All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S08E16.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-BTW_track3_[eng]

[music playing]

ANNOUNCER: Tonight on
"Unsolved Mysteries."

ROBERT STACK: During the
wildest days of the Wild West,

a stagecoach massacre
shocked the nation

and led to the unwarranted
persecution of hundreds

of Native Americans.

Today some researchers believe
the real culprits were an army

deserter and a
beautiful Madam who were

looking to steal a fortune.

After six years in the minors,
Tony Marabella's baseball

career was going nowhere fast.

Then Tony was stricken
by a mysterious seizure

and an acute case of amnesia,
which inexplicably made him

a better ballplayer than ever.

Mesquite Nevada, 1994.

A Casino payroll delivery,
an inexperienced driver

on his first bank run, a
perfect setup for a heist.

Police believe it may
have been an inside job

and no one is above suspicion,
not even the victims.

In Webster, Texas,
a 58-year-old woman

was gunned down in a dark,
deserted parking lot.

Now, her daughter is
locked in a heated dispute

with a man she believes
is a prime suspect.

Join me for these
intriguing case and more.

Perhaps you may be able
to help solve a mystery.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK: This
much is known,

Joan Jefferies died alone and
scared in a suburban parking

lot.

[gunshot]

[gunshot]

The killer shot Joan twice
in the head at close range.

Her car coasted on its own.

Again, the killer fired twice.

[gunshots]

Both slugs pierced Joan's heart.

No one has been
charged with the murder

a 58-year-old Joan Jefferies.

However, her family
is convinced they

know exactly who killed her.

A former business
partner named Sam Patel.

I think Sam Patel
had the motive.

I think I had the opportunity.

And I think the facts
speak for themselves.

I did not kill Joan.

I had no reason to kill Joan.

I had no reason whatsoever.

Hi, Sam.

Hey, Joan.

Just the person I want to see.
How are you doing?

Oh, good.

ROBERT STACK: Joan Jefferies
was a clerk at a Houston,

Texas aerospace firm.

Sam Patel was employed there
was a software engineer,

but he had far bigger plans.

I want to talk to you
about a new business

I'm getting involved in.

It's a private airline shuttle
between Houston and Vegas.

ROBERT STACK: It would
be called Best Aviation.

A specialized commuter
airline for gamblers.

I've got a few
investors, but I think I'll

need you for public relations.

Public rel-- well,
what would I do?

Well, you can talk to clients.

You can talk to the
airlines, the casinos.

See, you're mature, you're
experienced, and I trust you.

KELLEY WALKER: When Sam
initially offered this position

to my mother she was, of
course, flattered and excited

because the money was very good.

Now, this file I've set
up for all correspondence--

ROBERT STACK: In April of 1994
Patel hired Joan part time

to help launch Best Aviation.

He also named her to the
company's board of directors.

Though Patel was married,
he and Joan often

met at the home of Richie
Guyote, Patel's girlfriend

at the time.

Sam had an arranged marriage.

He had told me that he
could not get a divorce.

And so we lived as
boyfriend and girlfriend.

Thank you.

If you guys need
anything I'll be upstairs.

I'll holler.
Thanks.

And, Joan, look
what I got for you.

A brand new laptop
for your bookkeeping.

Patel told to Joan
that overseas investors

would fund Best Aviation
in the coming months.

Meanwhile, a top priority
was obtaining life insurance

on the company's key people.

Joan herself was insured for a
quarter of a million dollars.

The initial idea was presented
from the investor group

because they wanted assurances
that if something happened

to one of the key people
in the organization

that the company could
function and that they

would recover their investment.

I know what she
does for a living

and basically she's a secretary.

And I can't see that
as a key point person.

It just didn't-- nothing
sounded right about that, so.

ROBERT STACK: Sam
Patel had agreed

to pay Joan a monthly salary.

But between April
and November of 1994

she received only one check.

It bounced.

Kelley Walker claims that
by the beginning of November

her mother had had enough of
Best Aviation and Sam Patel.

Sam, I want out.

Why, Joan?

Because there's no money.

KELLEY WALKER;
When confronted he

became defensive and offended.

And that scared her.

And it also proved to her
that something is wrong.

I just want out.

Now.
- I understand.

I understand.
You're upset.

I know you're upset.

SAM PATEL: Joan never
approached me and said that she

wanted to leave the business.

There was a time when she said,
hey look, this isn't working

out and I don't like it.

