All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S04E20.480p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-PLAYREADY_track3_[und]

ANNOUNCER: This program is
about unsolved mysteries.

Whenever possible, the
actual family members

and police officials
have participated

in recreating the events.

What you are about to see
is not a news broadcast.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Richard Minns

was a flashy
bodybuilding millionaire

who always got what he wanted.

In 1977, he set his
sights on Barbara

Piotrowski, a former beauty
queen from California.

Three years later, their
love affair disintegrated,

and Barbara descended into
a personal hell, which

culminated in a brutal attack.

For years, Katherine Bennett
lived in virtual seclusion,

apparently on the
edge of poverty.

When she died, she left
behind a past shrouded

in mystery and an estate
worth more than $125,000.

Perhaps someone watching
tonight is her rightful heir.

Also, we'll update you on the
unusual case of a Canadian,

a man who disappeared in 1987.

Thanks to our broadcast,
he has finally been located

and reunited with his family.
Join me.

Perhaps you may solve a mystery.

[theme music]

Janni Smith of
Irvine, California

is a registered
nurse, a marathon

racer, and a new bride.

She is also paralyzed
from the chest down,

the result of a brutal attack.

15 years ago, Janni had
another name, Barbara

Piotrowski, and another life.

She was a beauty queen and a
straight A pre-med student.

In 1977, she became involved
in a passionate, obsessive love

affair with a man twice her age.

By 1979, that love affair
began to self-destruct.

Barbara Piotrowski
found herself embroiled

in a bitter dispute with her
former lover, Richard Minns.

Minns, a multimillionaire
from Texas,

was the one man Barbara
had loved unconditionally,

the man whose child
she had carried,

the man who had promised her
a bright and limitless future.

Incredibly, she is certain
that the attack which

left her paralyzed
was a murder attempt,

and that Richard
Minns was responsible.

They met in January of
1977 on the ski slopes

of Aspen, Colorado.

Barbara Piotrowski was just
23 and admittedly naive.

Richard Minns was 47, a
sophisticated, smooth talking

comedian who could
adjust to any situation.

Richard Minns, when
he first approached me,

was very loud and belligerent.

He was dressed very loudly in a
bright, fluorescent yellow ski

suit.

He was bragging about
what a great guy he was.

And when he saw how
that affected me,

he just very, very quickly
changed his persona,

and was very quiet, charming,
almost seemed a little shy.

And eventually, I did not only--

I didn't just fall
in love with him.

I fell head over heels
in love with him.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Richard Minns

was anything but shy.

He was a dedicated,
flamboyant bodybuilder,

who had made millions from a
chain of upscale health spas

based in Texas.

Minns was a man who
always got what he wanted,

and he wanted Barbara.

What's the two most
beautiful moment you've

known in the last four months?

Aspen, in March, and Acapulco.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Within three months,

Barbara Piotrowski had moved
from Los Angeles to Houston

to live with Richard Minns.

He hired her as a model
for his health spas,

lavished her with attention,
and in general made

her the center of his life.

Minns even bragged that his
contacts guaranteed Barbara

a spot in medical school.

It was incredibly romantic,
and it was too good to be true.

Things like this don't
happen in real life.

They happen in a story.

They happen in a movie.

But they don't happen to you.

And I felt so incredibly lucky.

I mean, we seemed to have
a very good relationship.

Certainly, it was magical.

So there was no indication
whatsoever in the beginning

that there was anything
that was really amiss.

My husband is in
your house, and I

want to see him right now.

I know he's here.
I saw his car out there.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Richard Minns

had neglected to tell
Barbara one small detail.

Right now.

- I'll go get him.
- Dick!

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
He was married.

You'd better get
out here right now!

At that point,
he explained to me

that he had loved me so much
that he knew if he had admitted

that he was not divorced, that
I never would have consented

to come to Houston, and that
he loved me so much that he

would have done anything.

He would even compromised
his own integrity

and lie to me
because he loved me

so much that he wanted
to convince me to come

to Houston to be with him.

And he explained
that he was legally

separated but not divorced.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
After a short breakup,

Barbara decided to accept
Richard's explanation,

and his peace offering-- a
townhouse for the two of them

to share.

To prove his
devotion, Minns even

gave Barbara papers, stating
that the townhouse and

its contents belonged to her.

He really didn't
want me to be working

for anyone other than him.

