Would you like to inspect the original subtitles? These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 0:00 [music playing] DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Next on "Unsolved Mysteries," 0:07 a shooting rampage in Colorado kills one highway patrolman and wounds several others. 0:15 In South Carolina, a powerful volt of lightning. Then a man pronounced dead comes back to life 0:22 and becomes a psychic. Meet Jonathan. He impersonates celebrities to steal women's hearts 0:30 and then their money. And an auto racing legend, Mickey Thompson, and his wife 0:37 are gunned down in the driveway of their home. [gunshot] Police determined it was a contract killing. 0:44 But who hired the hitman? Murder, missing persons, wanted 0:50 fugitives, and the paranormal. I'm Dennis Farina, and this is "Unsolved Mysteries." 0:57 [theme music] Unexpected Terrorist Attack 1:31 DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): In the mountains and deserts of Western Colorado, an unexpected terrorist attack 1:38 was about to begin. DISPATCHER (ON RADIO): [inaudible] 11, Cortez. 1:44 That truck is 1099 out of Durango. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): On May 29, 45-year-old police officer Dale Claxton 1:50 followed a stolen water truck out of the small town of Cortez, Colorado. 1:55 Claxton was a relative newcomer to the force. He had been an officer for only three years. 2:01 I'll lay in behind it. Send me some backup. DISPATCHER (ON RADIO): 10-4. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Suddenly, 2:06 the water truck pulled over. [gunfire] 2:13 ROY LANE (VOICEOVER): Dale never had a chance to unbutton his seat belt, even go for the door. 2:19 It was terrible. In 33 years of being in this business, it's the most violent thing I've ever seen. 2:26 [gunfire] 2:32 It was an assault executed with brutal military-like precision. 2:37 Who were these people wielding AK-47s? The police had no idea, and the murder of Officer Dale Claxton 2:46 was only the beginning. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): An APB 2:51 was put out on the water truck, and the Cortez police sprang into action. But Deputy Sheriff Jason Bishop had no way 2:58 of knowing the killers had already stolen another vehicle to continue their assault. 3:04 JASON BISHOP (VOICEOVER): I just happened to look in my rearview mirror, and I see this yellow Ford pickup following me really close. 3:10 That's when the shots started coming in. [gunfire] I lost consciousness and fell over into the passenger seat 3:18 and wrecked my patrol car. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): For the next five minutes, state and local police were under siege. 3:26 Put your hands up! [yelling] [gunfire] STEVE KELLER (VOICEOVER): When they came around the corner 3:32 at me, it took me by surprise. They went off the road to go by me, and they were doing at least 67. 3:39 DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Next, the yellow pickup truck bore down on Detective Todd Martin. 3:46 [cocking] [gunfire] 3:52 I was just overwhelmed with automatic gunfire. [gunfire] 4:00 My left arm exploded. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Martin was hit twice-- once 4:05 in the arm, once in the leg. Officer Jim Bob Wynes saw him go down. 4:10 [groaning] TODD MARTIN (VOICEOVER): I lost so much blood. If it wasn't for Jim Bob, I would've died out there. 4:20 DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Nine law enforcement vehicles had been riddled with 300 high-caliber rounds. 4:26 One officer was dead. Two were hospitalized. ROY LANE (VOICEOVER): It was as if they were 4:34 fighting a military battle. They were dressed military fatigues, full military gear, 4:40 and as if they were going to war. 4:45 DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): An hour later, the stolen pickup truck was found in a ravine 41 miles northwest of Cortez 4:52 on the Colorado-Utah border. It sparked the largest manhunt in Colorado history, 5:00 mobilizing 62 police agencies. MIKE LACY (VOICEOVER): Where we found the vehicle is some of the ruggedest country 5:06 in the state of Utah. Lots of Indian ruins in it, lots of mines, some deep canyons, 5:11 and just lots of places to hide. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Police identified the suspects 5:17 in the shooting as 30-year-old Alan Pilon from nearby Dove Creek and Durango residents Robert Mason 5:24 and Jason McVean, both 26. All three were known to have anti-government views. 5:33 Though they had no criminal records, the three men had once tried to join a militia group but were thrown out for being too violent. 5:41 ROY LANE (VOICEOVER): They had been going to that area for the last four or five years, had done a lot of survivalist training in that area, 5:47 had done a lot of backpacking, living off the land in that area. It was like them going to their backyard. 