All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S08E12.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-BTW_track3_[eng]

[mysterious music]

NARRATOR: Tonight, on
"Unsolved Mysteries"--

ROBERT STACK: Welcome to
the renowned Comedy Store

on Sunset Boulevard
in Hollywood.

Many of America's
most famous comedians

got their start at
this popular club.

But some people say
that, on certain nights,

you're likely to catch a
very different kind of show--

one guaranteed to create a
lot more chills than chuckles.

Is The Comedy Store truly
haunted, from the basement

to the rafters?

Tonight, we've come to
the legendary nightspot

to see for ourselves.

Join me in this ghostly
profile, as well

as these intriguing mysteries.

Keith Warren was a young man
with everything to live for.

So when the police announced
that his sudden, shocking

death was a suicide,
Keith's family

began their own investigation.

Today, eyewitness testimony
and questionable evidence

has left them more
convinced than ever

that Keith was murdered.

When she was just
16, Wendy Radcliffe

found herself all alone in
a moment of terrible crisis.

But in the midst
of Wendy's tragedy,

a kindly stranger stepped
forward to comfort

and console her.

Perhaps someone watching tonight
knows the identity of Wendy's

unknown good Samaritan.

Also, Keely Shaye Smith
joins us from the phone

center with a poignant update.

See how your calls
reunited Fritz Vincken

with a soldier who
helped teach him

the true meaning of Christmas.

Stay with us for
another fascinating hour

of "Unsolved Mysteries."

[theme music]

[eerie music]

[jazzy music]

If America's heartland
is in the Midwest,

it's funny bone is
here in Hollywood,

at a Sunset Strip nightclub
called The Comedy Store.

For more than 20
years, the club has

played host to legendary
comedians like Richard Pryor.

Film and television stars Jim
Carrey, Roseanne, Jay Leno,

and Arsenio Hall, each
got their big break

while delivering
knockout punch lines

to the club's delighted fans.

[laughter]

If it fit right here--
no, that's Don King.

OK, wh-- where's the one--

I'm there.

I'm cool to fight.

ROBERT STACK: But some say the
best show takes center stage

when the crowd goes
home and there's

hardly a living soul around.

According to many
employees, past and present,

The Comedy Store's
hallowed halls are haunted.

[echoing laughter]

Author Laurie Jacobson, who
once worked here as a waitress,

collected the stories for a
book about ghosts and Hollywood.

LAURIE JACOBSON: This place
is haunted from the basement

to the rafters.

When I was a waitress
here, the waitresses

would have to set up
the showroom by putting

tablecloths on the
table and we would

put an ashtray on every table.

And we would set up an
hour before the customers

were due to arrive.

On occasion, girls would set up
the room, leave for a moment,

come back, and everything
would be put back.

The tablecloths would
be refolded and stacked.

The ashtrays would be stacked.

And we all knew exactly what
we were dealing with here.

Dave?

That what was
happening in those rooms,

being set and unset, it
was being done by ghosts.

It wasn't a figment
of my imagination.

I wasn't drunk.

I wasn't high.

I wasn't-- I didn't get hit
in the head with something,

and you know.

It's easy to know, once you've
seen it, you believe it.

ROBERT STACK: When he
was just starting out,

Joey Gaynor worked as a
doorman at The Comedy Store.

Most nights, he was the last
one out of the building--

or so he thought.

[soft music]

JOEY GAYNOR (VOICEOVER):
It's about 3

o'clock in the morning,
everybody's out.

I'm locking up, and I go
into the original room

to get my coat, and there were
two candles lit on the table.

I blew them out.

[mysterious music]

Turned around, they
were lit again.

Went back over and I
said, man, you know.

I blew them out again.

I said, well, maybe
they were still--

they stayed a little lit
when I blew them out.

And I start to go
down the stairs,

and it was freezing all
of a sudden in there.

And I turned around, the
candles were lit again.

So I said, OK,
stay lit, goodbye.

And I just split.

I didn't want to hang
around to find out why.

[jazzy music]

ROBERT STACK: It seems The
Comedy Store spirits just love

to play games with Joey Gaynor.

JOEY GAYNOR (VOICEOVER): One
night, I was going to shut

the lights in the building--

takes four seconds,
five seconds tops.

Walked back out, chairs.

All these chairs are
just piled in the middle

of the aisle, piled up.

And I never heard anything,
nobody could have come in

and done that in five seconds.

