Original subtitles

NARRATOR: Tonight on "Unsolved Mysteries."

[cocking gun]

Get your hands on the ground.

ROBERT STACK: In 1975, a notorious band

of radicals known as the SLA allegedly gunned down

an innocent woman during a bank heist.

Finally, some 27 years later, they're being brought

to trial on murder charges.

All except this man.

Incredibly, Jim Kilgore is still on the loose.

Mike Tlusty and Laura Law were together 11 years.

Then, according to Laura, Mike abruptly packed his bags

and left.

But after police questioned her about Mike's whereabouts,

Laura also vanished.

What investigators found on the property would shock everyone.

A beautiful restored Southern mansion

is now a bed and breakfast.

But many guests report experiences that can only

be described as supernatural.

At least eight ghosts were said to haunt

the property, spirits of adults and children

who died of foul play.

Pam Corrente's son was viciously murdered by a street gang.

Despite her tragic loss, Pam refuses

to be overwhelmed by grief.

She is pursuing the killers and fighting

to rid her neighborhood of gangs, once and for all.

Perhaps someone watching holds a key that will unlock

the secrets of a mystery.

Perhaps it's you.

Join me for Unsolved Mysteries.

[theme music playing]

[theme music playing]

April 21st, 1975.

On that cool spring morning, three volunteers

from a local church in Carmichael, California,

a suburb of Sacramento, entered the Crocker National Bank.

The women had come to deposit the collection

from weekend services, when suddenly they were surrounded.

Authorities contend the four armed robbers were members

of the notorious Symbionese Liberation Army,

or SLA, a ragtag group of power-hungry radicals

who advocated the violent overthrow of the US government.

Get your hands on the ground!

Get your heads down!

Everyone on the floor.

Get down, nobody gets hurt.

Get down, lady!

ROBERT STACK: The shotgun-toting bank

robber was especially menacing, her manner

as chilling as her words.

Everyone on the floor!

ROBERT STACK: Just 10 feet away, 42-year-old Myrna Opsahl froze.

Then, the unimaginable happened.

Lady, get down!

[gunshot]

[screaming]

She was gunned down in cold blood.

JON OPSAHL, MD: My mother evidently

didn't move fast enough.

The bank employees pleaded with the robbers

to come to her assistance, and they shouted more obscenities,

and threatened more injury, and wouldn't let

anyone come to her assistance.

Get down.

ROBERT STACK: The bank robbers appeared

to be following a script, every word and movement precise.

Get down!

ELEANOR HUNTER: It was very well-coordinated.

Everybody had a role, and at all times

they were very conscious of the time ticking.

Fifty!

ELEANOR HUNTER: At some point, some of the tellers

were grabbed, one woman was kicked.

So all of them actually had weapons,

and it was very, very violent.

And all the time, Myrna Opsahl was not dead yet.

She laid on the ground, and she literally

bled to death on the ground.

All the bank robbers ran out of the bank

to a car that was waiting for them.

ROBERT STACK: The driver of the getaway car

was 20-year-old newspaper heiress Patty Hearst.

She had been kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation

Army some 14 months earlier.

However, within weeks of her abduction,

Hearst assumed the name Tania and declared

herself a revolutionary.

The SLA had a marquee name.

But the search for Patty Hearst also unleashed the biggest FBI

manhunt since John Dillinger.

The massive effort paid off.

In September 1975, the SLA's 22-month reign of terror

came to an end with several arrests,

including Patty Hearst.

However, the story was far from over.

Eyewitnesses to the Crocker bank heist

and the murder of Myrna Opsahl could not positively

identify the assailants.

24 long years had passed before a stunning twist in the case

led to murder indictments.

All of the suspects involved in the crime have been arrested

and are awaiting trial, except one.

The FBI needs your help to bring him in.

His name, Jim Kilgore.

[music playing]

Jim Kilgore's odyssey began nearly a year

before the shooting at Crocker National Bank.

In the spring of 1974, at a San Francisco drive-in theater

Kilgore's girlfriend Kathy Soliah introduced him to SLA

kingpins Bill and Emily Harris.

That's my boyfriend, Jim Kilgore, and he's a great guy.

ROBERT STACK: Kilgore agreed to join the group.

Smart and tough, he was a prize catch.

SPECIAL AGENT LARRY A MEFFORD: He

was born in Portland, Oregon.

He was vice president of his senior class,

he participated in varsity golf, he was on the high school

basketball team.

He was very athletic.

He attended the University of California Santa Barbara,

graduating in 1969.

During that time period he became

acquainted with Kathy Soliah.

ROBERT STACK: Soliah and Jim Kilgore

were welcomed into the group's small inner circle, where

Kilgore reportedly proved especially

adept at creating false IDs.

