All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S01E06.480p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-PLAYREADY_track3_[und]

[music playing]

ANNOUNCER: This program is
about unsolved mysteries.

Whenever possible, the
actual family members

and police officials
have participated

in recreating the events.

What you are about to see
is not a news broadcast.

NARRATOR: Summer of 1977.

In the city of New York,
a year-long nightmare

was coming to an end.

On August 10, a man named
David Berkowitz was arrested.

Police believe that he was
a lone gunman behind the Son

of Sam killings, a brutal
series of shootings

that had left six people dead
and seven seriously injured.

The media rejoiced.

The illusive Son of
Sam was behind bars.

Or was he?

The general perception
among the public for years

had been that David
Berkowitz was a lone gunman.

The facts and the evidence,
not speculation, but the facts

and the evidence say otherwise.

In 1977, the nation believed
the Son of Sam murders

were solved.

But in the last 11 years,
reporter Maury Terry

has collected convincing
evidence that David

Berkowitz did not act alone.

Tonight, we examine
Terry's theory

and present other mysteries
where you may be able to help.

In a tiny Baptist
Church in rural Georgia,

a deacon and his wife were the
victims of a double murder.

The killer dropped
a pair of glasses

that may lead to his identity.

And from Omaha, Nebraska, a
poignant story of unrequited

love, a frugal bachelor
who left an unclaimed

fortune of $200,000.

Someone watching
tonight may be his heir.

Join me.

You may be able to
help solve a mystery.

[theme music]

Son of Sam's reign of terror
began on July 29, 1976.

[gunfire]

It occurred an area in the
Bronx called Pelham Bay.

The time was 1:10 AM.

A.m.

Two young girls were hit
by 44-caliber bullets.

One died.

A composite sketch of the gunman
was created from the survivor's

eyewitness description.

[gunfire]

On October 23 in the
borough of Queens,

another 44-caliber
shooting occurred.

A man suffered a
serious head injury.

A month later, again
in Queens, two girls

stood on a stool talking.

A man appeared out
of the shadows.

Both survived, but one would
be confined to a wheelchair

for the rest of her life.

Eyewitnesses were able to
help police in creating

a new composite of the gunman.

1977.

Two separate shootings took
the lives of two women.

As in the earlier attacks, a
44-caliber bulldog revolver

was used.

Eyewitnesses created two more
composites of the killer.

They showed a very different
face from the earlier drawings.

Each appeared to be
a different person.

On April 17, 1977,
another shooting

occurred, again in the Pelham
Bay section of the Bronx,

just three blocks from the
scene of the first shooting.

This time, a hand-printed
letter was left at the scene.

It read, quote, "I am a monster.

I am a Son of Sam.

I am a little brat."

The city was
paralyzed with fear.

The people in
local neighborhoods,

particularly in the
Bronx, were petrified.

I remember people yelling to
people in the street, get in.

That nut's out there.

And this is in the
early afternoon.

No one double parked their cars.

Business at the
local entertainment

places such as bars and
restaurants were nil.

No one went out.

NARRATOR: On Memorial
Day, another letter

from the Son of Sam was sent
to columnist Jimmy Breslin.

Written in the same
distinctive style,

it contained taunts and
references to Satanism.

Finally, on July 31, son of
Sam struck for the last time.

[gunfire]

Stacy Moskowitz was killed.

Her date, Robert Violante,
partially blinded.

No, he just walked up
to them and shot them.

NARRATOR: A 19-year-old
mechanic named

Tommy Zaino was an eyewitness.

That guy came over to the
car and blew those people

away in less than four seconds.

He pressed the trigger, and
they both could have died.

Luckily, one of them's alive.

But I will never forget it.

NARRATOR: Zaino gave police a
description of the shooting.

Another composite was
created showing the gunman.

Again, there were more
differences than similarities

when compared to the
earlier drawings.

One of them would soon
look like David Berkowitz.

The others did not
resemble him at all.

It was completely different.

I thought it was rather strange.

