All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S08E14.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-BTW_track3_[eng]

[music playing]

NARRATOR: Tonight on
"Unsolved Mysteries."

ROBERT STACK: The
images are now seared

into the national
conscience, the Federal

Building in Oklahoma
City ripped in half

by a powerful, homemade bomb.

But even here, the
terror was tempered

by quiet acts of courage.

Tonight, the harrowing
account of one survivor

who found himself trapped
in the destruction

face-to-face with death.

When all seemed lost,
two anonymous heroes

emerged from the rubble
to carry him to safety.

Today, all that remains
of the Federal Building

is the vacant lot behind me.

They've come here today to pay
tribute, both to those who died

and to those who risked their
own lives in the rescue effort.

Join me for this
moving profile, as well

as these fascinating stories.

Best-selling author,
James Ellroy,

is renowned for his brooding,
seductive crime novels.

But since childhood,
Ellroy has been

haunted by the dark memory of
his own mother's brutal murder.

Travel with Ellroy as he
revisits the Los Angeles

of his youth in a
final attempt to solve

this most personal mystery.

In South Carolina, a
brazen hold-up leads

to a standoff with a police.

And a volunteer Officer is
cut down in a hail of gunfire.

Now the man convicted of killing
him has escaped from prison.

Since 1993, the apparent
suicide of Vince Foster,

one of President Clinton's
most trusted advisers,

has been a flash
point of controversy.

Some researchers
believe that a suicide

note found in Foster's briefcase
is, in fact, a clever forgery.

Stay with us for a dramatic
and compelling hour

highlighted by our special
report from Oklahoma City.

Perhaps, you may be able
to help solve a mystery.

[explosion]

[music playing]

MAN (OVER RADIO): We've
got a lot of people here.

We need to get this [inaudible].

[sirens wailing]

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK: The smoke
and sirens have faded.

But part of Oklahoma City still
has the feel of a war zone.

The Federal Building,
once humming

with activity and purpose,
stood at this very spot.

It is hallowed ground,
the scene of cruel tragedy

and remarkable heroism.

Tonight, perhaps, you can
help one survivor of the blast

find the two men who risked
everything to save his life.

The morning of the bombing
began as a picture of normalcy.

Duane Miller, married
and the father of three,

pulled into a federal building
parking lot at around 8:52.

He planned a quick
stop, just long enough

to pick up some papers
at the credit union.

Hi, I'm Duane Miller.

I called yesterday
about some documents.

Hello, Mr. Miller.

Uh, yes, hold on.

ROBERT STACK: 9:00
AM, business as usual,

deposits, loan
applications, paperwork.

Debbie, could you check in the
back for me for some documents?

DUANE MILLER: When I
walked through the door

into the credit union I should
not have been in that building

more than five minutes.

And I picked the
wrong five minutes.

Andrea, you might
check at your desk too.

ROBERT STACK: 9:01, 80 feet
away in front of the building,

the bomb was in place,
the detonator set.

9:02--

[explosion]

DUANE MILLER: All
of the sudden, I

felt a huge blast of air
come through the door

that I was standing by.

And it instantly just
got-- it got the blackest

black you can imagine.

And I-- and I'm flying
through the air.

[sirens wailing]

I heard one lady scream.

I could just hear her.

She had to be in the
credit union where I was.

I just heard a scream that
maybe lasted a second.

I was here at home
when it went off.

And our house just shook.

I mean, we actually heard it.

It shook the windows.

And the noise--
I went outside.

I thought a plane
had crashed nearby.

But I was not
concerned about him

until someone
contacted me and said

that he had been seen
going into the building

and getting on the elevator.

Then I got scared.

[sirens wailing]

ROBERT STACK: Most of those
in the credit union with Duane

were crushed by
tons of concrete.

Duane plummeted
two floors and was

thrown into a part
of the building

that was still standing.

[music playing]

Duane found himself
dangling some 10 feet

above a sea of broken
walls, twisted pipes,

and splintered furniture.

His legs were trapped
in a tangle of wires.

[struggling]

DUANE MILLER: I'm assuming
they're electrical wire.

And to tell you the truth, I
thought, if I grab that stuff,

I'd get electrocuted.

And I thought, you
know, big deal.

I'm going to die if I don't
get out of here anyway.

And so I just started grabbing
from wire and took my chances.

[gasping]

[struggling]

I realized that I couldn't
see out of my right eye.

And I actually reached
up with my hand to see

if my eyeball was still there.