Even if it had been
10 seconds, if you

can pile 8, 10 chairs
in that amount of time,

you should be in Vegas.

Because that's pretty amazing.

Born and raised in Georgia
and I fought in Vietnam.

That's like being punished
for the same thing twice.

[laughter]

ROBERT STACK: Like Joey
Gaynor, comedian Blake Clark

served a tour of duty as
a Comedy Store doorman.

Blake says he, too, was
a target to the club's

disembodied pranksters.

I was a person who did
not believe in ghosts.

Absolutely,
unequivocally, undeniably

did not believe in any sort
of paranormal manifestation.

I thought they
were working here.

I was coming in to lock up the
band room, and I heard a noise.

[eerie music]

It was moving just, you
know, like somebody was just

kind of dragging it
across the stage,

except there was no one there.

I'm not a scientist, but
it wasn't an earthquake.

It wasn't wind.

It wasn't a person.

It was some supernatural or,
as yet, unexplained force.

Let's get the chairs out, OK?

ROBERT STACK: Blake
claims he also

witnessed one of Joey
Gaynor's misadventures

with the supernatural.

A lot of strange stuff going
on in this place this week.

Just quit
antagonizing them, Joey.

What?

When I do this?

Hey, come on out.

Come on, ghost.

Show yourself.

Come on!

Where are you?

[mysterious music]

I saw this ashtray just
go across the room and burst

onto the wall.

And so, Joey just says,
woah, what was that?

Woah, did you throw that at me?

And I went, no, it
came from over there.

It was like, zoom!

You know?

To see it come up, and take
off, is what was scary.

I was always
skeptical, because we're

talking about comedians
telling stories.

However, I did see it.

ROBERT STACK: Michael Becker
currently handles The Comedy

Store's business affairs.

It took less than five minutes
to turn him into a believer.

Definitely.

Yeah.

9 o'clock, MC spot.

ROBERT STACK: Becker
says the phantom

he saw dropped by
in broad daylight,

in the middle of an
important call, no less.

Yeah, hi.

It's Mike Becker.

MICHAEL BECKER (VOICEOVER):
As I was standing there,

I saw someone with a kind
of a tweed '40s jacket,

just walk right into my office.

Get that guy out of my office.

Can you hold, please?

Thanks.

Who's that guy?
- What guy?

The guy that
just came in here.

MICHAEL BECKER
(VOICEOVER): There

was nobody there except the
guy that was on the phone

originally.

Nobody came in here?
MAN: Nobody.

MICHAEL BECKER (VOICEOVER):
And to top it off,

the guy that was on the
phone didn't see anything.

So it was not a guy,
but it was something

that walked in my office.

[eerie music]

ROBERT STACK: That something
has been prowling the premises

for decades, or so they say.

[soft jazzy music]

Long before The Comedy Store
moved in, these walls were

home to the nightclub Ciro's.

In the 1940s and
'50s, Ciro's was

a splashy, flashy
playground of movie stars,

like Tyrone Power, Bette
Davis, and Lucille Ball.

Ciro's was the most popular
nightclub in Hollywood.

And when a club is that popular,
the mob is often involved.

ROBERT STACK: Mickey
Cohen was the most

notorious of the club's
gangland regulars.

It has long been rumored
that a few unfortunate souls,

who had run-ins with Cohen,
ended up as ghosts at Ciro's.

MICHAEL BECKER: It
kind of all fits

together that something happened
back in the '40s, perhaps.

Because it's never, like, a
hippie-looking guy, or it's

never somebody from the
'80s, or anything like that.

The clothing is always
'40s, every time

I've ever heard a story.

Once you rule out all the
prosaic, logical explanations,

such as a hoax or a
fraud, misinterpretation

of natural events, you
know, seismic, you know,

transients,
electrical transients,

you're left with
something that is

totally inexplicable in
terms of modern science.

[suspenseful music]

ROBERT STACK: Modern science
would have conniptions trying

to explain what
Blake Clark claims he

and a coworker saw
late one night.

BLAKE: What the--

[gate creaking]

Do you see that?

Yeah.

BLAKE CLARK (VOICEOVER): We
looked back and I saw the gate.

And it just started, just
bending out into the hallway--

[imitates metal creaking]

--making that kind of noise.

And as I was looking at it,
I thought this is certainly

approaching the boundary
of physical possibility,

that something can do that.

Most of the ghosts
at The Comedy Store

are not dangerous at all.