Although we know that these
drawings are done by victims

or witnesses who see the killer
for a brief period of time,

and then a day or two
or several hours later,

they have to go to a
police department artist,

and he has to put that on paper.

That's a very
difficult thing to do.

So many times, these sketches
are not very accurate.

So I thought
perhaps maybe that's

why they saw so many different
versions of the Son of Sam

on the composites.

NARRATOR: In their investigation
of the Moskowitz shooting,

police discovered a parking
ticket had been issued

near the scene to a Ford Galaxie
owned by a postal employee

named David Berkowitz.

He took off right
back into the park.

NARRATOR: The police traced
this ticket to Berkowitz's home.

As they approached the
building, they saw the car.

They spotted a duffel bag
with what looked like a rifle,

but protruding
through the opening.

When they entered the
car, they found a letter

threatening another attack.

It was signed Son of Sam.

John, look at this.

We got him.

Let's get back and get
a warrant [inaudible].

NARRATOR: The police staked
out the Ford Galaxie,

waiting for its owner to emerge.

At 10:00 PM, Berkowitz
walked to the car.

Inside the brown paper
bag he was carrying,

there was a 44-caliber revolver.

As detectives moved in to arrest
him, he sat in his Ford Galaxie

almost passively.

What took you guys so long?

Step out of the car.

Turn around.

NARRATOR: Berkowitz confessed
to all of the shooting.

He told the police that
he received his orders

to commit the crimes
from a barking

dog of an elderly
neighbor named Sam Carr.

Berkowitz pleaded guilty to
all the charges against him.

He sentenced to 25 years to life
in New York's Attica Prison.

But to Maury Terry,
his confession

seemed too convenient.

After the arrest of Berkowitz,
just through fate or whatever,

I started poking
around into the case,

because I had some suspicions
that maybe there was more to it

than the public was
being led to believe.

And that's when I started
my own investigation

into the case, really the day
after Berkowitz got arrested.

NARRATOR: Maury Terry believed
that David Berkowitz did not

act alone, that he was
part of a gang of killers,

and it was the killing
of Stacy Moskowitz that

first aroused his suspicions.

Next, we will go
through a step by step

reconstruction of the events
leading to the killing

of Stacy Moskowitz.

Maury Terry believed that this
last killing was deliberately

planned and executed, not
just by David Berkowitz,

but at least three people.

And he says that there
is eyewitness testimony

to corroborate this theory.

Well, the very early reports
on the Moskowitz killing

had me concerned.

David Berkowitz'
resemblances, his features,

were widely different from the
sketches of the killer that had

been done by the police artist.

Started seeking out witnesses.

Found Tommy Zaino, who was a
key witness to the shooting.

NARRATOR: Tommy Zaino was with
his girlfriend, parked on Shore

Parkway, in front of
the car that held Stacy

Moskowitz and her boyfriend.

TOMMY ZAINO: I was looking
through the mirror of the car,

and I noticed somebody
standing in the park.

And what I seen is,
he had long hair.

And it's hard to really see
his face, and he was thin.

He looked like he was
in pretty good shape.

From looking through the
mirror, when he was in the park,

the guy then came
over to the car.

He walked up to the
car like as if he

was going to get in the car.

Then he went into a stance--

[gunfire]

--and shot them.

And that it.

He turned around and ran.

I can't picture Berkowitz
running like that.

That's something that confused
me after they caught him.

If I seen him-- in a week,
he can't get that fat.

That's all I can say.

He didn't look like the type
of guy to run and do that.

NARRATOR: This was a map
showing the neighborhood where

the last killing occurred.

Stacy Moskowitz and her
boyfriend were parked here.

Two blocks away,
on Bay 17th Street,

David Berkowitz received the
incriminating parking ticket

on his Ford Galaxie,
parked here.

According to Terry, the events
leading up to the shooting

began here, at the
Shore Parkway entrance

to the park at about 1:00 AM.

Witnesses saw a
yellow Volkswagen

arrive at the park entrance.

