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Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 9, Episode 7 - Full Episode

May 23, 2019 / 43:03

This episode of Unsolved Mysteries covers three main stories: the hostage crisis at an elementary school in Coke Ville, Wyoming, the suspicious death of Lynn Amos in Washington, D.C., and Sam Ellickson's lottery win linked to his deceased son.

The first segment details the harrowing hostage situation in Coke Ville, where David Young, a former police officer, took 136 students and 17 adults hostage with a homemade bomb. Despite the dire circumstances, no children were seriously injured, leading many to believe that divine intervention played a role in their survival.

The second story focuses on Lynn Amos, a financial analyst who died from a suspicious house fire. Initially ruled an accident, evidence later suggested arson, and her friends speculated that her death was linked to dangerous information she had uncovered about banking practices in Mexico.

The final segment features Sam Ellickson, who claimed that the spirit of his deceased son guided him to win the lottery. After a near-fatal accident, Sam felt a strong connection to his son, which led him to play specific numbers that ultimately resulted in a significant jackpot.

Each story highlights themes of tragedy, survival, and the mysterious forces that can influence life-changing events.

TL;DR

A former cop takes a school hostage, a suspicious fire claims a life, and a man wins the lottery with help from his deceased son.

Episode

43:03
00:00:05
tonight on unsolved mysteries it was a
00:00:10
blueprint for tragedy in Coke Ville
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Wyoming a vengeful ex-cop armed with a
00:00:14
powerful homemade bomb commandeered an
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entire elementary school as a crisis
00:00:20
escalated it seemed that only a miracle
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could save the lives of more than a
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hundred innocent children
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by all accounts Michael showed us a man
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with a red-hot temper and an affection
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for guns what as miss D slandered him in
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prison
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short masterminded a daring escape with
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the help of his 20 year old girlfriend
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Yonkers New York sometimes you need more
00:00:44
than luck to win the lottery
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just ask Sam's Ellickson who says he hit
00:00:48
the jackpot after an eerie visit from
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beyond the grave in Washington DC the
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aftermath of a fatal house fire use the
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unmistakable signs of arson launches a
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manhunt for the killer of a young
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businesswoman
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join me perhaps you could help solve one
00:01:07
of tonight's unsolved mysteries
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[Music]
00:01:19
[Music]
00:02:06
seventeen-year-old melody woods was not
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the kind of teenager anyone ever
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expected to get into trouble she enjoyed
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school didn't stay out late that barely
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begun to carnate then in June of 1994
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melody fell in love his name was Michael
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short melody had met him during a summer
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session at her High School in Fort Worth
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Texas short was 19 years old
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and he made a very good first impression
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but that first impression evaporated
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quickly Melody's parents never guessed
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that the man their daughter loved had a
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criminal record and a nasty reputation
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Michael's not afraid to use a handgun or
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a weapon statements from some of his
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acquaintances indicated that his
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favorite pastime was dressing up in
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black and shooting at cars and trains
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six months before he met melody Michael
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short and a friend came up behind a
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couple driving down the highway they
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were in the fast lane moving too slow to
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suit short person by if he wants to he's
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right on my tail I starting to bug me
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I just got ticking me off
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this guy's a lunatic short dog the
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couple's art empires
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getting wilder by the minute he's got a
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contrived do something that's freaking
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out of his mind but I'm gonna speed up
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and I'm gonna break real hard all right
