All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S02E04.480p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-PLAYREADY_track3_[und]

HOST: 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.

Tonight on Unsolved Mysteries,
an intriguing new story.

On April 10th,
1967, Ralph Probst,

a Cook County Illinois Sheriff's
officer, had the night off.

While watching
television with his wife,

Ralph went into the kitchen
to make a phone call.

[gun shot]

Ralph never regained
consciousness.

His killer is still at large.

HOST: In tiny Lyons,
Nebraska, an intriguing love

triangle left a woman
murdered and the police

chief on the run.

Also tonight, the story
of six Oklahoma children

who were separated the day
after their mother's funeral.

30 years later, they are trying
to reunite to put the pain

and the past behind them.

For every mystery,
there was someone

somewhere who knows a truth.

Perhaps it's you.

[THEME MUSIC - "UNSOLVED
MYSTERIES"]

HOST: Lyons, Nebraska.

A quiet farming
town of 1,200 people

is located 60 miles from Omaha.

In October of 1986, Anna Marie
Anton, a 34-year-old divorcee,

moved to this small
isolated community.

She was a stranger to town.

MARY PIPER: There was
no rational reason

why she would move here.

People don't move
to Lyons, Nebraska

unless they have
a job, or family,

or they're returning
to a small home town.

And she didn't
have any of those.

HOST: 10 years before
she settled in Lyons,

Anna had severely injured
her leg in a car accident.

Good morning.

Good morning, Anna.

How nice to see you.

- Nice service.
- Thank you very much.

God bless you.
- Thank you.

Have a nice day now.

HOST: Anna's neighbors we're
happy to lend her a helping

hand, and her
fellow parishioners

at St. Joseph's would take turns
driving her to and from church.

SHIRLEY EDGECOMB: Anna appeared
to be a very religious person.

She had very high morals
and did not drink.

She went to church daily
if she could find a ride.

HOST: Shirley Edgecomb lived
across the street from Anna

and would often take
her grocery shopping.

They became friends, and Anna
began to confide in Shirley.

Do you want me to
put these away for you?

That would be great, Shirley.

SHIRLEY EDGECOMB: She told me
that her ex-husband had been

involved in some
large drug ring,

and that she had testified
against him and other members

of this drug ring.

And she was afraid that
he was going to harm her.

Shirley?

Can I show you something?

SHIRLEY EDGECOMB: She
had moved to Lyons to get

away from her ex-husband.

If anything
should happen to me,

I want you to open
this envelope and call

the number that's in it.

SHIRLEY EDGECOMB:
She did tell me

that she had chosen that
apartment because the police

chief lived right above her.

And she thought if her
ex-husband ever did find her,

that he would be
leery about bothering

her because of the police
car parked out in front.

HOST: On December 16th, 1986,
Shirley brought some groceries

over to Anna's apartment.

She was surprised to find
the back door locked.

Anna?

Shirley knocked
on Anna's windows

and called out her name.

There was no response.

Anna?

HOST: That evening,
Shirley tried

to deliver the
groceries several times,

but still there was no answer.

Anna seemed to have disappeared
as mysteriously as she arrived.

I hope you don't
mind letting me in.

I'm really worried about her.

It's not like her
to just disappear.

HOST: Police chief Greg Webb,
who lived upstairs from Anna,

agreed to help.

SHIRLEY EDGECOMB:
We went thinking

that probably we'd
find Anna had fallen,

and there was no sign of her.

It looks like she hasn't
been here for a couple of days.

She was supposed to meet me.

I can't imagine why
she didn't call.

Let's check the bedroom.

OK.

SHIRLEY EDGECOMB: There
was an outfit of clothes

that was laid out on the bed.

From shirt and jeans, all
the way down to underwear.

I wonder why she'd lay
her clothes out like that.

Here's the shoes
she always wore.

Where would she go without
these this time of year?

SHIRLEY EDGECOMB: And that
seemed strange, because this

was in the winter time.

And if you take your coat,
and your purse, and your cane,

it seems only reasonable
you would take your shoes.

Here it is.

Call some of the
people in this book.

Maybe they've seen her.

Why don't you let me do that?

It's my job.

OK.

SHIRLEY EDGECOMB: A few hours
later, he called me, and said

that he had called those
numbers in the book,

but she wasn't in
any of those places.

HOST: 11 days after
Anna disappeared,

her body was found
in a remote field.

