All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S05E03.480p.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):
September 1989,

Seattle, Washington,
one of the largest

fires in the city's history
erupts at a lumber warehouse.

Authorities soon attribute
the blaze to an elusive master

arsonist, whose
reign of destruction

resulted in millions
of dollars in damage

and left at least two
firefighters dead.

Six decades ago, senator
Huey Long of Louisiana

is one of the most powerful
politicians in America,

a man many believed was
destined to be present.

But in 1935, Long was felled
by an assassin's bullet.

Now some researchers
believe that the man thought

to be Long's killer
was in fact innocent,

and that this may have been the
first political assassination

in American where the truth
was concealed by a cover-up.

In 1947, a two year
old girl was found

badly beaten and abandoned in
a field in Weed, California.

Today, that little girl is
a successful businesswoman

who is still searching for
her long lost brother whom

she met only once 45 years ago.

Join me for these
fascinating stories.

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

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
September 9, 1989, Seattle,

Washington, just after 10:00
PM, 20 engine companies

responded to a four alarm blaze
at the vacant Blackstock lumber

warehouse.

When the first company
arrived, the blaze

appeared to be
controllable, isolated

in one wing of the building.

In a matter of
minutes, however, it

would become one of the largest
fires in Seattle history.

Matt Johnson and
Bill Meredith were

two of the first
firefighters to get inside.

We decided to explore what
appeared to be a second story

mezzanine type of area.

While I was up there, there was
a tremendous release of heat

from somewhere.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The
roof had exploded into a 5,000

degree wall of flame.

I'm out of air.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Two
stories below the inferno,

Meredith and Johnson
were overwhelmed

by a burst of radiant
heat so strong they were

in danger of being baked alive.

Go on, Bill!

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): The lack

of oxygen and
tremendous heat left

Matt Johnson unable to move.

Bill Meredith went for help
and became disoriented himself.

I've been here before, but
I've never experienced that.

I've had my ears blister,
but this was something else.

It was like being
x-rayed with heat.

It was absolutely stunning.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Bill
Meredith somehow survived,

despite the fact that
his body temperature

had climbed to a point which
normally means certain death.

The next day, his partner
Matt Johnson would

be found dead in the rubble.

He was 32 years old,
married, and the father

of a 15-month-old son.

At first, police
suspected that the fire

had been started accidentally by
a vagrant trying to keep warm.

But the burned out warehouse
had a different look

to one veteran investigator with
the Seattle Fire Department.

To Dennis Fowler, it carried
the distinctive signature

of an elusive criminal he'd
been tracking for years,

a criminal who
may be the world's

most sophisticated
and deadly arsonist.

On a scale of 1 to 10, he's
a 10, as far as his skills

his abilities go to
bring a building down.

You can't put 'em out.

And the reason you can't is
because they generate so much

heat and energy
that a hose of water

simply cannot overcome it.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Fowler
first encountered the work

of the arsonist in 1984, when
Seattle's 40,000 square foot

carpet exchange warehouse
burned to the ground

in an astounding
19 minutes flat.

The heat was so intense that
it literally boiled concrete

and vaporized steel beams.

The firefighters
themselves said

that it was hotter than they
had ever experienced before.

And this is guys wearing
state of the art firefighting

protective clothing, and
they're still outside,

and they've got hose lines, and
they can't get near the fire.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): After
the Blackstock lumber fire,

the Seattle fire department
took the unusual step

of investigating on
a national scale.

They analyzed dozens of fires
across the United States

and Canada, and
found at least 20

which bore the hallmark
of a person some

call the King of Arsonists.

The Seattle Fire
Department now

believe they were
dealing with the most

sophisticated arsonist in the
history of the United States.

For firefighters, it was their
worst nightmare come true.

The blazes set by this arsonist
defied logic, burning hotter

and faster because of
the oxygen and the water

from the fire hoses.

In essence, these arson
fires were deathtraps.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): One factor

above all others
made the arsonist

extremely difficult to track.

He used a fuel of unknown
origin, an accelerant which

left behind
absolutely no residue,

burned thousands of square
feet in as little a time as

three minutes, and generated
temperatures were topped up

between 5,000 and 7,000
degrees, three times hotter

than a normal fire.

Here you can see some
silicates which have boiled up

out of the concrete from
the high temperatures

that we have with the termite.

