00:20:02
and then we would make out the receipts
00:20:05
bring the cash down to the captain he
00:20:07
would sit there and count it out and
00:20:08
then sign the receipt and
00:20:10
you'd be done
00:20:12
maggio fit in right away
00:20:14
and got along with everybody
00:20:17
we just
00:20:19
went overboard to be nice you would he
00:20:21
was just
00:20:22
super
00:20:23
he was outgoing when you talked to me
00:20:26
you felt like you'd known him forever
00:20:27
that's just how he made you feel
00:20:30
molly perez was churned by maggio
00:20:32
after a whirlwind romance the couple
00:20:35
decided to get married
00:20:38
sure my aunt will show up
00:20:39
molly had a four-year-old daughter from
00:20:41
a previous marriage and maggio appeared
00:20:44
to love her like his own
00:20:45
but according to molly's mother the
00:20:48
relationship was rocky
00:20:50
and sometimes violent
00:20:52
molly never told me that he was abusive
00:20:54
but her daughter did
00:20:56
and she was terrified of john
00:21:00
terrified in front of us he acted like
00:21:03
the doton stepfather
00:21:06
but when he was away from us it was a
00:21:08
different story
00:21:11
it turned out that maggio had a lot of
00:21:13
people fooled including this bank
00:21:15
officer who asked not to be identified
00:21:19
he called to inquire how long it would
00:21:21
take me to get 197 000. you know and i
00:21:24
told him i need to know by tuesday to
00:21:26
have it in by towards the end of the
00:21:28
week police believe maggio snuck back
00:21:31
into his office after hours
00:21:33
[Music]
00:21:35
unlocked the filing cabinet
00:21:37
then walked out with a blank check
00:21:42
good morning miss henderson he then
00:21:44
showed up at the bank with a forged
00:21:46
check
00:21:46
for
00:21:48
197 000
00:21:51
it was a well established account he was
00:21:53
a well-known person to be you know
00:21:56
responsible for picking up and calling
00:21:57
in the orders and the signature was a
00:21:59
match
00:22:01
the bank officer said maggio was
00:22:03
friendly but nervous
00:22:06
maggio explained his behavior by saying
00:22:08
that a co-worker had been killed doing a
00:22:10
similar term
00:22:13
moments later maggio calmly walked out
00:22:15
of the bank and simply disappeared
00:22:22
for that green shipping
00:22:24
the next day maggio's office received a
00:22:26
disturbing phone call from company
00:22:28
headquarters
00:22:30
the accountant that manages all the
00:22:32
money he asked me we had written any big
00:22:35
checks and of course i said no so he
00:22:37
said look for this check number so i
00:22:39
went and looked
00:22:41
and the check was missing
00:22:43
so i went back to the phone and i said
00:22:45
yes the check is gone and i said how
00:22:48
much money is gone and he said
00:22:51
197 thousand dollars
00:22:54
and i said god
00:22:57
meanwhile molly left her daughter with
00:23:00
her mother and prepared to leave town
00:23:03
she was protecting us and her daughter
00:23:06
because i know now that molly knew just
00:23:09
how evil he was
00:23:11
and is
00:23:14
police say molly left with maggio in a
00:23:17
brand new suv
00:23:18
which he bought with some of the stolen
00:23:20
money
00:23:23
four months later the couple turned up
00:23:25
in new york
00:23:28
using the names rick and sarah parker
00:23:30
they rented a small apartment from
00:23:32
nanette
00:23:35
mali kano
00:23:35
maggio
00:23:37
came off to be the sweetest people to
00:23:39
everyone not only to my husband and you
00:23:42
know myself
00:23:43
and my family members but to the
00:23:46
neighbors as well
00:23:49
over the next year maggio bounced from
00:23:51
one job to another
00:23:53
before landing a sales position with a
00:23:56
rare autographed dealer in manhattan
00:24:00
but it wasn't long before majo
00:24:02
was up to his old tricks
00:24:05
can i help you yes you may
00:24:07
