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- Tonight on History's
mGreatest Mysteries:r.
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00:00:18,100 --> 00:00:21,670
He was the actor
whose most famous role
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00:00:21,800 --> 00:00:24,000
was assassinating
a president.
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00:00:24,133 --> 00:00:28,533
But was John Wilkes Booth
also an escape artist?
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00:00:28,667 --> 00:00:30,967
I'm Laurence Fishburne.
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00:00:31,100 --> 00:00:32,500
On tonight's mystery,
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00:00:32,633 --> 00:00:37,003
did John Wilkes Booth evade
justice and live for decades
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00:00:37,133 --> 00:00:39,333
after assassinating
Abraham Lincoln?
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00:00:39,467 --> 00:00:44,527
There was a son born five years
after the assassination.
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00:00:44,667 --> 00:00:46,497
John Wilkes Booth could
not have died in the barn
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00:00:46,633 --> 00:00:48,833
and fathered a son
five years later.
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00:00:48,967 --> 00:00:51,627
-[Fishburne] Did another man
die in Booth's place?
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00:00:51,767 --> 00:00:54,067
Booth was able to escape
16
00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:56,770
and the man in the barn
was James Boyd.
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00:00:56,900 --> 00:01:00,730
For the first time,
Booth descendants
share family lore
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00:01:00,867 --> 00:01:06,297
of what they believe
is evidence passed down
through generations.
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00:01:06,433 --> 00:01:07,973
It even lists
John Wilkes Booth here
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00:01:08,100 --> 00:01:11,500
as Harry Jerome Stevenson's
other father.
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00:01:11,633 --> 00:01:15,073
- Their theories and others'
will be put to the test,
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00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:16,900
including,
for the first time,
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00:01:17,033 --> 00:01:21,703
Booth family DNA analysis
from the autopsy table
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00:01:21,834 --> 00:01:23,104
and the graveyard.
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00:01:23,233 --> 00:01:26,373
Where John Wilkes Booth
was buried was an issue
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00:01:26,500 --> 00:01:28,930
from the very beginning.
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00:01:29,066 --> 00:01:31,866
Suppose John Wilkes Booth
actually isn't buried in there.
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00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:34,730
-[Fishburne] The escape
of John Wilkes Booth,
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00:01:34,867 --> 00:01:38,427
tonight on "History's
Greatest Mysteries."
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00:01:38,567 --> 00:01:41,527
( music playing )
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00:01:55,166 --> 00:01:56,896
Stevenson:
John Wilkes Booth before
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00:01:57,033 --> 00:02:00,333
he became John Wilkes Booth
the assassinator
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00:02:00,467 --> 00:02:01,967
had a lot going for him.
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00:02:02,100 --> 00:02:03,670
He was one of the most popular,
35
00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:06,670
if not the most popular
actors in North America.
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00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:10,700
He was thought of
as being the handsomest man
in North America.
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00:02:10,834 --> 00:02:13,834
I mean, he had huge numbers
of female fans
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00:02:13,967 --> 00:02:17,927
who swooned over him.
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00:02:18,066 --> 00:02:21,426
Michael Kauffman:
He had these eyes that
were described as black.
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00:02:21,567 --> 00:02:23,597
A very unusual trait.
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00:02:23,734 --> 00:02:26,834
And it's something that seems
to sort of draw you in.
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00:02:26,967 --> 00:02:31,427
He also had a kind of charisma
and power over people,
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00:02:31,567 --> 00:02:37,297
which he was able to use
in drawing together people
for his conspiracy.
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00:02:40,567 --> 00:02:43,627
One of the most difficult
things as a historian
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00:02:43,767 --> 00:02:45,397
is to get through to people
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00:02:45,533 --> 00:02:50,003
how different
the world was in 1865.
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00:02:50,133 --> 00:02:54,803
You've got one half
of the country fighting
against the other half.
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00:02:54,934 --> 00:02:57,434
Washington, DC,
the nation's capital,
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00:02:57,567 --> 00:02:59,827
is right on the line
between the two,
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00:02:59,967 --> 00:03:04,327
and it is thoroughly saturated
with enemy sympathizers.
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00:03:04,467 --> 00:03:07,997
John Wilkes Booth identified
himself as a Southerner.
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00:03:08,133 --> 00:03:10,273
He was pro-slavery,
anti-black.
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00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:13,830
He had racist views
which were quite common
at the time.
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00:03:13,967 --> 00:03:15,427
And by the time
of the Civil War,
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00:03:15,567 --> 00:03:17,627
he identified himself
firmly as a Southerner
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00:03:17,767 --> 00:03:21,227
who supported secession
and opposed the election
of Abraham Lincoln.
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00:03:21,367 --> 00:03:26,227
Booth was crushed that the man
he thought was a tyrant
had been reelected.
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00:03:26,367 --> 00:03:29,327
He hated Lincoln for
conquering Southern territory
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00:03:29,467 --> 00:03:32,027
and for emancipating
the slaves.
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00:03:32,166 --> 00:03:34,526
-[Fishburne] Booth's remedy
for the presidential tyrant
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00:03:34,667 --> 00:03:37,567
echoes themes in Shakespeare's
"Julius Caesar,"
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00:03:37,700 --> 00:03:40,570
a play he'd performed
with his brothers.
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00:03:40,700 --> 00:03:42,470
Kauffman:
Caesar has become a tyrant
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00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:44,470
when Brutus comes along
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00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:48,700
for the good of Rome
and kills him.
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00:03:48,834 --> 00:03:50,874
-[Fishburne] There's no doubt
that John Wilkes Booth
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00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:54,230
was the man who shot Lincoln
at Ford's Theatre.
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00:03:54,367 --> 00:03:58,067
He made certain the audience
knew he had played
the leading role.
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00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:01,570
Booth wanted to be a hero.
He wanted to be
the American Brutus.
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00:04:01,700 --> 00:04:03,600
He believed he was saving
his country.
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00:04:03,734 --> 00:04:06,904
James Swanson:
Booth pauses at center stage
and shouts,
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00:04:07,033 --> 00:04:10,003
"Sic semper tyrannis."
"Thus always to tyrants."
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00:04:10,133 --> 00:04:15,073
He's saying it in Latin,
the language of Julius Caesar
and Marcus Brutus,
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00:04:15,200 --> 00:04:18,470
making it known
that this is what tyrants get.
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00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:20,570
This is justice.
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00:04:20,700 --> 00:04:23,100
John Wilkes Booth
has just performed
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00:04:23,233 --> 00:04:25,773
the assassination
of Abraham Lincoln
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00:04:25,900 --> 00:04:28,530
in front of an audience
of 1,500 people.
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00:04:28,667 --> 00:04:31,397
Then he exits,
heading for the bridge
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00:04:31,533 --> 00:04:35,103
that will take him
from Washington to Maryland.
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00:04:35,233 --> 00:04:37,103
-[Fishburne]
Booth crossed the Navy Yard
Bridge into Maryland
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00:04:37,233 --> 00:04:39,573
20 minutes after
shooting Lincoln.
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00:04:39,700 --> 00:04:42,900
Just over the border,
he was joined by
23-year-old David Herold,
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00:04:43,033 --> 00:04:48,173
the only one
of Booth's co-conspirators
to escape with him.
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00:04:48,300 --> 00:04:50,870
While Booth was assassinating
Abraham Lincoln,
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00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:54,470
David Herold and Lewis Powell
were supposed to murder
the secretary of state.
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00:04:54,600 --> 00:04:57,600
Powell nearly stabbed him
to death in his bed.
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00:04:57,734 --> 00:04:59,734
Herold, who was waiting
outside for Powell,
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00:04:59,867 --> 00:05:03,127
got afraid because
Seward's daughter opened
a window and yelled,
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00:05:03,266 --> 00:05:04,896
"Help! Murder! Help!"
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00:05:05,033 --> 00:05:07,503
He abandoned Lewis Powell
at Seward's house.
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00:05:07,633 --> 00:05:10,173
David Herold finally
catches up to Booth,
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00:05:10,300 --> 00:05:12,370
and then it's the two of them
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00:05:12,500 --> 00:05:15,400
escaping together
from that point on.
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00:05:15,533 --> 00:05:18,803
-[Fishburne] Booth and Herold
traveled south for
12 days into Virginia
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00:05:18,934 --> 00:05:22,474
until they reached a farm
owned by the Garrett family.
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00:05:22,600 --> 00:05:25,200
Most historians believe Booth
was killed by Union soldiers
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00:05:25,333 --> 00:05:27,703
in the Garrett's
tobacco barn.
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00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:33,800
Kauffman: We're in
Caroline County, Virginia,
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00:05:33,934 --> 00:05:37,474
about two miles south
of the town of Port Royal.
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00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:39,730
It doesn't look like
a historic site,
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00:05:39,867 --> 00:05:41,997
but as you can see,
they've put up a sign
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00:05:42,133 --> 00:05:45,073
about John Wilkes Booth's death.
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00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:48,900
This is ground zero
for one of the greatest
crimes scenes in history.
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00:05:49,033 --> 00:05:51,703
And we have a body,
but as usual,
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00:05:51,834 --> 00:05:55,904
the biggest thing
we have to do is ID that body.
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00:05:56,033 --> 00:05:58,473
- Who was pulled out
of the barn?
- Right, exactly.
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00:05:58,600 --> 00:06:02,900
Lori Rothschild Ansaldi
is a journalist and producer.
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00:06:03,033 --> 00:06:05,673
She's teamed with former
US Marshal Art Roderick,
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00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:09,630
who's spent decades tracking
down criminal fugitives.
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00:06:09,767 --> 00:06:11,727
Art Roderick:
Lori's handling
the family side,
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00:06:11,867 --> 00:06:14,267
and I'm more on
the technical side
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00:06:14,400 --> 00:06:16,470
looking at forensic
document examination,
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00:06:16,600 --> 00:06:20,230
medical examiner's autopsies,
photographs,
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00:06:20,367 --> 00:06:21,997
forensic photography--
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00:06:22,133 --> 00:06:24,533
looking at some
of the conspiracy theories
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00:06:24,667 --> 00:06:27,927
that really fall more
into my lane from having
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00:06:28,066 --> 00:06:30,096
almost 40 years
in law enforcement.
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00:06:30,233 --> 00:06:32,703
Lori Rothschild Ansaldi:
I was actually approached
by the family
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00:06:32,834 --> 00:06:34,734
with their story
of how they never believed
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00:06:34,867 --> 00:06:37,267
that John Wilkes Booth died
at Garrett's farm.
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00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:39,870
They had all
this information,
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00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:43,670
things that were passed down
from generation to generation,
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00:06:43,800 --> 00:06:47,300
things that could never
be recorded in history books.
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00:06:47,433 --> 00:06:49,573
They were secrets.
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00:06:49,700 --> 00:06:52,370
-[Fishburne] Joanne Hulme is a
descendant of the Booth family.
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00:06:52,500 --> 00:06:55,970
She believes John Wilkes Booth
escaped the Union manhunt
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00:06:56,100 --> 00:06:59,300
and lived to father children
after 1865.
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00:06:59,433 --> 00:07:03,533
My great-great-grandmother
is John Wilkes Booth's aunt.
130
00:07:03,667 --> 00:07:07,127
Aunt, huh?
And how many siblings
did John Wilkes have?
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00:07:07,266 --> 00:07:10,426
There were 10 children
born in the United States,
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00:07:10,567 --> 00:07:13,597
and four of them died
during the Yellow Fever.
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00:07:15,266 --> 00:07:18,166
So there's
Junius Brutus Booth II.
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00:07:18,300 --> 00:07:21,330
Rosalie Booth,
Edwin Thomas Booth,
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00:07:21,467 --> 00:07:24,327
Asia Booth Clarke,
John Wilkes Booth,
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00:07:24,467 --> 00:07:26,627
and then
Joseph Adrian Booth.
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00:07:28,900 --> 00:07:33,170
I was between
11 and 12 years old,
and my mother says,
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00:07:33,300 --> 00:07:35,430
"So you're going
into sixth grade
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00:07:35,567 --> 00:07:37,667
and you're going to study
about the Civil War,
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00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:39,830
and they're going to tell you
that John Wilkes Booth
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00:07:39,967 --> 00:07:41,827
was shot
and died in the barn."
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00:07:41,967 --> 00:07:44,097
And she said,
"That is not true.
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00:07:44,233 --> 00:07:48,833
He escaped the barn.
He lived for many years.
He had a family."
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00:07:48,967 --> 00:07:54,797
That is when my life changed,
and maybe I think a part of
my innocence was lost forever.
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00:07:58,033 --> 00:08:00,403
-[Fishburne]
But if Joanne's
family lore is right,
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00:08:00,533 --> 00:08:03,203
then accepted history
must be rewritten,
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00:08:03,333 --> 00:08:05,333
especially the accounts
of what happened
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00:08:05,467 --> 00:08:07,767
that fateful night
at Garrett's farm.
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00:08:07,900 --> 00:08:11,270
On April 24th about 2 PM,
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00:08:11,400 --> 00:08:15,600
Booth and Herold
made contact with a trio
of Confederate cavalrymen,
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00:08:15,734 --> 00:08:21,104
who accompanied the fugitives
and they were ferried across
the Rappahannock River.
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00:08:21,233 --> 00:08:23,903
Swanson:
Then he's taken to the farm
of Richard Garrett.
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00:08:24,033 --> 00:08:26,433
Now, the Garretts
don't know who Booth is.
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00:08:26,567 --> 00:08:30,527
They're told,
"These are Confederates going
home. They need your help."
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00:08:30,667 --> 00:08:32,767
The first night they're there,
the Garretts take them in.
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00:08:32,900 --> 00:08:34,670
They let them sleep
in the house.
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00:08:34,800 --> 00:08:38,830
The next day, a cavalry patrol
comes near the Garrett farm.
158
00:08:38,967 --> 00:08:42,167
The Garrett family sees Booth
and Herold run for cover.
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00:08:42,300 --> 00:08:44,170
So now they're thinking,
"What have these men done?"
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00:08:44,300 --> 00:08:47,170
They tell them,
"You can't sleep
in the house tonight.
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00:08:47,300 --> 00:08:51,230
You've done something.
You can sleep in our
tobacco barn."
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00:08:51,367 --> 00:08:54,897
But they don't realize
as soon as they go inside
and go to bed,
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00:08:55,033 --> 00:08:58,633
the Garretts lock them
into the tobacco barn.
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00:08:58,767 --> 00:09:00,627
-[Fishburne]
Most historians say
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00:09:00,767 --> 00:09:03,427
Booth and Herold were locked
in the tobacco barn
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00:09:03,567 --> 00:09:07,627
and couldn't escape
when Union troops arrived.
167
00:09:07,767 --> 00:09:10,027
When soldiers set fire
to the barn to smoke them out,
168
00:09:10,166 --> 00:09:11,896
Herold gave himself up.
169
00:09:12,033 --> 00:09:14,503
Moments later,
Booth was shot,
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00:09:14,633 --> 00:09:17,073
dragged from
the flaming barn,
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00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:18,800
and later died.
172
00:09:18,934 --> 00:09:22,974
But Joanne Hulme
doubts that account.
173
00:09:23,100 --> 00:09:26,630
There's hundreds and hundreds
of books talking about
a tobacco barn.
174
00:09:26,767 --> 00:09:30,097
I don't understand
why historians didn't
question this more.
175
00:09:30,233 --> 00:09:32,973
A tobacco barn is made
for drying tobacco.
176
00:09:33,100 --> 00:09:35,100
It's not made
for keeping people in.
177
00:09:35,233 --> 00:09:39,333
Any one of us could
escape of a tobacco barn
without detection.
178
00:09:39,467 --> 00:09:43,627
Greg Huber:
This is a frame, circa 1900
or so, tobacco shed.
179
00:09:43,767 --> 00:09:47,727
So what's the difference
between a tobacco shed
and a tobacco barn?
180
00:09:47,867 --> 00:09:52,427
Geographically, basically.
They call tobacco buildings
different in different areas.
181
00:09:52,567 --> 00:09:56,767
But this is basically
a shed here, and it has these
vertical ventilators here
182
00:09:56,900 --> 00:09:59,270
that help dry out
the product inside.
183
00:09:59,400 --> 00:10:02,430
But in around April,
the end of April in Virginia,
184
00:10:02,567 --> 00:10:05,327
the barn would have been
cleaned out at that point.
185
00:10:05,467 --> 00:10:09,297
- By a few months.
- Can a human be locked
into a tobacco barn?
186
00:10:09,433 --> 00:10:13,303
Are those slots
very heavy to move?
187
00:10:13,433 --> 00:10:16,303
Couldn't they just kick it out
or push it out from the inside?
188
00:10:16,433 --> 00:10:19,603
They're relatively easy
to pivot on their hinges.
189
00:10:19,734 --> 00:10:23,504
We see a couple
different attachments here
to kind of secure this.
190
00:10:23,633 --> 00:10:27,673
- Yeah.
- You've got the wooden slat
that spins on one nail.
191
00:10:27,800 --> 00:10:30,430
If you're trying
to get out, that looks like
a pretty easy way to--
192
00:10:30,567 --> 00:10:34,427
Yeah, but the thing
of it is, when you have
25 vertical ventilators
193
00:10:34,567 --> 00:10:36,397
or something like that,
some may be half open.
194
00:10:36,533 --> 00:10:39,273
- Ansaldi: It's like
a shutter on a house.
- Huber: Right.
195
00:10:39,400 --> 00:10:43,000
Structurally, it's not made
to keep anybody in, right?
196
00:10:43,133 --> 00:10:46,233
- Well, no. It's not a jail.
- In other words, it's not--
yeah, exactly.
197
00:10:46,367 --> 00:10:48,267
We got two desperate fugitives.
198
00:10:48,400 --> 00:10:49,670
They're on the run, obviously,
199
00:10:49,800 --> 00:10:52,670
from one of the most
heinous crimes ever done
200
00:10:52,800 --> 00:10:55,100
in the United States
up until that point in time.
201
00:10:55,233 --> 00:10:56,633
They're in the barn.
202
00:10:56,767 --> 00:10:58,297
They're aware that
there's Union troops
203
00:10:58,433 --> 00:10:59,873
that are coming
down the road.
204
00:11:00,066 --> 00:11:02,126
They've probably
got about 10, 15 minutes
205
00:11:02,266 --> 00:11:04,526
to figure out
what the heck to do.
206
00:11:04,667 --> 00:11:06,667
If they're locked in here,
do you think they could have
got out of this?
207
00:11:06,800 --> 00:11:08,870
- Out of this particular--
- Yes. My own opinion? Yes.
208
00:11:12,600 --> 00:11:14,670
-[Fishburne] So why wouldn't
the most wanted men
in the country
209
00:11:14,800 --> 00:11:18,730
simply push their way
out of that tobacco barn?
210
00:11:18,867 --> 00:11:21,697
It's the first
of many questions about
what truly happened
211
00:11:21,834 --> 00:11:25,674
to John Wilkes Booth.
212
00:11:25,800 --> 00:11:29,300
Coming up on "History's
Greatest Mysteries"...
213
00:11:29,433 --> 00:11:32,503
John Wilkes Booth was not
the body in the barn.
214
00:11:32,633 --> 00:11:36,073
When May first saw the corpse,
he said, "That's not Booth."
215
00:11:36,200 --> 00:11:39,770
This notion that
John Wilkes Booth survived
216
00:11:39,900 --> 00:11:43,370
fuels a lot of myths
about the time period.
217
00:11:43,500 --> 00:11:45,470
Troy Cowan:
He deserve to die
right there in the barn?
218
00:11:45,600 --> 00:11:48,300
But if he didn't,
then let's find out why
219
00:11:48,433 --> 00:11:50,733
or where and how he escaped.
220
00:12:02,066 --> 00:12:04,566
( indistinct chatter )
221
00:12:04,700 --> 00:12:07,870
-[Fishburne]
12 days after assassinating
President Lincoln,
222
00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:11,830
John Wilkes Booth
was locked in a tobacco barn
at the Garrett farm
223
00:12:11,967 --> 00:12:14,467
with co-conspirator
David Herold.
