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Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 5, Episode 17

March 09, 2017 / 42:53

This episode of Unsolved Mysteries covers three main cases: the wrongful conviction of Steve Shores for murder, the haunting of the St. James Hotel, and the mysterious death of Crystal Spencer.

In Chicago, Steve Shores was convicted of murdering security guard Garrison Hester. He claims he was framed by gang members from the El Rukans. Despite a lack of physical evidence linking him to the crime, Shores was sentenced to 35 years in prison based on testimonies from biased witnesses. His case highlights issues of gang intimidation and wrongful conviction.

The St. James Hotel in New Mexico is said to be haunted by various spirits, including that of a poker player named TJ Wright. Guests have reported strange occurrences, such as lights turning on and off and sightings of ghostly figures. The hotel's owners believe these spirits are remnants of the Wild West.

Lastly, Crystal Spencer, an aspiring actress, was found dead in her apartment under suspicious circumstances. Despite initial reports suggesting natural causes, inconsistencies in the autopsy and witness accounts raise questions about her death. Her family seeks answers regarding the true cause of her demise.

Each case invites viewers to consider the complexities of justice, the supernatural, and the search for truth.

TL;DR

Steve Shores was wrongfully convicted of murder, the St. James Hotel is haunted, and Crystal Spencer's mysterious death remains unsolved.