Two men emerged.

The same car was seen
fleeing the crime

scene after the shootings.

30 minutes later, Tommy Zaino
noticed the yellow Volkswagen

drive past more than once.

A half hour later,
at 2:05, a policeman

issued a parking ticket to
Berkowitz's Ford Galaxie.

A neighborhood
resident named Cecilia

Davis pulled up in a
friend's car just ahead

of Berkowitz's Ford.

She then said goodbye
to her friend.

CECILIA DAVIS: We
were at triple park.

And I was looking in the back,
so in case a cop comes up.

I saw that guy taking the
summons off his windshield,

and keep on looking,
watching the cops

as they still gave tickets.

Then, he got in the car
and he came behind us.

He couldn't pass because we
were blocking the whole street.

And he blowed the horn at us.

[beeping]

[inaudible]

So I got out, and I
took a look at him.

More or less, I gave
him a dirty look.

What's the big rush in
the middle of the night?

NARRATOR: Cecilia has
identified the man in the car

as David Berkowitz.

After she left her
friend, she saw Berkowitz

drive up Bay 17th
Street and turn right

on Bath, following the police.

MAURY TERRY: The fact that
David Berkowitz pulled up

behind Mrs. Davis and her date
as he did with the police cars

still on the block or just
pulling off the block,

blaring his horn, he would not
be doing something like that

if he was the elusive,
ingenious, Son of Sam carrying

that 44 bulldog in his car.

He would try to be as
stealthy as possible.

NARRATOR: 15 minutes after
the parking ticket was issued,

Stacy Moskowitz
and Robert Violante

went for a late night stroll.

As they walked in a nearby
park, Stacy and Robert

saw a man standing next to
a restroom, watching them.

This restroom was
over two blocks

from Cecilia Davis' apartment.

At 2:33 AM, Mrs. Davis
returned to her apartment

after walking her dog.

She saw David Berkowitz, the
man who had honked earlier,

walking straight towards her.

CECILIA DAVIS: I know
it was the same guy

because I saw him when I got
out of the car from my friend.

I looked at him, because
he blowed that horn.

NARRATOR: Cecilia saw
Berkowitz here, over two blocks

away from where Stacy
and Robert were parked.

Approximately one minute
later in her apartment,

Cecilia heard the sounds
of gunfire in the distance.

[gunfire]

Those four shots
killed Stacy Moskowitz

and almost blinded
Robert Violante.

How could Berkowitz have
traveled from this spot, where

Cecelia last saw
him, to this area,

where Stacy and Robert were shot
in one minute, when it takes

at least two and a
half minutes to briskly

walk the two blocks from
Bay 17th Street to the park.

Just 15 seconds
after the shooting,

witnesses saw a man wearing a
cheap light-colored wig run out

of the park, get into
a yellow Volkswagen,

and speed away up 17th avenue.

In his haste, he ran a red
light and narrowly missed

colliding with another car.

Maury Terry believes that
at least three people,

including David
Berkowitz, were involved

in the Moskowitz killing.

He claims they were
members of an organized

conspiracy responsible
for every single one

of the Son of Sam shootings.

David Berkowitz was
selected to be the fall

guy on the Son of Sam killings.

He was not a willing fall guy.

He wanted it to be
another way, but

Berkowitz knew that
he had been involved

in all of the shootings.

He has pulled the trigger
definitely two times

and responsible
for three murders,

he's not an innocent
man, and was

on the scene of all the
others as a look-out, a wheel

man, whatever.

So Berkowitz was involved, and
Berkowitz knew he was guilty.

He also was responsible for
getting a parking ticket

on his car that
night, which also

made him susceptible
to be the guy

to be picked to take the fall.

And on top of that,
the real killer

escaped in the
yellow Volkswagen,

and that person was deemed more
valuable to the conspirators

than David Berkowitz was.

No, I didn't think it
was David Berkowitz then,

and I don't think it's him now.

I definitely don't
think it's him.