maggio had attempted to cash a fifteen
00:24:10
hundred dollar check
00:24:12
and the place where he was trying to
00:24:13
cash it
00:24:14
contacted the employer and he said no he
00:24:16
does not have the authority to cash a
00:24:19
check in that amount
00:24:20
cash checks here all the time uh sir for
00:24:22
this amount i need an authorization
00:24:25
maggio never showed back up at that
00:24:28
company
00:24:29
the individual had an audit done of his
00:24:31
records and determined that maggio on 14
00:24:34
different occasions had written one
00:24:37
thousand dollar checks which were forged
00:24:40
and which were basically embezzlements
00:24:42
from the company
00:24:45
by the time the police were notified
00:24:47
maggio and molly were longed on
00:24:51
early in the morning it must have been
00:24:53
like 6 30 in the morning i suddenly get
00:24:55
a phone call from maggio
00:24:57
hello
00:24:58
hey there it's rick and he was like oh
00:25:02
i'm taking molly to the hospital she's
00:25:04
very sick
00:25:05
watch the dog
00:25:07
i left the key underneath the mat
00:25:10
nanette was surprised and concerned for
00:25:12
molly but before she could ask any
00:25:14
questions
00:25:15
maggio hung up the phone i'll give you a
00:25:17
call later
00:25:21
right there all the cards started
00:25:24
falling right into place something is
00:25:26
very fishy
00:25:29
sarah
00:25:31
nanette was suspicious so she went down
00:25:33
to check on her tenants
00:25:35
[Music]
00:25:38
the apartment was trashed and the
00:25:41
maggios were gone
00:25:44
detectives later discovered that mali
00:25:46
had bought two airline tickets for a
00:25:48
flight from new york to los angeles
00:25:52
[Music]
00:25:56
update
00:25:58
john maggio had been on the run for two
00:26:00
years when a co-worker recognized him
00:26:02
from a photo at the local post office
00:26:05
and called police
00:26:07
maggio was arrested and charged with
00:26:09
federal bank fraud and parole violation
00:26:14
he served 24 months and was released his
00:26:17
wife molly was never charged with any
00:26:19
crime
00:26:22
coming up the vietnam war separates a
00:26:25
fighter pilot
00:26:26
from his daughter
00:26:33
during the late 1960s the united states
00:26:36
trained hundreds of south vietnamese jet
00:26:39
pilots at an air force base in louisiana
00:26:42
one of these pilots was soon van wynn
00:26:45
and he ended up with especially close
00:26:48
ties to america
00:26:54
soon van wynn was 2 000 miles from home
00:26:58
he recalls feeling lonely and displaced
00:27:01
until a local family the galtiers
00:27:03
befriended him
00:27:06
they had six children and their eldest
00:27:08
son was stationed in vietnam
00:27:13
mrs gautier was thinking about her son
00:27:16
being a foreigner in vietnam
00:27:18
because of that she helped us on the
00:27:20
weekends
00:27:21
so that we feel comfortable
00:27:24
just like we were in our own country
00:27:27
gwendolyn one of the gautier's daughters
00:27:29
was the same age as soon before long
00:27:33
they had fallen in love
00:27:36
after seven months soon's training was
00:27:38
complete he and gwendolyn shared one
00:27:41
final night together before saying
00:27:43
goodbye
00:27:45
i don't want you to go
00:27:47
we could go to canada or something gwen
00:27:50
why not
00:27:52
because of my honor as an officer in the
00:27:55
air force i could not desert my
00:27:57
countrymen
00:27:58
and so i said to gwen i have to go
00:28:13
within weeks soon was flying combat
00:28:15
missions in vietnam
00:28:19
he received many letters from gwendolyn
00:28:22
what one would forever change his life
00:28:26
gwen
00:28:27
was pregnant with their child
00:28:41
late in august gwendolyn gave birth to a
00:28:44
healthy baby girl and named her kimberly
00:28:47
karen
00:28:47
[Music]
00:28:51
more than five years passed with soon
00:28:54
unable to see his daughter