And it was.

I just white my eye like that.

And it was-- my
whole side of my face

was just covered with
blood, evidently.

Because when I do that, I
can see out of that eye.

I want to get out
of that building.

And I look around.

And I see an
opening in the wall.

And that's the
only opening I see.

That's the only way I
see out of that place.

[gasps]

ROBERT STACK: Safety
was a mere 50 feet away.

But Duane's legs were useless.

Virtually every ligament
in his knees had snapped.

If Duane was to get out,
he would have to drag

himself every inch of the way.

DUANE MILLER: I could hear
the building creaking.

It was just creaking.

There was dust and
concrete that was flying

off of the support pillars.

And was like the support pillars
were just, um, uh, vibrating.

And then-- and I thought
the whole building

was going to fall in.

[groaning]

ROBERT STACK: The building
shifted and groaned.

The sound of falling
rubble was everywhere.

DUANE MILLER: I went
as far as I could go.

And when I stopped, I looked
up at that hole in the wall.

And I could see two men
come through that hole.

I think I see somebody!

Don't move.

We're coming over to you, OK?

DUANE MILLER: When they
came in that building,

there were still things falling.

And that, uh, any one
of them hit those guys

and they're dead.

And, um, when I
saw them, I knew I

was coming out of there alive.

And that's a fact.

Hold on.

[groaning]

We run a daycare center.

ROBERT STACK: Duane's
guardian angels

lifted him from the wreckage and
carried him towards the light.

Real slow, real slow.

[groaning]

All right, there you go.
There you go.

You going to be OK?

Yeah, yeah.

I'm-- I'm OK.

OK.

Let's get out of here.

Let's go back inside.

DUANE MILLER: They
got me out of there.

And when they got me
out, they turned around

went right back in there.

[sirens wailing]

ROBERT STACK: In the
streets, pandemonium.

Victims far
outnumbered ambulances.

Only the most critically injured
could be rushed from the scene.

Duane and hundreds of
others, bloodied but stable,

were later evacuated
en mass in buses.

Duane, tell me if any of
these areas are tender, OK?

OK.

ROBERT STACK: Dwayne was in
the hospital for two weeks.

He still faces years
of corrective surgery

and the certain
knowledge that he will

never again walk without pain.

What's the worst, chair,
getting in and out of the car?

Yeah.

OK.

All right, let me
have you lie down.

And we'll, uh--

DUANE MILLER: I feel
like I'm real lucky.

I think I'm so fortunate to have
come out of that thing alive.

Because there were so
many that were there

where I was in
that building that

aren't here to complain about
the shape they're in, you know?

When that bomb went
off, there were

people I could have
reached out and touched

that didn't survive.

And I did.

ROBERT STACK: For nearly a year
until we filmed this story,

Duane Miller avoided the
sight of the Federal Building.

To him, this is a place
of unmitigated horror.

[music playing]

DUANE MILLER: I
think an evil thing

happened there, just so stupid.

I just-- you know, I can't,
in my mind, comprehend why

anybody would do
that, would-- would

destroy so many people's lives.

For what reason, I don't know.

Because they've-- they've
accomplished nothing other than

cause here in Oklahoma City
thousands and thousands

of people to, uh, go-- you know,
go through a horrible thing.

And it's just crazy.

ROBERT STACK: If this
barren patch of earth

does have one saving
grace for Duane Miller,

it is a memory of the brave
men who came to his rescue.

[music playing]

You'll be OK, all right?

We're going to help you.

Can you walk?

DUANE MILLER: They could
have been killed real easily.

But they saw me.

And they didn't
hesitate one second.

They came right over to me
and got me out of there.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK: When we return, a
convicted cop killer engineers

a daring prison break.

Also, Keely Shaye Smith
joins us with the latest

news from the phone center.

And later, the death
of Vince Foster,

a trusted presidential adviser,
sparks political intrigue.

[music playing]

Through the years,
your calls have helped

solve more than 230 mysteries.

Tonight's update features
another case closed

thanks to you, our viewers.

This is Michelle Neal-Arkin.

Of Hoffman Estates, Illinois.

For more than a decade,
Michelle has been

searching for her birth mother.

Michelle was raised by
Laverne and Wilbur Neal.

Though they loved
her as their own,

Michelle always suspected
she was adopted.

Michelle was 18 when she learned
the truth about her past.

Michele's birth mother was a
woman named Patricia Bonner.

Michelle's father
had died in 1965

before Michelle was even born.

