All language subtitles for Season 1 Episode 7 - Full Episode-(480p) [FREE - HDconvert.com] Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack -

NARRATOR: This program is
about unsolved mysteries.

Whenever possible, the
actual family members

and police officials
have participated

in recreating the events.

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

[theme music]

NARRATOR: Tonight on
"Unsolved Mysteries,"

we continue our
examination into New York's

infamous son of Sam shootings.

New evidence suggests that
the Son of Sam killer,

David Berkowitz, was
part of a satanic cult

that murdered six people.

At an inn near
Philadelphia, the head

waitress sees a
Revolutionary War

soldier on the main staircase.

In Jackson, Mississippi, a
wealthy woman is kidnapped.

Her millionaire husband gives
into the kidnapper's demands.

Annie Hearin is still missing.

These intriguing
stories all need

one final clue, one final
piece of information

before they can be solved.

Perhaps someone watching
tonight can help.

Perhaps it's you.

[theme music]

For over 100 years, people
have seen and heard things

around the General Wayne Inn in
Philadelphia that they cannot

explain, a number
of different ghosts

who seem to have an unusual
agenda of mischief in mind.

Located in Merion, Pennsylvania,
the General Wayne Inn

opened in 1704 and
is reputed to be

the oldest,
continuously-functioning inn

in America.

Ben Franklin visited the
inn, and George Washington

slept in what is today
this dining room.

Edgar Allan Poe wrote part of
his famous poem, "The Raven,"

here in 1836.

But it is a history of
hauntings that brings

us to the General Wayne Inn.

Barton Johnson is the
innkeeper and serves

as vice president of the
local historical society.

We have had towels thrown
all over the kitchen.

We have had adding
machine problems.

We've had television
problems directly

attributable to something
that is not understandable.

We have had reports of
sightings of entities, ghosts.

We have had a funny
incident with a new Cadillac

in the parking lot outside.

NARRATOR: Last year a
valet walked by a Cadillac

parked in front of the inn.

The owner had gone inside and
had taken his keys with him.

[engine starts and horn honks]

BART JOHNSON: Doors were locked.

Windows were all closed.

The kid was scared to death.

And I said look.

Calm down.

These things happen around
here and just relax.

I enjoy these ghosts.

I mean, they don't
bother me at all.

I think they come up with some
real clever little things.

For God's sake,
what are you doing?

Nothing.

What the hell are you doing?

I didn't do anything.

BART JOHNSON: On a
busy night, that's

when this entity will start.

Did you do that?

Do what?

BART JOHNSON: And he'll
go down the entire side

of the bar blowing on the
back of the girls' necks.

And the poor guys, they
really were doing nothing.

Cut that out.

Who me?

BART JOHNSON: Now I
knew when the first one

started that it would
continue all the way down

to the end of the bar.

It always did.

Did you do that?
MAN: Do what?

Blow on the back of my neck.

BART JOHNSON: It
happened so often

that I enjoyed standing back
on the other side of the bar

and watching.

Hundreds of occurrences have
happened, some very minor,

some more dramatic.

But there have been
hundreds of them.

NARRATOR: Bart has witnessed
many ghostly events

but has never
actually seen a ghost.

Dave Rogers has.

I was maitre d' at the time.

And we were closing the
restaurant up for the night.

[water running]

And I was starting
on my way out.

And I had looked up.

I only saw it for
a split second.

It was just a head sitting
on this chest of drawers.

It didn't register
with me right away.

And when I got out
into the bar area,

it was like I hit a brick wall.

And I just stopped dead in my
tracks, and I started saying,

I saw a head!

I saw something.

I saw a head.

It was just like It
happened yesterday.

I'll never forget the
details, although I

just saw it for an instant.

NARRATOR: Other employees
have also seen apparitions.

One day Alice
Gormley was walking

through the dining room.

And I heard
someone call my name.

Alice?

Alice?

So I walked out of here to
see if it was the manager.

And I saw this apparition,
this person on the stairs.

And he was standing
on this step.

And he looked so startled.

And when I said can I help
you, he just disappeared.