224
00:12:14,600 --> 00:12:16,670
When Union cavalry set a fire
to smoke them out,
225
00:12:16,800 --> 00:12:19,870
Herold surrendered,
but Booth was shot,
226
00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:22,700
dragged from the burning barn,
and later died.
227
00:12:22,834 --> 00:12:25,474
Case closed, justice served.
228
00:12:25,600 --> 00:12:27,430
Or was it?
229
00:12:27,567 --> 00:12:29,827
My cousins grew up
with the same story
230
00:12:29,967 --> 00:12:34,167
that John Wilkes Booth
was not the body in the barn.
231
00:12:34,300 --> 00:12:36,100
-[Fishburne] Some Booth family
members believe John Wilkes
232
00:12:36,233 --> 00:12:38,833
was not the man killed
that night at Garrett's farm,
233
00:12:38,967 --> 00:12:40,927
and they cite various reasons.
234
00:12:41,066 --> 00:12:43,796
There's the enduring claim that
as David Herold surrendered,
235
00:12:43,934 --> 00:12:47,074
he said that the man
in the barn was not Booth.
236
00:12:47,200 --> 00:12:50,300
And the fact that
at the official autopsy,
237
00:12:50,433 --> 00:12:51,833
Dr. John Frederick May,
238
00:12:51,967 --> 00:12:54,427
the man brought in
to identify the body,
239
00:12:54,567 --> 00:12:57,467
did not recognize it
as Booth's.
240
00:12:57,600 --> 00:13:00,570
That's significant
to Dr. Robert Arnold,
241
00:13:00,700 --> 00:13:02,700
who has written
about the assassination.
242
00:13:02,834 --> 00:13:06,734
Arnold:
When May first saw the corpse,
he said, "That's not Booth,
243
00:13:06,867 --> 00:13:09,827
and I have no reason to believe
this could ever be the man."
244
00:13:09,967 --> 00:13:13,227
-[Fishburne]
But if John Wilkes Booth
escaped, where did he go?
245
00:13:13,367 --> 00:13:15,267
According to Booth family lore,
246
00:13:15,400 --> 00:13:18,170
he reunited with a woman
named Martha Izola,
247
00:13:18,300 --> 00:13:21,700
someone they believe
was his wife.
248
00:13:21,834 --> 00:13:25,174
Author Troy Cowan, who wrote
a book about Izola, agrees.
249
00:13:25,300 --> 00:13:29,070
Historians have ignored the
marriage to John Wilkes Booth
because they kept it a secret.
250
00:13:29,200 --> 00:13:30,870
Nobody knew about it.
251
00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:32,730
-[Fishburne] Some members
of the Booth family believe
252
00:13:32,867 --> 00:13:33,897
Booth and Martha Izola
253
00:13:34,033 --> 00:13:36,833
had a daughter named Ogarita.
254
00:13:36,967 --> 00:13:38,167
Ogarita is born nine months
255
00:13:38,300 --> 00:13:41,930
after they were married in 1859.
256
00:13:42,066 --> 00:13:45,026
-[Fishburne] As the story goes,
after the assassination,
257
00:13:45,166 --> 00:13:47,996
Booth and Martha Izola
set sail for India,
258
00:13:48,133 --> 00:13:50,533
leaving their daughter behind.
259
00:13:50,667 --> 00:13:54,967
After a very short stay,
they decided to return
to the United States.
260
00:13:55,100 --> 00:13:58,230
-[Fishburne]
That is what some Booth family
members and others believe.
261
00:13:58,367 --> 00:14:03,297
There's evidence that
Martha Izola did get married,
but not to Booth.
262
00:14:03,433 --> 00:14:08,873
According to court records,
she married a man named
John Stevenson in 1870.
263
00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:12,630
The couple had a son named
Harry Jerome Stevenson.
264
00:14:12,767 --> 00:14:15,127
But according to Booth
family lore,
265
00:14:15,266 --> 00:14:18,666
that marriage was a cover story
to conceal the fact
266
00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:21,100
that Harry Jerome Stevenson's
real father
267
00:14:21,233 --> 00:14:23,003
was John Wilkes Booth.
268
00:14:23,133 --> 00:14:26,773
Is that accepted that it was
John Wilkes Booth's child?
269
00:14:26,900 --> 00:14:29,000
In our family
and among historians
270
00:14:29,133 --> 00:14:33,633
that are not just going by
the general accepted history.
271
00:14:33,767 --> 00:14:36,567
-[Fishburne]
This story was published
in a 1937 book
272
00:14:36,700 --> 00:14:37,770
by Ogarita's daughter
273
00:14:37,900 --> 00:14:39,800
Izola Forrester,
274
00:14:39,934 --> 00:14:42,404
Harry Jerome Stevenson's niece.
275
00:14:42,533 --> 00:14:45,973
30 years earlier, a Tennessee
lawyer named Finis Bates
276
00:14:46,100 --> 00:14:47,770
had written a different account
277
00:14:47,900 --> 00:14:49,900
of Booth's life as a fugitive.
278
00:14:50,033 --> 00:14:52,903
According to Bates,
Booth made his way west,
279
00:14:53,033 --> 00:14:56,073
where he died
in Enid, Oklahoma in 1903
280
00:14:56,200 --> 00:14:58,630
under the alias
David E. George.
281
00:14:58,767 --> 00:15:01,127
To investigate
these different accounts,
282
00:15:01,266 --> 00:15:03,066
a team will examine
critical evidence
283
00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:04,670
and conduct DNA testing
284
00:15:04,800 --> 00:15:07,670
on some possible
Booth family members.
285
00:15:07,800 --> 00:15:11,530
It's a process
familiar to former
U.S. Marshal Art Roderick.
286
00:15:11,667 --> 00:15:15,027
Roderick: There's been
so many books written about
John Wilkes Booth,
287
00:15:15,166 --> 00:15:17,866
you could spend your lifetime
actually wading through
288
00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:20,070
all the different
conspiracy theories.
289
00:15:20,200 --> 00:15:21,830
And what we always try to do
290
00:15:21,967 --> 00:15:23,497
from the law enforcement
perspective
291
00:15:23,633 --> 00:15:26,973
is boil it down to the facts.
292
00:15:27,100 --> 00:15:31,500
-[Fishburne] The hunt for facts
continues at the place where
Lincoln was assassinated.
293
00:15:31,633 --> 00:15:35,033
Kauffman:
We're in Ford's Theatre on
Tenth Street in Washington,
294
00:15:35,166 --> 00:15:37,666
and this is the place
where President Lincoln came
295
00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:42,400
on the night of Good Friday,
April 14th, 1865.
296
00:15:42,533 --> 00:15:46,633
The previous Sunday,
Robert E. Lee had surrendered
to General Grant,
297
00:15:46,767 --> 00:15:49,867
and the city had been
celebrating all week long.
298
00:15:52,200 --> 00:15:54,330
-[Fishburne] Mary Lincoln
deto celebrate that evening
299
00:15:54,467 --> 00:15:59,067
by attending
the popular comic play
"Our American Cousin."
300
00:15:59,200 --> 00:16:02,600
The president,
in a joyous mood,
agreed to join her.
301
00:16:02,734 --> 00:16:04,634
Kauffman:
It wasn't so much the play,
302
00:16:04,767 --> 00:16:08,267
it was joining
in the celebration
of the end of the war.
303
00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:11,500
-[Fishburne]
But in the closing months
of the Civil War,
304
00:16:11,633 --> 00:16:15,603
John Wilkes Booth had
orchestrated an evolving plot
against the president.
305
00:16:15,734 --> 00:16:18,174
Swanson: John Wilkes Booth's
first plot against
Abraham Lincoln
306
00:16:18,300 --> 00:16:21,300
was not to murder him,
it was to kidnap him.
307
00:16:23,066 --> 00:16:24,766
He could use Lincoln
as a captive
308
00:16:24,900 --> 00:16:26,430
to force the North
to surrender
309
00:16:26,567 --> 00:16:29,297
all the Confederate
prisoners of war.
310
00:16:29,433 --> 00:16:31,673
-[Fishburne]
In the fall of 1864,
311
00:16:31,800 --> 00:16:35,370
Booth drew
a group of associates into
his kidnapping plot.
312
00:16:35,500 --> 00:16:38,930
But on the 18th
of January 1865,
313
00:16:39,066 --> 00:16:43,526
the Union government agreed
to resume prisoner exchanges
with the South.
314
00:16:43,667 --> 00:16:47,867
There was no longer any reason
to capture Abraham Lincoln
315
00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:51,600
and force them to do
what in fact they were
already doing.
316
00:16:51,734 --> 00:16:55,204
Booth was very disappointed.
He thought he could perform
this masterstroke
317
00:16:55,333 --> 00:16:58,133
where he would become part
of history and change history.
318
00:16:58,266 --> 00:17:00,696
Then on April 3rd,
Richmond fell.
319
00:17:00,834 --> 00:17:03,134
Then news got even worse
for Booth.
320
00:17:03,266 --> 00:17:06,826
On April 9th, Robert E. Lee
surrendered at Appomattox.
321
00:17:06,967 --> 00:17:09,767
He thought the cause was lost.
322
00:17:09,900 --> 00:17:13,730
When John Wilkes Booth
woke up on the morning
of April 14th, 1865,
323
00:17:13,867 --> 00:17:17,127
he did not know that
he was going to assassinate
Abraham Lincoln that night.
324
00:17:17,266 --> 00:17:20,226
He went to Ford's Theatre
to pick up his mail.
325
00:17:20,367 --> 00:17:23,397
Kauffman:
One of the theater
employees told Booth
326
00:17:23,533 --> 00:17:25,973
that Abraham Lincoln
is planning to be here tonight.
327
00:17:26,100 --> 00:17:28,000
Swanson:
That started the ticking clock.
328
00:17:28,133 --> 00:17:30,673
And Booth said,
"Maybe there's still time
for me to act."
329
00:17:30,800 --> 00:17:32,430
So Booth ticked off in his head,
330
00:17:32,567 --> 00:17:33,967
"Who's still in town?
331
00:17:34,100 --> 00:17:35,630
Lewis Powell is still here.
332
00:17:35,767 --> 00:17:36,997
George Atzerodt is here.
333
00:17:37,133 --> 00:17:39,903
David Herold is here.
We can do it."
334
00:17:40,033 --> 00:17:44,503
He starts making plans
not only for an attack
on the president,
335
00:17:44,633 --> 00:17:47,033
but also possibly
the vice president,
336
00:17:47,166 --> 00:17:52,326
and certainly
the Secretary of State
William Seward.
337
00:17:52,467 --> 00:17:56,597
-[Fishburne] That afternoon,
Booth arrived at Ford's Theatre
during a rehearsal.
338
00:17:56,734 --> 00:18:00,074
He went into the vestibule
behind the presidential box,
339
00:18:00,200 --> 00:18:03,470
taking with him a piece of wood
from a music stand
340
00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:06,770
that he'd later use
to barricade the door.
341
00:18:06,900 --> 00:18:09,870
Once he put that bar in place,
no one could follow him
342
00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:12,200
into Abraham Lincoln's box
at Ford's Theatre.
343
00:18:12,333 --> 00:18:14,573
The play began
around 8:00 that night,
344
00:18:14,700 --> 00:18:17,830
and John Wilkes Booth
dropped in from time to time,
345
00:18:17,967 --> 00:18:20,497
looking at the clock
in the lobby and so on.
346
00:18:20,633 --> 00:18:22,873
He went next door
and had a drink,
347
00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:25,900
and he had a kind of
a last-minute get-together
348
00:18:26,033 --> 00:18:29,903
with Lewis Powell
and possibly George Atzerodt.
349
00:18:30,033 --> 00:18:32,503
He needed to make sure
his pistol was ready.
350
00:18:32,633 --> 00:18:35,733
He decided to use
a single-shot Derringer pistol.
351
00:18:35,867 --> 00:18:38,227
Maybe Booth thought it was,
in his twisted mind,
352
00:18:38,367 --> 00:18:40,367
more honorable to take Lincoln
353
00:18:40,500 --> 00:18:42,900
with a single coup de grâce
like a hunter.
354
00:18:43,033 --> 00:18:46,673
Lincoln's entrance
to Ford's Theatre was majestic
in its simplicity.
355
00:18:46,800 --> 00:18:50,900
He arrived with no entourage,
no armed guards.
356
00:18:51,033 --> 00:18:53,273
We think of security
of the president today,
357
00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:55,530
it's completely different
than the way it was back then.
358
00:18:55,667 --> 00:18:58,527
There was no security detail
around the president
all the time
359
00:18:58,667 --> 00:19:00,967
like we see now with
what the Secret Service does.
360
00:19:01,100 --> 00:19:03,330
Lincoln did have a detail
with him that evening
361
00:19:03,467 --> 00:19:05,267
from the Metropolitan
Police Department.
362
00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:07,770
More than likely, the two
main responsibilities he had
363
00:19:07,900 --> 00:19:10,070
at most was to meet
the president at the door
364
00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:12,400
when he arrived at Ford's,
get him to his box.
365
00:19:12,533 --> 00:19:15,933
Once the play was over,
then get him from the box
back to the street.
366
00:19:16,066 --> 00:19:20,666
Kauffman: Even in a city
where you have a vast majority
of people are pro-Southern,
367
00:19:20,800 --> 00:19:24,600
they still didn't think
it was necessary that
you protect the president.
368
00:19:24,734 --> 00:19:28,304
Swanson:
William Seward once said,
"Oh, assassination?
369
00:19:28,433 --> 00:19:29,603
That's not an American
habit or custom.
370
00:19:29,734 --> 00:19:31,774
That's not gonna happen here."
371
00:19:31,900 --> 00:19:34,700
Kauffman:
So John Wilkes Booth came
back in here about 10:00.
372
00:19:34,834 --> 00:19:36,774
He comes to the back
of the theater
373
00:19:36,900 --> 00:19:39,670
and calls out to
Ned Spangler.
374
00:19:39,800 --> 00:19:42,330
He wants Spangler
to hold his horse for him.
375
00:19:42,467 --> 00:19:45,667
Spangler says,
"I'm busy. I'm here working,"
376
00:19:45,800 --> 00:19:47,530
and so he refuses.
377
00:19:47,667 --> 00:19:50,097
So then Booth
gets this young boy
378
00:19:50,233 --> 00:19:51,873
by the name of Joseph Burrows
379
00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:54,470
to hold the horses'
reins for him
380
00:19:54,600 --> 00:19:56,470
and then he goes inside.
381
00:19:56,600 --> 00:19:57,930
Booth is about ready
382
00:19:58,066 --> 00:20:02,496
to go into
that final stretch.
383
00:20:02,633 --> 00:20:05,303
Jeffery Jones: Booth's path
pretty much followed the
perimeter of the building,
384
00:20:05,433 --> 00:20:07,303
very similar to the path
that Lincoln had taken.
385
00:20:07,433 --> 00:20:08,973
Oftentimes people
will maybe ask questions of,
386
00:20:09,100 --> 00:20:10,430
"Why on Earth
would you have have let
387
00:20:10,567 --> 00:20:11,427
John Wilkes Booth
access the president?"
388
00:20:11,567 --> 00:20:13,167
Why would you not have?
389
00:20:13,300 --> 00:20:15,430
Today you see celebrities
hanging out with politicians.
390
00:20:15,567 --> 00:20:17,627
Very similar in 1865 as well.
391
00:20:17,767 --> 00:20:19,327
One thing I find
interesting about Booth
392
00:20:19,467 --> 00:20:21,597
is if he just wanted
to kill the president,
393
00:20:21,734 --> 00:20:25,674
he could have been
sitting back there with
a Civil War era rifle.
394
00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:28,900
Making a shot from that
distance across the theater
395
00:20:29,033 --> 00:20:30,933
would have been a pretty
easy shot with a rifle.
396
00:20:31,066 --> 00:20:33,796
Yeah, but then there would be
a chance that somebody else
would get credit.
397
00:20:33,934 --> 00:20:36,004
Jones: So this is the door
leading to the vestibule
398
00:20:36,133 --> 00:20:38,373
that would have then led
to the actual presidential box.
399
00:20:38,500 --> 00:20:40,970
Booth more than likely gets
here during the third act,
400
00:20:41,100 --> 00:20:43,200
scene two
of "Our American Cousin."
401
00:20:43,333 --> 00:20:45,403
And he knows when he wants
to fire the shot
402
00:20:45,533 --> 00:20:47,133
because he's familiar
with the play,
403
00:20:47,266 --> 00:20:50,296
and it's going to be a big burst
of laughter and all of that.
404
00:20:50,433 --> 00:20:52,973
So Booth makes his way into
the vestibule here,
405
00:20:53,100 --> 00:20:56,770
then closes the door
behind him, picking up
the broken music stand
406
00:20:56,900 --> 00:20:59,670
that he had placed earlier,
and then wedges this door shut.
407
00:20:59,800 --> 00:21:03,670
He is waiting outside the box.
He can see through the hole.
408
00:21:03,800 --> 00:21:08,530
Through that hole,
you could see the top
of the president's rocker
409
00:21:08,667 --> 00:21:11,767
- and the president's head.
- Jones: Really in perfect
position for just simply
410
00:21:11,900 --> 00:21:15,170
walking in
and firing the shot.
411
00:21:15,300 --> 00:21:18,700
Major Henry Rathbone
hears the shot, smells
the sulfury gunpowder,
412
00:21:18,834 --> 00:21:20,604
realizes something
has just happened.
413
00:21:20,734 --> 00:21:22,604
Booth drops the Derringer,
414
00:21:22,734 --> 00:21:25,604
pulls out his nine-inch dagger,
lunges at Rathbone,
415
00:21:25,734 --> 00:21:29,674
Rathbone instinctly
throwing up his left arm,
catching the blade.
416
00:21:29,800 --> 00:21:33,670
The audience was stunned
and didn't understand
what was going on.
417
00:21:33,800 --> 00:21:37,230
Booth got to the front rail
and vaulted over,
418
00:21:37,367 --> 00:21:38,367
landing down on the stage.
419
00:21:38,500 --> 00:21:41,200
That's 12 and a half feet down.
420
00:21:41,333 --> 00:21:44,403
Booth lands unevenly
on the stage
421
00:21:44,533 --> 00:21:47,033
and breaks a bone
in his left leg.
422
00:21:47,166 --> 00:21:49,966
Kauffman:
And after a few seconds,
Mrs. Lincoln screamed,
423
00:21:50,100 --> 00:21:54,530
and John Wilkes Booth
ran off the stage and went
out the back door,
424
00:21:54,667 --> 00:21:58,967
where Joseph Burrows
was waiting with his horse.
425
00:21:59,100 --> 00:22:02,900
-[Fishburne] According to some,
what happened in the ensuing
hours and days
426
00:22:03,033 --> 00:22:06,533
didn't play out the way
history books say it did.
427
00:22:06,667 --> 00:22:10,067
Coming up on "History's
Greatest Mysteries"...
428
00:22:10,200 --> 00:22:14,170
This is an individual
that almost commits
a perfect crime.
429
00:22:14,300 --> 00:22:16,470
Frank Gorman:
There have been many stories
430
00:22:16,600 --> 00:22:18,230
about John Wilkes Booth
escaping
431
00:22:18,367 --> 00:22:20,527
and where he went
and what happened to him.
432
00:22:20,667 --> 00:22:23,367
Troy Cowan:
After Jefferson Davis
got out of prison,
433
00:22:23,500 --> 00:22:25,230
John Wilkes Booth
wrote him a letter
434
00:22:25,367 --> 00:22:28,767
saying that he was alive,
well, and living in Mexico.
435
00:22:39,066 --> 00:22:41,466
-[Fishburne]
As President Lincoln lay dying
in a boarding house
436
00:22:41,600 --> 00:22:43,270
across the street
from Ford's Theatre,
437
00:22:43,400 --> 00:22:45,930
his assassin fled
through northern Maryland,
438
00:22:46,066 --> 00:22:49,666
headed for a tavern owned
by Mary Surratt.