Patricia found herself unable
to raised four children alone.

So she reluctantly gave
Michelle to the Neals.

I know you and
Wilbur will give her

a good home and care for her.

Can I just hold her
one more time, please?

Uh, of course.

MICHELLE ARKIN: I can understand
what she did back then.

I would just feel better just
knowing where I came from,

what my relatives,
what-- you know,

just simple, basic questions
that any person would have.

ROBERT STACK: With the blessing
of her adoptive parents,

Michelle began the
search, a search

that ended the very
night of our broadcast.

Here's Keely Shaye
Smith with the details.

Bob, we were still on the air
when Michelle's half sister,

Sandra, called us here
at the phone center

to tell us that Michelle's
mother, Patricia Bonner,

was alive, well and
living in Chicago.

In fact, she lived just
10 miles from Michelle.

Within an hour,
mother and daughter

were talking on the phone.

It was a moment Patricia
Bonner will never forget.

I could not believe it
until I heard her voice.

And she told me
she was Michelle.

And, uh, it was just-- you
don't know the feeling I had.

KEELY SHAYE SMITH:
The following weekend

at a hotel in Chicago,
Patricia waited anxiously

with her children
for the arrival

of Michelle and her family.

Finally, after 30 years, she
and Michelle came face to face.

I love you.

[crying]

MICHELLE ARKIN: I was
really happy that she

was so happy to see me.

Because that was one
fear I had, that she

wouldn't care, you know, that I
was doing this all for nothing.

But the fact that she
was looking for me

and I was looking for
her just is unbelievable.

Do you want to meet
your older brother, John?

Yes, the one I've
been talking to?

Yes.

Well, hello.

KEELY SHAYE SMITH:
Michelle was astonished

to learn that, in
addition to her long lost

brother and sisters, she
also had two half brothers

and a half sister.

MICHELLE ARKIN: I had no
clue that I would ever have

so many brothers and sisters.

And the resemblance in my
kids, you know, to them is--

it's unreal.

It's shocking.

KEELY SHAYE SMITH: Michelle's
adoptive parents were also

present, thrilled at
their daughter's search

was finally over and that the
two families were now one.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK: Greenville,
South Carolina, the night

before Thanksgiving, 1985.

- How's it look?
- We're going to do this one.

Let's go.

I can't believe you
brought that kid.

Don't worry about Rich.

He'll carry his weight.

ROBERT STACK: Most thieves might
not consider a busy grocery

store a good place to rob.

But this night, throngs
of holiday shoppers

guaranteed an abundance of cash.

The first man inside
was Rusty Corvette,

a convicted racketeer.

The mastermind was Sam Wodke,
an armed robber out on parole.

The young man waiting
nervously in the car

was Wodke's 19-year-old
son, Richard.

[music playing]

[register beeping]

I have to write this in
here right now or I'll forget.

Is your video
section still open?

I've got to get a tape.

CAROL GOLDSMITH:
I turned around.

And I looked over.

And that's when I saw a
man wearing a ski mask

and holding a gun.

Wait a minute.

You're not going anywhere.

Everybody hit the floor!

Do it, face down, now!

CAROL GOLDSMITH: I was
close enough to see

the color of his eyes.

And I thought, he doesn't
care that I can recognize him.

That was the scariest
thing of all.

Because I thought,
if he doesn't care,

what's going to happen here?

Come on.

Let's go.

Move!
Come on!

Come on!
Come on!

Move to the back of the store!
Go!

Go!
Go!

Move!

Very cool, all the
way back to the store.

All the way back!

Everybody, move
back to the store!

Everybody, I said back.

What do you think,
we're kidding?

[gun shot]

Been a pleasure.

Rich.

Woo, we did it!

ROBERT STACK: The take
was almost $8,000.

But the robbers
didn't get away clean.

Two store employees caught
the make and license

plate number of the car.

A man in a gray Cutlass
had just turned off

of Rutherford Road on the 291.

There are at least two
subjects in the car.

PARKS EVANS: I advised the
other cars that were around me.

A road block is what we were
trying to do and, you know,

be able to stop him,
get him out of the car,

and arrest him without,
hopefully, any instance

of injury occurring.

ROBERT STACK: Within
minutes, other units

were converging on the robbers.

Charlie 29, uh, I'm heading
north on Piney Mountain.

ROBERT STACK: Officer Dennis
Eubanks and a volunteer

constable, Valdon Keith, moved
in from the opposite direction.

Heading right to us.