It has crossed my mind, and
it's a strong opinion of mine,

that David Berkowitz
was not the sole killer

and was aided by
other accomplices.

We received information
that other people

may have been involved.

I had a statement made to me
by someone who allegedly spoke

to David Berkowitz
wherein David Berkowitz is

supposed to have stated
that others were involved.

New York prosecutor
John Santucci

moved the status of the
Son of Sam investigation

from inactive to active.

Next week, we will continue
Maury Terry's investigation.

He has discovered David
Berkowitz and at least

two friends were members
of a Satanic cult.

These two friends were brothers,
and their father's name

was Sam.

Next, the poignant
tale of Curly Green.

For half a century, he
lived a solitary frugal life

in a tiny Omaha apartment.

When he died, his friends
were amazed that he

had amassed a $200,000 fortune.

Someone watching
tonight may be his heir.

[theme music]

Until 10 years, Walter
Green lived alone

in a small apartment
near downtown Omaha.

His nickname was Curly, and he
lived a simple, frugal life.

How you doing?

NARRATOR: He was cordial
to his neighbors,

but kept mostly to himself.

On April 24, 1978, Curly
Green had a heart attack.

He died while
working in his yard.

Everyone who knew him
was astounded to find

that Curly during
his lifetime had

accumulated more than $200,000.

He left no will, and his next
of kin could not be located.

10 Years after his death,
Curly Green's fortune

remains the largest unclaimed
estate in Nebraska history.

When it came out in the papers
that he had the amount of money

that they said he
had, we were shocked.

I can't imagine how he
amassed that amount.

They found stock certificates.

I understand they found
a coin collection.

And they found, much
to everyone's surprise,

that Curly actually
owned the apartment

building where he was living.

It is extraordinary
that a man who

lived as simply as Curly
Green could have accrued

such a large sum of money.

It is even more
extraordinary that the money

remains unclaimed.

But this is not just
a story of missing

heirs and unclaimed fortunes.

It is also a love story, a
sweet and haunting one, that

began nearly eight decades ago.

We don't know much about
Curly Green's early life.

What we can surmise is this.

When he was nearly 17, he
hopped a train bound for Omaha.

Curly jumped off outside the
city near a small farming

town called Schuyler.

[train horn]

Curly immediately began to pound
the pavement, looking for work.

Al Rominger, a local tavern
keeper, saw the young stranger

and offered him not
only a ride, but a home

cooked meal with his family.

Catherine, the younger
of the Rominger girls,

was then only nine years old.

CATHERINE: I don't know
why Dad brought him home.

We supposed he came from Denver.

We were curious when
he showed up to table,

because we'd never
seen him before,

but he was a nice
looking young man.

Well, I'll bet it's been quite
some time since you smelled

cooking like this, Curly.

Well, yeah, a little while.

NARRATOR: At dinner, Curly
was secretive about his family

and his birth place in Montana.

Where's your family, Curly?

Well, I left my mom and
my step dad back in Denver,

and that's about all the
family I really have.

NARRATOR: Curly said
he hadn't gotten

along with his stepfather,
so he had travelled east.

CATHERINE: He had a very
nice way of relating.

See, when Mama asked
him, didn't you

have some cousins or something,
he just said, well, I did once,

and he changed the subject.

And that's the way Curly was.

And we respected him for it.

Do you have any
brothers or sisters?

Well, none as pretty
as your daughters now.

NARRATOR: The moment
Curly first saw

Jessamyn Rominger, Catherine's
older sister, he was smitten.

He would never feel the
same way about anyone else.

Al Rominger found Curly a job
working at the local garage.

The automobile was still a
pretty new-fangled machine,

but Curly had a knack
for fixing cars.

He earned enough to enable him
to move into a boarding house.

He wasn't a spendthrift.

And I used to like it right
after he'd get paychecks,

because he'd give me
nickels and dimes.

NARRATOR: With his new salary,
Curly began to court Jessamyn.

He only had one problem,
getting rid of Catherine,

the little sister.

Got to the movies.

Well, I was
thinking of the park.