She did come up and say
that and the compromise

we had come up
with was, fine, you

can continue to be part time
until you feel comfortable

and we'll go out
and get somebody

else to work part time also.

OK?
All right?

Please?

All right.

ROBERT STACK: By then,
Joan's back wages

totalled close to $4,000.

Kelley says that two weeks
after the confrontation Patel

showed up at her mother's
apartment late at night

and unannounced.

You'll never believe
what he just did.

He brought the check.

You have it?

JOAN JEFFERIES (ON PHONE):
Well, no, I don't have it.

He had to take it out
and get it copied.

KELLEY WALKER: She
said that he had

to go get this
certified check xeroxed,

which was odd to her and me.

Sam?

Hi.

Look, Joan, I tried, but I just
couldn't find a Xerox machine

and I don't have a car, so I
need to use your phone, please.

ROBERT STACK: By
Kelley's account,

Patel's behavior that
night turned from merely

odd to downright suspicious.

Kelley, I've got to go.

KELLEY WALKER: He was
on foot that night.

Call me right back.

KELLEY WALKER: Told my mother
he was doing computer time

at a company right
around the block

and his wife was bringing
him a rental car.

[non-english speech]

ROBERT STACK: Kelley says that
Patel made no further mention

of the check, but he
inexplicably presented

Joan with some unusual gifts.

A door alarm and a taser gun.

What do I need
something like this for?

Joan this is for
your protection.

Keep it.
- No, Sam.

I'm not comfortable
with something

like this in the house.

Look, I'll be outside
waiting for Penny.

And if she does not
show up, then I want

you to give me a ride home.
- No, I can't do that.

I promised Kelley that I
would call her right back.

ROBERT STACK:

Well, you call her
and I'll be outside.

KELLEY WALKER: When she told
me that he mentioned getting

into her car, that, I
think, was the firmest I

have ever been with my mother.

Saying over and over,
absolutely not, do

not ever let him in your car.

There's someone at the door.

Hold on, Kelley.

ROBERT STACK:
According to Kelley,

Patel came to the
door yet a third time.

Oh, Kelley, it's Sam.

Look, Sam, it's getting late.

Go away.

I'll see you at work tomorrow.

ROBERT STACK: Sam Patel says
Kelly Walker is flat out wrong.

SAM PATEL: I have never
met Joan like that.

I'd been to her apartment on
a couple occasions before,

but I never went two
weeks in the manner

that Kelley had
described to the police.

Never, ever.

KELLEY WALKER: In retrospect,
when I think about that night,

I truly believe it
was a trial run.

And I think, because
I was on the phone

and my mother continued
to say, Kelley, it's Sam,

I think I stopped it that night.

ROBERT STACK: Two weeks
later, after a business

dinner with Sam Patel, Joan
Jefferies was murdered.

I'm meeting someone here.

Oh, there he is right there.

ROBERT STACK: Kelley
says that her mother

was supposed to meet with both
Patel and his wife, Penny.

Joan expected a
check for back wages.

She intended to hand
over the company files

and sever ties
with Best Aviation.

- So how are you doing?
- Fine.

Where's Penny?

I thought Penny was
supposed to be here.

I'm sorry.

She didn't show up because she
had to work late, but I'm here.

KELLEY WALKER: I
advised her not to go.

You can do this at work.

And she thought,
well, it'll be OK.

It'll be in a public place.

ROBERT STACK: Sam Patel insists
that Joan had no plans to quit.

SAM PATEL: I asked
Joan to meet with me.

And I told her, we'll meet,
I can give you the check,

you can give me files.

We can arrange for our meeting
with the investor group

for you to be there.

And that was the
purpose of the meeting.

Good.
It's all there.

Great.

Just what I need
for the meeting.

Good.
Yes, it's all there.

And guess what I have for you?

I've got your check?

Is it good?

It will be in a few days.

ROBERT STACK: The check
was posted to December 9,

the day Patel said he
expected the investors'

money to be in hand.

Shall we leave?

ROBERT STACK: Sam Patel
and Joan Jefferies

left the restaurant
around 10:00 PM.

Joan would never make it home.

Hi, Charlie.

What do we got here?

Best I can tell, a
couple of shots the head.

Another couple to the chest.

ROBERT STACK: By
9:00 AM, detectives

we're beginning to piece
together a scenario.

--theft until I saw this.

Can you see that over there?

Necklace?

ROBERT STACK: Joan's purse
and keys were missing,

yet her golden diamond
necklace was plainly in view.