With the SLA on everyone's most wanted list,

he was kept plenty busy.

We know that members of this group

would steal credit cards and driver's licenses, for example,

at local gymnasiums, and other health clubs.

We know that they engaged in special missions

to steal existing identifications.

ROBERT STACK: In the fall of 1974,

the SLA convened at a safe house in a quiet neighborhood

of Sacramento.

We've come up with a new structure for this group.

ROBERT STACK: With a small but faithful army gathered

around him, Bill Harris allegedly laid out his plan

to escalate the SLA'S violent revolution

against the US government.

We're gonna need money to fund--

ROBERT STACK: But anarchy came with a price,

and robbing banks offered the quick cash needed

to further the group's agenda.

According to police, in late February 1975,

SLA members held up the Guild Savings and Loan in Sacramento.

Allegedly, the point man in the heist was Jim Kilgore.

MICHAEL LATIN: He was a central member of the group.

He was not peripheral, he was actively

involved in the violence, he embraced it.

And you know, that bank robbery was a violent act.

He was right there inside the bank.

ROBERT STACK: Two months later, on April 21st, 1975,

Emily Harris, Michael Bortin, Kathy Soliah, and Jim Kilgore

reportedly executed the daring holdup

at Crocker National Bank.

Get on the floor!

ROBERT STACK: Killing customer Myrna Opsahl, a mother of four.

[gunshot]

Allegedly Emily Harris fired the fatal blast.

JON OPSAHL, MD: They all stormed the bank knowing someone

could get hurt.

What was their backup plan at that point?

Well, they all chose to let my mother lie on the floor

and bleed to death, and didn't let

people come to her assistance.

ROBERT STACK: The robbers netted more than $15,000.

According to police, Bill Harris was the mastermind

behind the heist.

MICHAEL LATIN: The SLA changed modes, essentially,

after killing Myrna Opsahl and taking

the money that they got from robbing the bank

and killing her.

They now were looking to place bombs in locations that

were targeted to kill people.

They seemed to be more hungry to take other human lives,

and that's what they set out to do.

ROBERT STACK: By the summer of 1975,

investigators say the operation had shifted

to San Francisco, where SLA members worked

odd jobs painting houses.

In their spare time, they allegedly planted pipe bombs.

Then in late August, Kathy Soliah, Bill Harris,

and Jim Kilgore made the 375 mile trek south of Los Angeles,

reportedly to create more carnage.

Authorities believed they were hauling

an arsenal of deadly explosives in the back of the car.

MICHAEL LATIN: Most of them were pipe

bombs, using either two inch or three inch pipe, which is big.

The pipe bombs used in Los Angeles were three inch pipe,

and those are very substantial bombs.

They filled those pipe bombs with concrete nails,

and with gunpowder.

ROBERT STACK: When in Los Angeles,

Jim Kilgore and the other SLA members

allegedly planted a pipe bomb beneath an LAPD patrol car.

But the triggering mechanism malfunctioned,

and the officer narrowly escaped serious injury or death.

Authorities say it was not an isolated incident.

MICHAEL LATIN: A call then went out

to all the other police cars in the county,

check under your vehicles.

And sure enough, an officer with Hollenbeck division

went out and checked underneath all the vehicles,

and found an identical device under one of the cars there.

ROBERT STACK: Over the next few days,

Harris, Soliah, and Kilgore returned to San Francisco

to rejoin their comrades.

But the heat was on.

FBI agents acting on a tip finally got a break.

The owner of several apartment buildings

recognized some house painters he had

recently hired as SLA members.

Kinda looks like one of the guys over in the Pacifica unit.

ROBERT STACK: Within hours, Jim Kilgore and the others

were under surveillance.

The next morning, September 18th, 1975, agents

followed one of the suspects to a safe house on Precita Avenue.

So they started to watch Precita address,

and from watching the Precita address,

they see Bill Harris and Emily Harris coming out of the house.

ROBERT STACK: When the Harris's returned from jogging,

they were confronted by FBI agents

carrying guns and handcuffs.

You're under arrest. Put your hands in the air.

Turn around, close the door.

SPECIAL AGENT LARRY A MEFFORD: About an hour after that,

having identified a second safe house in San Francisco,

agents and members of the San Francisco Police Department

raided a second location in San Francisco.

And during that raid, they apprehended Patty Hearst.

ROBERT STACK: 592 days after being abducted at gunpoint,

Patty Hearst's days on the lam ended.

The high profile arrests of Hearst,

and Bill and Emily Harris, instantly

hit radio and television broadcasts nationwide.

Meanwhile that dragnet closed in on Kathy Soliah and Jim

Kilgore, who authorities now believed

were painting a home in nearby Pacifica.