This was his way of
dealing with that,

was by giving me every assurance
that these were things I didn't

have to worry about, that
instead I should concentrate

on our relationship, on
finishing my own education

and not worrying
about holding down

a job that wouldn't
pay me nearly

what he could make in a day.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Six months later,

Barbara discover
that Richard Minns

was not legally separated.

In May of 1978, his
wife filed for divorce

after she found out about
the townhouse arrangement.

When Dick was going
through his divorce,

he just became a completely
different person.

And it was something
that really shocked me.

It really appalled me.

How does something like
this happen right now?

Suddenly, I saw a
very paranoid, violent

side of his personality.

Barbara, will You stop it?

What do you know?

This silly little thing
you play in school,

you think that something to
do with-- you think that has

something to do with economics?

"Don't worry about it,
don't worry about it?"

Huh?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Richard Minns' temper

became worse and worse,
especially after the divorce

settlement was finalized.

His wife, who built the
whole spa business with him,

was awarded nearly $6 million.

Why are you so upset?

Barb, I don't
wanna talk about it!

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
At around the same time,

Barbara had discovered
she was pregnant.

Minns suddenly put his
plans to marry her on hold.

Didn't you hear a thing?

Yes!

Dick, will you just calm
down please and be careful?

Remember?

Remember I told
you I was pregnant.

Yeah, good, good.

Right, I told you that.

- Abort it.
- No.

I don't want that baby.

No!

Abort the baby.

I won't abort it.

I'm not going to.

I'm not having a child.

I don't want it.

I thought we were
gonna have a family!

Abort it or get
out of my house!

You hear me, Barbara?

The couches, definitely.
Not the piano or the clock.

All right, we
won't take the clock.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Barbara feared for herself

and her unborn child.

In a panic, she
decided to move out.

Barbara took almost
everything in the townhouse.

At the time that
I decided to leave,

my emotional state was
one of complete confusion.

I didn't know if I was
doing the right thing.

I didn't want to be
doing what I was doing.

I really didn't want to.

At this point even, I still
didn't want to leave him.

It was as if I
was tearing myself

away from part of myself.

I was ripping my own arm off.

When Barbara moved
out of the townhouse,

she took all of the furniture
in the townhouse with her.

Some of these items--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Suzanne Finstad

spent more than three years
researching and writing

"Sleeping with
the Devil," a book

which pieces together
the complex story

of Richard and Barbara.

For which she had receipts.

She did this, thinking
she needed to do something

to jolt him, because she'd
moved out several other times,

and the relationship had
pretty much remained the same.

And she felt she needed
to get his attention

in a very dramatic way,
which unfortunately she did.

Barbara?

Barbara?

Barbara?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Barbara went into hiding.

Richard Minns was furious.

He had lost his wife, and half
his fortune, and now Barbara.

He had called
his sister, begging

her to have me come meet
him on a particular evening.

And even though I knew
that it was a big mistake,

I felt as if I had to, to at
least see what he had to say.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): When
Barbara arrived at Richard's

hotel room, he wasn't there.

Hoping they could work something
out, she waited in the hallway

until well after midnight.

Yes, no, now.

No, now.

Tell me.

No.

Yes.

Come on.

Come on.

Barbara.

I can see it didn't
take you very long.

Barbara, wait.

I thought you
said you loved me.

Wait, I wanna talk.

Wait, I wanted you to come here.
Wait.

Barbara.

Who is that?

He grabbed me
at first forcibly,

and wouldn't allow me to leave.

And then, while he
held me forcibly,

begged me to just
come in and talk,

said that he still
loved me, we had

a lot to talk
about, that somehow

or another, if we just
sat down and talked

that we could work things out.

What's going on?

So he brought
me into his suite,

and we started to
talk a little bit.

He put his arms around
me, was telling me

how much he loved me, and all of
a sudden, the door burst open.

It was the police.

He threw me from his arms
toward them and said, "Take her.

You have a warrant
for her arrest."

Call if you don't believe me.

She's an employee of mine.

She stole my jewelry.

She stole my shotgun.

Officer, that is not true.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Barbara had been set up.

Minns had used his
connections to obtain

a warrant for her arrest.

One of his associates
had called the police.

Are you gonna take her away?

Why are we standing
here talking?

You got the arrest warrant.

Don't tell me
how to do my job!

It's a valid warrant
signed by a judge.

I'm gonna have to--
- It's not true.

God, Richard!

This man is lying.