But there is something
in the basement

that is very terrifying.

And you'll have a hard time
convincing people to go

down there, at least alone.

[tense music]

ROBERT STACK: It was a
challenge tailor-made for Blake

Clark and Joey Gaynor.

One time, and one
time only, they

braved an after hours visit
to the forbidden clutter

of The Comedy Store basement.

Hey, look at this Joey.

Hmm?

It's a checkbook.

[scoffs] Find
anything there for me?

Hey, what do you want?

Wh-- what do you want?

Stay back!

Just stay back!

What do you want?

It had no features, no
features at all, just moved.

And it started to snake
upwards and down towards us.

Spirit, demon, whatever.

Whatever was down there in that
basement, I just don't like it.

Hey, what do you want?

ROBERT STACK: Apparently,
the feeling was mutual.

[whooshes]

For sheer speed, Blake and
Joey's sprint from the basement

has yet to be equalled.

A funny thing happened to the
comedian at The Comedy Store.

When a story begins
like that, you're

inclined to take it
with a grain of salt.

But what of the
waitresses and employees,

who have little to gain
by telling tall tales?

So far, Laurie
Jacobson has documented

50 mysterious episodes
here at The Comedy Store.

[eerie music]

Perhaps we should make it 51.

Next, during a time
of tragic sorrow,

a young girl finds
comfort in the arms

of an unknown good Samaritan.

And later, a joyous
reunion rekindles

the spirit of a remarkable
wartime Christmas.

[eerie music]

[gentle music]

It was a friendship that
reached across the generations.

16-year-old Wendy Radcliffe,
weathering her parents'

stormy divorce, found a
best friend and confidant

in her grandmother,
Bernice Gardner.

There was really
unconditional love between us,

and she accepted me.

It was total acceptance.

To spend time with my
grandmother was safety.

It was kind of
like my safety net.

Whenever I had problems at home,
I went and stayed with her.

How are things with
your mom and step-dad?

ROBERT STACK: In 1984,
Wendy and her grandmother

spent Christmas vacation
together in Oregon.

On December 30th,
they headed back home

to southern California.

Uh-oh.

WENDY: What's wrong?

Light just came on.

I think we better pull over.

Oh.

No one could have
foreseen that the minor car

problem would trigger a
catastrophic series of events.

Within hours, Wendy would
find herself all alone,

facing unbearable sorrow.

More than a decade
later, Wendy still

wants to thank the
total stranger who

unexpectedly
appeared at her side

that tragic night
in December of 1984.

[tense music]

OK.

Uh-huh.

ROBERT STACK: The car repair
had derailed Wendy and Bernice's

plan to drive home in one day.

Wendy called her mother from
Modesto, California to say she

and her grandmother
would be staying over.

That's it.

Hungry?

I'm starving.

Place across the street
used to be pretty good.

Want to go try it again?

OK, sure.

Come on.

WENDY RADCLIFFE
(VOICEOVER): Then

we headed out to walk across
the street to the restaurant.

And I was ahead of her.

And I just kind of
ran out into traffic

and went across the street.

And she decided to wait.

[brakes screech]

Grandma!

The feeling was
just pure horror.

I can't describe it any better
than that, it was just--

to see her, and to see her
looking at me when it happened.

It was just pure horror.

ROBERT STACK: Wendy charged
into the restaurant,

screaming for help.

By the time she returned
to her grandmother's side

a small crowd had gathered.

WENDY RADCLIFFE (VOICEOVER):
And there was a man there,

and he kind of pushed me away.

[wendy crying]

Wake up.

I'm sorry, miss.

Miss, you need to--

Let go of me.

This is my grandmother!

I got the impression
that he didn't

know who I was, he
didn't know that we

were related, that he just
thought that I was a bystander.

No!

ROBERT STACK: As Wendy
watched helplessly,

a stranger stepped
from the crowd.

Oh, it's OK.

WENDY RADCLIFFE
(VOICEOVER): And this woman

just grabbed me and held me,
and told me it was OK to cry.

And tried to tell me
everything was going to be OK

and, you know, comfort me.

She was there.

I mean, she reached out to
somebody she didn't know

and tried to help.

ROBERT STACK: At the hospital,
Bernice was rushed to surgery.

Wendy was alone again,
adrift in a living nightmare.

WOMAN (ON INTERCOM):
Dr. Rosa to reception.

Dr. Rosa to reception.