SPECIAL AGENT LARRY A MEFFORD: They raided that house

later that afternoon.

And when they showed up the house,

all the remnants of the painting-- the buckets

of paint and the paint brushes-- were

just left drying in the room.

A radio was on with a all-news station.

REPORTER: (ON RADIO) A 49-year-old unidentified man--

ROBERT STACK: Kathy Soliah and Jim Kilgore

had simply vanished.

When agents searched Kilgore's apartment that afternoon,

they found boxes of bomb making materials.

The evidence, FBI lab technicians later determined,

positively linked Kilgore to the SLA crime spree.

ELEANOR HUNTER: At that location,

they found a fully-manufactured bomb similar to the bombs that

were placed under the police cars in Los Angeles,

and also up in San Francisco.

When they inspected that bomb, they found his fingerprint.

It was a very good break for law enforcement,

because it allowed us to charge James

Kilgore with a serious offense.

ROBERT STACK: Still no charges have been filed

in the murder of Myrna Opsahl.

However, some 24 years later, in June 1999,

Kathy Soliah was arrested in an upscale Minnesota suburb, where

she had been living as a homemaker

and community activist under the alias Sara Jane Olson.

Olson was brought to Los Angeles to stand

trial for planting explosives under a police car in 1975.

Her testimony, and new advances in forensic science,

led Sacramento district attorney Jan Scully to re-examine

the Opsahl murder case.

The state of the evidence today

has convinced me now is the time to seek

justice for Myrna Opsahl.

JON OPSAHL, MD: I still miss my mother intensely,

and she's missing out on the best years of her life,

and her grandkids and all.

But this isn't about revenge or paybacks,

it's just a matter of justice.

They chose to do this, and they need to be held accountable.

ROBERT STACK: SLA members Bill Harris, Emily Harris, Michael

Bortin, Kathy Soliah, and Jim Kilgore

have all been indicted in the case.

Under the felony murder rule, they're

all potentially responsible for the death of Myrna Opsahl.

Patty Hearst, who had been granted immunity in exchange

for her testimony about the shooting,

is expected to be the prosecution's star witness.

No date has been set for the trial.

Now the only missing suspect is Jim Kilgore,

he's still on the loose.

ELEANOR HUNTER: The heat has definitely

been turned up more and more, throughout the course

of the last 2 and 1/2 years, for Mr. Kilgore.

So I'm sure he's probably looking over his shoulder

a little bit more every day.

ROBERT STACK: This is a picture of Jim Kilgore in 1975

at age 27.

Kilgore is now in his mid-50s.

Authorities believe he has used as

many as 13 different aliases, and he may

have altered his appearance.

[music playing]

[music playing]

[interposing voices]

ROBERT STACK: Laura Law and her boyfriend of 11 years,

Mike Tlusty, enjoyed entertaining

in their Arkdale, Wisconsin home.

Denise Piccioni and her husband were often guests.

Don't we want to go to Vegas?

We so want to go to Vegas.

Every year we do what you want to do.

ROBERT STACK: Denise was Mike's cousin,

and Laura's best friend.

DENISE PICCIONI: Laura was just a wonderful person.

She had wonderful family dinners,

and she was good to Mike.

I saw Mike very happy.

I never saw them argue or fight, and they

were a lot of fun to be with.

- Where is it? - Calm down.

Where is the money, huh?

We're almost broke.

ROBERT STACK: However, one night in March 2001,

Mike Tlusty was ready to argue when he tracked Laura down

at a nearby casino, where she had gone to gamble

with Denise and her mother.

[interposing voices]

Denise, Marie.

I got to go.

What's wrong.

Mike showed up.

He's in the truck, he's so upset, he wants me to go.

Laura, look at me.

What happened?

DENISE PICCIONI: She was just trembling, she was shaking.

And I said, well, what's wrong?

And she said, I don't know.

He's depressed, something's wrong with him,

we've got to go.

You guys stay and have a good time.

Will you call me?

Yeah, tomorrow.

I'll call you tomorrow.

DENISE PICCIONI: And I said, you know,

Ma, something's just not right here,

because he doesn't get mad.

He doesn't have a temper.

Well, he has a temper, but he usually says what

he needs to say, and it's over.

ROBERT STACK: After that night, Mike Tlusty

would never be seen again.

According to friends and family, Mike's behavior in the casino

may indeed have been out of character.

But for him to completely avoid contact with them

was incomprehensible.

Strangely, however, one person would claim to know

were Mike went--

his longtime girlfriend Laura Law.

Ultimately she too, would disappear.

Mike, please don't go.

ROBERT STACK: When they returned from the casino,

Laura said Mike packed some clothes

and $73,000 in cash, which she said

came from the graphics business they owned.

