Original subtitles

[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.

[music playing]

Tonight, a special edition of "Unsolved

Mysteries" from the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas.

In 1836, 189 brave men made a gallant last stand

at the Alamo, holding off 6,000 Mexican soldiers

for nearly two weeks.

In the end, the defenders would all die.

But according to legend, they left behind an unclaimed

legacy, possibly a fortune in gold and silver buried

at the bottom of an old well.

Incredibly, some believe it was more than just a legend.

For almost a month, a team of archeologists and researchers

have been excavating here in an attempt to uncover

the secrets of the Alamo.

What, if anything, will they find--

a legendary hidden treasure, or perhaps

priceless artifacts from history lost for nearly 160 years?

In the next hour, we'll bring you

this fascinating story, as well as these intriguing mysteries.

In Sulphur, Louisiana, intruders broke

into a comfortable suburban home and murdered

a prominent young couple, Pam and Eric Ellender.

Four years later, Pam's father, Huey Littleton,

is still searching for the truth behind the brutal deaths.

The investigation has taken Huey into the depths

of a bizarre ritualistic subculture,

and led him to believe that his daughter

and son-in-law were killed by members of a satanic cult.

When Denise Williams was 17, she fell in love with an older

man named Randall Utterback.

She says she also fell victim to a terrifying spiral

of abuse, which allegedly culminated in a vicious attack.

Now the authorities need your help to bring

Randall Utterback to justice.

Join me for this special edition,

the secrets of the Alamo and more on "Unsolved Mysteries."

[music playing]

Remember the Alamo, that famous battle cry that echoes

across the fields of time, a lasting tribute to freedom,

liberty, and independence.

But some believe the full story of the Alamo

has yet to be told.

Legend has it that in the shadow of the old mission

an intriguing secret remains buried,

a secret which dates back to 1836,

the year of the epic battle.

That January, a group of rugged frontiersmen

made their way across the vast prairie of southern Texas.

By some accounts, they were loaded down

with a fortune in silver and gold,

legendary San Saba treasure, said to be worth

millions of dollars.

The men were bound for the Alamo.

The treasure was intended to finance the Texas Revolution

for independence from Mexico.

The leader of the expedition was a man

named Jim Bowie, a Colonel in the Texas cavalry

and renowned throughout the west for the hunting knife

which would later bear his name.

Two months later, Bowie and 188 other men,

including Davy Crockett, would make a courageous stand

against 6,000 well-trained Mexican soldiers at the Alamo.

Not one of the Defenders would live to tell the tale,

but the legend of the treasure would endure.

Today, all that remains of the Alamo

is the old hallowed chapel.

Here on the grounds of the plaza, history comes alive.

You can almost hear the cannon shot and the charge of cavalry.

You can also feel the excitement of discovery.

Just a few feet from where I'm standing, legend and science

have crossed paths with an unsolved mystery.

For the past three weeks, a team of archeologists

and researchers has been excavating the street

just in front of the Alamo.

What will they find?

Perhaps nothing, perhaps the legendary San Saba treasure,

or perhaps priceless artifacts from the battle,

untouched for nearly 160 years.

The dig is a culmination of a dream

for Frank Buschbacher, a professional fortune hunter

and historical researcher.

[inaudible]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Frank's quest began in 1986.

On a trip to Colima, Mexico, he was introduced to Maria Gomez,

a respected museum curator who also had a reputation as a seer

and prophetess.

[speaking spanish]

Did you know that there is a treasure buried at the Alamo?

FRANK BUSCHBACHER: I never heard of any treasure surrounding

the battle of the Alamo.

It is just a valiant battle that was lost.

And then she went on to describe it as gold coins,

artifacts, silver artifacts.

Religious artifacts is what she described them as.

Santana took part of the treasure that was buried.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Frank was

told that some of the treasure had been removed

by Mexican soldiers, but the bulk of the fortune

still remained hidden at the Alamo.

MAN: She's going to draw you a map.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): This is the crude map

sketched out by Maria Gomez.