5:54 DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): A week later, they struck again. This time, they shot and wounded a deputy sheriff 6:00 in Bluff, Utah. SWAT teams quickly surrounded the area. 6:05 A few hours later, the body of Robert Mason was discovered, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. 6:13 [gunfire] The reasons for these attacks are still a mystery. 6:23 For the residents of Cortez, Colorado, the brutal murder of Dale Claxton is beyond tragic. 6:29 SUE CLAXTON (VOICEOVER): This one event has taken our innocence, taken the innocence and the safety 6:37 away from all of us. The children that I teach still go home wondering 6:43 when these guys are going to be caught, and they don't feel safe. 6:48 None of us feel safe. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): A year after the unexplained attacks, the body of Alan Pilon 6:55 was discovered by a group of hunters. Just like Mason, he had died from a self-inflicted gunshot 7:01 wound. As to the third terrorist, Jason McVean, he seemed to have vanished into thin air. 7:12 Update. There was no sign of Jason McVean, 7:17 until a rancher led sheriffs to a weathered skeleton and a cache of guns, ammunition, and explosives 7:23 in a remote area of Utah. Dental records revealed it was Jason McVean. 7:31 The manhunt was over. But the authorities still wonder, 7:37 what made McVean and his buddies stage these violent, lethal attacks? 7:42 We will probably never know. [gunfire] 7:48 Next, a clever "Con Juan" impersonates a race car driver to get into the hearts 7:54 and pocketbooks of his victims. And later, the dramatic capture of a man 8:00 suspected of multiple murders. Jonathan Palmer 8:12 In the high-octane world of Formula One auto racing, danger and destruction wait around every curve. 8:20 It can bring fame, fortune, and the kind of adoration usually reserved for rock stars and royalty. 8:29 Big-time racing has spawned its own special breed of criminal. 8:34 Case in point, alleged scam artist Jonathan Kern. He has reportedly made a very profitable career 8:42 of impersonating a well-known Formula One race driver named Jonathan Palmer. 8:49 The real Jonathan Palmer was a medical doctor before he became a world champion driver. 8:55 He is all too familiar with Jonathan Kern. He is most at home wearing Versace clothes, 9:03 eating caviar and smoked salmon, and driving Mercedes-Benz sports cars and being escorted by gorgeous women. 9:08 And as he cannot do that through genuinely earned income, he resorts to fraud to achieve his desired lifestyle. 9:17 DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Kern has reportedly crisscrossed Europe, racking up bills for designer clothes, elegant restaurants, and five-star hotels, 9:25 all in the name of Jonathan Palmer, all unpaid. 9:32 Police say that Kern then brought his masquerade to America. Elizabeth Grzeszczyk met him at a hotel in Miami, Florida. 9:39 Hello. Hi. [giggle] I'm Jonathan Palmer. 9:45 There's a race car driver by that name-- Jonathan Palmer. JONATHAN: That's me. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Elizabeth, who happened to know about car racing, 9:52 had some initial doubts. Wasn't your hair a little blonder? JONATHAN: It was blonder. Yes, you're right. 9:58 And I asked a few more questions. And I said, well, what did you do before you raced cars? And he said, I was a medical doctor. 10:05 And I said, that's right. I knew some background. I said, who did you race for? And he told me, Tyrrell, which I knew was a British team. 10:11 And I thought, wow, it really is you. Yeah. 10:16 Proof. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Kern's passport was a clincher. 10:23 So-- DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): And Elizabeth wasn't the only one impressed by Jonathan Kern. A car dealer provided Kern with a $78,000 10:32 Jaguar, free of charge. DAVID COLBY (VOICEOVER): They dropped the keys at the desk. 10:37 And they said, this is for Mr. Palmer for his use while he's in America, and please make sure that he gets it. 10:43 And we always believed him, and that just made us more convinced that everything was OK. Oh, you're too sweet. 10:49 DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): For Elizabeth, Jonathan Kern was almost too good to be true. 10:55 Don't toy with me, Jonathan. ELIZABETH GRZESZCZYK (VOICEOVER): I couldn't understand intellectually why he was interested in me. 11:00 I'm just a nobody. And I said to him, why are you interested in me? And he told me he just wanted a steady relationship. 11:07 He didn't want the jetset life. And he convinced me over the next few days that I was what he was looking for. 11:15 [speaking italian] DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Elizabeth was impressed by Kern's international connections. 