[sirens blaring]

ROBERT STACK: Eubanks and
Keith swung around, managing

to get ahead of the chase.

He's coming in
right behind you.

ROBERT STACK: Before they
could set up a road block,

the robbers were on top of them.

[sirens blaring]

Hit it.

Let's get around them.

If-- Sam, let's run!

Sam, let's hit it.

Get around them!

[gun shots]

[sirens blaring]

ROBERT STACK: Backup
arrived far too late.

Volunteer Valdon Keith, 46
years old, a father of four,

was dead.

Within 48 hours, police had
arrested all three suspects.

Sam Wodke, charged with
first-degree murder,

was facing the death penalty.

I wrote it all down for you,
everything you need to say.

Here, take it.

Come on.

Wodke, take it.

ROBERT STACK: In
jail, Wodke talked

Rusty Corvette into another
cold-blooded scheme.

They would both finger Wodke's
son as the trigger man.

We're going to make Rich
look like one geared up cowboy.

JOE WATSON: It was like
it was a game to him.

He acted like this ultimate
story he was going to tell

was the truth of the matter.

You know, I mean,
he was plotting

to put his own son
in the electric chair

is what he was doing.

ROBERT STACK: Nevertheless, Sam
Wodke paraded his innocent act

to the media, sporting
a dapper mustache

and a cavalier attitude.

REPORTER: Sam, what are
you thinking so far?

Fantastic.

REPORTER: Yeah?

I truly believe in
the judicial system.

It's really impressed me a
lot the way things are going.

ROBERT STACK: In the end,
Wodke was convicted of murder,

primarily because his
son and Rusty Corvette

testified against him.

Wodke had, however,
created just enough

doubt to get a life sentence
instead of the death penalty.

LT. WILLIAM HITCHINS: We
were leaving the courthouse.

And he grinned at me.

And he said, you know, he
said, life isn't nothing.

He said, you know,
I'm going to get out.

He was very confident about it.

ROBERT STACK: It took
almost eight years

and several botched
escape attempts,

but Wodke eventually
made good on his boast.

[sawing]

On January 8th, 1994, Wodke
and another inmate, Danny Lail,

were assigned to an
unsupervised landscaping

detail on the prison grounds.

Because it was Saturday, there
would be no midday headcount.

Got it!

Let's do it.

ROBERT STACK: The convicts
used a stolen hacksaw blade

with a homemade
handle to gain access

to an underground
maintenance tunnel.

Wodke and Lail had to slice
through three wire gates,

a steel door, and
the rebar sandwiched

between two wire mesh gates.

22 hard cuts in all
and only eight hours

before the evening head count.

[sawing]

[grunting]

SR. AGENT WILLIAM E. SHAEKEL:
I imagine the adrenaline

was pumping, and nervous.

Every sound they
hear, they figured,

there's going to be a
guard coming to get them.

ROBERT STACK: By
4:30, Wodke and Lail

had made it to the boiler room.

Dale.

Hey, Dale!

What are you doing down here?

Are you going to get me
the keys to that truck?

Or am I going to have
to get them myself?

I told you not to come down
here doing my shift, Wodke!

ROBERT STACK: The
trustees working

there didn't want to get
caught helping the escapees.

Sam, we got 15 minutes!

ROBERT STACK: But they weren't
about to get in the way.

Get some rope, so we
can hog tie ourselves.

ROBERT STACK: With barely
15 minutes to spare,

Wodke and Lail drove a prison
truck through the main gate

and disappeared.

Police caught up with Lail
less than a month later.

Wodke, however,
is still at large.

JOE WATSON: Sam Wodke is
in a category by himself.

He is, I believe,
very psychopathic.

But it's not that
he enjoys killing.

But he'll do it an instant.

He'll-- he will do anything
it takes to preserve him.

And he won't hesitate.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK: Coming up,
best-selling crime novelist,

James Ellroy, embarks on a
painful personal investigation

to unravel the mystery
of his mother's murder.

But first, a team of
handwriting experts

reaches a stunning and
controversial conclusion

about the suicide note of White
House adviser, Vince Foster.

[music playing]

Our next story concerns
the controversial suicide

of a high-powered
Washington attorney.

It threatens to become
one of the biggest

political scandals of our time.

It began with a
somber announcement

and remains, for many,
an unsolved mystery.

I have just met with
the White House staff

to basically talk
with them a little bit

about the death of my friend
of 42 years, Vince Foster.

