All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S05E06.480p.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: Tonight on
"Unsolved Mysteries," journey

into the shadowy world of dreams
and hear the startling accounts

of three people who are
convinced that their dreams

predicted the future.

In New Orleans, a
brutal serial killer

has apparently taken the
lives of several young women.

Police need your help
before he strikes again.

And that intriguing
profile of a devious Con

Juan who preys
upon lonely women,

taking first their
hearts and their wallets.

Join me.

Perhaps you may be able
to help solve a mystery.

[theme music]

Have you ever had a dream so
vivid you thought it was real?

So compelling, you wondered
if it actually happened?

As fantastic as it
may seem, you're

about to meet several people
who are convinced that sometimes

dreams do come true.

Glenn Loney is a professor
of theater at Brooklyn

College in New York City.

His story begins on a cold
winter night 20 years ago,

when he had a dream which
he believes saved his life.

GLENN LONEY: I was
driving up a hill

and there was a blind
curve up at the top.

It was like the road was
built around a hillside.

On my side, the
outside lane, there's

really a very steep drop.

Suddenly, there came a
car around the curve.

There was a little
two-wheel trailer behind it,

and suddenly the outside
wheel of the trailer comes off

and there was a shower of
sparks, like a sparkler.

And suddenly, the wheel came
skidding across the road

toward my car, and I
thought, step on the gas

or you're a dead man.

And I woke up in a cold sweat.

I never had a dream
that I remembered

every particular detail
of and it was so vivid,

as if it had actually happened.

Other dreams aren't like that.

Other dreams are bits and pieces
of things from the real world

and from the world
of fantasy and things

that never were
or never could be.

This was just like
seeing the thing--

that somebody else
had filmed it.

That there might have been
a camera in the back seat.

ROBERT STACK: Six
months later, Glenn

was on a business trip
with a fellow professor

in a part of the country where
he had never been before.

How's your classes
going, by the way?

Oh, doing fine.

Good.

Yeah.

We got some good
people this time.

Mhm.

GLENN LONEY: Halfway
up, I realized

this is the hill of my dream.

I suddenly realized
this is the road.

This is the place.

There was no traffic
coming the other way.

Nothing.

You all right, Glenn?

No, I'm not.

GLENN LONEY: I said,
my god, a car's

going to come around
that curve and a wheel's

going to come off
the trailer, and it's

going to come at our car.

I've got to step on
the gas or we're dead.

ROBERT STACK: Some would say
that what happened to Glenn

Loney was mere coincidence.

However, there are
many people who

believe that what he experienced
was a phenomenon known

as a psychic dream,
a dream which can

apparently foretell the future.

GLENN LONEY: There's
a clear distinction

between ordinary dreaming,
which we all do every night,

and a psychic dream.

And the clear distinction is
that, for ordinary dreams,

they're very
difficult to remember.

Five minutes, 10 minutes
after you're awake,

you've forgotten
most of the details.

It's very hazy.

On the other hand, a
psychic dream wakes

you bolt upright out of bed.

It's a clear, vivid dream that
literally shocks you awake.

ROBERT STACK: Dr. David
Ryback is one of the leading

authorities on psychic dreams.

He and freelance
author Letitia Sweitzer

have written a
book which contains

more than 80 case studies.

Dr. Ryback has concluded that
perhaps one out of 12 people

have experienced psychic dreams.

RHONDA ANDERSON: When I first
realized that I had the ability

to see into the future
through my dreams

was when I was a teenager.

ROBERT STACK: Rhonda Anderson
is one of the subjects

in Dr. Ryback's study.

--but I do remember just
having glimpses into the future

through my dreams.

Um, over here, there's Greek.

ROBERT STACK: In 1980, Rhonda
was living in Knoxville,

Tennessee, when she began
dating Joe Anderson,

the man she would later marry.

The first test of
their relationship

came when Rhonda told Joe
about her special ability.

JOE ANDERSON: For me to
believe something like that,

I would probably have to
have been involved in it

or know specifically
of the incident.

I typically don't
believe things like that

without having some proof.

ROBERT STACK: Six months
after Joe and Rhonda met,

Joe got the proof he needed.

While he was away on a
weekend camping trip,

Rhonda dreamed that he
had an uninvited intruder

at his campsite.