NARRATOR: Local historian,
Jay Robert Manty,

has studied the inn's
history in detail.

And, according to him,
this spectre has been

seen before over 100 years ago.

The first written record of a
ghost in the General Wayne Inn

that we came across
in writing was

a report of an election in
1848 that took place in here.

A lady went down to the basement
to get some more ballots.

When she came up,
she said to the lady

in charge of the elections,
I just saw a soldier

down there in a green uniform.

NARRATOR: In recent times,
there have been three

new sightings of this soldier.

Manty interviewed
three witnesses

who saw the same apparition
at different times.

Each of them saw the
ghost in this basement.

It's an interesting place.

I know there's a
wine cellar here.

It was right by the
door of the wine cellar

that each one of them
saw the apparition.

This is it.

This is where they found him,
and he stood right there.

Each one described
the-- in perfect way--

the green uniform, and
the yellowish lapel,

and the black mustache
of a Hessian soldier

of the regiments
that were occupying

Philadelphia at that time.

NARRATOR: Hessians
were German mercenaries

who frequented the inn
during the Revolutionary War.

What about the
British barracks room--

NARRATOR: "Unsolved
Mysteries" invited

Michaeleen Maher, a paranormal
investigator to the inn.

Michaeleen uses experimental
research techniques that

can separate fact from
fiction, for without evidence,

she refuses to believe
that ghosts exist.

--might have been
feeling or what might

have happened here before.

NARRATOR: Starting with
detailed floor plans,

she uses statistical analysis
to evaluate the responses

of both skeptics and
hand-picked psychics

who have been brought to
the scene of the hauntings.

When we bring them into
an experimental situation,

into a haunting, we ask
them to tour the place where

something has been reported.

NARRATOR: Michaeleen has
asked psychic Paula Rogers

to walk through the building.

Paula knew nothing
about the inn's history.

She went through every room.

And, in the basement, she
made a surprising discovery.

PAULA ROGERS: I got an
extremely strong impression

I see a young soldier hiding.

I can still see it.

And he's in a very old costume.

We're probably talking
at least 200 years.

I could see if it was a memory.

He crouched there, petrifying.

He seemed to have
been left behind.

NARRATOR: Paula
sensed the soldier

only several feet from the
spot where witnesses had

reported seeing the Haitian.

Coincidence or something more?

You never know what
they're going to do,

and you never know how long
they're going to do it.

MAN (ON TV): At the General
Wayne Inn, the ghosts check in,

but they don't check out.

NARRATOR: One night during a
local newscast Halloween story

on the inn, a number of regular
patrons gathered in the bar

to watch.

MAN (ON TV): Bart Johnson has
had a number of these spirits--

As soon as he showed the first
scene of the inside of this

building, a whole-- no flop-over
now, no snow, perfect picture--

the whole picture started
to go very, very slowly

clockwise all the way around.

MAN (ON TV): --for 200 years.

And for 148 of those years,
ghosts have been spotted.

BART JOHNSON: And all
the 50 people in the bar

were looking at this and
wondering what was going on.

And their heads are all turning.

And the whole thing
just kept going

around until our
portion was over,

but it never did that before.

And it never did it afterwards.

And no one else in the whole
neighborhood had it that way.

NARRATOR: Are there
ghosts at the inn?

Michaeleen Maher believes that
something unexplained is going

on, but as is so often the
case, cannot prove for certain

that it is caused by ghosts.

MICHAELEEN MAHER: We did get
some interesting results.

I can only call them
tentative at this point,

but our experimental measures,
our measures with random number

generators, and some of
our photography measures

have given us enough of a hint
that something is actually

going on at the General Wayne
Inn that deserves a great deal

of further exploration.

DAVE ROGERS: I know
I saw something.

I don't think it was a
figment of my imagination.

I don't think it was a mirage
or whatever you want to call it.

I saw something.

And I don't believe in
ghosts, but I know they're here.

[horn honking]

They have no other place
to go, and they might

as well have a little fun.

And that's exactly
what they're doing.

And I don't think they're
going anywhere either.

