Original subtitles

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.

ROBERT STACK: In 1992, Wendy Camp of Oklahoma City,

her young daughter, and her sister-in-law

vanished after being dropped off in a department

store parking lot.

Their mysterious disappearance was the culmination

of a bitter feud between two families,

which has now escalated to accusations

of kidnapping and murder.

Meet Joseph Prushinowski, a devout Hasidic Jew,

a dedicated father of 12, and one of the most brilliant con

men ever encountered.

Authorities believe his international banking

scams have netted illegal profits

in excess of $200 million.

Su Young Kim and his wife Su-Ya came to the United States

to build a better life.

Then, on a fateful day in 1991, Su-Ya left home to go shopping.

She never returned, and the Kims' American dream

was brutally shattered.

Also tonight, the poignant search for a remarkable teacher

whose patience and understanding forever changed the life

of one of her students.

Join me, and perhaps you may be able to help solve a mystery.

[music playing]

You're about to meet a master con artist

named Joseph Prushinowski.

During an astonishing 18-year crime spree,

Prushinowski has allegedly defrauded financial

institutions around the world.

Estimates of his total thefts range as high as $200 million.

But this savvy swindler is a study in paradox.

Prushinowski belongs to a deeply religious movement of Judaism

known as the Hasidim.

When he is not orchestrating one of his grand frauds,

Prushinowski will as likely as not be in temple praying.

[music playing]

The Hasidim pray several times a day, and out of respect to God,

always cover their heads.

All forms of labor, even driving,

are forbidden on the Sabbath.

Hasidic men do not shave or cut their hair,

in keeping with the tradition handed

down through the centuries.

In contrast to their austere appearance,

the Hasidim believe in the joyous celebration

of God's work.

MICHAEL GILLARD: Hasidics are basically

Jewish fundamentalists.

They all live very, very simple lives.

They believe in actually having a community that is apart

from the surrounding world.

They, in fact, rely very little on the surrounding world

and so therefore are a people who by their own choice

tend to be apart from everybody else.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): By adhering

to strict religious values, the Hasidim

have acquired a reputation for honesty

and rock-solid integrity.

It is a perfect camouflage for Joseph Prushinowski.

By all accounts, Joseph Prushinowski

abides by the religious dictates of the Hasidic Jews,

except when it comes to the eighth commandment--

though shalt not steal.

[music playing]

Joseph Prushinowski settled in Canada in the late 1960s.

He and his family, which grew to include 12 children,

lived in a Hasidic community near Montreal.

Prushinowski supposedly ran an export-import business

from the basement of his modest home.

The reality was quite different.

[music playing]

A 1985 swindling was typical of Prushinowski's

ambitious schemes.

His first step was to open his own bank.

A clerical assistant named Allen Finegold unwittingly

helped with the arrangements.

Good, good.

So Allen, uh, you have maybe for me

the recommendations of the, uh, locations for the bank?

Yes, I have everything you've been asking for.

Uh, I recommend that we go with Anguilla.

- Anguilla? - Yes.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The Caribbean island of Anguilla is

notorious for some of the most lenient banking

standards in the world's.

Prushinowski supplied two names to be the owners

or principles of his bank.

What Allen Finegold didn't know was that Prushinowski

had made up the names.

All we need now are the signatures of our principals.

That's all that that's required.

Here we go.

But these are stamps.

Yeah, but they give me the authorization

to use their signatures.

They're very-- they're very busy men, you know.

Is it proper to use stamps on forms of this kind?

ALLEN FINEGOLD: The application form required a witness.

So I witnessed the signatures, which I found out afterwards

wasn't exactly a legally accepted procedure,

that you one, according to the law,

can only witness a person signing and not

a signature stamp.

Ah, Allen.

You got the checks here.

Yes, these are the checks.

Let me take a look here.

Let me see here.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Chartering

an actual bank was a measure of Prushinowski's sophistication.

It could now issue official-looking bank cashiers

checks, infinitely more convincing

than mere personal checks.

--on this.

I have the list here of checks I want you should type out.

The ones with the numbers are the most important ones.

Oh, all right.

I'll get right to this.