RHONDA ANDERSON: My heart
was pounding so hard

that I had to sit up in my bed.

And I looked at
the clock, and it

was 3 o'clock in the morning.

And I knew that there was
really not anything that I

could do about it at that time.

[phone ringing]

Hello?
JOE (ON PHONE): Hi, honey.

How you doing?

Oh, Joe, I'm so
glad you called.

Is everything all right?

ROBERT STACK: The next
morning, Joe called Rhonda

as soon as he returned home.

JOE ANDERSON: She had
not been expecting

me until later that afternoon.

She asked me what I was
doing back so early.

I told her that we had had
an incident with a bear

and decided to come
back home early.

ROBERT STACK: Joe says that
around 4 o'clock that morning,

he awoke when he
sensed a disturbance

outside of his tent.

He was certain of the time
because he checked his watch.

Shoo!

Shoo!

Go away!

Go!
Shoo!

Shoo!

Go away!

Go on.
Get out of here.

Shoo.

JOE ANDERSON: She'd had
the dream about 3 o'clock,

since I actually saw the bear
after the bear had gotten

into camp and torn things.

It must have been about
the time that the bear had

come into camp the first time.

It occurred to me
possibly it was just

a coincidence, but actually,
thinking back on it,

the fact that she had the
dream while the situation was

occurring, and the
way she described

it was very similar to the
way it actually occurred,

I felt like it would have been
a very unusual coincidence.

ROBERT STACK:
About a year later,

Joe and Rhonda were married and
Joe received another surprise.

His new stepdaughter,
Roxanne, also

claimed to have psychic dreams.

Researchers believe the
ability could be passed

from generation to generation.

We do have cases
where families

have psychic dreams very often.

The mother may have it.

In one family, we know the
mother dreamed psychic dreams,

the son did, and all
of the first cousins.

And they were even raised
in different environments

because each of the
members had been adopted

when the family split up.

It's hard to know whether
there's a hereditary factor

or not.

Clearly, some families have two
or three people in the family

who not only have
psychic dreams,

but have the same
psychic dreams, which

is a really astounding event.

ROBERT STACK: Rhonda and Roxanne
have had just that experience.

In April of 1991,
Rhonda dreamed that Joe

was in a terrible
accident but did

not tell anyone in her family.

A week later, Roxanne says
she had the very same dream.

ROXANNE BOWLIN: Our car was
on the side of the road,

and then I saw a
glimpse of Joe--

his head, his face.

And then I saw the police
writing a police report.

It was really, really
disturbing to me.

It really upset me
because it just scared me.

And it felt like
it was something

that was going to happen.

And I said, well,
Roxanne, I said, let's just

think positively about
it and let's just pray

that everything will be OK.

And from then on, I would just
ask Joe to please be careful.

ROBERT STACK: Two weeks
later, Joe was on his way

to the mountains
for another weekend

of camping when he momentarily
took his eyes off the road.

JOE ANDERSON: Luckily,
I wasn't injured.

Of course, first thing I thought
about after that happened

was that Rhonda had warned
me to be very careful

and I had not paid attention
to the road and slid off

and had the accident.

The car crash could have
been more detrimental.

It could have been
more disastrous.

And I hang on to the
thought that perhaps maybe

that was the reason that I
had the dream and Roxanne

had the dream--

so that we could warn
him over and over

again to please be careful.

Because had we not, we don't
know what would have happened.

The extraordinary experiences
of the Anderson family

could make even the harshest
skeptics stop and think.

After all, a coincidence can
only account for so much.

You're about to meet a woman who
says her psychic dreams did not

foretell the future, but brought
her news of an untimely death.

Joe, I'm so glad you're back.

It's so good to see you.

Well, Katie, it's
really great to be back.

ROBERT STACK: In 1942,
20-year-old Catherine Webb

fell in love with a
soldier named Joe Stewart.

I don't think it's
really the best time for us

to go into a marriage.

ROBERT STACK: Both
wanted to marry,

but because of hardships
in their families,

they decided that the
timing was not right.

Well, you know,
the truth is, Joe,

I've been thinking
the same thing.

Mother's not well.

Dad's not very strong.

I just don't think
it's fair to you

to take on that
much responsibility.