439
00:22:49,800 --> 00:22:53,930
Booth would have felt
comfortable in Maryland
and Virginia
440
00:22:54,066 --> 00:22:55,326
because
they were slave states.
441
00:22:55,467 --> 00:22:56,497
And so I think it would
442
00:22:56,633 --> 00:22:58,773
have been seen as a haven
443
00:22:58,900 --> 00:23:02,030
for any Southern sympathizer.
444
00:23:02,166 --> 00:23:06,366
-[Fishburne] Surratt's Tavern
was indeed a haven for those
with Southern sympathies.
445
00:23:06,500 --> 00:23:11,100
Former US Marshal
Art Roderick met with author
James L. Swanson
446
00:23:11,233 --> 00:23:14,373
to retrace fugitive Booth's
known steps.
447
00:23:14,500 --> 00:23:17,500
Roderick:
So, James, here we are
at Surratt's Tavern.
448
00:23:17,633 --> 00:23:20,833
Why don't you tell me what
happened here in April of 1865?
449
00:23:20,967 --> 00:23:23,567
A little after midnight,
John Wilkes Booth
and David Herold
450
00:23:23,700 --> 00:23:24,830
rode up to this tavern,
451
00:23:24,967 --> 00:23:26,797
and Booth didn't want
to dismount
452
00:23:26,934 --> 00:23:28,704
because of his broken leg.
453
00:23:28,834 --> 00:23:32,204
David Herold
got off his horse,
knocked on this door,
454
00:23:32,333 --> 00:23:35,573
and told the tavern keeper
to come down and let them in.
455
00:23:35,700 --> 00:23:37,030
Booth knew he was coming here.
456
00:23:37,166 --> 00:23:38,696
It was always part of his plan.
457
00:23:38,834 --> 00:23:40,804
Earlier that day,
he stopped at Mary Surratt's
458
00:23:40,934 --> 00:23:43,504
boarding house
in Washington, DC.
459
00:23:43,633 --> 00:23:45,803
She was the mother
of John Surratt, Jr.,
460
00:23:45,934 --> 00:23:48,104
one of Booth's conspirators
in the kidnapping plot.
461
00:23:48,233 --> 00:23:51,073
Booth handed her
his binoculars and he said,
462
00:23:51,200 --> 00:23:53,600
"Mary, can you take these
to your country tavern
463
00:23:53,734 --> 00:23:57,834
and tell the innkeeper
John Lloyd that people
are coming tonight
464
00:23:57,967 --> 00:23:59,697
and I want to pick up my guns."
465
00:24:02,333 --> 00:24:05,103
Earlier, as part
of the kidnapping plot,
466
00:24:05,233 --> 00:24:07,933
Booth had left two Spencer
repeating carbines here.
467
00:24:08,066 --> 00:24:10,096
They were hidden behind a wall.
468
00:24:10,233 --> 00:24:12,303
Cleverly, they were
suspended on ropes,
469
00:24:12,433 --> 00:24:16,773
so you'd have to look down
and see that the carbines
were down there.
470
00:24:16,900 --> 00:24:18,770
Now, we don't know
if Booth told Mary that,
471
00:24:18,900 --> 00:24:20,730
"I'm stopping there after
I've killed the president.
I want my guns."
472
00:24:20,867 --> 00:24:23,627
- Right, right.
- He probably only told her,
473
00:24:23,767 --> 00:24:26,667
"I'm passing through town.
I'm gonna pick up
the binoculars.
474
00:24:26,800 --> 00:24:28,770
And tell Lloyd the innkeeper
to get those guns ready."
475
00:24:28,900 --> 00:24:31,630
- Mm-hmm.
- Lloyd told David Herold,
476
00:24:31,767 --> 00:24:33,327
"Wait here.
I'll get the guns."
477
00:24:33,467 --> 00:24:35,327
Then Booth said to Lloyd,
478
00:24:35,467 --> 00:24:37,897
"There's some news
if you'd like to hear it."
479
00:24:38,033 --> 00:24:41,673
And Lloyd said,
"I'm not particular about it.
Tell me if you want."
480
00:24:41,800 --> 00:24:43,900
And Booth,
unbelievably, confessed.
481
00:24:44,033 --> 00:24:47,273
The actor in him
couldn't resist boasting
about what he had done.
482
00:24:47,400 --> 00:24:52,470
He said, "I'm pretty certain
that we've assassinated
the president."
483
00:24:52,600 --> 00:24:55,770
Because he wasn't sure.
He did not know yet
if he had succeeded.
484
00:24:55,900 --> 00:24:57,630
He didn't know
if it was a fatal wound.
485
00:24:57,767 --> 00:24:59,667
It sounds like
the assassination plot
486
00:24:59,800 --> 00:25:01,400
was done kind of on
the spur of the moment,
487
00:25:01,533 --> 00:25:03,373
and the planning
was done for the kidnapping
488
00:25:03,500 --> 00:25:06,070
as opposed to
the assassination.
489
00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:08,530
Swanson:
Booth still knew where
the safehouses were.
490
00:25:08,667 --> 00:25:11,097
He knew the names
of Confederate operatives
and agents.
491
00:25:11,233 --> 00:25:13,003
But he had one big advantage
when he got here.
492
00:25:13,133 --> 00:25:15,073
He was riding ahead
of the news.
493
00:25:15,200 --> 00:25:18,370
Nobody in Maryland knew that
Abraham Lincoln had been shot.
494
00:25:18,500 --> 00:25:20,430
They don't want
to stay here long
495
00:25:20,567 --> 00:25:21,927
because the cavalry's
going to come out of Washington
496
00:25:22,066 --> 00:25:23,466
searching the countryside.
497
00:25:23,600 --> 00:25:26,930
And then Booth and Herold
rode off into the night.
498
00:25:27,066 --> 00:25:29,126
-[Fishburne] The traditional
says that Booth and Herold
499
00:25:29,266 --> 00:25:30,926
rode from Surratt's Tavern
500
00:25:31,066 --> 00:25:33,466
to the home
of Dr. Samuel Mudd.
501
00:25:33,600 --> 00:25:36,300
Booth was badly in need
of medical attention.
502
00:25:36,433 --> 00:25:41,833
From Washington to Mudd's house
is 25 to 30 miles,
503
00:25:41,967 --> 00:25:46,497
and Booth had broken his ankle
when he fell onto the stage.
504
00:25:46,633 --> 00:25:50,233
In riding a horse,
you use your legs
505
00:25:50,367 --> 00:25:52,367
sort of as a shock absorber.
506
00:25:52,500 --> 00:25:55,530
He couldn't do that,
and he had to bounce along.
507
00:25:55,667 --> 00:25:57,867
And by the time he got
to Mudd's,
508
00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:01,600
his back was killing him.
509
00:26:01,734 --> 00:26:04,404
-[Fishburne]
But Dr. Mudd's statements
about Booth's visit suggest
510
00:26:04,533 --> 00:26:07,773
it might not
have been David Herold
traveling with Booth,
511
00:26:07,900 --> 00:26:10,230
but a younger man
named Edwin Hynson,
512
00:26:10,367 --> 00:26:12,697
shown in this photo.
513
00:26:12,834 --> 00:26:15,774
In testimony Dr. Mudd
gave to Union authorities,
514
00:26:15,900 --> 00:26:21,300
he said Booth's accomplice
gave his name as Hynson.
515
00:26:21,433 --> 00:26:23,773
Mudd stated he had seen
the photograph of Herold,
516
00:26:23,900 --> 00:26:27,470
but did not recognize it
as that of the young man.
517
00:26:27,600 --> 00:26:31,670
In another statement,
Mudd described Hynson
as a well-grown boy
518
00:26:31,800 --> 00:26:34,330
who looked to be
about 17 or 18,
519
00:26:34,467 --> 00:26:37,027
a boy who had never
yet shaved.
520
00:26:37,166 --> 00:26:40,196
That's a far better
description of Edwin Hynson
521
00:26:40,333 --> 00:26:42,603
than the 23-year-old Herold,
522
00:26:42,734 --> 00:26:45,774
whose ample five o'clock shadow
can be seen in photos
523
00:26:45,900 --> 00:26:47,670
taken after his capture.
524
00:26:47,800 --> 00:26:50,530
If Booth was traveling
with Hynson,
525
00:26:50,667 --> 00:26:54,167
then is it possible Booth
wasn't at Garrett's farm
with Herold
526
00:26:54,300 --> 00:26:57,870
and that he wasn't the man
that died there?
527
00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:01,300
That's what some
Booth family members believe,
528
00:27:01,433 --> 00:27:04,973
and they point to
the possibility that Booth
fathered children
529
00:27:05,100 --> 00:27:09,170
after the history books
say he died.
530
00:27:09,300 --> 00:27:12,470
To help find the truth,
Dr. Colleen Fitzpatrick,
531
00:27:12,600 --> 00:27:15,100
a noted forensic genealogist,
532
00:27:15,233 --> 00:27:17,103
agreed to undertake DNA testing
533
00:27:17,233 --> 00:27:19,603
of some Booth family members.
534
00:27:19,734 --> 00:27:23,534
So I've been contacted by one
of the Booth family members.
535
00:27:23,667 --> 00:27:28,697
Her name is Joanne Hulme,
and she has documentation
showing her lineage.
536
00:27:28,834 --> 00:27:33,534
Can we possibly use
Joanne's DNA to prove
or disprove
537
00:27:33,667 --> 00:27:35,367
whether or not these people
are descendants?
538
00:27:35,500 --> 00:27:38,470
Well, that's where
genetic genealogy comes in.
539
00:27:38,600 --> 00:27:41,570
Forensic genealogy
is the application
540
00:27:41,700 --> 00:27:44,500
of scientific methods
to genealogy.
541
00:27:44,633 --> 00:27:49,473
In an informal sense,
it's known as "CSI"
meets "Roots."
542
00:27:49,600 --> 00:27:54,000
Fortunately, we have
the ability to take DNA tests
as genealogists
543
00:27:54,133 --> 00:27:57,333
to prove family lines
or disprove family lines,
544
00:27:57,467 --> 00:28:01,397
and so we no longer have to
rely on family stories
545
00:28:01,533 --> 00:28:05,173
and documentation that
may not have provenance.
546
00:28:05,300 --> 00:28:09,370
Now, when you test Joanne,
the whole point really
547
00:28:09,500 --> 00:28:13,900
is to compare her to some
people that might be Booths,
but are not sure.
548
00:28:16,066 --> 00:28:20,326
We want to compare,
I'll call them
the maybe Booths,
549
00:28:20,467 --> 00:28:22,097
against authentically
documented Booths.
550
00:28:22,233 --> 00:28:25,533
Joanne is a candidate
because she descends
551
00:28:25,667 --> 00:28:28,727
from John Wilkes Booth's
paternal aunt.
552
00:28:28,867 --> 00:28:31,897
This whole project
actually comes down to DNA.
553
00:28:32,033 --> 00:28:35,173
We're sitting in a time
where history and science
554
00:28:35,300 --> 00:28:38,170
are going to merge together.
555
00:28:38,300 --> 00:28:41,130
-[Fishburne]
Among the possible descendants
of John Wilkes Booth
556
00:28:41,266 --> 00:28:45,896
is Andy Gorto,
whose great-great-grandfather
is Harry Jerome Stevenson,
557
00:28:46,033 --> 00:28:50,333
a man allegedly fathered
by Booth after Booth
was supposed to be dead.
558
00:28:50,467 --> 00:28:55,827
"At left, Mrs. Joseph Balla,
former Izola Frances Stevenson,
559
00:28:55,967 --> 00:28:59,097
who asserts John Wilkes Booth
was her grandfather."
560
00:28:59,233 --> 00:29:01,833
At right, this is
Izola Martha Stevenson,
561
00:29:01,967 --> 00:29:07,227
"Who Mrs. Balla says married
assassin of President Lincoln
in Connecticut in 1864."
562
00:29:07,367 --> 00:29:10,227
So this would be
Izola Martha Mills.
563
00:29:10,367 --> 00:29:12,067
That's my mother's mother
actually right there.
564
00:29:12,200 --> 00:29:13,230
This is your mother's mother?
565
00:29:13,367 --> 00:29:14,967
- Yes.
- Got it.
566
00:29:15,100 --> 00:29:17,470
And then her father would have
been Harry Jerome Stevenson?
567
00:29:17,600 --> 00:29:20,400
- Yes.
- You've given your sample
for the DNA test...
568
00:29:20,533 --> 00:29:22,273
- Yes.
- ...which is exciting.
569
00:29:22,400 --> 00:29:24,400
- It is.
- The only thing I get
really concerned about
570
00:29:24,533 --> 00:29:27,303
is at the end of the day,
it's gonna come down to science.
571
00:29:27,433 --> 00:29:29,273
We're gonna come up
with an answer,
572
00:29:29,400 --> 00:29:31,770
and are you guys ready
to face that answer?
573
00:29:31,900 --> 00:29:34,900
Oh, definitely.
It would just be nice to know.
574
00:29:35,033 --> 00:29:38,333
Be nice to vindicate my mother
and grandmother, you know?
575
00:29:38,467 --> 00:29:42,797
And shed some light
on really what happened.
576
00:29:42,934 --> 00:29:46,274
-[Fishburne]
Coming up on "History's
Greatest Mysteries"...
577
00:29:46,400 --> 00:29:49,900
Arnold: Boston Corbett
could not have killed
the man in the barn.
578
00:29:50,033 --> 00:29:53,473
This shows the downward
inclination of the bullet.
579
00:29:53,600 --> 00:29:54,930
That's the trajectory.
580
00:29:55,066 --> 00:29:56,926
You're saying a shot
from a higher up angle?
581
00:29:57,066 --> 00:29:58,966
Yes. Boston Corbett
would have had to have been
582
00:29:59,100 --> 00:30:02,070
18 feet in the air
to have fired that.
583
00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:04,570
Trajectories don't lie.
People do.
584
00:30:15,133 --> 00:30:16,633
-[Fishburne]
Five and a half hours
585
00:30:16,767 --> 00:30:18,967
after John Wilkes Booth
shot President Lincoln,
586
00:30:19,100 --> 00:30:23,530
he arrived at the home
of Dr. Samuel Mudd
with a broken leg.
587
00:30:23,667 --> 00:30:28,127
Relying on statements
Dr. Mudd gave to Union officers
after his arrest,
588
00:30:28,266 --> 00:30:33,366
some theorized that Booth
was accompanied by a young man
named Edwin Hynson.
589
00:30:33,500 --> 00:30:36,630
But most historians,
like James Swanson,
590
00:30:36,767 --> 00:30:41,367
maintain that Booth was
traveling with conspirator
David Herold.
591
00:30:41,500 --> 00:30:45,070
Booth sat on his horse
right about here, about
20 paces from the house.
592
00:30:45,200 --> 00:30:49,770
David Herold dismounted
and pounded on the front door
till he woke Dr. Mudd.
593
00:30:49,900 --> 00:30:52,900
Mudd shouted through the door,
"Who is it? What do you want?"
594
00:30:53,033 --> 00:30:54,873
Herold said,
"We're from around here.
595
00:30:55,000 --> 00:30:57,800
I'm with a friend.
His horse fell,
and he's got a broken bone.
596
00:30:57,934 --> 00:31:02,204
He needs help."
Mudd came out to help
the injured man off the horse.
597
00:31:02,333 --> 00:31:05,933
- Roderick: Right. Yep.
- Swanson: And that's
when Dr. Mudd knew it.
598
00:31:06,066 --> 00:31:08,166
This is John Wilkes Booth.
599
00:31:08,300 --> 00:31:11,170
This wasn't Booth's
first visit to this house.
600
00:31:11,300 --> 00:31:12,870
- He'd spent the night here.
- Right.
601
00:31:13,000 --> 00:31:15,200
He had come down to this county
and met with Dr. Mudd
602
00:31:15,333 --> 00:31:17,073
and other
Confederate operatives.
603
00:31:17,200 --> 00:31:19,630
Mudd was part of Booth's plot
to kidnap Abraham Lincoln.
604
00:31:19,767 --> 00:31:22,067
- Right.
- Dr. Mudd did not know
that John Wilkes Booth
605
00:31:22,200 --> 00:31:25,400
was going to assassinate
Abraham Lincoln that night.
606
00:31:25,533 --> 00:31:29,133
Well, after Dr. Mudd
helped John Wilkes Booth
come through the front door,
607
00:31:29,266 --> 00:31:32,866
he took him into this room,
the front parlor.
608
00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:35,630
And Mudd sat him on the sofa.
609
00:31:35,767 --> 00:31:37,367
He didn't even take him up
to his office.
610
00:31:37,500 --> 00:31:41,000
So Booth reclined on that sofa
and Dr. Mudd began to help him.
611
00:31:41,133 --> 00:31:43,473
- On that actual sofa?
- On that sofa.
612
00:31:43,600 --> 00:31:46,500
- Roderick:
That sofa right there?
- Swanson: Yes.
613
00:31:46,633 --> 00:31:51,133
Mudd knew he had to get
Booth's left boot off,
but it wouldn't come off.
614
00:31:51,266 --> 00:31:54,166
He tried to yank it off,
and it caused Booth
agonizing pain.
615
00:31:54,300 --> 00:31:57,370
So he cut the boot open
and pulled it off of his leg.
616
00:31:57,500 --> 00:31:59,630
He detected that he had
a simple fracture.
617
00:31:59,767 --> 00:32:03,597
Easy enough to treat.
Dr. Mudd left Booth
on the sofa,
618
00:32:03,734 --> 00:32:06,034
and he went upstairs,
fashioned a splint.
619
00:32:06,166 --> 00:32:09,196
And then Dr. Mudd knew that
Booth was gonna need crutches,
620
00:32:09,333 --> 00:32:11,333
and so he made a pair
of crutches here.
621
00:32:11,467 --> 00:32:13,127
He invited him
to spend the night
622
00:32:13,266 --> 00:32:15,196
and took him upstairs
to the front bedroom
623
00:32:15,333 --> 00:32:17,433
where Booth rested
for several hours.
624
00:32:17,567 --> 00:32:19,027
David Herold came down
for breakfast,
625
00:32:19,166 --> 00:32:20,726
but Booth didn't want food.
626
00:32:20,867 --> 00:32:23,127
He just stayed upstairs
till at least around noon.
627
00:32:23,266 --> 00:32:25,526
Yeah. They spent quite
a few hours here then.
628
00:32:25,667 --> 00:32:27,867
They did.
They got here at 4 AM,
629
00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:30,030
and they were here
till the following evening.
630
00:32:30,166 --> 00:32:34,926
And during his stay here,
he asked for a razor
and shaving cream,
631
00:32:35,066 --> 00:32:36,666
and he shaved
his mustache off.
632
00:32:36,800 --> 00:32:38,930
So this is where
he cleaned up quite a bit?
633
00:32:39,066 --> 00:32:40,966
This is where he cleaned up
and changed his appearance.
634
00:32:41,100 --> 00:32:44,400
And changed his appearance,
exactly.
635
00:32:44,533 --> 00:32:47,133
-[Fishburne]
Knowing it would be painful
for Booth to ride a horse,
636
00:32:47,266 --> 00:32:50,196
Dr. Mudd and David Herold
searched for a carriage,
637
00:32:50,333 --> 00:32:52,533
but none were available.
638
00:32:52,667 --> 00:32:54,527
Herold returned to the farm,
639
00:32:54,667 --> 00:32:56,797
and Dr. Mudd rode on
to Bryantown,
640
00:32:56,934 --> 00:32:58,904
where he saw Union cavalry
641
00:32:59,033 --> 00:33:02,033
and learned
that President Lincoln
had died that morning,
642
00:33:02,166 --> 00:33:05,296
killed by John Wilkes Booth.