Robbery seemed an
unlikely motive.

DET.

SGT. CHARLES PROPST: Because
of the multiple gunshot wounds

to the body, it would
make you normally

think that the
person was angered

or it was an overkill
type situation.

Which again, would indicate
that the offender is

known to the victim
or had a grudge

or something of that nature.

I talked to the
detective and I said,

well, you know, I know Joan
and I was with her last night.

And he asked if I would
mind coming in and I was--

I decided just to
go ahead and go in.

There was no reason for
me not to talk to them.

Could you account for
your whereabouts right

after leaving the restaurant?

What happened?

What were your actions?

Yeah.

We walked out in
the parking lot.

I spoke to her for 15, 20
minutes in the parking lot.

I walked to her car.

She went home and I went
to my girlfriend's house.

At any time were
you in her car?

No, sir.

I was never in her car.

- Are you sure about that?
- Yes, sir.

I'm positive.

I've never been in her car and
I was not in the car last night.

DET.

SGT. CHARLES PROPST: In the
first interview that we had

with Sam Patel he told
us that he had not

been in Joan Jefferies' car.

Later in a second interview,
he changed his story

and said that he had in
fact been in Joan's car

and that we would find
evidence of such in her car.

Now, can you account
for your movements

after leaving the restaurant?

Yes.

When I went to my
girlfriend's house

and rode the bicycle
for a few minutes.

You rode the bicycle?

Yeah.

Around the cul-de-sac
for a few minutes.

I guess your girlfriend
will back you up on that?

- She sure can.
- What's her name?

RICHIE GUYOTE: I opened the door
and Sam was there with a shirt

wrapped around his neck.

And I said, you know, what are
you doing without your shirt

on?

You know, it's cold out there,
you're going to catch cold.

And he said, I've been
riding my bicycle.

I was hot.

I hadn't ridden a bike, I
hadn't done any exercise

in months and months.

And I was going into the house.

I took my shirt off
and I had it over me

and I was walking
into the house.

And that shirt has
never been found.

I think it's a very
crucial piece of evidence

because he would have had
to reach across Joan to take

the keys out and that shirt
would have had a smear

of blood all up the arm.

SAM PATEL: There's no
blood stains on it.

I have it in my closet.

And if whoever wants it, if the
Webster police department would

send me a real nice
note saying, please,

could we have the shirt?

I would be glad to hand
over the shirt to them.

ROBERT STACK: Investigators
say their attempts

to obtain the shirt
have been unsuccessful.

However, early on
they did believe

that other evidence could
link Patel to the crime scene.

Hate to do this to
you, buddy, but we

got some vomit here that needs
to be cleaned for evidence.

ROBERT STACK: Subsequent
analysis revealed the contents.

Precisely what Sam Patel had
consumed during his dinner

with Joan.

It was lowly evidence, but it
promised to break the case wide

open if DNA could be extracted
from a specimen and if the DNA

matched Sam Patel's.

But in the end, the lab
failed to retrieve any DNA.

Though the evidence
is inconclusive,

Joan's family has no doubts.

I think Sam is responsible
for the murder of my mother.

Because he had a key man
life insurance policy

out on her life for $250,000.

She was ending her
business relationship

with him that night.

So he needed to do it
that night while she

was still an employee.

ROBERT STACK: Sam
Patel continues

to maintain his innocence.

He insists that his
actions after Joan's death

prove Kelley's accusations
are groundless.

The very next day after her
death, the board of directors

all got together and we
decided that we would take

the entire proceeds
from the insurance

and, a, either give
it to the family, b,

donate it to some
local charity that

would leave a lasting
memorial for Joan,

or a combination of both.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK: Next,
will a mysterious case

of amnesia help of
a young ballplayer

make it to the majors?

[music playing]

As soon as I got home and
everybody started telling me,

this is your house, and
this is where you sleep,

this is your brother.

I couldn't remember my
brothers and sisters.

My grandfather lives with
us, I couldn't remember him,

and it kind of disturbed me.

So I didn't feel really
comfortable at my own house.

That's when I started
getting scared.

ROBERT STACK: Last season,
22-year-old Tony Marabella

played third base for
the Harrisburg Senators,

a AA team in the Montreal
Expos Farm System.

He bats left, throws
right, and has

good speed on the base paths.

He also has an
extraordinary story to tell.

[cheering]

Tony Marabella's a walking,
talking medical mystery.