She predicted that the treasure would be found here

at the bottom of an old well.

Even though Maria said she had never been to the Alamo,

she had approximated the spot where a well was

dug just prior to the siege.

At the time, the Alamo grounds covered nearly three acres.

The chapel was located in the rear of the fortification.

The well was in the plaza, which was enclosed by stone walls

up to 12 feet high.

[music playing]

[gunfire]

It was within those walls that the Texans

held out for a full 13 days.

The defenders repulsed one advance after another.

But in the end, 189 men could not stave

off 6,000 Mexican soldiers.

Frank Buschbacher believed that in a final act of desperation,

Jim Bowie ordered that the treasure be hidden

at the bottom of the well, thus saving

it to finance the war effort.

FRANK BUSCHBACHER: The only way they preserve

it is to all stick together and fight the battle out

to whatever outcome it had.

This really was the first bank of Texas, the first cache

of precious metals that would have bought them their arms

and uniforms they needed.

[gunfire]

The reason why it's remained there

is because everybody died.

[gunfire]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The Alamo

is now preserved as an historic landmark in the heart

of downtown San Antonio, Texas.

Frank believes that the treasure will be found beneath the road

that fronts the chapel.

To many native Texans, however, Buschbacher's theory is little

more than revisionist history.

GAIL LOVING BARNES: The people of the Alamo,

I don't think they were guarding a treasure.

When your life is on the line like it

was in the battle with General Santa Anna,

I don't think you're thinking about silver or gold bullion.

I think you're thinking about your life.

And I don't think you would be polluting your water

well, because you don't know how long your siege is going to be.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Despite the controversy,

Frank Buschbacher was determined to prove his point.

In 1992, he obtained permission to survey the area

with ground-penetrating radar.

MAN: OK, we've got a void.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The test

yielded intriguing results.

So we've got a nice little area there,

about 3 to 4 meters down.

It looks to be maybe a covered over cistern.

That's all strictly conjecture, but this

is a very good looking target.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Three separate disturbances

or anomalies were found beneath the surface.

The largest-- which Frank believes

is the site of the well--

is in the precise location where Maria Gomez predicted

the treasure would be found.

Further tests revealed an object 18 to 24 inches in diameter

at a depth of approximately 13 feet.

The object is metallic, but it is

not a natural mineral deposit.

FRANK BUSCHBACHER: It was a chill that ran down my back.

It kind of brought all my research to fruition

at that point, because I knew that with the map, her story,

and then plugging it into Texas history

that I was on a hot trail, and all--

any dissension that I had within my own mind

about whether I should follow this any further was gone.

The anomalies could be caused by many things.

I think it could be debris, equipment left

by the Texans, either army.

I think it could be something several years

later that was deposited there.

You know, as time marches on, dust, and dirt, and silt,

and debris accumulate and cover very gradually

so that we do not know.

And I think that probably that could be part of what

they're picking up out there.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): What did the ground radar detect?

Is it possible that the legendary San Saba treasure

does exist, or could the anomaly be some long-lost artifact

from the battle?

Whatever the case, Frank Buschbacher

was determined to find out.

Frank would spend 3 and 1/2 years acquiring

the necessary permits and financial backing

to excavate the site.

In 1994, the archeology department

at St. Mary's University in San Antonio

agreed to oversee the digging.

What we have here is another [inaudible]..

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The project director

is Professor Thomas Guderjan.

He believes that no matter what lies at the bottom of the well,

it will have historical significance

that you cannot put a price on.

THOMAS GUDERJAN: There's a whole series of possibilities of what

we may find, whether it's treasure--

as in gold, and silver, and that sort of thing--

or whether it is materials that were thrown into the well

during the battle, materials that were thrown into the well

during the cleanup after the battle.

It doesn't make any difference to us while we're looking at it

in a historical perspective.

Whatever it is, it's a time capsule.

It's the only opportunity we have--

that we know of--

to find something related to those few short months

and the few short days of the battle itself.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): On February 1, 1995,

the moment had finally arrived.

The dig was set to begin.

