All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S06E05.480p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DD 2.0.x264-AJP69_track3_[eng]

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: In 1992,
Wendy Camp of Oklahoma City,

her young daughter,
and her sister-in-law

vanished after being
dropped off in a department

store parking lot.

Their mysterious disappearance
was the culmination

of a bitter feud
between two families,

which has now escalated
to accusations

of kidnapping and murder.

Meet Joseph Prushinowski,
a devout Hasidic Jew,

a dedicated father of 12, and
one of the most brilliant con

men ever encountered.

Authorities believe his
international banking

scams have netted
illegal profits

in excess of $200 million.

Su Young Kim and his wife
Su-Ya came to the United States

to build a better life.

Then, on a fateful day in 1991,
Su-Ya left home to go shopping.

She never returned, and
the Kims' American dream

was brutally shattered.

Also tonight, the poignant
search for a remarkable teacher

whose patience and understanding
forever changed the life

of one of her students.

Join me, and perhaps you may be
able to help solve a mystery.

[music playing]

You're about to meet
a master con artist

named Joseph Prushinowski.

During an astonishing
18-year crime spree,

Prushinowski has allegedly
defrauded financial

institutions around the world.

Estimates of his total thefts
range as high as $200 million.

But this savvy swindler
is a study in paradox.

Prushinowski belongs to a deeply
religious movement of Judaism

known as the Hasidim.

When he is not orchestrating
one of his grand frauds,

Prushinowski will as likely
as not be in temple praying.

[music playing]

The Hasidim pray several times a
day, and out of respect to God,

always cover their heads.

All forms of labor,
even driving,

are forbidden on the Sabbath.

Hasidic men do not
shave or cut their hair,

in keeping with the
tradition handed

down through the centuries.

In contrast to their
austere appearance,

the Hasidim believe in
the joyous celebration

of God's work.

MICHAEL GILLARD:
Hasidics are basically

Jewish fundamentalists.

They all live very,
very simple lives.

They believe in actually having
a community that is apart

from the surrounding world.

They, in fact, rely very
little on the surrounding world

and so therefore are a people
who by their own choice

tend to be apart
from everybody else.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): By adhering

to strict religious
values, the Hasidim

have acquired a
reputation for honesty

and rock-solid integrity.

It is a perfect camouflage
for Joseph Prushinowski.

By all accounts,
Joseph Prushinowski

abides by the religious
dictates of the Hasidic Jews,

except when it comes to
the eighth commandment--

though shalt not steal.

[music playing]

Joseph Prushinowski settled
in Canada in the late 1960s.

He and his family, which
grew to include 12 children,

lived in a Hasidic
community near Montreal.

Prushinowski supposedly ran
an export-import business

from the basement
of his modest home.

The reality was quite different.

[music playing]

A 1985 swindling was
typical of Prushinowski's

ambitious schemes.

His first step was
to open his own bank.

A clerical assistant named
Allen Finegold unwittingly

helped with the arrangements.

Good, good.

So Allen, uh, you
have maybe for me

the recommendations of the,
uh, locations for the bank?

Yes, I have everything
you've been asking for.

Uh, I recommend that
we go with Anguilla.

- Anguilla?
- Yes.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The
Caribbean island of Anguilla is

notorious for some of
the most lenient banking

standards in the world's.

Prushinowski supplied two
names to be the owners

or principles of his bank.

What Allen Finegold didn't
know was that Prushinowski

had made up the names.

All we need now are the
signatures of our principals.

That's all that that's required.

Here we go.

But these are stamps.

Yeah, but they give
me the authorization

to use their signatures.

They're very-- they're
very busy men, you know.

Is it proper to use stamps
on forms of this kind?

ALLEN FINEGOLD: The application
form required a witness.

So I witnessed the signatures,
which I found out afterwards

wasn't exactly a legally
accepted procedure,

that you one,
according to the law,

can only witness a
person signing and not

a signature stamp.

Ah, Allen.

You got the checks here.

Yes, these are the checks.

Let me take a look here.

Let me see here.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Chartering

an actual bank was a measure of
Prushinowski's sophistication.

It could now issue
official-looking bank cashiers

checks, infinitely
more convincing

than mere personal checks.

--on this.

I have the list here of checks
I want you should type out.

The ones with the numbers
are the most important ones.

Oh, all right.

