Original subtitles

[music playing]

NARRATOR: Tonight on "Unsolved Mysteries."

ROBERT STACK: Susan Walsh was a woman who lived on the edge.

A stripper turned journalist, whose chosen assignments

plunged her into a hazardous stew of Russian mobsters

and self-proclaimed vampires.

In the end, however, Susan Walsh's walk on the wild side

may have led to her death.

His name is Oliver.

He walks and acts like a human being.

His very existence is a source of mystery and wonder.

Perhaps Oliver is just a talented chimpanzee.

But perhaps he is something more.

Her death has become America's tragedy.

JonBenet Ramsey, molested and murdered in her own home.

Five weeks later, police have yet to confirm a motive

or name a suspect.

In Newport News, Virginia, a young mother's joy

turns to despair when her newborn baby

is diagnosed with a life-threatening blood

disorder.

The only hope is an emergency transfusion,

courtesy of an anonymous donor.

Join me for another intriguing addition

of "Unsolved Mysteries."

[theme music]

[chimpanzee howling]

This is a Primarily Primates Wildlife Sanctuary

in San Antonio, Texas, a retirement home of sorts

for some 500 wild animals who have

been rescued from circuses, sideshows, and medical labs.

In April of 1996, a dozen chimpanzees,

released from a research facility,

arrived at the preserve.

After years of confinement, most moved in pained, halting steps,

but one was remarkably different.

His name is Oliver.

MAN: Hi, Olly!

Wow, you stand up!

Look at you!

WALLACE W. SWETT: When Oliver came

outside for the first time, he'd been nine years in a lab cage.

He walked out, and he walked upright in a way

that no chimp who was trained to walk upright would ever walk.

His back is straight.

His shoulders back.

And his knees are locked.

It's unique.

ROBERT STACK: Unique would be an understatement.

In his youth, Oliver had been an international celebrity,

heralded as proof of the legendary Bigfoot,

or perhaps the elusive missing link.

Some speculated that Oliver was a member

of a new, as-yet-undiscovered species.

Or even the offspring of an unspeakable union

between human and chimpanzee.

Since long before I helped start Primarily Primates,

I had heard about the ape called Oliver.

I'd collected old tabloid articles.

And I really wondered, is this the same Oliver?

I wasn't quite sure until I saw him.

And, there's no doubt, this is the upright-walking ape

who had become a living Legend

ROBERT STACK: For a legend, Oliver's origins

were unremarkable.

He was imported from Africa as an infant in 1960.

From the outset, animal trainer, Frank Burger,

knew he had a very special ape on his hands.

The first thing I noticed with him, he was bald-headed.

Chimps have hair right with--

His bone structure, his head was smaller.

He had a narrower face.

ROBERT STACK: But looks weren't the only thing

that made Oliver different.

His human-like behavior was equally startling.

One day I sat at a desk, and he crawled to me.

And, all of a sudden, he took hold of my pants leg

and he stands straight up.

I almost fainted.

And within 1 and 1/2 years, I've had

animals stand up in front of me, and never I saw it went down.

I've seen a lot of chimps, but I've

never seen one just like him.

ROBERT STACK: Over the next decade,

Oliver's unique characteristics made him a popular sideshow

attraction in various circuses.

Then, in 1975, a magazine article

caught the attention of a Manhattan

attorney named Michael Miller.

Miller vividly recalls his first encounter with Oliver.

In walks this almost 4-and-1/2 foot or 5-foot creature,

his hair bristling, and walking absolutely upright.

As they say, as advertised.

I could not believe what I saw.

ROBERT STACK: Miller took these snapshots that day.

A few hours later he purchased Oliver from Frank Burger

for the sum of $8,000.

The news hit the wires and sparked a media onslaught.

MICHAEL MILLER: There were many, many, many questions

about Oliver.

Enthusiastic to the point of being wild.

People were offering me money for the story.

I had no interest in it.

I said, I really want the story to get out,

but I want to get the story out to attract serious attention

from the scientific community.

This creature may have interest and importance.

That turned me on.

ROBERT STACK: That spring, at the Explorer's

Club annual banquet in New York City,

Oliver created a sensation.

MICHAEL MILLER: It was an amazing experience

because it was King Kong.

I mean, that was truly King Kong.