[theme music]

Our next story is about a
modern day good Samaritan,

a woman who dedicated her
life to helping others,

first as a mother and
community volunteer,

and later as an advocate
for children's rights,

and as a
court-appointed attorney

for criminal defendants
who could not

otherwise afford legal council.

Two years ago, she fell
victim to the same type

of street criminal she
once vigorously defended.

After raising three
children, Gretchen Burford

embarked on a new life in 1979
when she enrolled in law school

at the age of 41.

By 1984, Gretchen had
a full-time practice

in Palo Alto, California.

She specialized in criminal
defense and juvenile law

motivated by a lifelong concern
for the underprivileged,

especially minorities
and children.

It appears it's a 489.

You're looking at possible
time in state prison.

MAUREEN BURFORD COHEN:
I think justice was

really important to my mother.

And I think that's
part of the reason

that she was drawn
to a career in law.

--any prior convictions?

She wanted to help
people who didn't

maybe start out with all the
benefits that her children had.

Gretchen put her heart and
soul into defending the people.

And she worked hard
with them, not only

just with the legal defense.

But there were a lot
of things that she

would be involved in as far
as their personal lives.

NARRATOR: February 26,
1988 was a normal Friday

for Gretchen Burford.

Late that afternoon
she left her office

and started home
for the weekend.

The police are unclear on
her subsequent movements.

But with the help of
computer banking logs

and eyewitness testimony,
they have sketched

out a probable scenario.

They do believe
that what happened

next was a random
act of violence

by an assailant unknown to her.

Bank records verify that at 6:37
PM Gretchen deposited a check

for $449 at a branch
bank four blocks

from her office in Palo Alto.

It was the beginning of
a nightmare that would

last for 30 terrifying minutes.

[music playing]

SGT DAVID WORLEY:
It's here that we

suspect that her assailant
may have accosted

her for the first time.

She may have been
the type of person

who left her car
unlocked, which is

what assailants
look for when they

are stalking their victims.

She's near a walk-up
teller at night.

Obviously she would be a target
for some type of an attack.

Gretchen was naive
about how she handled

herself, especially outdoors.

She was never really aware of
what was going on around her.

The way she looked at
things, I think she looked

at people very trustingly.

[screaming]

Shut up.

Shut up.
Shut up.

Shut up.

Shut up.
I'm not going to hurt you.

I'm not going to hurt you.

All right.
Start the car.

[engine starting]

NARRATOR: Authorities speculate
that Gretchen was abducted

in the bank parking lot
some five to 10 minutes

after arriving there.

The next 20 minutes
are a complete mystery.

ASSAILANT: What'd
you do with the money

you took out of the machine?

GRETCHEN BURFORD: I
didn't take any money out.

I-- I made a deposit.

I want you to take me to one
of those money machines, OK?

You got that?

We can park, and we
could walk around--

What?
Do you think I'm stupid?

- No.
- The kind you drive up to.

Now go!

You can do some serious
jail time for this.

SGT DAVID WORLEY: We can only
speculate as to what was going

on during that 20 minutes.

She was used to
this type of person

and perhaps was trying to
appeal to him as to what

the consequences would be.

Who knows?

We don't know.

NARRATOR: At 7:02 PM, 25
minutes after her first bank

transaction, Gretchen
attempted to withdraw money

from another bank
machine three miles away.

This transaction
was aborted when

she requested more cash than
she was authorized to withdraw.

Police assumed Gretchen
may have been trying

to discourage her abductor.

ASSAILANT: All right.
Where is the money?

I don't know.
I don't know.

I don't--
ASSAILANT: Do it again!

--working!

ASSAILANT: Do it again!

GRETCHEN BURFORD: All right.

SGT DAVID WORLEY: We
had two witnesses pull

up behind Gretchen's vehicle.

The male driver saw a struggle
going on inside the car.

He saw the driver's door open,
and then it appeared that she

was pulled back inside.

[brakes squealing]

GRETCHEN BURFORD: He stabbed me.

SGT DAVID WORLEY:
Witnesses have told us

that she got out of her car
screaming he stabbed me!

He stabbed me!

And help me.

And she collapsed immediately.

So the wound was definitely one
single stab, and it was fatal.