You get to work on that.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The second step

of Prushinowski's swindle was to write out checks in amounts

of up to $1 million, supposedly guaranteed

by the bank in Anguilla.

He would then deposit the checks in business accounts

he had set up around the world.

So Allen, I'm gonna go upstairs and have dinner

with the wife and the kids.

You call me if you need me, all right?

ALLEN FINEGOLD: All right.

Mr. Bennett.

Mr. Prushinowski, yes.

That's right.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Prushinowski would then contact

the bank in person or by phone.

Please come in.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): With his phenomenal talent

for persuasion, Prushinowski convinced the bankers

to advance him large amounts of cash,

even though the checks had not yet cleared.

Before I endorse this, I need, uh, a cash advance of $750,000.

Mr. Prushinowski, it's the policy of our bank

to wait 14 days after a deposit before you

can draw on your account.

So all I'm asking for is $750,000.

MICHAEL GILLARD: He's a very clever, very, very persuasive

man, a man who trades on his being a very religious person

when he deals with banks.

We're gonna have to wait just a few more days.

MICHAEL GILLARD: Very good at persuading them to cash

his checks written on funny banks in far away places

with strange-sounding names.

- All right, Mr. Prushinowski. - OK.

We're going to make an exception this time.

But please, in the future, give us 14 days before you

start drawing on your account.

Eventually, the checks all bounced, or most of them

bounced.

By the time the bouncing stopped,

the bank was a million dollars short.

- Nice to see you. - Take that over to window C.

Right over there. Thank you very much.

Have a nice day.

Thank you.

Bye-bye.

[phone ringing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Meanwhile, Allen Finegold

found himself fielding calls from angry bankers

demanding their money. - Yes.

Uh, no.

Mr. Prushinowski is not here today.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Ultimately, a Japanese company

would file a lawsuit against Prushinowski

and his assistant, Allen Finegold.

We have many accounts with you.

And being sued for a million dollars

was something relatively shocking to me.

And I didn't understand what was going on here,

being cited as an codefendant.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Finegold's faith

was completely shattered in March of 1987,

when agents of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police

descended on an office Prushinowski

he kept in Montreal.

I want to ask you about Mr. Prushinowski.

Oy gevalt. Mr. Prushinowski, what has happened to him?

When was the last time you Mr. Prushinowski?

I saw Mr. Prushinowski here at the office yesterday afternoon.

Are you familiar with the term bank fraud?

Bank fraud?

No, no, no.

Mr. Dineen, nothing has happened.

I mean, Mr. Prushinowski--

[speaking french]

INTERPRETER: Allen Finegold was hired by Prushinowski

when he was 21 years old.

He was very naive.

He didn't know very much about the business world.

So he could not even contemplate the possibility

that Prushinowski had a criminal mind whenever he

was asked to do things for him.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Allen Finegold

was cleared of any involvement.

He actively assisted efforts to unravel Prushinowski's

complex rip-offs.

I didn't believe her.

[music playing]

This is it.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Canadian authorities

also raided Prushinowski's home, but came up empty-handed.

The basement office had been cleared out,

and Prushinowski had fled, taking his wife and 10

of his children with him.

His oldest son and daughter would join him later.

Do you know what sort of work your father does?

I don't know.

It's just his business.

Have you ever worked with your father?

No.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): From his Canadian operations,

Prushinowski left a trail of rip-offs

totaling more than $2 million.

It was just a hint of what was yet to come.

MICHAEL GILLARD: After Joseph Prushinowski left Montreal,

he disappears off the face of the earth.

No one seems ever to see him, hear from him again.

But what then happens is all of a sudden,

Joseph Weiss starts to appear.

And Joseph Weiss operates frauds on exactly the same way

that Joseph Prushinowski did.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): It didn't take much to figure out

that Joseph Weiss and Joseph Prushinowski were

one and the same.

But now, his swindles were becoming almost absurdly large.

Between 1990 and 1992, financial institutions in Sweden

lost more than $19 million; in Denmark, more than $39 million;

the Netherlands, $32 million; England, $37 million;

$30 million in the United States;

and more than $35 million in Australia.