Two years ago his
career was on the skids,

his dream of playing in the
big leagues fading rapidly.

Today all that has changed.

Tony may well become
the first third baseman

to make it to the majors, thanks
to a case of a cute amnesia.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK: Tony broke into
professional baseball in 1989

when he was just 16.

Everyone said he was
destined to be a star.

But by May of 1994, after
an assortment of injuries,

it looked like Tony
was going nowhere.

Ironically, the turning
point in Tony's career

came when he showed up at
the ballpark with a headache.

TONY MARABELLA: I was taking
batting practice one day

and the harder my
head would hurt,

the harder I would
try to hit the ball

because I was getting mad and
it was getting worse and worse.

And for me I thought, I just
thought if I swing harder it'll

kind of get loose or something.

I don't know.

I took my last one, and then I
just couldn't take it anymore

and just walked off the batting
cage, started to get dizzy,

and I fell.

Tony, what's the matter?

Tony?

Tony, come on.
Relax.

Relax.
Come on.

- Ho, ho, ho, ho.
- Come on, relax.

- Tony, Tony, Tony,
- Yeah, go get some ice.

Call 911.

OK.

ROBERT STACK: The team knew
Tony was in serious trouble.

He was a guy who had always
played through every injury.

[beeping]

He's coming to.

Hey, Tony?

Tony?
Tony, look here.

TONY MARABELLA:
I kind of woke up

and saw, like, a lot of people.

And they started
asking me questions.

Where do you live, Tony?

He's got an apartment
in the city, doc.

What were you doing
when you fainted, Tony?

Do you remember what you
were doing when you fainted?

TONY MARABELLA: For me, it was
everything was like so fast.

Like asking the questions
100 miles an hour

and I couldn't comprehend
what was going on.

I didn't-- because I
didn't know my name.

So I was kind of getting scared.

And there was one guy
answering all the questions.

It was after batting practice.

He just kind of walked back to
screen and just keeled over.

TONY MARABELLA: I waited
until everybody left.

Not to be, I mean,
rude or anything.

I turned around and I go,
I don't want to be rude,

but who the hell are you?

Come on, Tony.

I'm the trainer, man.

Trainer for what?

TONY MARABELLA: Then
he told me that he was

the trainer from the ball team.

I'm a baseball player.

And I went, oh, baseball player?

He goes, yeah, look.

I look down there and I
had my baseball uniform.

I go, OK.

But then I didn't know if
I was a second baseman,

third baseman.

ROBERT STACK: A
battery of tests failed

to reveal any neurological
reason for Tony's collapse.

It was as if a
tiny invisible bomb

had exploded inside Tony's brain
obliterating only his memory.

DR. FREDERICK EDELMAN:
Memory of who we are

is the most basic
memory that we have.

When we separate as
infants from our mothers

we have some basic
concept of ourselves.

And other amnesic syndromes
that can produce loss of memory

usually don't involve loss
of memory of ourselves.

So that was what
was quite bizarre.

ROBERT STACK:
Tony's doctors tried

everything to jog his memory.

They hoped pictures
of his girlfriend

would spark a glint
of recognition.

TONY MARABELLA: Now,
I look at the pictures

and there was a
pretty girl in there,

so I go, cool, I was with her.

All right, I got a good
looking girlfriend.

But I couldn't
remember who she was.

I mean, I don't know, on
the back it said Isabel.

And I go, OK, I guess
her name is Isabel,

but I couldn't remember.

Tony?

Hey.

How's it going.

Oh my god.

I was so worried about you.

ROBERT STACK: When
Isabel came to visit

Tony pretended to know her.

I'm OK.

How are you doing?

TONY MARABELLA: It was like
a brand new girlfriend.

It's like a blind date.

I brought you something.

Oh, thank you.

Yeah.

They look like the
ones from my garden.

Your garden?

Yeah.

The one you helped me plant.
- Oh, yeah.

OK.

I remember that.

TONY MARABELLA: See, I
did that a lot though.

Not that I lied to
a lot of people,

but I said I remembered stuff.

I'd go off the blank, they'd
asked me questions, hey,

do you remember this,
when this happened?

I'd answer yeah just not to have
any more questions about it.

So that's what I
kind of did to her.

ROBERT STACK: When no
physiological basis was found

for Tony's blackout
and subsequent amnesia,

he and his doctors began
searching for another cause.

Perhaps Tony's problems stem
from the stress and frustration

of a failing baseball career.