What he did to me that night
was like taking a knife

and just ripping my
heart straight open.

But believe it or not, even
after what he did that night,

I was still in love with him.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
4 and 1/2 hours

later, at daybreak, Barbara was
visited by a police detective.

Barbara?

Barbara Piotrowski?

How you doing?

Treating you OK?

No.

How about a smoke?

No thank you.

Listen, Barbara, I
heard about your case,

and I thought I'd come down here
if I couldn't give you a hand.

How?

Well, if you'll settle
up with Dick Minns,

we can forget about
this whole thing.

What are you talking about?

I've got a little
piece of paper here.

You read this, you sign it,
we can wipe the slate clean,

get you out of here tonight.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The detective

carried a statement
which he said Richard

Minns wanted Barbara to sign.

That I never
knew Richard Minns,

that I never had a
relationship with him,

and not carrying his child?

No.
I'm not gonna sign it.

There's some money
in there for you.

No, it's lies.

Think about it.

I have.

OK, then.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Barbara Piotrowski

was formally charged
with felony grand theft

and aggravated
assault, because she

had slapped at Richard Minns
with her purse in the hotel.

Less than 36 hours later,
Barbara miscarried.

She told her doctors
but not Richard Minns.

I think that Dick
Minns got the arrest

warrant, got the attention
of the authorities

because of who he was.

Because it's always been my
opinion that the district

attorney's office would never
take any charge unless they

felt that they
could make a prima

facie case and get a conviction.

And I felt, when I reviewed
these facts, that this would

be an easy case to defend.

Have you been up?

Have you been to the
door or anything?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Barbara was released,

and again went into hiding.

She'll be here in a second.
You asked me to do a job.

I did a job.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Earlier, Minns

had hired a private
investigator named

Dudley Bell, who was
notorious for operating

on the edge of the law.

Bell had no trouble
finding Barbara,

and the police
were close behind.

Don't touch me.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
On April 17, 1980,

two Houston police
detectives served

Barbara with a search warrant.

We'll have somebody up here
in a minute to identify it.

Hey, why's he going in there?

We'll just have a look around.

All right.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Barbara

was about to find out
that Richard Minns had

engineered the entire episode.

I want my attorney here, OK?

I'm going to wait for him.

If you wanna call--

I don't want him in here!

I don't wanna be standing
out here all day long.

I don't want
him in this place!

Come on in, Dick.

This is my place.

These are my things!

We got a warrant.

Just take the
couch out right now.

Start with that.

Those are my things!

The couches, both
the couches are mine.

The table is.

You gave all this stuff to me!

Dudley, get all this
on paper, will you?

Get these movers in here.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Richard Minns

put the furniture in storage.

He continued to demand
that Barbara sign papers,

promising never to sue him.

No!

Just calm down.

He wanted a finality
of their, relationship

and he wanted it in writing,
and he wanted the peace of mind,

I guess, that he considered
was necessary for him

to go on without any
concerns about her

instituting any
litigation with respect

to marriage or paternity.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Barbara Piotrowski's

fairytale romance
with Richard Minns had

disintegrated into a nightmare.

I had been told by
people who knew him well

that he was so embarrassed
and angry that I had left him

that he had to
teach me a lesson,

and that he had to teach
everyone else a lesson.

I told her to be
careful, to not be alone,

to watch what she did
and where she went.

Unfortunately, no
safeguard is enough.

If someone's after you, they
can find a way to get you.

Good evening.

How can I help?

I wanna get an
apple fritter, please.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Finally, on October 20, 1980,

Barbara's love affair
with Richard Minns

reached its violent
climax in the parking

lot of a Houston donut shop.

That'll be $1.

As I was getting back into my
car, a black man approached me,

and I knew.

I knew immediately what
was going to happen.

It was essentially the moment
that I had been afraid of.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Barbara Piotrowski was shot

four times and left for dead.

The bullets collapsed her lungs
and severed her spinal cord,

leaving her paralyzed
from the chest down.

Initially, it
seemed that Barbara

Piotrowski was the victim
of a random street crime.

Nothing could have been
further from the truth.

Miraculously, on the
night of the attack,

Barbara never lost
consciousness.

When paramedics asked
who was responsible,

she gave the name of her
former lover, Richard Minns.

Within minutes of
the shooting, ,

two small time hoods
from California,

Nathaniel Ivery and
Patrick Steen, were

arrested for attempted murder.