ROBERT STACK: Then,
out of the blue,

a stranger appeared once more.

Hi.

How are you doing?

WENDY RADCLIFFE (VOICEOVER): I
was very surprised to see her.

You know, you just
kind of expect people

to go on about their life.

What are you doing here?

I couldn't stand
to think about you

here all night in this
hospital, all alone.

Have you gotten in
touch with your family?

Yeah, they're on their way.

Well, how about
if I stay with you?

WENDY RADCLIFFE
(VOICEOVER): She knew

I didn't have any family there.

And so, she wanted
to be with me,

so that I had somebody there.

Somebody that I could look to.

Miss?

You can go up and see
your grandmother now.

Is she going to be OK?

She's stable.

The doctor will
explain everything.

ROBERT STACK: At last, the
ordeal seemed to be ending.

WENDY RADCLIFFE (VOICEOVER):
I was excited, you know,

I thought that I was going
to get to see my grandmother.

I thought she was
alive and doing OK.

- Doctor?
- Mm-hmm?

Can you tell me which
room is Bernice Gardner's?

The nurse said we could
come in and see her now.

- Are you family?
- She is.

I'm her granddaughter.

Um, I don't know what they
told you downstairs, but I'm

afraid you've been misinformed.

And then, the lecture,
the speech, the one you

never want to hear in your life.

He had told me that she
died, and I just fell apart.

No, I'm sorry.

We did everything we could.

I'm very sorry.

There must be some mistake.

Oh, sweetie.

The nurse said she was stable.

I know, she did.

I know.

WENDY RADCLIFFE (VOICEOVER):
I cried, and she held me.

From that point on, I
don't really remember much.

ROBERT STACK: The unknown woman
stayed until Wendy's family

began to arrive.

Then, without a word,
she slipped away.

WENDY RADCLIFFE
(VOICEOVER): I've looked

back on it so many times.

And I see, over, and
over, and over again,

how important it was
that she was there.

Because she hadn't
have been there,

I probably would have
totally fallen apart.

You'll be OK.

[gentle music]

ROBERT STACK: Today, a decade
later, Wendy is a happily

married mother of three.

But since that night, she
has felt a debt of gratitude

to the gentle stranger who
extended a helping hand.

WENDY RADCLIFFE
(VOICEOVER): It was

a real turning point for me.

She helped me to
become a person who

can be there for somebody else,
and I want her to know that.

It means a lot to
me to find her.

To let her know that one
person made a difference.

[upbeat music]

ROBERT STACK: When we return--

in 1944, a German boy
and an American G.I.

shared an unforgettable
Christmas dinner.

Some 50 years later, our
viewers help reunite them.

[eerie music]

Tonight, we have a heartwarming
update to one of our most

poignant lost love cases.

Perhaps you remember the story.

[dramatic music]

December 1944.

Some of the most savage
fighting of the Second World War

took place in Belgium's
Ardennes Forest.

Thousands of American
and German soldiers

would lose their lives in the
infamous Battle of the Bulge.

Christmas Eve brought
no end to the carnage.

In an isolated cabin, within
earshot of the fighting,

a young German boy named
Fritz Vincken and his mother

tried to make the
best of the holiday.

[knocking]

Papa?

Shh.

FRITZ VINCKEN (VOICEOVER): My
mother blew out the candle,

and went to the door
and I went with her.

She opened the door, and
there were these soldiers.

We're Americans,
and we're lost.

And our friend-- our
friend's been shot.

ROBERT STACK: Fritz's mother
knew that harboring the enemy

was punishable by death.

But it was Christmas, and she
was willing to take the risk.

The G.I.s had just begun
to relax in anticipation

of an unexpected
holiday meal, when

there was a knock at the door.

[knocking]

FRITZ VINCKEN (VOICEOVER):
We thought, automatically,

this must be more Americans.

And I went to the door,
and opened the door.

And there were four
German soldiers.

[speaking german]

ROBERT STACK: No one could have
foreseen what happened next.

In a remarkable display
of courage and compassion,

Fritz's mother bid the Germans
welcome, provided they leave

their weapons at the door.

[speaking german]

That night, hostilities
ceased in at least

one corner of the forest.

American and German
soldiers sat down together

to honor the Christmas spirit.

[speaking german]

FRITZ VINCKEN
(VOICEOVER): By that time,

they were all crying.

Not profusely, but the
tears were falling.

You know, even the German
soldiers, I was very surprised.