As the data developed, it
began to narrow the field

as to what type of
accelerant it might be

and to actually what
could be happening

inside these structures.

And it was something that
had never been tested before.

And so we went through
a series of tests

involving various types
of exothermic fuels.

High temperature fuels that had
never been burned in building

tests.

Two, one, So

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): On
March 25, 1990, after a year

of intensive research, the
Seattle Fire Department

set a test fire in an
empty shopping center

in Puyallup, a Seattle suburb.

The entire complex was
destroyed in minutes.

The Puyallup test
fire allowed us

to narrow the field of potential
accelerants down tremendously.

Although it did not exactly
duplicate what the arsonist was

able to do, it reproduced close
enough for us to know that this

was the type of fuel that
the arsonist is using,

and this is what we
were looking for.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The
fuel, which the Seattle Fire

Department has kept
top secret, was

an oddball mixture of
several common ingredients,

all readily available.

But only someone with
highly specialized knowledge

would know how to put
those ingredients together.

The ceiling heights
and those rafters.

DENNIS (VOICEOVER): He knows
the future and how much he needs

to use to take a building down.

Overall square footage.

He may not be an engineer,
but he certainly knows a lot

about building construction.

This person probably has no
contact all with the people

who are going to
burn the building

or who actually are going
to have the building burned.

Once the fuel is delivered,
anybody can light it.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The
only one of the arsonist fires

to generate eyewitnesses was one
of the largest, the Blackstock

lumber fire in Seattle.

I read about the Blackstock
lumber fire in the paper,

and I realized that I had been
in the vicinity of the fire

approximately 15 to 20 minutes
before the alarm was called in.

I was driving along
the road the Blackstock

lumber yard was located on.

I noticed a vehicle,
probably a 1970s

vintage, early '80s Mercedes
coming out of a parking lot.

And it just seemed out of
place at the time and out of

character for the neighborhood.

That area is an industrial area.

And at that time of night,
everything is closed down.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Another eyewitness

said she saw a
suspicious-looking man

after the Blackstock fire
was already in progress.

He paid absolutely no
attention to this fire,

basically just going
about his business.

And she found that
to be unbelievable.

It would appear that the fellow
was possibly somebody who

actually ignited the
fire, waited for a crowd

to gather so they
could blend in and make

a casual exit from the area.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Under hypnosis,

the eyewitnesses described
two very different men.

Neither one is
considered a suspect,

but authorities would like
to question them both.

The man driving the Mercedes
was between 35 and 45 years old,

with blond, possibly
graying hair, and fair skin.

He had a mustache, and beard,
and a receding hairline.

The man seen leaving the fire
was well-dressed, six feet

tall, in his early or mid-30s.

He had an athletic
build, a dark complexion,

and well-groomed, dark hair.

There hasn't been a single
one of these far as where we

haven't had a large number of
firefighters who have suffered

anything from minor injuries
to extensive injuries,

very serious injuries.

And in one of the Seattle fires,
we had a firefighter who died.

That's a murder, and that's
why it's important to me.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): To date,

the arson fires have
claimed the lives

of at least two firefighters.

While the search continues
for the arsonist himself,

authorities are
analyzing insurance files

from suspicious fires
across the nation.

When we return, nearly
60 years after the death

of Senator Huey Long,
his murder remains

a subject of controversy.

President John F Kennedy, the
Reverend Martin Luther King

Jr, and Senator Robert Kennedy.

Political assassinations
that changed

the course of recent history.

However, an entire
generation may not be aware

that three decades earlier,
another assassination

rocked this country
to its foundations.

The man who was killed was
named Huey Pierce Long, senator

from the state of Louisiana,
and a man who might very

well have become president.

To many, he was a
spirited visionary.

But to others.

Huey Long was a
dangerous radical.

We will not destroy
the profit system.

We will not destroy the
capitalistic system.

We won't destroy
the Constitution

of the United States.

We won't destroy the
Declaration of Independence.

On the contrary, we will make
the Declaration of Independence

read in the words it
was written in instead

of having an interpretation--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Huey
Long, known as the Kingfish,

came to prominence in the 1920s.

His down home style
contrasted sharply

with a brilliant legal mind.

He completed just one
year of law school,

yet by the age of
29 he had already

argued two cases successfully
before the United

States Supreme Court.