Episode

42:53
00:00:00
[Music]
00:00:04
Next on Unsolved
00:00:07
Mysteries, dreams of stardom turn fatal
00:00:10
when a small town girl tries to make it
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big in
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Hollywood. A Chicago man is sent to
00:00:16
prison for fatally shooting a security
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guard. He says he was framed by members
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of a notorious street gang in Simmeran,
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New Mexico. If you check into the St.
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James Hotel. Do not ask for room 18.
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It's already occupied by a
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ghost and a police chief dies during an
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attempted
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robbery. Then his killer escapes from
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prison. Perhaps there's someone watching
00:00:48
who can help solve one of these cases.
00:00:51
And maybe it's you. I'm Dennis Fina, so
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stick around.
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Heat. Heat.
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[Music]
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Chicago,
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Illinois. It's close to midnight on
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Chicago's notorious southside and
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Garrison Hester, a security guard, is on
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his way to work.
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He is shot twice at close range and dies
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almost
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instantly. 4 days later, 20-year-old
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Steve Shores, who lives in the
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neighborhood, is arrested for the
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murder. He is later convicted and
00:02:05
sentenced to 35 years in prison.
00:02:09
I've been here for 10 years and for me
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the free world has been a dream that I
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have dreamed about living inside a
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nightmare. I've never killed anybody in
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my life and I did not kill Garrison H. I
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do know he received a fair trial. Wayne
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Meyer represented the state during the
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clemency phase of Steve's appeal
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process. I know he's lied about almost
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every part of his life that I could look
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into. All those things I know. So,
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knowing all those uh without having been
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there, I'd say yes. Uh he is guilty
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beyond a reasonable
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doubt. Steve Shores claims that he was
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framed for the murder by the person who
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actually committed the crime, a man who
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belonged to a Chicago street gang known
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as the El Rukans. He says that he ended
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up behind bars because he wanted to
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protect his family from gang
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retaliation.
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At the time that Garrison Hester was
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murdered, the south side of Chicago was
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an urban war zone plagued by drugs and
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heavily armed street gangs. The El
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Rukans was one of the most
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powerful. They are very bad guys.
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Everyone in the neighborhood was scared
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of them because if you open your mouth
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or you said too much or if you seen
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something that you wasn't supposed to
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see, you would either end up in the
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morg or in jail like my brother Steve.
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Steve Shores grew up on the south side.
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He admits that he had at least one runin
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with the police, but at 18 he joined the
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army and was later honorably discharged.
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He returned to Chicago, got a job, and
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says that he did his best to stay out of
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trouble. I was dealing with the gang
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because I was living with in the
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neighborhood. And what I mean by dealing
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with the gang is that you went by the
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codes of the street. You know, if you
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saw something that didn't have nothing
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to do with you, then you didn't say
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nothing about it.
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Steve's claims that one summer night, he
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and a friend were on their way home from
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the beach at Lake Michigan. Around
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midnight, they turned onto a street
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close to the Alukan
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headquarters. Two gang members known as
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Bow and Blood were standing outside. At
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the same moment, Garrison Hester walked
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down the street from the opposite
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direction. What you are about to see is
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Steve's version of what happened next.
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Bring a gun on our turf.
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We hear a shot and I see a guy standing
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over a car and I see him bend down and
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when he comes up I hear another
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pop. The guy recognized me. He pointed
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at me, you know, like pointed at me,
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hollering to the other guy on the other
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side of the street. And uh I recognized
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him as being one of the guys from that
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gang. Get him. Check him out. Check him
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out. I actually didn't see him kill
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anybody because I actually didn't see
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the body. But I don't think they knew
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that.