You're gonna do a lot of time.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Under interrogation, they

were close mouthed and gave no
support to Barbara's contention

that Richard Minns was involved.

I don't know,
man, I don't know.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Then, the following night,

detectives met
with one of Richard

Minns' former bodyguards.

I wanna know if
you were hired--

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): The refused

to go public, but claimed that
one month earlier a contract

had been put out
on Barbara's life.

10 Grand.

By who?

Dudley.

- Dudley who?
- Come on, man.

How many Dudleys do you know?

Dudley Bell.

OK.

So who's Dudley Bell work for?

He works for Richard Minns.

So did Richard Minns
offer you the money?

No, man.
Dudley did.

Dudley works for Richard.

1 plus 1 equals 2, man.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The next day,

police learned that a
California trucker named

Robert Jess Anderson
owned the getaway car used

by Steen and Ivery.

A guy named Anderson
hired us, Bob Anderson.

Bob Anderson?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Steen and Ivery

were questioned again.

They identified Robert Jess
Anderson as the man who

had hired them to kill Barbara.

He was gonna pay us,
then he gave us the gun

and said it would be
better if she was dead.

I just happened to notice
this little note here.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The following day,

Dudley Bell's ex-wife gave
police a note which seemed

to connect Richard
Minns and Dudley

Bell with Robert Jess Anderson.

The note, printed in
Dudley Bell's own hand,

was on Richard Minns'
hotel stationery.

A list of guns, which later
turned out to belong to Robert

Jess Anderson, was on the back.

On October 28, 1980,
eight days after Barbara

had been shot, police
arrested Robert

Jess Anderson on charges of
conspiring to commit a murder.

Wait outside, please.

What is your
relationship with Patrick

Steen and Nathaniel Ivery?

Relationship?

I mean, I don't know
of no relationship.

I mean, you throw
these names at me,

I don't know of
any relationships.

With what I have, the
fact they have confessed,

they have implicated you,
they were apprehended

while driving your car, it
all boils down to one thing,

Mr. Anderson, is we've got you.

Their testimony and the other
evidence is that strong.

I happen to be in a position
to cut you a deal to where you

will more than likely
not serve any at any time

at all for this crime.

If you'll cooperate with me
and give me the information

that I wanna know.

Yeah, sure.

What do you wanna know?

We solicited at that
time his cooperation,

because the information that
we had in this particular case

certainly indicated
that there were

people far above Robert Jess
Anderson that were involved.

And we felt that it was
necessary to get his assistance

to try to move up that ladder.

Well, I tell you,
Dudley's private eye,

you know, he was
working with this guy.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Anderson confirmed that it was

Dudley Bell who had hired him.

Anderson also admitted
that he in turn

had approached Steen and
Ivery to make the hit.

But he said he called
it off in the end.

Anderson suspected that Dudley
Bell was working for Richard

Minns, but he had no proof.

He stiffed me for the bill.

How about that, you know?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Despite Anderson's cooperation,

the claimed DA claimed
he simply did not

have enough evidence
to indict either Dudley

Bell or Richard Minns.

In fact, throughout the
entire investigation.

Minns was never questioned once.

Amazingly, he continued
to press the a theft

case against Barbara.

She appeared in court
on November 17, 1980,

less than one month after
the shooting, which Minns now

insisted Barbara's new attorney
had staged as publicity stunt.

Mr. Deguerin, I understand you
have a motion to present today?

Yes, Your Honor.

We'd like for you to rule
on our motion to suppress.

I was shot.

I was paralyzed.

I was sitting in the wheelchair.

He wasn't being questioned.

He wasn't being indicted.

Neither were any of the other
people who were involved,

yet here I was,
sitting in a courtroom,

my first trip out
of the hospital,

facing theft charges
that he had fabricated.

I have your motion.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Barbara

would never get the chance to
prove that she was innocent.

The theft charges were
dropped on a technicality

involving the search warrant.

Thank you, Your Honor.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
On March 30, 1981,

Nathaniel Ivery and
Patrick Steen were

convicted of attempted murder.

Each was sentenced to
35 years in prison.

Just over one year
later, Barbara Piotrowski

filed a civil suit
for wrongful injury

against Richard Minns and his
alleged confederates, Steen,

Ivery, Anderson, and Bell.

Before depositions
could be taken,

Richard Minns left the
country and disappeared.