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the driver was struck once in the
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shoulder but survived police tracked
00:04:30
short by his license plate number and
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charged him with attempted murder a few
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months later while he was out on bail he
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met melody woods she fell
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head-over-heels for my calling me from
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the very first day she came home he was
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so excited about him telling me about
00:04:46
him and just thought that he was
00:04:47
everything that she had ever wanted
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Melody's Paras believe that by the time
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melody learned about Michael's past
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she was already under his spell she
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became real secretive and always away
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from home and didn't spend a lot of time
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with us and she never wanted Michael
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around us very much I want you to have
00:05:13
this
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it's a beeper duh I know what a beeper
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looks like when I call you I'll punch in
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9-1-1 drop what have you doing give me a
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call right away I don't have to worry
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about you deal deal
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I had to talk with her and I told her I
00:05:30
said I'm afraid that you know he's being
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a little bit too possessive and she was
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like well you know we just really enjoy
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being together and there's really
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nothing to it and he's not possessive
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and you know every time I would try to
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say anything about the situation she
00:05:46
didn't want to talk about it in March of
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1995 Michael short was found guilty on
00:05:52
the highway shooting incident he was
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sentenced to eight years in prison on a
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reduced charge aggravated assault with a
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deadly weapon Melody's parents hoped
00:06:02
that would end the affair to their
00:06:04
dismay melody refused to give up on
00:06:07
Short after the impact wore off she
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started talking about I can get through
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this you know I'll make it it may just
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be four years you may not spend out
00:06:16
there so we will do the best we can I
00:06:19
can make it through this by all accounts
00:06:22
short was just a determined to remain a
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part of Melody's life he had access to a
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jail phone from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
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use it to barrage melody and her parents
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with collect calls he called us day and
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night night and day he was relentless
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with the phone calls I mean they just
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never would stop she had to be at a
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specific phone at a specific time for
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him to call and if she wasn't there then
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he was very angry and when he did
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finally get ahold of her it would always
00:06:52
be a screaming match over the telephones
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finally we just had our phones blocked
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from any collect calls because that's
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the only way they could call was collect
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and he figured out a way around that by
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calling his parents and getting his
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parents to call us on the three-way
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the phone calls at first were a blessing
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for melody I mean any contact that she
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could have with him she was thrilled to
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death mom let it ring but as time went
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along she started to get a little
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irritated because she couldn't do
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anything this has got to stop melody I'm
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gonna have to change this number again
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it's not my fault he keeps calling me
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she started to pull away from it a
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little bit but then the calls would
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intensify and Michael would say you just