When he was 34, Long was
elected governor of Louisiana.

He was swept into
office, thanks in part

to his philosophy of
redistributing American wealth.

No man must be allowed
to have too much.

No man will be allowed
to have too little.

Unless you limit
the size of the big,

it necessarily means
that the small people

must become more and more
impoverished as time goes on.

At the age of 37, Huey Long
was elected to the US Senate.

He was clearly a
national figure,

and there was serious talk of
a run for president in 1936.

The very thought of Huey
Long in the White House

prompted opposition groups in
Louisiana to arm themselves,

hoping to shatter Long's
power base in his home state.

To the rich and powerful,
Long was the devil incarnate.

And many believed Huey Long
was better dead than president.

In fact, a few were convinced
it was the only way to stop him.

I was elected railroad
commissioner of Louisiana

in 1918, and they tried
the impeach me in 1920.

When they failed to
impeach me in 1920,

they indicted me in 1921.

And when I wiggled
through that, I managed

to become governor in 1928.

And they impeached me in 1929.

Huey Long had a great
compassion for a lot of people,

but that compassion
did not extend

to people who crossed him.

Once you crossed Huey Long,
you had an enemy for life.

People lost jobs, they lost
businesses, they lost lands.

They lost everything because
of the vindictiveness

of Huey Long.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Judge Henry Pavy

of St. Landry parish was
one of the many elected

officials Long targeted
for political destruction.

By contrast, Pavy's
29-year-old son-in-law,

Dr. Carl Austin Weiss, was
known to be apolitical.

But it was Dr. Weiss,
a respected Baton Rouge

physician, whose name was
to become inextricably

linked to Huey Long's.

On September 8, 1935,
the two men would meet

for the first and only time.

It was a meeting that
would change history.

I don't understand why
you all keep doing this.

And I don't want to hear anybody
blaming Earl anymore either.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Four days earlier, Huey Long

had returned to
Louisiana from Washington

DC for a special state
legislative session.

Get in my office
in 10 minutes.

[inaudible]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Despite the threats

against his life, Senator Long
strode boldly between the state

house chamber and Governor
Oscar Allen's office,

where history records that Dr.
Carl Austin Weiss lay in wait.

Oscar, Oscar!

Oscar, they're going to vote
first thing in the morning,

and this is the last time I'm
gonna do your job for you.

You understand me?

[gunshot] He shot
me, he shot me!

[gunshots]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Dr. Carl Austin Weiss

was killed instantly,
shot more than 60 times

by Long's bodyguards.

His 32 caliber pistol
was found beside him.

Huey Long died 30 hours later.

He was just 42 years old.

Long's funeral drew
100,000 mourners,

most of them working people.

No one could
believe that a force

of nature like the senator
had been forever silenced.

Five days after
Huey Long's funeral,

an inquest seemed to
establish Dr. Carl

Austin Weiss as the assassin.

Some speculated
that his motive was

to stop Huey Long
from sabotaging

the political career
Weiss's father-in-law,

Judge Henry Pavy.

Weiss's own family,
in a state of shock,

had no choice but to
accept the verdict.

However today,
strong evidence has

been amassed which indicates
that Huey Long may have

been killed accidentally,
and that Dr.

Weiss may have been innocent.

Well, did you enjoy
the church service?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): On
the day Huey Long was shot,

the Weiss family gathered
as usual for a Sunday dinner

at the home of Carl's father
in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

And how is your
father the judge?

He's fine too.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): In
1933, Carl Weiss had married

Henry Pavy's daughter, Yvonne.

At the special legislative
session then in progress,

Huey Long was trying
to gerrymander

Judge Pavy's judicial
district out of existence.

Well, the man is taking
people's jobs away,

their livelihoods away, and it's
coming right in your family.

How can you not be upset?

Poppy, you just
don't understand.

Long is cut from
a different breed.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
According to those present,

it was Carl Weiss's
father who was railing

against Huey Long that day.

Ironically, Dr. Weiss himself
minimized Long's actions

and tried to calm
his father down.

We had a lovely
morning in church.

We've got a delightful
dinner here.

Let's not let this destroy it.

You're right about that, son.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Before the day was over,

Dr. Weiss would be dead
and his name vilified.