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The next day, Steve says he was
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confronted by blood and another gang
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member. How are you, Steve?
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So this guy, he grabs me in the collar,
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you know, and he starts roughing me up a
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bit. They're trying to make me know the
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seriousness of the issue. Remember what
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you saw yesterday?
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Yesterday? Yeah. No, I ain't seen
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nothing. I don't believe you. I'm going
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to ask you one more time. I didn't see
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nothing. I don't believe you. I don't
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believe you. He tells me that if I say
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anything about what I saw, I'm going to
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find myself in a morg.
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How you doing? Backing a tip. Police
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picked up Steve 3 days later. Initially,
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he was told that he was brought in for
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failure to pay his child support, but
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Steve says that he was held for 72 hours
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and was questioned repeatedly about the
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murder of Garrison Hester. It was then
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that he made what he believes was a
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crucial mistake. He lied about being on
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Drexel at the time of the killing.
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I told the police that I was at home
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because I had went to the dentist, which
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I had went to the dentist. I got a teeth
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pulled and I was home all day, which
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wasn't the truth.
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I didn't tell anybody what I knew
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because I was afraid of telling anybody.
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I was afraid for my family. I was afraid
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for my life.
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While Steve was being questioned, Bow
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and Blood were also being interrogated
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as suspects in Garrison's murder. Both
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admitted that they had been at the
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scene, and both claimed that Steve
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Shores was the
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killer. The court assigned Steve a
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public defender named Andrea Lion. I'm
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going to be your attorney. Have a seat.
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He told me essentially what he had told
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the police, uh, that he was at home, uh,
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that he wasn't there. um and that he
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didn't do it. He always told me he
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didn't do it, which I believed.
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She was just another person in the
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system to me, you know, and she was some
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person that, you know, I could I felt I
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would trust with only enough information
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that, you know, whereas I wouldn't be
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harmed. And so I told her that I didn't
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do it. And I felt that it was enough.
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And she felt it was enough to fight the
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case.
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Steve was charged with the murder
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largely on the strength of bow and blood
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sworn statements. But there was another
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witness, someone without gang ties and
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with no connection to Steve. Before any
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charges were filed, the witness was
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brought into view a lineup of possible
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suspects. Sir, if you could just take
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your time. Do you see anyone up here
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that you recognize?
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The witness gave a height and a weight
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and also described the person as a dark
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skinned person.
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Steve is not dark-skinned. He's medium
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complexed. I I don't recognize anybody
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up there, sir, that night. I think it's
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very significant that the independent
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eyewitness did not pick out Steve. Um,
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and that his description did not match
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Steve either. I mean, I think those are
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very important because he had no axe to
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grind at all. He was a good Samaritan.
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He stopped to try to help. That's all.
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The description he gave did fit Steve
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Shores. And that's one of the reasons
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why the police picked him up. He saw him
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from about 2 or 300 ft away uh in the
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dark and only his profile. I think that
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explains why he didn't identify Steve.
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4 months later, Steve Shores went on
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trial. His fate hinged on the
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prosecution's three primary witnesses,
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Bo Blood, and one of their friends, a
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woman named Myra Sexton. Mr. I'm sure
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your attorney has indicated that you
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want a bench trial. Do you understand
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that? Yes, sir. On the advice of his
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attorney, Steve requested a bench trial
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rather than a jury trial. That meant
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only the judge would hear the evidence
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and decide Steve's guilt or innocence.
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We took a bench trial because it was