Frank Buschbacher and two of his colleagues--

Jim Rowe and Tim McClure--

plotted last minute changes to the schedule.

The plans called for excavating a 15 by 15 foot area

directly above the well.

A work crew must first remove three feet of flagstone

and road bed to reach the 1836 ground level,

the top of the filled-in well.

Proceeding carefully with hand tools,

the workers will then remove decades of dirt and debris

from the nine foot deep shaft.

[grinding]

THOMAS GUDERJAN: One thing for certain

is that there's something down there.

Whether there's gold or silver or old rifles down there,

that's not what's really important.

What's really important is that we're going to find

out about what happened.

GAIL LOVING BARNES: I'm interested in what he finds.

And if it's a treasure, that will be very exciting.

If it's a cannon ball or part of a cannon--

you know, metal like that--

that'll be interesting to know about.

It'll be another part of history.

What we do know about that ground

is it hasn't been disturbed since the battle.

And we have a time capsule down there no matter what it is.

And it is a treasure, no matter what it is.

Well, what do you think?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): For the entire team and hundreds

of onlookers, it was a day of boundless joy

and nervous anticipation.

As layer after layer of history was peeled away,

the archeologists traveled back through time

to the final days of the Alamo.

[music playing]

When we return, perhaps you can help track down this man

accused of kidnapping his former girlfriend?

[music playing]

January 1994, an isolated country road just

outside a small Missouri town with the unlikely name

of Mexico.

Ah!

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The young woman under attack

is Denise Williams.

She is 19.

The man with the gun is her ex-boyfriend,

31-year-old Randall Utterback.

They had met a year and a half earlier at a party

after Denise's senior prom.

To the naive 17-year-old school girl,

Randall seemed exotic and dashing, just dangerous enough

to be exciting.

So I'm glad you had a good time.

Yeah.

I think my friends really liked you.

Oh, good.

DENISE WILLIAMS: I met Randall a week before graduation.

I just thought he was the cutest thing.

And he had been known around town for his motorcycles,

and he owned a mountain lion at the time.

And everyone had talked real highly of him.

He was really outgoing, a really spontaneous,

spur of the moment, let's go do this.

He would take me out to nice places and concerts.

And then after two weeks of Randall and I being together,

it all changed.

It was gradual.

He started out saying don't wear make up, don't wear hairspray,

don't wear perfume.

And then it grew to don't hang out with this person,

don't be friends with her because she's a bad influence.

You're going to have to choose them or me.

Denise Williams had gotten in way over her head.

According to Denise, Randall Utterback--

older and more worldly--

quickly established an abusive pattern,

denigrating her, rejecting her, and then putting

on a great show of forgiveness.

But Randall has seen that love equaled possession.

Once he had Denise, he was not about to let go.

When Denise went away to college three months after meeting

Randall, she hoped the distance would

improve their relationship.

But Randall only became more obsessive.

[inaudible]

Oh, Randall, you scared me.

Denise, hey, I called you this morning.

Where were you?

I had to go to class.

Yeah, I know, but you said you'd wait for my phone call.

[inaudible]

DENISE WILLIAMS: Randall was very

controlling and manipulative.

I'd have to call Randall if I was going down

to the cafeteria, just in case Randall called and I wasn't

there to accept his phone call.

He'd think I'd be out with some other people

or having friends, doing something

that I wasn't supposed to do.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Denise's family

was shocked when Randall talked her into leaving school.

She enrolled at a community college closer to home

and closer to Randall.

He had me convinced he was the only one there for me,

because he had gotten me so isolated

from my family and my friends to where he would tell me

I am the only one here for you.

You know, you need me in your life.

And I got to the point where I'd-- where

I started to believe that.

You're doing it wrong. It's backwards.

You've got to flip it over.

No, I didn't. It looks fine.

It's just the way it is.

Look, Denise, I'm just trying to help you, all right?

Do you want my help or not?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Several months passed.

The abusive pattern continued.

Finally, Denise reached her breaking point.

Are you calling me a liar, Denise?

