All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S08E08.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-BTW_track3_[eng]

NARRATOR: Tonight on
Unsolved Mysteries.

ROBERT STACK: The name
alone is enough to make

you stop and think twice.

Welcome to the Devil's
Backbone in central Texas.

Locals say it's a most
haunted spot in the country.

A mother lode of restless
spirits sure to frighten you.

Or perhaps even possess you.

A Romeo and Juliet love
affair ends tragically

when Leroy Drieth says
goodbye to his girlfriend,

and, just minutes later,
smashes his car into a tree.

The coroner called it suicide,
but Leroy's sister, Vickie,

believes she has
compelling evidence

that Leroy was murdered.

When David Kempton invited
a new friend home to dinner,

he never imagined his wife and
his friend would become lovers.

Within months,
David's wife left him.

Then she dropped from
sight, along with David's

four-year-old daughter.

Join me.

Perhaps tonight you
can make a difference.

Perhaps you can help
solve a mystery.

[theme music]

Weld County, Colorado.

Memorial Day, 1968.

[crashing]

Leroy Drieth is
killed instantly.

The coroner's ruling is suicide.

25 years later, at
his family's request,

the body of Leroy Drieth
is exhumed for an autopsy.

It is the culmination
of a long struggle

for Leroy's sister,
Vickie, who was convinced

that her brother was murdered.

I took a vow that I would
do this for my brother,

and I don't feel like I
can stop until it's done.

Because I would be
letting him down.

And I already feel like the
authorities let him down

and that, obviously,
someone took his life.

And that I can't let him down.

Someone has to stand
up and talk for him.

Vickie Mahrling is a
woman on a relentless quest.

A quarter of a century
may seem like an eternity,

but for Vickie,
time has stood still

since the day her brother died.

Her mission is simple, to
bring Leroy's killer to justice

no matter how long it takes.

Leroy Drieth was the
oldest of four children.

At 17, Leroy fell in love with
a 16-year-old Hispanic girl

named Patty.

A year later, they were engaged.

On the day he died, Memorial
Day, 1968, Leroy attended

a party at Patty's house.

He left in the late afternoon.

A block and a half
away, Leroy's car

smashed head on into a tree.

Word of the accident
spread quickly.

The first people
on the scene were

Leroy's father and brother.

HENRY DRIETH: Leroy.

Leroy!

Son?

It's okay.

I tried to hug him.

And I said, I'm gonna
go get you some help.

So I run to the truck
and told Douglas we're

going to the grocery store.

Call the ambulance.

[siren blaring]

PARAMEDIC: Get out
of the way, sir.

Need to clear back.

Need to clear this area.

Out of the way, sir.

Folks, does anybody
know what happened here?

BYSTANDER: He had a fight
with his girlfriend.

He said he's gonna kill himself.

ROBERT STACK: It was
that offhanded remark

from a bystander that set the
suicide scenario in motion.

OK, on three.

One, two, and three.

ROBERT STACK: Ambulance driver,
Delbert Mikkelson remembers.

DELBERT MIKKELSON:
On the corner--

come to the hospital and
went over what happened.

And then I was the first one to
relay the story to him that he

had had a fight
with his girlfriend

and was going to kill himself.

ROBERT STACK: Based
on that information,

the coroner deemed no
autopsy was necessary.

He attributed Leroy's death
to, quote, auto suicide.

FREDA BRUCE: I went to the
district attorney in Greeley,

and I said I don't believe
this was a suicide.

I believe it was a murder.

And I need for you
to investigate it.

And he was very rude.

He said, you're just
a distraught parent.

There's no reason for
us to investigate this.

You just go on home
and get over it.

I just cried and went home.

I never got over it.

Why don't you take this?

You always liked it.

ROBERT STACK: For
11-year-old Vickie,

Leroy's death would
prove to be the defining

moment in her life.

VICKIE MAHRLING: I
remember that my mom

was crying for a long time.

And even though I was only 11, I
knew there was something wrong.

That I had to wait
until I was an adult

to attempt to solve the problem

I never did believe that
Leroy committed suicide.

ROBERT STACK: June 1988.

Vickie paid a surprise
visit to the Boulder

County Coroner's Office.

She fully expected
to be stonewalled.

Instead, she discovered that
the current regime had already

noted the lack of a
thorough investigation

into Leroy's death.