He left behind his wife
and a son, Carl Austin

Weiss Jr., who has granted
"Unsolved Mysteries"

a rare interview.

Naturally, most of
what I know of my father

is very secondhand, but
understandably, it's been

one of my major life interests.

Naturally, there's been
a lot of interest focused

on the minute by minute detail
of my father's day, where

he went, what he did, etc.

He spent the afternoon
at home, and then he

left to visit the home
of a man named Morgan,

who was a patient of his.

And I believe my father made a
phone call from the Morgan home

to make plans for
the morning surgery.

Thereafter, he left.
- See you later.

And for reasons that I
don't believe we'll ever know,

he didn't go directly
home, but stopped.

And the rest is, as
they say, history.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): At
the state capitol that evening,

the career of Yvonne
Weiss's father,

Judge Henry Pavy,
hung in the balance.

House Bill number one,
the redistricting plan,

was Huey Long's top priority.

How much longer am I
gonna have to wait for House

Bill number one to pass?

Well, we just got started.

I am tired of Henry Pavy
sitting on that judge's bench,

and I thought you all was
gonna get him out tonight.

We just started working
on this last night.

You get resistance.

Oh, you get resistance
every bill you pass.

That ain't no excuse no more.

We've just gotta
take our time.

- Time?
- You're pushing too hard.

I built this building
faster than you

boys are passing this bill.

Now, what's the deal here?

Huey, Huey, I don't
think you understand.

Look, we've got a
state constitution that

tells us how to run things.

Let me tell you something
about this state constitution.

I am the state constitution!

You understand me?

Now, do you have the votes
to pass this bill or not?

No, I don't.

Well, then, get
back down on the floor

with your little constitution.
Never mind.

I'll go back out.
- That's fine.

Don't you backtalk me.

I'll break you as
fast as I made you.

John, sir!

How you doing?

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): At 9:00 PM,

the special session
was still going strong.

Huey Long trod his
familiar territory,

oblivious to the
arrival of Dr. Weiss.

Some people believe Carl
Weiss went to the capitol not

to shoot Huey Long but to
plead his father-in-law's case.

Carl Weiss took
his position outside

of the governor's office.

He was not hidden outside
of the governor's office.

He was in plain view, because he
was approached by other people

who knew him, who saw him there,
approached him, shook hands

with him, talked with him.

I'd be glad to help you, but
I've got bills on the floor.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Three times, Weiss would

approach Huey Long that night.

And three times, he
would be brushed aside.

I'm a little busy
right now, sir.

On another pass, Weiss was
a little bit more urgent,

and he told Long that he
really had to talk with him.

And Long, once
again, said he didn't

have the time to talk to Weiss.

Senator Long, could I
speak with you, please?

Elender got Anderson
to come over to our side.

Well, that's good government.

Mr. Senator, could I just
speak with you for a second,

please?

I'm a little busy, son, but
just make yourself comfortable.

I'll be back in
just few minutes.

- Senator, but Senator Long.
- Just a few minutes.

Senator Long, this
is very important!

Mr. Senator!

History records the rest
in some blue haze really,

but we are uncertain
as to what happened,

but that is how the scene was
set for this particular moment.

You know your jobs.
You know what you gotta do.

Why do I have to keep coming
and telling you what to do?

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): At 9:20 PM,

Dr. Weiss would
approach Huey Long

for the third and final time.

The revisionist historians
who are convinced

that Carl Weiss did
not kill Huey Long

believe it happened like this.

Shut up!

Oscar!

All right, they're gonna vote
first thing in the morning,

And this is the last time
I'm doing your job for you,

you understand me?

Mr. Long, I've
got to talk to you.

Will you leave me
alone, you little pissant!

He shot me!

He shot me!

Huey!

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Huey Long

was taken to a nearby hospital.

Despite his wounds, the Kingfish
remained very much in charge.

You boys, you're staying
in here by me, you hear me?

Stick.

OK, I won't fight you.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Huey Long

had been briefed as to who
the man was who was there,

who they claimed had shot him.

He had been given a
lot of information.

Somebody had to come up with
a story as to exactly what

happened there,
and Huey Long felt

that he was the man to do it.

No matter what happens in
here, you keep your mouth shut

about the capital, you hear me?

I'll do all the
talking about that.

OK.