I would say that there was a consensus there too.

That this is a very aberrant chimpanzee.

They were always grounding it in this

is a chimpanzee who's aberrant.

And I understood that, because I wasn't offering him

as something else, but when I would say,

can you explain the aberration?

That would be interesting.

And the answer was always the same.

No, we can't.

ROBERT STACK: The Explorer's Club was the start

of a whirlwind career.

In 1976, Oliver was invited to appear on a television

program in Japan.

For three weeks, he toured the country, causing

a stir wherever he went.

MICHAEL MILLER: You could feel the interest, the intent

looking at this creature.

But my favorite evening is we were on the road going

from city to city, and they have wonderful traditions

in Japan when you travel, you go to this country inns.

You get undressed.

You bathe.

And then you put on a cotton [inaudible] or robe,

and you sit down and have dinner.

And somebody asked if he enjoys eating and drinking.

I said, well, I know he enjoys a beer.

And they gave him a liter of beer, which

he drank chug-a-lug style.

He didn't come up for air.

And then let out this enormous burp.

And he's got a very big chest, so it was a very loud burp.

We all laughed.

And then Oliver sat back and had a cigar.

And we sat there.

And, after a while, it was like it was no longer a spectacle.

ROBERT STACK: Throughout the tour,

Oliver underwent a series of medical exams.

The results were presented on a television special entitled

"Mr. Oliver, Man or Ape?"

A blood test suggested that Oliver

had 48 chromosomes, a number normally

associated with a chimpanzee.

Curiously though, two of the 40 cells

contained 47 chromosomes, one more than a man and one less

than a chimp.

The Japanese doctors, however, attributed

the discrepancy to human error.

When the Japanese tour ended, Michael Miller

found he could no longer support Oliver

and reluctantly donated him to a wild animal park in California.

He was billed as a missing link.

They had a window where the public could walk past him,

and look in, and see him in his exhibit.

They did take him out a number of times

onto a stage for the press to take a look at him

for publicity.

But, otherwise, he was generally in this enclosure

alone where people could walk past the window and see him.

ROBERT STACK: When the animal park went out of business.

Oliver bounced from trainer to trainer.

He eventually wound up in a research lab.

There, he languished in a 5-by-7 foot cage for nine long years.

Fortunately, Oliver was never used in any experiments.

And just last year, he was rescued by Primarily Primates.

Behavioral primatologist, Linda Brent,

observed some of Oliver's early rehabilitation.

LINDA BRENT: I had the impression,

when I saw Oliver walking bipedal,

that he had possibly been trained to walk bipedally.

He could do it for quite a while.

I don't think he's anything but a chimpanzee.

And I think a lot of the, both physical and behavioral,

characteristics can easily be explained by his past.

ROBERT STACK: However, the folks at Primarily Primates

refuse to speculate until all of the evidence is in.

WALLACE W. SWETT: Now I know that there are other animals

out there we haven't found yet.

Oliver very well could be very special in that he

could be the only example around of a whole new species.

ROBERT STACK: Last December, a very special reunion

took place between Oliver and his first owner, Frank Burger.

They hadn't seen each other in 20 years.

Where's Oliver?

Oliver, my god, where you been?

Where you been?

Oh god, Oliver.

ROBERT STACK: Attorney Michael Miller was also present.

MICHAEL MILLER: He looks happier.

He looks much more peaceful than I remember.

It's delightful to see that he's in such a great environment

and that he's cared for, finally.

That's very, very satisfying.

Very rewarding.

Yeah, give me a kiss.

ROBERT STACK: Science hopes that Oliver's

golden years will be rewarding in other ways as well.

In the near future, genetic testing

may finally solve the mystery of who or what Oliver truly is.

At the age of 36, Oliver could very well

live for another 20 years.

Even if he proves to be just an ordinary chimpanzee, those who

know him are in full agreement on one thing,

Oliver is a remarkable creature who's

warm and gentle personality has touched countless lives.

[theme music]

Next, when Dustin Johnson was five years old,

his mother was murdered by her own brother.

Now Dustin believes his uncle has killed again.

And later, in New York City, an exotic dancer turned reporter

vanishes without a trace.

Also, the shocking murder of JonBenet Ramsey

has outraged the nation and put investigators on the defensive.