He has been in hiding ever
since, evading a civil suit

by pleading ill health, even
though witnesses reported

him waterskiing in the Bahamas.

Richard Minns remains
a suspect in this case.

Unfortunately, an unindicted
suspect in this case,

because we don't have
sufficient evidence

in order to indict nor try
Richard Minns for the offense.

There have been many cases
of indictments returned

in Harris County
on less evidence

than the state has
against Dick Minns.

I don't know why Dick
Minns hasn't been charged.

He should have been,
and no fair jury

that hears that case would find
anything other than Dick Minns

was responsible.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
In 1984, the FBI,

in an unrelated
investigation, tape

recorded Robert Jess
Anderson bragging

about the Piotrowski hit.

He was subsequently convicted
of soliciting a murder,

and sentenced to 38 years.

Dudley Bell was also arrested
for soliciting a murder.

In 1987, he was convicted when
one of his former employees

testified in court that
Bell had tried to hire

him to kill Barbara Piotrowski.

Like Anderson, Dudley Bell
was sentenced to 38 years.

He was released on parole
in 1991, after serving only

4 and 1/2 years.

There's nothing new before
this court on this motion,

and the court is
noting at this time,

and I want the record to show--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
On 17 consecutive occasions,

Richard Minns failed to appear
in court to respond to Barbara

Piotrowski's civil suit.

Considering the evidence
already presented this court--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Ultimately, Minns

was found in default, and
a jury ordered him to pay

Barbara more than $50 million.

In the amount of $58
million plus costs.

That will be all, gentlemen.

It is a civil judgment
against Richard Minns.

It's a curiosity of
the law that one could

get a civil judgment
against someone

and not a criminal judgment.

But that's what's happened
in this particular case.

All of the responsible parties
in the shooting of Barbara

Piotrowski have
not been indicted

and have not been convicted
and sent to the penitentiary.

At least four of
them have, and I

think it's a consensus
in the DA's office

and at the homicide division
that there is at least

one person still there, a
higher person than anybody else,

that has not been indicted
and has not been convicted.

And until that happens,
this case will not close.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Barbara

set about rebuilding her life.

She changed her
name to Janni Smith,

and eventually moved to Ohio.

Above all, she refused
to accept the limitations

of her paralysis.

You cannot go
through something

as devastating as what
happened to me and dwell on it.

You cannot.

If you do, if you dwell on
it, it will destroy you.

You have to go on.

You have to find a way
to find meaning in life,

to do something
meaningful with your life.

And I swore when I was shot that
if I lived through it that I

would find a way to
make my life rewarding,

fulfilling, and productive.

And I've tried to do that
since the time of my injury.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): In
1983, Barbara, now Janni Smith,

began rehabilitation with
Dr. Gerald Piotrowski, who

was experimenting with a device
which allows a paralyzed person

to walk independently.

As collaborators. they
perfected the system.

It operates by means
of computer-induced

electrical impulses.

Today, Janni Smith is
president and co-founder

of Piotrowski centers.

In Irvine, California and
Scranton, Pennsylvania.

As a nurse, she works personally
with patients at the centers,

especially children.

On November 30, 1991, Janni
Smith and Dr. Gerald Piotrowski

were married.

It was a remarkable
turn of events

for a woman who had been
left paralyzed and near

death by an assassin's bullet.

Richard Minns has
been seen in Texas,

the Caribbean,
Israel, and London,

but is based in Switzerland.

Minns has also changed his name.

Today, he goes by
Richard O'Toole,

and bills himself as an
international tax attorney.

Minns has reportedly
transferred all his assets

offshore to dummy corporations.

Janni Smith has never
collected a penny

Next, the search for the
heirs of an elderly recluse

who left an estate worth
more than $125,000.

It seems like every
town in America

has a village recluse,
a mysterious soul

who chooses to remain alone,
isolated from the community.

Katherine Bennett of Portland,
Oregon was just such a person,

an eccentric nearly destitute
packrat, who dressed in men's

clothing, rarely left her
home, and refused to discuss

her past with anyone.

For years, Katherine Bennett
was viewed with curiosity

by sympathetic neighbors.

What no one suspected
was that Katherine

had amassed a modest fortune
worth more than $125,000.

But on the day she died,
Katherine Bennett was a woman

with few friends and no family.

Perhaps one of our
viewers can help

find the heir to her estate.

Little is known about
Katherine before 1941.

That year, she met a
handsome young soldier

named Gilbert Bennett.