Randall, I'm not calling you a liar.

I'm just telling you this is the way it looks.

You're an idiot.

You know that?

You stupid bi--

Please calm down.

There's people watching.

Yeah?

Well, I don't really care!

Randall, [inaudible].

DENISE WILLIAMS: I would be called names.

I'd be tore down.

I wasn't allowed to have an opinion with Randall.

That's it, Denise.

That's it.

I've had it!

We're finished!

I was relieved.

I wanted to get away from him.

I had just had enough.

I told them-- I told Randall we were through.

- He's crazy. - Better than Fitzgerald was.

Yeah, I mean, [inaudible].

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Randall was stunned when Denise

did not come crawling back.

Denise.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): He couldn't abide

her newfound independence.

Randall, I just don't want to see you anymore, OK?

RANDALL UTTERBACK: I've been upset.

I-- I can't sleep.

DENISE WILLIAMS: No, Randall, don't you get it?

Just give me five minutes, Denise, please.

DENISE WILLIAMS: Just leave me alone.

Just give me five minutes. I just need to talk to you.

DENISE WILLIAMS: [inaudible] Just leave me alone.

- Hey, just leave her alone. - Just get out of my way.

Is this what you mean? - [inaudible]

[interposing voices]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Randall Utterback

would not go peaceably.

Denise says he began to follow her,

to stalk her, waiting until she was alone and vulnerable.

What are you doing?

[honking]

[crashing]

DENISE WILLIAMS: Randall hit the back of my car,

and it ran me off the road.

He come over to my car, and then he dragged me over to his dad's

truck to go with him.

And he told me that if I didn't take him back,

something bad would happen to someone I love.

He wanted me to marry him.

I told Randall I wouldn't marry him.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Randall Utterback

was arrested for felonious restraint

and aggravated stalking.

Hey, listen, the sheriff said I could call my lawyer

and let him know I'm here.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): He was in jail for a week

before posting bond.

A restraining order was issued barring him from seeing

or talking to Denise.

[inaudible]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): For a month,

Randall obeyed the order.

Hey, Jane.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Denise finally began to remember

what a normal life was like.

But she had let down her guard too soon.

DENISE WILLIAMS: I was driving home from school

and I saw this black car behind me.

I didn't think it was him.

I thought it was just some school

kids driving home from school.

Next thing I know, that car pulls up beside me,

and it was Randall.

What-- what are you doing?

DENISE WILLIAMS: Again he is motioning me to pull over.

And I wouldn't.

I sped up.

And as I sped up, he sped up and went beside me again.

[inaudible]

[gunshot]

Denise-- Denise, get out of the car.

Denise?

Denise-- Denise, wait! - Oh.

Denise, wait! Denise!

No!

[screaming]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Denise tried

to spray Randall with mace.

In the struggle, Randall allegedly bit her hand

and dropped his gun.

Shut up!

[screaming]

God, Randall, stop it!

Ah!

Randall, would you please at least

let me get my feet in the car?

Randall?

Randall, please, can I get my feet in the car?

[inaudible] What is your problem?

RANDALL UTTERBACK: I just needed to tell you, Denise, that I--

I love you, and I want you back in my life, OK?

That's all I'm asking for.

No, Randall, I can't.

How can you expect me to do that after what you just did to me?

DENISE WILLIAMS: I just want to start over.

I just want another chance, and you're just-- you're just

not giving me another chance! And I--

And I'm not going to give you another chance, Randall.

Damn it, I need to start over!

I need another chance!

Now, give it to me!

DENISE WILLIAMS: And then he said

that if I wouldn't take him back,

there is no need for him living, and he asked me to kill him.

He asked me to stab him through the heart.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Of course, Denise refused.

She pleaded with Randall to stop the car.

RANDALL UTTERBACK: Denise, just--

just tell him it ain't my gun.

[inaudible] and look at all those people.

RANDALL UTTERBACK: I know, Denise.

I know.

They're going to figure out that's my car soon

and they're not going to--

RANDALL UTTERBACK: Just wait, Denise.