NARRATOR: It was June 27th, 1982.

But to Dustin Johnson, it still seems like yesterday.

Zip your coat up.

You gonna have fun with Daddy this weekend?

NARRATOR: Dustin was five years old.

His father picked him up for a custody visit.

Dustin didn't know it, but he was

saying goodbye to his mother for the last time.

Give mommy a hug.

Give me a kiss.

I love you.

I love you.

Here's your bag.

I remember getting me ready to go with my dad,

and she gave me a hug and a kiss goodbye,

and told me she'd see me when I come back.

But then I came back, and Mom wasn't there.

NARRATOR: That weekend, Patricia Johnson was murdered.

Nine days would pass before her naked, decomposing body

was found.

Two weeks later, another shock--

Patricia's own brother, Dennis Keith Smith,

confessed to the crime.

He was sentenced to life in prison

on a charge of second degree murder.

Dustin was taken in by his mother's parents.

When Dennis Smith was paroled 10 years later,

he moved into the same house.

On a daily basis, in the hallway and over dinner,

Dustin Johnson had to face the man who had killed his mother.

The uneasy truce lasted about a year, until another local woman

mysteriously disappeared.

Dustin soon became convinced that his uncle, Dennis Keith

Smith, was somehow involved.

Your lunch is made.

Thanks, Honey.

NARRATOR: Dan and Carolyn Killaby lived

just three miles from Dustin.

The morning of Saturday, November

11th, 1995 found the Killaby's patching up an argument.

You know, you're making something out of nothing.

Well, it's something to me.

I know.

I know it is.

We didn't have to hash everything out, and yell

and scream at each other.

We didn't do it that way.

Oftentimes we were-- just a wink and a smile would do it,

you know?

And that would be the end of it.

We don't have the kids tonight,

so why don't we just get together and have dinner,

spend some time together?

OK.

All right.

NARRATOR: It promised to be a romantic evening--

just the two of them.

But before Dan left work, his brother would

call and invite him to drop by.

I figured I'd still make it home in plenty of time,

so I went to see my brother Dave,

and we ended up going down to a tavern down the street,

and we had a beer, and we started shooting some pool.

Turned out there was a Blazer game on.

We started watching that, we had a couple more beers,

and I decided just to stay behind at his place,

and chose not to drive home.

NARRATOR: Dan didn't call home until 1:00 AM.

DAN: Hi, Carolyn.

It's me.

Listen, I'm going to stay at Dave's tonight.

I had a few beers so, you know, I'd better just stay here.

I will see you in the morning.

I'm home.

NARRATOR: Sunday morning, Dan returned to an empty house.

His message was still on the machine.

Honey?

[knocking]

Carolyn?

NARRATOR: Dan assumed that Carolyn

was deliberately not calling home, giving him

a taste of his own medicine.

By Sunday night, he began to worry.

Hello.

Susan?

Yeah.

This is Dan.

NARRATOR: Dan went through his wife's phonebook, A to Z,

but no one could account for Carolyn Killaby.

Carolyn still hadn't shown up by 6:00 AM Monday morning

when she was due at work.

Dan and his brother cruised the streets of Vancouver looking

for any sign of Carolyn.

They found her car in the parking

lot of a popular nightclub.

Well, this is her car.

The morning barmaid was the gal that

worked there Saturday night.

And she said, yeah, I saw your wife.

She was in Saturday night.

That's the last time I saw her.

So at that point, you know, panic set in.

The car was there, and my wife was nowhere to be found.

NARRATOR: When the story hit the local paper,

one fact jumped out at Dustin Johnson.

I found a name by the name of Dennis in the newspaper,

and I continued to read that the lady was missing.

And I had this feeling that that person by the name of Dennis

might be my uncle.

This might be a weird conversation--

NARRATOR: Dustin found Dan Killaby's number

in the local phone directory.

Yeah?

I just was reading through there

and found the name of Dennis.

Do you know what Dennis' last name is?

He He called me and said he'd saw the article,

and if this Dennis that was mentioned in the article

was, in fact, Dennis Keith Smith, that that was his uncle,

and he wanted to let me know that he had

murdered his mother in 1982.

Hello?

NARRATOR: Authorities had not yet released the last name

of the man seen with Carolyn.