I'll get right to this.

You get to work on that.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The second step

of Prushinowski's swindle was
to write out checks in amounts

of up to $1 million,
supposedly guaranteed

by the bank in Anguilla.

He would then deposit the
checks in business accounts

he had set up around the world.

So Allen, I'm gonna go
upstairs and have dinner

with the wife and the kids.

You call me if you
need me, all right?

ALLEN FINEGOLD: All right.

Mr. Bennett.

Mr. Prushinowski, yes.

That's right.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Prushinowski would then contact

the bank in person or by phone.

Please come in.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
With his phenomenal talent

for persuasion, Prushinowski
convinced the bankers

to advance him large
amounts of cash,

even though the checks
had not yet cleared.

Before I endorse this, I need,
uh, a cash advance of $750,000.

Mr. Prushinowski, it's
the policy of our bank

to wait 14 days after
a deposit before you

can draw on your account.

So all I'm asking
for is $750,000.

MICHAEL GILLARD: He's a very
clever, very, very persuasive

man, a man who trades on his
being a very religious person

when he deals with banks.

We're gonna have to
wait just a few more days.

MICHAEL GILLARD: Very good
at persuading them to cash

his checks written on funny
banks in far away places

with strange-sounding names.

- All right, Mr. Prushinowski.
- OK.

We're going to make
an exception this time.

But please, in the future,
give us 14 days before you

start drawing on your account.

Eventually, the checks all
bounced, or most of them

bounced.

By the time the
bouncing stopped,

the bank was a
million dollars short.

- Nice to see you.
- Take that over to window C.

Right over there.
Thank you very much.

Have a nice day.

Thank you.

Bye-bye.

[phone ringing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Meanwhile, Allen Finegold

found himself fielding
calls from angry bankers

demanding their money.
- Yes.

Uh, no.

Mr. Prushinowski
is not here today.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Ultimately, a Japanese company

would file a lawsuit
against Prushinowski

and his assistant,
Allen Finegold.

We have many
accounts with you.

And being sued for
a million dollars

was something relatively
shocking to me.

And I didn't understand
what was going on here,

being cited as an codefendant.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Finegold's faith

was completely shattered
in March of 1987,

when agents of the Royal
Canadian Mounted Police

descended on an
office Prushinowski

he kept in Montreal.

I want to ask you
about Mr. Prushinowski.

Oy gevalt. Mr. Prushinowski,
what has happened to him?

When was the last time
you Mr. Prushinowski?

I saw Mr. Prushinowski here at
the office yesterday afternoon.

Are you familiar with
the term bank fraud?

Bank fraud?

No, no, no.

Mr. Dineen, nothing
has happened.

I mean, Mr. Prushinowski--

[speaking french]

INTERPRETER: Allen Finegold
was hired by Prushinowski

when he was 21 years old.

He was very naive.

He didn't know very much
about the business world.

So he could not even
contemplate the possibility

that Prushinowski had a
criminal mind whenever he

was asked to do things for him.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Allen Finegold

was cleared of any involvement.

He actively assisted efforts
to unravel Prushinowski's

complex rip-offs.

I didn't believe her.

[music playing]

This is it.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Canadian authorities

also raided Prushinowski's
home, but came up empty-handed.

The basement office
had been cleared out,

and Prushinowski had fled,
taking his wife and 10

of his children with him.

His oldest son and daughter
would join him later.

Do you know what sort
of work your father does?

I don't know.

It's just his business.

Have you ever worked
with your father?

No.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
From his Canadian operations,

Prushinowski left
a trail of rip-offs

totaling more than $2 million.

It was just a hint of
what was yet to come.

MICHAEL GILLARD: After Joseph
Prushinowski left Montreal,

he disappears off the
face of the earth.

No one seems ever to see
him, hear from him again.

But what then happens
is all of a sudden,

Joseph Weiss starts to appear.

And Joseph Weiss operates
frauds on exactly the same way

that Joseph Prushinowski did.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): It
didn't take much to figure out

that Joseph Weiss and
Joseph Prushinowski were

one and the same.

But now, his swindles were
becoming almost absurdly large.

Between 1990 and 1992,
financial institutions in Sweden

lost more than $19 million; in
Denmark, more than $39 million;

the Netherlands, $32 million;
England, $37 million;

$30 million in
the United States;

and more than $35
million in Australia.