All right, and you
tell them other boys

I said to shut the hell up.

I'll do the talking about that.

All right, Huey.

All right, let's
put him under.

Let's put him under.

Huey Long was
shot around 9:20.

He was operated on
sometime around 11:00.

They went inside, found
out that the colon had

been punctured in two places.

That was a transverse colon
that runs across the body.

They sutured the
colon in both places

there, cleaned up the spillage.

They sewed up Huey Long, and
then pronounced him cured,

not really understanding
what the consequences were,

but that was to dawn
on them later on.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Too late

it was discovered
that the surgeons

had overlooked a serious
wound to the senator's kidney.

A day and a half later,
on September 10, 1935,

Huey Long passed into history.

It was the end of an era.

Life in Louisiana and
possibly in the United States

would never be the same again.

Huey Long, the
Kingfish, was gone.

At the official inquest
eight days later,

Dr. Carl Austin Weiss was
named as Long's assassin.

However, some
remain unconvinced.

Most assassins
leave a paper trail.

They leave some hint as to what
they did and why they did it.

There was nothing like this.

Carl Weiss was not a man who
was preparing to shoot anybody.

And at that dinner at
noontime on September the 8th,

he was a model of propriety
and, really, he was

in complete control of himself.

Carl Weiss was a father
of a three-month-old son.

He was making provisions
for the future.

He spent a very normal
Sunday, and there

was nothing to incline
anybody to believe

that he had this on his mind.

I think it was altogether
incomprehensible

that he could have been the
perpetrator of this crime.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): No one
disputes that Carl Weiss owned

a gun, a 32 caliber pistol,
which he kept in the glove

compartment of his car.

However, Ed Reed
believes that he

has uncovered evidence
that Huey Long was

not shot by Carl Weiss's gun.

The discrepancies can be traced
back to the operating room.

I feel something here.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The official version

makes no mention
of a bullet being

retrieved from Long's body.

But Ed Reed has heard
a conflicting story

from a relative of one
of the surgeons present.

- All right, got a bullet here.
- Indeed.

It looks like
about a 38 caliber.

Wouldn't you say, Dr. Lauriel?

Yes, i would.

All right.

During the operation,
there was a 38 caliber

bullet removed from Huey Long.

This is significant because
call wise was alleged

to have been carrying a
32, but the bodyguards

were carrying 38s and 45s.

So therefore, if a 38 was
removed, and I believe it was,

then that could not have come
from Carl Weiss or his gun,

certainly.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
According to Reed,

a second bullet was found
while Huey Long's body

was being prepared for burial.

The mortician in
charge told Reed

he was visited by Dr. Clarence
Lauriel, a close friend

of Long's, who was one
of the surgeons who

had operated on him.

Merle, we're gonna have
to ask you to step aside

for just a moment
while I interrupt you

work here for just a moment.

Well, what are
you planning to do?

Clarence.

Clarence, this is
highly unethical.

Just bear with it
for a moment, Merle.

Just bear with me.

Well, what are
you looking for?

My God.

Is that a bullet?

As the mortician said, he
rooted around and finally

came up with a spent slug.

And the slug was described
to me by the mortician

as being about as big
as the first joint

on your index finger.

And if you conclude that we're
talking about 32, 38s, and 45s,

that would have had to be a 45,
which would have had to come

from a bodyguard's gun, because
that was the type of bullet

that a lot of the
bodyguards were shooting.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
To further support

his conclusions, Ed Reed
believes it is highly unlikely

that anybody other than
one of the bodyguards

could have gotten into the state
capitol with a gun that night.

Everybody who
had a badge working

for the state of Louisiana was
up at the capitol that night.

The place just crawled with 'em.

How in the world
could Carl Weiss

come past 100 security people
and nobody would frisk him

or something,
nobody would notice

the outline of a 7.65 millimeter
gun in a palm beach suit?

Senator!

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Within
half an hour of the shooting,

Dr. Weiss had been tentatively
identified as Long's assailant.

Weiss's brother Tom Ed and
cousin Jim heard the rumors

and proceeded to the capitol.

They still had no idea that
Dr. Weiss had been killed.

Is this Carl's car?

His His bag's here.

You have the keys?

My dad's got a
set at the house.

Let's go get 'em.