The astounding total worldwide was more than $190 million.

Finally, this master con man came up with one more brilliant

strategy, one that keeps him safely

beyond the reach of the law.

In many cases, Prushinowski brazenly

negotiated to give back a portion of the stolen money.

That's a million and a half dollars, OK?

$0.50 on the dollar.

Better than that I could never do.

MICHAEL GILLARD: He knows that banks

don't like to go to the police.

They don't like to prosecute people.

What they want is their money back.

So they will settle.

And what that, of course, does is by and large,

it removes the lender from being a complainant

to create a criminal prosecution problem for Prushinowski

in that particular country.

And he's used that tactic very successfully all

over the world.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): However, a few banks

were unwilling to settle.

And today, warrants for Prushinowski's arrest

are outstanding in Canada and the United States.

The stunning fact that Joseph Prushinowski has convinced one

bank after another to hand over hundreds of millions of dollars

naturally raises the question of what

he does with all that money.

MICHAEL GILLARD: What is unique about Joseph Prushinowski

is there is no evidence that he has

actually personally benefited in any way

at all from these frauds.

The evidence is such that you have

to accept that Prushinowski's frauds

have largely had to benefit--

I believe indirectly, not directly--

his own community and other similar Hasidic communities.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Authorities

believe Prushinowski uses the stolen funds to start up

numerous legitimate businesses.

In turn, the profits from these companies

are given to the Hasidic community,

which remains unaware of the criminal origin of the money.

--if you could help me.

MICHAEL GILLARD: Prushinowski, I think,

likes to see himself as a Robin Hood figure.

It's a way of giving a rationalization

to what he does.

ALLEN FINEGOLD: I feel that it has caused irreparable damage

for the Jewish community, as I say, around the globe

because it helps to portray an image

of religious Jewish people or Jewish people in general

as being crooks and robbers, which, of course, is not

the truth as to the basic doctrines of our faith

and how we practice.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): This mug

shot, the only known picture of Joseph Prushinowski,

was taken when he was 42 years old.

At the time, he was in a Connecticut

prison on a fraud conviction.

Prushinowski is now 54.

He's 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighs around 170 pounds,

and probably has a full beard.

[music playing]

Next, charges of child abuse, kidnapping, and murder

tear two families apart.

[music playing]

There is no such thing as a routine disappearance.

Last year in Oklahoma, two women and a young girl

suddenly and mysteriously dropped from sight.

When authorities began to investigate,

they unexpectedly found themselves

in the midst of a bitter dispute between two families.

At the center of the controversy is 24-year-old Wendy Camp.

She, her daughter Cynthia, and her sister-in-law Renee

were last seen in May of 1992.

The truth remains tangled in an angry barrage of charges

and countercharges-- child abuse, kidnapping, and murder.

It all began rather innocently during the spring of 1987.

Wendy was divorced, and her daughter Cynthia

was less than six months old.

Wendy was working at an ice cream parlor

in Edmond, Oklahoma, when she fell in love

with a coworker named Chad Noe.

Like that.

So are we still on tonight?

Yeah.

JACKIE TAYLOR: They hit it off fairly quickly

and started a relationship.

And then she got pregnant with her second child.

And he convinced her to marry him.

And they got married about three or four

weeks before Jonathan was born.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Just one month

after Jonathan's birth, Wendy developed a crippling case

of multiple sclerosis.

Both her health and her marriage disintegrated.

Wendy was hospitalized for nearly a year.

Chad filed for divorce and was awarded

primary custody of Jonathan.

Of Of course, along with the MS, I

didn't think she would be able to help me raise my child.

And instead of having two children to deal with,

I just decided that it was best if we got a divorce

and I raised the child on my own.

Reach up and put this ring on this--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Wendy was too ill to contest

the court's decision.

For about two years, she struggled

through physical therapy just to regain simple skills

such as eating and walking.

That's it.

Put this ring right there.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): During this time,

friends introduced Wendy to Leon Camp.

They were married in 1990, and set up

housekeeping in Oklahoma City.

Wendy's daughter Cynthia lived with them, and by all accounts,

Leon proved to be the loving father she needed.