The astounding total worldwide
was more than $190 million.

Finally, this master con man
came up with one more brilliant

strategy, one that
keeps him safely

beyond the reach of the law.

In many cases,
Prushinowski brazenly

negotiated to give back a
portion of the stolen money.

That's a million and
a half dollars, OK?

$0.50 on the dollar.

Better than that
I could never do.

MICHAEL GILLARD:
He knows that banks

don't like to go to the police.

They don't like to
prosecute people.

What they want is
their money back.

So they will settle.

And what that, of course,
does is by and large,

it removes the lender
from being a complainant

to create a criminal prosecution
problem for Prushinowski

in that particular country.

And he's used that tactic
very successfully all

over the world.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
However, a few banks

were unwilling to settle.

And today, warrants for
Prushinowski's arrest

are outstanding in Canada
and the United States.

The stunning fact that Joseph
Prushinowski has convinced one

bank after another to hand over
hundreds of millions of dollars

naturally raises
the question of what

he does with all that money.

MICHAEL GILLARD: What is unique
about Joseph Prushinowski

is there is no
evidence that he has

actually personally
benefited in any way

at all from these frauds.

The evidence is
such that you have

to accept that
Prushinowski's frauds

have largely had to benefit--

I believe indirectly,
not directly--

his own community and other
similar Hasidic communities.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Authorities

believe Prushinowski uses
the stolen funds to start up

numerous legitimate businesses.

In turn, the profits
from these companies

are given to the
Hasidic community,

which remains unaware of the
criminal origin of the money.

--if you could help me.

MICHAEL GILLARD:
Prushinowski, I think,

likes to see himself
as a Robin Hood figure.

It's a way of giving
a rationalization

to what he does.

ALLEN FINEGOLD: I feel that it
has caused irreparable damage

for the Jewish community,
as I say, around the globe

because it helps
to portray an image

of religious Jewish people
or Jewish people in general

as being crooks and robbers,
which, of course, is not

the truth as to the basic
doctrines of our faith

and how we practice.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): This mug

shot, the only known picture
of Joseph Prushinowski,

was taken when he
was 42 years old.

At the time, he was
in a Connecticut

prison on a fraud conviction.

Prushinowski is now 54.

He's 5 feet 9 inches tall,
weighs around 170 pounds,

and probably has a full beard.

[music playing]

Next, charges of child
abuse, kidnapping, and murder

tear two families apart.

[music playing]

There is no such thing as
a routine disappearance.

Last year in Oklahoma,
two women and a young girl

suddenly and mysteriously
dropped from sight.

When authorities
began to investigate,

they unexpectedly
found themselves

in the midst of a bitter
dispute between two families.

At the center of the controversy
is 24-year-old Wendy Camp.

She, her daughter Cynthia,
and her sister-in-law Renee

were last seen in May of 1992.

The truth remains tangled in
an angry barrage of charges

and countercharges-- child
abuse, kidnapping, and murder.

It all began rather innocently
during the spring of 1987.

Wendy was divorced, and
her daughter Cynthia

was less than six months old.

Wendy was working at
an ice cream parlor

in Edmond, Oklahoma,
when she fell in love

with a coworker named Chad Noe.

Like that.

So are we still on tonight?

Yeah.

JACKIE TAYLOR: They hit
it off fairly quickly

and started a relationship.

And then she got pregnant
with her second child.

And he convinced
her to marry him.

And they got married
about three or four

weeks before Jonathan was born.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Just one month

after Jonathan's birth, Wendy
developed a crippling case

of multiple sclerosis.

Both her health and her
marriage disintegrated.

Wendy was hospitalized
for nearly a year.

Chad filed for divorce
and was awarded

primary custody of Jonathan.

Of Of course, along
with the MS, I

didn't think she would be able
to help me raise my child.

And instead of having two
children to deal with,

I just decided that it was
best if we got a divorce

and I raised the
child on my own.

Reach up and put
this ring on this--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Wendy was too ill to contest

the court's decision.

For about two
years, she struggled

through physical therapy
just to regain simple skills

such as eating and walking.

That's it.

Put this ring right there.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
During this time,

friends introduced
Wendy to Leon Camp.

They were married
in 1990, and set up

housekeeping in Oklahoma City.

Wendy's daughter Cynthia lived
with them, and by all accounts,

Leon proved to be the
loving father she needed.