When Tom Ed and his cousin
went back to the capitol

to try and find the
car so that they

could unlock it and
drive it back home,

the car had been moved.

It was just here
not a minute ago.

I'm not going crazy.

Let's-- let's go around back.

And they found the
car on another side

of the capitol building.

When my Uncle Tom
finally did open the car

and go through the
interior, he found

that my father's instrument bag
was open and in some disarray,

whereas normally
it would be packed

in a very orderly fashion.

Somebody's gone
through the bag.

Carl would never leave
his stuff like this.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Weiss's brother and cousin

also discovered that the
doctor's gun was missing

from the glove compartment.

To this day, no
one can be sure who

removed the gun from the car.

However, Eli Sayuk, a security
guard at the state capitol

that night, told
Ed Reed that it was

someone other than Carl Weiss.

One of the bodyguards
who is now dead,

as all the rest
of them are dead,

he told me that he felt that
that gun was a throw down gun,

that one of the bodyguards
had gone out to the car

that Carl Weiss had driven up
in, had gotten that pistol,

and had thrown it
next to the body.

Senator Long, could I just
have a moment with you, please?

I'm real busy.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Reed believes

his theory is bolstered
by Weiss's own actions

inside the capitol.

It's very important, sir!

If Carl Weiss was actually
at the state capitol

to kill Huey Long, he
had a perfect opportunity

that passed.

Huey Long had his back
turned to Carl Weiss.

It would have been very
easy for Carl Weiss

to shove his pistol up
against Long's body,

emptied out the magazine,
and then made his escape.

Because of the rumors that had
been flying that there would be

an attempt made on Huey
Long's life that night,

because of that, fuses
were very, very short.

Something that happened that
night, perhaps Carl Weiss hit

Huey Long, perhaps he
just moved too fast,

and I think the
bodyguards, who were

without any training
whatsoever in security,

I think they overreacted.

I think the bullets
that entered Huey

Long's body were
the bullets that

came from the bodyguards' guns.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Ed
Reed offers up what he believes

is one final piece of evidence.

Hey, you tell
them others I said--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
By all accounts,

when Huey Long was
admitted to the hospital,

his lip was bleeding.

Your lip, Huey.

That's where he hit me.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Was Senator Long

referring to his
encounter with Dr. Weiss?

According to an affidavit sworn
to by one of those present,

he most definitely was.

In hindsight, there seems
considerable doubt about who

actually shot Huey Long.

But at the time,
it was essentially

an open and shut case.

Anyone who attempted
to investigate further

was stymied because all the
official records, as well as

Dr. Weiss's gun, disappeared
a few years after the inquest

and remain missing for
more than half a century.

In 1987, Professor James Starrs,
a forensic expert renowned

for his ability to
unearth missing evidence,

began researching the case.

In trying to find
a gun and the state

police files, I decided
that the police were

the prime suspects that
should be looked at,

starting from the top down.

And I literally made a laundry
list of the individuals

with Louis F Guerre at
the top of that list.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Louis F Guerre

had been head of
the Criminal Bureau

of Investigation in Louisiana at
the time of Huey Long's death.

Guerre died in 1966.

In 1987, an investigator
engaged by Professor Starrs

began an extensive
search for Guerre's will.

When he found it, Dr. Starrs'
suspicions were confirmed.

There was a listing
in the inventory

of miscellaneous files,
listed as no value.

Now, being a lawyer,
as well as a scientist,

I realized that
inventories of estates

do not list items of no value.

They certainly don't list them
in this kind of mysterious way,

as miscellaneous files.

And I said to myself, those
are the state police files.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Another item in the will

was not nearly so vague.

Listed under Guerre's
personal effects

was Carl Austin Weiss's gun.

The investigations of Dr.
Starrs led to the discovery

that my father's handgun
was in fact in existence,

and its location was eventually
traced to a safe deposit box

in downtown New Orleans, where
it had been in the possession

of the daughter of the
then-chief of police,

Lieutenant Guerre.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Acting on a court

order, a New Orleans sheriff
opened the safe deposit box.

After more than half a
century, Dr. Carl Weiss's gun,

a gun which allegedly killed
Huey Long, had been located.

With the gun were
several unused 32 caliber

bullets and one spent 32 slug.

Initially, many people
assumed this was the bullet

that killed Huey Long.