NARRATOR: Police believe
that Gretchen Burford

deliberately caused the
accident in a desperate attempt

to escape.

Her car came to rest 150
yards from the drive-up teller

machine.

In the aftermath,
two witnesses were

able to get a clear and
detailed look at her killer.

He stabbed me!

WITNESS: The lady
jumped out of the car

screaming that she was stabbed.

And then he got out of the car,
stared me and my friend down.

Then he turned around and ran.

Within two seconds, three
seconds, he was out of sight.

Since the girl hit the ground,
she said she was stabbed,

we went for her.

What happened?

(BREATHLESS) He
s-- stabbed me.

WITNESS: She was
lying on the ground,

and I could see a
little pool of blood.

She was looking up at me.

She was saying I'm dying.

I'm going to die.

And I said you're just
bleeding, and you're

going to be fine, so relax.

And I held her hand.

She looked up at me,
her eyes rolled back,

and her eyes closed.

And it kind of-- I guess
her life ended right there.

[police radio]

SGT DAVID WORLEY: When
I arrived at the scene,

Gretchen had already
been transported

to an emergency room.

What have we got here?

We have a female
stabbing victim.

Do we have a perimeter
set up up there?

Yes.
Officers are around.

There some evidence let's
take a look at over here.

SGT DAVID WORLEY: I almost
immediately started processing

her vehicle for any evidence.

We've got some blood
here on the steering wheel.

SGT DAVID WORLEY:
I looked inside

and saw a paisley baseball
hat in the rear passenger

compartment that just
seemed out of place.

If we go around, I can--

SGT DAVID WORLEY: We
later confirmed that that

did not belong to
her, and it's unknown

how that got in her car.

So we assumed that it
belonged to our suspect.

NARRATOR: The next
day, authorities

recovered the murder
weapon, a butcher

knife with an eight-inch blade.

It was found in a driveway
one block from the scene,

but provided no
additional leads.

The investigation next
focused on the unusual hat

found in Gretchen's car.

A check with the manufacturer
revealed that only two stores

in the area stocked this item.

Even though all attempts
to connect the paisley hat

with a suspect have failed,
police are convinced it holds

the key to solving the case.

MAUREEN BURFORD COHEN:
I think it's ironic

that my mother would have gone
on helping, you know, for years

probably, that she'd only
just started her law career,

that she had so much to
give, and was giving so much

and helping so many people,
and that it was just ended

by somebody who had no idea
who she was, or what she was,

or no ability to care about her.

[music playing]

[theme music]

Last week, we examined
the Summer of Sam shootings

that took place in New
York in 1976 and 1977.

Investigative
Reporter Maury Terry

believes that the Son of Sam did
not act alone, that he was part

of an organized conspiracy that
carried out a year-long reign

of terror in New York City.

The Son of Sam shootings
began on July 29, 1976.

[gunfire]

In eight separate incidents,
six people were killed

and seven seriously wounded.

All of the shots were fired
with a .44-Caliber revolver.

[police radio]

Police created composites
from eyewitness

accounts of the shootings.

[police radio]

The difference in appearance
suggested more than one

suspect.

But on August 10,
David Berkowitz

was arrested and
confessed to all

of the Son of Sam shootings.

Investigative
Reporter Maury Terry

gathered evidence that
indicated that more

than one man was involved.

The general perception
among the public for years

had been that David
Berkowitz was a lone gunman.

The facts and the evidence--
not speculation-- the facts

and the evidence say otherwise.

NARRATOR: Terry found
major discrepancies

in eyewitness accounts
of the last shooting

that support his theory
of more than one gunman.

Eyewitness Tommy
Zaino was parked just

in front of the
victim's car, and he

got a good look at the gunman.

[gunfire]

No, I didn't think it
was David Berkowitz then,

and I don't think it's him now.

I definitely don't
think it's him.

NARRATOR: A yellow
Volkswagen had been spotted

leaving the crime scene.

It may have
contained one or more

accomplices to the shooting.

Columnist Jimmy Breslin received
a letter from the Son of Sam.