He then set out on foot from their rural home

in the middle of the night.

DENISE PICCIONI: I said that's so strange, he left on foot?

And she said, yeah.

And I said, Laura, why would he leave all of his vehicles.

I said this doesn't make any sense.

And she said, well, I think he had a trucker pick him up.

He's my cousin, he's like the sweetest guy in the world.

Why would he just disappear?

That's what I want to know.

DENISE PICCIONI: I thought she was lying,

but I thought she was trying to cover her embarrassment.

Maybe he said I'm leaving you for another woman.

Well, we had that big fight the first night.

DENISE PICCIONI: I thought, I need to give her

the benefit of the doubt, because we truly loved

her as a family member, also.

I didn't want to actually take sides with either one of them.

And then two weeks after Mike disappeared, she called me up,

and she goes, well, he just called, and he's out West.

And I said, well, when's he coming home?

She goes, well, I asked him, are you to come home yet?

And he said no.

ROBERT STACK: Four months passed, and there was

still no sign of Mike Tlusty.

But because Mike and Laura ran their own business,

few knew Mike was gone.

By mid-summer though, Denise insisted

Laura talk to Mike's family.

They had still not been told about

his strange disappearance.

I'm gonna tell them that he's on an extended

fishing trip in Winnipeg.

What?

DENISE PICCIONI: And I said, this has gone on too long.

If this was my son, I would be furious that somebody didn't

tell me that he's been missing.

I don't want to worry them.

I don't care, you've got to tell them, all right?

Oh, all right, OK.

I'll tell them the truth.

ROBERT STACK: To Denise's shock, Laura lied to Mike's mother

anyway, and told her that Mike had gone to Canada.

It was so bizarre.

That scared me.

It scared me that she would be so underhanded to plot,

and say, this is what we're going to say.

ROBERT STACK: With her suspicions now aroused,

Denise recalled other instances of Laura's

increasingly bizarre behavior.

Hello?

Hi, this is Denise.

Oh, hi Denise.

I'm going to come today and get my snowmobiles, OK?

Uh, well, sure, but I don't have the keys.

ROBERT STACK: Denise's snowmobiles

were stored in a shed in Mike and Laura's backyard.

And Laura seemed determined to prevent anyone from entering

the padlocked shed.

I don't know what's going on with you,

but for the past three weeks, every time

I've called about the snowmobiles

you have some other reason why I can't come get them.

DENISE PICCIONI: I said Laura, if you don't have

the snowmobiles out of that shed,

I'm coming with a locksmith, and I'll replace the locks,

and pay for it, and give you new keys and new locks.

I said, but I need my snowmobiles.

I don't know what making such a big deal about this for.

Because you put me through the wringer trying

to get these snowmobiles.

I'm telling you something, if that shed isn't open,

I'm going to break it open.

Denise.

ROBERT STACK: Laura had removed the snowmobiles by herself,

but she was still preventing anyone

else from entering the shed.

The thought now crossed Denise's mind,

could something to do with Mike's disappearance

be hidden in the shed?

DENISE PICCIONI: That was the straw

that broke the camel's back.

I called Mike's brother, and I said, Mark, we have to talk.

I said, something's wrong.

Something's terrible wrong.

ROBERT STACK: Four months after Mike Tlusty disappeared,

Mark Tlusty filed a missing person's report

with the local authorities.

MARK TLUSTY: Because of the way the stories weren't jiving,

and things didn't add up, and no one's heard from him,

I didn't hesitate at all.

And he left everything, and that also made me very suspicious

that something happened to him.

ROBERT STACK: The case was ultimately assigned

to investigator Gary Silka.

Did you find anything?

No.

GARY SILKA: Laura seemed to be very cooperative

the day that we were there.

She also invited me to look around on the property

if I desired.

What do you normally keep in the shed?

Oh, we usually--

GARY SILKA: Laura through a roadblock in front of me

when I asked to go into that building.

Can we take a look?

Well, actually I cleared all of that stuff

out a couple months ago so that I could rent it.

Do you have a key?

Oh no, the man I rented it to has the key.

You don't have a spare?

Oh no, but I couldn't let you in there anyway.

And what's his name?

George.

George Giuliani.

GARY SILKA: Laura agreed to make arrangements for Mr. Giuliani

to drive up to the Arkdale property,

and then meet law enforcement so we could continue

the search inside the shed.

ROBERT STACK: Authorities now believe

that within hours of being questioned by investigators,

Laura Law hastily fled her home.

Her whereabouts are still not known.

It would take several more months of investigation

before Gary Silka was granted a search

warrant for the property.

On January 22nd, 2002, investigators finally

entered the mystery shed.