How about if you
go to the movies,

and me and Jessamyn
go to the park.

OK.

OK.

Well, here we are.

CATHERINE: He and Jessamyn
would go wherever they want.

They had some
friends in Schuyler,

but I didn't care where he went.

I got the nickel and dime.

That's all I cared about.

Curly thought quite
a bit of Jessamyn,

because he never went with
other girls, only Jessamyn.

In 1917, Curly left his job as a
mechanic to enlist in the army.

He also left his
beloved Jessamyn.

She began training
to be a nurse.

Curly served on
the European front.

It was his unenviable
duty to drive

the dead and wounded to a
makeshift army hospital.

The suffering he
witnessed scarred Curly.

But when the war ended, he
returned home full of hope

to Schuyler, Nebraska
and to Jessamyn.

Catherine.

It's good to see you again.

How have you been?

I'm fine.

Is Jessamyn here?

No, Curly.

I'm sorry.

She's gone to Omaha.

Well, I got some flowers.

Here.

Jessamyn liked him, and
he was a gentleman always.

But she wanted other
things out of life,

and he didn't appear
to be educated,

and his earning capacity
wasn't great, I suppose.

And anyhow, they didn't
go together anymore.

NARRATOR: Curly followed
Jessamyn to Omaha

and got a job,
first as a mechanic

at a newspaper, the "Omaha
Bee," then as a nightwatchman

for the Union Pacific
Railroad Curly

refused to give up on
Jessamyn, but Jessamyn Rominger

married to another man.

Curly never fell in love again.

He never married
or had a family.

Curly spent the
next 60 years alone.

In all those years,
he never told

anyone who his real family was.

Other than Catherine,
Curly's best friend

was Riley Marr, his
barber and a fellow member

of the Masonic Lodge.

RILEY MARR: I really
never really got

that close to him, actually.

I thought I was a pretty
good friend of his,

because he did invite me
over to his home on occasion,

and we did sit around
and have a cup of coffee

and talked about things.

NARRATOR: Once, Riley
noticed some postcards

and pictures neatly displayed
in Curly's apartment.

He was curious to know if
they were from Curly's family.

RILEY MARR: And I
picked one of them up,

and it had a postmark
of Brooklyn, New York.

And I asked him
something about, well,

that was a long ways from home.

And he said, never mind, and
he took it and put it away.

Well, it made me feel like
I was probably intruding

on the privacy of some sort, and
that he had something that he

maybe didn't want to reveal,
or maybe he had a tragedy

in his lifetime
somewhere along the way

that he was trying to
avoid talking about.

NARRATOR: Over the
years, Curly had

amassed a considerable fortune,
but he kept that a secret too.

Some people attributed
Curly's wealth to an extremely

valuable coin collection.

But Catherine
thought he just plain

saved every penny he made.

Well, he said he would
get up in the morning,

and after he'd eat breakfast,
he put a can on the pilot light.

And by the time he'd
come back and ready

for lunch or the evening meal,
it was just right to eat.

He was that saving.

Maybe that's how
he got the money.

NARRATOR: When he
died, Curly Green

had accumulated a fortune
of more than $200,000,

held primarily in real
estate, stocks, and bonds.

So far, no legitimate heirs
have claimed Curly's estate.

In 1986, investigator
Josh Butler,

who tracks down missing
heirs professionally,

began researching the
case of Curly Green.

Josh had heard that Curly once
mentioned having a brother

who was killed in a shootout.

JOSH BUTLER: Indeed,
there had been a man named

Al Green who was shot and killed
shortly after the 4th of July

in 1921.

And we really went to
some extremes in his case,

but were surprised and
a little disappointed

never to have found any clear
connection with Curly Green.

Part of the mystery here is that
Al Green's father, I believe,

to have been a Joseph Green.

And I now understand
that Curly Green's father

was a Harry Albert Green.

So quite probably, Al
Green and Curly Green

were cousins rather
than brothers.

NARRATOR: The man named Al
Green was killed in 1921.