Dan called detectives to check out Dustin's hunch.

But he said that he thinks that the man, Dennis,

that you're looking for--

his name is Dennis Smith.

And he said that this guy is a murderer.

Is that true?

There was a long pause from the detectives,

and I knew right then it was the person.

At that point in time, I think--

right then and there, I knew my wife had been killed.

Right there.

NARRATOR: A witness helped police

reconstruct what was very likely Carolyn

Killaby's last evening alone.

You could tell it on her face, she's been crying.

She was alone.

She didn't want to be with anybody.

She's upset.

If she would have had one more drink,

she would have been passed out, probably going to the hospital.

She's really bad off.

- She's trouble. - Her?

Oh, yeah.

NARRATOR: Dennis Smith was a club regular.

According to the witness, Smith had had his eye

on Carolyn all night long.

At around 11:30, he made his move.

It was just the way he walked up to her,

as if they were old friends.

But she didn't know who she was with with.

He spoke to her for a few seconds.

She lifted her head up--

he had one arm around it-- his neck-- and had a hold of it.

And walked out with her.

Carolyn disappeared the night of November 11th.

Less than 72 hours later, detectives

decided it was time to have a talk with Dennis Smith.

Who was it you talked to?

It was the bouncer.

You talked to the bouncer?

What did you tell him?

We talked to him for quite a long time.

What did you tell the bouncer about this person?

His story changed a little bit,

but not enough to make a big difference.

OK, you said the waitress, or bartender?

Which is it?

It probably isn't both of them at this point, right?

He would laugh at times for no real, apparent reason,

which is very indicative of someone

that is trying to be deceitful.

You were in your truck for 45 minutes?

Yeah.

What happened?

Come on.

Come on, Dennis.

We're all adults.

What's going on? What happens?

She attacked me so, you know, I'm winded,

and I'm pretty tired after that.

And we, you know--

What do you mean, she attacked you?

No. No.

That's not what I'm talking about.

Come on, you know, we--

we had sex.

And then I left, and then I-- as I got out the truck,

and I go around to-- and then I see this guy,

and he's got, like, this stick in his hand.

NARRATOR: Smith went on to claim that the stranger threatened

him, and then took Carolyn away.

It was a stick. What are you--

NARRATOR: Detectives kids had a hard time believing the story,

especially when they inspected Smith's pickup truck.

Oh, man.

That's more than a cigarette burn.

Yeah, it looks like he took a torch to it.

NARRATOR: It was not just the gaping hole in the seat

that aroused suspicions.

The seat cover had been removed, and every inch of carpeting

had been stripped off the floor.

And at that point, basically, I knew that Dennis

was hiding something from us.

Maybe any evidence that Carolyn was in his truck,

or that something bad happened to her in the truck.

NARRATOR: However, without proof that Carolyn was dead,

suspicions alone were not enough to keep

Dennis Smith in custody, let alone bring him to trial.

By the time authorities amassed enough evidence

to charge him with murder, Smith had left town.

Our program flushed him out of hiding.

Here's Keely Shaye Smith with the dramatic details.

Bob, Dennis Smith fled Washington

and kept running until he reached

the other side of the country.

He ended up in the town of New Smyrna Beach, Florida,

where he introduced himself as Dave Sanborn.

But by any name, he still looked like Dennis Keith Smith.

On the night we profiled the accused killer, Tracey

Hottleman and John Cummings got together

to watch the show with their new friend, Dave Sanborn.

He kind of started getting nervous.

And I said, oh my gosh, Johnny.

I said, look who that looks like.

And he was sitting right next to me,

and they started describing the color of his tattoos

that were on his arm.

And I said-- I looked over and I said, you have

those color tattoos, you know?

And he asked me, is there anything else on?

He didn't want to watch the show.

And I said, no, I like this show.

We'll watch it.

And he, you know, got up, and went in the kitchen,

and he started pacing around.

NARRATOR: When Smith drove off in their car and disappeared,

John and Tracey notified authorities.

Police caught up with Smith two days later,

at this intersection.

He did not give up easily.

He turned and charged the officers, and a fight ensued.

During the course of that fight, he

attempted to remove the firearm from one of the officers.

Was beginning to successfully remove that firearm when

the second officer fired a single shot,

striking Mr. Smith in the neck.