As Wendy's condition
improved, she

began to ask her ex-husband
Chad for visits with Jonathan,

now three years old.

Everyone agrees that at first,
the visitations went smoothly.

Jonathan spent a few weekends
with Wendy and Leon in 1990.

Then, according
to Wendy's mother,

Chad's family began to
sabotage the visits.

She would call and
make an appointment

with him, set up a time and
everything for her to see him.

And she would go there, and
they would not be at home.

And then they kept moving
and getting unlisted phone

numbers, this type of thing.

So it was almost impossible
to keep track of them.

--or hurt him, you know?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Chad
Noe remembers it differently.

She was allowed to visit
him whenever she wanted.

And there was never really any
hard feelings up until the time

that my grandma or my
mother informed me that he

was being sexually molested.

And then that's whenever the
visitations were cut off.

There was no molestation,
not whatsoever.

Soever And the idea
of them thinking it

just tore me up inside.

I was mad.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The visitation

squabble had escalated
sharply, with Chad

and his family now accusingly
Leon of criminal sexual abuse.

However, the charges
could neither

be proven nor disproven.

The court cited
Chad for contempt

and ordered him to allow Wendy
and Leon's visits to resume.

For more than six
months, Chad refused.

Then, on May 29, 1992, he
had a sudden change of heart.

Oh!

Yeah, that would be great.

That would be just great.

Chad is gonna let me
see Jonathan today.

All right.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Chad even

said his mother Beverly
Noe would pick Wendy up

since her multiple sclerosis
had left her unable to drive.

Chad is gonna let
me see Jonathan today.

Beverly's gonna pick
me up about 11 o'clock.

I didn't want Wendy
going by herself because I

didn't trust these people.

And me and Chad
didn't get along.

And I was just--

something inside of me,
I just felt like she

better not go by herself.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): By the time

Beverly arrived,
Leon had convinced

his sister, Renee
Kregear, to accompany

Wendy and Cynthia on the trip.

Wendy, when do you think
y'all will be back tonight?

Oh, couple hours,
probably around suppertime.

Well, you be careful.

You make sure you
call me, you hear?

All right.

I will.
All All right.

I love you.
- Love you too, babe.

LEON CAMP: I kissed
Wendy goodbye first,

and they got in the
car and took off.

And I waved at 'em.

That was the last
time I seen 'em.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The 115-mile drive

to Chad's home in
Shamrock, Oklahoma

took just over two hours.

When the group arrived
in town at about 1:45 PM,

Wendy telephoned Leon.

WENDY CAMP: Hi, babe.

Oh, we're fine.

We're fine.

We're just at the cafe.

We're waiting for
Chad to get here.

LEON CAMP: And the first
time she called me that day,

it was about 1:00-something
to let me know

that she had made it all right.

We sat there and visited.

And she didn't even
really play with Jonathan.

Her and Jonathan and
Cynthia played for a while.

But she mostly sat there
and drank coffee with me

out on the porch and talked.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Around
4:15, it was time for Wendy

to say goodbye to Jonathan.

Then she, Cynthia, and Renee
climbed into Beverly's car

for the ride back
to Oklahoma City.

They were joined by Chad's
grandmother, Ida Prewitt.

Before leaving Shamrock,
Wendy called Leon again.

We'll be home in
just a few hours.

Beverly's ready to leave now.

OK.

Bye-bye.

LEON CAMP: At about 4:30,
4:45 she called me to let me

know how the visit went.

She said that Beverly
was in a hurry,

so she had to get off the phone.

And that was the
last I talked to her.

Phone company records
verify that Wendy

called Leon at 4:42 PM.

But virtually everything
else about that afternoon

has become tainted by suspicion.

The last people known to have
seen Wendy and her companions

alive were Beverly
Noe and Ida Prewitt,

Chad's mother and grandmother.

Beverly declined to
participate in this broadcast.

What follows is Ida Prewitt's
account of the trip.

The visit took place
here in Shamrock.

After taking Wendy, Cynthia,
and Renee to Oklahoma City,

Beverly was a drive
back to Cushing,

where she planned to
meet Chad in a restaurant

between 7:00 and 8:00 PM.

Chad is never at the house!

Chad doesn't spend
any time with him.

Chad is a good father,
and he provides for his son.