She had two 38 caliber
bullet wounds in her torso.

Since the crime scene was
outside Lyon's jurisdiction,

State Criminal
Investigator Gerry

Krieger, of the
Nebraska State Patrol

was called in on the case.

INVESTIGATOR KRIEGER: Upon
observing the surroundings

around Anna, it was very
apparent that she did

not succumb her death there--

that the body had been moved.

How you doing, Mike?

Hi.

You know, it looks
like a gunshot wound.

INVESTIGATOR KRIEGER: Somebody
had left her out there,

and was careful in reference
to not leaving anything behind.

She was in an unclad condition.

It appeared as though the
body had been cleaned.

And it also appeared that it had
been there for quite some time.

OK.

We're going to have to start
getting out and canvassing

the area, and see if anybody
heard anything or saw anything.

OK.

I'll get right on it.

HOST: Surprisingly, the
autopsy revealed that Anna's

blood alcohol level was 0.22--

extremely high for a woman
who reportedly did not drink.

After they found the
body, Gerry Krieger

came over to our place.

He wanted to know
everything about Anna.

This is the note
that Anna gave me.

She told me to
open it if anything

should ever happen to her.

Shirley, do you know why
Anna would leave you a note?

She told me she was
afraid of her ex-husband.

INVESTIGATOR
KRIEGER: Her feelings

were that Anna's ex-husband
had caused the death.

She had related to me
that her ex-husband

had been involved in narcotics.

That was a heavy drug
dealer, and that she

was very fearful of her life.

Within a short
period of time, we

were able to determine
that Anna's ex-husband

did have an alibi,
and he was not

involved in any drug activity.

And I just couldn't
understand why Anna would

fabricate this information.

HOST: The police
officers working

on the case agreed to meet
in Lyons at the Highway Cafe

to compare notes.

Chief Webb is among them.

Knowing that Anna lived in the
same building as the chief,

Gerry Krieger quizzed him
about his neighborhood.

How long did you
know Anna, Anton?

Two, two and a half months.

Where did you meet her?

Arnold's Park.

Were you and she ever
intimately involved?

No.

Were you and she ever
intimately involved?

Yes.

On the night she moved in.

Officer Webb, would
you please excuse us?

Someone will contact you--

INVESTIGATOR KRIEGER: Due to the
fact that he had lied to me--

being a police
officer, especially

the Chief of Police--

during a major
investigation like this.

And also thinking back
to the crime scene,

my thoughts were thinking
strongly to the fact

that Greg was a suspect.

OK.

Rena, let's go over here by the
chair and work our way back.

HOST: Two days after
Anna's body was found,

Krieger and lab
technicians performed

a test in Anna's apartment
to search for blood stains.

Throughout the test, Greg Webb
was upstairs in his apartment.

INVESTIGATOR KRIEGER:
There were times

that we would hear somebody
walking or moving up stairs.

It did sound as though he
might have been listening.

HOST: The police used a special
chemical called, luminol,

which makes drops of blood
hemoglobin glow in the dark

even if they have been washed
away or are small and faded.

INVESTIGATOR KRIEGER:
We found traces of blood

in the living room
and dining room

area Anna Anton's apartment.

Oh, look at that.

Look at that.

INVESTIGATOR KRIEGER: The trail
of blood just outside of Anna

Anton's door was quite heavy.

The trail then led up the
stairs to Greg Webb's apartment.

All the way.
Right here.

Right here at the
top of the step.

OK.

My main concern at
that particular time

was attempting to
obtain a search warrant

for Gregg Webb's apartment.

HOST: During the
police investigation,

Greg Webb left his apartment.

The next day, he withdrew
$3,000 and then disappeared.

Five days later,
armed with a warrant,

Investigator Krieger searched
the chief's apartment.

Lyle, why don't you go ahead
and get the kitchen here.

OK.

Mike, go ahead and
get the bathroom.

INVESTIGATOR KRIEGER: We did
a mop that did have a trace

of blood that was
later shown to be

the same type as Anna Anton's.

Gerry, you want to
take a look at this?

HOST: In the bedroom
closet, the police

found a military style coat
with several spots of blood.

These stains proved
to be the same

blood type as Anna Anton's.

Take this to the lab.

Package it and label it.

OK.

Once I started checking
into Anna Anton's background,

I had learned that she
had two separate lives.