GARY SILKA: The minute that we stepped inside, I could smell

the strong, pungent odor of what I believed to be that

of a decomposing human body.

ROBERT STACK: In the near empty shed, under several pieces

of wood, and covered in a blanket and plastic wrapping,

police found the decomposed body of Mike Tlusty.

He had been dead between nine and 10 months.

The autopsy showed cause of death

was attributed to a single gunshot wound

to the back of the victim's head.

Several years before the incident, Laura Law

had purchased a 9 millimeter handgun.

We believe that that is the weapon

that was used in the homicide of Michael Tluty.

ROBERT STACK: Despite the evidence,

those who knew them are stunned to conclude Laura

had murdered Mike.

DENISE PICCIONI: I was with her for 11 years,

and I thought she was a wonderful person.

Is it the best?

DENISE PICCIONI: Did I know her at all?

Is Laura the one that we had so much fun

with, and did things with?

Is that Laura?

Or is this Laura the one that shot him?

Who is Laura?

It's unbelievable.

What happened?

That's bottom line, what happened?

I'm almost sure that she has a gambling problem.

And I think that's probably what triggered this.

- We're about broke. - Mike.

Where is it?

GARY SILKA: Michael may have told her

that enough was enough, and that she needed to consider leaving.

And Laura didn't want to leave that relationship,

and didn't want to leave the life as she knew it.

[music playing]

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK: A summer lightning storm thunders

over St. Francisville, Louisiana, illuminating

the Myrtles Plantation.

The Myrtles is an infamous, 200-year-old

antebellum mansion.

Converted to a bed and breakfast decades ago,

it claims to be one of America's most haunted houses.

[creaking]

[gunshots]

Shooting, poisoning, lynching are just a few

of the deadly means by which the ghosts of the Myrtles

met their mortal demise.

At least eight people died violent deaths here,

and legend has it their spirits remain on the premises,

appearing regularly to guests and staff alike.

I've had enough happen to let me know that other people live

here that we can't always see.

[thunder]

ROBERT STACK: Perhaps the Myrtles plantation

was destined to be haunted.

Legend has it that in 1796, the original owner, General David

Bradford built the house directly

on top of an ancient Indian burial ground.

Since that time, literally hundreds

of sightings of the unexplained have occurred.

Could spirits be haunting the plantation?

Thousands believe they are.

[thunder]

This mysterious mansion is said to be

a window into the supernatural.

Guests here are well-aware of the possibility

of having a ghostly encounter.

I guess I have to say I really didn't believe that there were

actually ghosts, or spirits there,

that it was just folklore and legend.

And it wasn't until I was already in

that things began to happen that convinced

me that, yes, they are here.

But by then, it was too late, financially

I couldn't afford to be scared.

[thunder]

ROBERT STACK: When Amy Campbell and her friend Michelle

came to stay at the B&B last October 30,

they were well-informed of its ghostly past.

AMY CAMPBELL: We were very hesitant

if we were going to stay all night, because we had heard

that the place was haunted.

We had heard that there were ghosts

that visit people at night, that tuck you in, fix your clothes.

We weren't sure we wanted to experience any of that.

I obviously was sleeping for a little while,

and I woke up feeling bouncing on the end of my bed.

And I saw a little girl jumping on the end of my bed.

And I thought, surely I'm dreaming,

and I stuck my head back under the covers.

It kept bouncing, and bouncing, and bouncing,

it felt like forever.

And all of sudden it stopped.

And I looked back at the little girl that was

jumping on the bed was gone.

[laughing]

ROBERT STACK: The child ghost is thought

to be a Cornelia Woodruff, one of four

people who died in a tragic set of events 175 years ago.

Cornelia was the daughter of Judge

Woodruff, whose family lived at the Myrtles in the early 1800s.

On the Woodruff's house slave Chloe

was caught eavesdropping on the judge,

he was compelled to punish her.

This is the third time I've caught you.

I wasn't listening, I mean it.

I will not tolerate this.

Oh Sir, please no.

This time, you will be punished.

[crying]

ROBERT STACK: The judge had Chloe's ear cut off.

Fearful of also being sent to the fields to do hard labor,

Chloe made a plan.

She decided to grind poisonous oleander leaves

into a birthday cake, hoping to make the family ill,

then she would endear herself by nursing them back to health.

I baked your favorite cake, Ms. Sara.

HESTER EBY: She may have thought she

was boiling just enough oleander to make the family sick.

Already knowing what was wrong, she would take care of them,

be the hero, and be left in the household to take care of them.

ROBERT STACK: But Chloe's scheme backfired.

Young Cornelia, her mother, and sister, all

died from the poison.

HESTER EBY: A lot of us want to know what happened

to Chloe after the poisoning.

It's believed that she was killed by a mixed mob.