CATHERINE SHEAHAN WEBB: Yes,
I've always regretted that.

Instead of being
so conscientious

about our obligations, we should
have thought of ourselves.

I didn't see him for a while.

And then I saw him again.

And from then on through
the years, when I'd see him,

we'd go out two or three times,
but I left it go at that.

ROBERT STACK: Catherine
never forgot her first love.

She remained single
until January of 1965,

when, at the age of 47, she
married her next door neighbor.

The next year,
Catherine began having

a strange recurring dream.

DOCTOR (ECHOIC): 5
milligrams of D5W.

NURSE (ON INTERCOM):
Dr. Ramos to ICU.

CATHERINE SHEAHAN
WEBB: I kept getting

this dream all the time.

All I saw was these nurses and
doctors, a lot of confusion,

probably working on someone.

That was to be
how it would look.

The nurses were rushing around.

The doctors seemed
very concerned.

But I couldn't see
what they were doing.

And then it seemed to me
that I just got the intuition

that it's about Joe Stewart.

And I just kept
having that dream,

off and on, all during
the month of May and June.

And it just got worse and worse.

ROBERT STACK: Finally,
Catherine had a dream which

seemed to explain everything.

In this new dream,
Catherine was in her kitchen

when she received a
most unexpected visitor.

CATHERINE SHEAHAN
WEBB: I turned around

and Joe was standing there.

Joe?

What are you doing here?

Cate, I came to
tell you that I died.

What?

Yes, it's true.

I'm dead.

CATHERINE SHEAHAN
WEBB: It seemed

quite natural for him to have a
hold of my hand and taking me.

I believed him.

I just couldn't grasp it.

Joe, I don't understand this.

I'll explain.

You see, I just
had to let you know

that, thanks to your prayers,
I'll have a Christian burial.

It's all right.

Who is this?

It's me, Cate.

CATHERINE SHEAHAN WEBB: I
could smell flowers and fern.

And I looked down at
the man in the casket.

It didn't look like Joe.

It isn't you.

It doesn't look like you.

Yes, I know, but it is.

And I came to tell you
that I'll always love you.

CATHERINE SHEAHAN WEBB:
And I could feel the flesh

and the warmth of his hand.

And he said, I always loved you.

And he kissed me.

And I felt his lips and his
breath, and that was it.

My perspiration was
pouring off of me.

I was shaking.

I thought, now I
know why all those

dreams I saw doctors and nurses,
and I thought it was Joe.

This is what it meant.

What I just saw was no dream.

This was a vision.

And I knew it was true.

I just felt in my
heart it was true.

I didn't want to believe he was
dead, but I knew that was true.

Nobody let me know
that Joe was sick.

ROBERT STACK: A few days
later, Catherine contacted

Joe's sister and
brother-in-law and her worst

fears were confirmed.

Catherine was stunned to learn
that Joe had gone into a coma

the very day that she
had the first dream

about doctors and nurses.

He had died of a brain
aneurysm just two

days before he
appeared to Catherine

in her dream about the church.

You know, somebody
should have told me.

Well, we didn't
know what to do.

And even if you
went to the funeral,

you wouldn't have
recognized him.

The mortuary put a wig on Joe.

His body was so thin,
nobody knew him.

Well, let me
tell you something.

Joe came to me in a dream.

He came to me in my
kitchen and told me himself

that he had died.

CATHERINE SHEAHAN WEBB: I
was convinced that everything

I'd tell them, they would tell
me, yes, that's the way it was.

And when I did tell them,
his sister said yes.

She said, every detail
you've told us, she said,

is just the way it was.

ROBERT STACK:
William Shakespeare

once wrote, "today's dream
is tomorrow's reality."

The cases we've examined
tonight certainly

seem to support that sentiment.

But there is still no logical
explanation for psychic dreams.

Perhaps this phenomenon will
always remain inexplicable

and beyond our understanding--

truly an unsolved mystery.

Next, a serial killer
may be stalking

the streets of New Orleans.

New Orleans, home
of the Mardi Gras.

The city's heartbeat is
its raucous French Quarter,

where great music, street
celebrations, and Cajun cooking

sometimes overshadow a more
unsavory side of the city.

August 4, 1991.