And then we ate, and
the tears disappeared.

But from then on, there
was a feeling of friendship

that permeated the whole world.

It was wonderful.

I'll never forget it.

ROBERT STACK: Fritz never
did forget the lessons

he learned that night.

And he never stopped hoping when
he would someday be reunited

with one of the American G.I.s.

Against all odds, it was
a dream that came true.

Here's Keely to tell
you how it happened.

Bob, after our most recent
broadcast of Fritz's story,

a man named Eldridge Ward
called our phone center.

He's a volunteer
chaplain at a nursing

home in Frederick, Maryland.

Eldridge recognized
the stories, one

often recounted by an elderly
resident named Ralph Blank.

We did a little research,
and found out that in 1944

Ralph Blank had, in fact,
been a sergeant serving

with the US Army in Belgium.

Fritz immediately phoned Ralph,
who confirmed that he was one

of the soldiers who had
celebrated Christmas

with Fritz and his mother.

FRITZ VINCKEN: I was
completely unaware

that we had looked for him.

Though, either way, I
asked him whether he

remembered me from that
night in the Ardennes.

Oh, yes, I remember you,
he said, you must be Fritz.

KEELY SHAYE SMITH: On
January 19th, 1996,

Fritz flew to Maryland
to meet his long lost

friend, who is now 76 years
old and in fragile health.

FRITZ VINCKEN: I was very
excited, I could hardly wait.

[speaking german]

Fritz?

Hi.

Well, it's good to
see you, young boy.

[speaking german]

[ralph chuckles]

It's been so long.

I'm glad to see you.

FRITZ VINCKEN (VOICEOVER): I
just had to look at his eyes,

and I knew this is him.

And he recognized me,
apparently, even though we

changed so much in that time.

But it was a great experience.

Have I changed any?

RALPH BLANK
(VOICEOVER): Oh, I never

thought I'd ever see Fritz
again when I left Germany.

Today is a special day for me.

KEELY SHAYE SMITH: The emotional
reunion took place just a day

after another exciting
event, Ralph Blank's

50th wedding anniversary.

To cap the joyous celebration,
his daughter-in-law

fixed the same
meal Fritz's mother

had served some 52 years ago,
a hearty bowl of chicken soup.

I can only tell you
it was the fulfillment

of a lifelong dream.

Something I had given up
all hope to experience.

KEELY SHAYE SMITH: Fritz
Vincken and Ralph Blank,

proof that true
friendship and brotherhood

can endure time, distance,
and the ravages of war.

I had a pistol.

You remember?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

- I gave it to your mother.
- That's right.

Or she took it from you.

[laughter]

Has she still got my pistol?

[eerie music]

Tonight, an urgent appeal
to police departments

across the country.

For nearly a decade, a
cunning serial rapist

has prowled Buffalo, New
York and its suburbs.

Local detectives now fear that
the suspect may be targeting

women outside the state.

Perhaps investigators
in other areas

can help put an end to the
growing list of victims.

I was 17 years old and I
was walking to summer school.

I was running a little
bit late for school,

so I decided to cut
through the pass.

And I was almost at
the end of the path,

and I heard something behind me.

Hi, how you doing?

WOMAN (VOICEOVER): And I
didn't think anything of it,

so I turned around
and I kept walking.

You know, I mean, he didn't
look like someone I had to fear,

he looked like a
normal everyday guy.

[tense music]

Shut up.

And don't look at my face.

WOMAN (VOICEOVER):
He started dragging

me back into the woods, and
then he started strangling me.

And then I thought, that's
it, I was going to die.

It was-- I really thought I'm
never seeing any of my family

again.

And when he was
finished, I asked

him, what's going to happen.

And he told me,
he said, nothing.

He almost sounded sorry.

And then he left.

ROBERT STACK: The reign
of terror had only begun.

In June of 1988, the
rapist was lying in wait

as a 16-year-old girl
walked to school along

an isolated railroad track.

Once again, the assailant
would double-wrap

a rope around his victim's
neck and tape her eyes shut.

PW REINIG: Almost a year
later, in May of 1989,

another young girl was using
this as a shortcut on her way

to school.

The same individual passed her
and, immediately afterwards,

double-wrapped a rope around
her neck, gained control of her,

and took her to the
bush area behind me.

He forced her to place
tape over her eyes.

He bound her and
sexually assaulted her.

ROBERT STACK: Now
there were four.