DR. FREDERICK EDELMAN:
He's in a very

competitive situation trying
to make it as a pro player.

He apparently was not
getting much sleep,

he was away from home,
he was a young guy

that was sort of isolated.

And it's possible
that things sort

of came crashing down on him
and literally he collapsed.

ROBERT STACK: After
a three month layoff,

Tony returned to the ball field.

It was the best
possible therapy.

Being around his old
teammates suddenly

began to trigger his memories.

Hey, remember the
pitch before that?

Right before I hit the home run.
- Up and in.

And when we
started that brawl.

Almost did.
- Completely.

You remember that?
- Oh, yeah.

TONY MARABELLA: And
I kind of just--

I just jumped.

I go, oh yeah, remember
when this happened?

And without knowing
what I just, and then

I realized, hey, remember that?

And I remembered
the whole thing.

Oh, yeah.

At the ninth inning.

At the ninth inning.

ROBERT STACK: It was the
beginning of what would

become a complete recovery.

Incredibly, Tony soon found
that his bout with amnesia

had one miraculous side effect.

He was now playing the
best ball of his life.

TONY MARABELLA:
Baseball was so fun.

I mean, I would run hard,
play dive everywhere.

Play just like a little kid.

When the game was
over I'd go home

and wouldn't even think about
it because for me it was fun.

And that's when my
game got better.

And it just kept getting better
and better because my outlook

on baseball and
life in general is

was just so much better
than it was before.

ROBERT STACK: While there was
still no scientific explanation

for Tony's amnesia, it's effect
upon his play is indisputable.

A career 250 hitter, Tony
began batting at a near 400

clip upon his return.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK: Coming up, a 19th
century stagecoach attack has

prompted a contemporary debate.

Who was responsible for
the Wickenburg Massacre?

But first, authorities
need your help

to track down the key suspect
in a brazen payroll robbery.

[music playing]

I didn't think that he was
going to leave any witnesses.

I really didn't.

And he had the
perfect opportunity

to kill us and leave us.

ROBERT STACK: This man,
who we will call Jim,

says he was a victim of
an armed robbery in 1994.

The FBI, however,
has a different take.

They consider Jim a suspect.

For the past six years, Jim
has worked as a security guard

at the Virgin River Casino
in Mesquite, Nevada.

On Thursday, August 25, 1994,
Jim and the assistant cage

manager picked up the
payroll at the local bank

then headed back to the casino.

How's the baby doing?

He's doing good.

He's sleeping through the night.

I've only had two
bad nights so far.

Oh, that's good.

That's good.

- Don't make any sudden moves.
- Hey.

Shut up.
Don't say nothing.

Don't turn around.

If you make any moves, I'm going
to kill this girl next to you.

Calm--

Just shut up.

Don't turn around or
I'll kill you, I said.

Look straight ahead.
- All right.

JIM: I looked to look in the
back to the rear-view mirror

to see what was going on
back there and I couldn't see

a whole lot, but
he did know that I

looked back there
and he said if I did

that again he was going to--

he was going to blow her
brains out all right then.

With your left
hand take your gun

out and throw it on the ground.

Take your walkie talkie and
throw it on the ground, too.

OK.

Don't turn around.

ROBERT STACK: The robber
ordered Jim off the main road

and directed him to a
deserted area outside town.

JIM: You know what's
going to happen.

He's got the motive,
he's got everything.

He's holding all the cards.

Keep your hands up.

JIM: You're just waiting
to catch a bullet

and you can feel it.

You're just waiting to.

ROBERT STACK: But the
gunman drove off, leaving

both eyewitnesses unharmed.

He got away with $220,000
in unmarked $100 bills.

From the start, the
FBI and local police

believed the robbery was
most likely an inside job.

The gunman was either very
lucky or someone tipped him off.

Everyone at the casino
became a suspect.

Not surprisingly, Jim and
the assistant cage manager

were at the top of the list.

ROBERT STACK: Investigators
soon discovered

that the day of the robbery
was marked by a series

of atypical circumstances.

First, the cage manager
and the security

chief who ordinarily handled
the bank runs were gone.

Second, the assistant cage
manager decided to make

the bank run two hours early.

Third, Jim had never before
been assigned payroll duty.

Finally, the casino hospitality
van driven to the bank

was not commonly used
for payroll runs.

MIKE MURPHY: So the
question came up,

how was the robber going
to be so sure that this

was going to be the
day that that van

was going to make that run?

Too much coincidence.