Across the Mississippi River
from the French Quarter,

a lone recycler
gleaned what he could

along a narrow, deserted
city road, often

used illegally as a dump site.

He had no idea he was about to
launch one of the city's most

complex murder investigations.

The body was identified
as 17-year-old

Danielle Britton, who lived
nearby with her mother.

She had been strangled
and possibly raped

approximately 12 hours earlier.

At first glance, the
murder of Danielle Britton

seemed an isolated incident.

But the reality was
far more sinister.

Danielle Britton may
have been the victim

of a serial killer who
preys on women he believes

are prostitutes.

By some chilling estimates,
more than a hundred

serial killers roam the streets
of America at any given moment.

Police are usually left
to gather clues only

from the silent testimony
of gruesome crime scenes,

but the New Orleans
case would be different.

Detective Wigginton.

Just 10 minutes into
the investigation

of Danielle Britton's murder,
Detective Elizabeth Wigginton

had her first
inkling that she was

dealing with a serial killer.

I don't if it means
anything or not,

but about two weeks ago--

ELIZABETH WIGGINTON:
A man approached me

regarding an attack
of a woman which

had occurred approximately
two weeks earlier.

At this time, I realized
that there was a possibility

that this attack and the
murder of Danielle Britton

could be connected somehow
with one striking difference--

that this victim
survived her attack.

It's more scary than
anything because I

did realize that he
assumed that I was dead

in order to leave me there.

ROBERT STACK: The
surviving victim,

whom we will call Brenda, had
her voice permanently damaged

in a strangulation attempt.

Police believe she was
attacked by the same man

who killed Danielle Britton.

Brenda, I need for you to tell
me in as detail as possible,

what happened that night.

ROBERT STACK: When interviewed
by Detective Wigginton,

Brenda was able to recall
the trauma in minute detail.

BRENDA: I was at my house, and
I decided that I wanted to go

and visit a friend of mine.

So I walked up Merrill Street.

And I noticed that a
car was following me.

Say, you need a ride?

BRENDA: So the man in the
car kept side by side with me

as I was walking and
asked me when I was going.

I'm just going
a few blocks down.

I'm OK.

Look, you're too good-looking
to be out here by yourself.

BRENDA: I kept on
walking and he kept

on insisting that he could give
me a ride to where I was going.

Then the car stopped,
and before I knew it,

the man grabbed me and
put me into the car.

What are you doing?

ROBERT STACK: Despite
Brenda's protests,

the man drove about a half a
mile past her friend's house

to the same deserted city road
where Danielle Britton's body

would be found two weeks later.

What are you doin--

[gagging]

BRENDA: He got on top of
me and began to choke me.

He looked at me,
and I looked at him,

and I realized this man
was trying to kill me.

I tried to fight him off,
but I really couldn't.

I didn't have any strength.

ROBERT STACK: The
killer strangled Brenda

with his bare hands,
stripped off her clothes,

and dumped her by
the side of the road.

Six hours later,
shortly after dawn,

Brenda awoke to find
herself covered with garbage

and discarded tires.

ELIZABETH WIGGINTON: Finding
Brenda had certainly been

a lucky break in this case.

We had now a live victim who
could identify an attacker--

an attacker who could be
responsible for the murder

of Danielle Britton.

I knew this guy was out
there stalking his victims.

He was stalking women,
intending to kill them.

And I was unable to
come up with a suspect.

I had no idea it was
going to get worse.

ROBERT STACK: On
September 22, 1991,

the killer claimed his third
victim, Charlene Price,

dumping her body within
one mile of the spot

where Danielle
Britton was found.

On December 14, a fourth
victim, as yet unidentified,

was found in the same vicinity.

This is a sketch of the woman
who was in her early 20s.

She was 5 feet 2 inches
tall, weighed 125 pounds,

and had protruding front teeth.

Did you touch anything
when you got here?

ROBERT STACK: Two and
a half weeks later,

on January 4, 1992, the
killer struck yet again.

The nude body of
29-year-old Lydia Madison

was found in an illegal dump
site under the Greater New

Orleans Bridge, 8 blocks
from police headquarters

and 400 yards from
the Superdome.