Black and whites were probably together.

Of course, the other slaves were probably afraid of what

was going to happen to them.

She was supposedly beaten, and then thrown into the river.

ROBERT STACK: It is said that Cornelia, along with her mother

and sister, have joined Chloe in eternally haunting the house.

[laughter]

[thunder]

I think I've been frightened more in the day than at night.

ROBERT STACK: Arlin Dease owned and restored Myrtles

Plantation over 30 years ago.

He remembers his first ethereal encounter very well.

It was 1970, and he was mowing the North Lawn.

ARLIN DEASE: First of all, I never thought that I

would see any type of ghost.

It was in the afternoon, approximately four

or five o'clock.

And as I was mowing, I simply looked up,

and there was this vision.

And then with a blink of an eye, it was gone.

Well, needless to say, there's a chill factor that comes

over one when that occurs.

ROBERT STACK: The vision Arlin saw

is said to be the ghost of the elderly caretaker who

was robbed and killed on the estate in 1927.

[thunder]

Three years ago, Mark and Holly Parenti

spent a frightening night at the Myrtles

Back then, Mark had been reluctant to visit,

but knew his wife would be intrigued

by the hotel's history.

It's known as one of the most haunted plantations in America,

and I wasn't looking forward to finding out why.

Come right up.

It's a great house.

It is, it's a beautiful house.

Hester, the tour guide came out,

and she says, you know, welcome to the Myrtles.

Oh, and by the way, you're the only guests here tonight.

Really?

Yes.

Come on, don't worry about that.

Tell him he's fine.

It was scary, the thought of being in this haunted house

by ourselves, no one else in here, was very scary.

More probably to Mark than me, but I was scared too.

ROBERT STACK: Perhaps the Parentis

had reason to be nervous.

A former Myrtle's owner is said to haunt that very staircase.

Mark and Holly's room was just beyond that same flight

of stairs.

MARK PARENTI: My mind had gotten to me a little bit,

because I wouldn't let her turn the lights off.

So we're laying in bed, and she's

sort of having a nervous chit chat, and what I heard

was a very deep sounding bang.

It sounds like someone's on the steps.

MARK PARENTI: As soon as I heard that noise, you know,

the adrenaline rush.

I'm gonna go.

No, no, Holly, stay here.

Oh come on.

No.

I wanna look.

HOLLY PARENTI: If I had to venture a guess,

it sounded like footsteps.

ROBERT STACK: The reason for the murder of a prominent homeowner

remains a mystery.

Winners?

William Winners!

ROBERT STACK: It was late one night in 1871,

when a mysterious horseman appeared

on the Myrtles' front lawn.

Who's there?

MAN: Are you William Winters?

Yes, I'm William Winters.

[gunshots]

[neighing]

HESTER EBY: Whoever was there shot him in the chest.

He made it back to the double doors,

trying to reach his wife Sarah, she was upstairs.

Sarah!

Sarah!

No, William.

HESTER EBY: He only made it to the 17th step.

Oh no.

No.

William, William!

HESTER EBY: He died there in her arms.

I wish someone would be able to explain it,

other than the story that I heard,

but I can't tell you for sure what it was.

All I know was that it was enough for me.

You know, it was enough for me to make me want to leave.

In a way, I think we were both hoping it might

have been our imagination.

But it definitely wasn't.

[thunder]

ROBERT STACK: For all who venture to Myrtles Plantation

for a glimpse of the hereafter, perhaps they should take advice

from those who have actually braved the halls

of this haunted house.

There are certain times that I'm uncomfortable

here, certain times that, yeah, you could say I get the creeps.

I can't explain it, it's no certain hour, it's just times.

You can walk in, and as I said before, you can feel a sadness.

Or you can walk in, and you hear--

especially upstairs-- footsteps, you know you hear them.

Someone is right behind you.

You can stop, the footsteps stop.

Once you have the encounter, and you feel the sensation,

you will know that their intention is not to harm you.

They are truly here to protect you.

They protect this home.

This is their station, this is their life,

this is where they live.

Is the Myrtles Plantation truly haunted?

They can't say for sure, but our production crew certainly

had more than their share of unexplained

technical difficulties.

Electrical equipment, including cameras,

cell phones, and walkie talkies, constantly malfunctioned.

Were these just mysterious mishaps,

or ghostly intervention?

[theme music playing]

The tetanus shots, those are what hurt.

ROBERT STACK: For Pam Corrente, it was just another day

of running errands in her quiet, working class neighborhood

of Freeport, New York.

As Pam was driving her teenage son to the doctor,

she saw what appeared to be a terrible car accident.

I wonder what's going on?

I can't see anything, can you?

PAMELA CORRENTE: I said to my son, look over there,

and see what's going on.