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don't understand how horrible it is for
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me here you're the only thing I've got
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you know you can't you can't forsake me
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now you're my soul mate you know and
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just really would make her feel bad so
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then she would go back to accepting all
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the phone calls from jail short
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controlled melodies every move for more
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than a year even as fellow inmates call
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him the little bully on June 7th 1996
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authorities learn the full extent of his
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power over melody that morning melody
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and a girlfriend waited in a borrowed
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van outside the prison walls maybe we
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should go it's 7:45 he says gym ends at
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7:30 Chrissie just hang on a few more
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minutes okay
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he's gonna be here
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[Music]
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before anyone could react short made a
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bold break for freedom
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stop worship
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[Music]
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coming
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start to finish the entire escape took
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less than one minute
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at a nearby motel short changed clothes
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and switched from the van de Melody's
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car
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hey be careful okay
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I'll call you I'll ring once when he
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left he took melody with it possibly
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against her will based on my
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conversation with her friend she
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indicated to me that melody had every
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intention of coming home
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that night and that she would get in
00:10:12
touch with her when she got home I
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personally don't believe that Mellie had
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any intentions on leaving with him
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there's a lot of things she didn't take
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with her it was clothes and girl things
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like rollers and hair dryers and just a
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bunch of stuff I just don't believe she
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had any intentions on leaving the only
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thing that we've received from melody
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since her disappearance was one postcard
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from Chattanooga Tennessee and the only
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thing that that postcard said was I'm
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okay
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I'm sorry and I love you very much that
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was about a week after her disappearance
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and there's been nothing since what
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concerns me the most about Melody's
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disappearance is that just that she's
00:11:04
disappeared and we've had three
00:11:07
unconfirmed sightings of Michael nobody
00:11:10
has ever seen melody and one would have
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to wonder has she already become a
00:11:16
liability team
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[Music]
00:11:36
in a moment when a madman takes an
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elementary-school hostage the residents
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of a small town can only pray for a
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miracle but first was a young
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businesswoman murdered to keep her from
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blowing the whistle on illegal banking
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activities
00:11:53
[Music]
00:12:06
December 11th 1995 3:30 a.m. fire units
00:12:11
raced to a blaze in the fashionable
00:12:13
Georgetown District of Washington DC a
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resident had been awakened by a fire
00:12:19
alarm and phone 911 to report seeing
00:12:22
flames in a neighboring town house
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[Music]
00:12:33
once inside firefighters discover that
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the blaze was restricted to the upstairs
00:12:38
bedroom in fact it was confined to the
00:12:41
bed itself
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initially it appeared that nobody was
00:12:51
home but as a smoke began to clear the
00:12:53
firefighters were stunned to discover