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such an obvious winner for the defense,
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it seemed, and because the wisdom at the
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time was you took a case that was really
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good for the defense to a bench. uh
00:09:44
because you could skip some of the
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steps, some of the fluff that the
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prosecution would put on for a jury to
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impress them um and just sort of get to
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the heart of the matter. All right, Mr.
00:09:52
Prosecutor, let's begin. Steve was so
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terrified of the gang members that even
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as the trial got underway, he still had
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not told his lawyer what really
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happened. She still believed that he had
00:10:04
been at home recovering from dental work
00:10:06
when the murder occurred. I felt that it
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would be all over with once everybody
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got on the stand and said their stuff,
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you know, it would be all over with and
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I would go home. I always felt that.
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Everybody told me that as well, you
00:10:19
know. Now, did you see the security
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guard? Yes. On the first day of the
00:10:24
trial, Bo was called to the stand. Yes.
00:10:27
After you saw the security guard, what
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happened? The security guard was
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walking. Steve said, "I'm f to kill this
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chump."
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The testimony of the two
00:10:37
eyewitnesses consisted of saying they
00:10:40
were out on the scene uh that evening
00:10:42
with Steve Shaw. They were drinking
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liquor, smoking marijuana when Steve
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decided to run across the street to the
00:10:50
security guard and stick him up. I'm
00:10:53
getting tired of this. What are you
00:10:55
going to do about it?
00:11:03
[Music]
00:11:08
Two shots went off. Did you see the two
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shots go off? Yeah, I heard them. Who
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fired the shots? Steve fired the shots.
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Steve fired the shots. Did you see Steve
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fire the shots? Yes. B was an extremely
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biased witness. admitted that he'd been
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told he'd get charged if he didn't name
00:11:28
Steve as having done this. So, he had an
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axe to grind. He didn't want to get
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charged with murder. Now, what happened
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when Steve ran up behind the security
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guard? He fired twice.
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When the other gang member named Blood
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testified, it appeared Steve was one
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step closer to being convicted of
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murder.
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Next, Steve Shores finally decides to
00:11:54
tell his story when Bo allegedly
00:11:57
threatens his family. Shut up. Shut up.
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Did Steve Shores murder Garrison Hester?
00:12:08
At Steve's trial, two members of the
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Elukin Street gang said yes. When the
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prosecution called a third witness,
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Steve's prospects got even worse.
00:12:19
Now, calling your attention to that
00:12:20
night, do you remember where you were?
00:12:22
Yes. After the murder, Myra Sexton, a
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friend of Bow and Bloods, was also
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brought in for questioning. In court,
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Ston claimed that she saw Steve 3 hours
00:12:33
before the killing, holding a gun in an
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angry mood. Did anything happened as you
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were standing there that night? Well,
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Steve and his dude got into a little
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argument, words, whatever. Well, this
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this guy said something to Steve and it
00:12:47
made him mad and the next thing I know,
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he had a gun out. Uh, who had a gun out?
00:12:52
Steve, she called down to Steve and told
00:12:55
him to come up to her apartment. Uh, he
00:12:58
did go up to the apartment. Uh, she
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talked to him. She tried to get him to
00:13:01
give her the gun. He refused, but he did
00:13:04
calm down and he went back out there.
00:13:08
She did not claim to have seen the the
00:13:10
the murder
00:13:11
itself, but she was the only
00:13:14
corroboration for this incredible tale
00:13:16
that these gang members told.
00:13:19
Steve's family claims that Bo and
00:13:21
another gang member came to their home
00:13:24
and threatened them. Get out of here.
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Hey, listen. Be quiet. Get out of here.
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Listen, shut up. Shut up. Listen now.
00:13:31
You tell Steve to keep his mouth shut or
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else I'mma kill all y'all.
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Bo said tell your brother Steve if he
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tell what he's
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seen we'd kill all you mother efers.
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Now it's our turn. Steve says that he
00:13:52
was feeling intense pressure both from
00:13:54
inside and outside the courtroom. So he
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decided to tell his lawyer the truth.
00:14:00
They all lying. All of them. They all
00:14:02
lying. I know they're lying and we're
00:14:04
going to prove they're lying. Don't
00:14:05
worry about it. You don't understand.
00:14:06
No. See, I know they lying because I saw
00:14:08
what happened. I finally understood why.
00:14:11
Bow and blood were lying. Steve was
00:14:14
framed for a crime he saw. We've got to
00:14:17
put you on this stand. Well, look, look.
00:14:19
I I don't want to testify. All right. I
00:14:20
told you before. Well, I know, but he
00:14:22
was afraid that they come after his
00:14:23
family again. So, I said, "Don't
00:14:25
testify. You don't have to testify. The
00:14:27
state's case will fall of its own
00:14:29
weight. They're contradicting each other
00:14:30
all over the place. That guy Bo, I mean,
00:14:32
he might as well confessed to murder the
00:14:34
way he looked and acted on the stand.
00:14:36
You don't have to testify, and you don't
00:14:37
have to put your family at risk. I
00:14:40
didn't push him to testify.
00:14:43
After two weeks, the judge delivered his
00:14:45
verdict. The court heard the evidence in
00:14:47
the matter.
00:14:49
There is a finding of guilty.
00:14:54
I think I was more so angry than I was
00:14:56
shocked.
00:14:58
This guy could actually say guilty on
00:15:00
me, you
00:15:01
know, of something that he had to know I
00:15:05
didn't do. Sentencing is scheduled for
00:15:08
February 15th.
00:15:12
I lost because I made a mistake. I lost
00:15:15
because I waved jury and I didn't think
00:15:18
Steve needed to testify. But I can't
00:15:20