Well, you see,
there's only three

recorded auto suicides in the
whole history of Colorado.

Only three?

And also because, you see,
the other two cases, you know,

had six-month
investigations with

reams and reams of paperwork.

And as you can see with this
report, it's very minimal.

Well, yeah.

Two pages.

Why is there only two pages?

I really couldn't tell
you, but I want to encourage

you to look further into this.

And if I were you, I would
hire a private investigator.

I felt like it was a real
strange thing for them,

for the authorities, to
bring it to my attention

as dramatically as they did
that something's wrong here.

ROBERT STACK: Vickie became
her own investigator.

She knocked on doors.

She talked to Patty's neighbors.

Looking for anyone who
had any memory of the day

her brother died.

Yeah, well that's
what they say.

That there has been fighting.

Oh, they said there
was a big fight.

But I don't know.

You know.

VICKIE MAHRLING: According
to the townspeople,

there was a party going
on at Patty's house.

And there had been a
fight, but that it had not

been between Patty and Leroy.

It was men who was fighting.

That there had been
several other family members

there that did not
like Leroy and they

had been drinking all day.

Anything about the accident?

ROBERT STACK: Vickie heard
similar stories from a number

of people, but not everyone was
convinced that there was more

to the situation than suicide.

Vickie had a little
luck with the son

of the original coroner.

I'm very sorry, but I just
want you to know one thing.

My father was a coroner
here for 25 years.

He was fairly good
at what he did.

I'm sure he did
everything he could,

and there's really nothing
more I can help you.

I'm sorry.

Excuse me.

ROBERT STACK:
Finally, Vickie placed

an ad in the local paper, urging
Leroy's former girlfriend,

Patty, to contact her.

It worked.

I went to the corner and
got the coroner's report.

And it stated that you
had told the authorities

that he was gonna leave
your house to kill himself.

Did you say that?

No.

No, I never said that.

Can you tell me
anything about that day?

Anything else?

No.

VICKIE MAHRLING: I felt
like Patty knew answers

but was reluctant to talk.

Do you think he
committed suicide?

ROBERT STACK: As far as
Vickie was concerned,

the evidence was
becoming undeniable.

I don't think about
that day anymore.

ROBERT STACK: Next
came the exhumation.

At long last, after 25 years,
the body of Leroy Drieth

would be autopsied.

VICKIE MAHRLING: It
was a tough decision.

It took me about six
months to finally decide

that they weren't
going to do anything

and couldn't do anything
unless we did the exhumation.

It almost didn't seem right.

But on the other hand, it
seemed wrong to just stop there

and say, oh well.

It was immediately
apparent that this young man

had sustained some sort of
incised wound to the neck.

Actually, two incised
wounds to the neck.

And they were very
characteristic of what

I see all the time
in other persons

who have received
stab or slash wounds

to the neck from a knife.

ROBERT STACK:
Vickie was stunned.

In simple layman's
terms, the two incisions

translated into a stab
wound nearly two inches

long and a slash
four inches long

that severed Leroy's windpipe.

Based upon Dr. Allen's findings,
the cause of Leroy's death

was changed from auto
suicide to undetermined.

For Vickie, crucial
questions remained.

Who killed her brother?

And why?

In retrospect, everything
leads back to Patty's house.

Every time I think
of a scenario--

I think of what happened--

the same conclusion
and the same thought

that it started at Patty's
house with an argument.

ROBERT STACK: Leroy
arrived at around 5:00 PM.

Hi.

Hey, how are you?

Good, how are you?

- You look beautiful.
- Thank you.

You want something to drink?

ROBERT STACK: One
of the guests was

Patty's sister-in-law, Carolyn.

CAROLYN WERTZ: Leroy
come over that day,

and a lot of Patty's
family was there.

And everyone had been drinking
quite heavily that day.

I was married to
Patty's brother.

And I was living in the
house with the family

for about eight months before
and after this happened.

Walking away from me.

You don't walk away from
me when I'm talking to you.

Just calm down.

CAROLYN WERTZ:
And Patty's family

and Leroy had a
slight argument--

kind of a racial argument--
over girlfriends and boyfriends.

Why don't you just
go find yourself

a nice little white girl, huh?

Huh?