Josh Butler now
thinks it is probable

that Crowley's
actual brother was

killed several years earlier.

The search for Curly's
heir continues.

JOSH BUTLER: It's very strange
that a man would accumulate

$200,000 in his lifetime, and
that he would have no known

relatives that
anybody knew about,

and not leave some sort of a
written document concerning

the disposition of this money.

Somewhere there's somebody
who has enough information

in their own family
that they're going

to be able to come
forward and prove

their entitlement to this.

It will be a case of going from
the people back to the money.

NARRATOR: These are five of the
few known photographs of Curly

Green, showing him as a
young man, in middle age,

and before he died.

We know he said he was
born in Kendall, Montana

and lived in Denver.

We know he had a collection
of gold coins, some of which

he might have
obtained in Mexico.

He received postcards from
someone in Brooklyn, New York.

Curly claimed he had a brother
who was killed in a shootout,

and he stated on a
1938 birth certificate

that Albert Harry Green, born in
England, and Ann Mauren Green,

born in Latvia,
were his parents.

None of these three
relatives has been traced.

At Curly's funeral, a
mysterious wreath of flowers

became the final
clue to his past.

This card came with the flowers.

It's signed Mrs. Joel
Greener, Denver, Colorado.

Perhaps Mrs. Greener is
the key to the puzzling

life of Walter Curly Green.

Next, the story of a double
murder in a tiny Baptist

Church in rural Georgia.

The only clue is a pair
of ordinary glasses

left behind by the killer.

[theme music]

[gospel singing]

Waverly, Georgia,
population 825,

is a predominantly
black community nestled

in the Baptist Bible
Belt. Lumber, farming,

and the paper mill
provide the income

for this small, isolated
area over 35 miles

from the nearest big city,
Jacksonville, Florida.

[gospel singing]

For years, Raising
Daughters Baptist Church

has served not only
as a place of worship,

but also as a social center
for the small township.

But on March 11, 1985,
this quiet community

was shattered by violence.

The quiet sanctity of
Rising Daughters Church

was violated by the
brutal double murder

of Harold and Thelma Swain.

Harold Swain was a
well-respected deacon

of the church, a member of
the county jury commission,

and a spokesperson for
the black community.

Thelma Swain was also closely
involved in church affairs,

and Harold and Thelma had been
married for over 43 years.

ROBERT SWAIN: Harold was
always happy and jolly.

And it's something
that might have come

natural to Harold,
because of his love

and kindness for everyone.

And he would always
go out of his way

to help someone at any time, day
or night, no matter what time.

If you needed a favor of
any type and he could do it,

he was there.

Same thing about Thelma.

All the people up here
came to his funeral.

Most people I ever saw at
a funeral here in my life.

Just felt everybody
thought how much

of [inaudible] and respect.

NARRATOR: On the night
they were murdered,

Harold and Thelma held their
weekly Tuesday night Bible

class.

Nine women attended.

Let me never be
put to confusion.

Now let us pray.

Oh God, I want to thank you
for bringing us together.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

Amen.

HAROLD: Now is there
any order of business

that you care to
discuss, Sister Brenda?

Yeah, well, I'd like to
remind everybody about the--

NARRATOR: At 8:50, one of the
women excused herself early.

Excuse me, Deacon.

I have to go now to pick
my daughter up from work.

OK.

Help resolve this situation.

May I help you?

Yeah, I want to
talk to somebody.

Who?

Somebody in there.

NARRATOR: She
encountered a stranger

in the church vestibule.

I want to talk to.

Him

I'll be right back.

NARRATOR: Some of
the other women

in the group caught just glimpse
of the man, a young white male.

In April.

Excuse me, sister.

[inaudible]

[clattering]

What's happening?

[gunfire]

Harold!

Oh, my God.

Harold!

[gunshot]

Harold!

[gunshot]

The women rushed into
the pastor's office

and tried to call for help.

The phone didn't work.

It's dead.

NARRATOR: 20 Minutes passed
while the women waited in fear.