NARRATOR: Smith was also shot in the wrist during the struggle.

After two weeks in the hospital, he

had recovered enough to appear in a Florida court.

Coming up, the tragic and perplexing death of JonBenet

Ramsey.

What do the police know about her killer?

But first, a dangerous disorder leaves a newborn infant

at serious risk until an anonymous good Samaritan

comes to the rescue.

[phone ringing]

NARRATOR: June 22, 1966.

Newport News, Virginia.

Hello?

NARRATOR: An urgent call for help

in the middle of the night, but the young man who responds

is not a surgeon or a paramedic.

He is a blood donor--

an unsung hero, someone to help save

the life of a newborn infant. - All right.

I'll get there as soon as I can.

Come on in. Good.

Good.

Come on.

NARRATOR: 24 hours earlier, Ann Wilson had given birth

to her second daughter, Renee.

Anne's first child was born breech,

and she prayed that Renee would be

delivered without complication.

You have yourself a girl.

Look at this.

Oh my gosh.

Hi.

NARRATOR: Labor went very smoothly, and very quick.

Renee was born at 11:02.

You know, I was excited and happy to be having any baby.

And, of course, I checked her fingers, and checked her toes,

and all that to make sure she was all there.

And I thought she was most beautiful

baby I had ever seen him in my life,

because she was so pretty.

And-- nothing abnormal about her looking, at all, to me.

Did you say hi, daddy?

Say hi, daddy.

We'd had a problem with the first daughter,

and we thought--

the doctors assured us that everything was OK with Renee,

and we just thought that everything was good to go.

And then this problem came up with her blood.

The doctor's gonna come in now.

NARRATOR: It was more than just a problem.

Renee was in serious trouble.

She had a rare blood disorder, which can be fatal.

Well, we've just completed all the tests on your little girl,

and I'm afraid the results confirm

that she's going to need a complete blood transfusion.

And what that means is she needs to have all of her blood

replaced by that of a donor--

a live donor-- so we are looking right now to find that donor,

and make that transfusion.

I'll give her my blood.

I wish it was that simple, but your blood type isn't right,

and neither is your husband's.

So we need to find a person--

The test-- the first test that was done told them that

the white corpuscles were eating up her red blood corpuscles,

and that they were going to have to give Renee a transfusion.

This would be a complete transfusion.

They were going to have to drain all the blood out of her body,

and put blood back in from a donor.

It was very scary, not realizing, really,

what was going on, and not having

anybody to ask any questions.

And in the middle of the night, as well.

NARRATOR: There were only three potential donors within driving

distance of the hospital.

For whatever reason-- fate, luck, or mere happenstance--

the anonymous young stranger was a donor who responded first.

OK.

Thanks.

Sure.

As far as knowing who that person was,

or how they would contact them--

I didn't really have any idea.

And I think I was so caught up in the thought of,

you know, what was taking place with Renee,

that I didn't really think about the donor.

NARRATOR: With no time to spare, the transfusion began.

By Anne Wilson's account, the procedure lasted until 3:00 AM.

I drifted off into, like, a twilight sleep, I guess.

And then I must have, you know, really gone to sleep.

Because the next thing I remember was the doctor came

in and tapped me on my hand.

Mrs. Wilson?

Good news.

I just checked on Renee, and she's going to be just fine.

The transfusion was a complete success.

I'm so happy.

Now, I'm going to go get some sleep.

You have some pleasant dreams now.

You, too.

See you in the morning.

NARRATOR: Baby Renee quickly recovered, and soon

went home with her parents.

She led a perfectly normal childhood,

and was as happy and healthy as both of her sisters.

It wasn't until she was a teenager that Renee learned

about the mysterious stranger whose singular act of kindness

had saved her life.

I want to find him, just to shake his hand,

or just to give him a hug and say,

thank you for saving my life.

I have a lot to look forward to, and I'm just very

grateful that he didn't say no.

You know, I can't come to the hospital to give the blood now,

or I'm too tired, or no, I have to be up in three hours

for work.

Sorry-- you know?

Because I wouldn't be here he had done that.

Unfortunately, there are no records

that would help identify the unknown good Samaritan.

Anne Wilson recalls that he was in his mid-twenties,

and had dark hair and eyes.