Two of the women said the rapist
had worn a blue baseball cap.

Each victim described a
short, stocky, mustachioed man

in his mid-30s.

Four months passed,
then a fifth attack.

A woman alone in a secluded
place, early morning.

THOMAS GOULD: He placed
a rope around her neck,

and he wrapped it twice.

She described him as
a very powerful man.

He lifted her over this fence.

And took her into the
wooded area over here,

where he bound her
hands behind her back

and he placed surgical
table her eyes.

And at that point he raped her.

ROBERT STACK: 5'
5" to 5' 8", stocky

build, black hair,
black mustache,

white, possibly Hispanic.

It was a rapist.

And he would savage two
more victims in Amherst.

32-year-old female
was using his path early

in the morning for exercise.

As she got to this
point right here,

a rope was placed
around her neck

and she was immediately
rendered unconscious.

She was then dragged
into these woods

up this way, which we think
was a pre-selected site.

ROBERT STACK: The
woman was found one

hour later, still unconscious.

Double-wrap marks on
her neck told police

who they were dealing with.

But this time was different.

This time he had nearly
killed his victim.

22-year-old Linda
Yalem was a student

at the State
University in Buffalo

when she crossed
paths with a rapist.

Linda was the
seventh known victim.

She would be the first to die.

Linda Yalem was
left in the woods,

her mouth and nose wrapped
tight with duct tape.

THOMAS GOULD: It was
premeditated murder.

He planned on killing her
when he grabbed her that day.

Once he put that tape over
her nose and her mouth,

there was no chance
for survival.

ROBERT STACK: An unexpected
lull followed, 2, 3, 4 years.

Authorities wondered, had the
suspect moved, gone to prison,

or even perhaps died?

Then in October of
1994, a 14-year-old girl

was raped in Buffalo, New York.

He was back.

This guy strikes
so infrequently,

he's very hard to profile,
very, very difficult.

He's either got
tremendous self-control,

or else he's hitting in
other parts of the country

that we're not aware of.

[stern music]

ROBERT STACK: In a moment,
the mysterious case

of Keith Warren.

Did a killer cleverly
arrange Keith's death scene

to make it look like suicide?

[eerie music]

The 911 call came in just before
2:00 PM on July 31st, 1986.

A mother's quiet world
was about to be shattered.

Her only son was dead.

Keith Warren was just one
month from starting college.

He had lived with
his sister and mother

since his parents
divorce, when he was 10.

By all accounts a well-liked
and dependable young man,

Keith seemed destined
for a promising future.

Instead, he had came
to an untimely end.

Paramedics found
Keith in a wooded area

behind his family's townhouse.

He was hanging by the neck
from a small tree that was

bent double with his weight.

The elaborate arrangement
of the hanging rope

would later be the
source of bitter debate.

The cord was anchored around
the base of a large tree.

It extended some 25
feet to a small sapling.

It encircled the
sapling's trunk and then

arched up through a fork.

The authorities, however,
saw nothing suspicious

about the scene.

After a brief visual
inspection, the county's

deputy medical examiner
determined that Keith

Warren had committed suicide.

No autopsy was ordered.

And the body was dispatched to
a funeral home for embalming.

It was already dark when
Keith's mother was informed.

I didn't realize at
the time that Keith's

body was not in a morgue.

There'd been no
investigation, and his body

had been discovered
maybe five or six

hours earlier, about 12:30.

I didn't know at
the time the officer

had chosen a funeral home.

[gentle music]

ROBERT STACK: A few
days later, Mary Couey

received her son's
personal effects,

some audiotapes, a jacket,
and his trademark brown boots.

MARY COUEY (VOICEOVER):
And I saw the boots

and that's when I
just got really--

I mean, it was just, I knew it
was all over, to see the boots.

That was Keith, and--

that was it.

Initially, Keith's
mother accepted

the finding of suicide.

But over time, she
found discrepancies

too numerous to ignore.

Today, Mary Couey
totally rejects

the official explanation.

Her doubts began after she
heard a friend of Keith's

named Rodney Kendell.

Rodney reported that a parade
of suspicious characters

had been looking for Keith
shortly before his death.

MAN: Hey, yo, dude.

You seen Keith Warren around?

Do you know him?

- No, why, what's up?
- Mm.

Nothing much, man.

Just some friends looking
for him, see him around?

ROBERT STACK: The
first incident occurred

in front of the
townhouse, a week

before Keith's body was found.