11:21 Indeed, everyone at the hotel, from bellhops to the manager, had been totally snowed by Kern's performance. 11:29 DAVID COLBY (VOICEOVER): He just wove a web of intrigue around us and managed to have a very nice holiday at the hotel for five days 11:36 and run up a huge bill in the restaurant and have bottles of champagne delivered to his room. 11:42 And we always believed him, despite the fact that he was already having a little bit of a problem with my front desk about how he was going to pay his bill. 11:49 Excuse me. David, how are you this evening? DAVID: I'm fine. We have some business-- DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): In fact, he never did pay. 11:55 Kern stiffed the hotel for about $3,000. Thank you for everything. 12:02 DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Eventually, Kern charmed his way into Elizabeth's Connecticut home. She still believed he was Jonathan Palmer, still 12:10 believed he had put his career on hold to spend time with her. Come on inside. 12:15 JONATHAN: Beautiful area. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): But Kern's thoughts had apparently turned to money-- Elizabeth's money. 12:22 Elizabeth says that Kern wrote her a personal check. It was drawn on a bank in Italy for 11 12:28 million lira, nearly $8,000. ELIZABETH GRZESZCZYK (VOICEOVER): At the time, 12:34 I was nervous about it. And the first question out of my family and friends when I told them was, did you give him any money? 12:40 And at first, I lied, and I said, oh, no, no. And then once the check cleared, I said, see, it was fine. Yes, I did give him some money. 12:46 But now the check has cleared, and I have the money back. I've got a meeting tonight. 12:52 DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): During his stay with Elizabeth, Jonathan made frequent trips to Manhattan. He said they were business trips. 12:59 As usual, he went in style, now in a $125,000 Mercedes 13:06 lent to him by a local dealer. He also carried Elizabeth's ATM card 13:11 just in case of an emergency. [phone ringing] And sure enough, Jonathan had an emergency. 13:18 JONATHAN (ON PHONE): You're not gonna believe this. My wallet was stolen. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Once again, 13:23 Elizabeth put her own money at Kern's disposal. You still have my ATM card, don't you? 13:29 JONATHAN (ON PHONE): Yes. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Elizabeth never dreamed Jonathan would use the card to drain her account of cash. 13:35 JONATHAN (ON PHONE): [inaudible]. I love you. I'll see you soon. ELIZABETH GRZESZCZYK (VOICEOVER): I didn't really check up on him. 13:40 I could have gone through his things, but I didn't. I just continued to try and believe in him. 13:47 I don't want to do this anymore. Beth, you have to have patience. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Eventually, Jonathan was spending more time in Manhattan 13:53 than with Elizabeth. She had a complete change of heart. Look, you'll have your money on Monday. 14:01 DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Jonathan cleared out the next day. Suspicious, Elizabeth began calling numbers 14:07 from her phone bill, matching them with names Jonathan had mentioned. Do you know Jonathan Palmer? 14:13 DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): The answers came back the same. The caller was Jonathan Lake, not Jonathan Palmer. 14:19 I mean, didn't he call you? I mean, I have your phone number right here. ELIZABETH GRZESZCZYK (VOICEOVER): And that's when I knew this hadn't been Jonathan Palmer 14:25 that was staying with me. - Call me when you get in. - I'll try. ELIZABETH GRZESZCZYK (VOICEOVER): 14:30 Now I realized some of the numbers that I called were other women. He'd been romancing other women while he was in Manhattan. 14:38 I had been taken. He had been in love with me. He was just using me. I just felt awful. 14:45 DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): There was one final insult. Nearly a year after Elizabeth deposited the check from Kern, 14:52 the bank in Italy reversed payment. The check had bounced after all. 14:58 Police say that Kerns swindled some $15,000. Elizabeth Grzeszczyk was forced into bankruptcy. 15:07 Jonathan Kern has been charged with forgery, felony criminal impersonation, and larceny. 15:14 He is 5 feet, 10 inches tall and 180 pounds. Though Kern is British, he is not the race 15:21 car driver Jonathan Palmer. Jonathan Kern 15:27 Update. Later in London, Jonathan Kern allegedly conned a well-known fashion executive 15:34 out of 10,000 British pounds. When she called the police, he'd fled once again. 15:42 If you had any information about Jonathan Kern, please log onto our website at unsolved.com. Geraldine George 15:54 - Where you been? - It's none of your business. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): On a previous broadcast, an angry husband confronted his estranged wife at her home. 16:02 You're gonna listen to me! Janice! DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Geraldine George ran next door for help. 16:08 Her ex, Larry George, then went on a rampage. [gunshot] A neighbor, Janice Morris, was shot point blank. 16:16 [gunshot] GERALDINE: Please stop! DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Geraldine could not get away. [gunshot] 16:21 Janice's boyfriend, Ralph Swain, was shot in the back of the head. 16:27 In a matter of seconds, Janice Morris and Ralph Swain had been fatally wounded. 16:33 Geraldine George was left paralyzed from the waist down. For more than six years, she lived with the bitter knowledge 16:41 that her husband was still at large. Larry George 16:46 Update. Wilmington, Delaware. 16:52 An "Unsolved Mysteries" viewer spotted Larry George on the banks of a local river. 16:58 The police moved in. The officers recounted their dramatic meeting with Larry 17:03 George for our cameras. This is where we first encountered Larry George at, right here. 17:08 At this time, a brief struggle ensued right about here. We all three fell to the ground here. 17:15 We got back to our feet, still struggling. And at that point, we just turned and threw Larry into the water. 17:21 DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): George attempted to flee downriver. But backup units quickly cornered him, 17:27 and he surrendered without further struggle. Larry George was convicted and sentenced to death. 17:35 His appeals have all failed, and he awaits execution in an Alabama prison. 17:45 Next, how can a man who was struck by lightning help solve a murder case? 17:52 And later, a young American tourist who was reported dead in Baja California mysteriously 17:58 appears in tiny Mexican villages. Daniel Brinkley 18:11 Aiken, South Carolina. It was a blustery night with severe thunderstorms 18:18 sweeping through the southeast. Dannion Brinkley and his wife, Sandy, were at home. 18:24 Oh, I got to call Tommy, see if he got that [inaudible]. I'm gonna check on dinner. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Dannion 18:29 was on the phone with his best friend, Tom, when the storm passed directly overhead. [inaudible] lightning flashing. 18:39 DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): At least 180,000 volts of electricity shot through Dannion's 18:45 body, a jolt so powerful it left his shoes welded to the floor. 18:50 SANDY: Oh my god! Dannion? DANNION BRINKLEY (VOICEOVER): I couldn't move. I couldn't scream. I couldn't talk. I didn't know what had happened. 18:56 I was on fire and burning. And then all of a sudden, I'm out of my body. 19:04 I saw Sandy checking me to see if I was breathing and start to work on me and pushing on my chest 19:09 and clearing my airway. Tommy heard the explosion, and he was on his way over. 19:14 He got there. He was a corpsman in the Navy. He wrapped me. He went to work on me. He's trying to get my heart started. 19:19 He's pushing. He's breathing in my mouth. He's talking to me. Come on! 19:26 DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): For all intents and purposes, Dannion Brinkley was clinically dead. 19:32 He claims that he had what is now known as a near-death experience. 19:38 DANNION BRINKLEY (VOICEOVER): I start down this tunnel. I see what appears to be a form coming out of this beautiful misty blue. 19:47 Then all of a sudden, I not only felt everything I'd ever done and saw everything I'd ever done. 19:53 I became every person that I had ever encountered. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): In his youth, 19:58 Dannion was by his own admission self-centered, mean-tempered, nothing short of a bully. 20:04 The pattern continued during the tour of duty in southeast Asia. And now, Dannion was forced to confront those that he had 20:13 victimized through the years. DANNION BRINKLEY (VOICEOVER): I felt the pain and the anguish 20:19 and the anger and the frustration that I had caused these people. And, you know, people don't realize that you judge 20:26 yourself when this happens. You just judge yourself, and that's what I did. 20:32 [siren wailing] DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Dannion was rushed to the hospital. In the emergency room, his breathing 20:38 faltered, then stopped. Minutes later, his friend, Tom Hall, was told Dannion was dead. 20:48 THOMAS M. HALL (VOICEOVER): They had wheeled Dannion into a little dark room. I have no idea what made me go back in there. 20:55 I just had to see for myself, and I just felt like-- that he wasn't gone. And I saw the sheet moving. 21:03 I, all of a sudden, went from a spiritual place and world back into this place where I'm in a hospital. 