However, ballistics tests
conducted by the Louisiana

state police showed
that the slug had

not come from Dr. Weiss's gun.

The discovery of the
alleged murder weapon

only served to
deepen the mystery.

If the 32 slug had not
been fired by Weiss's gun,

then where did it
come from, and why

had it been kept with the gun?

Some believe that the answer lay
with the official state files,

which were also recovered.

However, the Louisiana State
Police have reviewed the files

and determined there
is nothing in them that

changes the verdict of history.

It's my opinion that Dr. Weiss
was the assassin in this case.

We believe from a law
enforcement standpoint

that he had motive.

We believe he had opportunity.

And we believe he had
the means to do the job.

And we know that he was there.

The amount of time
that may have elapsed

since an occurrence really
doesn't change one's desire

to see the truth brought out.

And I care probably
more today than I

did when I was a youngster about
the truth concerning my father.

If I were asked whether my
father shot Huey Long today,

I would say categorically
no, he didn't.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Perhaps we

will never completely
resolve the controversy.

Did Dr. Carl Weiss, acting
alone, murder Huey Long?

Or did Long's bodyguards go
haywire, killing them they

should have protected.

Update, a former superintendent
of the Louisiana State Police

has come forward with
a startling admission

that he believes Huey Long was
killed by his own bodyguards.

Colonel Francis
Grevemberg claims

he was told by two
eyewitness state troopers

that Dr. Carl Weiss was
unarmed when Long was shot.

The state troopers went on to
tell a story that is nearly

identical to historian
Ed Reed's, that Long was

accidentally killed by
his own bodyguards, who

then planted a gun on Weiss.

Grevemberg says he waited
40 years to come forward,

because the Louisiana
legislature was packed

with pro-Long politicians
who would not believe him

nor support an inquiry.

The official position of
the Louisiana State Police

is that Dr. Weiss
killed Huey Long.

Next, the compelling story
of a brother and sister

separated more
than 40 years ago.

On a warm summer's
morning in 1947,

a housewife in Weed,
California took

a shortcut home from the store
through an overgrown field.

Oh my God, oh, you poor baby.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Hidden by the tall grass

was a two-year-old girl who
had been severely beaten

and apparently abandoned.

We'll get some help for you.

We'll get some help.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): The toddler

was taken to the
nearest hospital

and placed in intensive care.

She had contusions
on her head and face

and lacerations
all over her body.

Traumatized and
suffering from shock,

she was unable to tell
authorities what had happened

to her, or even who she was.

The hospital staff began
to call her Baby X.

Today, the two
year old girl known

as Baby X is a successful
businesswoman and mother

of four named Mary Jane Polk.

Mary Jane has courageously
overcome many of the hardships

suffered during her childhood.

However, she feels that the
wounds cannot be completely

healed until she finds
her brother, whom

she met only once 45 years ago.

Tonight, Mary Jane tells
her tragic story in the hope

that someone in our
audience can help.

How's she doing?

Well, physically,
she'll recover,

but emotionally,
I'm not so sure.

She's been through
an awful trauma.

They kept me in the
hospital because they

didn't know what to do with me.

I was not able to
communicate with the doctors

and nurses, anybody that
I came in contact with.

I would assume that I was
very afraid, and very afraid

that if I did speak
or do anything

that I might be hurt again.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Police had absolutely

no idea who Mary Jane was.

They distributed her photograph
to dozens of newspapers

throughout northern California,
Oregon, and Washington.

Two weeks later, a witness came
forward and identified Baby X

as Mary Jane, and
told authorities

that Mary Jane's
mother was Lucille

Medlin of Selma, Oregon.

Lucille Medlin was staying
at a logging camp in Selma.

She had recently given
birth to her third child

and was living with
a new boyfriend.

I'm the sheriff of
[inaudible] County.

Do you live here?

Yes, I do, Sheriff.

How can I help you?

[inaudible] If
you'd answer a couple

of questions for me here.

First of all, have you ever
seen this little girl before?

Do you recognize her?

No, I can't say I do.

Excuse me, ma'am.

Could I have you come
over here and just

take a look at this
photograph for me, please?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): When
confronted with a photograph

of her badly beaten
daughter, Lucille Medlin

could no longer hide the truth.

My baby!

We already had two children.