Denise-- Denise, shut up, Denise!

God, I hate it when you do that.

All right, look, you just understand this.

If you don't say exactly what I told you to say,

I'm going to take you out of this state,

and you'll never see your family again.

Do you understand that? - Yeah, I understand.

I love you.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Denise's

father and a sheriff's deputy--

along with several other people--

had already gathered around Denise's car.

[inaudible] Daddy, [inaudible]..

Denise, honey, are you all right?

Oh my god! - Daddy!

Was it Randall?

OK, Denise.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Even before he

let her speak to her father, the deputy

began to question Denise.

It's Randall, daddy.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): He immediately

drove Denise to the emergency room to have her checked out.

I just want to see my dad.

COP: He'll be over there.

He'll be at the hospital when you get there.

No, that's him. That's him!

COP: That's Randall?

That's him right there.

COP: All right, OK.

[siren blaring]

Just stay calm, Denise. Stay right there.

Oh, he's going to kill me.

COP: You're going to be-- no, you're going to be all right.

You're fine.

[inaudible] Open the door!

Keep your hands in the air!

Face away from me!

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Randall Utterback

was charged with stalking, felonious restraint,

and with three counts of armed criminal action.

He was imprisoned without bond for six months.

Then six months later, he was taken

to the hospital and in-transit managed to escape.

Today, he remains at large.

As of today, I'm still living in fear.

I don't know when he'll come back,

but I have a feeling he will.

I don't live with my parents anymore,

because I have a feeling that would be the first place

Randall checked for me.

I don't go anywhere by myself.

I'm just scared he's going to come back,

and I won't be able to convince him a third time to let me go.

Randall Utterback's parents have issued statements,

asserting that their son did not commit the acts

of which he is accused.

They say that Denise and the local authorities

are out to assassinate Randall's character.

However, the sheriff's department

and two different Missouri counties

stand firm in their position that Utterback

is a dangerous criminal.

[ominous music]

Next, a father's desperate quest to find his daughter's killer.

[music playing]

In junior high and high school, Pam Littleton

of Sulphur, Louisiana, was voted most popular, friendliest,

and the prettiest girl.

She was a cheerleader.

She was the homecoming queen.

After college, Pam married Eric Ellender, a bright, up

and coming businessman.

The newlyweds bought a house near Pam's parents,

and Eric went to work for Pam's father.

A year later, Pam gave birth to a beautiful baby girl.

The family circle was now complete.

Nearly every day, Pam walked over to her parents' house

for a visit.

She didn't want her mother and father

to miss a moment of their granddaughter's childhood.

HUEY LITTLETON: Pamela, I guess, would be--

she was the type of daughter that every father would

dream of having, you know?

She had dreamed of being a housewife and a mother.

That was her ambition in life, and she was totally happy.

That's OK.

Mom, I don't think she's hungry.

[phone ringing]

Probably more like 11:00.

OK, darling.

Don't worry, I'll cover for you.

OK, all right.

Hello?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): At 8:45 PM on February 11, 1991,

Pam's husband Eric called her to say he was home from work.

Bye.

Bye.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Pam left her parents'

house 30 minutes later.

By the next afternoon, no one in the family

had heard from Pam or Eric, which was highly unusual.

Then Huey Littleton got a phone call from his mother-in-law.

HUEY LITTLETON: She says, Huey, I

just left Pam and Eric's and something's wrong down there.

They're in their bed.

I have the baby and I'm back at your house.

Call the sheriff.

I told her, I said I will call the sheriff

and I will call an ambulance.

What appears to be the problem?

She said call the sheriff.

The sheriff's unit met us at the gate going into the yard

and asked that we not go near the house.

And we learned that Pam and Eric were dead, that both of them

had been brutally shot with a shotgun,

and had a-- the fatal wounds were to their head.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): There was only one blessing amidst

the horror.

Although traumatized, Pam and Eric's daughter

was physically unharmed.

Still, the Littleton's were left numb with grief.

JOYCE LITTLETON: Absolutely, total, complete shock.