Too many times too many
things fell into place.

Too many things happened
right in this thing.

Somebody, in my opinion,
gave him some information.

We still had
inconsistencies with both

of the accounts of the teller
and the security officer.

Things that just
didn't make sense.

He even asked me at one
time, why didn't you slam

on the brakes on the vehicle?

It's a big van.

You know, they don't lock up
like they do in the movies.

You don't click your radio
on like they do in the movies

and everything goes smooth and
everybody hears where you're at

and what's going on.

Don't talk.

JIM: There was no way I could
reach over and key that mic

without him knowing about it.

Every time that he saw me trying
to get a description of him,

he would tell me,
said he was going

to kill us if I did
that again and I didn't

want to take that chance.

ROBERT STACK: An hour after the
robbery, police located the van

abandoned about a
mile south of the spot

where the gunman had dumped Jim
and the assistant cage manager.

Jim's gun and
radio were missing.

Police took plaster casts of
footprints and tire prints that

indicated the robber had walked
from the van to another vehicle

and driven away.

Despite a thorough
investigation,

the authorities could not link
casino insiders to the robbery.

The case stalled.

Then the police got lucky.

About a month and a
half after the crime,

the Mesquite police
were following

a simple domestic dispute
call in Mesquite, Nevada.

There was a gun
involved in the dispute

and it turned out that
that gun was in fact

the security
officer's weapon that

was stolen during the robbery.

ROBERT STACK: The man
in the domestic dispute

was ruled out as
a robbery suspect.

The FBI turned to
the man who sold

him a gun, Luis Ochoa, the
owner of a local pizza parlor.

Police, how you doing?

HENRY WILKS: He was
nervous and defensive

from the very beginning.

Mr. Ochoa, would it be OK if
we go inside and have a talk?

Actually, it's OK.

We can talk out here.

HENRY WILKS: He didn't want
us to come in the pizza shop.

We found that a little bit odd.

He immediately
set our alerts off

that he didn't
want us to be there

and he really didn't
want to talk to us.

I didn't sell anybody any gun.

I don't know nothing
about any guns.

I don't know nothing
about the robbery.

I'm in the pizza business, guys.

I'm not in the gun business.

HENRY WILKS: That was probably
a great stroke of luck for us

that he kept us
outside because we were

standing by the pickup truck.

We're here doing
our investigation.

During the month and a
half after this robbery,

I sat and I looked at this
plaster casting of a tire print

until my eyes were
going to fall out.

I knew what the tire
print looked like.

I looked down at the tires on
his truck and they matched.

ROBERT STACK: The FBI
obtained search warrants.

In Ochoa's house they
found $5,000 in $100 bills

tucked in the toe of a cowboy.

Bring me an evidence bag.

ROBERT STACK: In
Ochoa's truck they

found a bullet, the same
kind used in Jim's gun.

HENRY WILKS: As the
searches were going on,

Mr. Ochoa was in
fact with an attorney

and they were making
arrangements to come and meet

with myself to discuss Mr.
Ochoa's involvement in the case

and possibly his accomplices.

Things were starting to
unravel very quickly for him.

And I think at that
point Luis decided it

was time to get out of Dodge.

ROBERT STACK: His
attorney got word to us

that Mr. Ochoa had left
his office on a break

and had never returned.

He was unaware of
his whereabouts.

And from that point on,
we don't know where he is.

[music playing]

On a quiet highway 60
miles from Phoenix,

Arizona stands a small
often overlooked monument

memorializing the victims
of a tragic incident

from the long ago
days of the Wild West.

[music playing]

[gunshots]

Apaches!

[gunshots]

ROBERT STACK: In all,
six men lay dead.

One had been scalped,
another had been dispatched

with a lance through his chest.

The atrocity would
come to be known

as the Wickenburg Massacre.

Miraculously, two
people did survive.

Though injured, William
Kruger and Mollie Sheppard

lived to tell what would
become the official account

of the massacre.

But did Kruger and
Sheppard tell the true story?

Kruger blamed the
attack on the Apaches.

The government retaliated.

And as a result, scores of
innocent Native Americans died.

But there is evidence to suggest
that Kruger and Sheppard were

in fact notorious outlaws who
orchestrated the attack hoping

to pocket a fortune.

Today many believe
Kruger and Sheppard

caused a great injustice
to be committed.

An injustice that
demands to be righted.

ROBERT STACK: November
5, 1871 dawned

peacefully, giving no
indication of what was to come.