ROBERT STACK: On
July 20th, 1993,

the country was shocked
by the unexpected death

of 48-year-old Vincent
W. Foster, White

House Deputy Counsel and
close personal confidant

of the Clintons.

Foster was found dead in Fort
Marcy Park across the Potomac

River from Washington.

He had been shot
once in the head.

The wound was apparently
self-inflicted.

At the time of his
death, Vince Foster

had become a central figure in
a growing Whitewater scandal.

Two separate investigations by
the United States Park Police

and by the FBI for independent
counsel, Robert Fisk,

concluded that Foster had,
indeed, taken his own life.

Perhaps inevitably in a
case with serious political

ramifications, there
were serious doubts

concerning Foster's suicide.

Some of the most
controversial reports

were published in the
conservative "Pittsburgh

Tribune Review."

CHRISTOPHER RUDDY: Vince
Foster was the highest

federal official to die under
suspicious circumstances

since the death of
President Kennedy.

I don't push a
non-suicide theory.

I have never said Vince
Foster was murdered.

I have said that police are
trained to treat every suicide,

no matter how apparently,
as a homicide,

as a murder first, until
the facts prove otherwise.

What is clear in this
case is that police

procedure was never followed.

ROBERT STACK: For Christopher
Ruddy and many others,

one of the keys to this
case is an unsigned

suicide note allegedly
written by Vince Foster.

This is a copy of the
reconstructed note,

which when found, had been
ripped into 28 pieces.

It read, in part--

VINCENT FOSTER (VOICEOVER): I
made mistakes from ignorance,

inexperience, and overwork.

I did not knowingly violate
any law or standard of conduct.

No one in the White
House, to my knowledge,

violated any law or
standard of conduct.

I was not meant for the
job or the spotlight

of public life in Washington.

Here, ruining people
is considered sport.

ROBERT STACK: The shredded note
was found in Foster's briefcase

four days after his death.

Curiously, White House
counsel, Bernard Nussbaum,

had earlier inspected the
contents of the briefcase,

but didn't find the note.

This led to widespread
skepticism concerning

the document's authenticity.

On October 25th, 1995, a team of
well-known handwriting experts

held a press conference
in Washington.

They had been
hired by the editor

of an independent
financial newsletter.

Each of the experts had
examined a photocopy

of the alleged suicide
note and concluded

that it was a forgery.

The death of Vince
Foster was suddenly

cast in a whole new light.

If the note was forged,
was it part of a cover-up

by the Clinton Administration?

Or was it evidence that Vince
Foster had been murdered?

Is there any substance to
the claim that the suicide

note was forged?

The experts believe that the
forger studied an existing

document handwritten
by Vince Foster

and then copied his writing
style letter by letter.

To examine this
remarkable claim,

we invited the experts to
meet with us in Boston.

Blow-ups of both
the suicide note

and several random known
samples of Foster's writing

were provided.

Then we asked the experts
to show us exactly what

led them to their conclusions.

We have known four.
We have the enlargement.

ROBERT STACK: For purposes
of the demonstration,

the suicide note is
labeled Q1 and referred

to as the questioned document.

The known samples or
label K1 through K12.

Ronald Rice, a
handwriting examiner

who has worked for the
state of Massachusetts

is convinced that
the note was forged.

If we compare the formation
on the cursive capital I

here on the questioned document
to the formation of the capital

I here on the known document
authored by Mr. Foster,

we can plainly see
it is not the same.

With an entirely different
letter formation.

One, two, three strokes--

ROBERT STACK: Rice went on to
describe other discrepancies.

For example, in the suicide
note, the letter O is open.

By contrast, in the known
samples, it is close.

In addition, Rice claims
that the letter B In the note

was made with at least
four strokes of the pen.

In the known sample, he
says the letter was written

with one continuous stroke.

You can plainly
see the weakness--

ROBERT STACK: Rice
says he discovered

numerous discrepancies,
which prove

to him that the suicide note
was not written by Vince Foster.

RONALD RICE: My
study and examination

in excess of 40
hours I had spent

on this concluded that
this was a document that

was very skeptical.

And it was my opinion
that it was a forgery.

ROBERT STACK: Many
handwriting analysts

would say that Foster's writing
was typified by u-shape strokes

known as swags.

Action, another N--

ROBERT STACK: Reginald Alton
of Oxford University in England

believes the forger had a
difficult time imitating

Foster's graceful style.

When Foster writes
Clinton's, the I-N

is an elegant double swag.