In this letter, there
were cryptic references

to the quote, "twenty-two
disciples of hell,

and a wicked king wicker.

John Wheaties, the rapist and
suffocater of young girls"

was also mentioned.

The letter was signed
the Son of Sam.

Underneath was a satanic symbol.

Maury Terry believes that the
Breslin letter was sent not

by Berkowitz but
rather by a satanic

cult that operated
in Berkowitz's

Yonkers' neighborhood.

He also believes that Berkowitz
was a member of the cult,

and that it was this group
that planned and executed

the Son of Sam attacks.

David Berkowitz lived in
a seventh floor apartment

in Yonkers.

Down the hill was a
street named Wicker.

Could this be the
King Wicker mentioned

in the Breslin letter?

Wicker Street was near the
home of another character

believed to be mentioned in
the letter, John Wheaties.

MAURY TERRY: I learned that John
Wheaties rapist and suffocater

alias of the killer
in the Breslin letter

was not really an
alias at all, but it

was the name of a real person.

That person was
John Carr who was

the real-life son of Sam Carr.

John Carr's nickname
was Wheaties.

And I learned this within
a day of the arrest.

And from then on,
I became deeper

and deeper involved in the case
trying to locate John Carr.

NARRATOR: This is the
face of John Carr.

And these are the
composite drawings

of the .44-Caliber killers.

Maury Terry believes
that there is

a resemblance between
these two and John Carr.

Terry tracked John Carr
to Minot, North Dakota,

where he had worked
as a mechanic

at a local Air Force Base.

Though he lived in Minot
during the mid-70s,

Carr frequently
commuted to New York

during the time of the
Son of Sam attacks.

TERRY GARDNER: Well,
from my experience,

John Carr was a
mixed up drug addict.

He was hanging
around with the group

of people that were on the other
side of the law all the time.

John Carr, many, many months
before Berkowitz was ever

arrested, had talked about his
friend Berky to his friends

out in Minot, North Dakota.

John Carr was a friend
of, a confidant of,

and an associative
of David Berkowitz.

NARRATOR: On February 17, 1978,
six months after Berkowitz's

arrest, John Carr was found
dead in his girlfriend's Minot

apartment.

TERRY GARDNER: When I
first walked into the room,

it was a ghastly sight.

Obviously the guy had sat
on the edge of the bed,

put the gun in his mouth,
and pulled the trigger.

My first interview with his
live-in girlfriend at the time,

she told me that he must
have just taken his own life.

The next day, same person, new
interview, whole new story.

John Carr had to
have been murdered.

He was wanted by the
police in New York

for the Son of Sam killings.

He was afraid for his
life, and I fully believe

that John Carr was murdered.

MAURY TERRY: Through
interviews with Carr's friends

and the police officials
in North Dakota,

the picture emerged of John
Carr being heavily involved

in satanic cult activity,
both in Minot, North Dakota,

and in Westchester
County, New York, where

he spent part of his time.

It involved blood
drinking, urine drinking,

the ritualistic
sacrifice of animals,

specifically German
Shepherds, all sorts

of other rather
horrible activity

that certain satanic
cults get into.

NARRATOR: The satanic symbol
found on the Breslin letter

directly under the
signature of Son of Sam

was also found inscribed
on Carr's Minot phone book.

One of Carr's
Minot acquaintances

was a man named Phil Falcon.

Falcon accidentally walked in
on John Carr and a companion

performing a satanic ritual.

MAURY TERRY: Phil Falcon
told us that he walked

into his own house one
night in North Dakota

and found John Carr and
another friend of Carr's part

of the circle in the
act of ritualistically

sacrificing an animal
right in Falcon's house.

Sorry.

We're out of here.

PHIL FALCON: What are
you guys doing in here?

We're going to go.

MAURY TERRY: And
Phil Falcon also told

us that John Carr
belonged to a very,

very violent satanic cult.

NARRATOR: Prison sources who
knew Berkowitz told Maury Terry

that Berkowitz had been
introduced to this cult

by John Carr's brother,
Michael, in 1975.

MAURY TERRY: Michael
Carr ended up

inviting Berkowitz
to attend what he

called a floating coven party.