Now, there are--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
According to Ida,

Wendy was unpleasant company
from the very beginning.

--concerned about
your multiple sclerosis.

Beverly, he's used
to being with me.

That's what he needs.

[interposing voices] He
needs stability in his life.

I think he needs
the stability of us,

and I'm a little concerned about
your multiple sclerosis, dear.

Now I know you have
been improving--

What he needs is to spend
some time with his mother.

And all this time,
all the way to town, she

was just griping and bitching.

And that's all she could do.

So after they got back in
the car and everything,

I told Beverly, I said,
just take me back home.

I said, you got to put up
with this, but I don't.

So she brought me back
home, and then she went on.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Ida Prewitt says she was

dropped off at around 5:15 PM.

She claims Beverly
later told her

that the bickering continued
for the next half hour.

BEVERLY NOE: Now
there was no reason

for you to upset Ida like that.

That was totally
uncalled for, Wendy.

She loves that little boy.

I love him, too.

That's why I want to
spend more time with him.

You get enough time
to spend with him.

But he needs me.
He needs his grandma.

He needs his father.

IDA PREWITT: She said that
time she got to Chandler,

she had had just about
all she could stand.

And she pulled in Walmart
and told 'em to get out.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Beverly

has told police that she
pulled into a shopping

center parking lot in Chandler,
45 miles from Wendy's home.

She then ordered Wendy, Cynthia,
and Renee out of the car.

They never returned home.

They never called.

They never asked
anyone for help.

It was as though
they had dropped

off the face of the earth.

About 8 o'clock that night,
I started thinking, well,

they should've been home now.

And then midnight that night,
I said, this has gone too far.

I've got to call the police.

And I did.

And they came out and
took a brief description

of everything.

We did an aerial
search, which involved

four and five airplanes
searching a five-county area.

It also involved
several search teams.

And nothing was
discovered at that time.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The bizarre disappearance

was the talk of
Oklahoma City for days.

With no other leads in the
case, Beverly Noe's version

of the afternoon's
events became the focus

of intense official scrutiny.

JACKIE JOHNSON: At the time
that Beverly Noe left Shamrock,

Oklahoma, which would have
been between 4:30 and 5:00

in the evening,
she agreed to meet

her son Chad in Cushing
at a restaurant at 7:00

that evening.

It could not have been done
in that small amount of time.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
According to authorities,

Beverly had told Chad she
would meet him just two

hours after she
left Shamrock, even

though the trip from
Shamrock to Oklahoma City

and back to Cushing would
take three hours to drive.

In addition, Beverly took the
old two-lane highway instead

of the faster superhighway.

Wendy's family is also
disturbed about Wendy's failure

to telephone from
the shopping center.

JACKIE JOHNSON: Wendy was
very, very dependent upon Leon.

And she'd already called twice.

She would have immediately
gone in and called her husband,

Leon.

Or, if she wasn't able
to get a hold of him,

she would have called me.

I feel that my daughter
and my granddaughter

and the sister-in-law were
murdered that Friday night.

I feel that Ida, Beverly, and
Chad, all three are involved.

I feel that they pretty well
had their plans laid out

on what they were
going to do when

they made the phone
call to ask Wendy

if she wanted to see Jonathan.

And I figure whoever
got in that car,

they were going to do what
they had planned to do.

Beverly and I did
not have nothing to do

with their disappearances.

And I know this.

I don't care whether they
know it or not or believe it.

But I know it.

There is no way that I
or my grandma or my mother

could've killed 'em or
shipped 'em off somewhere

or are still holding 'em.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
In spite of Chad's denials,

two residents of Shamrock
have told authorities

that they overheard him boasting
that he had killed Wendy,

Cynthia, and Renee,
but that no one

would ever find their bodies.

Maybe in one of
my drunken stupors,

I might have popped
off, oh, yeah, yea.

I did it.

But there ain't no way in--

no way ever I coulda
did something like that.

I'm not a violent person.

Despite all the bitter
recriminations between the two

families, no physical
evidence has ever

been found to indicate what
happened to Wendy camp, Cynthia

Britto, and Renee Kregear.

Three months after
they disappeared,

a woman who knows
the family claimed

to have seen Cynthia alive.

Police believe the
account is credible.

However, there have been
no further sightings

for more than a year.