We have more than we need, sir.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Her boyfriend

denied beating
Mary Jane, but did

admit that he had taken
her to California,

where he abandoned her.

Because there was going
to be another child born,

they decided that
they needed to get

rid of one of their children.

That was their reasoning.

They couldn't potty train me.

They couldn't-- I was
an incorrigible child.

Deputy, please come over
and cuff this gentleman.

Lucille, I didn't do nothing.

Ma'am, if you'll come
with us please, you

over here in the automobile.

Lucille, you gotta
believe me, honey.

I didn't do nothing.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): The couple

was arrested on charges of
child abandonment and assault

to commit murder.

Lucille was allowed one visit
with Mary Jane in the hospital.

Mary Jane?

Hi, honey.
It's me.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): She brought

along her newborn son, Jimmy.

It was the first and
last time that Mary

Jane would see her brother.

Two weeks later, Lucille
and her boyfriend

pleaded guilty to all
charges and were sentenced

to 20 years in prison.

Mary Jane, her
three-year-old sister Leoma,

and her four week
old brother Jimmy

became wards of the state,
and were eventually separated.

Mary Jane initially went to
live with her biological father

but spent most of her
childhood in foster homes.

She married at 16, and
today she and her husband

own a successful restaurant
in Placerville, California.

They have four children
and 10 grandchildren.

Several years ago,
Mary Jane began

searching for her missing
brother and sister.

In 1991, she'd finally found
her older sister Leoma.

But after more than 40 years
apart, Mary Jane was unsure

if she would be accepted.

I worried that she
was going to reject me.

And I was ready for that, and
I was willing to accept it.

I sure would like
to have that teapot.

Shall we go see
how much it is?

- Let's go.
- OK.

It hasn't happened.

It's good.

It feels good.

I'm proud of her.

She's beautiful.

She's got a good life.

She's a good, nice
person, real nice.

I have two brothers
by my adoptive parents,

but I never had a
sister, and so it

was wonderful to meet with
Mary, to know that she's there,

and know that I can
pick up the telephone

and talk to her if I need
to or want to is wonderful.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Mary Jane

and Leoma have joined
forces in the search

for their missing brother.

He was born James
Gilwreath on June 14, 1947,

in either Selma or
Grants Pass, Oregon.

They believe that Jimmy was
adopted out of the Yreka County

California Hospital by
a family from Oregon,

and that his first name may
have been changed to Donald.

I feel that the missing
link is Jimmy to make

our family complete.

And I would like to know where
he is, what happened to him,

what kind of a life
he has, and like him

to know that we're here,
and that we're his sisters.

The night of our
broadcast, Jimmy

was not watching
"Unsolved Mysteries,"

but his adopted sister was.

She immediately
called her mother

who then contacted Jimmy.

His name is now
Donald Barrow, and he

was just as anxious
to meet his sisters

as they were to meet him.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Two
weeks after a broadcast, Donald

and his family drove from their
home in Fresno, California

to Mary's home in Placerville.

Donald, Mary, and Leoma had not
seen each other in 45 years.

You must be Donald!

I am.

We didn't think you
were gonna make it.

The one thing that
I was concerned about

is, was it gonna be OK?

God, you look so good.

There is a resemblance.

And I knew when I met him
out at the car that it is OK.

And I am so happy.

There's one for you.

We didn't think
good, 'cause we just

thought of that this morning.

Thank you.

I just think that seeing
him and knowing that he's

had a good life, that
was something that Mary

and I both were concerned with,
that we wanted to make sure

that he had had a good life.

And knowing that he did
makes us very happy.

I'm not very good at emotions,
so I don't know how to explain

all of them that were
going through my mind,

but there were a lot of 'em.

One more time.

And there still are.

Now I'm gonna out what it's
like to be a baby brother.

And I still get to
be the oldest sister.

And we all know
I'm the middle child!

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): On our next

"Unsolved Mysteries," in
June of 1992, two brothers

and their girlfriends
left Los Angeles

and journeyed to the
beautiful beaches of Mexico.

But the weekend getaway
quickly turned tragic

when 29-year-old Mario
Amado was arrested

and then found dead in a jail
cell just 90 minutes later.

His family and friends are
convinced he was murdered.

Join me next time for this
intriguing case and three

other fascinating stories
on another edition

of "Unsolved Mysteries."

[theme music]