Why?

What are you
looking for him for?

RODNEY KENDELL (VOICEOVER):
It was mainly black males

that were in the car.

And Keith did not associate
much with black males, most

of his friends were white males.

So I thought it
was pretty strange.

And after I told them that I
hadn't seen Keith, they left.

He said they weren't from
the neighborhood or our school

area, so I kind of
figured, why would

they be looking for Keith?

But, you know, no one
had an answer for me.

ROBERT STACK: Several
days later, Rodney

heard another odd encounter.

This time with a high school
acquaintance of Keith's

named Mark Finley.

Rodney, have you seen Keith?

RODNEY: No, man, what's up?

I-- I need to find him.

Wh-- where was last
time you saw him?

I don't know, we
were out last night.

MARK: What time?
When?

RODNEY KENDELL (VOICEOVER):
He seemed pretty urgent.

I thought it was pretty strange.

Because he acted like he needed
to find Keith very quickly.

And I told him I couldn't--

I didn't know where
Keith was, and he left.

And that puzzled me.

Because I said, you know,
in the past eight-- seven

to eight years we
lived in Maryland,

Mark never came by, nor
did he ever call for Keith.

I never saw him in the house.

I don't recall him.

And my last recollection of Mark
was when we were in 8th grade,

and they got into a
fight, Keith and Mark did.

A couple of weeks after
that, my mom came to visit me.

And I've never gone to the
site that the tree was found

and she wanted to
go to the tree.

ROBERT STACK:
Rodney Kendell, who

had earlier identified his body
for the police, led the way.

And when we got
there, I looked around,

and couldn't find the tree.

But I was sure I was
in the right spot.

And we looked down, and
the tree had been cut down.

It was just the stump left.

I panicked and I
called the police.

And they were very rude, and
rudely told me that, well,

what do you want us to do.

You know, we cut
it down, and what

do you want us to do about it?

ROBERT STACK: Mary Betters
and a multi-racial community

group known as
CLAMs, are helping

Keith's mother with the case.

The police had
cut down the tree

and they were saving
it as evidence.

Now, this was a big surprise
to us, because heretofore

they had said that
the case was closed.

And we were surprised
that they would be still

collecting and saving evidence.

ROBERT STACK: Keith's mother
no longer trusted the police

or their explanations.

She launched a letter
writing campaign targeting

state and federal officials.

But for six long years,
Mary Couey hit a stone

wall every way she turned.

Then came April 9th,
1992, her son's birthday.

Keith would have been 25.

That afternoon Mary
found a plain manila

envelope at her doorstep.

The stunning contents
would sweep her back

to the day of her son's death.

[suspenseful music]

Sherry!

Oh my god!

MARY COUEY (VOICEOVER):
And Sherry came up

and she saw the
pictures scattered.

And she picked them up.

And, of course, she panicked.

And then she says, oh
my god, this is Keith.

ROBERT STACK: There were
five pictures in all.

They looked official,
and each showed

a different view of Keith
Warren hanging by his neck.

Mary forced herself to look.

And in the process, she
found a glaring discrepancy.

Those are not his shoes.

MARY COUEY (VOICEOVER): His
clothing, they didn't fit him.

That's when we
started to realize,

he was wearing somebody
else's clothing.

He's got a long sleeve shirt on.

It looks fairly new.

He's got, like, corduroy
jeans on that he didn't own.

But the real
eye-catcher was that he

was wearing white sneakers.

And those white tennis
shoes, he did not own.

He did not own a pair
of white tennis shoes.

Those are not his clothes.

ROBERT STACK: For
Mary Couey, it was

a nightmarish inconsistency.

Yes, that was her son
in the photographs,

but whose clothes
was he wearing?

Whose white tennis shoes?

And why was he wearing them?

The only items of clothing the
police returned to the family

had been Keith's
jacket and brown boots.

Neither was shown
in the photographs,

although authorities
said that they had

been found near Keith's body.

MARY COUEY (VOICEOVER): My
brain started to just really go

into a tailspin, because I
didn't feel that the police

were my friends at all.

I started to talk
around to legal people.

And I was advised to go
to a local investigator,

and find out the
source of the photos.

The police department
conceded that they were copies

of original police
photos, but they had

no idea where they came from.

None whatsoever.

They were questioned
numerous times.

ROBERT STACK: When Joe
Alercia examined the pictures,

he noticed leaves on the
back of Keith's shirt.