Police soon learned that three
other bodies had been found

at a nearby jurisdiction
which borders

New Orleans, bringing the total
number of victims to eight.

These bodies closely
resembled bodies found

in our investigation
in previous months,

leading me to believe
that the same killer may

be responsible for
all these victims.

ROBERT STACK: Seven
of the eight women

were found within a
3-mile radius, all but one

on the west bank
of the Mississippi.

The killer has
struck once a month,

always strangling
his victims, always

leaving them nude, face-down,
in or near illegal dump sites.

These women have
had difficult lives.

They're in vulnerable
positions and are

at risk to becoming statistics
of murders and rapes.

I certainly can't do
anything about helping them

at this point other
than trying to find

out who killed these victims.

And I'm determined
to get this guy.

I'm still afraid.

I don't run the
street at all anymore.

I don't go anywhere
unless it's to church.

If I go to the store, it's
with my mother and somebody

accompanying me because I still
don't know where this man is.

And I know he knows me
just as well as I know him,

so I'm still very much afraid.

If I'm at home, I stay
locked up unless someone

else is the house with me.

It's more now like I'm
living in fear every minute

or every second of the day.

On the night she was
murdered, Danielle Britton

was seen with a suspect outside
a bar called Neva's Rendezvous.

The man was driving a
blue, late-model Buick

Regal or Monte Carlo.

When we return, a man's search
for an anonymous hotline

counselor who saved him from
a nightmare of drug addiction.

Among the unheralded
heroes of modern city

life are the men and women
who answer the urgent calls

coming into crisis hotlines.

At any moment, a
counselor may be plunged

into a desperate
situation, where

the fate of a total stranger
hangs in the balance.

Our next story is a very special
mystery about one man's search

for the anonymous
hotline counselor

who reached out
and saved his life.

Houston, Texas, 1982.

James Vernon was
strung out again.

He had been addicted to
heroin since he was 16.

On several occasions, James
had entered drug treatment

programs, but inevitably, he
wound up back on the streets,

still addicted, his life
stripped of everything

but the daily hustle for a fix.

JAMES VERNON: Nothing
mattered other than where

was my next shot coming from.

And that became my life.

You speak of careers--

when you say someone has
a career in show business

or someone has a
career as a doctor,

my career was
getting my next fix.

That was my career.

I can remember back in
'82, I'd just fixed.

I'd just done a load of
heroin, as it's called,

and I was just walking around
the streets just trying

to figure out what my next move
was because I knew that things

were getting bad,
and I looked up

and saw a billboard that said,
if you need help, we do care.

ROBERT STACK: James felt
he had nothing to lose.

He called the number
and spoke to a woman who

identified herself as Libby.

Hello.

What would you like
to talk about, James?

JAMES (ON PHONE):
The same old song.

I'm lonely.

I'm scared, and nobody cares.

Oh, by the way, I'm a junkie.

Oh, by the way, I'm a junkie.

OK.

Let's start with that.

JAMES VERNON: I remember her
voice being soft and kind

and caring.

And she didn't talk
down to me or at me.

She talked to me.

You need to go get some help.

And it was the
first caring voice

I had heard in a long time
that wasn't degrading to me.

And she was letting me know
that all of it wasn't my fault--

that I had a problem
and I needed some help.

It's not that I
was a bad person.

It was just that I was sick
and I needed some help.

Hi, James.

What's new?

ROBERT STACK: Over
the next few months,

James called Libby
nearly every night.

My mother took
me back in again.

ROBERT STACK: Though
he had finally

found someone he could
trust, this new friendship

wasn't enough.

James was unable to
resist the pull of heroin.

In desperation, he stole
from his own mother,

selling her jewelry
to support his habit.

You must've really
been in bad shape

to do something like that.

I know it's tough
facing up to it, James.

I tried to make
him look like someone

else broke into her house, but
I don't think she bought it.

I remember coming
home after it was over.

And the minute my mother was
home and she asked me about it,

she said that all the jury was
gone and the window was broke.

Did I know anything about it?

And I lied and said no, that
I had nothing to do with it.

You know I wouldn't
take your jewelry, Mama.

I can't believe
somebody would do this.

You know, this neighborhood
ain't like it used to be, Mama.

ROBERT STACK: Two weeks later,
and with great reluctance,

James' mother threw
him out of the house.