And Berkowitz came in,
and attended the party,

and symbolically--
not literally,

but symbolically-- the .44
put into his hand that night.

That's how he got
into the cult scene.

NARRATOR: At 4:00 AM
on October 4, 1979,

over two years after
Berkowitz's arrest,

Michael Carr was killed.

He was driving at a
high rate of speed

when he crashed
into a light post

on New York's West Side Highway.

He died just 18 months
after his brother.

How many members of
this devilish cult--

NARRATOR: Conclusive
proof that Berkowitz

knew both John and
Michael Carr came

during two of his depositions.

On October 25, 1978, when asked
point blank whether he knew

John Carr, he answered yes.

Yes.

NARRATOR: In another deposition
taken on January 19, 1982,

Berkowitz was asked if the Carrs
were part of a satanic cult,

he also answered yes.

Would evade anything to--

NARRATOR: When asked
whether the brothers

were killed to
ensure their silence,

Berkowitz again responded yes.

Maury Terry believes that the
death of the Carrs may have

been engineered by the quote,
"twenty-two disciples of hell,"

mentioned in the Breslin letter.

He also believes this
is a satanic group that

held their rituals in Untermyer
Park, located just one mile

from Berkowitz's apartment.

It's right up ahead.

Right there.

NARRATOR: On August
11, 1977, the day

after Berkowitz's
arrest, two young boys

led police to a grave
that contained the bodies

of three German Shepherds.

Two of them had been
strangled with chains.

One had been shot in the head.

At least 10 other
slaughtered dogs had

been found in the park area.

CAPT GERARD BUCKHOUT:
We received information

that groups of people
who attired themselves

in black or dark-colored
robes with hoods

were chanting,
carrying on some types

of rituals on the aqueduct in
the rear of Untermyer Park.

Subsequently, authorities did
find some remains of dogs.

And the information that we had
was that this group of people

were sacrificing animals
in a satanic ritual.

MAURY TERRY: I got a call
from a young boy in Yonkers,

15-year-old high
school sophomore,

wanted to know if I
knew that there was

a satanic cult that was meeting
in Untermyer Park in Yonkers

and killing dogs.

And so I met him down there,
which is just about a mile

from Berkowitz's residence.

And he took me around to
various spots in Untermyer Park,

showed me where the
cult was meeting.

We saw all the
satanic graffiti--

very sophisticated
graffiti at the time--

and took me throughout the park.

BOY: And over here on the
other side of the wall,

I had found three dead dogs.

MAURY TERRY: Saw the
remains of probably

two or three dead
German Shepherds

right there at that time.

And he took me along the
aqueduct, literally the gutters

of NYC from the Breslin
letter, and showed me

where they had set up an alter.

They had an altar.

They placed the altar
board right over here

in between the two trees.

MAURY TERRY: And
now we had the cult,

and we knew where
it was meeting.

And we could tie it right
to the Son of Sam case

and the Son of Sam letter.

It was a very significant
development in the case.

You'd like to see
your cases resolved

with a conviction, or an
acquittal, or no case,

or whatever.

But it's when you have these
constant doubts-- who else was

involved, were there
others involved

and to what extent, will
they do it again-- you see,

that becomes the
overriding concern.

If there is someone out
there who was involved

in the Berkowitz cases in the
killing of a number of people

and the wounding of
a number of people,

and that person is bent on
doing the same thing again,

then the public's in jeopardy.

And so certainly I would
like to have that solved

and get that person
out of the way.

NARRATOR: Cult activity is
continued around Untermyer Park

since the Son of Sam killings.

While we were filming,
two local residents

told us they had witnessed
a satanic ceremony in 1987.

About a year and a half
ago, me and my cousin

were watching TV.

And we saw a car headlights
go by on the aqueduct path.

Well, my cousin
took a flashlight,

and I took a baseball bat.

And we walked up through my
yard onto the aqueduct path.

There must have been
about 15 or 30 people.

And there was one guy, and he
must have been the head chanter

or something because he
was chanting the loudest

over the other people.

[chanting]

We just froze.