He would now be in his mid-fifties.

In 1966 the man lived near the Riverside Hospital

in Newport News, Virginia.

Next, stripping took her inside the sex industry and close

to the mob.

Curiosity drew her to the bizarre rituals

of modern day vampires.

But no one knows what made Susan Walsh disappear.

OK, David, while you're over here today,

don't watch so much television, OK?

Read a book, or something.

NARRATOR: July 16th, 1996.

Susan Walsh was in a hurry.

She dropped off her son, David, with her estranged husband.

Hey, buddy.

NARRATOR: She never said exactly where she was going.

Thanks, Mark.

You'll be back, right?

Uh-- yeah.

I, uh, gotta make a couple of phone calls,

and, um, run a few errands, OK?

And-- just a few minutes, OK?

NARRATOR: But it wouldn't be a matter of minutes at all.

That morning, 36 year old Susan Walsh walked away

from her home, and her life.

She disappeared into the streets of Nutley, New Jersey--

a brief commuter train trip from Manhattan.

What happened to Susan Walsh?

The police believe she simply chose to disappear,

but the truth is elusive and may be far more sinister.

Some say Susan Walsh was murdered by mobsters.

Some say she overdosed on drugs.

Others believe she vanished into a subterranean culture

of sex and danger that lured her in, and never let go.

From the time Susan Walsh was a little girl,

her dream was to be a poet and writer.

But a broken home and unhappy childhood made reaching

that goal a constant struggle.

By the time Susan was in her twenties,

she was instead an admitted alcoholic,

a drug addict, a stripper.

Still, she kept her dream alive.

Stripping paid her way through college.

When Susan graduated in 1984, she cleaned up her act.

- Mark? - Yeah?

OK.

NARRATOR: By 1988, Susan had been sober for four years.

She had married and, most important,

she'd become a devoted mother.

We're making cookie faces.

Looks just like me.

Susan loved her son very much, and she

was always there for her son.

The two things that meant a lot to her

were her son, and her career as a journalist.

NARRATOR: Eventually, Susan and her husband separated.

Though Susan still dreamed of being a writer,

she had a tough time getting breaks.

To support her son, she went back

to stripping, unable to resist the easy money

and seductive lifestyle.

Susan would say she was like an addict,

and that the whole sex business was kind of like an addiction.

And she was trying to break this addiction.

She will talk endlessly on an intellectual level

against dancing, and sometimes with great articulation,

you know?

You feel like this is very profound stuff.

And then, you know, she's out there doing it.

Hey, Natalie, lunch in half an hour, OK?

NARRATOR: Ironically, stripping helped

provide the critical boost to Susan's journalistic career.

Eventually she landed an internship

at New York's freewheeling Village Voice,

researching the sex industry.

She soon turned up a hot story--

Russian mobsters in New Jersey were allegedly

forcing young Russian women to work in strip clubs,

like slaves. - Hi, Susan.

How are you doing?

That's the call I've been waiting for.

- The van guy? - Yeah.

I think it's going to take me to the head guy.

- The head of the mob? - Yeah.

When are you supposed to be out there?

Tonight. 11:00.

Susan was a fantastic researcher.

She really poured herself into this.

She spent hour after hour, day after day.

Then she got into the situation where

a lot of these clubs in New Jersey have silent partners.

Some of the people were alleged to be in organized crime.

The managers of these clubs began

to side with the Russian women against the Russian manager.

So it was, like, the two mobs meet.

And Susan then, of course, loved this thing.

And she got right in the middle of it.

NARRATOR: Susan earned praise for the Russian mob article,

but she also got threats.

Susan felt she may have made enemies.

Her next big project may also have put her in jeopardy.

Susan Walsh for the Village Voice.

Do you know a Jericho?

NARRATOR: In the early '90s, bizarre vampire

clubs began springing up in New York's Greenwich Village.

The clubs boasted a dicey clientele.

Many claimed to be real blood drinkers.

This is the first time I've been in, actually,

to one of the clubs.

And what I was really hoping was to find somebody

that I could actually just maybe go down to the village,

you know?

NARRATOR: Susan was so taken by the vampire world,

she even started dating a man who claimed

to be one of the undead.

Village Voice.

NARRATOR: Susan wrote a detailed article, but in this case

her journalistic judgment seemed skewed.