643
00:33:05,433 --> 00:33:08,903
He didn't tell the soldiers.
He rushed back here
to tell John Wilkes Booth,
644
00:33:09,033 --> 00:33:11,033
"What have you done?
You've implicated me.
645
00:33:11,166 --> 00:33:13,766
You've endangered me
and my family.
You've gotta go.
646
00:33:13,900 --> 00:33:16,970
I'll protect you.
I won't tell them
you were here.
647
00:33:17,100 --> 00:33:18,870
But you have
to leave right now.
648
00:33:19,000 --> 00:33:21,170
You can't be found here."
649
00:33:21,300 --> 00:33:24,400
John Wilkes Booth knew
the cavalry was just a few
miles away in Bryantown,
650
00:33:24,533 --> 00:33:26,773
but he felt safe
and familiar on this spot.
651
00:33:26,900 --> 00:33:30,800
But once Mudd sent him down
that road to the great
Zekiah Swamp,
652
00:33:30,934 --> 00:33:33,974
he was heading into
territory unknown to him.
653
00:33:34,100 --> 00:33:36,630
From the time John Wilkes Booth
left Dr. Mudd's farm,
654
00:33:36,767 --> 00:33:38,967
he had to make it up
as he went along.
655
00:33:39,100 --> 00:33:43,070
Roderick:
This is an individual that
almost commits a perfect crime,
656
00:33:43,200 --> 00:33:45,670
but because he broke
that bone in his leg,
657
00:33:45,800 --> 00:33:48,030
he started to have
to improvise,
658
00:33:48,166 --> 00:33:50,926
- and that's where these
criminals always go wrong.
- That's right.
659
00:33:51,066 --> 00:33:53,426
-[Fishburne]
Hobbling on crutches,
Booth pressed on,
660
00:33:53,567 --> 00:33:57,167
determined to elude
the spreading Union threat.
661
00:34:00,166 --> 00:34:03,196
Swanson: When he left Mudd,
he then connects
with Thomas Jones,
662
00:34:03,333 --> 00:34:08,433
an agent who specializes
in ferrying spies and agents
across the river here.
663
00:34:08,567 --> 00:34:11,027
And Jones gave him
the most important advice
664
00:34:11,166 --> 00:34:13,096
that Booth got
during the entire escape.
665
00:34:13,233 --> 00:34:15,433
Jones said,
"The cavalry's going
to be close.
666
00:34:15,567 --> 00:34:20,227
I suggest we hide in place
and wait for the Union forces
667
00:34:20,367 --> 00:34:23,327
to sweep through the area
and move on past us."
668
00:34:26,033 --> 00:34:28,573
-[Fishburne] For five days,
Booth and Herold hid
in the pine thicket
669
00:34:28,700 --> 00:34:32,900
waiting for a chance
to cross the Potomac River
into Virginia.
670
00:34:33,033 --> 00:34:36,733
They finally crossed into
Virginia on April 24th.
671
00:34:36,867 --> 00:34:39,497
There they met
three Confederate soldiers
672
00:34:39,633 --> 00:34:44,033
and were ferried across
the Rappahannock
by William Rollins.
673
00:34:44,166 --> 00:34:48,266
The soldiers then guided them
to Garrett's farm.
674
00:34:48,400 --> 00:34:52,400
Now Rollins is still in
the same place the following day
675
00:34:52,533 --> 00:34:56,703
when pursuers from
the 16th New York Cavalry
come along.
676
00:34:56,834 --> 00:35:00,904
And he says,
"Yeah, they were here
about 24 hours ago.
677
00:35:01,033 --> 00:35:04,773
Willie Jett
is one of the soldiers
who is with them.
678
00:35:04,900 --> 00:35:07,570
You can go ask Willie.
Everybody knows where he is
679
00:35:07,700 --> 00:35:11,200
because he's got
a girlfriend down in
Bowling Green, Virginia."
680
00:35:11,333 --> 00:35:13,273
And they pull Willie
out of bed,
681
00:35:13,400 --> 00:35:17,570
and Colonel Everton Conger
puts a gun to his head
682
00:35:17,700 --> 00:35:20,730
and says, "We know that you
were with Booth."
683
00:35:20,867 --> 00:35:26,467
So Willie Jett tells them,
"I left him at
the Garrett farm."
684
00:35:26,600 --> 00:35:29,630
-[Fishburne] The Union soldiers
returned with Jett
to Garrett's farm
685
00:35:29,767 --> 00:35:32,767
and surrounded the barn
where Booth and Herold
were hiding.
686
00:35:32,900 --> 00:35:35,030
When the fugitives
wouldn't surrender,
687
00:35:35,166 --> 00:35:37,296
soldiers set fire
to the barn.
688
00:35:37,433 --> 00:35:41,103
After Herold gave himself up,
a sergeant named Boston Corbett
689
00:35:41,233 --> 00:35:44,703
saw Booth move toward
the door holding a rifle
690
00:35:44,834 --> 00:35:46,134
and shot him through
the neck.
691
00:35:46,266 --> 00:35:47,226
( gunshot )
692
00:35:51,033 --> 00:35:54,073
Dr. Robert Arnold
disputes that account.
693
00:35:54,200 --> 00:35:55,730
A Navy surgeon for 30 years
694
00:35:55,867 --> 00:35:58,567
and an assistant
county coroner,
695
00:35:58,700 --> 00:36:01,670
he was inspired
to write his own book about
the Lincoln assassination.
696
00:36:01,800 --> 00:36:05,030
There was a little journal
published by the Navy,
697
00:36:05,166 --> 00:36:07,296
and there was an article
about the autopsy
698
00:36:07,433 --> 00:36:10,073
of the man that was killed
in Garrett's barn,
699
00:36:10,200 --> 00:36:13,730
and it questioned
the identification
of the corpse.
700
00:36:13,867 --> 00:36:16,997
-[Fishburne] That article by
Leonard Guttridge is among
the Neff-Guttridge papers
701
00:36:17,133 --> 00:36:20,173
housed at
Indiana State University.
702
00:36:20,300 --> 00:36:22,470
David Vancil:
And a collection like this
is often labelled
703
00:36:22,600 --> 00:36:24,470
a conspiracy collection.
704
00:36:24,600 --> 00:36:27,800
In fact, it is not
a conspiracy collection.
705
00:36:27,934 --> 00:36:29,674
It's a collection
of research materials
706
00:36:29,800 --> 00:36:32,900
and it can be interpreted
different ways
707
00:36:33,033 --> 00:36:35,373
by different researchers.
708
00:36:35,500 --> 00:36:38,830
-[Fishburne] Dr. Arnold joined
Art Roderick at Indiana State
709
00:36:38,967 --> 00:36:41,967
to share his theory
about the corpse
at Garrett's farm.
710
00:36:42,100 --> 00:36:44,130
Central to his argument
are three vertebrae
711
00:36:44,266 --> 00:36:46,366
that were removed
from Booth's body
712
00:36:46,500 --> 00:36:51,200
during his autopsy
aboard a Navy gunboat,
the U.S.S. Montauk.
713
00:36:51,333 --> 00:36:55,133
The vertebrae are now kept
at the National Museum
of Health and Medicine
714
00:36:55,266 --> 00:36:57,366
in Silver Spring, Maryland.
715
00:36:57,500 --> 00:37:01,470
I finally went to
the medical museum to look
at the actual specimen
716
00:37:01,600 --> 00:37:07,070
to see the vertebrae
from the corpse that was
on the Montauk.
717
00:37:07,200 --> 00:37:10,530
This looks like a picture
from the medical museum
I know you had talked about.
718
00:37:10,667 --> 00:37:14,227
- You actually saw this.
- This is the three vertebrae
719
00:37:14,367 --> 00:37:17,097
that the pathologist removed,
720
00:37:17,233 --> 00:37:20,433
and it shows the downward
inclination of the bullet.
721
00:37:20,567 --> 00:37:24,567
That's the trajectory,
which I measured out
at 20 degrees.
722
00:37:24,700 --> 00:37:27,800
This is almost
one vertebra lower here.
723
00:37:27,934 --> 00:37:31,034
- You're saying a shot
from a higher up angle?
- Yes.
724
00:37:31,166 --> 00:37:35,896
-[Fishburne] Since Boston
Corwas a short man standing
on the ground,
725
00:37:36,033 --> 00:37:39,903
Dr. Arnold believes
he could not have fired
the deadly shot from overhead.
726
00:37:40,033 --> 00:37:43,703
Boston Corbett could not
have killed the man in the barn.
727
00:37:43,834 --> 00:37:47,534
Corbett would have had to
have been 18 feet in the air
to have fired that.
728
00:37:47,667 --> 00:37:50,267
Trajectories don't lie.
People do.
729
00:37:50,400 --> 00:37:52,900
-[Fishburne]
Dr. Arnold also points out
issues surrounding
730
00:37:53,033 --> 00:37:55,733
Dr. Frederick May's role
in the autopsy.
731
00:37:55,867 --> 00:38:00,127
A highly regarded surgeon,
Dr. May had removed
an infected growth
732
00:38:00,266 --> 00:38:02,826
from the back of Booth's neck
two years earlier.
733
00:38:02,967 --> 00:38:06,967
He was brought aboard
the Montauk to identify
Booth's body.
734
00:38:07,100 --> 00:38:10,000
Roderick:
You were a pathologist.
Dr. May was a surgeon.
735
00:38:10,133 --> 00:38:14,273
I don't know how many times
he would come across a body
that was into decomposition.
736
00:38:14,400 --> 00:38:17,630
Arnold: He would
ordinarily never do that.
His specialty was surgery.
737
00:38:17,767 --> 00:38:21,467
He said, "This man does not
resemble John Wilkes Booth."
738
00:38:21,600 --> 00:38:25,700
But the most interesting
thing to me is when
he said his right leg
739
00:38:25,834 --> 00:38:27,904
- was black from a fracture.
- Yes, yes.
740
00:38:28,033 --> 00:38:30,433
Arnold: Now, May is
smart enough to know
741
00:38:30,567 --> 00:38:34,567
that a fracture does not cause
your leg to turn black.
That's soft tissue.
742
00:38:34,700 --> 00:38:37,970
The injury that Booth
received on the stage,
743
00:38:38,100 --> 00:38:40,630
and it was corroborated
by Dr. Mudd,
744
00:38:40,767 --> 00:38:44,027
was a simple fracture
two inches above the instep.
745
00:38:44,166 --> 00:38:48,496
But Mudd did not describe
any soft tissue damage
whatsoever.
746
00:38:48,633 --> 00:38:52,673
He even noted
the lack of tumefaction--
which is swelling.
747
00:38:52,800 --> 00:38:55,100
Yet the corpse on the Montauk
748
00:38:55,233 --> 00:38:59,273
had enough soft tissue damage
that it had turned black.
749
00:38:59,400 --> 00:39:02,070
-[Fishburne] Dr. Arnold notes
that Dr. May indicated
750
00:39:02,200 --> 00:39:04,030
the body had
an injured right leg.
751
00:39:04,166 --> 00:39:06,826
Booth fractured his left leg.
752
00:39:06,967 --> 00:39:10,397
And his son said,
"If he said it was a right leg,
it was the right leg."
753
00:39:10,533 --> 00:39:13,333
- Yeah.
- He didn't make those
kind of mistakes.
754
00:39:13,467 --> 00:39:17,227
-[Fishburne] For these reasons,
Dr. Arnold makes
a bold assertion.
755
00:39:17,367 --> 00:39:21,197
Arnold: The man that May
saw on the Montauk
756
00:39:21,333 --> 00:39:24,803
could not possibly
have been the same one
757
00:39:24,934 --> 00:39:29,604
that broke his ankle on
the stage and that Mudd saw.
758
00:39:29,734 --> 00:39:33,904
-[Fishburne]
Coming up on "History's
Greatest Mysteries"...
759
00:39:34,033 --> 00:39:38,333
The overall autopsy was not
what we expect today.
760
00:39:38,467 --> 00:39:40,697
There would probably be
a hundred autopsy photos.
761
00:39:40,834 --> 00:39:42,834
- Yeah.
- They had a photographer there,
762
00:39:42,967 --> 00:39:44,367
but there's only one plate.
763
00:39:44,500 --> 00:39:46,500
So I think that was shut down.
764
00:39:58,367 --> 00:40:00,067
-[Fishburne] Some believe
the description of
765
00:40:00,200 --> 00:40:03,270
John Wilkes Booth's dead body
by Dr. Frederick May
766
00:40:03,400 --> 00:40:06,370
raises questions
about who actually died
in Garrett's barn.
767
00:40:08,800 --> 00:40:11,030
They point to an article
Dr. May wrote years later
768
00:40:11,166 --> 00:40:14,466
about the autopsy
aboard the U.S.S. Montauk
769
00:40:14,600 --> 00:40:16,400
in which he states
that at first
770
00:40:16,533 --> 00:40:20,473
he didn't recognize
the body as Booth's.
771
00:40:20,600 --> 00:40:22,770
To further investigate
that autopsy,
772
00:40:22,900 --> 00:40:25,530
Art Roderick met
with Graham Hetrick.
773
00:40:25,667 --> 00:40:27,227
A coroner for three decades,
774
00:40:27,367 --> 00:40:30,697
Hetrick has conducted more
than 3,000 autopsies.
775
00:40:30,834 --> 00:40:33,534
They examined the report
by the Army surgeon
776
00:40:33,667 --> 00:40:36,497
who actually conducted
the autopsy.
777
00:40:36,633 --> 00:40:40,073
This here is a statement by
the Surgeon General Barnes.
778
00:40:40,200 --> 00:40:43,970
"I made at 2 PM
this date, April 27th,
779
00:40:44,100 --> 00:40:48,030
a postmortem examination
of the body of J. Wilkes Booth.
780
00:40:48,166 --> 00:40:52,796
The left leg and foot
were encased in an appliance
of splints and bandages,
781
00:40:52,934 --> 00:40:57,374
upon the removal of which,
a fracture of the fibula
was discovered.
782
00:40:57,500 --> 00:41:00,470
The cause of death was
a gunshot wound in the neck,
783
00:41:00,600 --> 00:41:03,700
the ball passing through
the boney bridge
784
00:41:03,834 --> 00:41:06,904
of the fourth
and fifth cervical vertebrae
785
00:41:07,033 --> 00:41:09,073
severing the spinal cord.
786
00:41:09,200 --> 00:41:11,900
Paralysis of the entire body
was immediate.
787
00:41:12,033 --> 00:41:15,333
And all the horrors
of consciousness
of suffering in death
788
00:41:15,467 --> 00:41:17,697
must have been present
to the assassin
789
00:41:17,834 --> 00:41:20,004
during the two hours
which he lingered."
790
00:41:20,133 --> 00:41:24,673
His description of the person
being totally aware is true,
791
00:41:24,800 --> 00:41:27,800
because he has
the capacity of thought.
792
00:41:27,934 --> 00:41:32,134
He is paralyzed
and he was dying,
really, of asphyxiation,
793
00:41:32,266 --> 00:41:34,926
because the diaphragm
and not being able to move
794
00:41:35,066 --> 00:41:36,666
to help with the breathing.
795
00:41:36,800 --> 00:41:40,970
The overall autopsy
was not what we expect today.
796
00:41:41,100 --> 00:41:43,430
There would probably be
a hundred autopsy photos.
797
00:41:43,567 --> 00:41:45,327
- Yeah.
- They had a photographer there,
798
00:41:45,467 --> 00:41:48,597
but there was only one plate.
799
00:41:48,734 --> 00:41:51,134
-[Fishburne] That one photo
has never been seen,
800
00:41:51,266 --> 00:41:53,796
fueling conspiracy theories
ever since.
801
00:41:53,934 --> 00:41:57,634
Especially since one
of the primary purposes
of the examination
802
00:41:57,767 --> 00:42:01,827
was to make a positive
identification of Booth's body.
803
00:42:01,967 --> 00:42:05,167
None of Booth's family members
or co-conspirators
804
00:42:05,300 --> 00:42:09,430
were present to ID the body,
but Dr. John Frederick May was,
805
00:42:09,567 --> 00:42:13,697
and May's initial reaction
was that the body did not
resemble Booth.
806
00:42:13,834 --> 00:42:18,204
I'm not surprised that he said
this doesn't even look like
a likeness of Mr. Booth.
807
00:42:18,333 --> 00:42:19,933
- Right.
- Because you have somebody
who's been running
808
00:42:20,066 --> 00:42:21,796
through the swamps
and the woods.
809
00:42:21,934 --> 00:42:24,374
He hasn't been
eating regularly.
He hasn't been sleeping.
810
00:42:24,500 --> 00:42:27,330
He probably didn't look like
that handsome actor
811
00:42:27,467 --> 00:42:29,727
that May was used to seeing
at Ford's Theatre.
812
00:42:29,867 --> 00:42:33,897
He died approximately
at 5:30 AM on April 26th.
813
00:42:34,033 --> 00:42:37,503
Lieutenant Doherty
sewed him into the blanket
at around 8:30, so--
814
00:42:37,633 --> 00:42:40,233
- No body bags in those days.
- Yeah, really.
815
00:42:40,367 --> 00:42:43,567
-[Fishburne] The wrapped body
was placed face down
in a horse cart
816
00:42:43,700 --> 00:42:46,830
and taken to the Potomac River,
where it traveled by boat
817
00:42:46,967 --> 00:42:50,467
to the Washington Navy Yard
and was brought aboard
the Montauk.
818
00:42:50,600 --> 00:42:53,900
Graham Hetrick: The autopsy
did not start till 2 PM.
819
00:42:54,033 --> 00:42:57,373
- Wow.
- There's a lot of postmortem
changes going on there.
820
00:42:57,500 --> 00:43:00,670
The first one,
you get in to rigor mortis.
You stiffen.
821
00:43:00,800 --> 00:43:04,430
Another one simultaneously
to that is called lividity.
822
00:43:04,567 --> 00:43:06,767
If you're laying somebody
face down,
823
00:43:06,900 --> 00:43:10,630
that blood is gonna go towards
the face during decomposition.
824
00:43:10,767 --> 00:43:14,967
By the time they got him,
his face probably
didn't look too good.
825
00:43:15,100 --> 00:43:20,130
It could be deceiving.
But Dr. May, looking at
the back of the neck,
826
00:43:20,266 --> 00:43:22,796
did say that although
it isn't what I would consider
827
00:43:22,934 --> 00:43:25,234
a likeness of him,
that is the scar.
828
00:43:25,367 --> 00:43:29,797
It's consistent
with what I did.
829
00:43:29,934 --> 00:43:32,304
-[Fishburne]
The Schlesinger Library
at Harvard University
830
00:43:32,433 --> 00:43:37,573
holds the personal papers
of Izola Paige Forrester,
a celebrated author.
831
00:43:37,700 --> 00:43:41,900
Her 1937 book
"This One Mad Act"
tells a story
832
00:43:42,033 --> 00:43:45,133
in which Booth was not
the dead man on the Montauk.
833
00:43:45,266 --> 00:43:49,196
Forrester believed
she was the granddaughter
of John Wilkes Booth
834
00:43:49,333 --> 00:43:51,173
and Martha Izola Mills.
835
00:43:51,300 --> 00:43:54,670
Based on all of the writings
that we're finding in here
836
00:43:54,800 --> 00:43:58,730
of all these letters,
it's pretty clear
that Izola Mills,
837
00:43:58,867 --> 00:44:02,327
or Martha Izola Mills,
was married...
838
00:44:02,467 --> 00:44:03,797
- Yes. Yes.
- ...to John Wilkes Booth.
839
00:44:03,934 --> 00:44:05,874
Is that something
that's always been known?
840
00:44:06,000 --> 00:44:08,130
Always.
Always in our family,
841
00:44:08,266 --> 00:44:10,496
and in all the generations
and all the different branches.
842
00:44:10,633 --> 00:44:14,403
Always known. Always accepted.
Always acknowledged.
843
00:44:14,533 --> 00:44:17,903
Talk of the date
when they were married...