When the forger
writes Clinton's, we

find the strokes are
not easy and elegant

and not really on form at all.

There were an inordinate
amount of hesitation

dots found in the document.

ROBERT STACK:
Hesitation dots are

small blobs of ink left where
the pen and starts or stops.

Anthony Iantosca
believes the presence

of so many dots indicates
that the suicide note was

deliberately and
painstakingly copied, rather

than written in a normal hand.

ANTHONY IANTOSCA: We take a
look at the capital letter N.

You'll see four
distinct hesitation

dots starting at the
top where the pen comes

in contact with the paper.

It stops.

He comes down.

And it stops at the bottom.

He comes back up and retraces.

He comes back down again.

You see a third hesitation dot.

He stops.

He comes back up.

And you'll see a heavy
concentration of ink

right here for the
fourth hesitation dot.

And more neatly written.

ROBERT STACK: Retired homicide
investigator, Vincent Scalice

is a certified
document examiner.

He points to the fact
that the words beginning

with the letters
T-H, whether the T is

capitalized or
lowercase, are much more

crudely written in the suicide
note than in the known samples.

But can the differences
be explained,

perhaps, by stress, the stress
of a man about to kill himself?

These experts give no
credence to the argument.

VINCENT SCALICE:
Your handwriting

would not change because you
were under that type of stress.

It might get a little sloppier.

It might get a
little less clear.

But your style of writing
normally would not change.

ROBERT STACK: Is it possible
that the experts are right?

Could the suicide note
of one of President

Clinton's most trusted
advisers had been forged?

The implications are
staggering, but only

if these particular
experts are correct.

And at least one other
expert says, they are not.

MARCEL MATLEY: There's nothing
in the questioned document that

would support any
finding of forgery.

And the things that
are brought forth,

the apparent fragmentation
in those things,

are explained by the fact that
we have a deteriorated copy

and the fact that the man was
under some emotional stress

at the time.

ROBERT STACK: Marcel
Matley is convinced

that the other experts
are wrong and has

provided his own
demonstration to prove it.

Again, Q1 on the left side
represents the suicide note.

A1 through K11 on the right side
represent the known samples.

The first is the word "the."

We have three "the's" from
the suicide note, three

from the first known sample.

You cannot tell the
difference in these words.

The only thing that, uh,
that might be a difference

is here where it's deteriorated.

This is from the photo copy
that's been copied too often.

The loop is gone and
the stem is gone.

The second word to,
we have four of them

in the questioned document, one
of which is where the tear is,

so we can ignore it.

But you notice these
three "to's" have

differences among them.

We go to K9 and K10, we
get three more words, to.

We have the same difference.

The word Clinton was mentioned.

First, we do have a tear
at the end of the word,

which we have to ignore.

But otherwise, the only notable
difference is the final S.

But that doesn't
make any difference.

Because in the suicide note,
Foster used two styles of S.

In his known sample, he uses
the same two styles of S.

So from comparing these
words, the conclusion

is the same person
wrote both writings.

ROBERT STACK: Did Vince
Foster write the suicide note?

Are these the final
thoughts of a man

overwhelmed by
the cold realities

of politics in Washington?

Or as critics of the Clinton
Administration contend,

is the note part of
an elaborate cover-up?

In the end, there are
still many, many questions

to be answered.

The ongoing investigations into
both the Whitewater scandal

and Vince Foster's suicide
will, in all likelihood,

continue for some time to come.

Given the explosive
political nature of the case,

it is quite possible
that we will

never know the entire
story behind the death

of Vince Foster.

[music playing]

Next, crime writer,
James Ellroy,

tackles his most haunting
case, the unsolved murder

of his own mother.

[music playing]

It was the 19th
century poet Lord

Byron who observed that truth
is stranger than fiction.

170 years later, a bestselling
crime novelist has pushed

that notion to the limit.

He has turned an unflinching
eye to his own past

and to the unnamed killer
who shaped his life.

[music playing]

JAMES ELLROY (READING
BOOK): He knew the area.

And he knew that access road.

It was dark and quiet
and semi-secluded.

It probably went bad
right then right there.

He was living in
that split second

that separates lust from rage.

He was thinking about sex.

He probably wasn't
thinking about murder.

Listen.

ROBERT STACK: This
brooding scenario was

penned by writer, James Ellroy.

His fitful tales
of sexual obsession

and explosive
violence consistently

top the bestseller list.

In 1995, Ellroy's book,
"American Tabloid,"

was named novel of the
year by "Time Magazine."