blame anyone but myself. Steve listened
00:15:23
to me. He relied on my advice. He relied
00:15:26
on my expertise and I told him to do the
00:15:29
wrong thing.
00:15:31
Something silver big and it was in his
00:15:34
hand. Within a few weeks, Andrea asked
00:15:36
the judge to allow Steve to testify
00:15:39
under oath. Even though the trial was
00:15:41
over, the judge agreed. Would you tell
00:15:44
the judge who he was? Steve, you have to
00:15:48
do it.
00:15:50
It was both.
00:15:53
Did you shoot Garrison Hester?
00:15:56
No, I didn't shoot nobody with no gun.
00:16:00
After he realized that uh he was found
00:16:02
guilty and he better do something, Steve
00:16:04
finally did testify. The I was at home
00:16:07
with a toothache story wasn't going to
00:16:09
fly because he knew independent
00:16:12
witnesses, uh a female put him on that
00:16:15
scene at some time during the day. I
00:16:18
think he realized he had to put himself
00:16:20
at least on the scene, but instead of
00:16:22
being the shooter, he said uh that uh he
00:16:25
was just a witness. And also, when I
00:16:27
learned about Steve, it's highly
00:16:28
doubtful uh Steve spends his leisure
00:16:30
time bicycling around the neighborhood.
00:16:33
I think anybody would be a little
00:16:35
cynical that someone would sit there
00:16:36
through a whole trial, see the real
00:16:38
killer, testify, and name him, and just
00:16:41
say nothing.
00:16:43
I want the record to reflect that I
00:16:46
believe the state's eyewitnesses. I
00:16:49
still believe them. The judge refused to
00:16:51
reconsider his verdict despite
00:16:53
supporting testimony from the friend who
00:16:55
had been with Steve that night. Steve
00:16:58
Shores was sentenced to 35 years in
00:17:01
prison. The conviction stands.
00:17:06
Your honors. Andrea Lion appealed
00:17:09
immediately. Steve's request for a new
00:17:11
trial was rejected by a 2 to1 vote.
00:17:14
However, he did find an advocate, the
00:17:17
dissenting judge, Eugene Pinchum. The
00:17:20
big hole, I suggest, is the fact that
00:17:23
that was an eyewitness. If you'd him in
00:17:25
a lineup, he said, "Never seen the man
00:17:27
before in my life." And the description
00:17:28
he gave of the asalant did not fit Steve
00:17:31
Shaw. That's the big hole.
00:17:33
Little hole is that all three of them,
00:17:35
the two eyewitnesses and this person who
00:17:38
was supposed to seen Steve with the gun
00:17:40
were in the police station interrogated
00:17:41
for 7 8 hours had an adequate
00:17:44
opportunity to concoct their story to
00:17:46
fit the facts as they knew them. They
00:17:48
simply substituted Steve Shaw for
00:17:50
themselves.
00:17:52
[Music]
00:17:53
Would you say there are a lot of gang
00:17:55
members in your neighborhood? Two years
00:17:57
later, hope emerged. Myra Ston, who had
00:18:00
testified that she saw Steve with the
00:18:02
gun on the night of the murder, admitted
00:18:05
that she had lied on the stand. We spoke
00:18:08
to Myra and her testimony didn't have
00:18:12
out face. All of a sudden, there was no
00:18:15
confrontation. All of a sudden, there
00:18:16
was no attempt to get a gun from Steve.
00:18:18
All of a sudden, Steve never had a gun.
00:18:19
All of a sudden, it wasn't at night, it
00:18:21
was in the morning. All of a sudden, the
00:18:23
whole thing she'd said was a lie.
00:18:27
It's not asking too much to say to the
00:18:29
trial judge and to the prosecutor. Try
00:18:31
the case again. Let 12 people hear this
00:18:34
case from beginning to end from the date
00:18:36
of the commission of defense up until
00:18:38
this moment. All material pertinent
00:18:39
evidence and there's no question in my
00:18:42
judgment that a jury would acquit him.
00:18:44
If we were to retry him, uh other
00:18:47
prisoners would say, "Well, why don't I
00:18:48
get a retrial?" There's nothing special
00:18:50
about this case. There's really not. The
00:18:52
only thing special is publicity.
00:18:56
Despite Myra's admission, Steve was
00:18:58
denied a new trial less than a year
00:19:01
after Steve went to prison. One of his
00:19:03
sisters was murdered. He believes that
00:19:06
she was killed by the El Rukans Street
00:19:09
gang. While Steve spent the next 13
00:19:12
years behind bars, Andrea at her own
00:19:15
expense looked for evidence that would
00:19:17
get Steve a new trial.
00:19:19
I'm hoping that someone who saw this,
00:19:22
and I know people saw it, that someone
00:19:25
will feel safe enough to say that they
00:19:27
saw it and that it wasn't Steven. I'm
00:19:29
hoping to crack the silence and find
00:19:33
some new piece of evidence because I
00:19:35
can't bear the thought that an innocent
00:19:37
person is going to spend another decade
00:19:40
in jail.
00:19:45
Update. Andrea Lion's hard work paid
00:19:48
off. Steve Shor's third appeal produced
00:19:51
further evidence of his innocence. The
00:19:54
defense found one witness who admitted
00:19:56
lying and another with new
00:19:59
information. Steve entered an Alfred
00:20:01
plea, which means that he pleaded guilty
00:20:04
but denied committing the crime. Steve
00:20:07
Shores was finally released after nearly
00:20:11
15 years in
00:20:14
prison. Next, does the ghost of an angry
00:20:18
poker player haunt room 18 in the St.
00:20:21
James
00:20:30
Hotel? For most of us, Halloween comes
00:20:33
only once a year. But at the St. James
00:20:36
Hotel in New Mexico. Halloween happens
00:20:38
nearly every day. According to many,
00:20:41
this old hotel is haunted by spirits of
00:20:45
the Wild
00:20:49
West. When I bought the hotel, I didn't
00:20:51
believe in ghosts at
00:20:53
all. Now, after the convincing evidence
00:20:56
of the last 5 years, I'm certain that
00:20:58
there are ghosts here.
00:21:00
[Music]
00:21:01
In its heyday, the St. James Hotel
00:21:04
offered good food, attractive dancing
00:21:06
girls, and comfortable beds for such
00:21:09
wild west guests as Jesse James, Pat
00:21:12
Mastersonson, Annie Oakley, Doc Holiday,
00:21:15
and Wy. But as the glory days of the Old
00:21:18
West faded, the hotel started to fall
00:21:21
apart.
00:21:24
Ed Sitsburgger and his wife Pat bought
00:21:26
the St. James and started to bring it
00:21:28
back to life.
00:21:32
But they soon discovered that the hotel
00:21:35
had a life of its own.
00:21:39
I wanted to see how many leaks were in
00:21:41
the old hotel. And so I got my friend to
00:21:44
come with me and to go through the hotel
00:21:47
with her
00:21:49
flashlight. We finished doing all the
00:21:52
checking and put out some buckets here
00:21:53
and there cuz we did have some leaks.
00:21:55
And then we turned the chandelier off
00:21:57
and then went downstairs and out the
00:22:00
hotel. And for some reason, I turned
00:22:02
back up and looked back up to the second
00:22:04
story and the chandelier was on. Can't
00:22:08
believe it. I got to go back home.
00:22:13
Sure. I turned this off.
00:22:16
After the light came back on two more
00:22:18
times, Pat tried to reason with the
00:22:22
spirit. I don't know who you
00:22:24
are or why you're here, but I'm tired
00:22:27
and I really don't want to play tonight.
00:22:29
I'm glad you're here, but could we
00:22:30
please play another day? And at that
00:22:33
point, I pulled the cord on the
00:22:35
chandelier and heard a click and we
00:22:37
turned around and went back down the
00:22:39
stairs. And I looked up and indeed the
00:22:41
light had stayed off.
00:22:45
According to the Sitsburgers, the hotel
00:22:48
was haunted top to bottom.
00:22:51
Guests in room 17 have reported hearing
00:22:54
a constant eerie tapping noise whenever
00:22:57
the window is
00:23:00
open. And Charlie Varela, a local high
00:23:03
school student, discovered that he was
00:23:06
not alone while cleaning the bar early
00:23:08
one morning.
00:23:10
It was kind of dark in there and I was
00:23:12
going to the back to get some liners for
00:23:13
the trash. And as I was going back
00:23:15
there, I just glanced over to the bar
00:23:18
and I seen a little boy sitting on the
00:23:20
bar and spinning the glass. At first,
00:23:23
you know, I thought it was a little boy
00:23:24
from upstairs and he was just down
00:23:26
messing around. You know, I was going to
00:23:27
tell him, you know, excuse me, you're
00:23:28
not supposed to be in here. But when
00:23:31
when I went to make the move to tell
00:23:32
him, he turned
00:23:36
around. His face was hideous and he just
00:23:39
jumped off and just scared me and it
00:23:42
just took off.
00:23:44
I quit that morning. I just don't see
00:23:47
that. It scared me and I didn't want to
00:23:49
work here anymore.
00:23:52
Dr. Kenneth Wright, a surgeon and
00:23:54
amateur ghost hunter, heard about the
00:23:56
spirits at the St. James and decided to