844
00:44:18,033 --> 00:44:21,973
-[Fishburne] And while
hisee no convincing evidence
of that marriage,
845
00:44:22,100 --> 00:44:26,470
Joanne Hulme believes
the proof exists in a document
written by the minister
846
00:44:26,600 --> 00:44:29,870
who is alleged to have
officiated their wedding.
847
00:44:30,000 --> 00:44:33,000
What it looks like
is a marriage certificate
848
00:44:33,133 --> 00:44:36,803
that was dated January 9th,
1859 by Reverend Weaver.
849
00:44:36,934 --> 00:44:39,974
"This is to certify
that on January 9th, 1859,
850
00:44:40,100 --> 00:44:43,270
I performed a ceremony joining
in a holy matrimony
851
00:44:43,400 --> 00:44:48,530
John Byron Wilkes Booth
and Martha Mills at my home in
Dingletown, Connecticut."
852
00:44:48,667 --> 00:44:52,867
-[Fishburne] And there's
a further shocking revelation
in "This One Mad Act."
853
00:44:53,000 --> 00:44:55,830
There's an historic record
of Martha I. M. Booth
854
00:44:55,967 --> 00:45:00,427
marrying John Stevenson
in Baltimore in 1871.
855
00:45:00,567 --> 00:45:03,897
But Forrester's book claims
Martha Izola's marriage
to Stevenson
856
00:45:04,033 --> 00:45:07,403
was an arrangement
to cover for Booth's escape
857
00:45:07,533 --> 00:45:10,903
and to conceal the identity
of Booth's newborn son Harry
858
00:45:11,033 --> 00:45:14,333
by giving him Stevenson's name.
859
00:45:14,467 --> 00:45:19,767
Ansaldi: "One Mad Act"
refers to this conversation
that Harry has with his father
860
00:45:19,900 --> 00:45:21,400
at the end
of his father's life.
861
00:45:21,533 --> 00:45:22,903
His father is dying.
862
00:45:23,033 --> 00:45:24,473
-[Fishburne]
According to Forrester,
863
00:45:24,600 --> 00:45:26,270
the man Harry believed
was his father
864
00:45:26,400 --> 00:45:27,970
confessed that Harry
was really the son
865
00:45:28,100 --> 00:45:33,370
of his friend
John Wilkes Booth.
866
00:45:33,500 --> 00:45:39,100
You can't father a child
five years after
you have been dead.
867
00:45:41,567 --> 00:45:44,597
There are plenty of stories
about John Wilkes Booth
868
00:45:44,734 --> 00:45:47,374
having children,
being married.
869
00:45:47,500 --> 00:45:51,430
I can believe that he probably
got a woman pregnant.
870
00:45:51,567 --> 00:45:54,167
I would find it hard to believe
that he never did.
871
00:45:54,300 --> 00:45:57,770
But as for the marriage,
I'm very skeptical about it.
872
00:45:57,900 --> 00:46:02,070
Now in this age of genealogy
done through DNA,
873
00:46:02,200 --> 00:46:06,970
I'm expecting we'll see
an answer before too long.
874
00:46:07,100 --> 00:46:10,930
-[Fishburne]
Coming up on "History's
Greatest Mysteries"...
875
00:46:11,066 --> 00:46:15,096
This is a certified copy of
the actual marriage certificate.
876
00:46:15,233 --> 00:46:18,133
It says that "John W. Booth
married to a Louisa Payne."
877
00:46:18,266 --> 00:46:19,796
This is a series of documents
878
00:46:19,934 --> 00:46:24,474
from the state of Tennessee,
Franklin County, from 1872.
879
00:46:24,600 --> 00:46:28,170
They do appear to be from
that time frame, 1872.
880
00:46:28,300 --> 00:46:31,670
We can compare
the actual groom's signature
881
00:46:31,800 --> 00:46:34,770
with the known
John Wilkes Booth signature.
882
00:46:46,500 --> 00:46:48,770
-[Fishburne] A critical step
in investigating
883
00:46:48,900 --> 00:46:52,070
whether John Wilkes Booth
escaped after killing
President Lincoln
884
00:46:52,200 --> 00:46:55,100
and fathered a son named
Harry Jerome Stevenson
885
00:46:55,233 --> 00:46:59,933
is the DNA testing of
Harry Jerome Stevenson's
descendants.
886
00:47:00,133 --> 00:47:02,603
Dennis Farley
and his sister Linda Casey
887
00:47:02,734 --> 00:47:06,104
are the great grandchildren
of Harry Jerome Stevenson.
888
00:47:06,233 --> 00:47:09,503
The official historical record
says that Harry was the son
889
00:47:09,633 --> 00:47:11,703
of Martha Izola
and John Stevenson.
890
00:47:11,834 --> 00:47:14,004
But Dennis and Linda
recall learning that
891
00:47:14,133 --> 00:47:18,633
their ancestor's father
was really John Wilkes Booth.
892
00:47:18,767 --> 00:47:20,397
We were all at
my grandmother's house.
893
00:47:20,533 --> 00:47:22,633
I think it was Joanne Gorto,
started telling people,
894
00:47:22,767 --> 00:47:24,267
"You know, we're related to
John Wilkes Booth."
895
00:47:24,400 --> 00:47:26,330
Of course, most of us
didn't believe it,
896
00:47:26,467 --> 00:47:28,897
but my grandmother's mouth
just dropped
897
00:47:29,033 --> 00:47:31,003
because she didn't ever
want this story to get out.
898
00:47:31,133 --> 00:47:34,673
She thought people
would take retribution
on the family, you know?
899
00:47:34,800 --> 00:47:37,070
- Right.
- She asked people just
keep it within the family.
900
00:47:37,200 --> 00:47:40,600
Ansaldi: And this
would have been Harry Jerome
Stevenson's daughter.
901
00:47:40,734 --> 00:47:44,634
Did you guys ever know
of John Henry Stevenson?
902
00:47:44,767 --> 00:47:46,167
Dennis Farley:
Uncle Tom was the one
that told us
903
00:47:46,300 --> 00:47:48,430
that this man Stevenson
904
00:47:48,567 --> 00:47:50,797
took the kids under his name.
905
00:47:50,934 --> 00:47:53,504
So that they could mask
the identity, again,
of the child.
906
00:47:53,633 --> 00:47:56,933
Yeah. We did hear that
Stevenson was a convenience
thing to help her child.
907
00:47:57,066 --> 00:48:00,526
And that, uh, it--
908
00:48:00,667 --> 00:48:03,867
Ansaldi: And you never heard of
the story of Martha Izola
909
00:48:04,000 --> 00:48:08,630
meeting John Wilkes Booth
in California and taking
a boat to India?
910
00:48:08,767 --> 00:48:11,197
I did hear about
the boat trip.
911
00:48:11,333 --> 00:48:13,903
In that story,
they go to India
912
00:48:14,033 --> 00:48:18,173
with John using an alias,
John Byron Wilkes.
913
00:48:18,300 --> 00:48:20,900
There is a will
that is created in India.
914
00:48:21,033 --> 00:48:23,703
-[Fishburne] Those who believe
Booth escaped to India
915
00:48:23,834 --> 00:48:28,004
cite as proof the will
of John Byron Wilkes.
916
00:48:28,133 --> 00:48:32,073
A certified copy
of the will was found
in Clay County, Indiana.
917
00:48:32,200 --> 00:48:37,330
The unsigned will,
apparently executed
in Bombay in 1883,
918
00:48:37,467 --> 00:48:39,067
gives sums of money to wives,
919
00:48:39,200 --> 00:48:41,500
lovers,
and "heirs of my body"
920
00:48:41,633 --> 00:48:44,773
known to be associated
with Booth.
921
00:48:44,900 --> 00:48:47,470
Ansaldi: And in that,
Harry Jerome Stevenson
is listed.
922
00:48:47,600 --> 00:48:49,800
Ogarita is also listed.
923
00:48:49,934 --> 00:48:52,074
Izola is listed.
924
00:48:52,200 --> 00:48:54,530
- Well, whether
it's all true or not...
- Yeah.
925
00:48:54,667 --> 00:48:58,167
- ...DNA will tell.
- DNA will tell.
926
00:48:58,300 --> 00:49:00,800
-[Fishburne] Author Troy Cowan
believes Booth escaped
927
00:49:00,934 --> 00:49:03,304
and fathered
Harry Jerome Stevenson.
928
00:49:03,433 --> 00:49:07,673
Cowan's interest in
the Booth story was sparked
by his own family lore.
929
00:49:07,800 --> 00:49:11,730
I became interested in
the John Wilkes Booth story
because of my aunt Jane Davis.
930
00:49:11,867 --> 00:49:14,297
Her grandfather
was John Riley Davis,
931
00:49:14,433 --> 00:49:16,803
and he was a cousin
of Jefferson Davis.
932
00:49:16,934 --> 00:49:19,434
After Jefferson Davis
got out of prison,
933
00:49:19,567 --> 00:49:21,327
John Wilkes Booth
wrote him a letter
934
00:49:21,467 --> 00:49:25,527
saying that he was alive,
well, and living in Mexico.
935
00:49:25,667 --> 00:49:28,827
-[Fishburne]
But Cowan doesn't believe
Booth died in India.
936
00:49:28,967 --> 00:49:31,567
In his version,
Booth returned from India
937
00:49:31,700 --> 00:49:34,100
very much alive
and went to Mexico,
938
00:49:34,233 --> 00:49:37,703
where many Confederate veterans
fled after the Civil War.
939
00:49:37,834 --> 00:49:42,504
Booth left Mexico
and went to Glen Rose,
southwest of Dallas,
940
00:49:42,633 --> 00:49:45,803
and he opened a business
selling liquor and tobacco.
941
00:49:45,934 --> 00:49:49,034
About this time,
a US Marshal from Paris, Texas,
942
00:49:49,166 --> 00:49:51,726
was coming to Glen Rose
for his marriage.
943
00:49:51,867 --> 00:49:53,927
Booth did not want to be seen.
944
00:49:54,066 --> 00:49:56,996
He went east and he wound up
in Sewanee, Tennessee,
945
00:49:57,133 --> 00:49:58,933
and he got a job
as a carpenter.
946
00:49:59,066 --> 00:50:01,866
There he met Louisa J. Payne.
947
00:50:02,000 --> 00:50:04,430
-[Fishburne] Fugitive Booth's
alleged travels out west
948
00:50:04,567 --> 00:50:07,927
were a particular interest
to the late Arthur Ben Chitty,
949
00:50:08,066 --> 00:50:11,166
who did extensive research
into local Booth lore
950
00:50:11,300 --> 00:50:12,970
in Franklin County,
Tennessee.
951
00:50:13,100 --> 00:50:17,930
The team met with his daughter
to explore his theories.
952
00:50:18,066 --> 00:50:19,826
He started collecting
oral histories.
953
00:50:19,967 --> 00:50:22,097
He never called himself
a historian
954
00:50:22,233 --> 00:50:24,633
because he didn't do
all the comparative analysis.
955
00:50:24,767 --> 00:50:26,527
He called himself
a historiographer.
956
00:50:26,667 --> 00:50:28,697
And the distinction was
that he collected this stuff,
957
00:50:28,834 --> 00:50:30,604
and then let's see
what happens with it later.
958
00:50:30,734 --> 00:50:33,104
So a gentleman came
from Fayetteville to give
959
00:50:33,233 --> 00:50:36,103
one of these
oral histories to your dad?
960
00:50:36,233 --> 00:50:39,773
His name was Reese.
He had known Macager Payne.
961
00:50:39,900 --> 00:50:44,200
Now Macager Payne
was the purported stepson
of John Wilkes Booth,
962
00:50:44,333 --> 00:50:47,633
who was nine years old
at the time Booth entered
their lives.
963
00:50:47,767 --> 00:50:50,967
- Here's something
from Macager--
- Oh, yeah.
964
00:50:51,100 --> 00:50:55,530
"This John Wilkes Booth
made the acquaintance
965
00:50:55,667 --> 00:50:58,027
with my mother
at Sewanee, Tennessee.
966
00:50:58,166 --> 00:51:02,126
And the 25th of February, 1872,
he married my mother.
967
00:51:02,266 --> 00:51:05,796
He told mother and me
that he was the man
that killed Lincoln.
968
00:51:05,934 --> 00:51:08,374
And that he was a rich man,
if he could get to Little Rock.
969
00:51:08,500 --> 00:51:11,330
And we got as far
as Memphis, Tennessee.
970
00:51:11,467 --> 00:51:14,367
There he disappeared,
and we never heard
of him any more."
971
00:51:14,500 --> 00:51:17,700
Cowan: While in Memphis,
he was recognized.
972
00:51:17,834 --> 00:51:22,004
He got frightened and went back
to Glen Rose, Texas.
973
00:51:22,133 --> 00:51:25,533
Em Turner Chitty:
Louisa was four or five months
pregnant when he left.
974
00:51:25,667 --> 00:51:27,367
-[Fishburne]
Louisa gave birth
to a daughter
975
00:51:27,500 --> 00:51:31,300
she named
Laura Ida Elizabeth Booth.
976
00:51:31,433 --> 00:51:33,333
He was married here,
and then your dad
977
00:51:33,467 --> 00:51:36,797
went looking for proof of that,
and he actually found it.
978
00:51:36,934 --> 00:51:41,474
So this is
a certified copy of the actual
marriage certificate.
979
00:51:41,600 --> 00:51:46,670
It says that "John W. Booth
married to a Louisa Payne
February of 1872."
980
00:51:46,800 --> 00:51:48,570
There's also
a marriage license.
981
00:51:48,700 --> 00:51:51,370
That's CC Rose.
He's the justice of the peace.
982
00:51:51,500 --> 00:51:54,200
And you have J. and O.
W. Boothe.
983
00:51:54,333 --> 00:51:56,803
And the other thing I see
is an "E" at the end of it.
984
00:51:56,934 --> 00:52:00,904
-[Fishburne] Is it possible
that "E" was an effort
985
00:52:01,033 --> 00:52:03,933
on Booth's part to disguise
his true identity?
986
00:52:04,066 --> 00:52:06,226
Okay, but look at this.
"Rose."
987
00:52:06,367 --> 00:52:10,697
A CC Rose was on
the marriage certificate.
I believe it was the judge.
988
00:52:10,834 --> 00:52:12,734
- "We, John Wilkes Booth--"
- And, I think--
989
00:52:12,867 --> 00:52:16,267
"CC Rose, are held
and firmly bound
990
00:52:16,400 --> 00:52:20,470
to the state of Tennessee
in the sum of $1,250."
991
00:52:20,600 --> 00:52:23,070
John Wilkes Booth
owed CC Rose
992
00:52:23,200 --> 00:52:24,630
$1,250 according
to this document.
993
00:52:24,767 --> 00:52:28,427
Which is a lot of money.
It's like $25,000. It's huge.
994
00:52:28,567 --> 00:52:31,267
"Whereas the above-bound Booth
995
00:52:31,400 --> 00:52:34,700
has this day obtained a license
to marry Louisa Payne,
996
00:52:34,834 --> 00:52:36,574
this obligation to be void."
997
00:52:36,700 --> 00:52:40,900
He had to-- he had to void
his debt with CC Rose,
998
00:52:41,033 --> 00:52:44,233
and the way he did it
was marrying Louisa Payne.
999
00:52:44,367 --> 00:52:46,697
Ansaldi:
Was this a shotgun wedding?
1000
00:52:46,834 --> 00:52:49,274
Chitty:
Maybe CC Rose was,
like, an uncle.
1001
00:52:49,400 --> 00:52:54,030
He was rescuing her reputation.
1002
00:52:54,166 --> 00:52:57,596
-[Fishburne] To test this
theorArt Roderick brought
the Payne marriage papers
1003
00:52:57,734 --> 00:53:02,174
to forensic document examiner
Robert Floberg for analysis.
1004
00:53:02,300 --> 00:53:05,270
Well, Rob, I know you've
spent quite a few years
in law enforcement.
1005
00:53:05,400 --> 00:53:08,400
How long have you been doing
document examinations?
1006
00:53:08,533 --> 00:53:11,003
I've been doing it now
for 30 years.
1007
00:53:11,133 --> 00:53:14,103
This is a series of documents
from the state of Tennessee,
1008
00:53:14,233 --> 00:53:20,033
Franklin County, from 1872,
which purport to be
marriage licenses
1009
00:53:20,166 --> 00:53:23,926
and accompanying documents
between Louisa Payne
and John Wilkes Booth.
1010
00:53:24,066 --> 00:53:27,796
They do appear to be
from that time frame, 1872.
1011
00:53:27,934 --> 00:53:31,434
The middle name
is not really evident,
so it's John W. Boothe.
1012
00:53:31,567 --> 00:53:36,227
We don't know that it's Wilkes.
Boothe is spelled B-O-O-T-H-E.
1013
00:53:36,367 --> 00:53:38,127
Why would they add an "E"
to Booth?
1014
00:53:38,266 --> 00:53:40,426
The story is that after
they got married,
1015
00:53:40,567 --> 00:53:43,167
he confessed to her that,
"Hey, I'm John Wilkes Booth."
1016
00:53:43,300 --> 00:53:45,530
And being the religious woman
that she was,
1017
00:53:45,667 --> 00:53:47,767
she wanted to be married
under his real name.
1018
00:53:47,900 --> 00:53:50,270
And the question is,
did he alter his handwriting?
1019
00:53:50,400 --> 00:53:52,300
- Right.
- You can disguise
your handwriting,
1020
00:53:52,433 --> 00:53:53,933
but it's difficult.
1021
00:53:54,066 --> 00:53:56,126
There's so many aspects
you have to disguise.
1022
00:53:56,266 --> 00:53:58,766
And I doubt that he could have
done that under the pressure
1023
00:53:58,900 --> 00:54:00,530
of signing a court document.
1024
00:54:00,667 --> 00:54:02,727
What do you think about
this particular document?
1025
00:54:02,867 --> 00:54:05,897
Robert Floberg:
It's an agreement between
a justice of the peace
1026
00:54:06,033 --> 00:54:08,373
and a John W. Boothe.
1027
00:54:08,500 --> 00:54:11,670
We can compare the actual
groom's signature
1028
00:54:11,800 --> 00:54:14,400
with the known
John Wilkes Booth signature.
1029
00:54:14,533 --> 00:54:20,073
There are inconsistencies
to where I doubt that this
would be John Wilkes Booth.
1030
00:54:20,200 --> 00:54:22,730
There's an inconsistency
with the "T" crossing
1031
00:54:22,867 --> 00:54:25,067
and how the lowercase
letters are created.
1032
00:54:25,200 --> 00:54:27,400
- So it's two different people?
- Not John Wilkes Booth.
1033
00:54:27,533 --> 00:54:30,373
Not John Wilkes Booth.
1034
00:54:30,500 --> 00:54:34,200
-[Fishburne] Floberg also
the John Byron Wilkes will.
1035
00:54:34,333 --> 00:54:36,303
- That's unfortunate there's
no handwriting on the will.
- Right.
1036
00:54:36,433 --> 00:54:38,073
It's just
a typewritten document.
1037
00:54:38,200 --> 00:54:41,830
Filed in Clay circuit court
in state of Indiana. Right.
1038
00:54:41,967 --> 00:54:44,327
And did the typewriter
exist in 1883?
1039
00:54:44,467 --> 00:54:49,267
Well, yes, it did.
At that time, typewriters had
been around at least ten years,
1040
00:54:49,400 --> 00:54:54,670
and this specific typeface
was in existence in the 1880s.
1041
00:54:54,800 --> 00:54:56,930
The early typewriters
were all capital letters,
1042
00:54:57,066 --> 00:55:00,626
so it is conceivable that
this is a legitimate document.
1043
00:55:00,767 --> 00:55:04,797
Unfortunately
there's no cursive signature
from the testator,
1044
00:55:04,934 --> 00:55:07,434
and that would have been
John Byron Wilkes.