We didn't know what to do
because we'd never encountered

something like this before.

[chanting]

We'd both decided just
to get out of there.

We didn't want to get seen
because you don't know

what people like that'll do.

[dog whimpering and chanting]

JOHN SANTUCCI: But I think it
would serve the public interest

for us to know if,
in fact, a cult does

exist, if, in fact, they
engage in satanic activities,

if, in fact, sacrifice
is part of that activity,

if, in fact, human life
is the sacrificial aspect

of that activity, and how
it's impacting upon life

in our respective communities.

NARRATOR: The Queens
District Attorney

would like to question
the individuals

that match these composites.

They would also like to
locate the yellow 1971

Volkswagen noticed
at the scene of one

of the Son of Sam attacks.

Its license ends with the
letters G-U-R or G-V-R.

If Maury Terry is
correct, the satanic group

responsible for the
Son of Sam attacks

is still alive, still
meeting, and still

recruiting new members.

If this last claim is true,
certainly that is a most

disturbing thought of all.

Next, the story of a Mississippi
millionaire desperately

searching for his
kidnapped wife.

The ransom money has been paid.

And Annie Laurie Hearin
is still missing.

[theme music]

In this house in
Jackson, Mississippi,

lives 71-year-old Robert
Hearin, one of the wealthiest

men in the state.

His wife, Annie
Laurie Hearin, is

72, a devoted wife and mother.

She's well-beloved
and extremely active

in the social and
civic life of Jackson.

On July the 26th, Annie
Laurie Hearin was kidnapped.

Good morning.

On behalf of--

NARRATOR: 12 Days later,
Robert Hearin called

a press conference at his home.

The kidnapping was linked
to one of his businesses,

and he wanted to make a
personal plea to the kidnapper.

My name is Robert Hearin.

My wife, Annie Laurie, was taken
from my home over 10 days ago.

My children and I have done
everything humanly possible

to obtain her release.

Like any businessman, I've
made decisions which may

appear to others as unfeeling.

But those appearances
are just not true.

Moreover, those
business decisions

were mine, not my wife.

She had absolutely
nothing to do with them.

My children and I appeal you to
whomever has my wife that she

may be safely returned to us.

Thank you.

ROBERT HEARIN, JR: I think
about Mom all the time,

and I'm sure my daddy does, too.

There's no real way to
qualify how enormous

a tragedy and ordeal
this has been to him

and to the rest of the family.

NARRATOR: Annie Laurie Hearin's
kidnapping was unusual.

Rather than simply insisting
on money for himself,

the kidnapper left a note
naming 12 people he felt

were owed money by one of
Robert Hearin's companies

and should be paid back.

It is Robert Hearin's
desperate hope

that someone watching
tonight will come forward

with information
that will lead him

to the woman he loves, the
woman he married 48 years ago.

When Robert Hearin came home
from work on the afternoon

of July the 26th, he was alarmed
to find that his wife was not

in the house.

ROBERT HEARIN: Well,
I'm really starting--

NARRATOR: After checking
with friends and family,

he called the police
to report her missing.

I'll wait right
here for you, Officer.

Thank you.

NARRATOR: Then Mr Hearin
made an alarming discovery,

a note apparently
left by a kidnapper

lay by his front door.

The note said do
not call the police.

However, Mr Hearin had
notified the police prior

to the note being discovered.

Responding to Mr Hearin's
missing persons report,

police arrived at
the scene and found

that it was now a kidnapping
connected in some way

to Robert Hearin's
business dealings.

John, you need to
take a look at this.

Robert Hearin, put
these people back

in the shape they was
in before they got

mixed up with school pictures.

WAYNE TAYLOR: The
demands in the note

very vague and made several
demands of Mr. Hearin

concerning certain individuals
listed on the note who were

allegedly harmed by a company of
which Mr. Hearin was president.

NARRATOR: Hearin had been
president of School Pictures,

a company that sells
franchises to photographers

throughout the United
States to produce

portraits of schoolchildren.

Between 1981 and
1983 in an effort

to collect outstanding
debts, School Pictures

filed lawsuits against
12 franchise owners

in eight states,
including Florida.