00:12:55
that the bed was occupied by a woman
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barely breathing but incredibly still
00:13:01
alive 38 year-old Lynn Amos was a
00:13:07
financial analyst who'd been living in
00:13:08
Washington for just five months she was
00:13:11
rushed to Washington Hospital Center
00:13:13
with third-degree burns over 80% of her
00:13:16
body one of the nurses who saw her when
00:13:21
she first was taken to the hospital told
00:13:23
us later on that she asked Lin when she
00:13:27
was brought in as she knew what happened
00:13:29
and when she shook her head no at first
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investigators believed it was an
00:13:34
accident
00:13:35
Lin's blood alcohol content was 0.25 two
00:13:38
and a half times a legal limit for
00:13:40
driving in Washington DC that fact
00:13:44
coupled with the discovery of a
00:13:46
cigarette butt seemed to indicate that
00:13:48
Lin Amos had been smoking in bed but
00:13:51
Glenn's friends and family rejected that
00:13:53
scenario
00:13:55
well Lin didn't smoke I smoked until
00:13:59
recently if you're a closet smoker you
00:14:01
certainly smoke with your friends who
00:14:02
smoke there were no dirty ashtrays in
00:14:04
the house there were no matches there
00:14:06
were no cigarette packs there was no
00:14:08
evidence that she was smoking and bad
00:14:11
[Music]
00:14:12
within a few days the police had to
00:14:15
rethink their initial assumption what
00:14:17
insurance investigators came to the
00:14:19
house they found the presence of
00:14:21
accelerants on the mattress floor and
00:14:23
pillow they concluded that the fire had
00:14:26
been deliberately set insurance
00:14:29
investigators report showed that there
00:14:32
was a combination of kerosene gasoline
00:14:34
and turpentine and the doctor has told
00:14:38
me that her burns were consistent with
00:14:40
those from a fire that was accelerated
00:14:43
he told me at the hospital that he
00:14:45
couldn't believe that only she and the
00:14:47
bed burned
00:14:48
he said she looked like the result of a
00:14:52
house having been burned around her Lynn
00:14:58
Amos hung on for ten days barely
00:15:00
conscious and unable to speak on
00:15:02
December 21st 1995 she passed away a
00:15:06
month later the cause of death was
00:15:08
officially listed as homicide but who
00:15:14
would want Lynn Amos dead and why she
00:15:17
seemed an unlikely target friendly
00:15:19
outgoing with no known enemies but Len
00:15:22
Amos apparently did have her secrets in
00:15:24
the weeks before she died she abruptly
00:15:27
stopped talking to her friends about her
00:15:29
job when pressed she refused to
00:15:31
elaborate to those who knew her best a
00:15:34
motive for Lynn's murder began to emerge
00:15:40
Linnaeus had moved to Washington in
00:15:42
August of 1995 to take a position with a
00:15:45
management consulting firm as part of
00:15:48
her job she made frequent trips to
00:15:49
Mexico to assess the lending practices
00:15:51
of several large Mexican banks less than
00:15:56
a month before the fire Lynne had lunch
00:15:58
with her close friend Emily Smith and
00:16:00
offered the first indication that she
00:16:03
was sitting on top of a bombshell I
00:16:06
realized when we were having lunch that
00:16:09
I didn't know what she was working on
00:16:11
and that was unusual because we talked
00:16:13
about work a lot we did sort of similar
00:16:15
types things so tell me about work well
00:16:19
I've been working on this project for
00:16:20
the Mexican equivalent of the Federal
00:16:23
Reserve what are you doing I'm in charge
00:16:27
of examining credit issues and I've seen
00:16:31
some very bad lending practices I waited
00:16:37
and it was clear she wasn't going to say
00:16:39
more so I said well is your report going
00:16:41
to be ugly and she said yes it's gonna
00:16:44
be really ugly and that was all she
00:16:47
would say on a Sunday December 10th the
00:16:53
day before the fire Linn once again
00:16:55
hinted to friends as she was privy to
00:16:57
some explosive information to have a
00:17:01
things at the office are you still in
00:17:02
that project with the banks yeah
00:17:05
I've seen some dangerous things in
00:17:09
Mexico he at the time thought it was
00:17:13
their starting to comment to make it
00:17:15
wasn't the kind of dangerous the way she
00:17:17
said it in other words she didn't mean
00:17:21
I'm feeling a little dangerous and
00:17:24
uncomfortable where I'm living I'm
00:17:26
living on a safe neighborhood it wasn't
00:17:28
that kind of dangerous she definitely
00:17:30
meant to mean that she had seen
00:17:32
literally some dangerous things and what
00:17:34
she was working on I'm purely
00:17:37
speculating here but it's possible that
00:17:42
she bumped into alone having to do with
00:17:46
drug money or a fraudulent loan that's
00:17:49
the sort of thing you might bump into
00:17:50
when you're reviewing credit portfolios
00:17:55
the last time anyone spoke to Lin Amos
00:17:58
was at ten o'clock that night we do know
00:18:02
that she called her office to confirm
00:18:05
that she was going to be late for work
00:18:06
the next day so we know Lin was at home
00:18:15
lucid completely fine had a 30-minute
00:18:20
conversation at 10 o'clock at night at
00:18:23
10:30
00:18:24
she then we then don't know what
00:18:26
happened when we first told our attorney
00:18:29
Hallion was killed his first statement
00:18:33
was that's a professional hit the fire
00:18:38
detective who came to the scene said
00:18:41
that it had all the indications that
00:18:43
this was a controlled fire that somebody
00:18:46
was there making sure that this fire
00:18:48
didn't do more than it needed to do
00:18:51
[Music]
00:18:53
Lyn's friends and family believe that
00:18:55
sometime after midnight the killer broke
00:18:57
into the townhouse because there were no
00:19:00
signs of forced entry he may have had a
00:19:02
key
00:19:07
do I tell you how to use this
00:19:17
the intruder may have then forced Blinn
00:19:20
to swallow enough alcohol to render her
00:19:22
unconscious to achieve the level of
00:19:30
alcohol that she was found with it takes
00:19:32
between nine and fourteen glass drinks
00:19:35
in an hour for a woman her size which is
00:19:40