1045
00:55:07,567 --> 00:55:09,927
John Wilkes Booth had a very
unique cursive signature,
1046
00:55:10,066 --> 00:55:12,596
and if he would have
signed this alias name
1047
00:55:12,734 --> 00:55:16,134
with a lot of
the similar letters and
the letter connections,
1048
00:55:16,266 --> 00:55:20,596
we could conceivably
make a match.
1049
00:55:20,734 --> 00:55:24,534
-[Fishburne]
Coming up on "History's
Greatest Mysteries"...
1050
00:55:24,667 --> 00:55:27,297
If you can prove that somebody
was born after the date
1051
00:55:27,433 --> 00:55:29,573
of John Wilkes'
supposed death,
1052
00:55:29,700 --> 00:55:31,300
that would be proof
that John Wilkes never did
1053
00:55:31,433 --> 00:55:34,003
die in the barn
and he lived after that.
1054
00:55:34,133 --> 00:55:35,833
That's why you need the DNA.
1055
00:55:46,100 --> 00:55:49,170
-[Fishburne] To further
investigate the mystery
of John Wilkes Booth,
1056
00:55:49,300 --> 00:55:52,030
the team went to
Massachusetts and the grave
1057
00:55:52,166 --> 00:55:54,066
of the assassin's
oldest brother,
1058
00:55:54,200 --> 00:55:56,370
Junius Brutus Booth, Jr.
1059
00:55:56,500 --> 00:55:59,670
Their guide is his
great-grandson Tony Booth.
1060
00:55:59,800 --> 00:56:03,730
So right over here
is your great-grandfather.
1061
00:56:03,867 --> 00:56:06,927
How were you told that you
were part of the Booth family?
1062
00:56:07,066 --> 00:56:09,396
Actually, it was probably
when I was 13 or 14.
1063
00:56:09,533 --> 00:56:12,403
There was a trunk that was
hidden away in the attic.
1064
00:56:12,533 --> 00:56:16,273
And one day I got in there
and opened it up and
I found all these costumes.
1065
00:56:16,400 --> 00:56:19,970
Then I asked my mom and she
said, "Well, you're a Booth."
1066
00:56:20,100 --> 00:56:23,600
And I said, "What does that
mean particularly?"
1067
00:56:23,734 --> 00:56:26,104
And she said,
"Well, you're related to
John Wilkes Booth."
1068
00:56:26,233 --> 00:56:30,473
And it was sort of a stigma,
but it wasn't anything
I couldn't handle.
1069
00:56:30,600 --> 00:56:32,800
I'm not a fan
of John Wilkes Booth.
1070
00:56:32,934 --> 00:56:35,034
He's the same to me
as everybody else.
1071
00:56:35,166 --> 00:56:37,126
He's a devil and a killer,
1072
00:56:37,266 --> 00:56:40,426
and I had no desire
to be related to the guy.
1073
00:56:40,567 --> 00:56:44,267
Ansaldi: Did your mom
ever tell you about
your great-grandfather?
1074
00:56:44,400 --> 00:56:46,430
Were any of your uncles
theatrical?
1075
00:56:46,567 --> 00:56:49,127
Yeah, she mentioned
that they were actors.
1076
00:56:49,266 --> 00:56:51,366
- Yeah.
- And that this stuff
that I'd found
1077
00:56:51,500 --> 00:56:53,630
was a costumes, you know,
1078
00:56:53,767 --> 00:56:56,097
that they wore, like,
for "Julius Caesar"
1079
00:56:56,233 --> 00:56:59,773
and for some of these other
plays that they did on stage.
1080
00:56:59,900 --> 00:57:02,330
-[Fishburne]
To help solve the mystery,
1081
00:57:02,467 --> 00:57:05,367
Tony Booth agree
to provide his DNA.
1082
00:57:05,500 --> 00:57:07,170
It will be compared
to those who believe
1083
00:57:07,300 --> 00:57:10,130
they may be descended
from children fathered by Booth
1084
00:57:10,266 --> 00:57:12,326
after history says he died.
1085
00:57:12,467 --> 00:57:16,627
If you can prove that somebody
was born after the date
of John Wilkes death,
1086
00:57:16,767 --> 00:57:18,227
supposed death,
that would be proof
1087
00:57:18,367 --> 00:57:20,897
that John Wilkes
never did die in the barn,
1088
00:57:21,033 --> 00:57:22,303
that he'd lived after that.
1089
00:57:22,433 --> 00:57:25,073
I, in a way,
hope that he did die,
1090
00:57:25,200 --> 00:57:27,700
because he deserved to die
right there in the barn.
1091
00:57:27,834 --> 00:57:30,434
But if he didn't,
then let's find out why,
1092
00:57:30,567 --> 00:57:33,197
or where,
and how he escaped.
1093
00:57:33,333 --> 00:57:36,403
-[Fishburne]
Theories about Booth's
possible escape
1094
00:57:36,533 --> 00:57:40,303
often include
a mysterious figure named
James William Boyd.
1095
00:57:40,433 --> 00:57:43,473
The majority of historians
agree that John Wilkes Booth
1096
00:57:43,600 --> 00:57:46,300
was killed at the Garrett barn
by Union troops
1097
00:57:46,433 --> 00:57:49,303
on April 26th, 1865.
1098
00:57:49,433 --> 00:57:52,633
His accomplice David Herold
was arrested and later hanged
1099
00:57:52,767 --> 00:57:54,967
with fellow co-conspirator
Lewis Powell,
1100
00:57:55,100 --> 00:57:57,330
George Atzerodt,
and Mary Surratt.
1101
00:57:57,467 --> 00:58:00,867
After his arrest, David Herold
had given testimony
1102
00:58:01,000 --> 00:58:03,270
that Booth was using
the alias Boyd
1103
00:58:03,400 --> 00:58:05,030
when they crossed
into Virginia
1104
00:58:05,166 --> 00:58:07,466
and met the Confederate
cavalry there.
1105
00:58:07,600 --> 00:58:09,870
And one of those Rebel
troopers, Willie Jett,
1106
00:58:10,000 --> 00:58:13,270
testified that Booth gave
his name as James William Boyd
1107
00:58:13,400 --> 00:58:15,270
when they took him
to Garrett's farm.
1108
00:58:15,400 --> 00:58:18,530
Yet some researchers
and Booth family members
believe
1109
00:58:18,667 --> 00:58:20,967
Booth wasn't at
Garrett's farm that night.
1110
00:58:21,100 --> 00:58:23,870
Some suggest he escaped
the manhunt in the company
1111
00:58:24,000 --> 00:58:26,270
of a young man
named Edwin Hynson.
1112
00:58:26,400 --> 00:58:29,030
But if Booth wasn't traveling
with David Herold,
1113
00:58:29,166 --> 00:58:31,996
then who was the man with
Herold in that burning barn?
1114
00:58:32,133 --> 00:58:37,573
And who was
James William Boyd?
1115
00:58:37,700 --> 00:58:40,030
It's well-documented
that a Confederate soldier
1116
00:58:40,166 --> 00:58:42,296
named James W. Boyd existed,
1117
00:58:42,433 --> 00:58:44,233
and that while
a prisoner of war,
1118
00:58:44,367 --> 00:58:45,927
he petitioned Secretary of War
1119
00:58:46,066 --> 00:58:48,596
Edwin Stanton for his release.
1120
00:58:48,734 --> 00:58:50,974
What happened to Boyd
after his release
1121
00:58:51,100 --> 00:58:54,270
is where the mystery lies.
1122
00:58:54,400 --> 00:58:59,170
In a statement purportedly made
by the Confederate officer
John Singleton Mosby
1123
00:58:59,300 --> 00:59:01,800
shortly before his death
in 1916,
1124
00:59:01,934 --> 00:59:04,804
Mosby claims he sent
James William Boyd
1125
00:59:04,934 --> 00:59:07,034
to help Booth kidnap Lincoln.
1126
00:59:07,166 --> 00:59:09,426
If Mosby's statement
is authentic,
1127
00:59:09,567 --> 00:59:11,627
it's a stunning claim.
1128
00:59:11,767 --> 00:59:15,497
Author Troy Cowan asserts
that when the kidnap plot
failed
1129
00:59:15,633 --> 00:59:18,433
and Booth impulsively
killed the president instead,
1130
00:59:18,567 --> 00:59:21,827
Boyd fled south along
the same path as Booth.
1131
00:59:21,967 --> 00:59:26,127
John Wilkes Booth
and David Herold met up
with him by accident
1132
00:59:26,266 --> 00:59:29,366
at Cox's farm, the next house
after Dr. Mudd's.
1133
00:59:29,500 --> 00:59:34,270
James William Boyd led
David Herold and John Wilkes
Booth into the swamp.
1134
00:59:34,400 --> 00:59:36,630
-[Fishburne] According to Cowan,
Boyd arranged
1135
00:59:36,767 --> 00:59:40,127
for their successful river
crossings into Virginia.
1136
00:59:40,266 --> 00:59:42,596
Cowan: At the Rappahannock,
after they crossed,
1137
00:59:42,734 --> 00:59:45,634
Booth reached in his pockets
to pay James William Boyd
1138
00:59:45,767 --> 00:59:47,667
and he didn't have his money,
1139
00:59:47,800 --> 00:59:50,270
and he thought
he left it in the wagon.
1140
00:59:50,400 --> 00:59:54,170
-[Fishburne] Cowan believes
Booth sent Boyd back across
the river to get his money
1141
00:59:54,300 --> 00:59:56,100
while Booth rode on ahead.
1142
00:59:56,233 --> 00:59:58,833
Cowan: Booth arrived at
the Garrett farm on the 24th,
1143
00:59:58,967 --> 01:00:01,997
and the next day,
he left for Harper's Ferry.
1144
01:00:02,133 --> 01:00:06,673
On the 25th, late at night,
Herold and James William Boyd
1145
01:00:06,800 --> 01:00:08,630
came to the house
looking for Booth,
1146
01:00:08,767 --> 01:00:10,467
and Booth had already left.
1147
01:00:10,600 --> 01:00:12,100
They needed a place to sleep,
1148
01:00:12,233 --> 01:00:14,703
so they offered them their
corn crib to sleep in.
1149
01:00:18,400 --> 01:00:23,270
-[Fishburne] Dr. Robert Arnold
describes how he believes
Boyd came to be killed,
1150
01:00:23,400 --> 01:00:27,500
not by Boston Corbett,
but by a shot from above.
1151
01:00:27,633 --> 01:00:30,203
It began with the arrest
of Willie Jett.
1152
01:00:30,333 --> 01:00:32,633
Dr. Arnold maintains that
the frightened Confederate
1153
01:00:32,767 --> 01:00:36,927
participated in a dark scheme
to cover up Booth's escape.
1154
01:00:37,066 --> 01:00:41,296
Willie Jett was a marksman.
1155
01:00:41,433 --> 01:00:43,103
He's gonna kill Boyd
by shooting him,
1156
01:00:43,233 --> 01:00:44,633
then he's going
to kill Herold.
1157
01:00:44,767 --> 01:00:46,767
Then when the barn burns down,
1158
01:00:46,900 --> 01:00:48,300
there will be enough fire
and everything
1159
01:00:48,433 --> 01:00:50,103
that they'll be so disfigured
1160
01:00:50,233 --> 01:00:52,173
that nobody'll
really know who it is.
1161
01:00:52,300 --> 01:00:55,870
And then they would take
the corpses back to Washington
and be heroes.
1162
01:00:56,000 --> 01:00:59,100
-[Fishburne] Dr. Arnold
says Conger's plan went awry
1163
01:00:59,233 --> 01:01:01,673
when David Herold
wanted to surrender.
1164
01:01:01,800 --> 01:01:06,270
Arnold:
Doherty opened the door and
let David Herold surrender.
1165
01:01:06,400 --> 01:01:11,200
The next thing was James Boyd
decided to surrender also.
1166
01:01:11,333 --> 01:01:14,873
And Jett shot him
and everybody saw it,
1167
01:01:15,000 --> 01:01:18,430
and the trajectory was
20 degrees from horizontal,
1168
01:01:18,567 --> 01:01:21,097
so he probably shot
from up in the hayloft.
1169
01:01:21,233 --> 01:01:23,073
And instead
of letting him burn,
1170
01:01:23,200 --> 01:01:26,070
they all ran in
and took the body out,
1171
01:01:26,200 --> 01:01:29,230
and he could be easily
identified as not being Booth.
1172
01:01:29,367 --> 01:01:31,827
-[Fishburne] But there was a lot
of reward money on the line,
1173
01:01:31,967 --> 01:01:35,297
and letting Booth escape
would have been a national
embarrassment.
1174
01:01:35,433 --> 01:01:38,333
Arnold:
They kept the dead man
there at the farm
1175
01:01:38,467 --> 01:01:43,067
long enough for Stanton
to gerrymander the autopsy
onboard the Montauk,
1176
01:01:43,200 --> 01:01:47,500
and then quickly
get him underground
and pass him off as Booth.
1177
01:01:47,633 --> 01:01:49,303
-[Fishburne] But would it
have been possible
1178
01:01:49,433 --> 01:01:51,903
to pass off Boyd as Booth?
1179
01:01:52,033 --> 01:01:54,503
Investigator Art Roderick
went to Virginia Tech
1180
01:01:54,633 --> 01:01:57,073
to see if cutting edge
facial recognition technology
1181
01:01:57,200 --> 01:01:59,730
can provide an answer.
1182
01:01:59,867 --> 01:02:02,197
Our website is called
Civil War Photo Sleuth.
1183
01:02:02,333 --> 01:02:05,973
We actually allow people
to try to identify
1184
01:02:06,100 --> 01:02:08,800
unknown soldiers and sailors
from the Civil War era.
1185
01:02:08,934 --> 01:02:10,934
How many photos do you have
in the database here?
1186
01:02:11,066 --> 01:02:12,926
Right now we have
almost 30,000.
1187
01:02:13,066 --> 01:02:16,596
- Wow.
- So it is using a combination
of human intelligence
1188
01:02:16,734 --> 01:02:18,904
- and artificial intelligence.
- Right.
1189
01:02:19,033 --> 01:02:21,933
Kurt Luther:
The artificial intelligence
is face recognition.
1190
01:02:22,066 --> 01:02:25,496
We provided him two different
photographs of John Wilkes Booth
1191
01:02:25,633 --> 01:02:27,903
as sort of a test subject.
1192
01:02:28,033 --> 01:02:30,033
-[Fishburne]
Dr. Luther's software
1193
01:02:30,166 --> 01:02:32,326
matched the two completely
different photos of Booth
1194
01:02:32,467 --> 01:02:34,667
out of 30,000 possibilities.
1195
01:02:34,800 --> 01:02:37,100
The system clearly works.
1196
01:02:37,233 --> 01:02:39,573
But what can it say about
James William Boyd's
1197
01:02:39,700 --> 01:02:42,300
resemblance
to John Wilkes Booth?
1198
01:02:42,433 --> 01:02:45,073
Was he similar enough
that his body
1199
01:02:45,200 --> 01:02:47,830
might have been mistaken
for John Wilkes Booth?
1200
01:02:47,967 --> 01:02:51,397
-[Fishburne]
But while Dr. Luther's software
matched two picture of Booth
1201
01:02:51,533 --> 01:02:53,203
out of 30,000 options,
1202
01:02:53,333 --> 01:02:57,603
there was no match between
photos of Booth and Boyd.
1203
01:02:57,734 --> 01:03:00,534
It turns out that there are
about 200 results
1204
01:03:00,667 --> 01:03:02,867
that look similar enough
to this gentleman
1205
01:03:03,000 --> 01:03:04,800
to show up as results.
1206
01:03:04,934 --> 01:03:07,834
What we're not seeing are any
of the photos of Booth...
1207
01:03:07,967 --> 01:03:11,167
- Right.
- ...that we've uploaded.
1208
01:03:11,300 --> 01:03:15,070
-[Fishburne]
Coming up on "History's
Greatest Mysteries"...
1209
01:03:15,200 --> 01:03:17,470
People have been arguing
whether it was really Booth
1210
01:03:17,600 --> 01:03:20,230
killed in
the Garrett barn or not
for a hundred years.
1211
01:03:20,367 --> 01:03:24,667
If we prove that you are
indeed a Booth family match...
1212
01:03:24,800 --> 01:03:26,430
- Yes.
- ...that would mean
1213
01:03:26,567 --> 01:03:28,797
that Booth couldn't
have died in that barn.
1214
01:03:28,934 --> 01:03:32,474
I would like for them
to exhume John Wilkes Booth.
1215
01:03:32,600 --> 01:03:35,900
Suppose John Wilkes Booth
actually wasn't buried in here.
1216
01:03:44,867 --> 01:03:48,227
-[Fishburne] The team
met with another DNA donor,
Matt Wilkinson,
1217
01:03:48,367 --> 01:03:52,067
who believes his ancestor
may have been born to
John Wilkes Booth
1218
01:03:52,200 --> 01:03:55,570
after history
says he died in 1865.
1219
01:03:55,700 --> 01:03:58,270
The relation goes through
this guy right there.
1220
01:03:58,400 --> 01:03:59,870
Ansaldi:
Harry Jerome Stevenson,
1221
01:04:00,066 --> 01:04:01,896
who would be
your great-grandfather,
1222
01:04:02,033 --> 01:04:04,133
was the son
of John Wilkes Booth.
1223
01:04:04,266 --> 01:04:06,826
- That's correct.
- He was born in '71.
1224
01:04:06,967 --> 01:04:09,697
- Right.
- -[Fishburne] If Wilkinson
proves to be a Booth,
1225
01:04:09,834 --> 01:04:11,474
he must deal
with a dual legacy.
1226
01:04:11,600 --> 01:04:13,770
Part of a renowned
acting family
1227
01:04:13,900 --> 01:04:17,070
and a descendant
of Lincoln's assassin.
1228
01:04:17,200 --> 01:04:21,370
My grandmother chose not
to discuss it.
1229
01:04:21,500 --> 01:04:26,070
If we prove that you are
indeed a Booth family match...
1230
01:04:26,200 --> 01:04:28,130
- Yes.
- ...that would mean that Booth
1231
01:04:28,266 --> 01:04:30,196
couldn't have died in the barn,
1232
01:04:30,333 --> 01:04:31,903
because then
your great-grandfather
1233
01:04:32,033 --> 01:04:34,433
could never have been born.
Harry's the ringer.
1234
01:04:34,567 --> 01:04:39,497
Clearly, this would
wipe away a chunk of history
around all these events.
1235
01:04:45,367 --> 01:04:48,767
This notion that
John Wilkes Booth survived
1236
01:04:48,900 --> 01:04:51,770
is one the fuels
a lot of myths
1237
01:04:51,900 --> 01:04:54,770
about the time period.
1238
01:04:54,900 --> 01:04:57,970
Elle Harvell: In a way,
it perpetuates a version
of the Lost Cause,
1239
01:04:58,100 --> 01:05:01,030
because if he did live on,
and if he did survive,
1240
01:05:01,166 --> 01:05:03,196
and he was not killed,
1241
01:05:03,333 --> 01:05:06,273
that's part of
the Confederate Lost Cause,
1242
01:05:06,400 --> 01:05:09,970
this notion that
the South will rise again.
1243
01:05:10,100 --> 01:05:15,200
The Confederacy had a win.
1244
01:05:15,333 --> 01:05:18,673
And so all of this
is sort of out there
and stirring the pot
1245
01:05:18,800 --> 01:05:21,900
of whether or not
John Wilkes Booth
got away with it,
1246
01:05:22,033 --> 01:05:25,403
getting to Texas or Oklahoma
or any of the other places
1247
01:05:25,533 --> 01:05:27,703
that people believe
that he was.
1248
01:05:27,834 --> 01:05:30,304
The notion that someone
would show up
1249
01:05:30,433 --> 01:05:33,333
in a small Southern town
or enclave
1250
01:05:33,467 --> 01:05:36,467
where there was great,
great Confederate sympathy
1251
01:05:36,600 --> 01:05:40,170
and claim to be
John Wilkes Booth makes sense
1252
01:05:40,300 --> 01:05:43,970
because that person
would have the support,
1253
01:05:44,100 --> 01:05:47,530
would seem like
a movie star of sorts.