21:09 I'm under the sheet, and I'm looking up at it. I can't move. I can't talk. 21:15 I'm on fire again. Doctor. Nurse. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Miraculously, Dannion Brinkley 21:22 returned to life nearly 28 minutes after he had been declared dead. 21:28 Clear the way! JAMES C. BRINKLEY (VOICEOVER): Dr. Williams said, he's in pretty bad shape. The way it looks, the lightning went down his back, 21:34 and I think it just shattered his nerve system. [monitors beeping] 21:39 DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): After a week in the hospital, Dannion was released. He was hardly able to walk or talk. 21:46 His eyes were so light sensitive, he had to protect them by wearing welder's glasses at all times. 21:53 And he began to experience vivid images of the future. DANNION BRINKLEY (VOICEOVER): I was partially 21:59 paralyzed for seven months. But the visions and the things that had happened in this now 22:04 what we call the near-death experience stayed with me longer and more coherently than virtually anything that ever happened. 22:12 Dannion claims that altogether he witnessed 117 future occurrences, including 22:19 the election of Ronald Reagan, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the Gulf War of 1991. 22:27 Dannion later told his friends about the visions, and they verified that he did indeed predict 22:32 events before they happened. 22:39 Dannion first started making his predictions as he was convalescing. 22:44 He was talking about Chernobyl, and he was talking about the food lines in Russia, about their starving. 22:50 And there was just a lot of predictions that, you know-- that I didn't pay that much attention 22:55 to them at the time. JIMMY VARN (VOICEOVER): He always talked about the Gulf War and the collapse of communism 23:01 and things like that. But at the time, you didn't think that much about it. But then when it came about is when you 23:06 really start thinking about it. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Dannion now believes that his near-death experience marked the birth 23:13 of his psychic abilities. He admits that, in the months just after the accident, 23:20 he was simply a dazed and bewildered young man who had undergone a dramatic transformation. 23:25 Why don't you just tell me about it? Talk about crazy, you being dead and all. That's just it, Tommy. 23:31 I wasn't dead. DANNION BRINKLEY (VOICEOVER): I was really confused. I'd never heard of the near-death experience. 23:36 And I literally was driving people nuts, because I wanted somebody to tell me either it didn't happen, which I knew it did, or, please explain it. 23:44 I've been astounded at the number of people I've met who have had such an experience. 23:49 DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Dr. Raymond Moody is one of the country's most prominent authorities on near-death experiences. 23:55 Or perhaps someone here has had a similar experience. When I heard his account, it seemed 24:02 very consistent with what I had heard from many other people. It's something that happens to quite 24:07 a number of patients who get resuscitated following cardiac arrest. And therefore, for that reason, doctors 24:13 need to know about this so that they can reassure the patient that they're not alone, that, in fact, that this occurs fairly frequently. 24:22 DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): In an attempt to verify Dannion's psychic abilities, we asked a well-known parapsychologist, 24:29 Dr. William Roll, to conduct a series of tests. You mind if I just see your hand? 24:35 DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Dannion gave readings for eight people he had never met before. WILLIAM ROLL (VOICEOVER): In several instances, 24:42 he picked out details about the lives of these individuals. There were facts that he could not have known. 24:50 It was like you knew when to pull out, and that's recognized by your family. WILLIAM ROLL (VOICEOVER): From the brief experiments 24:56 we did this time, he is one of the more remarkable psychics that I have worked with, for sure. Bosco Murder 25:04 DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Later, Dannion's abilities were put to the test. He was asked to consult on a brutal murder case. 25:12 In Big Fork, Montana, John and Nancy Bosco had been shot the death execution-style as they slept. 25:20 The police investigation turned up absolutely no leads. Two months later, John's mother, Toni, 25:28 met with Dannion Brinkley. This is a slight-built kid with black hair. 25:34 This is someone who knows John. He knew the layout of this house. In the very early part of December, 25:40 this little kid will be caught. And he's in a college somewhere out west. I have to say that I just shook my head. 25:46 And I thought to myself, oh, I made a mistake in coming down. Dannion doesn't-- you know, this isn't gonna get me anywhere. 