One life down here
in Lyon's, Nebraska

where she was very religious.

And then the life
in Arnold's Park

where she would referred
to as a bar floozy.

Denny.
Denny.

Hi, how are you?

- Good, how are you, Anna?
- Good.

INVESTIGATOR
KRIEGER (VOICEOVER):

She would carry on with men.
- Hi.

Oh, hello, Ann.

You get better
looking every day.

Well, thank you.

INVESTIGATOR
KRIEGER (VOICEOVER):

This is where Anna Anton
and Greg Webb had met.

Let me introduce you
to a friend of mine.

This is Greg Webb, he's Chief
of Police at Lyons, Nebraska.

- Nice to meet you.
- Hi.

Nice to meet you.
Quite the job.

HOST: Greg and Anna
became friends.

When Anna told him she was
looking for a place to live,

Webb suggested that she move
into an unoccupied apartment

in his building.

I think Anna Anton moved
here with the anticipation

that her and Greg Webb may
have something in common,

and possibly maybe
even eventually getting

together and maybe marriage.

You on duty tomorrow?

My day off.

HOST: Anna was
infatuated with Webb,

but she soon learned that
he had another girlfriend.

SHIRLEY EDGECOMB: Anna seemed
to be preoccupied with the fact

that Greg had this girlfriend.

And the fact that they were not
married but evidently sleeping

together.

[laughter]

INVESTIGATOR KRIEGER: She talked
about laying in bed at night

and hearing them upstairs making
love, and it bothered her.

She would turn the stereo on.

She felt that it was a sin to
the point that she would get

holy water and sprinkle
it up and down the steps

and on the door knobs.

Anna?
ANNA: Go away.

I don't want you in here.

HOST: Investigator
Krieger has learned

that the night of Anna's death,
Greg Webb was intoxicated.

INVESTIGATOR
KRIEGER (VOICEOVER):

I believe Anna Anton's
death could have resulted

from a fight that might have
occurred due to the fact

that Anna Anton had found
out about this other woman

and confronted Greg
Webb about this.

Give me that--

I'm not--

INVESTIGATOR
KRIEGER (VOICEOVER):

It was learned that
during the following

day in the early morning
hours, Greg Webb was

seen carrying something
from his house

out to the trunk of his car.

And it was learned later
that what he was carrying

was actually Anna Anton.

HOST: The police believe Webb
removed all of Anna's clothes

and carefully washed
her body before she

was carried from the apartment.

It is possible that
Anna's body was

left in that particular
farmer's field,

because Webb knew
the land was part

of an Indian reservation
which would cause jurisdiction

problems for the authorities.

I feel that Greg Webb might
have thought that he had

committed the perfect crime.

In the way he had disposed of
the body, and also to the fact

that he would have known
about Anna Anton's ex-husband.

HOST: On January 6th, 1987, a
warrant was issued for Police

Chief Greg Webb's arrest.

He was charged with
first degree murder.

Update-- Greg Webb
is now in custody.

When this story was rerun
in February of 1993,

an alert viewer in
Orlando, Florida

recognized Webb as
a man he knew as Jim

Webber, a construction worker.

Well, when I was
watching it and they

showed Greg when
he came on, they

mentioned him as Greg Webb.

And I mean, he looked just
like the guy, and he was Jim.

And again, they had
said it was Greg.

And they said Greg Webb.

And I knew him as
Gregory James Webber,

and he went by Jim Webber.

So I just put the two together.

Like I say, it just
looked just like him,

so it was quite a shock.

Florida had faxed
me photographs

of the driver's
license that was issued

under Gregory James Webber.

And once I did see
the photographs,

I knew that that was
Gregory John Webb.

The arrest warrant very well.

We-- there wasn't any
resistance whatsoever.

We took him by
surprise, and he was

arrested at an off-site
construction site.

HOST: Next, the
story of two brothers

who had a heartwarming
reunion at a deserted gas

station in rural
Oklahoma 25 years

after they were separated.

They are looking for
their lost siblings.

Perhaps you can help find them.

Sadly, one out of every
30 children in America

suffers from child abuse.

For these victims,
healing the wounds

is a long, painful process.

In our next story, five
brothers and their sister

were put up for adoption
after a particularly

brutal and violent childhood.

And for 23 years, never
saw each other again.

Now, they want to
purger the hate

and bitterness from their past.