LEROY DRIETH: Because I love
her, and she loves me, okay?

MAN: Give me that bottle.

ROBERT STACK: Soon
after the argument,

Patty escorted Leroy to his car.

Vickie is convinced that
just before he drove off,

Leroy was attacked by one
of Patty's family members.

VICKIE MAHRLING: I believe
that they continued arguing

and that a male person--

Leroy.

VICKIE MAHRLING:
--Just quickly reached

out and cut Leroy's throat.

I feel that Leroy
was probably fleeing

for his life in the
automobile and then lost

consciousness or lost
control of the vehicle

because of the injuries.

He would have been
in in pain and would

have been extremely afraid.

But the actual cause of
death were injuries sustained

from the automobile crash.

[crashing]

VICKIE MAHRLING:
I feel like I have

become a cop in this
whole scenario, which

is very difficult at times.

Because I have no training,
and I don't know what to do.

And I'm sure I've made the
wrong mistakes at times.

But I also know that I
care deeply about my family

and that I love my
brother very much.

And I know that, as long as I'm
doing this with my heart pure

and doing it for
the good reasons,

that there is going
to be a conclusion.

[music playing]

Here at Unsolved Mysteries,
each and every case

solved brings us feelings
of immense satisfaction.

Tonight's update is
particularly gratifying.

It involves a young man
sentenced to life in prison

for a murder most people are
convinced he did not commit.

On Sunday night, April 13th,
1986, fire and rescue squads

raced to a raging house
fire in Aurora, Missouri.

When firemen were finally
able to search the wreckage,

they found the body of
79-year-old Pauline Martz.

She had been bound,
gagged, and left to die.

Investigators concluded the
fire had been deliberately set.

I'd say I was--

ROBERT STACK: Five
days later, the police

questioned a local 20-year-old
named Johnny Lee Wilson.

What would you say?

ROBERT STACK: Wilson
is mildly retarded,

with an IQ in the mid-60s.

In this chair.

And he sat here and looked
you right in the eye

and said, John, you was there
before that fire started.

ROBERT STACK: After a grueling
four-hour interrogation,

Wilson confessed.

A confession he
would later recant.

He mad at you?

JOHNNY WILSON: At the
end of the interrogation,

he forced my head back.

And that's when I
said, OK, OK, I did it.

But when I really didn't.

That's when I lied.

The court finds
the defendant--

ROBERT STACK: Johnny's
attorneys recommended

that he plead guilty to
avoid the possibility

of the death penalty.

In doing so, he waived his
right to a trial by jury.

JUDGE: Court sentences you--

ROBERT STACK: In April of
1987, Johnny Lee Wilson was

sentenced to life in prison.

Court stands adjourned.

ROBERT STACK: He was immediately
remanded to the Missouri State

Penitentiary.

Several legal experts, incensed
by this apparent injustice,

sprang to Johnny's defense.

DEE WOMPLER: It's
one of those cases--

perhaps there's only
one in a thousand--

where an innocent man is doing
time in the penitentiary.

And Johnny Lee
Wilson is innocent.

And if he had a trial, he
would probably be acquitted.

I don't think the jury would
deliberate more than an hour

before they acquitted him.

And it's a shame that
he never got a chance

to prove his innocence.

All I want is somebody
to believe me you know,

that I didn't do this.

Over the years, the case
against Johnny Lee Wilson

began to fall apart.

A key witness recanted
his testimony.

An inmate in another
prison actually

confessed to the crime.

Nevertheless, both
the state court

of appeals and the
Missouri Supreme Court

refused to grant Johnny a trial.

Johnny Lee Wilson had
only one other option.

One last hope.

Here's Keely Shaye
Smith with the details.

In July of 1994, Johnny's
case came before Missouri

governor, Mel Carnahan.

Johnny's attorneys had requested
a pardon on the grounds

that there was no evidence
against their client.

Only, quote, a
pathetic, desperate

confession after hours
of interrogation.

My counsel re-interviewed
the witnesses.

Talked to the prosecutors
and the police.

Looked at the evidence.

Read the transcripts.

A year-long study.

And we became convinced
that it wasn't appropriate--

not only wasn't it appropriate
for him to remain in prison,

but that he was innocent.

KEELY SHAYE SMITH: The
pardon was granted.