She sort of, like, took it in whole cloth.

And she believed a lot of the things

that these guys were telling her-- that, you know,

about how there were secret murders, and so on and so forth

in the vampire world.

Are there a lot of regulars at the clubs

She would come and say to me, I met these two guys,

and they got this van, and it was very scary,

and I don't know whether I should go in their van.

And so I said, you know, hey, look--

don't go in the van.

Because they might not be vampires, you know?

NARRATOR: To Susan's disappointment,

the Village Voice never ran her article on vampires.

But in June of 1996, the month before she disappeared,

Susan's career was again on an uptick.

She had done the primary research for a book

by James Ridgeway and Sylvia Plachy, "Red Light,

Inside The Sex Industry."

However, the night of the publisher's party,

James Ridgeway noticed that Susan's wrists were bandaged.

- Susan? - Yeah?

There's something I want to ask you.

Yeah?

What is this?

OK, this is nothing, all right?

This is me in the shower, just, you know--

I wanted to see what it felt like, OK?

You wanted to see what it felt like?

Yeah. It's cool, OK?

It's totally cool. You were in the van, right?

MAN: Yeah, that's right.

NARRATOR: Ridgeway was also concerned

that Susan was taking tranquilizers,

and had started drinking again.

Right.

I'm gonna see you there.

And I just said, aw, Susan, you know,

for an alcoholic to do this it's,

like, really bad, you know?

And I said, you gotta to go to AA.

Please go to AA.

Please go to the doctor.

You still dance.

So why do you still dance?

NARRATOR: By now, Susan was back to dancing full time.

In a documentary being made by an old friend,

Susan talked about what a toll stripping had taken.

It's draining me, and I've been in it 4 and 1/2 years--

four years too long, I'd say.

And I'm stuck in this conundrum, because I feel so drained.

And I'm damaged right now.

I will admit that.

Very damaged from this business.

I'm hurting very bad.

I was with her two days before she disappeared,

and she said she had bronchitis, emphysema, and an ulcer.

She said she'd been in the hospital twice that week.

She talked about her mood swings, and being depressed.

And about just holding on to live.

You'll be back, right?

Oh-- yeah.

Just a few minutes, OK?

NARRATOR: 48 hours after Jill last saw Susan,

the mystery began.

Did Susan collapse somewhere because of her depression

and poor health?

If so, police say her body would have been found,

or she would have surfaced in a hospital.

Her continued absence forces her friends and family to paint

scenarios that are much darker.

I think Susan was probably pretty hooked on drugs.

And I think she went out, and probably called

somebody to come and get her.

And then she went, and she may very well have OD'd.

And she may very well have OD'd in the presence of someone

who knew her, and was frightened to do anything about it.

NARRATOR: The police have a completely different theory.

I believe that Susan Walsh is alive.

For someone, no reason to me at this time,

she opted to leave her family and home, which

she has a perfect right to do.

NARRATOR: Detective Rhein has talked to a number of people

who believe they've actually seen Susan, including

her old friend, Melissa Hines.

Susan!

Susan!

Susan!

I definitely think it was her.

I'm positive that I'd seen Susan a month after she disappeared.

A license plate number that Melissa Hines provided

to us, we did track down.

We spoke to the owner and operator of that vehicle.

He had been with a woman fitting the description of Susan.

He did view photographs, and felt he was

pretty sure that had been her.

But, again, we had no positive identification of Susan Walsh

at that time.

NARRATOR: Melissa believes that if Susan is alive,

she may be deliberately hiding out.

Susan definitely felt that she was in danger.

She was scared for her life, and I

think she was also scared her son's

life could be in danger, too.

Susan actually told me that she wasn't going

to make it in the next year.

She felt that she was going to be killed.

I believe there's a chance that the mob was after her.

People in organized crime were concerned

that Susan had information that would send them to jail.

According to Susan, that was the case.

Someone was definitely following Susan.

I thought at first that it was just her imagination,

but I'd seen it with my own eyes.

I would see cars follow her--

both of us. People follow her.

My car-- she was in my car.

So it was definitely-- somebody was stalking her.

NARRATOR: Who could have been following Susan Walsh?

Was she the target of a mob hit?

Did she cross paths with the wrong person

in the vampire clubs?