00:23:59
investigate. Let's go inside.
00:24:05
The room was cold and when I looked up
00:24:07
in the upper leftand corner there was a
00:24:10
whirling that was going on the corner.
00:24:13
You couldn't see the corner of the room.
00:24:15
It was like a white swirl.
00:24:18
There was this anger and hatred and
00:24:21
instantly I was filled with terror. I
00:24:24
was gasping for breath because I had not
00:24:26
expected it. Did not encounter it. I've
00:24:28
never been that terrified in my life.
00:24:30
And as this was happening to me, I heard
00:24:32
Pat saying, "You can go. You're free to
00:24:35
go. You can go."
00:24:41
I couldn't believe what was happening to
00:24:43
me. I don't know what this swirling
00:24:45
presence
00:24:46
was. It didn't want me there. That was
00:24:50
very obvious.
00:24:52
Ed then contacted Jackie Little John, a
00:24:55
psychic from Albuquerque.
00:24:58
I was able to sense physical violence, a
00:25:02
gunshot. It was so strong I stepped
00:25:05
backwards. I I could see and feel and
00:25:07
smell and uh you know the the evidence
00:25:10
of violence was so intense.
00:25:15
During her tour, Jackie claims that she
00:25:17
had a vision of a deadly poker game.
00:25:21
The poker game had been going on for a
00:25:24
long time and it was a feeling that
00:25:27
either the hotel was a stake or a very
00:25:30
large herd.
00:25:32
According to Jackie, one of the card
00:25:34
players was the man whose ghost now
00:25:37
haunts room 18.
00:25:44
He died of blood poisoning. Very slow,
00:25:46
very painful, very dreadful, desperate.
00:25:50
desperate man, very fearful.
00:25:54
Jackie says that the dead man's name was
00:25:56
TJ Wright and that he probably won the
00:25:59
hotel in a poker game just before he was
00:26:02
killed. We wanted to look back in the
00:26:04
records and corroborate the story. So,
00:26:07
we went back and looked at the hotel
00:26:09
register in 1881 and found TJ Wright
00:26:12
registered three different days in 1881.
00:26:15
It is reasonable to me that he believes
00:26:17
he owns a hotel still and wants to
00:26:19
maintain possession or at least live
00:26:21
here.
00:26:24
Ed keeps the old registry locked in a
00:26:26
glass case and he is positive that
00:26:29
Jackie never saw it. There is of course
00:26:32
no way to prove that the ghost of TJ
00:26:35
Wright is now haunting room 18, but Ed
00:26:38
is not taking any chances. There's no
00:26:41
construction activity in that room or
00:26:44
renovation work that's going to be done.
00:26:45
That's his room as far as I'm concerned
00:26:47
as a permanent resident for as long as I
00:26:49
have the hotel.
00:26:52
Is it possible that the St. James Hotel
00:26:55
is haunted by the spirits of the Old
00:26:57
West? The firsthand accounts you have
00:26:59
just heard are definitely difficult to
00:27:01
believe, but if you have a better
00:27:04
explanation for what goes on in the old
00:27:06
hotel, the owners of the St. James would
00:27:09
certainly like to hear about
00:27:13
it. Coming up, a young woman dreams of
00:27:16
becoming a Hollywood movie star, but
00:27:19
ends up dying under mysterious
00:27:22
[Music]
00:27:30
circumstances. For as long as she could
00:27:32
remember, Crystal Spencer pictured
00:27:35
herself as a famous Hollywood star. And
00:27:38
yet her search for fame and fortune led
00:27:40
only to frustration, failure, and death
00:27:44
in a manner that has never been fully
00:27:48
explained. Crystal Len Spencer was
00:27:51
raised in a small Northern California
00:27:53
town. At 17, she dropped out of high
00:27:56
school and took a job to help support
00:27:58
the family. A short time later, she
00:28:00
moved to Los Angeles to chase her dream.
00:28:03
Her early years were a struggle, and
00:28:05
Crystal quickly realized that stardom
00:28:08
was not easy to come
00:28:11
by. Crystal reluctantly took a job as an
00:28:14
exotic dancer to pay her bills. On a
00:28:17
good night, she took home up to $400 in
00:28:21
tips, but she never fully accepted the
00:28:23
fact that she was basically a stripper.
00:28:27
Sometimes she would just start crying
00:28:30
like she felt degraded about herself for
00:28:33
what she'd done.
00:28:36
One spring day, friends invited Crystal
00:28:38
to a barbecue. She was eager to
00:28:41
socialize with people who might help her
00:28:43
with her acting career. I'm An. Nice to
00:28:46
meet you. It's nice to meet you. Oh,
00:28:47
this is your place then? This is There
00:28:49
was something very alluring and
00:28:51
compelling about Crystal that would
00:28:54
readily catch your eye. She knew that
00:28:56
she would become not only an actress,
00:28:58
but she would become a very famous
00:28:59
actress, and it was just a matter of
00:29:02
time.
00:29:03
Anton Klene was an aspiring screenwriter
00:29:06
and PhD candidate. He and Crystal came
00:29:10
from totally different backgrounds, but
00:29:12
they soon fell in love. Anton took it
00:29:16
upon himself to help Crystal broaden her
00:29:19
horizons. He introduced her to art
00:29:21
galleries, museums, and concerts. She
00:29:24
loved classical music. She loved fine
00:29:26
art. She wanted to know more about these
00:29:30
other wonderful things of life that she
00:29:33
had never been exposed to before.
00:29:36
Anton had absolutely no idea that
00:29:38
Crystal worked as a stripper. She walked
00:29:41
a fine line, discovering art and culture
00:29:44
by
00:29:45
day and working Hollywood's dark side by
00:29:49
night. Crystal loved Anton very much.
00:29:52
She was very scared about him finding
00:29:54
out. She says, "Well, I better change. I
00:29:57
better quit dancing then before he finds
00:29:59
out."
00:30:02
Finally, 4 months after they met, Anton
00:30:04
found out about Crystal's other life. A
00:30:08
neighbor saw her dancing at the club by
00:30:10
the airport where she worked. And he
00:30:13
said, "I saw that girl on stage." I
00:30:15
said, "No, you couldn't have." He said,
00:30:18
"That was her." Of course it was her.
00:30:22
And I was shocked.
00:30:25
He was very upset, but he said it was
00:30:27
okay. He accepted it, which shocked her.
00:30:31
And it she didn't know what to say.
00:30:37
Oh no, Anton has my cold. One day,
00:30:39
Crystal was homesick with a flu. Anton
00:30:42
stopped by and they talked about an
00:30:43
offer she had received to work in Japan.
00:30:46
So, what's happened with Japan? I don't
00:30:48
know. Um, they haven't called yet. When
00:30:51
are you leaving? I'm not even sure if I
00:30:53
have the job or not yet.
00:30:58
The next night, Crystal and Anton spoke
00:31:00
on the phone and Crystal said that she
00:31:03
was feeling better. How you doing? And
00:31:04
the conversation lasted about 15
00:31:06
minutes. I said, "I'll be in touch." And
00:31:08
she said, "Okay." I hung up the phone.
00:31:11
And that was the last time I ever spoke
00:31:12
with her.
00:31:14
3 days later, Anton tried to reach
00:31:17
Crystal by phone, but kept getting a
00:31:19
busy signal. An operator told him the
00:31:22
receiver was off the hook.
00:31:27
Can I help you? Yeah, I'm looking for
00:31:30
Crystal Spencer. She's not working
00:31:31
tonight. Did she work here last night?
00:31:34
She was punch in.
00:31:36
Anton just assumed that Crystal had left
00:31:39
for Japan without saying goodbye.
00:31:43
I was expecting any day to receive a
00:31:46
very excited phone call from Crystal
00:31:48
saying, "It's wonderful here."
00:31:51
And instead, I got a phone call from the
00:31:54
Burbank Police Department.
00:31:57
Police discovered Crystal's decomposed
00:31:59
body in her apartment. She appeared to
00:32:02
have been dead for almost a week. They
00:32:05
at first just said she was found dead in
00:32:08
her apartment and they wanted to know
00:32:10
when I'd last seen her. And I said, "I
00:32:12
last saw her on Wednesday." And how was
00:32:14
she? I said, "Well, she had a cold."
00:32:17
And uh they said they believe she died
00:32:20
of natural causes.
00:32:23
An autopsy revealed no traces of drugs
00:32:25
or alcohol in Crystal's system. There
00:32:28
were no obvious signs of foul play or
00:32:30
suicide. The coroner ruled that her
00:32:33
death was the result of undetermined
00:32:35
causes. The body of Miss Spencer was in
00:32:38
such an advanced state of decomposition,
00:32:40
they were not able to ascribe the cause
00:32:42
of death. Uh, so they have no finding. I
00:32:46
was suspicious because I did not believe
00:32:49
that Crystal Spencer died of illness.
00:32:50
When I last saw her, she was a young
00:32:52
woman with cold. I was suspicious
00:32:54
because the way I was told the body was
00:32:57
found in an obscure corner of her
00:33:00
apartment knew from the waist down. And