To Alercia, this
suggests that Keith

had been lying on the ground,
and was hoisted into a hanging

position by someone else.

Alercia says that his theory is
bolstered by the complex path

of the rope found at the scene.

JOE ALERCIA: Apparently,
the perpetrators

noticed that the tree was
small and wouldn't hold a body.

Therefore, they needed
some security by tying

around a big tree here.

When you talk to
police off the record,

you get this was a
travesty of errors.

On the record, you
get a lot of there

are logical explanations
for everything,

and yet no logical explanations
have ever been given.

The fact of the matter
is, no one seems

to know whose clothing
Keith Warren is wearing

in those photographs, and
whether or not Keith Warren

was hanged, or whether or
not he committed suicide.

ROBERT STACK: Finally, Keith's
family had his body exhumed.

At long last, there
was an autopsy.

And the results were shocking.

I believe that Keith Warren's
death being listed as suicide

is medically not supportable.

ROBERT STACK: Toxicology tests
had revealed the presence

of potent chemicals.

Most importantly,
trichloroethane or TCE.

They are usually found
in glue and solvents.

The levels found in
Keith Warren were

more than enough to kill him.

These substances
can get in there

by inhalation or they
could be-- actually

even to be taken in by mouth.

The other possibility,
of course,

is injection as part of
an embalming solution.

ROBERT STACK: The
embalming process

is exactly how Maryland's
chief medical examiner

explained away the
toxic chemicals when

he reviewed the autopsy report.

Dr. Mihalakis disagrees.

ISIDORE MIHALAKIS:
The substances

found in Keith
Warren's body could not

have been introduced
by the embalming fluid

because, one, the
embalmer in his report

never mentioned using
any of those substances.

Secondly, the distribution
of the key substance,

trichloroethane, is more
consistent with inhalation.

And third, there were found
two additional substances

which are totally unrelated
to any embalming solution.

He could have been
at a party where

there were some
drugs involved and he

accidentally killed himself.

And they were
afraid, and then they

decided to take and hang him
make it look like a suicide.

OK.

Or he could have been
attacked from the back,

and that particular
chemical is so potent,

that one chemist
said that he was

dead before he hit the ground.

He couldn't have done this
and placed himself on a tree.

That's the bottom line.

He could not have
taken these chemicals

and then hung himself.

ROBERT STACK: If Keith
Warren didn't hang himself,

then who did hang him?

In a final disturbing
twist, the one person

who might have
answered that question

has also turned up dead under
suspicious circumstances.

Mark Finley was one of those
who came looking for Keith

around the time he died.

Six years later, when Mary
Couey received the photographs,

Finley again
figured prominently.

Affixed to one of
the pictures was

a threatening note
which appeared to target

Finley and another man.

The note read, in
part, don't worry,

Mark Finley will be next.

Two months after Mark learned
he had been singled out,

he contacted Mary Couey.

Mark called my residence,
left a message on my answering

machine to the effect
of something that said,

Miss Warren, this
is Mark Finley.

I got your message, and
I will be by to see you.

I do remember those specific
words, "I need to unload."

ROBERT STACK: One month
later, Mark Finley was dead.

According to the
Montgomery County Police,

Finley died accidentally
when he struck a curb

and was thrown from his bike.

JOE ALERCIA: That
was a strange death.

The original ambulance crew
said the damage to Mr. Finley

didn't fit the accident itself.

The damage in his face, it
was-- looked like somebody

either hit him with
a car or he was

waiting for him
with a baseball bat

and hit him with a baseball bat.

Mark Finley made a
statement at a party,

saying that Keith
didn't kill himself,

I helped hang him in the tree.

It just seemed kind of strange
that he'd happen to expire when

he had made that statement.

ROBERT STACK: Why
was Mark Finley

targeted in a threatening note?

Did he truly have information
about Keith Warren's death?

As with all the other
nagging questions,

the authorities have
a standard answer.

This case is closed.

We're still being stonewalled.

And we're still being fought.

And that's incredible.

I can't-- I can't
understand that.

What is-- What is it that the
system does not want me to know

about my child's life or death?

Despite repeated requests
officials in Montgomery County,

Maryland declined to
comment on the case

or participate on
this broadcast.

Mary Couey vows that
she will continue

to press her own
investigation until each

and every question about her
son's death has been answered.

Join me again next Friday.

Perhaps you may be able
to help solve a mystery.

[theme music]