almost impossible to consume that means
00:19:42
you have a new drink every 4 to 7
00:19:44
minutes according to the scenario the
00:19:49
intruder then set about making Lynne's
00:19:51
death look like an accident
00:19:54
[Music]
00:20:14
what was done to Len Amos was so
00:20:17
horrible I really do not have the words
00:20:20
to describe it
00:20:21
Elaine was just a great friend she was
00:20:23
really fun she loved life and people
00:20:28
should not be allowed to get away with
00:20:29
that it's interesting to note the Loon
00:20:35
Amos never completed her report on the
00:20:37
Mexican banks Lynn's former employer
00:20:40
declined to appear on camera for this
00:20:41
segment in a letter to one saw mysteries
00:20:44
he wrote we are troubled by the same
00:20:47
questions being asked by investigators
00:20:49
we can only hope that forensic science
00:20:51
will provide some answers in a moment
00:20:56
the remarkable story of Sam's Ellickson
00:20:58
who says he hit the lottery jackpot with
00:21:00
help from an unlikely source the spirit
00:21:03
of his deceased son and later a
00:21:06
small-town faces unspeakable tragedy
00:21:09
when a deranged ex-cop and his wife
00:21:11
seized control of the local elementary
00:21:12
school
00:21:15
[Music]
00:21:27
meet Sam's Ellickson of Yonkers New York
00:21:31
devoted father loving grandfather
00:21:34
doubter were self-made businessman Sam
00:21:38
it had been through just about
00:21:38
everything a man could go through until
00:21:41
the morning January 16 1991
00:21:50
[Music]
00:21:58
offering ambulance here Gary no one who
00:22:02
witnessed the accident could have
00:22:03
imagined this Sam survived but Sam
00:22:06
proved them wrong above all else
00:22:09
Sam's Ellickson is a survivor the very
00:22:11
definition of resilience it was nineteen
00:22:17
forty years
00:22:19
Sam was 12 years old when the German
00:22:22
army marched into his homeland of London
00:22:24
as elux about Jews were sent to a given
00:22:27
later a concentration camp
00:22:30
Sam was one of the lucky ones he
00:22:33
survived the Holocaust but tragically by
00:22:36
the time he was liberated Sam had lost
00:22:38
his entire family after the war Sam
00:22:44
moved to New York City married and had
00:22:46
five children then in 1986 he suffered
00:22:50
another devastating blow his only son
00:22:54
bury the pride of the family died of
00:22:56
cancer a week short of his 27th birthday
00:23:01
for Sam and his wife jealous the
00:23:04
heartbreak of losing their only son was
00:23:06
almost too much to bear let's go he was
00:23:11
wonderful he loved the family he was
00:23:14
worried by the younger sisters he was
00:23:20
protective and he loved us very much
00:23:25
and we loved him very much my brother
00:23:29
was the the good sheep the spirit of my
00:23:32
family my brother was always trying to
00:23:36
make everybody happy
00:23:39
although berry was gone his spirit and
00:23:42
memory served to hold a family together
00:23:44
by 1991 it seemed the worst was behind
00:23:47
me then came the day of Sam's accident
00:23:52
[Applause]
00:23:53
[Music]
00:23:54
all things considered Sam came through
00:23:57
in pretty good shape
00:23:59
sprained neck two broken ribs something
00:24:02
single cut on his forehead after two
00:24:05
weeks in the hospital Sam was ready to
00:24:07
go home you look a hundred percent
00:24:09
better than when you came in here yeah
00:24:12
you're right
00:24:15
I was a general will be laying in bed
00:24:18
and saying my prey of quietly but this
00:24:22
time I saw freaking arm touched me
00:24:27
and I stand at the moment and as I
00:24:32
looked I saw a side of my son like he he
00:24:37
was in Strout I couldn't believe it I
00:24:46
thought he came back to me I thought God
00:24:49
give a new life Sam just stared what can
00:24:57
a profound silent exchange with the
00:24:59
spirit of his deceased son the spell was
00:25:04
abruptly broken another patient began to
00:25:06
jabber about the state lottery then
00:25:22
Barry disappeared a touch there was a
00:25:25
sign and I had to play the ladder
00:25:29
because he moved me towards it he told
00:25:36
me to play in a certain way that
00:25:42
afternoon Sam came home from the
00:25:44
hospital his wife and daughters tried to
00:25:46
keep him calm but all Sam cared about
00:25:49
was buying his lottery tickets thank you
00:25:51
first of all do me a favor
00:25:54
the first thing you do I want you to go
00:25:56
up to my room
00:25:57
the top drawers my Buer there's money in
00:26:00
it take it out and bring it down here I
00:26:02
want you to buy lottery tickets with it
00:26:05
lottery tickets for what yes because
00:26:07
Barry came to me in the hospital and he
00:26:10
said buy tickets to the lottery it's a
00:26:13
90 million dollar lottery when my dad
00:26:15
came home from the hospital he was
00:26:16
really insistent that we played a lotto
00:26:18
he had this feeling that my brother was
00:26:20
pushing him to buy a lotto ticket and he
00:26:24
kept telling us you know let's play
00:26:25
lotto we have to play lotto Barry was
00:26:28
there this was a sign from heaven that
00:26:30
we need to play lotto
00:26:33
so do you know what numbers you want to
00:26:35
play that
00:26:36
the Saxons bought 16 tickets $1 apiece
00:26:39
16 different combinations of $6 for a
00:26:42
chance to win 90 million Doug
00:26:44
Sam's overwhelming confidence slowly
00:26:47
spread to the rest of the family when we
00:26:51
went to buy the lottery tickets there
00:26:54
was a feeling of buying it to please my
00:26:57
father and then there was this other
00:26:59
feeling that well maybe something might
00:27:02
come so you never know anything in life
00:27:06
can happen nobody knows that better than
00:27:09
Sam's Erickson that evening he made sure
00:27:12
his entire family was gathered around
00:27:14
growing of the winning number is 46 1946
00:27:25
the years Sam left the refugee camp
00:27:28
after World War two tonight the second
00:27:32
winning number is 50 the year Sam came
00:27:34
to America
00:27:36
the third winning number is 35 the
00:27:40
number of years Sam and Janice had been
00:27:43
married
00:27:43
tonight's fourth winning number is five
00:27:47
the number of children Anna's Ellickson
00:27:50
family the fifth winning number for