On September 29, 1995,
Johnny Lee Wilson

was finally a free man,
exonerated of all charges.

JOHNNY WILSON: Yeah,
I never thought

that I would see the day that
I would walk out those doors

and be driving away
from that place.

It felt great.

KEELY SHAYE SMITH:
All together, Johnny

had spent nine years,
five months, and 10 days

behind bars.

At a hastily assembled
news conference,

Johnny's thoughts
turned to Pauline Martz.

Why would someone hurt
a nice lady like Pauline?

She was a wonderful person.

A friend of my grandmother's.

And she was a very
humble person.

KEELY SHAYE SMITH:
Following his release,

Johnny was reunited with
his mother and grandmother.

My mother and I cry, and
we just hugged each other.

And all of us was really happy.

I could hardly believe it,
you know, after all those years.

KEELY SHAYE SMITH: Johnny
now lives with his mother

and grandmother in his
hometown of Aurora, Missouri,

where he hopes to put his
long ordeal behind him.

JOHNNY WILSON: I have no
bitterness or nothing.

I got so much faith.

I knew sometime, somehow,
that I was gonna get out.

I'm just glad I did.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK: New
Year's Eve, 1952.

A time of hope and
guarded optimism.

Ike had been elected president.

Conflict in Korea was
drawing to a close.

But in Glendale, California,
David Kempton's world

was about to come apart.

City of angels.

Here with my wife.

My beautiful wife.

ROBERT STACK: David's
his wife, Barbara--

David.

ROBERT STACK: --Was in
love with another man.

DAVID KEMPTON: Hey,
what's wrong with you?

Well, we don't hug anymore.

We don't kiss anymore.

David.

ROBERT STACK: Nine
months later, Barbara

would disappear, along with the
couple's young daughter, Donna.

DAVID KEMPTON: The last time
I saw her was just a few weeks

after her fourth birthday.

It's been a very long time.

So I'm sitting there with
this guy down at the plant.

He says watch this.

ROBERT STACK: David Kempton's
troubles began in July of 1951,

when he brought a
coworker home for dinner.

And a couple of seconds
later he flags me over

and I meet Barbara Stanwick.

But it's like--

ROBERT STACK: At the time,
the Kempton's lived in Ohio.

David and Barbara had been
married for five years

and had two children,
Steven and Donna.

Sat down with her
for a few minutes.

Then some guy came over

ROBERT STACK: David's
new friend Charles

was an engaging
storyteller, who entertained

everyone with delightful
tales of his adventures

around the country.

I'm telling you, it's an
amazing city, Los Angeles.

DAVID KEMPTON: Charles
was a person who

lived an unusual kind of life.

Close to 150 bucks a month.

DAVID KEMPTON: Almost
anything or any place

you wanted to talk about, he
had some stories related to it.

There's restaurants.

There's nightclubs.

There's dancing.

ROBERT STACK:
Charles never stopped

talking about California,
the promised land.

Eventually, David and Barbara
decided that was a place to be.

All went well,
until Charles joined

the Kemptons on the west coast.

I'm in love with Charles.

What?

I want a divorce.

Son of a.

DAVID KEMPTON: I was
totally unhorsed.

Charlie!

Damn you!

I had never considered
such a thing.

I didn't know there was anything
that wrong with the marriage.

Sorry, but I'm leaving.

Eventually, what
we decided was

that if that's where
things were going to be,

I would step out of the picture.

He would step into my shoes.

There'd be as little disruption
as possible with the kids.

And I went back to Cleveland.

David, it's Barbara.

I'm in Arizona.

DAVID KEMPTON: But within about
a month, or five, six weeks,

I got a phone call.

Charles is gone.

DAVID KEMPTON: It was totally
out of the blue, a thunderbolt.

I'm with the kids, and
I want to come home.

I sent her the bus tickets.

And I tore out and dug up
a house for us to live in.

ROBERT STACK: David's
joy was short-lived.

Within weeks, Charles
was back in the picture.

Barbara moved out again.

She moved back in.

Then she dropped
another bombshell.

I'll live here and I'll
take care of our children,

but don't ask me
for anything more.

ROBERT STACK: This
time, David left, and he

took the children with him.

A judge soon granted
David temporary custody

of both Steven and Donna.

Barbara received weekend
visitation rights.