They are hoping that if
they can be reunited,

they will be able to exorcise
those terrible memories that

are still a part of their lives.

Locust Grove, Oklahoma.

In 1959, Edith Rogers,
her husband, Tom Rogers,

and their six children all lived
in this remote rural community.

Life was hard for
the Rogers family.

There was little money, even
for the necessities of life.

ROBERT PEARCE (VOICEOVER):
As far as clothing and food,

we never had much clothing
that I can remember.

We didn't ever wear shoes.

And there was one time there
I can remember going out

without boots for several days.

Here's some water.

ROBERT PEARCE: And
getting where I got

[inaudible] that I was in bed.

And it seemed like the people
of the town of Locust Grove

brought us some food out to eat.

I think that's
one of those times

that Mom and Dad didn't run
off on one of their drunks.

Ain't nobody in this
house is going to--

HOST: Tom Roger's
frequent drinking

led to regular beatings
for his wife and children.

ROBERT PEARCE
(VOICEOVER): One night,

I grabbed a stick of wood out
of the box and ran at him.

And he hit me.

Knocked me across the floor.

Threw a kitchen knife at me.

You'll never find that--

ROBERT PEARCE (VOICEOVER):
And he finished

beating the tar out of Mom.

Shut up and tell me
where the bottle is.

I got memories of him being
a good man, but 90% of the time

he seemed like he was drunk.

And that's when he was mean.

Thank you.

Robert--

HOST: By 1960, the family
had only a little happiness

and no real future.

ROBERT PEARCE (VOICEOVER):
Well, Mom come in the house

and gave us some presents.

She said, this would
be the last chance

she'd get to give it to us.

Seven cheery kids, you're
going to have to go away.

HOST: In the spring of 1960,
the court ruled that Edith

and Tom are unfit parents.

And in June, social
workers arrived

at the Rogers' log cabin.

The children were taken away to
the local Prior Orphanage Home.

ROBERT PEARCE
(VOICEOVER): They said

that they was going
to take us away,

and we'd never get
to come back again.

It didn't really hit us right
then what was happening.

It was later that
really took effect.

You know, we'd lost
our mom and dad.

She didn't even
really have any family.

It was just Dad and as kids.

There's just
nothing else to live

for except more of the
same that she got from him.

A few more beatings.

She missed us so bad.

I know how that must
have tore her heart out.

HOST: Six months later,
Edith Rogers committed

suicide by swallowing poison.

CELIA WANGLER (VOICEOVER):
I can't say that I

would have done same thing.

I just wish she'd of been
strong enough to endure it.

We were all she had.

When we were gone,
her life was over.

She probably died
before she even died.

HOST: The children's
father, Tom Rogers,

had been arrested
in Arkansas, charged

with killing a man in a fight.

Handcuffed, he was
escorted back to Oklahoma

to attend his wife's funeral.

Here, for these few sad
moments, the Roger's children

were reunited for this time.

PRIEST: For the memorial
service of Edith Rogers,

it has been requested
that we close

the service today with singing
the old hymn, Silent Night.

Would you please
join me, please?

ALL: [singing] Silent
night, holy night.

All is calm--

ROBERT PEARCE
(VOICEOVER): At the time,

I thought that
was a strange song

to be singing at a funeral.

It would get me down every time
I'd hear that song afterward.

It wasn't a Christmas
Carol to me.

It was a death song.

ALL: [singing] Sleep
in heavenly peace.

Sleep in heavenly peace.

ROBERT PEARCE: Loosing your
mother, and all your brothers,

you might as well have
shot me in the heart.

It wouldn't have been
any more painful.

HOST: After the
service, the children

were once again separated.

They were subsequently
adopted into six

different homes where they grew
up isolated from each other.

23 years later, Ella May, who
is now called Celia Wangler,

wrote a letter to the Oklahoma
Department of Human Services.

At the same time, Johnny Lee,
whose name is now John Rieger,

also contacted the
same authorities.

On February 10th, 1984,
Celia and John were reunited

in a suburb of Oklahoma City.

Hello.

Hi.

I brought you something.

Thank you.

- How are you?
- OK.

How are you?

CELIA WANGLER (VOICEOVER):
When I met him,

it was just a neat feeling.

JOHN RIEGER (VOICEOVER):
We were both lit up

like a Christmas tree.