--something to
keep people out.

JAMES VERNON: It was just real
devastating for both of us

because I had to
face up to it then,

and I just couldn't do it.
I just couldn't admit it.

ROBERT STACK: James
turned to his ex-wife,

who allowed him to move in with
her and their two-year-old son.

It appeared to be a
promising new start.

Wish me luck!

JAMES VERNON: I'm thinking,
OK, I can do this.

OK, I'll pull it back together.

I've got my wife back.

I've got my son back.

I'll get a job.

I'll get off the drugs.

I'll make it work.

I would do it for them.

Hey, baby, guess what?

ROBERT STACK: But James
wasn't able to do it.

He began using drugs again,
and his ex-wife felt she

had no choice but to walk out.

JAMES VERNON: There was no note.

I had no idea where she
had gone, where my son was.

The furniture, the clothes, the
dishes, everything was gone.

I think they did it--

I was at a point where I just
didn't want to live anymore.

I just couldn't stand anymore.

And I decided that I was
going to commit suicide.

And I knew how I
was going to do it.

I was going to just
overdose on heroin.

Just go someplace,
sit down, and go out.

Just sleep through it.

And then Libby ran
across my mind,

and I wanted her to know
that I really appreciated

everything she had done
and for sticking with me,

but I just couldn't--

I just couldn't take no more.

I was ready to die.

Haven't heard
from you in a while.

Hope that means you
went to get help.

JAMES (ON PHONE): Listen,
I'm going to call it a day.

I can't take it no more.

But I wanted to call you and
thank you for everything.

You've been a real good friend.

Goo-- goodbye.

James, let's talk this over.

It can't be that bad.

JAMES (ON PHONE): I've been
living out on the street

for the past couple of weeks.

I'm a junkie.

I ain't got no money.

And you say it's not that bad.

Well, maybe it's time you
went and got help for yourself.

James, you have to realize--

JAMES VERNON: I told her I just
didn't want to try no more.

And this doesn't
have to be the end.

JAMES VERNON: And I did the
last shot of what I thought

would be my last shot of heroin.

And it should have been enough
to kill at least three people.

And I got what's known as a
slight rush and a little dizzy,

and that was it.

I even messed that-- and I
remember saying to Libby--

she started screaming my name.

And I just started laughing.

I go, I've even messed
this one up, lady.

I can't even kill me.

And she said, all right.

You've tried your way
and it didn't work.

Let's give my way a shot.

Let's go back to treatment.

Promise me you
will go to treatment.

Yeah.

Yeah, right.

Come on, James.

You have never
lied to me before.

Now say those words.

I'll go to treatment.

OK.

I promise.

I'll go to treatment.

JAMES VERNON: I'd
never lied to Libby.

She was the only person
I hadn't lied to.

And I wasn't going
to start then.

It's just something about
that voice, that caring.

I went, all right, man.

You promised her.

ROBERT STACK: James
Vernon kept his promise.

The changes in his
life since that evening

are nothing short of miraculous.

When I say my
poor, departed wife,

I don't want you folks
to think my wife is dead.

She just got sick of
being poor and departed.

ROBERT STACK: From the
brink of self-destruction,

James is now confident
enough to make his living

as a stand-up comedian.

Nearly a decade after
he last spoke to Libby,

he remains drug
and alcohol free.

Still going to therapy.

I spoke to my
therapist last week

and she said my mind was
like a bad neighborhood.

You should not go
in there alone.

JAMES VERNON: She
pulled me out of a spot

where I don't think I'd have
made it out of without her.

Libby, if you're watching
this tonight, please call.

I really want to talk to you.

I really want to see you.

I want to give you a hug,
and I want to say thanks.

It's been a long time
And a lot has happened,

but you've always
been that light.

You've always been there,
and I want to tell you that.

ROBERT STACK: Next, a
smooth-talking con man

steals his victim's affections
and then their money.

Most con artists play on
a basic human instinct--

the desire of their victims
to make a quick, easy buck.

However, the more cunning
practitioners of fraud

prey not on greed,
but on emotion.

You're about to
meet three women who

fell in love with a
smooth-talking swindler named

JD Method.

Each discovered the
hard way that, when

it comes to the confidence
game, JD Method is a master.