[music playing]

When we return, a woman needs
your help to find the teacher

who turned her life around.

[music playing]

45-year-old Deloris Brooks
has spent much of her life

in the same section of
Brooklyn, New York she

knew as a young girl.

Her thoughts frequently
turn to her childhood

and a special friend Deloris
hasn't seen since she

herself was a teenager
more than 25 years ago.

In the early 1960s, Doloris
moved to Brooklyn from

a small town in North Carolina.

She was a shy country
girl overwhelmed

by the crowds and the concrete
jungle that was New York City.

DELORIS BROOKS: It was
really a big cultural shock

in reference to the buildings
being so tall and everything.

Because in North
Carolina, people

used to come from
miles around just

to see a three-story building.

So it was really a big deal.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Deloris

suffered the awkwardness
common to many teenagers.

That was complicated by
strained relations at home

and the anxiety of
entering a big-city school.

The kids, they seemed to be
so knowing, the New York kids.

And being a southern
girl, I just didn't feel

that I fit in at that time.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
As Deloris began

her first semester at
Decatur Junior High,

she was shocked by her
classmates' rowdy behavior.

She never dreamed that in
the midst of the chaos,

she was about to meet the person
who would change her life.

Class, good morning.

OK, everybody take your seats.

Thank you very much.

My name is Miss Strauss.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The new music

teacher, Madeline Strauss, was
an outsider just like Deloris.

And I'll be-- please sit down.

Excuse me.

DELORIS BROOKS: So she really
looked like a uptown girl.

She didn't look like
the type that would

be teaching at this school.

She really looked stylish.

MADELINE STRAUSS:
Now, this first piece

I'm going to play for you is by
a man named Wolfgang Amadeus--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): A new
day had dawned in music class.

Deloris would soon discover
that life offered much more

than problems and conflict.

Her eyes were opened to
the beauty in the world,

thanks to Madeline Strauss.

DELORIS BROOKS: She
really loved music,

and she demanded
that we love it, too.

If we didn't love it, we
had to be quiet about it

and respect it.

But eventually, music, it
comes through to everyone.

And we all did love it.

MADELINE STRAUSS: Hi, Doloris.

Come on in.

Thanks for coming.

I really appreciate it.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): By
the following school year,

Madeline had become a friend to
Deloris as well as a teacher.

Doloris was frequently invited
to visit the apartment where

Madeline lived with her father.

DELORIS BROOKS: The first
time I went to her apartment,

it was really overwhelming.

Such a beautiful place,
and so much space.

I couldn't get over that.

I didn't know it was luxury.

It looked just
like a big museum.

[music playing]

She lived at least 30 floors up.

I don't remember how many,
but it was at least 30.

And I would look out, and
I could see Central Park.

This was really a new
experience for me.

It was like walking out
of one world into another.

And I became like
a changed person

when I walked through those
doors as the time went on.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Over the next two years,

Madeline took Doloris
to chamber concerts

and other musical
events, even lending

her clothing and jewelry
for these occasions.

It is a life Deloris
had only dreamed of,

and it slowly nurtured
a new self image.

DELORIS BROOKS: Once
somebody cares about you,

automatically, your
self-esteem pick up.

It wasn't anything that I can
really explain that happened.

But I just felt
better about myself.

I walked with my head
up for once in my life.

And I just felt more relaxed
and at ease because someone

cared about me, and I knew it.

But listen, I want you to
know you're a special girl,

and you're a smart girl.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Graduation day--

June of 1964, a day of mixed
emotions for Doloris Brooks.

--just for any reason.

I'll be there for you still.

All right?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Leaving junior high

meant that Madeline
Strauss would no longer be

a daily presence in her life.

Without that positive
influence, family problems

would overwhelm Deloris.

She ran away from home,
dropped out of school,

and eventually became
a ward of the court.

In 1966, Doloris was stricken
with what she believes

was Reye's syndrome, a
potentially fatal condition

that affects the brain.

She spent nearly a
month in the hospital,

most of that time in a coma.

Deloris recovered, but was
left with partial amnesia.

In the summer of 1967, Doloris
was stopped on the street

by a woman who
seemed to know her.

Deloris!

Oh, my goodness!

Look at you!

You look so great!

I've missed you.

How are you?

Do I know you?

Deloris, don't
you remember me?

It's me, Madeline.

Your music teacher?