25:53 I couldn't begin to make sense out of what he was saying. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): But incredibly, Dannion Brinkley 25:59 was correct on all counts. 18-year-old John "Shadow" Clark was arrested in December 26:06 and later convicted. Just as Dannion predicted, Clark had lived in the murder house, 26:12 had known the Boscos, and was attending college in the west. 26:17 Dannion had apparently solved the case through the power of his mind. 26:24 DANNION BRINKLEY (VOICEOVER): This is new to me. And sometimes, it's troublesome, because I pick up things that I 26:29 don't want to know about. And if someone's intense around me, I'm perceiving it. But-- and I try to-- I'm still trying to figure out 26:37 ways to turn it off, OK, and, at the same time, ways to perfect it. 26:42 DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Joseph "Shadow" Clark was convicted of the murders of John and Nancy Bosco. 26:48 He is now in Montana State Prison, where he is serving a sentence of 150 years. 26:55 Dannion Brinkley now spends much of his time volunteering at hospices and nursing homes. 27:00 Doing fine. You have the flowers looking really great this morning. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): He believes 27:05 his near-death experience left him uniquely qualified to counsel others. 27:13 Next, Mickey Thompson was a legend in the high-speed world of auto racing. 27:20 He and his wife, Trudy, were beloved by fans everywhere. Why would someone want them killed? 27:26 [gunshot] Mickey Thompson Murder 27:36 California, a place where people love fast cars and high velocity. 27:43 Mickey Thompson was a legend in the world of auto racing. 27:49 Cars were Mickey's life. Racing, redesigning them made him famous and wealthy. 27:56 Among his many innovations were the slingshot dragsters. His home-built Challenger was the first car to break 28:04 the 400 miles per hours mark. Mickey was also a pioneer in promoting off-road racing. 28:14 DANNY THOMPSON (VOICEOVER): A good description of my dad was he was flat-out all the time, and he was pedal to the floor. 28:19 And he did-- that's the way he spent his life. He loved to go fast, and he loved racing. 28:26 I think the businesses were a way to help him continue to race. 28:32 DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Mickey's obsession with speed drove him far, sometimes too far. 28:39 A speedboat accident paralyzed him from the waist down. 28:44 Doctors said that he would never walk again. With the support of his wife, Trudy, he 28:50 made an incredible recovery and returned to business as usual. 28:56 COLLENE CAMPBELL (VOICEOVER): Mickey's and Trudy's daily routine was just about twice as frantic as anybody else. 29:02 They did not work an eight-hour day. They worked at least a 16-hour day. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Mickey 29:08 developed an extremely profitable stadium racing venture. But this deal with business partner Richard Goodwin 29:16 went sour. It ended up in a nasty lawsuit. And Mickey said he had received death threats. 29:25 COLLENE CAMPBELL (VOICEOVER): He had called me on the phone. And he said, sis, I'm really concerned. And I said, what's the matter, Mick? 29:31 And he said, I'm afraid Goodwin's going to hurt my baby, meanwhile his wife, Trudy. 29:38 DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Mickey and Trudy lived in Bradbury, California, an affluent rural community 29:44 located near Los Angeles. Early one morning, the peaceful quiet was shattered 29:49 by the sound of gunfire. [gunshots] 29:55 [sirens wailing] The shots came from Mickey Thompson's home. 30:02 At the bottom of the driveway, sheriffs found Trudy. She was dead. 30:07 57, 10-33, requesting backup. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): A few yards away, near the garage, 30:12 Mickey Thompson was also found, dead. 30:18 DETECTIVE: When you rolled up here, was all the jewelry and body the way you found it here? Yeah, everything was the same. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): When Trudy was killed, 30:25 she was wearing over $70,000 worth of jewelry. She and her husband were carried $4,000 in cash. 30:33 None had been taken. Robbery was an unlikely motive. 30:39 Police also learned that one of the neighbors was a witness. Well, my wife and I were asleep in bed. 30:46 It was about 6 o'clock in the morning. [gunshots] When we heard the shots, we literally 30:51 jumped straight out of the bed. And I ran over to the window to see where the shots were coming from. 30:57 There was probably about 15 seconds of silence. And at that time, we heard Mickey screaming, please 31:03 don't hurt my wife. Please don't hurt my wife. 31:10 COLLENE CAMPBELL (VOICEOVER): My belief, when Trudy got in the van and backed it out, the people that murdered them were waiting in the bush. 31:21 And Mickey just didn't have the chance. He walked right in to where they were. 31:27 [gunshot] DANIEL ROSENBERG (VOICEOVER): When Mickey came out through the garage, he was suddenly confronted by two armed gunmen. 