But few of Ellroy's readers
know how much truth there

is just below the surface.

JAMES ELLROY (READING BOOK):
The spark point could have

been words or a simple gesture.

The combustion occurred.

It flared out of control.

[woman screaming]

He hit her, and hit her, and
hit her and strangled her.

ROBERT STACK: When James
Ellroy was 10 years old,

his mother was beaten,
raped and strangled.

Her semi-clothed body
was left in a bed of ivy.

A strand of pearls lay pale
and scattered in the street.

JAMES ELLROY: My mother's
crime scene, to me,

is all crime scenes.

The crime scene, to me, is--

it's primal.

It's almost Oedipal.

The moment of the discovery
of her body is, in many ways,

the moment of my birth.

Because it's the genesis
of my detective's

obsessions with the
murders that they,

ultimately, become consumed by.

ROBERT STACK: Like a character
in one of his own novels,

James Ellroy has
become entangled

in his mother's unsolved
murder, obsessed

with tracking down her killer.

A widely-sought eyewitness
known as the blonde woman

was never found.

Almost 40 years later, Ellroy
believes the elusive blonde

is very likely still alive.

Perhaps, she is
watching tonight.

Perhaps, she will
finally come forward

and reveal the name of
the killer who lashed

out in the summer of 1958.

James?

James, I'm home.

ROBERT STACK: Gene Ellroy,
divorced, early 40s.

She was a staff nurse at a
Los Angeles factory, lived

in the nearby town of El Monte.

It's your dinner.

Would you come in the kitchen?

ROBERT STACK: Gene had
custody of 10-year-old James

during the week.

There you are.

How was school today?

OK.

ROBERT STACK: Every Saturday,
James would take the bus

to stay with his father.

Your father's picking
you up tomorrow.

ROBERT STACK: Sundays,
James would return by cab.

The custody ritual ran like
clockwork until the afternoon

of June 22nd, 1958.

JAMES ELLROY: The yard
was full of policemen

in uniforms and plainclothesmen.

I wasn't afraid.

But I was anxious.

I was apprehensive.

Are you James Ellroy?

Yeah.

Son, your mother
has been killed.

Where is your father?

What?

Where's your father, son?

JAMES ELLROY: I think people
were surprised that I wasn't

more overtly emotional
in the moment right

after I got the news that
my mother had been murdered.

I think they expected me to
cry, or carry on, or display

some kind of overt histrionics.

But I took the news internally.

ROBERT STACK: This
picture of Ellroy

was snapped by a press
photographer that day.

JAMES ELLROY: The die was cast
for me on June 22nd, 1958.

After my mother's murder,
all I wanted to read

were crime novels,
novels of detection,

true crime books, and anything
pertaining to violent crime

and psychosexual abhorrence.

At age 17, my father died.

I went from bad to worse.

I was no choirboy
before that time.

But, boy, oh, boy,
things got worse.

I drank, used drugs,
broke into houses

and stole things, drove
around in stolen cars,

shoplifted and did spurts
of county jail time

from 1965 to 1977.

My life was going nowhere.

And I wanted a real life.

I hadn't been with
a woman in years.

And I wanted to write.

I wanted to write dark,
evil, well-defined,

perverted, powerful,
compelling, crime fiction.

And I knew I wouldn't
be able to do it as

long as I drank and used drugs.

ROBERT STACK: Ellroy sobered
up and the words tumbled out.

His first novel was
published in 1982.

10 more followed.

Seeping between the lines was a
dark legacy of his own mother's

rape and murder.

It bubbled to the surface in
"The Black Dahlia," Ellroy's

take on the infamous
sex slaying of Elizabeth

Short, one of the most
provocative unsolved murders

of the century.

Ellroy dedicated the
book to his mother.

JAMES ELLROY: It's as if
Elizabeth Short became

a stand-in for my mother.

I wanted to feel the horror
of my mother's death.

And I used Elizabeth
Short as a substitute.

ROBERT STACK: By
1994, James Ellroy

was ready for the real thing.

Detective William Stoner of the
LA County Sheriff's Department

arranged for Ellroy to examine
the official case file.

First of all, this is the
sheriff's-- what we call--

murder book.
DET.

SGT. BILL STONER: This was the
first time I'd ever been asked

by a member of the
family of the victim

to actually see the
crime scene photographs.

And I was very hesitant
to show those to him.

Because they're very graphic.

And so I warned him.

And if you wish,
I'll go through there

and pull out the ones that I
think you may not want to see.