Well, I hope I
was a good student.

But I have to go.

I didn't know who she was.

And I saw her maybe
three to four times

after that over the
next year or so.

And I still didn't remember her.

And she would hug
me in the street

and act so glad to see me,
and I didn't know who she was.

About four years ago, I--

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Deloris

went on to complete
her education

and trained as a
practical nurse.

She eventually moved
to Chicago, where

in 1982, her memories
of Madeline Strauss

were reawakened.

And I grew up in
Brooklyn, New York.

Excuse me.

Where are you from?

I'm from Brooklyn.

That's what I
thought you said.

What section?

Bed-Stuy.

Me too.
No kidding.

What school did you go to?

Decatur Junior High School

Yeah, that's where I went!

I remember you!

Oh, yeah?

We were in the
same music class.

I sat right across from you.

- Really?
- Yeah, remember the teacher?

DELORIS BROOKS: We start
talking about all our teachers.

And Madeline came up.

And from there, the
memories start coming back.

It's coming back to me.

Once the memory
came back, I decided

I would like to find her because
I really realized how much we

had in the past, and then
when I met her on the street

so many times and didn't know
her, that I felt that I needed

to see her again to let her
know that it wasn't all lost,

the time that she put in to me.

I would like to
just say thank you.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Next, a family's dream

of a better life in
America ends in tragedy.

[music playing]

New York City has
traditionally served

as a beacon for those
who look to America

for a new and better life.

Nearly every
country in the world

has an immigrant community
enriching the city.

And to the newly
arrived, New York

symbolizes the American dream.

Su Young Kim and Su-Ya
Yu lived that dream.

Born in South Korea, they worked
hard and saved every penny.

In 1981, they married
in Seoul, then

moved to the United States.

Su Young and Su-Ya
worked in flea markets

until they were able to open
two stores, one in Long Island,

and the other in Bushwick,
a section of Brooklyn

known for its ethnic diversity.

INTERPRETER: My wife and I were
very nervous about our opening.

We cleaned and set up
everything together.

There was no single item in
the store not touched by her.

We worked very hard from
early in the morning

till late at night,
seven days a week.

And we were blessed with
fortune and happiness.

Good size and good
color [inaudible].

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
As the business grew,

so did the Kim family.

Su-Ya and Su Young had two sons,
and often, the whole family

could be found at
the Brooklyn store.

10% discount for her.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): The Kims

eventually moved to a
spacious apartment in Queens.

There, on the afternoon
of June 29, 1991,

just five days after Su Young
and Su-Ya had celebrated

their 10th wedding
anniversary, Su-Ya

left the boys with
their grandmother

while she went out shopping.

OK.

Not too much time
with this, huh?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
When Su-Ya walked out

of the apartment
that day, no one

imagined that the Kim's
American dream was

about to come crashing down.

[music playing]

When Su Young Kim came home
from the store at 8 PM,

he was worried to find
that Su-Ya had not returned

from her shopping trip.

He called all her friends,
but no one knew where she was.

[music playing]

Eventually, Su Young's
brother joined the vigil.

Su Young's concern
mounted after he

found Su-Ya's car still parked
in the garage, its engine stone

cold.

INTERPRETER: My wife had never
been out that late for the 10

years of our marriage.

I was getting more
and more worried.

I could not stop
thinking that something

bad must have happened to her.

I stayed up all night
waiting for her,

but she did not return home.

Yes, the coroner
gave us a call--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The next day, Su Young Kim

was summoned to the
medical examiner's

office to identify a body.

INTERPRETER: I could
not and did not want

to believe what was going on.

As soon as I recognized
my wife's body,

I felt everything was over.

The whole world seemed
to crash upon me.

I couldn't think of anything
else except my children.

[music playing]

Su-Ya Kim had been
stabbed nine times,

her body dumped in the
section of Brooklyn known

as Bedford-Stuyvesant,
seven miles from the Kims'

apartment in Queens.

Although she was nude, there
was no evidence of rape.

Su-Ya's murder appeared to
be yet another senseless act

of random violence.

But unlike many random crimes,
this one had a witness.

[music playing]

Joe Jones was a
private security guard

hired to patrol an abandoned
building in Bedford-Stuyvesant.

Around 3:00 AM, 10 hours
after Su-Ya had disappeared,

Jones noticed a man
behind the building.