31:32 One of the gunmen immediately shot and immobilized Mickey, while the second gunman approached Trudy. 31:38 [gunshots] WITNESS (VOICEOVER): The next thing we heard was another series of shots and silence again. 31:44 DANIEL ROSENBERG (VOICEOVER): And as Mickey laid helplessly on the driveway, he was forced to watch as a second gunman shot his wife. 31:50 And essentially, he witnessed her execution. Both gunmen then turned her attention back towards Mickey 31:56 and executed him as well. [gunshots] WITNESS (VOICEOVER): After the second series of shots, 32:02 I saw two black men on 10-speed bikes, peddling as fast as they could to get out of here. 32:09 DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Several neighborhood residents also spotted the men. The two suspects were dressed in jogging suits. 32:17 They were between 20 and 30 years of age and were approximately 6 feet tall. 32:22 Police are certain that they were hired to do the killings. 32:28 DANNY THOMPSON (VOICEOVER): I want to see this person or persons brought to justice in the very, very worst way. 32:35 And I'm going to do anything I can with whatever it takes. Update 32:43 DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Update. After investigating the case for 13 years, 32:49 police finally arrested Thompson's former business partner, Michael Goodwin, and charged him 32:55 with a double murder. DANIEL ROSENBERG (VOICEOVER): We do believe that Mr. Goodwin orchestrated the murders. We believe he planned the murders. And we believe that his motive was 33:02 based on a personal vendetta along with financial gain. 33:08 DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Goodwin's lawyer, however, says he was falsely accused. There is simply no evidence nor has 33:14 there ever been that implicates Mike Goodwin of the murders. The key innuendo or motive has always 33:20 been the alleged civil dispute between Mike Goodwin and Mickey Thompson. Mike negotiated a settlement with Mickey Thompson. 33:26 There are third-party witnesses that confirmed that. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): However, an eyewitness 33:31 came forward and said Goodwin was seen sitting in a station wagon in the Thompsons' neighborhood, 33:37 spying on them with binoculars, several days before the murders. 33:46 Michael Goodwin pled not guilty. However, the jury didn't buy his story. 33:51 At his trial, they heard that Goodwin had bragged that he would, quote, "have Mickey Thompson wasted." 33:57 Further, he had left the country right after the murder. 34:02 DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Michael Goodwin was convicted and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences without the possibility 34:10 of parole. The police are still trying to identify and prosecute the two gunmen. 34:17 A $1 million reward is being offered in this case. 34:22 This is a sketch showing what the gunmen might look like today. 34:30 If you have any information that could help, please log on to our website at unsolved.com. 34:40 Next, a missing person's case turns into a tragedy. Gordon Cowans 34:55 The Baja California peninsula, 300 miles south of San Diego. 35:02 A young American, disoriented, penniless, and obviously out of place, wandered into the Mexican village 35:09 of Colonia Vicente Guerrero. He lingered for months, living on handouts, 35:15 depending on the charity of strangers. For one California couple, tales of the young stranger 35:23 were a ray of hope in the search for their 34-year-old son. 35:29 Gordon Collins had been missing for months. 35:35 JOHN COLLINS (VOICEOVER): I know he's alive. I can't get on with my business. I can't get on with nothing until, you know, 35:40 we get him home. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Gordon was vacationing with his girlfriend, 35:46 Anastasia Seals, and another couple near Santa Rosalia, a popular deep sea fishing port near the middle 35:54 of the Baja Peninsula. Four days after they arrived, the group secured a boat 36:00 at a local hotel. Gordon's friend, Wayne Schwartz, had fished off the Baja coast 36:05 many times. As the group left port, a fisherman on his way 36:11 in warned them a storm was brewing. [shouting in spanish] 36:23 Hey! Danger! Danger! DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Several hours 36:28 later, a fierce storm would indeed hit the area. Gordon Collins and his friends never returned. 36:38 The next day, a hotel employee was sent out to look for them. His search ended 28 miles northeast. 