1254
01:05:47,667 --> 01:05:49,027
Some of the girls
would line up,
1255
01:05:49,166 --> 01:05:51,866
maybe sneak out
their houses to see him--
1256
01:05:52,000 --> 01:05:54,830
getting away
with wooing girls
1257
01:05:54,967 --> 01:05:58,327
and leaving town
with babies behind.
1258
01:05:58,467 --> 01:06:01,827
-[Fishburne] But before
John Wilkes Booth could live
to woo young ladies
1259
01:06:01,967 --> 01:06:07,397
and father children,
he would first have to elude
the Union manhunt.
1260
01:06:07,533 --> 01:06:09,773
Cowan: People have been
discussing and arguing
1261
01:06:09,900 --> 01:06:11,700
whether it
was really Booth killed
in the Garrett barn
1262
01:06:11,834 --> 01:06:14,074
or not for a hundred years,
1263
01:06:14,200 --> 01:06:16,970
and that will not change until
we have a definitive answer.
1264
01:06:17,100 --> 01:06:20,700
And the only thing that can be
definitive is DNA testing.
1265
01:06:20,834 --> 01:06:23,904
You could possibly test
the vertebrae
1266
01:06:24,033 --> 01:06:25,703
from the autopsy
of John Wilkes Booth.
1267
01:06:25,834 --> 01:06:27,434
You possibly could.
1268
01:06:27,567 --> 01:06:30,197
If I could just get a little
small sample of that
1269
01:06:30,333 --> 01:06:33,273
and compare it
to a direct descendant
1270
01:06:33,400 --> 01:06:35,100
from the Booth family,
1271
01:06:35,233 --> 01:06:36,873
I think I can discover whether
1272
01:06:37,000 --> 01:06:38,900
that's really Booth or not.
1273
01:06:39,033 --> 01:06:40,903
-[Fishburne]
DNA testing the remains
1274
01:06:41,033 --> 01:06:43,573
from Booth's autopsy
aboard the Montauk
1275
01:06:43,700 --> 01:06:45,870
would settle the issue,
but the three vertebrae
1276
01:06:46,000 --> 01:06:47,600
and section of spinal column
1277
01:06:47,734 --> 01:06:50,274
kept at the National Museum
of Health and Medicine
1278
01:06:50,400 --> 01:06:53,400
have never been tested because
they are deemed too valuable.
1279
01:06:53,533 --> 01:06:54,903
They're historical artifacts,
1280
01:06:55,033 --> 01:06:57,373
so they're valuable
to American history.
1281
01:06:57,500 --> 01:07:01,300
So your decision is
do we preserve the bones
1282
01:07:01,433 --> 01:07:03,433
at the expense of the genome?
1283
01:07:03,567 --> 01:07:05,767
Or would we want to take
the genome out
1284
01:07:05,900 --> 01:07:07,800
at the expense of the bones?
1285
01:07:07,934 --> 01:07:09,534
-[Fishburne]
Dr. Robert Arnold,
1286
01:07:09,667 --> 01:07:11,467
who has experience
identifying dead bodies,
1287
01:07:11,600 --> 01:07:14,430
suggests that another key
to solving the mystery
1288
01:07:14,567 --> 01:07:18,167
might lie
in a Baltimore cemetery.
1289
01:07:18,300 --> 01:07:23,170
I would like for them
to exhume John Wilkes Booth,
examine the body,
1290
01:07:23,300 --> 01:07:26,230
and use what's known as
tinal radiology,
1291
01:07:26,367 --> 01:07:30,967
where they X-ray the skull
in the same plane as a picture
and match it.
1292
01:07:31,100 --> 01:07:33,730
That's a very good way
of identification.
1293
01:07:33,867 --> 01:07:36,097
-[Fishburne]
But there's another problem.
1294
01:07:36,233 --> 01:07:40,303
The exact location
of John Wilkes Booth's grave
is also a mystery.
1295
01:07:40,433 --> 01:07:43,033
Where John Wilkes Booth
was buried
1296
01:07:43,166 --> 01:07:44,596
in Green Mount Cemetery
1297
01:07:44,734 --> 01:07:47,174
was an issue from
the very beginning.
1298
01:07:47,300 --> 01:07:49,130
-[Fishburne]
John Wilkes Booth's body,
1299
01:07:49,266 --> 01:07:51,166
or the body of the man
said to be Booth,
1300
01:07:51,300 --> 01:07:54,970
was released by the government
to the family in 1869.
1301
01:07:55,100 --> 01:07:57,670
According to
the documentary record,
1302
01:07:57,800 --> 01:07:59,330
the body was brought
to Green Mount
1303
01:07:59,467 --> 01:08:02,197
on February 18th, 1869,
1304
01:08:02,333 --> 01:08:06,003
and interred in February
or March of that year.
1305
01:08:06,133 --> 01:08:08,033
For several months,
it was stored
1306
01:08:08,166 --> 01:08:11,066
in the undertaker's
own family crypt.
1307
01:08:11,200 --> 01:08:16,970
It wasn't until June 13, 1869
that Mary Ann Booth
1308
01:08:17,100 --> 01:08:20,900
actually purchased the lot
in Green Mount Cemetery.
1309
01:08:21,033 --> 01:08:25,373
Just 13 days later
on June 26th, 1869,
1310
01:08:25,500 --> 01:08:30,330
there was indeed the burial
of John Wilkes Booth's body
1311
01:08:30,467 --> 01:08:34,167
in the Booth plot somewhere.
1312
01:08:34,300 --> 01:08:37,170
-[Fishburne] Somewhere,
but where exactly?
1313
01:08:37,300 --> 01:08:41,700
In 1995, Frank Gorman
represented Green Mount
Cemetery
1314
01:08:41,834 --> 01:08:45,874
in a case brought
by Booth family members
to exhume Booth's body
1315
01:08:46,000 --> 01:08:49,430
and determine
of it's really their infamous
relative buried there.
1316
01:08:49,567 --> 01:08:52,027
After four days of trial,
the judge decided
1317
01:08:52,166 --> 01:08:55,166
that the evidence
was not convincing
1318
01:08:55,300 --> 01:08:58,030
that John Wilkes Booth
had escaped
1319
01:08:58,166 --> 01:09:00,166
or that he wasn't buried here.
1320
01:09:00,300 --> 01:09:03,600
And because
it wasn't convincing,
it wasn't compelling,
1321
01:09:03,734 --> 01:09:05,274
he turned down the petition.
1322
01:09:05,400 --> 01:09:07,530
He said you can't dig him up.
1323
01:09:07,667 --> 01:09:09,897
I read something somewhere
about the amount of people
1324
01:09:10,033 --> 01:09:12,073
that are buried in
that particular plot.
1325
01:09:12,200 --> 01:09:13,670
- Was that an issue during--
- Yeah, it was.
1326
01:09:13,800 --> 01:09:16,470
The cemetery and others
really don't know
1327
01:09:16,600 --> 01:09:19,070
- exactly where in
the cemetery he is.
- Right.
1328
01:09:19,200 --> 01:09:22,900
Approximately ten or more
Booth family members
1329
01:09:23,033 --> 01:09:25,073
are buried in that plot.
1330
01:09:25,200 --> 01:09:28,470
Edwin Booth did not want
the grave to be marked.
1331
01:09:28,600 --> 01:09:30,930
That was his
deliberate intention.
1332
01:09:31,066 --> 01:09:34,096
Suppose John Wilkes Booth
actually isn't buried in there?
1333
01:09:34,233 --> 01:09:37,273
I'll answer that,
but only with the clear premise
that I believe he is.
1334
01:09:37,400 --> 01:09:39,070
I don't accept your premise.
1335
01:09:39,200 --> 01:09:42,100
But if John Wilkes Booth's
not in here,
1336
01:09:42,233 --> 01:09:46,133
I think that would be
a terrible thing to happen.
1337
01:09:46,266 --> 01:09:49,626
It would-- to this country,
at this time especially,
1338
01:09:49,767 --> 01:09:51,667
it would glorify Booth,
1339
01:09:51,800 --> 01:09:53,900
and kind of diminish
1340
01:09:54,033 --> 01:09:56,003
a horrible thing that he did,
1341
01:09:56,133 --> 01:09:58,803
and give some kind of
aid and comfort
1342
01:09:58,934 --> 01:10:03,134
to elements of the country
who see Booth as a hero.
1343
01:10:03,266 --> 01:10:05,326
- Right.
- And you think of
President Lincoln,
1344
01:10:05,467 --> 01:10:07,167
probably the most admired--
1345
01:10:07,300 --> 01:10:10,670
certainly the one or two
most admired presidents
1346
01:10:10,800 --> 01:10:15,200
would have the end
of his story kind of upset.
1347
01:10:15,333 --> 01:10:18,473
So, I'll leave it this way,
I'm glad that he is in here,
1348
01:10:18,600 --> 01:10:20,630
- and I think that he is.
- So, you're sure
that he is in there?
1349
01:10:20,767 --> 01:10:22,767
- Yes, Art, I am.
- Okay.
1350
01:10:26,800 --> 01:10:30,500
-[Fishburne] Coming up,
did John Wilkes Booth
become David E. George?
1351
01:10:30,633 --> 01:10:33,003
Cowan:
Shortly before his death,
David E. George confessed
1352
01:10:33,133 --> 01:10:36,003
to his landlady that he was
really John Wilkes Booth,
1353
01:10:36,133 --> 01:10:39,733
and they had him preserved
with extra embalming fluid.
1354
01:10:39,867 --> 01:10:44,267
But there's not question
that David George was mummified.
1355
01:10:44,400 --> 01:10:48,070
The question is
is David George
John Wilkes Booth?
1356
01:11:00,834 --> 01:11:04,204
Truth in history
is so difficult to get to.
1357
01:11:04,333 --> 01:11:04,803
Historians want
1358
01:11:04,934 --> 01:11:07,334
to get to the truth,
1359
01:11:07,467 --> 01:11:10,467
but they also insist
on having evidence.
1360
01:11:10,600 --> 01:11:15,230
It's hard for a mainstream
historian or an academic
1361
01:11:15,367 --> 01:11:17,567
to buy into some
of these alternate theories
1362
01:11:17,700 --> 01:11:21,230
because that would mean
that many, many generations of,
1363
01:11:21,367 --> 01:11:23,027
you know, whether
they're Lincoln historians
1364
01:11:23,166 --> 01:11:25,266
or historians
of the assassination,
1365
01:11:25,400 --> 01:11:26,970
that they were wrong.
1366
01:11:27,100 --> 01:11:28,570
-[Fishburne] The team met
with another
1367
01:11:28,700 --> 01:11:30,670
possible John Wilkes Booth
descendant.
1368
01:11:30,800 --> 01:11:32,900
Like the relatives
of Harry Jerome Stevenson,
1369
01:11:33,033 --> 01:11:35,403
Lisa Booth agreed
to DNA testing,
1370
01:11:35,533 --> 01:11:38,473
but she has a different
family tree.
1371
01:11:38,600 --> 01:11:42,800
When did you find out
that you were a descendant
of John Wilkes Booth?
1372
01:11:42,934 --> 01:11:46,374
My father's
John Wilkes Booth III,
so early on.
1373
01:11:46,500 --> 01:11:50,030
So if your granddad
was John Wilkes Booth II,
1374
01:11:50,166 --> 01:11:52,526
then his father,
when was he born?
1375
01:11:52,667 --> 01:11:55,627
Lisa Booth:
In December 1866.
1376
01:11:55,767 --> 01:11:58,467
- A whole year after the barn.
- Correct.
1377
01:11:58,600 --> 01:12:02,570
Our family always said
that he did not die
in Garrett's barn
1378
01:12:02,700 --> 01:12:04,670
and continued
to travel south.
1379
01:12:04,800 --> 01:12:06,900
So that would have him
traveling into Texas
1380
01:12:07,033 --> 01:12:11,203
and then meeting up with
your great-great-grandmother
at that point?
1381
01:12:11,333 --> 01:12:13,803
I don't know her name.
It's not listed in this Bible.
1382
01:12:13,934 --> 01:12:17,334
- This is your family Bible?
- It belonged to
my grandfather, yes.
1383
01:12:17,467 --> 01:12:19,697
That's where births
and deaths were recorded.
1384
01:12:19,834 --> 01:12:21,874
So this says John Wilkes Booth
1385
01:12:22,000 --> 01:12:26,130
was born 8th of December, 1866.
1386
01:12:26,266 --> 01:12:29,826
We think that this was the son
of John Wilkes Booth.
1387
01:12:29,967 --> 01:12:31,367
They just didn't add
the "junior" to this one.
1388
01:12:31,500 --> 01:12:34,130
Ansaldi: Sitting with Lisa,
her showing me
1389
01:12:34,266 --> 01:12:38,096
her family's Bible
and the handwritten account
1390
01:12:38,233 --> 01:12:41,133
from a family member
in a spiral notebook,
1391
01:12:41,266 --> 01:12:44,696
she was told as a child
that what the government said,
1392
01:12:44,834 --> 01:12:47,474
what history said,
wasn't the truth.
1393
01:12:47,600 --> 01:12:49,670
This is the truth.
1394
01:12:49,800 --> 01:12:53,930
He meets up with, obviously,
a young lady in Texas?
1395
01:12:54,066 --> 01:12:55,696
In Shelby County, Texas.
1396
01:12:55,834 --> 01:12:59,034
This child was of
that relationship,
1397
01:12:59,166 --> 01:13:01,926
and then he took off
to parts unknown.
1398
01:13:02,066 --> 01:13:05,296
You're providing us
with a sample DNA for you.
1399
01:13:05,433 --> 01:13:09,433
We actually have
a control sample of Booth DNA
1400
01:13:09,567 --> 01:13:14,397
that really can prove
whether or not any of this
could potentially be true.
1401
01:13:14,533 --> 01:13:17,703
- What does that feel like?
- I just think it's great
to have an answer,
1402
01:13:17,834 --> 01:13:18,774
one way or the other.
1403
01:13:18,900 --> 01:13:20,270
Good, bad, or indifferent,
1404
01:13:20,400 --> 01:13:21,770
you are who you are.
1405
01:13:23,500 --> 01:13:25,130
There have been many stories
1406
01:13:25,266 --> 01:13:27,366
about John Wilkes Booth
escaping,
1407
01:13:27,500 --> 01:13:29,470
and where he went,
and what happened to him.
1408
01:13:29,600 --> 01:13:31,530
-[Fishburne]
Where did Booth go?
1409
01:13:31,667 --> 01:13:34,197
According
to author Troy Cowan's
version of the story,
1410
01:13:34,333 --> 01:13:38,673
by 1870, Booth was living
incognito in the Wild West.
1411
01:13:38,800 --> 01:13:41,030
Cowan:
He went to Granville, Texas,
1412
01:13:41,166 --> 01:13:43,426
where he lived
for another five years.
1413
01:13:43,567 --> 01:13:45,367
He used the name
John St. Helen.
1414
01:13:45,500 --> 01:13:48,400
-[Fishburne] During this time,
the man known as John St. Helen
1415
01:13:48,533 --> 01:13:50,373
met a young lawyer names
Finis Bates,
1416
01:13:50,500 --> 01:13:53,570
who wrote a book
published in 1907 entitled
1417
01:13:53,700 --> 01:13:56,870
"The Escape and Suicide
of John Wilkes Booth."
1418
01:13:57,000 --> 01:14:00,930
Booth became very sick
and he thought
he was going to die.
1419
01:14:01,066 --> 01:14:05,666
So he confessed to Bates
that he was really
John Wilkes Booth.
1420
01:14:05,800 --> 01:14:08,870
-[Fishburne] But according
to Bates' and Cowan's tale,
Booth did not die.
1421
01:14:09,000 --> 01:14:11,000
He eventually
moved further west
1422
01:14:11,133 --> 01:14:13,973
to the frontier town
of Enid, Oklahoma.
1423
01:14:14,100 --> 01:14:16,930
While in Oklahoma,
his alias was David E. George.
1424
01:14:17,066 --> 01:14:19,926
Shortly before his death,
David E. George confessed
1425
01:14:20,066 --> 01:14:22,796
to his landlady
that he was really
John Wilkes Booth.
1426
01:14:22,934 --> 01:14:24,804
-[Fishburne] The man known
as David E. George
1427
01:14:24,934 --> 01:14:27,374
died in Enid in 1903.
1428
01:14:27,500 --> 01:14:30,000
His death was reported
as a suicide.
1429
01:14:30,133 --> 01:14:33,203
Newspapers across the country
ran with the story
of his confession.
1430
01:14:37,934 --> 01:14:40,534
Finis Bates read an article
in the paper about the death
1431
01:14:40,667 --> 01:14:44,427
that this man confessed
to being John Wilkes Booth.
1432
01:14:44,567 --> 01:14:47,267
So he wanted to go down
to Oklahoma and see
1433
01:14:47,400 --> 01:14:49,770
if David E. George
was John St. Helen,
1434
01:14:49,900 --> 01:14:51,700
and discovered
that it was the same man.
1435
01:14:51,834 --> 01:14:55,034
And they had him preserved
with extra embalming fluid.
1436
01:14:55,166 --> 01:14:58,296
So, David E. George
was so embalmed that
he became a mummy.
1437
01:15:01,367 --> 01:15:05,827
There's no question that
David George was mummified.
1438
01:15:05,967 --> 01:15:11,067
The question is
is David George
John Wilkes Booth?
1439
01:15:11,200 --> 01:15:13,930
On that, the evidence is
overwhelming that he was not.
1440
01:15:14,066 --> 01:15:18,096
If you compare the many
pictures of John Wilkes Booth
during his life
1441
01:15:18,233 --> 01:15:22,373
to the pictures of
David E. George produced
by Finis Bates,
1442
01:15:22,500 --> 01:15:24,800
they are not the same person.
1443
01:15:24,934 --> 01:15:27,704
-[Fishburne] Art Roderick
bpictures of David E. George
1444
01:15:27,834 --> 01:15:31,304
and John St. Helen,
who Finis Bates claimed
were the same man,
1445
01:15:31,433 --> 01:15:33,703
to Professor Kurt Luther
at Virginia Tech
1446
01:15:33,834 --> 01:15:37,704
to see if either of them
match John Wilkes Booth.
1447
01:15:37,834 --> 01:15:40,004
Now this individual,
David E. George,
1448
01:15:40,133 --> 01:15:42,973
says that he is
John Wilkes Booth.
1449
01:15:43,100 --> 01:15:45,900
This is obviously
a postmortem photograph.
1450
01:15:46,033 --> 01:15:48,003
It's gonna be difficult
to use this
1451
01:15:48,133 --> 01:15:51,833
to make a identification
for a couple of reasons.
1452
01:15:51,967 --> 01:15:54,167
- People's faces change
as they get older.
- Right.
1453
01:15:54,300 --> 01:15:58,170
The other issue here, of course,
is this individual's deceased.
1454
01:15:58,300 --> 01:16:02,430
And we can see that the body's
starting to undergo changes
in the facial structure.
1455
01:16:02,567 --> 01:16:04,567
And those changes
are gonna make it difficult
1456
01:16:04,700 --> 01:16:07,170
to compare with
an identified reference image.
1457
01:16:07,300 --> 01:16:09,370
So given the passage of time
1458
01:16:09,500 --> 01:16:11,570
and the decomposition
of this body,
1459
01:16:11,700 --> 01:16:14,670
I think it's very difficult
to make any strong claims
1460
01:16:14,800 --> 01:16:17,400
that this is a photo
of John Wilkes Booth.
1461
01:16:17,533 --> 01:16:20,773
-[Fishburne] But what
about Booth's other
Wild West doppelganger?