Unbelief-- I could not believe it.

I mean, how can you possibly believe your daughter's dead?

It totally immobilized me.

I couldn't cry.

All I could do was say why and who?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The day after their murders,

18-year-old Chris Prudhomme-- a resident of Sulphur--

was arrested in Baton Rouge, along with three friends.

They were in possession of Eric Ellender's Toyota 4Runner.

Chris, where was the shotgun?

It was in a case.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Chris Prudhomme became

the focus of the investigation.

Which gun did you use?

The automatic shotgun.

COP: And did you load it?

No, it was loaded.

COP: So, what did you do after you got the gun

and saw that it was loaded?

I went and shot them.

COP: Who did you shoot first?

I shot the guy.

HUEY LITTLETON: He confessed under oath that he

had killed Pam and Eric.

Right side bed.

HUEY LITTLETON: That he had no remorse for doing so-- in fact,

was glad that he did so.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): 17 days after the murders,

Prudhomme was discovered hanging by the neck

in the jail shower room.

He never regained consciousness and died in the hospital.

This suicide note was found in his cell.

In the note, Prudhomme took sole credit for the murders saying,

quote, "I enjoyed very much in the taking of those two

individuals' lives."

As far as the sheriff's department was concerned,

the case was closed.

They had made an arrest, the suspect had confessed,

then hung himself.

But to Huey Littleton's experienced eye,

loose ends were everywhere.

Huey is a licensed private detective

and owns his own company.

Once he began to investigate, he came

to believe that Chris Prudhomme had belonged to a satanic cult

called the SKATERS, an acronym for Satan's Kids

Against the Establishment. - OK, Chris was alone.

OK.

He was by himself, as long as we all understand that.

- Yes. - Is he going to talk?

Because I'm not going down for this.

I'm not, either.

Look, he's not going to talk if he knows better.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The girlfriend of one

of the SKATERS told Huey of a meeting

that took place the morning after Pam and Eric were killed.

So we've got to come up with something, man.

We know he wasn't alone, but what about the cops?

OK, we've got to get it all straight now.

OK So by himself.

He's on foot, right?

He's all high, he doesn't know what he's doing.

Yeah. And then what?

He walk walking through this neighborhood

and he sees this house.

Right. OK.

So he busts in--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The witness

said it appeared that the SKATERS were trying to concoct

an alibi for a person or persons who

had been with Chris Prudhomme when the murders occurred.

By himself, right?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): She went on

to say that Prudhomme and one accomplice

had broken into the Ellenders' house only to burglarize it.

Check this out.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): But they were high on LSD

and ended up murdering Pam and Eric

using one of Eric's shotguns.

I was at a bar that night and I was drinking.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Huey Littleton

felt that many of the crucial facts were still unknown.

He continued to interview witnesses,

well over 100 in all.

And they mentioned something about a party, a party that

was just right up the road.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Huey was stunned when a girl named

Nicki Alderson told him that in the early morning hours just

after the murders, the SKATERS had hosted

a party at the crime scene.

Geez, they were doing a whole bunch of stuff.

NICKI ALDERSON: When we got out to this house,

I saw some people come in the distance

and when we walked up to them, I realized I knew some of them.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Nikki said

one of the first people she saw at the party

was Chris Prudhomme.

Hey, what's up?

Not much.

Whose place is this?

I don't know.

I don't know right now.

All right.

They were all just stand around drinking

and talking and making remarks about God and things like that.

And we went in and there were people standing around,

there were people sitting down.

You can kind of fell from the vibes of people

that something was kind of weird because everybody

was, like I said, in their own little world.

Here let me see that.

Some were doing some drugs on the table.

They had enough drugs on there where

I could see from a distance of what they were snorting.

Hey, thanks.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Nicki claims

she had no idea at the time that two

dead bodies were in the house.

Only the next day while watching television would

she absorb the full impact of the party.

NICKI ALDERSON: I was watching the news and I saw this house.

I was like, oh, my god, I was at that house.

And so I kind of kept quiet and just watched.