Six months later,
they were married.

After the Second
World War, the couple

settled in Portland,
Oregon, where Gilbert worked

as a commercial photographer.

Katherine became his
favorite subject.

Oh yeah, this is the spot.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The two shared

a love of the great outdoors.

At every opportunity, they would
escape to the unspoiled rivers

of the Pacific Northwest.

I can smell the fish.

You can, huh?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
They loved the outdoor life,

and they fished every
chance they'd get.

They were very devoted
to each other, truly.

They were inseparable.

Everyplace they went,
they went together,

and they fished together,
and they hunted together,

and what have you.

I'm sure that they were very
much in love with each other.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Gilbert and Katherine

never had children.

Instead, they built a loving
private universe for two.

Katherine lavished
attention upon her husband,

her garden, and her pets.

Yet she remained intensely
private about her past.

She never spoke of a past.

And I have since talked to
all my brothers and sisters,

and they said the same thing.

They just didn't know
anything of Katie's past.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): In 1980,

after 38 years of marriage,
Gilbert Bennett died.

Katherine's world
began to crumble.

When she lost Gilbert, she
just lost everything, I guess.

And I had talked to Katie,
concerned about her future.

And I asked her if she
had any living relatives.

And she said, no, she
didn't have a family.

She was raised in
an orphan home,

and she didn't know
anything about a family.

And she just withdrew.

Some holidays and
things like this,

we asked her to come to
dinner and stuff like this,

and she wouldn't do that.

And we just couldn't
keep in contact with her

too long, as a result of this.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Katherine rarely left

the home where she
and Gilbert had

spent so many years together.

Mrs. Bennett?

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): In the end,

only the charity of neighbors
kept her from total seclusion.

I just finished dinner and
we had a few leftovers, so I

made up a little plate for you.

Oh, thank you.

Sure.

Look, is there anything you
need from the store maybe?

Oh, I don't think so.

Thanks.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Finally, in June of 1990,

after 10 years alone,
Katherine Bennett passed away.

She was 80 years old.

When no blood relatives
could be located,

representatives from the
Oregon Division of State Lands

were dispatched to Catherine's
house to sort out her estate.

This place is in
pretty poor condition.

Really needs some yardwork.

That's for sure.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Almost no one

had entered the
house in the 10 years

since her husband had died.

Oh boy, look at this.

What a mess.

LARRY LARIMER: Her
home was unkept.

It was cluttered.
It was dirty.

It was flea-infested.

I wonder how long
it's been like this.

It had an odor.

It was as if a hermit
had lived there.

Mr. Bennett's clothing was
still draped over the back

of the chairs in the bedroom.

You could hardly even walk
through it, it was such a mess.

Papers, and bottles, and trash,
and garbage, and uneaten food,

and she had several
animals, cats.

There was cat food
everywhere, and cat food tins.

And the fleas were unreal.

You could just feel them all
over you as you walked in.

It was really bad.

Our first job is to locate
a will, or locate heirs.

And when we entered the
home, we quickly sift

through the personal
papers, looking

for letters, insurance
policies, anything

that might lead to an heir.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The investigators never

did find a will, but they
were surprised to discover

that despite the surroundings,
Katherine Bennett

was anything but destitute.

They came across unopened
social security checks,

dating back to 1981 and
valued at more than $30,000.

In addition to a large
amount of loose change,

they found a number of
rare coins worth $1,500.

Finally, investigators
discovered that Katherine

had squirreled
away nearly $60,000

in two separate bank accounts.

After her house was sold, the
value of Katherine's estate

rose to more than $125,000.

Officials in Oregon have
launched an extensive search

for Katherine's heirs.

Because her husband
is dead, state law

requires that the state go to
the nearest blood relative.

What complicates the settling
of Katherine's estate

is the fact that almost nothing
is known about her past,

and much of what is known is
fraught with contradiction.

Katherine Bennett was born in
Kansas City, Kansas in 1910.

She once told her
in-laws that she

was raised in a
Catholic orphanage

after the death of her parents.

However, in a document notarized
in 1945, three years after she

was married, Katherine presented
a completely different story

about her life.

She declared that her father
had died prior to her birth,

but that her mother was
still alive and married

to Joseph Fabac of Kansas City.

The document also made
mention of a brother

named Martin Juratovich.

On a previous broadcast, we
brought you the baffling case

of Alex Cooper, a devoted
husband and father of five

who had disappeared
without a trace.