As Wendy's condition improved, she

began to ask her ex-husband Chad for visits with Jonathan,

now three years old.

Everyone agrees that at first, the visitations went smoothly.

Jonathan spent a few weekends with Wendy and Leon in 1990.

Then, according to Wendy's mother,

Chad's family began to sabotage the visits.

She would call and make an appointment

with him, set up a time and everything for her to see him.

And she would go there, and they would not be at home.

And then they kept moving and getting unlisted phone

numbers, this type of thing.

So it was almost impossible to keep track of them.

--or hurt him, you know?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Chad Noe remembers it differently.

She was allowed to visit him whenever she wanted.

And there was never really any hard feelings up until the time

that my grandma or my mother informed me that he

was being sexually molested.

And then that's whenever the visitations were cut off.

There was no molestation, not whatsoever.

Soever And the idea of them thinking it

just tore me up inside.

I was mad.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The visitation

squabble had escalated sharply, with Chad

and his family now accusingly Leon of criminal sexual abuse.

However, the charges could neither

be proven nor disproven.

The court cited Chad for contempt

and ordered him to allow Wendy and Leon's visits to resume.

For more than six months, Chad refused.

Then, on May 29, 1992, he had a sudden change of heart.

Oh!

Yeah, that would be great.

That would be just great.

Chad is gonna let me see Jonathan today.

All right.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Chad even

said his mother Beverly Noe would pick Wendy up

since her multiple sclerosis had left her unable to drive.

Chad is gonna let me see Jonathan today.

Beverly's gonna pick me up about 11 o'clock.

I didn't want Wendy going by herself because I

didn't trust these people.

And me and Chad didn't get along.

And I was just--

something inside of me, I just felt like she

better not go by herself.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): By the time

Beverly arrived, Leon had convinced

his sister, Renee Kregear, to accompany

Wendy and Cynthia on the trip.

Wendy, when do you think y'all will be back tonight?

Oh, couple hours, probably around suppertime.

Well, you be careful.

You make sure you call me, you hear?

All right.

I will. All All right.

I love you. - Love you too, babe.

LEON CAMP: I kissed Wendy goodbye first,

and they got in the car and took off.

And I waved at 'em.

That was the last time I seen 'em.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The 115-mile drive

to Chad's home in Shamrock, Oklahoma

took just over two hours.

When the group arrived in town at about 1:45 PM,

Wendy telephoned Leon.

WENDY CAMP: Hi, babe.

Oh, we're fine.

We're fine.

We're just at the cafe.

We're waiting for Chad to get here.

LEON CAMP: And the first time she called me that day,

it was about 1:00-something to let me know

that she had made it all right.

We sat there and visited.

And she didn't even really play with Jonathan.

Her and Jonathan and Cynthia played for a while.

But she mostly sat there and drank coffee with me

out on the porch and talked.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Around 4:15, it was time for Wendy

to say goodbye to Jonathan.

Then she, Cynthia, and Renee climbed into Beverly's car

for the ride back to Oklahoma City.

They were joined by Chad's grandmother, Ida Prewitt.

Before leaving Shamrock, Wendy called Leon again.

We'll be home in just a few hours.

Beverly's ready to leave now.

OK.

Bye-bye.

LEON CAMP: At about 4:30, 4:45 she called me to let me

know how the visit went.

She said that Beverly was in a hurry,

so she had to get off the phone.

And that was the last I talked to her.

Phone company records verify that Wendy

called Leon at 4:42 PM.

But virtually everything else about that afternoon

has become tainted by suspicion.

The last people known to have seen Wendy and her companions

alive were Beverly Noe and Ida Prewitt,

Chad's mother and grandmother.

Beverly declined to participate in this broadcast.

What follows is Ida Prewitt's account of the trip.

The visit took place here in Shamrock.

After taking Wendy, Cynthia, and Renee to Oklahoma City,

Beverly was a drive back to Cushing,

where she planned to meet Chad in a restaurant

between 7:00 and 8:00 PM.

Chad is never at the house!

Chad doesn't spend any time with him.

Chad is a good father, and he provides for his son.