00:28:56
finally his luck changed
00:28:57
[Music]
00:29:01
soon was sent back to the base in
00:29:03
louisiana for more training he was
00:29:06
uncertain how the gautiers would react
00:29:09
to his arrival
00:29:12
i i don't believe it
00:29:15
soon hello mrs cartier
00:29:19
mrs gautier arranged for soon to visit
00:29:21
gwendolyn who was now married and living
00:29:23
in houston texas
00:29:37
can't believe this is
00:29:48
this child had waited so long to see
00:29:51
but the situation simply did not allow
00:29:53
it
00:29:55
gwendolyn and kimberly returned to
00:29:57
louisiana for the rest of soon's
00:29:59
assignment for nearly a month kimberly
00:30:02
lived with her grandmother and soon
00:30:04
spent every free moment with his
00:30:06
daughter
00:30:10
soon did not know that mrs gautier had
00:30:13
told kimberly that he was her father
00:30:16
what'd you say
00:30:17
daddy
00:30:19
why you calling me that because you are
00:30:23
how do you know that
00:30:24
okay
00:30:26
then kim said
00:30:28
because her hair was black
00:30:30
her eyes were black
00:30:31
and her skin was dark skinned
00:30:34
and she was especially proud to point
00:30:36
out that she had a flat nose
00:30:38
an asian nose
00:30:41
finally the day came that soon dreaded
00:30:46
gwendolyn had to take kimberly back to
00:30:48
houston
00:30:49
soon knew he might never see his
00:30:51
daughter again
00:30:53
we got to go
00:30:57
i didn't know if i would ever see my
00:30:59
daughter again
00:31:01
i couldn't control myself i broke down
00:31:04
and cried
00:31:06
and that's the truth
00:31:12
shortly after soon returned to the war
00:31:19
when saigon fell he was incarcerated at
00:31:21
a communist re-education camp for the
00:31:24
next 10 years
00:31:27
after his release soon remarried had two
00:31:30
children and eventually immigrated to
00:31:32
the united states
00:31:36
he immediately started to look
00:31:38
for kimberly
00:31:43
because of that time we had we have a
00:31:45
beautiful memory in common
00:31:48
i believe it is possible that beautiful
00:31:50
memory kim and i share
00:31:52
has engraved itself on her mind
00:31:55
so whenever kim thinks of her father she
00:31:57
knows that i wish only the best for her
00:32:01
i care about her
00:32:03
she understands me and knows that i
00:32:06
really love her
00:32:11
update
00:32:13
the night this story aired we received
00:32:15
calls from kimberly's friends and family
00:32:18
they told us that kimberly lived in
00:32:20
pineville louisiana and that she was
00:32:22
thrilled to learn that her dad was
00:32:24
looking for her
00:32:26
a few days later soon traveled to
00:32:29
louisiana for a reunion with kimberly
00:32:31
they had not seen each other
00:32:34
for 20 years
00:32:36
[Music]
00:32:41
when vietnam
00:32:43
i never i know everything
00:32:46
i can not
00:32:47
i can't meet her
00:32:50
but now it's my dream to be true
00:32:53
i
00:32:55
very very happy
00:32:57
[Laughter]
00:32:59
it was
00:33:00
just you can't describe the feeling it
00:33:02
was just like
00:33:05
nice
00:33:06
it doesn't do the feeling justice but it
00:33:08
was just
00:33:09
incredible fantastic wonderful
00:33:12
great
00:33:15
later that day soon celebrated with
00:33:18
kimberly's family including her mother
00:33:20
wendell to see them together is
00:33:24
just a dream come true
00:33:27
a fairy tale that uh
00:33:29
had had some bad detours but it came to
00:33:32
a happy ending
00:33:35
i knew that wherever he was
00:33:37
that he loved me and i was always
00:33:40
certain in my heart that one day we
00:33:42
would be back together
00:33:44
oh this is a big day
00:33:46
it's a happy day
00:33:48
hey
00:33:49
no i think i cannot forget
00:33:54
coming up
00:33:55
two young coeds on opposite sides of the
00:33:57
country
00:33:58
mysteriously vanish
00:34:10
on a previous broadcast we asked for
00:34:12