00:27:53
tonight is 30 daughter Denise's age and
00:27:58
the six winning Super Lotto number two
00:28:00
winner's share 90 million dollars is 15
00:28:03
son Berry's birthday July 15 1959
00:28:12
[Applause]
00:28:14
when we won my dad smiled like an angel
00:28:18
It was as if he know that he really did
00:28:22
see my brother he was so happy and I've
00:28:24
never seen him glow like that it was
00:28:26
just an inner glow
00:28:28
the odds of Sam special numbers winning
00:28:31
the lottery were thirteen million to one
00:28:33
Sam is convinced that the loving spirit
00:28:36
of his son improved his odds
00:28:38
considerably my son Barry definitely was
00:28:44
responsible for finding Dallara
00:28:48
he definitely gave me the gift you know
00:28:51
God works in mysterious way he takes
00:28:55
away the best thing in your life but
00:28:57
they give you back a little in return I
00:29:00
felt it was like a gift it was a gift
00:29:02
from Barry for my son and that's how I
00:29:05
felt
00:29:07
Barry wanted his father is Mehra and his
00:29:13
sisters should have a happy life and to
00:29:17
help other people they cannot be helped
00:29:22
because he was that kind of person
00:29:26
as it turned out the cell exists were
00:29:28
not the only winners at night eight
00:29:31
other people also hit the jackpot making
00:29:34
each ticket were slightly more than ten
00:29:36
million dollars Sam and his family will
00:29:41
continue to receive annual payments of
00:29:43
roughly four hundred and seventy-five
00:29:44
thousand dollars until the year 2011 to
00:29:48
honor the memory of their son Barry they
00:29:50
have donated a significant portion of
00:29:52
the proceeds to charity a tradition they
00:29:55
plan to uphold with each coming year
00:30:00
next a powerful homemade bomb demolishes
00:30:04
a crowded school classroom yet not a
00:30:06
single child is seriously injured an
00:30:08
extraordinary piece of luck for a case
00:30:11
of divine intervention
00:30:16
[Music]
00:30:27
they wheeled it into the school just
00:30:29
after the lunch hour recess a homemade
00:30:32
bomb packing the brute force of 25
00:30:35
sticks of dynamite they herded everyone
00:30:41
at the school
00:30:42
136 students and 17 adults in one small
00:30:46
room shut up Sam his name was David
00:30:52
Young and he was no stranger to
00:30:54
Cookeville Wyoming he had served briefly
00:30:57
as a town policeman before he was fired
00:30:59
for misconduct Young's resentment had
00:31:02
mushroomed into a full-blown messianic
00:31:04
tirade it's a scenario that is now
00:31:09
chillingly familiar innocent lives
00:31:12
hanging by a thread at the whim of a
00:31:13
suicidal madman but ten years ago when
00:31:17
David Young and his wife Doris stormed
00:31:18
the elementary school in Cookeville
00:31:20
Wyoming such horrors were still fresh
00:31:22
and incomprehensible to the people of
00:31:25
coke bill has seemed only a miracle
00:31:27
could save their loved ones
00:31:29
[Music]
00:31:34
you are all part of a great revolution
00:31:36
when that began many years ago the
00:31:40
government and its schools have filled
00:31:42
your mind with lies David Young made it
00:31:45
clear that he was prepared to kill
00:31:46
himself and everyone in the room reading
00:31:49
virtually every child in Cookeville
00:31:50
between the ages of 5 and 12 was at his
00:31:53
mercy among them not only Chadwick then
00:31:56
eight years old I didn't really realize
00:32:00
what was happening because I remember
00:32:02
one of my friends older brother Kevin 8
00:32:05
his older brother Brian he's like well
00:32:07
we're being held hostage and I remember
00:32:08
Kevin saying or what does hostage mean
00:32:10
you know we didn't we were really young
00:32:13
and we didn't realize what what was
00:32:16
happening and when the time comes you
00:32:18
will fully understand the plan I have
00:32:19
for you now so far you've been pretty
00:32:22
good but if any of you tries to escape
00:32:25
we're going to have to shoot you
00:32:29
David told the kids that he would shoot
00:32:33
them in the legs so that they couldn't
00:32:36
run away he said we don't want to hurt
00:32:38
you but if you try to run away we will
00:32:40
you do the principal okay you'll be my
00:32:46
spokesman you tell them I want two
00:32:48
million dollars a piece for each of
00:32:49
these kids and you tell them I'm
00:32:51
attached to this bomb if I go down and
00:32:54
this wedge pulls out the school blows
00:32:57
sky-high we're about half an inch from
00:33:00
death news of the crisis flushed through
00:33:05
Cookeville and beyond police converged
00:33:08
on the scene distraught parents
00:33:12
confronted the sheriff determined to
00:33:14
take matters into their own hands
00:33:19
I got my boys in there if you can't get
00:33:23
him out I will David Young was a
00:33:26
veritable human fuse one tug of his
00:33:28
wrist can destroy the schoolroom and
00:33:30
everyone in it okay at one time one of
00:33:37
the children jostle for mr. young and he
00:33:39
became quite upset I guess he didn't
00:33:42
want to set the bomb off and either mr.
00:33:46
Mitchell or mr. Morse suggested that
00:33:48
they put tape in an area about a nine
00:33:53
foot square on the floor but they called
00:33:55
a magic square so that the youngsters
00:33:58
would not step inside that Square and
00:34:00
would not jostle mr. Young's arm there
00:34:04
was at one point we kept thinking well
00:34:06
maybe someone can shoot him you know
00:34:07
from the outside and you know I'd say no
00:34:09
at the time amy bagosa was 10 years old
00:34:13
I remember thinking oh my gosh I am
00:34:14
gonna die you know I'm not gonna see my
00:34:16
family how am i can't-- this isn't I'm
00:34:18
not gonna be able to grow up I'm not
00:34:20
gonna be able to get my driver's license
00:34:21
I'm not gonna be able to do anything
00:34:23
may we please opens the doors and
00:34:25
windows unless
00:34:26
the fumes are making the kids sick there
00:34:29
are a lot of children getting ill from
00:34:31
you know throwing up and so forth from
00:34:34
the smell of the gasoline fumes as the
00:34:37
time went on and the fumes got stronger
00:34:39
most of us felt pretty nauseated we
00:34:46
prayed a lot I remember just sitting
00:34:49
there with my hands clenched so tight