DAVID KEMPTON: On the
occasion of the first weekend

visitation, she called
me ahead of time

to say that she was
in a rooming house

and couldn't
accommodate both kids.

Could she just take Donna?

See you guys Sunday afternoon.

Sure, OK.

Bye, sweetie

So on Friday, I delivered Donna.

I'm just here to pick
up my daughter, Donna.

And Sunday evening, went
back to pick her up.

My wife.

Do I just go on
inside or? - Oh, no.

They left yesterday.

They packed up-- some family
business-- and had to leave.

Wait, that's not right, ma'am.

I'm supposed to pick up
Donna today, this afternoon.

She wasn't there.
They left?

WOMAN: Yes, of course I'm sure.

DAVID KEMPTON:
They weren't there.

I'm just gonna
take a look inside.

It was devastating,
because I had no way--

not a way in the world--

to know where they
might have gone.

ROBERT STACK: More than
40 years have now past.

40 years of birthdays,
dances, graduations.

Perhaps a wedding.

And even grandchildren.

DAVID KEMPTON: I'd like Donna
to know that she's always

been a part of my feeling.

Whenever anyone mentions
what kids do I have,

usually I'll include
her in the count.

I want to say hello.

And that I love you.

In whatever way that's possible
under the circumstances.

I have love for you.

[music playing]

We'll be back in a
moment to investigate

the mysterious disappearance
of a young woman named

Bonnie Haim.

Some people believe her husband
knows more about Bonnie's fate

than he is saying.

[music playing]

Christmas morning, 1992.

In Jacksonville, Florida,
a young wife and mother,

Bonnie Haim, opened presents.

Bonnie's husband, Michael,
captured the moment

forever on videotape.

Less than two weeks later, Bonny
Haim would inexplicably vanish.

Police began to suspect
that Bonnie was dead,

a victim of foul play.

Their suspicions soon
focused on Michael Haim.

Among the most damning evidence
was the extraordinary testimony

of a surprising witness,
Michael and Bonnie's

three-year-old son.

Bonnie Haim's uncertain fate,
and the cloud of suspicion

that hangs over her
husband, Michael,

has spawned a contorted
family dispute.

On one hand,
Bonnie's own parents

believe that she was
unhappily married

and willfully abandoned
Michael and her son.

And yet some members
of Michael's family

are convinced that Bonnie is
dead, murdered by Michael Haim.

Bonnie, I'm sorry
to say, is gone.

She's not alive.

If she was alive and had
one ounce of life in her,

she would have
contacted someone.

There are thousands
of other women

that leave their husbands
and families every year.

And it's always a complete
surprise to their families.

Just get that done
by the end of the day.

OK, they need it by tomorrow.

OK, don't worry.

ROBERT STACK: Michael
worked as a manager

of the construction supply
company owned by his aunt,

Eveann, and her husband.

Bonnie did their accounts.

Bonnie, let's go to lunch.

ROBERT STACK: Eveann
claims that Michael

was often abusive to
Bonnie at the office.

I'm starving Let's go.

Well, just go without me.

What is so important
that you can't go to lunch?

BONNIE HAIM: Mike, don't start.

ROBERT STACK: Eveann also
claims that, at least once,

Michael's abuse became physical.

One day they got
into an argument--

in a fight in the parking lot.

And she came in crying.

And he had slammed
her hand in the door.

Her nails were broke, and she
was very upset at that point.

ROBERT STACK: Eveann says
that Bonnie eventually decided

to leave her husband, and
in preparation, opened

a bank account in her own name.

To keep her plans secret,
Bonnie had the bank statements

mailed to her at work.

According to Eveann, Michael
was enraged when he found out.

Michael, what are you going?

No, what are
you doing, Bonnie?

Why don't I know about this?

We're married.

This is our money.

It should be in our account.

Well, it's from my paycheck.

Well, you're gonna
close it, and you're

gonna close it today.

Do you understand me?

ROBERT STACK: Bonnie
closed the account,

but according to
those closest to her,

Bonnie never wavered in her
plan to divorce Michael.

She's secreted money with
a friend for safekeeping

and went so far has put
a deposit on an apartment

and enrolled her son
in a new preschool.

Hi, Dad!

ROBERT STACK: On the evening
of January 6th, 1993,

Bonnie came home from
work at around 7:30 PM.