Now, there are--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): According to Ida,

Wendy was unpleasant company from the very beginning.

--concerned about your multiple sclerosis.

Beverly, he's used to being with me.

That's what he needs.

[interposing voices] He needs stability in his life.

I think he needs the stability of us,

and I'm a little concerned about your multiple sclerosis, dear.

Now I know you have been improving--

What he needs is to spend some time with his mother.

And all this time, all the way to town, she

was just griping and bitching.

And that's all she could do.

So after they got back in the car and everything,

I told Beverly, I said, just take me back home.

I said, you got to put up with this, but I don't.

So she brought me back home, and then she went on.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Ida Prewitt says she was

dropped off at around 5:15 PM.

She claims Beverly later told her

that the bickering continued for the next half hour.

BEVERLY NOE: Now there was no reason

for you to upset Ida like that.

That was totally uncalled for, Wendy.

She loves that little boy.

I love him, too.

That's why I want to spend more time with him.

You get enough time to spend with him.

But he needs me. He needs his grandma.

He needs his father.

IDA PREWITT: She said that time she got to Chandler,

she had had just about all she could stand.

And she pulled in Walmart and told 'em to get out.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Beverly

has told police that she pulled into a shopping

center parking lot in Chandler, 45 miles from Wendy's home.

She then ordered Wendy, Cynthia, and Renee out of the car.

They never returned home.

They never called.

They never asked anyone for help.

It was as though they had dropped

off the face of the earth.

About 8 o'clock that night, I started thinking, well,

they should've been home now.

And then midnight that night, I said, this has gone too far.

I've got to call the police.

And I did.

And they came out and took a brief description

of everything.

We did an aerial search, which involved

four and five airplanes searching a five-county area.

It also involved several search teams.

And nothing was discovered at that time.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The bizarre disappearance

was the talk of Oklahoma City for days.

With no other leads in the case, Beverly Noe's version

of the afternoon's events became the focus

of intense official scrutiny.

JACKIE JOHNSON: At the time that Beverly Noe left Shamrock,

Oklahoma, which would have been between 4:30 and 5:00

in the evening, she agreed to meet

her son Chad in Cushing at a restaurant at 7:00

that evening.

It could not have been done in that small amount of time.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): According to authorities,

Beverly had told Chad she would meet him just two

hours after she left Shamrock, even

though the trip from Shamrock to Oklahoma City

and back to Cushing would take three hours to drive.

In addition, Beverly took the old two-lane highway instead

of the faster superhighway.

Wendy's family is also disturbed about Wendy's failure

to telephone from the shopping center.

JACKIE JOHNSON: Wendy was very, very dependent upon Leon.

And she'd already called twice.

She would have immediately gone in and called her husband,

Leon.

Or, if she wasn't able to get a hold of him,

she would have called me.

I feel that my daughter and my granddaughter

and the sister-in-law were murdered that Friday night.

I feel that Ida, Beverly, and Chad, all three are involved.

I feel that they pretty well had their plans laid out

on what they were going to do when

they made the phone call to ask Wendy

if she wanted to see Jonathan.

And I figure whoever got in that car,

they were going to do what they had planned to do.

Beverly and I did not have nothing to do

with their disappearances.

And I know this.

I don't care whether they know it or not or believe it.

But I know it.

There is no way that I or my grandma or my mother

could've killed 'em or shipped 'em off somewhere

or are still holding 'em.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): In spite of Chad's denials,

two residents of Shamrock have told authorities

that they overheard him boasting that he had killed Wendy,

Cynthia, and Renee, but that no one

would ever find their bodies.

Maybe in one of my drunken stupors,

I might have popped off, oh, yeah, yea.

I did it.

But there ain't no way in--

no way ever I coulda did something like that.

I'm not a violent person.

Despite all the bitter recriminations between the two

families, no physical evidence has ever

been found to indicate what happened to Wendy camp, Cynthia

Britto, and Renee Kregear.

Three months after they disappeared,

a woman who knows the family claimed

to have seen Cynthia alive.

Police believe the account is credible.

However, there have been no further sightings

for more than a year.

[music playing]

When we return, a woman needs your help to find the teacher

who turned her life around.