To new friends.

Oh, thank you, JD.

That's so nice.

ROBERT STACK: Peggy
Peterson, a single mother

and businesswoman from
the Golden, Colorado area,

met JD Method in 1990.

She had innocently
responded to his ad

in the personals column
of a local newspaper.

Have you ever been
in a helicopter?

No, no.

It's something I
learned in Vietnam.

Really?

You were in Vietnam?

Mhm.

I was a pilot there.

PEGGY PETERSON: JD was
a very charming person,

and a nice person,
and a fun person,

and someone with some
professional credentials.

Well, you know,
David, it really

sounds like you like to go to
swap meets and flea markets.

ROBERT STACK: Linda Weaver,
a divorced mother of three,

got to know JD Method in 1987
through a telephone dating

service.

After two weeks of phone calls,
they began to see each other.

LINDA WEAVER: He's extremely
well-versed in everything.

He's witty.

Because it's such a
fascination of mine.

He just knows the answers
to just about everything.

He's intelligent, and you
just enjoy his company.

He could talk about any subject.

He knows about a little
bit of everything.

In essence, he would
interview these women.

He would talk to them.

He would find out what they were
about, their idiosyncrasies,

what they liked, what
they didn't like,

what their style of life was.

You know, Peg, I was thinking.

You really ought to have
a few more credit cards.

Whoa, no.

I don't need more credit cards.

Oh, with credit like yours,
you ought to have five.

Oh, I hate paying
all that interest, JD.

BRIAN TERRETT: One of
the things that we found

in our investigation
was Method's ability

to get his victims to extend
their credit through the use

of credit cards.

And not just one, but get
a lot of credit cards.

And even get a lot of the
same kind of credit cards.

You ought to think about it.

Peg, I'd like you to meet Rick.

- Well, hi, Rick.
- Hi, Peggy.

Nice to meet you.

ROBERT STACK: In the
case of Peggy Peterson,

JD spent several weeks carefully
baiting his trap until she

trusted him implicitly.

Especially this guy.

He helps me sell 'em.

Hey, Rick, I noticed that
nice-looking Camaro over there.

What's the story on that one?

JD, you'll love that.
$1,500, private owner.

Hold it down for
you for $500 down.

Oh, is that right?
See, Peg?

There you go.

If I had $500 cash, I
could buy that car today,

sell it tomorrow
for $1,000 profit,

have $1,000 in my pocket.

- Is that right?
- Yep.

Wow.

Hey, what else
you got there, Rick?

I got a nice, clean--

Hey, honey, I'm
going to go browse.

All right.

ROBERT STACK: Method
worked the scam

so well that Peggy
made the decision

to invest without prompting.

PEGGY PETERSON: I had already
survived him doing several car

deals over the weeks
that we had been dating,

so I wrote him out
a check for $500.

JD, honey, let's just
go ahead and get that car.

Wh--

Yeah, let's do it.
Come on.

It'll be a good business deal.

Can you believe this woman?

Huh?

What am I going to do with you?

No.

I'm not going to
take your money.

JD.

And that's not a
matter of the money.

It's playing the game.

And he tore the
check up and he said,

I wouldn't take money from you.

And so you know, check
was torn in half.

I didn't think
anything about it.

The very next day, he calls me.

Listen, honey.

I need your help this afternoon.

ROBERT STACK: JD told Peggy
that his uncle was seriously ill

and required immediate surgery.

He explained that his funds
were tied up with investors

and feigned great
embarrassment at having

to ask Peggy for a loan.

OK.

Mhm.

Yeah, I'll have
it ready for you.

PEGGY PETERSON: You
know, what could I do?

I mean, I've already
committed myself

that I could let him have $500.

And what could I do?

I can't say, well, yesterday,
I had $500 to loan you.

Today, I don't.

So they found the truck?

Yeah, they found the truck.

ROBERT STACK: Another
victim, whom we call Amelia,

met JD in August of 1990.

One month later, her son
decided to sell his car

and buy a pickup truck.

JD saw his opening and quickly
talked his way into the deal.

JD told Amelia that
he could sell the car

and, for an additional
$4,000, could make

a great buy on a new pickup.

So you got the title?

We do.