She intended to drop by Eveann's
at eight to finalize plans

for a coworker's baby shower.

[phone ringing]

EVEANN HAIM: About
8:30 that evening,

she called me on the phone.

Hi.

BONNIE HAIM (ON PHONE):
Um, listen, about tonight.

I'm not gonna be
able to make it.

I'm really sorry.

EVEANN HAIM: She was
crying and she was upset.

Bonnie, is something the matter?

I asked why.

She said that her and Mike
had gotten into a discussion.

And I asked her if she wanted
me to call her back later.

And she said, no, that she would
just talk to me in the morning.

Actually, not too good.

I think I'm coming
down with something.

ROBERT STACK: But the next
morning, neither Bonnie

nor Michael showed up at work.

She's not here.

I don't know.

We had an argument.

And she got mad at me
last night and took off.

I don't know where she's at.

ROBERT STACK: However, hopes
for Bonnie's safe return

began to dim that same morning.

Her purse turned up
roughly five miles

from home buried
in a motel dumpster

near the Jacksonville airport.

ROBERT HINSON: Robbery,
apparently, was not a motive

due to the amount of money and
the credit cards being there.

It had all of her
identification, checkbook.

And the purse was secured
by the maintenance worker.

And a police officer
was called to the scene,

along with family members.

100.

160.

70.

173.

Does there appear to be
anything missing from the purse?

No, it's all here,
as far as I can tell.

Hi, John.

You okay, Michael?

When I walked into the room--

Did she give any indication
where she was going?

EVEANN HAIM: --Mike
and his dad--

MICHAEL HAIM: Nothing.
She just left.

EVEANN HAIM: --Were in there.

MICHAEL HAIM: She
didn't tell me anything.

EVEANN HAIM:
Michael didn't say--

MICHAEL HAIM: Eveann.

EVEANN HAIM: --much about
Bonnie being missing.

What the hell was Bonny
doing with all that money?

He didn't just come out, like
oh my God, my wife is gone.

Where is she?

Just nothing.

Nothing.

ROBERT STACK: Michael has
insisted from the start

that he was not involved in
his wife's disappearance.

He says that on the
night of January 6th,

Bonnie drove off alone after
an argument at around 11:00 PM.

MICHAEL HAIM: Mom,
thanks for coming.

ROBERT HINSON: He stated that
he called his mother, Carolyn

Haim, and asked her to
come over to the house

in the early morning hours
and watch the child while he

went and looked for Bonnie.

I won't be long.

CAROLYN HAIM: You be careful.

ROBERT HINSON:
According to Carolyn,

Mike was gone
approximately 45 minutes.

Then after he
allegedly did that,

he returned to the
house, where he

waited until the next morning.

Never calling the police.

And called in and told
his employer that he

was gonna be sick that day.

ROBERT STACK: Detective
Hinson was less than

convinced by Haim's account.

His instincts led him back
to the Jacksonville airport,

near the motel.

Herb, isn't that it?

ROBERT STACK: Sure enough,
there was Bonnie's car,

abandoned in a lot for
a long-term parking.

ROBERT HINSON: What was
unusual about Bonnie's car

when we found it
at the airport was

the positioning of the seat.

The driver's seat of the car,
which appeared to be farther

back than would have been
comfortable for Bonnie

to have driven the car.

It was more in
relation to someone

about Michael Haim's size.

The car's unlocked.

And after the vehicle
was processed,

we found a shoe print in the
driver's side floorboard.

It was a very pristine print.

They need to get out here.

ROBERT STACK: Police
concluded that the print

had been made by the last
person to drive the car.

The distinctive tread pattern
was traced to a rare style

of athletic shoe.

One pair was owned by none
other than Michael Haim.

The shoe print in
the car is interesting.

But beyond that-- if
it's his footprint--

I'm not sure it means anything.

My footprint is
in my wife's car.

That doesn't mean I have
ever done her any harm.

Did you ever see
your mommy sad?

Mhm.

Was she OK or was she hurt?

She was hurt.

ROBERT STACK: In a bold
attempt to uncover the truth,

investigators arranged
for child psychologists

to interview Bonnie
and Michael's son.

Did mommy get hurt?

Yes.

How did she get hurt?

Daddy pushed her
down and shot her down.