Hey, yo, man, you
can't dump there.

I can't dump here?

No, you can't dump here.

JOE JONES: He hesitated,
you know, a couple seconds.

Then he said, what
if I gave you $20?

So I said, yeah, OK.

So at that time, when
I'm taking the $20,

I see that he had blood on him.

So I said-- yo, how you get the
blood blood on you like that?

Oh, um, I just
got into a fight.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The man's demeanor

made Joe Jones suspicious.

He got a brief glimpse
of the license plate

before the car backed out.

JOE JONES: He gets in
the car to drive away,

but he stops at the corner.

So when he stopped
at the corner,

I'm still standing there.

I think he thought I was
gonna go back and see

what he put in the garbage.

And I really got suspicious
when he drove to the corner

and was looking at me,
and I was looking at him.

So when I went back, I
looked on the ground.

I saw spots, spots of blood
going towards the garbage can.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Joe Jones recruited

a friend who happened by.

Together, they cautiously probed
the contents of the dumpster.

Amidst layers of debris,
they saw a woman's hand.

It was the body of Su-Ya Kim.

In an uncanny coincidence,
the first vehicle to pass by

was an ambulance,
but it was too late.

Su-Ya had already
been dead for hours.

Thanks to Joe Jones, however,
police had a description

of the killer and his car.

DERRICK PARKER: We
ran all the Nissans

that fit that description
with that plate

number in New York City.

And we tried to match
registered owners

by using the partial plate.

And we were able to
come up with one match.

Thank you.
Could you do me a favor--

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): The vehicle

was registered to a
Taiwanese exchange student

at CW Post College
in Long Island.

She said she had not
driven it since about 10:00

the night before.

After dinner.

- You went after dinner?
- Yes.

And what time did
you get back in, ma'am?

- I come home 10:00.
- OK.

Did you go anywhere after that?

No, stay home.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Su-Ya
had been stabbed repeatedly,

yet there was no blood
in or on the car.

When police checked
the engine, they

found that the car had, in
fact, not been driven for hours.

DERRICK PARKER: Does anyone
have an extra set of keys

to your car?

No.
Only I.

So you're the only driver?

You didn't let anyone
borrow the car last night?

No.

DERRICK PARKER: At this time,
we don't have any other clues.

The plate number
came up to a car

that was a blue Nissan
that fit the description

that Mr. Jones told us.

However, it wasn't the car.

We don't believe it was
the car at this time.

I don't understand it.

It is a mystery 'cause
I thought once I

gave 'em the license
plates and the car,

they could pick 'em up.

But then when they found
the car, they said,

this wasn't the car.

So I don't know.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Police now

began to look at their
star witness, Joe Jones,

as a suspect.

They requested that Jones
take a lie detector test.

He passed with flying
colors, and police

are positive he had nothing
to do with Su-Ya's murder.

[music playing]

For nearly two
years, Su Young Kim

stayed on in the United States,
but the memories of Su-Ya

proved too painful to bear.

In April of 1993, he
shut down his business

and returned with his
two little boys to Korea.

INTERPRETER: I could not
stand being in the store

anymore because everything
there reminded me of my wife.

Now there are no good memories
for me here in America.

Since it happened, I lost
all my hope and dreams.

I have suffered so much.

I'm still struggling hard
to get over my wife's death

for the sake of our children.

I still truly love
her and miss her.

[music playing]

Police have one particular
theory which may yet

help identify Su-Ya's killer.

The dumpster in
Bedford-Stuyvesant

was not easily
visible from a street.

So police believe the
killer may be a delivery

man or a cab driver,
someone with detailed

knowledge of the neighborhood.

The suspect is in his mid-20s
and approximately 5 feet

6 inches tall.

He has blond hair and
blue eyes and weighs

between 130 and 140 pounds.

When last seen, he was wearing
a torn and bloodstained fishnet

tank top with blue
and white jogging

shorts which had yellow
sailboat insignias on the leg.

[music playing]

On our next "Unsolved
Mysteries," with Halloween

just around the corner, a
ghostly tale seems in order.

And in Lake Wales, Florida,
you'll find a haunted house

that apparently has it all--

an alluring phantom,
a shadowy specter,

and a demonic possession.

Join me next time for this
lively tour of the spirit world

and much more on
"Unsolved Mysteries."

[music playing]