36:51 Gordon's girlfriend, Anastasia Seals, and Wayne Schwartz were dead. 36:59 But Gordon and Wayne's wife, Arlean Burlington, were nowhere to be found. 37:06 JOHN COLLINS (VOICEOVER): The bodies and all the paraphernalia out of the boat was all within one square mile of each other, 37:13 because I talked to the fellow that fished the bodies out. And so we said, well, hey, where's the other two jackets? 37:21 Where's the other two people? DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): For three days, 37:26 in the United States Coast Guard searched the 250-mile area. 37:32 Nothing. It seemed obvious that Gordon and Arlean had also perished. 37:41 In time, Gordon and Arlean's parents were asked to sign death certificates. 37:46 However, reports that Gordon was still alive had already begun to filter across the border. 37:52 Some thought that he might be suffering from amnesia. His parents went south to Mexico to find out. 38:04 JOHN COLLINS (VOICEOVER): We got flyers made up, and two Mexican fishermen come running up to us and kept pointing to the flyer. 38:12 They said they've seen a guy come out of the water who just had shorts. And he was all cut up, waiting there, trying 38:17 to get on the bus station. I was a very excited. 38:23 Things started fitting together, because this is where the accident happened. They found the bodies just a mile and a half 38:30 off of the shore. It's got to be Gordy. 38:36 DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Around the same time, Gordon was also spotted on a nearby beach by a man named Jose Peralta. 38:43 - Can I have your blanket? - Que? Can I have your blanket? I'm cold. MARY LOU COLLINS (VOICEOVER): Jose 38:49 said that Gordy said he was waiting for friends he went fishing with, and could he have Jose's blanket, 38:55 because he was going to sleep on the beach there at Cabo and wait for his friends. 39:05 JOHN COLLINS (VOICEOVER): On one trip, we're headed toward La Paz. And we stopped at a few of these taco places. 39:11 And he said, yeah, seen him an hour ago. So we went on down further, probably another 3 or 4 miles. 39:17 And we stopped again. And a guy says, yeah, we've seen him about 30 minutes ago. So we finally got right into town. 39:23 And they says, yeah, within five minutes. And then they seen us all-- seen us together. 39:30 And I don't know what happened, but everybody just clammed up. We couldn't get no-- we couldn't get no more information. 39:38 DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Over the next three months, Gordon Collins was spotted at least 50 times 39:44 in seven different locations, all in the area of La Paz and Cabo San Lucas at the southern end 39:51 of the Baja Peninsula. Gordon's parents hired Bill Garcia, a private investigator, 39:58 who alerted newspapers in Baja. After the articles ran, Garcia received 40:03 several calls from a village 300 miles south of Tijuana. 40:10 RAUL AMADOR (VOICEOVER): He was four or five months here in town. He never worked here, never worked. 40:16 And he only hang around here in town. He was walking all the time. And almost in the town, everybody knows him. 40:23 We've shown them pictures, and everyone recognizes him. And they're positive that it's him. 40:29 The people that have talked to him know some things about Gordon and feel confident 40:34 that he is there. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): The man identified as Gordon was eventually 40:39 arrested for stealing food. A local sheriff brought in James Hatfield, an American living 40:45 in the village, to translate. My name's James. What's yours? Hi, I'm Gordy. 40:52 JAMES HATFIELD (VOICEOVER): There's no doubt in my mind it's Gordon, because when we met him in jail, 40:58 I introduced myself to him. And he gave me his name, Gordy. And then when the flyer came out, it was right there on the flyer-- "Gordon." 41:04 And you can't get the two pictures mixed up. It's the same. BILL GARCIA (VOICEOVER): He moved on shortly 41:11 before we were able to get to that area, and we haven't been able to find where he's gone from there. 41:18 DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Over the next year, sporadic sightings of Gordon continued. The US consulate has officially reversed its position 41:26 and no longer presumes that Gordon Collins is dead. 41:33 JOHN COLLINS (VOICEOVER): You just can't up and give up, because it's your son. I know it keeps me driving. 41:38 It keeps me going, and I want to get him home. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Gordon Collins is 6 feet, 2 inches tall and has 41:46 light hair and blue eyes. Based on eyewitness descriptions, 41:51 a police artist made his sketch of the man thought to be Gordon Collins. 41:58 If you have any information that might help find him, please log on to our website at unsolved.com. 42:09 [theme music] 42:21 [music playing] [theme music]37877