ROBERT HINSON: From what
the child told us that day,

my only conclusion
was is that there

had been a domestic fight.

And that Michael Haim had killed
his wife and had removed her.

And that their three
and a half-year-old son

had witnessed this.

Mommy was hurt?

I can't tell you.

Not gonna tell me?

ROBERT PASCIUTO: The
credibility of a child

is something that you have
to judge in perspective.

He's said a couple of things
that we know were not true.

Mom's car is in the lake.

We know her car wasn't there.

The issue of child
witness credibility

is always a concern.

But, generally, children do
not lie about what they see.

And they do not lie about
what happens to them.

ROBERT STACK: At this
point, custody of Bonnie

and Michael's son is
still in litigation.

However, he is safe.

Meanwhile, the families remains
split about what, if anything,

Michael Haim knows about
his wife's disappearance.

ROBERT PASCIUTO: I'm not
saying that I'm 100% convinced

that Mike is innocent.

I haven't seen any evidence
that convinces me he's guilty.

His behavior and
general attitude

convinces me that
he's not guilty.

I think that Michael
did something to Bonnie.

I think her son was
there, and I think

he seen exactly what happened.

I think he witnessed
his mother's murder.

ROBERT PASCIUTO: I
refuse to give up hope

that Bonnie is alive until we
get some proof, some evidence,

that Bonnie is dead.

Through his attorney,
Michael Haim declined

our request for an interview.

He has not been formally
charged with any crime.

However, authorities
still consider

him to be the prime suspect
in Bonnie's disappearance.

In addition, investigators
believe Michael

may have had an accomplice.

Someone who picked
him up after he

left Bonnie's car at the
airport and also helped

to dispose of his wife's body.

The possibility remains,
of course, that Bonnie Haim

is still alive.

[music playing]

Next, if you like a
good fright, you'll

love the Devil's Backbone.

Many believe it's the most
haunted spot in America.

And the eyewitness accounts
leave little doubt.

[music playing]

[howling]

[screaming]

I was feeling
extremely scared.

It was a ghost.

It had to be.

I didn't tell anybody about it.

That chilling sensation I
got kind of stayed with me.

There's something here.

What it is, I don't know

BERT WALL: I've
had probably 25-30

reportings of different
spirits and ghosts

from different people.

They'll never leave.

I'll be dead and gone.

They'll be here.

ROBERT STACK: They called
it the Devil's Backbone.

And when it comes to
ghosts per square mile,

few places short of purgatory
can match these 4,700

acres in central Texas.

To get here, you head south, out
of the state capital, Austin,

about 50 miles and
some 200 years.

The gnarled canyons of
the Devil's Backbone

were once home to Comanche
and Apache Indians.

In the 1700s, Spaniards
pushed through on the road

to conquest.

Among them was a Franciscan
monk named Espinoza,

infamous for his
ruthless ambition.

More than a century later,
renegade Confederate soldiers

on a doomed quest for
gold breathed their last

in the Devil's Backbone.

Today, their spirits live on.

Or so says longtime
resident, Bert Wall.

BERT WALL: I had a
situation one time

where I was finishing a
particular thing I was writing.

And it was late at
night, about midnight.

And the dogs started barking
a little, but not loud.

The wind was blowing.

It was a cold night.

[dogs barking]

Then I looked
through the window.

That's when I saw
a Spanish monk.

I don't believe it could
have been a person.

There's no way.

He was definitely
from the 1700s.

He was dressed that way
in his habit or whatever.

His cross hanging.

I probably watched him
for, oh, 15 seconds, maybe,

which is a long time.

He disappeared in a way that
was more of a [hissing] Gone.

[dog barking]

ROBERT STACK: The
luminous Spanish monk

is but one of many spirits
that prowl the ranch.

Just ask John Miers.

He came to Bert Wall's
place to hunt deer,

but hunting in the
Devil's Backbone

isn't like anywhere
else in the world.

JOHN MIERS: The stand I
was on was a tree stand.

Once I got up and
situated myself--

you have to be
real quiet and real

still and watch for the deer.

As I was sitting up
in the stand, waiting.

And that's what you do a lot
in deer hunting is just wait.

[footsteps]

I heard footprints-- or
footsteps, I should say,

walking around the tree.

The base of the tree.

I couldn't see because I
was sitting on a platform.