Or was she the victim of her own paranoia,

brought on by drug use?

Susan Walsh is 36 years old.

She is 5'6, weighs 110 pounds, and has blue

eyes and bleached blonde hair.

Next, she was poised and accomplished beyond her years.

She is mourned by the entire country.

Who killed JonBenet Ramsey?

The following story originally aired on January 31st, 1997.

It does not include the most recent developments

in the case.

In death she has become America's sweetheart,

but the haunting images of a poised,

sophisticated woman child cloaked the reality--

she could have been anyone's daughter.

Anyone's neighbor.

Offstage, JonBenet Ramsey was probably like most

other six year old girls--

sensitive, fragile, and vulnerable.

Now she is gone, sexually assaulted

and strangled in the basement of her own home

on Christmas night, 1996.

It's been five weeks, and the entire country

is demanding to know who committed this horrible crime.

The initial shock has given way to a kind of national anxiety,

and given rise to other questions.

Why is it taking so long?

What do the police know?

Why haven't they found a suspect, or cleared the family?

The questions may seem unfair to investigators,

but they are understandable.

After all, there is a killer at large.

This elegant home in Boulder, Colorado

is where JonBenet Ramsey lived and died.

Boulder itself is a place where murder almost never happens.

JonBenet was the city's only homicide

victim during all of 1996.

Her father, John, is a millionaire businessman.

Her mother, Patricia, is a former Miss West Virginia

who guided JonBenet's well-documented career

as a child beauty queen.

Today the details of the case, like the fairy tale family

history, are agonizingly familiar.

The ransom note found the morning

after Christmas, demanding the peculiar sum of $118,000.

The discovery a full eight hours later of JonBenet's body

in the basement.

John Ramsey's panic stricken decision to carry his daughter

upstairs, thus disturbing the crime scene

and destroying crucial evidence.

The stunning revelation that the ransom note,

and an apparent practice note, were written on a notepad paper

from the Ramsey home.

And finally, widespread speculation

that someone in the family was involved,

coupled with widespread criticism

of the police investigation.

They have said that they're playing it exactly by the book.

They may be withholding evidence that they

can use to identify the killer.

I think they would say this is proper procedure.

It appeared to me that at the beginning of the investigation,

the police did not seem to be doing as thorough a job

as they would, which would be try to get

every piece of information.

And in this particular case, it may have something

to do with the prominence of the family,

or that they were, you know, unused

to a murder investigation, or something like that,

in Boulder.

We have never contended that anyone is or is not a suspect.

We have not ruled anybody in, nor have we ruled anybody out.

We are continuing the investigation.

NARRATOR: Despite the lack of a known suspect or suspects,

the Boulder police chief has assured local residents

that they have nothing to fear.

There is not a crazed child killer on the loose.

Stranger child homicide is rare,

so I would be likely to place my investigative resources more

on people who had access to the child,

rather than people on the outside.

All the things that I've learned about the family

would point away from the immediate family.

Obviously you can't rule out anyone in this,

and I'm sure the police have not ruled out anyone.

NARRATOR: In the eyes of many, the fact that the crime scene

was essentially closed, limited to the home itself,

makes John and Patsy Ramsey natural suspects.

In addition, much has been made of the Ramseys'

apparent reluctance to cooperate with the police,

and the fact that they both hired

individual attorneys within days of their daughter's death.

For their part, the Ramseys have repeatedly denied

any knowledge of the murder.

Friends and neighbors have been quick to come to their defense,

insisting that the family is above reproach,

and beyond suspicion.

But if not one of the Ramseys, then who?

That is the $64,000 question.

If it were as simple as a family member,

I would have expected an arrest very early in this case.

I would have thought that they would have come up

with some lab evidence that would have

tied someone to the murder.

Either that hasn't happened, or they don't have a suspect,

or they have a suspect, but they're

trying to make sure that they have dotted every I

and crossed every t, and they've got

this person dead cold before they actually make an arrest.

NARRATOR: On our next "Unsolved Mysteries," when rock and roll

star Kurt Cobain was found dead in his home,

all the experts said it was suicide.

But this private investigator is convinced

that the truth about Cobain's death has yet to be revealed.

Join me next time for another fascinating hour

of "Unsolved Mysteries."

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