Finally, one of them
made a dash for her car

and went to summon help.

That night, the Georgia Bureau
of Investigation was brought in

and a massive manhunt started
in this tiny black community.

BILL SMITH: Harold and
Thelma were personal friends

of mine and my family's.

And it was kind
of a shock to me.

I think I was in
shock for a while.

When I got there, there
was a lot of confusion,

and no one really knew
what had happened.

They didn't know
what the facts were.

They didn't know who
had done the killing.

They didn't know
what the motive was.

The Swains were
highly respected people.

Very active in the community.

Are just not the type
of person that would

be the victim of a murder plot.

There was a lot of physical
evidence at the scene.

Bullet casings, two
pair of glasses.

But one, we were
able to determine

belonged to Harold Swain.

The other pair, no one
knew who they belonged to.

The first gut
reaction that I had

was a transient, because
the glasses appeared

to belong to a person who
did not have enough money

to properly maintain the
glasses or to buy eyeglasses

when they needed them.

NARRATOR: These are the
glasses found on that night,

and they're not
ordinary glasses.

The lenses are
thick, the surface

pocked by a welding torch.

The earpieces don't match.

Were they dropped by the killer?

When the police
discovered these glasses,

they investigated the
theory that the murder

may have been a transient.

Raising Daughters Church is
located on busy Highway 17.

Transients often would stop by
for a hand-out or a free meal.

But if robbery was the
motive, why were over $300

left in Harold Swain's pocket?

Other evidence suggests that
the crime was premeditated.

The authorities feel
that the church had been

cased before the brutal attack.

Telephone lines
at the church had

been cut, which could
or could not say that it

was a premeditated murder.

It could have been a
premeditated armed robbery

attempt.

NARRATOR: The woman
who left the church

early clearly saw the attacker.

Fearing for her life, she did
not want to appear on camera.

WITNESS: He was calm.

I was thinking that he
was there for a handout.

He didn't seem to be
someone to hurt anybody.

I didn't see any
weapon or anything.

And seemed like he
had on scuffed boots,

and he had long blonde
hair, shoulder length hair.

But I really wasn't looking
at him that hard, you know,

because I wanted to leave.

Hi, may I help
you with something?

NARRATOR: The police
attempted to create

a picture of the killer
using an Identikit,

but the eyewitnesses did not
agree on many of the details.

An artist was brought in to
sketch a composite drawing.

For five months, the police
searched for the killer

using the composite drawing, but
no new leads or clues surfaced.

[sirens]

Finally, July 5, 1985, police
135 miles away in Telfair

County, Georgia
pulled over a car

for a minor traffic violation.

In the trunk, they found
an automatic weapon

and a submachine gun.

Three suspects were taken
into custody, one of them,

Donnie Barrentine.

JOE GREGORY: We were
given some information

about some acquaintance
of these people.

And Donnie Barrentine had
told people in Florida

that he had murdered a
black Preacher and his wife

in a church.

After several
interviews with Donnie,

he admitted that he had
told these people in Florida

that he killed a black
Preacher and his wife.

And then he just smiled and
said, I was lying to them.

We have never been able to
come up with any hard evidence

to connect Donnie
with this case.

Donnie Barrentine was
then given a polygraph test,

and he flunked it.

As matter of fact,
the polygraph operator

told us that Mr.
Barrentine was a very

good suspect in the murder.

NARRATOR: The resemblance
between the man

on the wanted poster and Donnie
Barrentine was inconclusive.

So the eyewitnesses from
the church in Waverley

were taken to Jacksonville
for a police lineup.

These people cannot see you.

You'll be viewing
five individuals.

I'd like, if you will,
to place yourself

in the mind back at
the church the night

that this incident happened.
OK?

Yes, sir.

The five individuals
on the other side

won't be able to
see or hear you.

Mike.

Mike.

WITNESS: There was
about six men there.

And I really couldn't
say that one of them

was him, because the person
I saw had short hair.

His complexion was a
little bit lighter.