[music playing]

45-year-old Deloris Brooks has spent much of her life

in the same section of Brooklyn, New York she

knew as a young girl.

Her thoughts frequently turn to her childhood

and a special friend Deloris hasn't seen since she

herself was a teenager more than 25 years ago.

In the early 1960s, Doloris moved to Brooklyn from

a small town in North Carolina.

She was a shy country girl overwhelmed

by the crowds and the concrete jungle that was New York City.

DELORIS BROOKS: It was really a big cultural shock

in reference to the buildings being so tall and everything.

Because in North Carolina, people

used to come from miles around just

to see a three-story building.

So it was really a big deal.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Deloris

suffered the awkwardness common to many teenagers.

That was complicated by strained relations at home

and the anxiety of entering a big-city school.

The kids, they seemed to be so knowing, the New York kids.

And being a southern girl, I just didn't feel

that I fit in at that time.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): As Deloris began

her first semester at Decatur Junior High,

she was shocked by her classmates' rowdy behavior.

She never dreamed that in the midst of the chaos,

she was about to meet the person who would change her life.

Class, good morning.

OK, everybody take your seats.

Thank you very much.

My name is Miss Strauss.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The new music

teacher, Madeline Strauss, was an outsider just like Deloris.

And I'll be-- please sit down.

Excuse me.

DELORIS BROOKS: So she really looked like a uptown girl.

She didn't look like the type that would

be teaching at this school.

She really looked stylish.

MADELINE STRAUSS: Now, this first piece

I'm going to play for you is by a man named Wolfgang Amadeus--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): A new day had dawned in music class.

Deloris would soon discover that life offered much more

than problems and conflict.

Her eyes were opened to the beauty in the world,

thanks to Madeline Strauss.

DELORIS BROOKS: She really loved music,

and she demanded that we love it, too.

If we didn't love it, we had to be quiet about it

and respect it.

But eventually, music, it comes through to everyone.

And we all did love it.

MADELINE STRAUSS: Hi, Doloris.

Come on in.

Thanks for coming.

I really appreciate it.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): By the following school year,

Madeline had become a friend to Deloris as well as a teacher.

Doloris was frequently invited to visit the apartment where

Madeline lived with her father.

DELORIS BROOKS: The first time I went to her apartment,

it was really overwhelming.

Such a beautiful place, and so much space.

I couldn't get over that.

I didn't know it was luxury.

It looked just like a big museum.

[music playing]

She lived at least 30 floors up.

I don't remember how many, but it was at least 30.

And I would look out, and I could see Central Park.

This was really a new experience for me.

It was like walking out of one world into another.

And I became like a changed person

when I walked through those doors as the time went on.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Over the next two years,

Madeline took Doloris to chamber concerts

and other musical events, even lending

her clothing and jewelry for these occasions.

It is a life Deloris had only dreamed of,

and it slowly nurtured a new self image.

DELORIS BROOKS: Once somebody cares about you,

automatically, your self-esteem pick up.

It wasn't anything that I can really explain that happened.

But I just felt better about myself.

I walked with my head up for once in my life.

And I just felt more relaxed and at ease because someone

cared about me, and I knew it.

But listen, I want you to know you're a special girl,

and you're a smart girl.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Graduation day--

June of 1964, a day of mixed emotions for Doloris Brooks.

--just for any reason.

I'll be there for you still.

All right?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Leaving junior high

meant that Madeline Strauss would no longer be

a daily presence in her life.

Without that positive influence, family problems

would overwhelm Deloris.

She ran away from home, dropped out of school,

and eventually became a ward of the court.

In 1966, Doloris was stricken with what she believes

was Reye's syndrome, a potentially fatal condition

that affects the brain.

She spent nearly a month in the hospital,

most of that time in a coma.

Deloris recovered, but was left with partial amnesia.

In the summer of 1967, Doloris was stopped on the street

by a woman who seemed to know her.

Deloris!

Oh, my goodness!

Look at you!

You look so great!

I've missed you.

How are you?

Do I know you?

Deloris, don't you remember me?

It's me, Madeline.

Your music teacher?