00:33:03
I learned that neighbors had heard
00:33:05
terrible screams coming from her
00:33:07
apartment that some had described as the
00:33:10
sounds of torture.
00:33:13
3 days after Crystal had been home sick,
00:33:16
two of her neighbors were woken up
00:33:18
around 4:00 a.m. by a strange crying
00:33:21
sound. Listen, do you hear that?
00:33:24
But even before I even woke him up, I
00:33:26
laid there thinking, "Someone's being
00:33:27
tortured. Someone's being hurt.
00:33:28
Something's going on." Why don't we?
00:33:30
Susan was very adamant about calling the
00:33:32
police. But out of my fear of what I
00:33:36
heard, I didn't want to get involved.
00:33:40
I don't think I'll ever be able to live
00:33:42
with the fact that I didn't call the
00:33:43
police. If I had, maybe she would still
00:33:46
be alive.
00:33:48
Crystal's body was discovered a week
00:33:49
after her neighbors heard the screams.
00:33:52
They finally told their story to the
00:33:54
public about a week ago. He just took my
00:33:57
statement, took my name, asked me for my
00:33:59
driver's license. That was it. It was
00:34:01
just very nonchalant about it.
00:34:04
Crystal's family requested to view the
00:34:06
body several times, but the coroner's
00:34:09
office continually refused, claiming the
00:34:11
body was in no condition to be seen.
00:34:14
Anton was denied access to the police
00:34:17
reports. However, four months after
00:34:20
Crystal's death, he was able to obtain
00:34:22
the autopsy report. He was shocked by
00:34:26
what he found. Crystal Spencer was
00:34:28
barely 5' tall. The autopsy report
00:34:31
claims that she's an amazing 5'7.
00:34:34
Crystal weighed approximately 105 lb.
00:34:37
The autopsy claims the body is a
00:34:40
well-nourished 140 lb. I I was stunned.
00:34:44
I said, "This is not the body of Crystal
00:34:46
Spencer." And where is the real body of
00:34:49
Crystal Spencer? We do have the remains
00:34:53
identified by fingerprints from two
00:34:55
different agencies and those really
00:34:57
eliminate any possibility of the
00:35:00
coroners autopsying the wrong
00:35:02
remains. I was told by one law
00:35:05
enforcement official, "Bad things happen
00:35:07
to bad girls." And I said, "You mean bad
00:35:10
girls die of natural causes?" and he
00:35:15
said, "You know what I
00:35:17
mean." And hung up on me on the
00:35:21
phone. 2 weeks after Crystal's body was
00:35:24
found, family and friends gathered for a
00:35:26
private memorial
00:35:29
service. Crystal's ashes were scattered
00:35:31
beneath the famous Hollywood sign.
00:35:35
I am angered that they are attempting to
00:35:39
suppress the police reports in this case
00:35:41
forever.
00:35:43
We need to know what happened to her.
00:35:46
It's important to all of us who cared
00:35:48
about her to learn the truth. That's all
00:35:51
we want is the truth.
00:35:54
The truth about how Crystal Spencer died
00:35:57
remains as elusive as her dreams of
00:36:00
stardom. If you have any information
00:36:02
about this case, please log on to our
00:36:05
website at unsolved.com.
00:36:12
Next, an Oklahoma police chief is gunned
00:36:14
down during a robbery, but his killer
00:36:17
has been found thanks to one of our
00:36:29
viewers. Katusa, Oklahoma.
00:36:33
Just after 8:00 a.m. one September
00:36:35
morning, two men pulled up in front of a
00:36:38
tag agency. A popular target for thieves
00:36:41
who deal in stolen cars. This a robbery?
00:36:44
Get out of the ground, lady. Don't look
00:36:46
at me. We're being robbed. Call the
00:36:48
police. Come on.
00:36:50
Keep your head down. Don't look at me,
00:36:52
lady. Do not look at me, lady. Don't
00:36:54
hurt us, please. Chief, there's a
00:36:56
robbery in progress at the Kusa Tag
00:36:59
Agency. At least one employee inside.
00:37:01
Out. 10. The only police officer in town
00:37:04
was Chief JB Hamby, a 24-year veteran
00:37:08
whose devotion to his work was well
00:37:10
known. JB was on call all hours, no
00:37:15
sleep, come in, shower, change clothes,
00:37:19
right back out. For those people that
00:37:21
was on the wrong side of the law, he
00:37:23
could become probably their worst
00:37:25
nightmare. He was
00:37:28
relentless. Hey, get out of here.
00:37:38
20 rounds flew through that small store
00:37:41
in just a few seconds. One robber was
00:37:44
killed, shot in the head by his own
00:37:46
ricocheting bullet. The other was hit
00:37:48
twice, but somehow managed to escape
00:37:52
miraculously. Both women were unharmed,
00:37:55
but Chief Hami was not so lucky. He
00:37:58
staggered outside, bleeding profusely.
00:38:01
JB attempted to reload his gun and at
00:38:05
that point he probably sensed that he
00:38:07
was, you know, gravely injured and uh
00:38:09
from there went right on in the laundry
00:38:11
to get him help. He needed help. JB
00:38:15
JB, it's all right. Call the ambulance.
00:38:19
Repeat after me, JB. Stay with me. Our
00:38:22
Father, Our Father, who are in heaven,
00:38:25
you are in heaven. JB Hamby died before
00:38:28
he could finish reciting the Lord's
00:38:31
Prayer. The robber who escaped,
00:38:33
25-year-old David Gordon Smith, was
00:38:35
captured only two hours later while
00:38:38
being treated for gunshot wounds at a
00:38:40
nearby hospital. At first, Smith thought
00:38:42
he was being arrested for armed robbery,
00:38:45
but instead he was booked on charges of
00:38:47
firstdegree
00:38:49
murder. Ballistics proved that the
00:38:52
bullet that killed Chief Hamby had been
00:38:54
fired from Smith's gun. David Gordon
00:38:56
Smith was convicted of murder and began
00:38:59
serving a life sentence in an Oklahoma
00:39:03
prison. Smith was the classic good boy
00:39:06
gone bad, the son of a respected
00:39:09
university professor. This was his first
00:39:12
and only brush with the law and he set
00:39:15
out to become a model
00:39:17
prisoner. Smith was wellliked by the
00:39:20
staff that had to deal with him. He was
00:39:23
also wellliked by the other inmates and
00:39:26
as he served his time and as his years
00:39:28
grew and his behavior was excellent, he
00:39:32
was uh according to Oklahoma law
00:39:35
classified to a trustee status and his
00:39:39
job at the time was to monitor equipment
00:39:42
at our
00:39:44
lake. Smith was assigned to live and
00:39:46
work all alone at a small water pumping
00:39:49
station. A prison guard checked up on
00:39:51
him every hour. On three separate
00:39:54
occasions, he was allowed unsupervised
00:39:56
visits to his doctor's office. Smith
00:39:59
even got
00:40:01
married. I don't think there's any way
00:40:03
by any stretch of the imagination that
00:40:05
he deserved any sort of lenient
00:40:07
treatment. I I think it's unheard of. I
00:40:11
think he should have got the death
00:40:12
penalty. I think he should have gotten
00:40:13
maximum, you know, hard time. Uh I could
00:40:17
have lived with that.
00:40:20
For more than a year, Smith remained a
00:40:22
model prisoner. But one day, when a
00:40:24
prison guard stopped by for his regular
00:40:26
1:00 a.m. check, he discovered that
00:40:29
Smith was missing. He probably walked
00:40:33
from the room at the lake, out to the
00:40:36
nearest highway, a mile or so away,
00:40:39
where Joe Beth, his wife, picked him up.
00:40:43
They went into Mallister, which is a
00:40:46
mile or so from the prison, and mailed
00:40:48
two letters. We know
00:40:50
that authorities learned that one week
00:40:53
before the escape, Smith's wife closed
00:40:56
her bank account, sold her furniture,
00:40:58
and borrowed $1,000 from friends. She
00:41:01
told the travel agent that she was going
00:41:04
to Mexico. She never mentioned her
00:41:07
husband.
00:41:09
4 months later, David Gordon Smith was
00:41:11
seen with a woman in Arkansas, just 90
00:41:14
miles from the prison. The authorities
00:41:17
were alerted, but by the time they
00:41:19
arrived, Smith had vanished.
00:41:22
I want to see David Gordon Smith serve
00:41:25
his time. I just think it's one of the
00:41:27
most unjust things that could ever
00:41:28
happen. JB lived his job as a police
00:41:32
officer 24 hours a day. a very intense
00:41:36
person that took his job extremely
00:41:38
serious. That loss can never be feel.
00:41:41
And I I just don't think it's
00:41:45
fair.
00:41:48
Update. After we aired this story,
00:41:50
authorities received the tip that Smith
00:41:52
was working at a car dealership in
00:41:55
Spearfish, South Dakota. He was using
00:41:58
the name Gary Johnston and he admitted
00:42:01
that he had seen his story on Unsolved
00:42:04
Mysteries. Smith was returned to prison
00:42:07
with an extra 4 years added to his
00:42:09
sentence for his escape.
00:42:27
[Music]
00:42:42
[Music]
00:42:46
Heat. Heat.