On the day of Annie Laurie
Hearin's kidnapping,

neighbors had reported seeing
vehicles that seemed out

of place in the neighborhood.

JL BLACK: We had calls
from various people

that there had been two
particular vehicles that

had been seen in that
neighborhood, one of which

was a pickup truck.

And the other was
a white cargo van.

The cargo van had a
Florida plate on it.

NARRATOR: Police discovered
that the 12 people

on the kidnappers
list were the same 12

sued by School Pictures.

They resided in eight
different states.

But they were all sued
through the Hinds County

Court in Jackson, Mississippi.

Their names were easily
available to the general public

in county court records.

This means that the kidnapper
need not have been one

of the 12 people on the note.

JL BLACK: It's
possible that these 12

people had absolutely nothing
to do with this abduction.

However, you can't
rule out the fact

that maybe somebody,
especially that

had knowledge of School
Pictures and its operation,

could have been
involved with it.

ROBERT HEARIN, JR: No
specific ransom demand

was contained in the letter.

We assumed it was a ransom
note, and we wanted to comply.

We wanted to do everything
we could to get Mother back.

School Pictures was requested
to look into their files

on these 12 people.

The transactions were reviewed,
and letters were, of course,

sent out to these 12
people trying to determine

what damages that they had.

What did they want?

At that point, we
didn't get a response

except from several of them
saying we don't want anything.

NARRATOR: Eight days after
his press conference,

Robert Hearin received a letter.

He recognized the handwriting.

It belonged to his
wife, Annie Laurie.

ROBERT HEARIN, JR:
We had hit a very

low ebb prior to August 15.

And that was the day
that we received a letter

in mother's handwriting.

And it basically
plead with daddy

again to comply with the
demands and to please save her.

This gave us quite
an emotional lift

because it meant that
mother apparently had

survived the initial struggle.

But it still was extremely
vague as to what we were to do.

At that point, Daddy,
in order to do something

to show our good
faith effort to comply

with these vague demands,
instructed his attorneys

to check these
roles and find out

how much School Pictures had
sued these 12 individuals for.

NARRATOR: Robert
Hearin, Sr. Sent

out checks totaling nearly
$1 million to the people

on the list.

Half of the checks
have been returned.

More than four months had
passed since Annie Laurie Hearin

was abducted from her home.

Neither her family
nor the authorities

has had word from her or the
kidnapper since the letter

they received on
August the 15th.

It's been our sincere desire
from the very beginning,

from the moment
of the kidnapping,

that we do everything possible
to comply with these demands.

We want Mother back.

It's not our intention
to question the motive

of these people, at this point.

Whatever they want, we
want to give it to them,

so we can get Mother back.

That is our very
paramount concern.

NARRATOR: Update-- last
month, Newton Alfred Wynn,

a 65-year-old lawyer was
arrested by the FBI in Florida

on charges relating
to the abduction

of Annie Laurie Hearin.

Wynn was one of the 12
men named in the ransom

note left at the Hearin home.

Also, less than one month
before the kidnapping,

he had allegedly
purchased a van which

matched the description
of the vehicles seen

in the Hearin neighborhood.

A woman told the FBI that
Wynn had promised her

$500 to travel from Florida
to Atlanta, Georgia,

and mail a letter for him
just 16 days after Annie

Laurie Hearin was kidnapped.

He handed her a manila envelope.

Inside was the letter wrapped
in a gray, linen napkin.

Wynn instructed her not to
look at or touch the letter.

But to deposit the
letter in a mail slot,

she had to ease the napkin off.

And she was able to observe
the writing on the envelope.

Later she identified a
photograph of the envelope

Robert Hearin had
received from his wife

as the one she had
mailed in Atlanta.

[music playing]

ROBERT HEARIN, JR: I think
about Mama all the time,

an I'm sure my daddy does, too.

There's no real way to
quantify how enormous

a tragedy and ordeal
this has been to him

and to the rest of the family.

[music playing]

[theme music]

For every mystery,
there is someone

somewhere who knows the truth.

Perhaps that
someone is watching.

Perhaps it's you.

[theme music]