00:34:50
you know just praying Heavenly Father
00:34:52
that to let something happen you know
00:34:57
many of those in the classroom believe
00:34:59
that the praying heralded a coming
00:35:01
miracle first David young became
00:35:03
agitated appeared to lose confidence
00:35:06
[Music]
00:35:08
moments later he had a control of the
00:35:10
bomb over to his wife and left the road
00:35:16
by then the children had been immobile
00:35:18
for nearly two hours they were Restless
00:35:21
here could you please do something about
00:35:24
the noise and how do we get these kids
00:35:25
quiet right now
00:35:27
eyewitnesses remember Dora's young
00:35:30
gesturing carelessly
00:35:31
even though one false move would trigger
00:35:33
a catastrophic explosion
00:35:34
[Music]
00:36:04
I had 5th grade a third grader in the
00:36:07
first grade when I seen that smoke
00:36:11
coming out of the windows I expected to
00:36:13
see this school going a million pieces a
00:36:18
few children stumbled from the smoke
00:36:21
within seconds of the blast others were
00:36:23
trapped in the classroom children out of
00:36:30
the windows and I could feel flames
00:36:33
still hot on my back and didn't realize
00:36:35
that I was on fire and I saw flames
00:36:37
coming from the corner of my eye on my
00:36:40
right shoulder and started to burn so I
00:36:42
dropped and rolled and as I looked up I
00:36:46
could see all these little faint just
00:36:47
scurrying out into the hallway how these
00:36:50
kids were just stepping over me and
00:36:51
spitting on me and jumping over here out
00:36:54
of nowhere
00:36:55
I felt big hands just picked me up and I
00:36:58
looked up and saw mr. Moore and Jack
00:37:00
Mitchell and they were feeding the fire
00:37:03
off of me and and they picked me up and
00:37:05
they shoved me to safety
00:37:06
[Music]
00:37:08
ambience brushed injured children to
00:37:10
area hospitals some of those who emerged
00:37:13
unharmed were taken home by their
00:37:15
parents
00:37:15
no one knew how many youngsters had
00:37:18
survived how many might lay lifeless in
00:37:20
the ashes just inside the classroom
00:37:24
police found the body of Doris young
00:37:27
David young had also died but not from
00:37:30
the explosion he had killed himself with
00:37:32
a single gunshot to the head
00:37:34
a grim search for Koch VLEs children
00:37:37
commenced
00:37:42
after an hour Dredd turned to hope then
00:37:45
hope to joy not a single child had
00:37:48
perished in the flames
00:37:49
it seemed that cokeman had been blessed
00:37:52
with a nerd
00:37:57
there's many things that point to
00:38:00
something happening and higher power to
00:38:03
step in and help in this case at the
00:38:08
very least extraordinary road of luck
00:38:11
helped the children survive by staying
00:38:13
outside the so-called magic square they
00:38:16
were away from the bomb that exploded
00:38:19
with the doors and windows open much of
00:38:22
the bombs force blew harmlessly out of
00:38:24
the classroom
00:38:24
and then there was the bomb itself
00:38:28
remnants sifted from the rubble told the
00:38:31
incredible story this is a fully intact
00:38:36
blasting cap this bomb didn't even
00:38:39
completely detonate the potential of
00:38:43
this explosive device could have and
00:38:45
should have and destroyed that whole end
00:38:49
of the of the class of the school
00:38:50
building headed a function the way it
00:38:53
was supposed to police learned that
00:38:57
young had built and exploded several
00:38:59
bombs exactly like the one he brought to
00:39:01
coke villa
00:39:02
yet in the classroom Young's bomb at
00:39:05
unexpected problems
00:39:08
a container of blasting powder and
00:39:10
become thoroughly soaked rendering it a
00:39:12
useless paste detonation wires to
00:39:16
weather tubs of powder had been cut no
00:39:19
reason no explanation there should have
00:39:23
been a hundred and sixty-two people dead
00:39:25
in their room we should have been in
00:39:28
there just picking up bodies the people
00:39:33
of cokeman came to their own conclusion
00:39:36
about the improbable turn of events the
00:39:38
hostages must have been saved by a
00:39:40
modern-day miracle I just had this
00:39:44
overwhelming feeling that Heavenly
00:39:46
Father was there that he was watching
00:39:48
out over us to me I knew that the Lord
00:39:51
was there with me and I knew that he
00:39:54
would make it all right and that we'd
00:39:56
make it through it a few students were
00:40:00
adamant about seeing what they called a
00:40:02
presence how bring above the rule the
00:40:04
moments before the bomb ignited
00:40:08
[Music]
00:40:18
some of the youngsters said that the
00:40:20
mysterious presence actually directed
00:40:22
them to move advice that may have helped
00:40:25
save their lives
00:40:31
in my mind the only way out of that
00:40:33
thing would have been divine
00:40:34
intervention I we've always said
00:40:37
guardian angels you know to to help
00:40:40
people out and I believe and there is
00:40:43
people that that have went on before us
00:40:45
it helped us out Sheriff Debra Lee says
00:40:50
that outside the schoolroom he too felt
00:40:52
the touch of heavenly guidance remember
00:40:56
very clearly thinking in my mind what am
00:40:59
I gonna do here's a man in here with a
00:41:01
bomb wants to blow our kids up how am I
00:41:05
gonna handle that I know I know that
00:41:10
without a shadow doubt that I the God in
00:41:13
heaven that answered my prayers
00:41:15
my voice said to me everything will be
00:41:19
okay
00:41:22
[Music]
00:41:24
one final discovery this ghostly image
00:41:27
singed into the north wall of the
00:41:29
classroom led some to conclude that an
00:41:32
angel had been in school that day
00:41:34
protecting innocent lives
00:41:35
[Music]
00:41:45
[Music]
00:41:48
ten years have come and gone since a
00:41:50
crazed gunman named David Young nearly
00:41:52
wiped out an entire generation in
00:41:54
Cookeville Wyoming since then the town
00:41:56
has resumed as quiet ways but most folks
00:41:59
there still believe it only a divine
00:42:01
miracle stood between themselves and
00:42:03
unspeakable tragedy join me next time
00:42:15
for another fascinating edition solve
00:42:18
mysteries
00:42:20
[Music]
00:42:56
[Music]