No, thank you.

I'd-- I'd like to see them all.

OK.

ROBERT STACK: Physical evidence
from the murder scene been

preserved in a paper
bag, locked away

for more than three decades.

An important piece of evidence
during the investigation.

ROBERT STACK: James Ellroy found
himself in a nightmarish scene,

just the kind he might have
dreamed up for a novel.

He held the nylon stocking
used to strangle his mother.

He touched her silk dress, the
one she was wearing that night

she was raped and murdered.

JAMES ELLROY: I
started sweating.

I started shaking.

It was locked down, revved
in, right on the edge

of shell shock, exploding.

It was truly an
awe-inspiring moment.

ROBERT STACK: Then there was
a face staring back at Ellroy

from the find, the
suspected killer.

Because he was dark haired
and olive complected,

he had become known
as a swarthy man.

Several eyewitnesses
saw him with Gene Ellroy

just hours before she was slain.

[music playing]

Ill be right with you.

Hi.

ROBERT STACK: Around 10:00
PM, Gene and the swarthy man

pulled into a local drive-in.

With Detective
Stoner's help, Ellroy

tracked down the waitress
who served the couple.

Would you like a menu tonight?

LAVONNE CHAMBERS: She had
on this beautiful dress

and pearls around her neck.

Her hair was done beautifully.

That's what made me remember
her so well, because she

was a beautiful woman.

And then she had this dress
on that I had one like.

It meant she looked
very prim and proper.

She was very pleasant.

And, um, anything
for you, sir?

Just coffee.

LAVONNE CHAMBERS:
He had no accent.

He didn't talk with any--

even a southern drawl.

He just talked very
normally, like you expect

an average Californian to talk.

ROBERT STACK: Gene
and the swarthy man

were next seen at an El Monte
bar called the Desert Inn.

But now they had company.

She was a dishwater
blonde, mid to late 30s.

No

One knows her name or how she
fit into the evening's plans.

She apparently knew both
Gene Ellroy and the suspect

and left the bar with
them at around midnight.

By 2:15 AM, the blonde
was out of the picture.

Gene Ellroy and the swarthy
man returned to the drive-in.

Would you like a menu tonight?

LAVONNE CHAMBERS:
This time, she was not

as neat and prim as she was when
I waited on her the first time.

She looked like she had
been necking or, you know,

fooling around some.

Because her dress and her
hair was kind of messed up.

But, uh, they didn't seem
overly friendly together.

Chili and coffee.

[laughing]

OK.

And, um, for you, sir?

LAVONNE CHAMBERS: And he
wasn't saying anything.

He was just too quiet.

Coffee.

ROBERT STACK: Shortly before
3:00 AM, Gene and the suspect

left the drive-in.

Time was running
out for Gene Ellroy.

[crickets chirping]
DET.

SGT. BILL STONER: I
think the swarthy man

decided that the evening
wasn't over for him.

He, uh, either knew
about a secluded location

or came up on it and,
uh, stopped and forced

himself on Mrs. Ellroy.

Listen, I had a good time.

Just take me home.

[gasps]

I bought you drinks.

I bought you dinner.

You owe me!

I don't owe you anything.

[music playing]

The most important
person from that evening,

if we could locate her,
would be the blonde-headed

lady that joined Gene and the
swarthy man at the Desert Inn.

Ooh, a dance floor.

You feel like dancing?

Sure.

JAMES ELLROY: The blonde woman
knows who killed my mother.

The blonde woman knows the
identity of the swarthy man.

The blonde has--
has told people.

There are people
out there who know

elements of this case, who know
names, who've heard the story.

And it's just a question of
tapping into those people.

The elusive blonde woman, who
would now be in her early 70s,

is considered a material
witness in this case.

She is not in any way a suspect.

Gene Ellroy's former
coworkers at Air Tech Dynamics

in Los Angeles may
also be able to provide

useful leads or even point
the way to the swarthy man.

[music playing]

JAMES ELLROY: If the
swarthy man is alive,

I would like to
bring him to justice.

If we identify the man
and learn that he's dead,

I want to go back
and trace this man's

roots back to his crib to find
out why this event happened.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK: On
our next "Unsolved

Mysteries," but a
violent storm swept

over Mary Clamser's house.

She never guessed that the
turbulent skies would deliver

a miracle, one that
has apparently cured

Mary of a debilitating disease.

Join me next time
for another edition

of "Unsolved Mysteries."

[music playing]