your help in finding michael wayne brown
00:34:14
a ruthless killer who escaped from an
00:34:17
oklahoma prison
00:34:20
what are you doing here
00:34:22
brown then 18 years old was committing a
00:34:24
burglary with another teenager when an
00:34:26
employee stopped by to pick up a file
00:34:35
brown was put on oklahoma's death row
00:34:37
for murdering richard sullivan
00:34:39
however the sentence was later commuted
00:34:41
to life without parole
00:34:44
nine years into brown's sentence a
00:34:46
lonely widow named donna moses began
00:34:49
writing him letters as part of her
00:34:51
church group's attempt to help convicts
00:34:53
find spiritual comfort
00:34:56
they quickly became more
00:34:58
than just pen pals
00:35:00
hi
00:35:01
hi
00:35:02
i'm michael i know
00:35:04
she was lonely and she needed that
00:35:06
companionship someone you know to talk
00:35:09
to her about things and show her love
00:35:11
and affection and that's what she got
00:35:13
from him you michael wayne brown think
00:35:15
this woman would be your lovely white
00:35:16
wife
00:35:17
three months later they were married
00:35:20
i do
00:35:23
brown was transferred to a minimum
00:35:25
security prison
00:35:26
where he and another inmate jumped a
00:35:28
four foot fence and escaped let's go
00:35:31
let's go donna
00:35:33
drove the getaway car
00:35:35
for 15 years authorities investigated
00:35:37
tips until finally
00:35:40
one paid off
00:35:43
update
00:35:45
an unsolved mysteries viewer saw brown's
00:35:47
photograph on our website
00:35:50
i couldn't believe it it looked like him
00:35:52
but my mind said it's not him but the
00:35:55
picture said it was him
00:35:57
greg knew donna and michael brown as
00:35:59
linda and kenneth ginter
00:36:01
they owned the local video store in a
00:36:03
quiet suburb of kettering ohio in fact
00:36:07
greg's wife worked there
00:36:08
he'd never know he was a murderer he was
00:36:10
like an icon of the community everybody
00:36:13
liked him the kids would come in here
00:36:14
and high-fiving me give him candy and
00:36:17
super nice guy
00:36:19
a few minutes after seeing the photo
00:36:22
greg got a call from kenneth ginter
00:36:25
the phone rings and it was him
00:36:27
and he was asking my wife to work that
00:36:29
night i told him that i seen a guy on a
00:36:31
computer that looked like him and i said
00:36:33
michael wayne brown and he kind of got
00:36:34
quiet for a minute and he says well greg
00:36:36
everybody has a twin
00:36:38
so i left it at that
00:36:42
michael wayne brown surrendered to
00:36:44
authorities when he realized that he had
00:36:45
been identified he was returned to
00:36:48
prison to serve out his life term plus
00:36:50
additional time for the escape
00:36:53
donna wasn't charged with any crime
00:36:56
authorities believe that she was a
00:36:57
victim of brown's clever
00:37:00
manipulation
00:37:05
eighteen-year-old april gregory and
00:37:08
nineteen-year-old kristen smart never
00:37:10
met
00:37:11
they were enrolled at different
00:37:12
universities on opposite sides of the
00:37:15
country
00:37:16
yet within the same five-hour period
00:37:18
they were both suddenly gone
00:37:24
no warning
00:37:26
no explanation
00:37:29
syracuse university
00:37:33
april gregory took her schoolwork very
00:37:35
seriously
00:37:36
when she finished her freshman year she
00:37:39
immediately enrolled in the summer
00:37:41
session
00:37:43
on an ordinary spring night april's
00:37:45
brother lamar dropped her off at her
00:37:47
door
00:37:49
i helped people with her bags
00:37:52
to the front of the dormitory
00:37:54
and that was the last i saw
00:37:57
april walked up these steps
00:38:00
entered these doors under the watchful
00:38:02
eyes of dorm officials
00:38:05
and went to her seventh floor room
00:38:08
that's all anyone knows
00:38:12
a short time later police searched
00:38:14
april's room
00:38:16