Well, I hope I was a good student.

But I have to go.

I didn't know who she was.

And I saw her maybe three to four times

after that over the next year or so.

And I still didn't remember her.

And she would hug me in the street

and act so glad to see me, and I didn't know who she was.

About four years ago, I--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Deloris

went on to complete her education

and trained as a practical nurse.

She eventually moved to Chicago, where

in 1982, her memories of Madeline Strauss

were reawakened.

And I grew up in Brooklyn, New York.

Excuse me.

Where are you from?

I'm from Brooklyn.

That's what I thought you said.

What section?

Bed-Stuy.

Me too. No kidding.

What school did you go to?

Decatur Junior High School

Yeah, that's where I went!

I remember you!

Oh, yeah?

We were in the same music class.

I sat right across from you.

- Really? - Yeah, remember the teacher?

DELORIS BROOKS: We start talking about all our teachers.

And Madeline came up.

And from there, the memories start coming back.

It's coming back to me.

Once the memory came back, I decided

I would like to find her because I really realized how much we

had in the past, and then when I met her on the street

so many times and didn't know her, that I felt that I needed

to see her again to let her know that it wasn't all lost,

the time that she put in to me.

I would like to just say thank you.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Next, a family's dream

of a better life in America ends in tragedy.

[music playing]

New York City has traditionally served

as a beacon for those who look to America

for a new and better life.

Nearly every country in the world

has an immigrant community enriching the city.

And to the newly arrived, New York

symbolizes the American dream.

Su Young Kim and Su-Ya Yu lived that dream.

Born in South Korea, they worked hard and saved every penny.

In 1981, they married in Seoul, then

moved to the United States.

Su Young and Su-Ya worked in flea markets

until they were able to open two stores, one in Long Island,

and the other in Bushwick, a section of Brooklyn

known for its ethnic diversity.

INTERPRETER: My wife and I were very nervous about our opening.

We cleaned and set up everything together.

There was no single item in the store not touched by her.

We worked very hard from early in the morning

till late at night, seven days a week.

And we were blessed with fortune and happiness.

Good size and good color [inaudible].

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): As the business grew,

so did the Kim family.

Su-Ya and Su Young had two sons, and often, the whole family

could be found at the Brooklyn store.

10% discount for her.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The Kims

eventually moved to a spacious apartment in Queens.

There, on the afternoon of June 29, 1991,

just five days after Su Young and Su-Ya had celebrated

their 10th wedding anniversary, Su-Ya

left the boys with their grandmother

while she went out shopping.

OK.

Not too much time with this, huh?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): When Su-Ya walked out

of the apartment that day, no one

imagined that the Kim's American dream was

about to come crashing down.

[music playing]

When Su Young Kim came home from the store at 8 PM,

he was worried to find that Su-Ya had not returned

from her shopping trip.

He called all her friends, but no one knew where she was.

[music playing]

Eventually, Su Young's brother joined the vigil.

Su Young's concern mounted after he

found Su-Ya's car still parked in the garage, its engine stone

cold.

INTERPRETER: My wife had never been out that late for the 10

years of our marriage.

I was getting more and more worried.

I could not stop thinking that something

bad must have happened to her.

I stayed up all night waiting for her,

but she did not return home.

Yes, the coroner gave us a call--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The next day, Su Young Kim

was summoned to the medical examiner's

office to identify a body.

INTERPRETER: I could not and did not want

to believe what was going on.

As soon as I recognized my wife's body,

I felt everything was over.

The whole world seemed to crash upon me.

I couldn't think of anything else except my children.

[music playing]

Su-Ya Kim had been stabbed nine times,

her body dumped in the section of Brooklyn known

as Bedford-Stuyvesant, seven miles from the Kims'

apartment in Queens.

Although she was nude, there was no evidence of rape.

Su-Ya's murder appeared to be yet another senseless act

of random violence.

But unlike many random crimes, this one had a witness.

[music playing]

Joe Jones was a private security guard

hired to patrol an abandoned building in Bedford-Stuyvesant.

Around 3:00 AM, 10 hours after Su-Ya had disappeared,

Jones noticed a man behind the building.