When William Kruger
and Mollie Sheppard

climbed aboard the stage
in Wickenburg that morning

they seemed an unlikely pair to
change the course of history.

Mollie was a well known
prostitute and madam who

had recently sold her bordello.

Kruger was a two
time army deserter

who had somehow managed to
hire on as a civilian clerk

for the military.

DANA BURDEN: William Kruger's a
wonderful character, just kind

of a floater and a
gambler and a whoall.

He didn't have any holdings.

He didn't own anything
and was apparently

traveling with Mollie.

From what I know the story is
that it was done by Indians,

fewer than 20.

And they set up
an ambush and just

shot the heck out of things.

And the two that got away
got away because the Indians

were on foot.

They didn't have horses, so they
were unable to chase them down.

Well, sir, this
is how it happened.

We got into Wickenburg
this morning

and we switched teams of
horses to get fresh horses.

ROBERT STACK: A day after
the attack, while Mollie lay

nursing her wounds,
Kruger was questioned

by Captain Charles Minehold,
who'd been assigned

to investigate the incident.

We started out, and I
think it might have been

about 9:00 or 10:00 o'clock, but
don't quote me exactly on that.

We started out and
everything was just fine.

I mean, it was a nice trip,
and everybody was happy.

And in fact, everything
up to here was fine.

It was a very pleasant trip.

And then, sir, I believe
it was about 11 AM

or so that I heard the
driver yell, Apaches!

Apaches!

And the next thing I know, sir,
these Indians are firing on us.

[gunshots]

And they got Mr. Warren.

You know, the famous author?

He was up top.

They got him and
the driver, sir.

To be honest, they didn't
even have a chance up there.

And then they wounded
Mr. Salmon, spelled

just like the fish, you know?

And he got out the
back of the coach

and he went running
the other way.

And these Indians they
swooped down on him, sir.

They swooped down and
they scalped him, sir.

They scalped him there.

And it was horrible, sir.

And I saw it.

And I fired back at
them and I got a couple,

but that just left me and Mr.
Hamill, you know, in the coach

itself and, uh, and we
did everything we could.

But there just wasn't nothing
left that we could do.

And how was it that you Miss
Sheppard were able to escape?

Sir, that was only
by the grace of God.

I mean, poor Mollie,
she was wounded so badly

she couldn't even really run.

And Mr. Hamill and I, you
know, we were fighting

and he was hit so bad that
he couldn't go anywhere.

And I knew our only chance,
sir, our only chance

was to just make a run for it.

Go, go.
Mollie, go.

WILLIAM KRUEGER: And during
that split second, Mollie and I,

we got out the other
side and we just took off

running in the opposite
direction, sir,

until we finally got away.

You say the
attackers were Apache?

Are you sure of that?

Absolutely, sir.

We were only about 20
or 30 yards from them.

I mean, they had on
them blue Cavalry pants.

You know, like you got on?

You know the kind they give
them on the reservation.

You know the kind I mean, sir?
- Yes, sir.

I do.

Exactly how many
attackers were there?

Well, sir, I
counted at least 15.

But you know, there
might have been more.

- 15?
- Yes, sir.

Maybe more.

Thank you, Mr. Kruger,
for your cooperation.

Thank you, sir.

God bless.

Lieutenant, tell them
men we'll ride at sun up.

I want to get a look
at this site myself.

[music playing]

Scout, check the area for track.

ROBERT STACK: By the time
Minehold reached the site,

the bodies of the
victims had been returned

to Wickenburg for burial.

Minehold uncovered
several signs that

indicated the Native
Americans had been present.

DANA BURDEN: Well, Minehold
was a military person

and looked at it, I guess,
like military would.

And he really carefully
studied the footprints,

the moccasin prints, which
they were wearing moccasins.

And most of the
moccasin, most of them

were toed in, which
is typical of the way

Native Americans walk.

ROBERT STACK: The tracks led
toward the Camp Date Creek

reservation 25 miles away.

The reservation was home to 750
members of the Yavapai tribe.

But curiously, several
miles before the tracks

reached Camp Date
Creek, they veered

off in a different direction.

This to me, would indicate
possibly a non-Native American

group that is heading towards
Camp Date Creek to make it look

like the perpetrators
are heading back

to the military reservation.

ROBERT STACK: They
Yavapai, who were

often misidentified as Apaches,
were a largely peaceful people.

Many worked as laborers and
scouts for the settlers.