So he just looked over and said, I don't see anything,

you can't see anything, there's just ambulances all over.

So I passed it, I took him to the doctor's office,

we came back home.

[ringing]

ROBERT STACK: It was then that Pam received

an unusual phone call about her eldest son,

21-year-old Damian Corrente.

No, he's not.

May I take a message?

PAMELA CORRENTE: And I got a phone

call from one of his friends, asking me, is Damian there?

Out for an errand.

PAMELA CORRENTE: I said no he's not,

he was going to go out to see his friends.

Aren't you with him?

No.

OK, never mind, and they hung up.

And then, just the whole thing was odd.

ROBERT STACK: After paging Damian to no avail,

and with the accident still fresh in her mind,

Pam decided to check local hospitals.

PAMELA CORRENTE: I called South Nassau Hospital,

and said, do you have a Damian Corrente there?

Yes, who is this?

I said, this is his mom.

I said, is he there?

Is he OK?

Why didn't anybody call?

Why aren't I being informed?

What's going on?

Just tell me what's going on.

And she said, didn't the detective come to your house

yet?

ROBERT STACK: Within minutes, Pam was at the hospital.

Her son Damian had been involved in the incident

she saw earlier, but it was no traffic accident.

PAMELA CORRENTE: My son was there on the bed,

and he was in a hospital gown, and he

looked like a complete angel.

And I went to hug him, and there was blood on my hand.

Oh God.

PAMELA CORRENTE: When they told me

he was shot five times in the head, I couldn't comprehend it.

Everything went crazy at that point.

[crying]

DAMIANO CORRENTE: That day I saw my wife

crying on the other side of the door, there was the nurse.

And then I said to her, what's the matter?

She said, he's dead.

Just like that.

I'm so sorry.

DAMIANO CORRENTE: Something died in me that day, too.

Pam Corrente her husband Damiano

soon learned that their son had died in a gang shooting.

Now the grieving parents had to deal with insinuations

that Damian was himself a gang member,

and had somehow played a role in his own murder.

But to Pam Corrente, that just didn't make any sense.

PAMELA CORRENTE: Damian was a pre-med student

at Stony Brook University.

And he had an ambition, and that was to go to college

and to get his degree, and become an anesthesiologist.

My son had absolutely no gang affiliation.

That was proven over and over, it

was written in every newspaper.

He was absolutely not a part of a gang,

and had no gang affiliation

Yeah, that's fine.

Why don't you go ahead and fax me--

Mom, I'm taking off.

Could you hold on one second.

Honey, could you do something for me,

can you run this by the bank? - OK.

OK.

What time are you gonna be back? - Before dinner.

- Dinner's at 6:30. - All right.

OK, thanks honey, I appreciate it.

OK.

ROBERT STACK: In the weeks leading up to his death,

Damian had returned home for winter break,

and had rekindled friendships he formed in high school.

DET.

BRIAN N. PARPAN: One of those friends--

Yo Harold. DET.

BRIAN N. PARPAN: Was a man by the name of Harold Zambrano.

Good looking, kid.

Yo, pop your trunk for me, yo?

Yeah, sure.

Harold was a 19-year-old member

of a local gang called Nientes.

Yo son, can you roll by the school, or by,

you know, the laundromat and stuff.

We're just looking for these punks.

These punks? Why, what's up?

ROBERT STACK: Harold told Damian that two days earlier he

was jumped by members of MS-13, a violent El

Salvadorean street gang, originally from Los Angeles.

- They jumped you? - Yeah man, look at that.

They cracked me over the head with a bottle.

That looks horrible.

Yeah, I know, son.

ROBERT STACK: Harold asked Damian for help.

So I'm gonna go--

PAMELA CORRENTE: Damian had the biggest heart in the world,

that was part of his problem.

Anybody asked him for anything, he would do it,

and he would be there, even if he had his own plans.

That's not right.

I know, yo, that's why you got my back, son?

We're gonna go look for these cats.

Yeah, yeah, I got your back.

CHIEF MICHAEL WOODWARD: Damian Corrente,

on the day that he died, I'm sure had no idea as to what

he was getting involved in.

Harold Zambrano being a gang member probably

never publicized that fact to Damian.

ROBERT STACK: At a local strip mall,

Harold found what he was looking for.

Yo, that's one of them.

That's one of them right there.

Stop the car, stop the car.

ROBERT STACK: 19-year-old German DeLeon.

DET.

BRIAN N. PARPAN: German DeLeon is a known MS-13 member,

and was wearing the colors, so there

was no question in their mind that they had found somebody.

Yo where's your friends now, son?

DET.

BRIAN N. PARPAN: They approached German DeLeon.

Who are you?