And then when I saw the gentlemen that were on TV that

were the suspects, then I knew that was

the guys that was there, that was the people I'd seen.

And I just came to the realization that I was there.

I don't know.

We were asked by Mr. Littleton re-look at the case and we did.

And everything that he let us know about we checked

into and found out it was not reliable information

or it didn't have factual information enough

to bring to the district attorney's office.

Also, everything that we reviewed,

the district attorney reviewed and so

has the Attorney General of the State of Louisiana reviewed.

And the facts speak for itself.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The sheriff's department

says they saw no evidence that a party

had been held in the house.

However, Huey Littleton found one other person who confirmed

Nicki Alderson's account.

This witness added sickening details,

claiming that the dead bodies of Pam and Eric

were molested sexually by more than one person.

Those claims are verified by this man, Chip Richard.

Chip told Huey that although he was not at the Ellender house,

he had seen videotapes which were made that night.

I've seen one and I've talked to a couple of other people

that have seen them.

To me, every one of them--

the people I've talked to that's seen them, it's all the same.

They show on the video what I saw

on the video was the people killing the owners, having

sexual contact with them, just basically

everything that really goes on.

This is about as low as humanity

can crawl or dig or furrow.

Where is their soul? Where is their spirit?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Huey was now

convinced that the truth behind the murder of his daughter

and son-in-law was far more sinister than he ever imagined.

With Chris Prudhomme dead, 18-year-old Robert Adkins

emerged as a key figure in the case.

Adkins who was one of the three young men

arrested with Prudhomme in Baton Rouge.

Bobby took me in the backyard.

He told me that he wanted to tell me

what had happened because he needed

to get it off of his chest.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): While out on bail,

Adkins allegedly told Shawn Moody

that he was present when Chris Prudhomme killed the Ellenders.

We just-- when we get in, we just headed

straight for the living room.

He told me they were looking around

for valuables, him and Chris, and they

had found a gun, a shotgun.

And when they entered the master bedroom, the wife woke up.

Chris shot the wife first.

And then the husband had woken and Chris shot him.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): But According to Chip Richard,

Adkins said that Chris Prudhomme had not murdered anyone.

Instead, he volunteered to take the fall

for his fellow SKATERS.

Yeah, I was there.

What happened?

Look, Chris, he--

He had told me that Chris was taking the rap for him

because Chris was becoming the leader in the cult.

And just basically, everybody that was with him

worshipped him and would do anything for him.

And in return, he had to do for them the same

that they would do for him.

Kim came to me about one or two days after the murders

and she told me that she was there.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Finally, Huey Littleton found

a key witness, Pearl Fruge.

Yeah.

She went into a lot of detail about everything--

about Pam and about Eric and about the baby.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Pearl claimed

that her cousin, Kim Manuel, was in the house

when the murders took place.

She was definitely there.

Do you think we can get her to talk about it on tape?

Well, sure, but Kim's my friend, she's my cousin.

I mean, I don't want to do anything

to her behind her back.

Chris and one other girl and another guy were in the house.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The next day,

Pearl did record a conversation with Kim's permission.

Kim described the murders in detail

but never admitted on the tape to being in the house herself.

Chris bumped something and Eric woke up.

I guess he went to grab for the gun and Chris shot him.

Then Pam woke up and they shot her.

Chris was going to kill the baby, too,

but the girl told him, no.

She took the baby and brought it into Pam and Eric's room

and laid it down with them.

Then she went outside.

I think getting through it's about this, Pearl.

What am I supposed to do?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Pearl thought

the best thing she could do was present

the tape before a grand jury.

And now, the actual tape.

PEARL FRUGE: Kim, what really happened that night?

KIM MANUEL: You know he's been calling me and threatening me.

I'm really scared.

HUEY LITTLETON: This to us was a pinnacle point

in the investigation.

After hearing a lot of testimony,

I mean, from many witnesses, the grand jury returned

an indictment of two counts of second degree murder

against Kim Manuel.