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

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

Episode Highlights

  • Mysteries of the South Side
    The story of Steve Shores, wrongfully convicted for a murder he didn't commit.
    “I’ve never killed anybody in my life and I did not kill Garrison H.”
    @ 02m 21s
    March 09, 2017
  • A Ghostly Encounter
    The St. James Hotel in New Mexico is said to be haunted by spirits of the Wild West.
    “I didn’t believe in ghosts at all. Now, I’m certain that there are ghosts here.”
    @ 20m 53s
    March 09, 2017
  • Haunting Encounter
    A little boy's terrifying appearance leads to a sudden resignation from work.
    “I quit that morning. I just don't see that.”
    @ 23m 44s
    March 09, 2017
  • Crystal Spencer's Tragic Story
    A young woman's pursuit of Hollywood fame ends in mysterious circumstances and death.
    “The truth about how Crystal Spencer died remains as elusive as her dreams of stardom.”
    @ 35m 54s
    March 09, 2017

Episode Quotes

  • I’ve never killed anybody in my life and I did not kill Garrison H.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 5, Episode 17
  • I lost because I made a mistake.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 5, Episode 17
  • I’m hoping to crack the silence and find some new piece of evidence.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 5, Episode 17
  • I just don't see that. It scared me.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 5, Episode 17
  • I couldn't believe what was happening to me.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 5, Episode 17
  • The truth about how Crystal Spencer died remains as elusive as her dreams of stardom.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 5, Episode 17

Key Moments

  • Framed Innocence02:21
  • Trial and Error15:15
  • Seeking Justice19:35
  • Haunted Hotel20:53
  • Haunting Experience23:44
  • Mysterious Death35:54

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown

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