In April of 1987, Cooper's
car was discovered

abandoned a few
miles from his home

in British Columbia, Canada.

Despite a massive search, no
sign of him was ever found.

A year later, Alex Cooper
was legally declared dead.

I'm calling in regard to Alex
Cooper, the birth certificate.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
When his wife, Margaret, tried

to obtain his birth
certificate, she

made an unsettling discovery.

There were no official records
in the name of her husband

prior to their marriage in 1952.

As far as anyone could
tell, Alex Cooper simply

did not and had never existed.

Four years after he
vanished, authorities

learned that Alex Cooper was
alive and well and living

in Toronto, Canada.

But before he could
be questioned,

Cooper disappeared again.

I'd love to get him back.

I want to give him
a real big hug,

and then I want to give him
a kick in the butt, and then

another big hug.

He's got this family
that care about him.

And if he's out there
living among strangers,

he should rethink this thing.

We deserve it, and so does he.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Who was Alex Cooper?

Why had he assumed an
alias and in essence lived

a lie for more than 35 years?

Shortly after this story aired,
a viewer in Hamilton, Canada

recognized Alex Cooper and
immediately called authorities.

During questioning, the
mystery surrounding his life

began to unravel.

Alex Cooper told police that his
true name was Albin Arsenault

In 1948, he was
accused of robbing

an office of the Canadian
Pacific Railroad, where

he was employed at the time.

I was young, and I panicked.

And I said to myself,
there is no way

I'm going to be taking
the fall for this,

because I didn't do it.

I took off at that
time, and I became

Alexander Cooper at that point.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Four years

later, Alex married Margaret.

He had no idea that
any criminal charges

that might have been
filed against him

had probably been dropped.

For more than 35 years, his
true identity remained a secret.

Then, as his 65th
birthday neared,

Alex Cooper's past
began to catch up.

I was due for a pension,
and you're required

to submit a birth certificate.

I knew I couldn't produce one.

Several months prior to this,
I knew this was coming up.

I couldn't bring myself
about to tell my family,

so I walked away.

It was a snap decision.

And it was wrong.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Two days

after he was questioned
by Hamilton authorities,

Alex Cooper returned
to British Columbia

and was reunited with his family
after more than five years.

We were a very close family.

This had been very
devastating for all of us.

And I'm really hoping that
we can work through this

and put it back
together, if not the way

it is, maybe something better.

We can't pick up
where we left off,

because things have changed.

But we're going to start fresh,
and take it a day at a time.

The way I feel, I don't
deserve for anybody to accept

my apology for what I'd done.

Abandonment of your family,
to me, is one hell of a crime.

And the biggest job
for me at this point

will be to make amends.

And I would say it'll probably
take me the rest of my life.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Several months ago, we

profiled the case of Charles
Morgan, who was found dead

in a remote Arizona desert.

He had been shot once
in the back of the head.

The local sheriff's department
ruled his death a suicide,

even though the medical examiner
classified it as unsolved.

In the segment, we interviewed
Arizona journalist Don

Devereux, who discovered
evidence that Morgan had been

part of an elaborate
money laundering operation

involving huge amounts of gold.

Devereux believes Morgan
did not commit suicide

but was a victim of a
professional contract killing.

When the segment aired,
we received 100s of calls

relating to Morgan's death.

According to Devereux, who
continued his investigation,

many turned out to
be productive leads.

Three months later, a
draftsman at a Phoenix computer

company, Doug Johnston,
was found dead in his car

outside his office.

Johnson had been shot
once behind the ear,

and police have suggested
it was a possible suicide.

Curiously, Johnson worked
across the street from Don

Devereux's office, and
drove a car that almost

exactly match Devereux's.

In fact Devereux
is now convinced

that the bullet which
killed Doug Johnston

was intended for him.

I got a phone call from
a journalist friend of mine

from Washington, DC, who had
been briefed by a high level

CIA official that, in fact,
that was a botched hit,

that some people thought they
were hitting me when they

shot the guy across the street.

And in fact, there was still
a contract outstanding,

and it was coming around
again, that whatever I had done

was still a problem to someone.

Two other sources in
the intelligence community

have confirmed to Don that
he is a target for murder,

and that the next
attempt will be

made to look like an accident.

We'll bring you a full report
on this intriguing case

in the near future.

Join me next time for
another intriguing edition

of "Unsolved Mysteries."