KIM MANUEL: We went into the baby's room

and I guess you could--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Some believe the indictment was

a legal maneuver to pressure Kim Manuel into identifying

other possible suspects.

If so, the ploy failed.

Kim Manuel's court-appointed public defender, John Laverne,

called a press conference.

He claimed that Pearl Fruge was lying, that the tape had

been scripted and rehearsed.

JOHN LAVERNE: She and Kim then concocted this story

that they wanted to hear and then she produced the tape

recorder openly and showed it to Kim

and they sat there with a scripted conversation

and recorded it and brought it back

and gave it to these people, that

being what they wanted to hear.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Pearl Fruge stands by her story.

We never made up the tape.

I never lied.

What I told them I was the truth and Kim knows is the truth.

I can't change what she told me and I'm

not going to make up another story just

to make her look good.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): One year later, the charges

against Kim Manuel were dropped without prejudice,

which means that she could be indicted again later on.

Huey Littleton was bitterly disappointed,

and today he has apparently lost almost all credibility

with the authorities.

We felt sorry for him at first, but it's got to a point

that he's gone way beyond the bounds.

We've got to deal with facts. .

When you go before a judge and a jury,

he won't be able to bring all these accusations.

He'll have to deal with facts.

And I think any grand jury, any district attorney, any attorney

general will agree with that.

I'm at peace with what I'm doing because we're

doing the right thing.

There's a lot of people out there

that don't have the resources or the knowledge

to do what I've done had they lost their child.

So I represent those people.

I represent my daughter, I represent

my son-in-law, and their child.

We just want to see those that participated in the murders

of Eric and Pam and the cover-up and the destruction of evidence

brought to justice, justice under the law.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Next, a woman

is reunited with her birth mother after more than half

a century apart.

Recently, we brought you the story

of Meredith Atkinson, who was looking for her birth

mother, Rose Marie Luttmer.

In 1938, Rose Marie found herself pregnant and unmarried.

She sought refuge at the Home of Redeeming

Love, a shelter for unwed mothers

in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

It was there that Meredith was born.

Meredith, I'd like for you to keep

in mind that with adoption--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): 53 years later, 1991,

Meredith returned to her birthplace to search

for clues about her past.

--and open up your file to the adult adoptee.

I found out that my mother was of Irish and German descent.

I found out that she had one sister and four brothers.

They were field workers.

I would like to be able to look at her

and tell her, Mother, I understand.

I know you had to do what was best for you

and that I'd like to know you.

I'd like to get to know you.

As a direct result of our broadcast,

a private investigator named Glenda

Allen contacted Meredith and volunteered

to take on the search.

Just one month later, Meredith received the exciting news.

Her mother, 78-year-old Rose Marie Luttmer, had been found.

Though she's been in failing health for several years,

Rose Marie was anxious to see her long lost daughter.

In September of 1994, Meredith and her two children

traveled from Arizona to Canute, Oklahoma,

for the much anticipated reunion.

- Well, hello. - Hi there.

Walter?

Walter.

Glad to know you, Walter.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Meredith's Uncle

Walter, Rose Marie's brother, answered the door.

Hello.

Is this is Rose?

Yeah.

Hi, Rose.

Hi.

Is that you?

Yes.

I'm Mary Anne.

You know Mary Anne.

Yeah.

I'm so tickled.

I think that finding my mother and seeing her and her family

has brought closure to my life.

I needed-- I needed this.

You're even a great grandma, do you know that?

Sure.

Yes.

I'm just tickled to death she's here.

Yeah.

I just wish we were closer together.

We could visit a little more often.

But I plan to go through there and visit her in Arizona when

I go see my brothers that way.

Be kind of on the way up there.

Might be a little out of the way, but it will be worth it.

MEREDITH LUTTMER: It's like gaining a new family

and it's like gaining new friends, too.

Well, Albert, I think you and I look alike, too.

I absolutely am going to be overjoyed to write to them

and talk to them and get to know them.

Do you care if I call you Mother?

No.

No.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Thanks for watching.

Join me next time for another fascinating edition

of "Unsolved Mysteries."

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