they discovered that when she
00:38:18
disappeared she had not finished
00:38:20
unpacking
00:38:21
and in the closet only one clue
00:38:24
her work uniform was missing
00:38:27
[Music]
00:38:29
this was the path that april normally
00:38:30
took to her job at a local restaurant
00:38:33
but that night she never arrived at work
00:38:37
really did she miss her very really
00:38:40
i just knew something bad happened to my
00:38:42
baby
00:38:45
and almost at the same moment that april
00:38:47
gregory disappeared
00:38:50
another young woman mysteriously
00:38:52
vanished three thousand miles away
00:38:56
nineteen-year-old kristen smart was a
00:38:58
freshman at cal poly state university in
00:39:01
san luis obispo
00:39:04
about the same time april should have
00:39:06
been heading to work in new york
00:39:08
kristen was walking along this road in
00:39:10
california
00:39:12
she was returning to her dorm after a
00:39:14
party
00:39:15
she was not alone
00:39:17
nineteen-year-old paul flores was also a
00:39:20
freshman at cal poly
00:39:22
he had offered to walk kristin home
00:39:23
after the party
00:39:25
[Music]
00:39:27
an eyewitness saw paul and kristen at
00:39:29
this corner
00:39:30
paul told police that kristen went to
00:39:32
her dorm and he crossed the street to
00:39:35
his
00:39:36
kristen phoned home every sunday
00:39:39
religiously
00:39:40
and when that sunday passed and she
00:39:42
hadn't phoned
00:39:44
i knew something was wrong
00:39:46
[Music]
00:39:50
police and volunteers searched the
00:39:52
campus for kristin but they didn't find
00:39:54
a clue
00:39:56
then cadaver search dogs were taken
00:39:59
through the dorms
00:40:00
those dogs
00:40:02
hit on this room run room 128 on the cal
00:40:05
poly campus
00:40:07
and specifically came into this room and
00:40:09
hit on this mattress and the corner of
00:40:11
this mattress this room was occupied by
00:40:14
the male subject that was last seen
00:40:17
with
00:40:19
kristin smart
00:40:20
that male subject was paul florey's
00:40:23
authorities became suspicious of flory's
00:40:25
statement that he and kristen had gone
00:40:28
home separately
00:40:30
when they got to
00:40:31
approximately here
00:40:34
he says he continued into his dorm which
00:40:36
is up the hill and she left and went up
00:40:39
between the two dorms to her dorm
00:40:42
however we believe that
00:40:44
based on what we've learned from the
00:40:46
search dogs
00:40:47
she actually continued into his dorm
00:40:49
with him
00:40:53
at this time kristen smart is still
00:40:55
considered a missing person
00:40:58
we never give up hope that kristen will
00:41:00
be found but
00:41:01
as any parent can imagine the longer
00:41:03
that it goes on the dimmer the light
00:41:06
and
00:41:08
you can only hope
00:41:12
april gregory's family feels the same
00:41:14
way
00:41:15
there's a neighbor girl she resembles
00:41:17
equals a lot and i'd be in the kitchen
00:41:19
sometimes she walks in the house with my
00:41:21
heart flutter because i'd be hoping it's
00:41:22
my april and i feel so disappointed with
00:41:24
us now
00:41:26
everything brings people to my mind i
00:41:28
don't cry as much as i used to
00:41:30
but the pain still did i
00:41:33
me with miss our daughter
00:41:38
update
00:41:39
there are new developments in this case
00:41:41
and here's one of our staff with details
00:41:45
more than a year later april gregory's
00:41:48
former boyfriend terence evans was
00:41:50
charged with her murder
00:41:52
evans is currently in prison serving 25
00:41:55
years to life
00:41:57
in the case of kristin smart paul flores
00:42:00
was ultimately arrested in 2021 and
00:42:03
charged with kristen's murder his father
00:42:06
ruben flores was also arrested and
00:42:08
charged as an accessory after the fact
00:42:11
they have both pleaded not guilty and
00:42:13
await trial
00:42:39
[Music]
00:42:53
you