To those who knew
them, it seemed

inconceivable that
the Yavapai would

have attacked the stage coach.

JEFF HAMMON: It was impossible.

It would have been
the most bizarre

Indian massacre, Native American
massacre that ever occurred.

There were only six occasions
throughout the entire Western

frontier when American Indians
actually, Native Americans,

attacked stage coach.

If this was a Native
American attack,

we would find that the
livestock certainly

would have been missing.

We would have found that the
ammunition and the weapons

certainly would
have been missing.

And we would also have found
that any of the blankets

would have been taken.

But in this particular
case, none of it

was touched whatsoever.

ROBERT STACK: But the
most baffling discrepancy

was centered on several bags
of mail that had been loaded

onto the stage at Wickenburg.

After the attack, most
of the letters in the bag

were found intact
and undisturbed.

However, a number of letters
addressed to the army quarter

master had been opened and their
contents carefully reinserted.

BILL SMITH: The mail,
going through the mail,

this is something that an
Indian or Native American would

not do is go through the mail.

This certainly, to me,
would indicate that it

was a non-Indian attack.

ROBERT STACK: But if it wasn't
the Yavapai, who was it?

In those days gold booty was
often transported by stage.

According to at
least one account,

Mexican bandits disguised
as Apaches were responsible.

Others point to another,
more intriguing possibility.

JEFF HAMMON: Kruger and Sheppard
masterminded the entire thing.

It had to be them.

If it was bandits, Mexican
bandits or typical highwaymen,

why did they let Kruger
and Sheppard get away?

So these Indians, they're
slithering up on us like vipers

coming back to the nest.

ROBERT STACK: Kruger's
account of his escape

seemed hard to
believe, especially

given the condition of his gun.

JEFF HAMMON: Kruger's
gun supposedly

hadn't even been fired.

He probably had another
gun, or he had switched guns

with one of those
that was killed,

which is why he ended up with
a gun that hadn't been fired.

ROBERT STACK: Jeff
Hammon believes

that Kruger and Shepard
hired the bandits

to assist in the heist.

JEFF HAMMON: Krueger
probably fired first

to begin with inside the coach.

The attackers shooting
on the outside.

Would have been easy to wipe out
anybody inside the stagecoach.

They wouldn't have expected
somebody inside the coach

to start shooting.

I think they either meant
to wound Sheppard to make

it look like an actual attack.

I mean, Kruger himself
has a very slight wound.

Mollie had a more serious wound.

But she may have been
willing to do it on purpose,

depending on how much
money they were getting,

or somebody simply
got carried away

when they were attacking the
stage and accidentally hit her.

ROBERT STACK: In his
report, Captain Minehold

acknowledged rumors that quote,
the scheme was intended to rob

the mail of the
bullion generally

ship on or shortly after
the first of every month.

But Minehold made no
mention of a gold shipment

on the ill fated stagecoach.

There had to be
something worthwhile.

Whatever it was,
it was something

that was privately owned.

That was the reason it
wasn't officially reported.

The person that owned the
money that was taken was dead.

There was nobody left
to be upset about it.

ROBERT STACK: Jeff Hammon
believes that Kruger hid

the loot somewhere
near the massacre site,

where only he and
Mollie could find it.

JEFF HAMMON: Kruger had
expected to walk out there

a few days later and dig it up.

He couldn't.

He had no idea that this would
cause national attention to it.

He knew there was
nothing he could do.

If anybody found him out there
outside of Wickenburg digging

in the ground, he
would have ended

up on the other side of a rope.

I mean, everybody
suspected him anyway,

but they couldn't prove it.

ROBERT STACK: If
there was a treasure,

it seems unlikely that
William Kruger and Mollie

Sheppard ever recovered it.

Mollie dropped from sight
soon after the incident

and there were rumors that
she had died of her wounds.

Kruger was last heard
from 13 years later

when he sued the government
for money he claimed

to have lost in the attack.

The Wickenburg Massacre
caused a national outrage.

Within 18 months of
the attack, the Yavapai

were driven out
of Camp Date Creek

by a government
bent on retaliation.

Eventually, hundreds of innocent
men, women, and children

would die from
starvation and disease.

We may never know who was
responsible for the Wickenburg

Massacre.

But there is one undeniable
fact, the list of victims

stretches far beyond
the six men who

were gunned down on
that tragic fall morning

more than a century ago.

[music playing]

Join me next time for
another fascinating addition

of Unsolved Mysteries.

[music playing]