And it kept just walking in
a circle, whatever it was.

I started getting a
little eerie feeling,

because it wouldn't
move away from the tree.

It just kept going in a circle.

And, finally, it just stopped.

It didn't walk away.

The sounds just stopped.

And the sun started going down,
and it started getting darker.

And I thought, well, I'm just
going to get down off the tree.

Walk back to my house

Didn't see any footprints,
twigs broken, or branches

broken, or anything like that.

I kept getting this feeling
that someone was watching me,

so I stopped and I turned back
and looked toward the tree.

And there was an Indian.

It was a very cold night.

It was in the 20s.

And he was without a shirt.

And he was looking at me rather
strangely, like who are you?

So, immediately, I turned
around and started back

toward the house.

I noticed to my right, out
of the corner of my eye,

that he was there and he was
walking parallel with me.

I didn't feel threatened by him.

It's just like, who are you
and what are you doing here?

And I made about two
steps toward him.

And when I did, he vanished.

It was a ghost.

It had to be, you know,
to be able to do that.

ROBERT STACK: The
bunkhouse was a site

of yet another
extraordinary vision,

if you believe Lynn
Gentry, one-time foreman

at Bert Wall's ranch.

LYNN GENTRY: I was
kind of relaxing.

And off in the distance
I heard what, at first,

I thought was thunder.

[rumbling]

Then as the sound came closer,
I realized that it was horses

hooves in a very fast run.

There were several
horses with probably 15

or 20 riders on them.

What I believe to have
been Confederate soldiers.

They certainly looked
real to me at the time.

But then when you begin
to slowly realize that,

hey, what I'm looking
at is not real.

You know, these are ghosts.

ROBERT STACK: Perhaps
most amazing of all

was the experience
of John Villarreal.

A few years back, John was
hiking with two friends

in an area known as the Haunted
Valley John claims he not

only saw a supernatural
vision of a wolf,

but that the spirit
actually possessed him.

JOHN VILLARREAL: Corey
and B.C. Were off

in another part of the creek.

And I got the sensation
and basically saw

a vision of a wolf.

[growling]

I was looking up, watching
it coming towards me.

And it leapt at me.

[growling]

And where it would have hit
me, I felt just a chilling

sensation go through me.

We didn't see
anything mysterious.

It's all what John
says that he saw.

When we got back into
the truck, it got

extremely cold in the truck.

He was sitting in
between B.C. and I.

I was sitting on
the passenger side,

so the whole left-hand
side of my body

got extremely numb and cold.

It's almost like if
there was a big block

of ice sitting next to me.

When we got back to
the ranch that night,

I didn't know what was going on.

I didn't know if my friend
was going to be all right.

I was actually pretty
worried about him.

Easy.

Easy.
Easy.

Take it easy.

ROBERT STACK: According
to his friends,

John initially lapsed
into a silent trance.

When he did speak, his voice
was an unearthly baritone.

John suddenly seemed obsessed
with Indian massacres,

ambushes, and other
little known events

from the history
of Devil's Backbone

You're gonna be all right.

COREY RAMSEUR: While
I was standing there,

I was feeling extremely scared.

And all of a sudden,
a big gust of wind

came out of the kitchen.

I was just in shock.

I didn't know what that was.

I stood there kind of frozen
and kept asking questions.

What was that?

What was that?

And that's when someone said,
I think the spirit's left him.

I think it's gone now.

I don't know for sure
what kind of spirit

was inside of me.

But something that knew
about this ranch, that

knew about the
history of the ranch,

had to be going through me.

And it's hard to believe,
but basically that's

what would have had to happen.

ROBERT STACK: Here in
the Devil's Backbone,

ghosts are as common
as spines on a cactus.

But why should this
particular patch of land

prove so irresistible
to spirits?

BERT WALL: The Devil's Backbone
is haunted because it's loved.

It's loved by the spirits.

It's loved by myself.

And I imagine someday
when I'm gone,

I will haunt this
same son of a gun.

[screaming]

[growling]

ROBERT STACK: If the local
accounts are anything

close to true, Bert Wall would
join a host of others souls who

once called this place home.

Bold company in which to
spend the rest of eternity.

[howling]

Join me next time for
another intriguing edition

of Unsolved Mysteries.

[theme music]