Hey, yo, man, you can't dump there.

I can't dump here?

No, you can't dump here.

JOE JONES: He hesitated, you know, a couple seconds.

Then he said, what if I gave you $20?

So I said, yeah, OK.

So at that time, when I'm taking the $20,

I see that he had blood on him.

So I said-- yo, how you get the blood blood on you like that?

Oh, um, I just got into a fight.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The man's demeanor

made Joe Jones suspicious.

He got a brief glimpse of the license plate

before the car backed out.

JOE JONES: He gets in the car to drive away,

but he stops at the corner.

So when he stopped at the corner,

I'm still standing there.

I think he thought I was gonna go back and see

what he put in the garbage.

And I really got suspicious when he drove to the corner

and was looking at me, and I was looking at him.

So when I went back, I looked on the ground.

I saw spots, spots of blood going towards the garbage can.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Joe Jones recruited

a friend who happened by.

Together, they cautiously probed the contents of the dumpster.

Amidst layers of debris, they saw a woman's hand.

It was the body of Su-Ya Kim.

In an uncanny coincidence, the first vehicle to pass by

was an ambulance, but it was too late.

Su-Ya had already been dead for hours.

Thanks to Joe Jones, however, police had a description

of the killer and his car.

DERRICK PARKER: We ran all the Nissans

that fit that description with that plate

number in New York City.

And we tried to match registered owners

by using the partial plate.

And we were able to come up with one match.

Thank you. Could you do me a favor--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The vehicle

was registered to a Taiwanese exchange student

at CW Post College in Long Island.

She said she had not driven it since about 10:00

the night before.

After dinner.

- You went after dinner? - Yes.

And what time did you get back in, ma'am?

- I come home 10:00. - OK.

Did you go anywhere after that?

No, stay home.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Su-Ya had been stabbed repeatedly,

yet there was no blood in or on the car.

When police checked the engine, they

found that the car had, in fact, not been driven for hours.

DERRICK PARKER: Does anyone have an extra set of keys

to your car?

No. Only I.

So you're the only driver?

You didn't let anyone borrow the car last night?

No.

DERRICK PARKER: At this time, we don't have any other clues.

The plate number came up to a car

that was a blue Nissan that fit the description

that Mr. Jones told us.

However, it wasn't the car.

We don't believe it was the car at this time.

I don't understand it.

It is a mystery 'cause I thought once I

gave 'em the license plates and the car,

they could pick 'em up.

But then when they found the car, they said,

this wasn't the car.

So I don't know.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Police now

began to look at their star witness, Joe Jones,

as a suspect.

They requested that Jones take a lie detector test.

He passed with flying colors, and police

are positive he had nothing to do with Su-Ya's murder.

[music playing]

For nearly two years, Su Young Kim

stayed on in the United States, but the memories of Su-Ya

proved too painful to bear.

In April of 1993, he shut down his business

and returned with his two little boys to Korea.

INTERPRETER: I could not stand being in the store

anymore because everything there reminded me of my wife.

Now there are no good memories for me here in America.

Since it happened, I lost all my hope and dreams.

I have suffered so much.

I'm still struggling hard to get over my wife's death

for the sake of our children.

I still truly love her and miss her.

[music playing]

Police have one particular theory which may yet

help identify Su-Ya's killer.

The dumpster in Bedford-Stuyvesant

was not easily visible from a street.

So police believe the killer may be a delivery

man or a cab driver, someone with detailed

knowledge of the neighborhood.

The suspect is in his mid-20s and approximately 5 feet

6 inches tall.

He has blond hair and blue eyes and weighs

between 130 and 140 pounds.

When last seen, he was wearing a torn and bloodstained fishnet

tank top with blue and white jogging

shorts which had yellow sailboat insignias on the leg.

[music playing]

On our next "Unsolved Mysteries," with Halloween

just around the corner, a ghostly tale seems in order.

And in Lake Wales, Florida, you'll find a haunted house

that apparently has it all--

an alluring phantom, a shadowy specter,

and a demonic possession.

Join me next time for this lively tour of the spirit world

and much more on "Unsolved Mysteries."

[music playing]