It's all signed
and taken care of.

OK.

OK, you both signed
it over to me.

That's good.

And $4,000 cash?

You got it.

That's all we need.

AMELIA: I told him I had
some questions about the car

and was feeling anxious
about the whole situation

since I didn't
know him very well.

He was saying to me, how
can I possibly doubt him?

Here he is, this honest,
caring, wonderful person.

At some point in
the conversation,

I had said something to the
effect that for all I knew,

he could be a con artist.

And his immediate response
was, Amelia, you could

be a con artist for all I know.

The end result was
that we ended up

with no truck and no
money and no Mustang

at the end the situation.

And that's how it got started.

First, it was a little amount,
and then it would get bigger,

and then bigger and bigger.

And eventually, it would get
into the tens of thousands

of dollars.

Linda, I need your
help on this deal now.

ROBERT STACK: In the
case of Linda Weaver,

it was two months
before JD began

to ask for large sums of money.

Isn't that good news?

Yes, that's great.

I think that's great.

But it's going to be three
weeks before it gets here.

Now, we've got to get
this business rolling now.

So what I'm asking for
is a small loan-- $15,000

to get this done.

I don't have $15,000.

Do it for you and me.

Now, you know the answer.

You going to do this for us?

OK.

Good girl.

LINDA WEAVER: It
happened so fast

that I didn't realize what was
coming across until afterwards.

I'm going, oh, my god.

What is going on?

He was so good.

He hit and ran.

And he's doing it
to all his victims.

ROBERT STACK: Three
months after he

met Peggy Peterson, JD played
out the same scene with her.

Listen, dear.

I need to--

I need to borrow some money
from you to, you know,

help me have some cash
for the-- for the trip.

I need about $9,600.

Oh, man.

That's a lot of money, JD.

Well, I know it seems like it.

But that $9,600 is chili beans
compared to what my assets are.

PEGGY PETERSON:
His rationale was

always that, well, I'm going
to pay you back next week.

I'll have my money next week.

I'll pay you right back.

PEGGY PETERSON: That night,
I was just sleeping soundly.

I was sleeping like a brick.

And at 2:30 in the morning, I
just sat bolt upright in bed

like God had slapped me
upside the head with a 2 by 4

and realized what
had happened to me.

I knew Jerry for 11 months.

During that period of time,
he, in one way or another,

extorted over $70,000.

ROBERT STACK: In
Amelia's case, JD

also waited three months before
he went for the big money.

I don't know about taking
the equity out on my home.

Well, Amelia, it would
only be a short term.

Now, if it'd make you
feel more comfortable,

I've got a promissory note.

A promissory note?

Yes.

It's a legally-binding contract
that ensures you that I'll

pay you back the exact sum.

KATHY SASAK: The problem
with the promissory notes

was that JD Method
would fill out

the promissory note backwards.

He would make himself the payee,
and he would make the victim

the maker so that when you
read the promissory note,

it said that she owed
him $30,000, $40,000,

whatever the amount
that was involved

with that particular victim.

By looking at that
timeline, what you see

is that, as Mr. Method was
starting a relationship,

he would either be in
the middle or the end

of another relationship.

I don't believe
JD Method knows

the difference between
truth and reality anymore.

I think that he has built
his life on lies for so long

that he doesn't even
know the truth anymore.

I think he probably
believes all of the glop

that he shovels off on women.

ROBERT STACK: Update.

On September 1, 1992, JD Method
was apprehended in Beaverton,

Oregon, after police were
contacted by a woman who lost

$2,000 to a man she met
through a personals ad

in the newspaper.

Police staked out the
man's home in Beaverton,

then arrested him
when he returned.

He was later identified
as JD Method.

Inside Method's
house, authorities

seized several briefcases
and a steamer trunk

containing papers
and documents which

may have been used by Method
to perpetrate his scams.

Next week, haunting tales
in honor of Halloween.

During Prohibition,
a dramatic love

triangle ended in tragedy for a
beautiful lady dressed in blue.

Some say her ghost
still haunts the spot

where she and her lover met.

And in Wilmington,
California, many

believe the spirits
of the Civil War

still roam at Drum
Barracks Museum.

Join me next time.

Perhaps you may be able
to help solve a mystery.

[music playing]