But he had the same boots
that I saw that night.

The boots was what
I recognized, but I

wasn't really, really sure.

NARRATOR: The murder charges
against Donnie Barrentine

were not pursued, but he
was subsequently convicted

on weapons charges and is
currently serving five years

in a federal penitentiary.

One year later, the
Swain investigation

took a new direction.

Agent Joe Gregory
came across a face

in a state crime bullet
which exactly matched

the Identikit picture created
by one of the witnesses

at the Church.

JOE GREGORY: It gave me a chill.

It literally gave me a chill
when I saw the composite,

because there are
so many hundreds

of thousands of combinations
to make a composite.

And what are the odds that
two of them being exact?

And these composites
were exact matches.

NARRATOR: A Kansas
suspect was wanted

for armed robbery
in a church, but was

never taken into custody.

The Kansas Bureau
of Investigation

could not even give Agent
Gregory the suspect's name.

JOE GREGORY: We found that they
had never developed any leads.

They don't know who he
is, other than the fact

that he drove an older car
with a Florida tag on it.

NARRATOR: Three years
later, the brutal murders

of Harold and Thelma
Swain remain a mystery.

Were they just random
killings committed

by a violent transient, or were
they a planned and premeditated

murder?

And if so, why?

They say your first hunch
is usually your best .

Everything that night
pointed to a transient

attempting to pull a robbery.

My feelings are, in that
the individual did not

get any money, and he went
around and checked to find out

if there was a phone,
and then cut those lines,

and singled out one
individual from the church

and brought him out to
the vestibule, shot,

and then, in my opinion,
intended that he be dead,

shot him the last
round in the temple,

there's no question
that his intent

was to kill Harold Swain.

Personally, a case
like this haunts you.

It's just the type of case
that you never forget.

I drive by Rising
Daughters every day

coming into this
county, and I never

drive by that I don't look
and think about the Swains.

[choir singing]

[music playing]

[gunfire]

ANNOUNCER: Last February
on "Unsolved Mysteries," we

examined the case Elmer DeBoer.

An auto company courier
who was murdered execution

style on May 11, 1987.

The two key suspects
in the case were

Jerry Strickland and his
16-year-old girlfriend,

Missy Munday.

Local police believe the
couple kidnapped, robbed him

of $10,000, then took him
to a deserted wooded area

outside of Pontiac,
Michigan and murdered him.

[gunshot]

Jerry and Missy were
never seen again.

Update.

Moses Lake, Washington.

Within minutes of our
broadcast, 20 viewers

in this small rural
community called the police

to say they recognized Jerry
Strickland and Missy Munday

Seven hours later, police
arrested the fugitive couple

at a friend's house.

They discovered that
Jerry and Missy had

themselves watched
the broadcast and were

waiting for the police.

All he said was, I'm the
guy you're looking for.

And he was real
calm and collect.

No violence at all.

I figured the time was
about seven hours and 15

minutes from the time
that "Unsolved Mysteries"

and he was in custody.

I just felt sick about it.

NARRATOR: On February 12, Jerry
and Missy were extradited back

to Michigan to stand trial
for armed robbery, kidnapping,

and murder.

Jerry insists they are innocent.

They got
circumstantial evidence.

All hearsay.

It's people talking,
but no witnessing.

I mean, OK.

That's why I say, they gonna
learn that we didn't do this.

We have enough
evidence, circumstantial

and physical evidence,
that we feel he is guilty

All they want is a
conviction, and they don't

care if they burn me or not.

Thanks to our viewers, Jerry
Strickland and Missy Munday

will have their day in court.

They're being tried
separately, and if convicted,

could face life imprisonment
without the possibility

of parole.

[music playing]

Next week, we will
continue our examination

of the Son of Sam shootings.

Reporter Maury Terry claims
that the attacks were engineered

by a satanic cult,
a cult he believes

is still alive and has not
yet been brought to justice.

Join us next week for
another edition of.

"Unsolved Mysteries."

[theme music]