Who are you? Don't play stupid, son.

Did you do this? DET.

BRIAN N. PARPAN: They confronted him with the injury

to Harold Zambrano.

I didn't do that, yo, I was over

here waiting for my girl, yo.

What are you talking about?

You're lying-- DET.

BRIAN N. PARPAN: He was there at the laundromat

with his girlfriend.

DeLeon admitted that he was an MS-13 member,

and told him that he had nothing to do

with that particular incident.

Yo, he's not worth it.

DET.

BRIAN N. PARPAN: Zambrano and those guys

indicated that they respected the fact that he was

with his girlfriend, And they wouldn't cause him any trouble

while he was with his girlfriend.

Forget about it.

ROBERT STACK: Damian, Harold, and the others

returned to their car.

And the incident would have ended right there if it weren't

for a tragic coincidence.

Two more members of the MS-13 stumbled onto the scene.

That's one of our boys, kid.

ROBERT STACK: The confrontation then exploded into violence.

Yeah, yeah, get that, get that.

[gunshot]

ROBERT STACK: Harold Zambrano was shot in the neck

and critically injured.

Damian Corrente was fatally shot five times in the head.

[gunshots]

A police investigation quickly reveal the identity

of the alleged shooters, German DeLeon, Mario

Portillo, and Juan Gil Ferrufino,

but the suspects could not be found.

PAMELA CORRENTE: The whole family

was absolutely devastated.

And detectives started coming to my house,

and police started coming to my house.

And all my children's friends started coming to my house.

And they would sit the kids down, and say to them,

tell me about gangs.

And the kids started telling about gangs.

And I was shocked.

I said, why didn't you tell me about gangs?

Then I began driving around to look for myself,

and I saw exactly what they said.

I went up to the junior high school and the high school,

and I saw them, and you can tell by their colors,

and you can tell with the bandanas.

I was totally unaware, totally unaware.

And I saw kids hanging out in different--

it never occurred to me.

I just thought it was just groups and groups.

These groups are extremely violent,

males between the ages of 18 and 25, sometimes younger.

ROBERT STACK: Later that week, Pam

attended a police forum on gangs held in reaction

to her son's murder.

Are these groups--

When someone asked the question,

point blank, are there gangs here in Freeport?

The answer was--

I would have to say at this moment, not really.

And that's when I went berserk.

How dare you tell these people there's no gang activity here?

My son Damian--

PAMELA CORRENTE: And I stood up in front of everyone,

and I started screaming.

How dare you even say that when my son was murdered

on your doorstep by gangs.

And you're going to tell them there's no gangs in Freeport?

There's graffiti all over the town.

All the repetitive patterns we've been seeing.

ROBERT STACK: It was at that moment

that Pam Corrente had an epiphany.

She would lead the charge to rid her neighborhood of gangs.

Perhaps you would like to join me

for a closed meeting with the mayor tomorrow

night on this very topic.

I would love to, yes, thank you.

Would you make it?

I would love to come, thank you.

PAMELA CORRENTE: I had no choice.

I had to fight.

It was either that or go through rage,

and the anger, and the hate.

So I can't do that, but I can fight back

by trying to educate our children,

and trying to find a way for them.

And to educate the parents to educate the children.

ROBERT STACK: Pam and the Freeport police department

formed GASP, the Gang Awareness Suppression Program.

Hi, I'm Pam Corrente.

Hi, I'm here in the neighborhood,

I'm trying to raise awareness of the gang problem we have here.

We have a gang problem in this neighborhood?

Yes, actually, we do.

PAMELA CORRENTE: We're opening their eyes

to a very big problem that maybe didn't exist when we were kids.

And it was such a good, healthy outlet, instead of the hate,

and the anger, and the rage, and the frustration

that I was feeling, living only blocks

from the mother and father of the kids who killed my son.

Thanks a lot.

I appreciate your help.

Thank you.

Bye bye.

PAMELA CORRENTE: I hope I can make a difference.

I don't know that I am, but I hope I can.

ROBERT STACK: Since Pam founded GASP,

not one person has died from gang

violence in the Freeport area.

But even though Pam finds her new work rewarding,

it will never take away the pain of losing her son.

When it blooms, it's gonna be a beautiful.

ROBERT STACK: There is only one thing

that would help, catching the alleged

killers of Damian Corrente.

[gunshot]

Although police trace German DeLeon, Mario Portillo,

and Juan Gil Ferrufino to El Salvador,

they now believe the suspects may have

returned to the United States.

[gunshots]

All three are young Hispanic males,

and may be hiding in Los Angeles or Miami.

[theme music playing]

With every mystery, one critical clue may lead to a solution.

Join us again for "Unsolved Mysteries."

[theme music playing]

[theme music playing]