1462
01:16:20,900 --> 01:16:23,100
This individual
is John St. Helen,
1463
01:16:23,233 --> 01:16:25,933
who claimed he's
John Wilkes Booth.
1464
01:16:26,066 --> 01:16:28,396
- This is a tintype?
- Looks like it, yes.
1465
01:16:28,533 --> 01:16:31,933
But we're missing
a whole other side
of this gentleman's face.
1466
01:16:32,066 --> 01:16:35,566
People's facial features
are different on both
sides of their face.
1467
01:16:35,700 --> 01:16:40,200
Because of this damage,
we're not able to use automatic
face recognition technology.
1468
01:16:40,333 --> 01:16:42,973
-[Fishburne]
With the tintype
too damaged to use,
1469
01:16:43,100 --> 01:16:44,770
Dr. Luther loaded
a painted reproduction
1470
01:16:44,900 --> 01:16:46,730
of the tintype
into his database
1471
01:16:46,867 --> 01:16:49,467
to see how closely
it matches the two photos
1472
01:16:49,600 --> 01:16:51,430
of John Wilkes Booth
in the system.
1473
01:16:51,567 --> 01:16:53,767
Luther: So we have over
1,000 possible matches,
1474
01:16:53,900 --> 01:16:57,670
but we're not seeing anybody
like John Wilkes Booth.
1475
01:16:57,800 --> 01:17:02,170
The top result is actually
a Confederate general
names James Holtzclaw.
1476
01:17:02,300 --> 01:17:06,500
-[Fishburne] Next,
forensic document examiner
Robert Floberg
1477
01:17:06,633 --> 01:17:09,203
evaluated a notarized affidavit
1478
01:17:09,333 --> 01:17:12,473
by the owner and clerk
of the Enid, Oklahoma hotel
1479
01:17:12,600 --> 01:17:15,970
in which David E. George
died in 1903.
1480
01:17:16,100 --> 01:17:19,530
This supposedly is an account
done by two individuals
1481
01:17:19,667 --> 01:17:23,567
regarding the death
of David E. George in 1903
1482
01:17:23,700 --> 01:17:26,000
that George is telling
these two individuals
1483
01:17:26,133 --> 01:17:28,173
that he is John Wilkes Booth.
1484
01:17:28,300 --> 01:17:30,230
There's a phrase
at the end of the document,
1485
01:17:30,367 --> 01:17:33,197
"George declaring
on his deathbed
1486
01:17:33,333 --> 01:17:35,473
that he was
John Wilkes Booth."
1487
01:17:35,600 --> 01:17:38,500
-[Fishburne] Those words
are the only reference
in the entire document
1488
01:17:38,633 --> 01:17:41,203
to David E. George's
alleged confession.
1489
01:17:41,333 --> 01:17:44,033
This is the phrase in question
that appears to have been added
1490
01:17:44,166 --> 01:17:46,226
onto the original document.
1491
01:17:46,367 --> 01:17:48,367
How can you tell
it was added on?
1492
01:17:48,500 --> 01:17:50,500
When the document
is magnified,
1493
01:17:50,633 --> 01:17:54,633
the phrase
"on his deathbed" is blotted.
1494
01:17:54,767 --> 01:18:00,067
There's a notary stamp,
and when one writes over
an indented notary stamp,
1495
01:18:00,200 --> 01:18:02,800
the quill pen hangs up
in the indentations
1496
01:18:02,934 --> 01:18:04,734
- and it leaves an ink blot.
- Oh.
1497
01:18:04,867 --> 01:18:06,927
-[Fishburne] Floberg then
examined the signatures
1498
01:18:07,066 --> 01:18:09,926
on two documents
signed by David E. George.
1499
01:18:10,066 --> 01:18:12,726
Is his signature
a match for Booth's?
1500
01:18:12,867 --> 01:18:15,927
You compare
the uppercase "D" in "David"
1501
01:18:16,066 --> 01:18:18,726
and the uppercase "D"
in "dear."
1502
01:18:18,867 --> 01:18:22,197
It's interesting
that there are some very
similar letter forms,
1503
01:18:22,333 --> 01:18:24,073
but however,
the rest of the story, Art,
1504
01:18:24,200 --> 01:18:26,070
is that everything
has got to line up.
1505
01:18:26,200 --> 01:18:28,570
All of the lowercase letters
have to be consistent
1506
01:18:28,700 --> 01:18:30,770
to make a positive comparison.
1507
01:18:30,900 --> 01:18:34,230
In studying Booth's writing,
he's very artistic
1508
01:18:34,367 --> 01:18:37,097
and has a very flowery
cursive writing.
1509
01:18:37,233 --> 01:18:39,503
David E. George, not so.
1510
01:18:39,633 --> 01:18:42,333
Now could age have made
the difference in his writing?
1511
01:18:42,467 --> 01:18:45,697
No, I don't think so.
The letter forms
are formed so differently
1512
01:18:45,834 --> 01:18:49,104
that people don't alter their
handwriting to that extent.
1513
01:18:49,233 --> 01:18:52,873
So I believe that these
are two different individuals.
1514
01:18:53,000 --> 01:18:56,730
-[Fishburne] This evidence
contradicts the stories
that John St. Helen
1515
01:18:56,867 --> 01:19:00,267
and David George were actually
John Wilkes Booth.
1516
01:19:00,400 --> 01:19:03,930
But what about
the mystery surrounding
Harry Jerome Stevenson?
1517
01:19:04,066 --> 01:19:06,796
Was this young man,
born five years after Booth
1518
01:19:06,934 --> 01:19:09,504
was supposed to be dead,
truly his son?
1519
01:19:09,633 --> 01:19:12,873
The results from the DNA tests
of his descendants
1520
01:19:13,000 --> 01:19:16,500
are coming up next on
"History's Greatest Mysteries."
1521
01:19:16,633 --> 01:19:20,173
We'd love to hear the results
from your analysis
1522
01:19:20,300 --> 01:19:22,130
of the DNA
that we've collected.
1523
01:19:22,266 --> 01:19:24,366
Colleen Fitzpatrick:
The DNA of the descendants
1524
01:19:24,500 --> 01:19:26,200
of Harry Jerome Stevenson...
1525
01:19:26,333 --> 01:19:28,933
You guys are biologically...
1526
01:19:40,567 --> 01:19:43,867
-[Fishburne]
Some Booth family members
believe John Wilkes Booth
1527
01:19:44,000 --> 01:19:47,370
fathered children
after his supposed death.
1528
01:19:47,500 --> 01:19:49,930
If DNA testing proves
that's true,
1529
01:19:50,066 --> 01:19:52,296
the history books
will need correction.
1530
01:19:52,433 --> 01:19:56,703
Junius Brutus Booth, Sr.,
was the assassin's father.
1531
01:19:56,834 --> 01:19:59,074
Junius had a sister
named Jane,
1532
01:19:59,200 --> 01:20:02,030
who is Joanne Hulme's
great-great grandmother.
1533
01:20:02,166 --> 01:20:05,096
Since Joanne
has been genetically proven
to be a Booth,
1534
01:20:05,233 --> 01:20:08,733
the possible Booths have been
tested against her DNA.
1535
01:20:08,867 --> 01:20:13,697
DNA samples were taken
from four descendants of
Harry Jerome Stevenson,
1536
01:20:13,834 --> 01:20:16,134
the alleged son
of John Wilkes Booth,
1537
01:20:16,266 --> 01:20:19,296
born five years after
history says Booth died.
1538
01:20:19,433 --> 01:20:22,833
Lisa Booth also gave
a DNA sample.
1539
01:20:22,967 --> 01:20:25,967
Her ancestors include men
named John Wilkes Booth,
1540
01:20:26,100 --> 01:20:27,770
John Wilkes Booth, Jr.,
1541
01:20:27,900 --> 01:20:30,530
and John Wilkes Booth III.
1542
01:20:30,667 --> 01:20:33,397
It's time to see
if DNA testing can help settle
1543
01:20:33,533 --> 01:20:36,773
one of history's
greatest mysteries.
1544
01:20:36,900 --> 01:20:40,430
We've been waiting
for this moment for months,
1545
01:20:40,567 --> 01:20:43,167
and in Joanne's case,
almost 50 years,
1546
01:20:43,300 --> 01:20:45,600
so we'd love to hear
the results
1547
01:20:45,734 --> 01:20:48,404
from your analysis of the DNA
that we've collected.
1548
01:20:48,533 --> 01:20:53,273
The DNA of the descendants
of Harry Jerome Stevenson
1549
01:20:53,400 --> 01:20:54,670
doesn't match Booth DNA.
1550
01:20:54,800 --> 01:20:56,430
Wow. That was
the one I thought--
1551
01:20:56,567 --> 01:20:58,127
So we have to rule those out.
1552
01:20:58,266 --> 01:20:59,696
Ansaldi:
That would be Andy Gorto,
1553
01:20:59,834 --> 01:21:00,974
Linda Casey,
1554
01:21:01,100 --> 01:21:03,800
Dennis Farley,
Matt Wilkinson.
1555
01:21:03,934 --> 01:21:05,174
- Wow.
- And then the descendants
1556
01:21:05,300 --> 01:21:07,930
of the John Wilkes Booth
from Mississippi.
1557
01:21:08,066 --> 01:21:09,626
Ansaldi:
That would be Lisa Booth.
1558
01:21:09,767 --> 01:21:11,367
That DNA doesn't match either.
1559
01:21:11,500 --> 01:21:13,130
Roderick: And she had
the three descendants
1560
01:21:13,266 --> 01:21:14,766
that actually had the name
of John Wilkes Booth.
1561
01:21:14,900 --> 01:21:16,730
Ansaldi:
John Wilkes Booth III,
the second.
1562
01:21:16,867 --> 01:21:19,497
DNA doesn't lie
when it tells you
about relationships
1563
01:21:19,633 --> 01:21:21,303
and whether people
are connected or not.
1564
01:21:21,433 --> 01:21:25,873
Did the Ogarita descendant
match the Booth DNA?
1565
01:21:26,000 --> 01:21:27,930
- No, he did not.
- Wow.
1566
01:21:28,066 --> 01:21:30,526
Ansaldi:
That also now means that Ogarita
1567
01:21:30,667 --> 01:21:32,167
- was not a descendant...
- Has no relationship...
1568
01:21:32,300 --> 01:21:33,500
Both:
...of John Wilkes Booth.
1569
01:21:33,633 --> 01:21:35,303
Ansaldi:
Izola Paige Forrester,
1570
01:21:35,433 --> 01:21:37,733
who penned the book
"This One Mad Act,"
1571
01:21:37,867 --> 01:21:40,967
she was thought of
to be John Wilkes Booth's
granddaughter.
1572
01:21:41,100 --> 01:21:45,230
We can prove,
based on this science today
none of that is true?
1573
01:21:45,367 --> 01:21:48,597
There's just no scientific
evidence supporting it,
let's put it that way.
1574
01:21:48,734 --> 01:21:50,974
Roderick:
There is absolutely
no connection
1575
01:21:51,100 --> 01:21:52,970
between Ogarita's descendants
1576
01:21:53,100 --> 01:21:55,870
and the Stevenson descendants
to John Wilkes Booth.
1577
01:21:56,000 --> 01:21:59,370
There's no DNA evidence
he had any children.
1578
01:21:59,500 --> 01:22:03,200
He has not, based on
our scientific study,
1579
01:22:03,333 --> 01:22:05,373
fathered children
after the barn.
1580
01:22:05,500 --> 01:22:07,030
And it doesn't mean
that he possibly
1581
01:22:07,166 --> 01:22:08,396
couldn't have escaped
from the barn.
1582
01:22:08,533 --> 01:22:11,033
- Right.
- None of this proves
1583
01:22:11,166 --> 01:22:13,726
whether John Wilkes Booth
survived or not.
1584
01:22:13,867 --> 01:22:16,427
because we don't have
his DNA to compare.
1585
01:22:16,567 --> 01:22:19,827
All we can do is say that
the people we have tested,
1586
01:22:19,967 --> 01:22:23,997
the Jerome Stevenson group
and the Ogarita descendant,
1587
01:22:24,133 --> 01:22:26,773
they're not descendants
of John Wilkes Booth
or the Booth family.
1588
01:22:26,900 --> 01:22:30,700
You have to go back
to Izola Martha Mills
and start thinking,
1589
01:22:30,834 --> 01:22:32,874
- "Hmm, what was she up to?"
- What was going on?
1590
01:22:33,000 --> 01:22:35,600
Yeah. She had something going.
1591
01:22:35,734 --> 01:22:39,004
-[Fishburne]
The investigators sat down
with Joanne Hulme
1592
01:22:39,133 --> 01:22:41,233
and the descendants
of Harry Jerome Stevenson
1593
01:22:41,367 --> 01:22:43,567
to share
the DNA test results.
1594
01:22:43,700 --> 01:22:45,030
At the heart and soul
of the project
1595
01:22:45,166 --> 01:22:47,266
is whether or not
John Wilkes Booth
1596
01:22:47,400 --> 01:22:48,700
actually survived the barn,
1597
01:22:48,834 --> 01:22:51,574
and not only that,
had children,
1598
01:22:51,700 --> 01:22:55,370
one born after the barn incident
1599
01:22:55,500 --> 01:22:57,670
by the name of
Harry Jerome Stevenson.
1600
01:22:57,800 --> 01:23:02,100
And you're all descended
from Harry Jerome Stevenson,
correct?
1601
01:23:02,233 --> 01:23:06,203
- All: Yes. Correct.
- Okay. We collected
all of the DNA--
1602
01:23:06,333 --> 01:23:08,233
and you all matched,
by the way.
1603
01:23:08,367 --> 01:23:10,097
You guys are all related
for sure.
1604
01:23:10,233 --> 01:23:12,473
So congratulations.
1605
01:23:12,600 --> 01:23:16,430
We used Joanne,
who is a confirmed Booth,
1606
01:23:16,567 --> 01:23:18,727
and we made the comparison,
1607
01:23:18,867 --> 01:23:21,427
and you guys
are not biologically
1608
01:23:21,567 --> 01:23:25,167
related to Joanne.
1609
01:23:25,300 --> 01:23:27,070
You guys are biologically
1610
01:23:27,200 --> 01:23:30,070
not related
to John Wilkes Booth
1611
01:23:30,200 --> 01:23:32,730
- based on this study.
- That's a no?
1612
01:23:32,867 --> 01:23:34,427
- Ansaldi: That's a no.
- That's a yes or a no, yeah?
1613
01:23:34,567 --> 01:23:38,327
I'm sure it's not.
It was just a rumor.
1614
01:23:38,467 --> 01:23:40,867
Did you always think
it was just a rumor?
1615
01:23:41,000 --> 01:23:43,870
- I always thought
it was a rumor.
- Why is that?
1616
01:23:44,000 --> 01:23:46,900
Because my Uncle Tom had
mentioned something about it,
1617
01:23:47,033 --> 01:23:49,573
and he said he had
his doubts about it.
1618
01:23:49,700 --> 01:23:51,770
Now, Uncle Tom
was a very smart man.
1619
01:23:51,900 --> 01:23:55,400
That's my father.
You know, he had his doubts.
1620
01:23:55,533 --> 01:23:58,003
For me, I mean,
I'm not surprised.
1621
01:23:58,133 --> 01:24:00,173
I wouldn't have been
shocked either way.
1622
01:24:00,300 --> 01:24:03,970
Everything in our family,
you know, kind of originated
1623
01:24:04,100 --> 01:24:07,030
out of the book,
"This One Mad Act."
1624
01:24:07,166 --> 01:24:11,666
We have disproven
that Harry Jerome Stevenson
1625
01:24:11,800 --> 01:24:14,530
is a descendant
of John Wilkes Booth.
1626
01:24:14,667 --> 01:24:16,967
I did not know this
until today,
1627
01:24:17,100 --> 01:24:21,100
and I am much more
devastated than you are.
1628
01:24:21,233 --> 01:24:26,173
I believed in the stories.
I wanted to be related to you.
1629
01:24:26,300 --> 01:24:30,370
And I had no idea my day
was gonna start
and end this way.
1630
01:24:30,500 --> 01:24:34,470
We spoke to our expert,
and she's perfectly fine
1631
01:24:34,600 --> 01:24:36,500
that if she had
to testify in court,
1632
01:24:36,633 --> 01:24:39,873
that this is exactly what
she would relay back to you.
1633
01:24:40,000 --> 01:24:43,170
I'm comfortable
with the outcome.
You know, it's good to know.
1634
01:24:43,300 --> 01:24:45,300
Finally somebody
has solved the mystery.
1635
01:24:45,433 --> 01:24:49,533
- Yeah, yeah.
- The rumors now can stop.
1636
01:24:49,667 --> 01:24:52,967
You guys are in some ways
off the hook.
1637
01:24:53,100 --> 01:24:54,070
Roderick: Yeah.
1638
01:24:57,000 --> 01:24:59,370
-[Fishburne] At this point,
there's no scientific basis
1639
01:24:59,500 --> 01:25:03,000
to support claims
that John Wilkes Booth
fathered children
1640
01:25:03,133 --> 01:25:05,533
after he was supposed to
have died at Garrett's farm.
1641
01:25:05,667 --> 01:25:09,267
But other unresolved
mysteries linger.
1642
01:25:09,400 --> 01:25:12,430
Joanne seems to be
more devastated
than anybody else...
1643
01:25:12,567 --> 01:25:15,767
- Yeah.
- ...because she thought
she had all these cousins.
1644
01:25:15,900 --> 01:25:18,600
But she walked away
hanging her hat on the fact
1645
01:25:18,734 --> 01:25:21,604
that she still believes
that John Wilkes Booth
was not killed in the barn.
1646
01:25:21,734 --> 01:25:23,574
- Ansaldi: Right.
- Wasn't in the barn.
1647
01:25:23,700 --> 01:25:26,370
Ansaldi:
We now know that he didn't
father children
1648
01:25:26,500 --> 01:25:29,070
after he supposedly died
at Garrett's farm.
1649
01:25:29,200 --> 01:25:33,100
But we still haven't proven
who actually did die
at Garrett's farm.
1650
01:25:33,233 --> 01:25:35,533
- Right.
- For me, it's not over yet.
1651
01:25:35,667 --> 01:25:38,567
We know exactly
how to wrap this up.
1652
01:25:38,700 --> 01:25:41,000
Exhume the body
from the cemetery.
1653
01:25:41,133 --> 01:25:44,933
And secondly, test the stuff
that's in the museum
in Washington, DC.
1654
01:25:45,066 --> 01:25:47,026
- The vertebrae
and the spinal cord.
- Ansaldi: Right.
1655
01:25:47,166 --> 01:25:49,396
Roderick:
Maybe there's enough
information there now
1656
01:25:49,533 --> 01:25:53,133
to possibly reopen
the Green Mount Cemetery case.
1657
01:25:53,266 --> 01:25:55,726
We're talking a case
that was 25 years ago.
1658
01:25:55,867 --> 01:25:58,197
The way DNA evidence
has advanced would possibly
1659
01:25:58,333 --> 01:26:00,303
make a good case
getting the body exhumed.
1660
01:26:00,433 --> 01:26:02,803
Ansaldi: Make sure,
just for history's sake
1661
01:26:02,934 --> 01:26:07,274
that they did actually
get John Wilkes Booth.
1662
01:26:07,400 --> 01:26:08,830
-[Fishburne]
The role of assassin
1663
01:26:08,967 --> 01:26:11,497
was one John Wilkes Booth
relished.
1664
01:26:11,633 --> 01:26:14,633
But while some believe
tantalizing questions remain,
1665
01:26:14,767 --> 01:26:17,597
the evidence supports the
historical account.
1666
01:26:17,734 --> 01:26:19,974
The infamous performers last act
1667
01:26:20,100 --> 01:26:22,970
took place with his death at
Garrett's farm.
1668
01:26:23,100 --> 01:26:24,800
I'm Laurence Fishburne,
1669
01:26:24,934 --> 01:26:29,474
thank you for watching
"History's Greatest Mysteries".
145909
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