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 90
    Most intense
  • 85
    Most dramatic
  • 80
    Most heartbreaking
  • 80
    Most chaotic

Episode Highlights

  • Blueprint for Tragedy in Coke Ville
    A vengeful ex-cop armed with a bomb takes an entire elementary school hostage.
    “It seemed that only a miracle could save the lives of more than a hundred innocent children.”
    @ 00m 20s
    May 23, 2019
  • Melody Woods and Michael Short
    Seventeen-year-old Melody falls for Michael, a man with a dangerous past.
    “By the time Melody learned about Michael's past, she was already under his spell.”
    @ 04m 53s
    May 23, 2019
  • Lynn Amos's Mysterious Death
    After a fire, investigators suspect foul play in the death of financial analyst Lynn Amos.
    “What was done to Lynn Amos was so horrible I really do not have the words to describe it.”
    @ 20m 14s
    May 23, 2019
  • Sam's Ellickson's Lottery Win
    Sam believes he won the lottery with help from the spirit of his deceased son.
    “The odds of Sam's special numbers winning the lottery were thirteen million to one.”
    @ 28m 31s
    May 23, 2019
  • David Young's Hostage Crisis
    David Young held a classroom hostage with a homemade bomb, threatening the lives of 136 students and 17 adults.
    “You are all part of a great revolution.”
    @ 31m 34s
    May 23, 2019
  • A Miracle in Cookeville
    In a shocking hostage situation, not a single child perished in the explosion, leading many to believe in divine intervention.
    “It seemed that Cookeville had been blessed with a miracle.”
    @ 37m 52s
    May 23, 2019
  • Divine Intervention
    Witnesses described a mysterious presence that guided children to safety during the chaos of the bombing.
    “In my mind, the only way out would have been divine intervention.”
    @ 40m 33s
    May 23, 2019

Episode Quotes

  • Sometimes you need more than luck to win the lottery.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 9, Episode 7 - Full Episode
  • God works in mysterious ways.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 9, Episode 7 - Full Episode
  • It was a gift from Barry for my son.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 9, Episode 7 - Full Episode
  • I remember thinking, oh my gosh, I am gonna die.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 9, Episode 7 - Full Episode
  • It seemed that Cookeville had been blessed with a miracle.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 9, Episode 7 - Full Episode
  • Heavenly Father was there, watching out over us.
    Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 9, Episode 7 - Full Episode

Key Moments

  • Coke Ville Tragedy00:10
  • Melody's Secret Love02:08
  • Lynn's Mysterious Fire12:11
  • Lottery Miracle20:58
  • Hostage Situation31:34
  • Miracle of Survival37:52
  • Divine Guidance40:33

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown

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