CELIA WANGLER
(VOICEOVER): I felt

like I had known
him all my life,

and that was the strangest part.

JOHN RIEGER: We saw
and visited for hours.

And within three weeks
of that, we found Robert.

ROBERT PEARCE: When
they told me I'd

never see my brothers
and sisters again,

I knew better than that.

Because I knew I loved him,
and they was my family,

and I was going to find them.

That never left my
mind for 26 years.

HOST: Robert and John agreed
to meet on a Sunday morning

in April in 1984
at a gas station

only 20 miles from their
childhood home in Locust Grove.

JOHN RIEGER (VOICEOVER): Well,
when he got out of his pickup,

it just seemed like an
empty spot in my heart

had been filled.

Hello, big brother.

Little brother, my foot.

You're bigger than I am.

- How are you?
- Just fine.

How are you?

I'm good.

I've waited all my life.

So have I.

ROBERT PEARCE (VOICEOVER):
There was a great love there.

They could have sent 10
people to replace John,

and I don't think
I'd have felt it.

I think I'd have seen through
it, and I can't explain it.

That's just the way it was.

HOST: In the Spring of 1984,
a third brother, Vernon,

was found.

In April, John and Celia agreed
to meet Robert in Locust Grove

where they had all been
born, and try to exorcise

the ghosts of their past.

It would be the first
time in 24 years

that they would be going home.

All three had mixed
feelings about the trip.

They worried that
seeing the log cabin

again would awaken long
buried memories of their truly

unhappy childhood.

CELIA WANGLER
(VOICEOVER): I came

to find answers to the
questions of who I am,

and my past, my roots.

ROBERT PEARCE
(VOICEOVER): Parents

teach your children to
love when they're little,

or they teach them to hate.

They taught me to hate.

CELIA WANGLER (VOICEOVER):
You pull up there, you know,

like to the log cabin,
and it's like you

finally found your roots.

And it's like going
home, you know.

Yeah.

It don't look like it's
been lived in a while.

Boarded up.

Or something.

Well, this is where you
lived when you was a baby.

Well kids, what do
you think of this place?

It's home.

It's where we used to live.

Check it out.

You know, when Mom
and Dad adopted me,

Daddy, he told me that I
had like scars on my back

and on my legs.

And way more scars than
what most normal kids my age

should have.

We all got a lot of
whippings, and they

was usually severe beatings.

I didn't have any physical
scars, but they were mental.

Well you know,
myself, I feel we're way

better off getting adopted out.

I-- I imagine both of y'all
feel the same way, don't you?

Yeah.

Right.

HOST: Later that day,
they went to the cemetery

to find their mother's grave.

They discovered their father
had also eight years before.

Here it is.
I found it over here.

ROBERT PEARCE: I hated
father very much.

I hated him at least
18 solid years.

That's what lived in my mind.

Some of the things that he
done to me when I was a child,

I had full intentions of going
back when I got older and given

him a chance to do it again.

The day that I got
to my father's grave,

the hate kind of left me.

It died.

And I wished then that
he was still alive

so I could say I
was sorry, and maybe

he would tell me he was sorry.

CELIA WANGLER: As much alike
as the three of us are,

I tend to believe that the
other two are a lot similar,

and probably have
the same needs,

and pains that we went through.

And I think, finding
the other two brothers--

when that day comes, it will be
the climax of the whole story

for us, you know.

HOST: Of the remaining
two un-traced brothers,

Billy is the youngest of the six
children and was born in 1959.

Billy would now be 30 years old.

Joey was born in
1957, and is a brother

between Robert and John.

He would probably
remember his brothers,

and would currently
be 32 years old.

JOHN RIEGER: The happy
ending to this story to me

is when I get a phone call
from my other brothers.

That-- that'd be the truly
happy ending to have found them.

Thanks to our
broadcast, John Rieger's

dream of a happy ending
became a reality.

The morning after
the story aired,

John contacted his brothers Joey
and Billy for the first time

in almost 30 years.

The Rogers children
immediately made

arrangements for a reunion.

Joey was five, and
Billy just a year

old when the family
was separated.

On the morning of October
27th, 34-year-old Joey,

whose adopted name is Rusty
Dunavant, arrived at his sister

Celia's home in Oklahoma City.

Hi.

I've been waiting
a long time, buddy.

A long time.

Rusty lives only 36 miles
from his brother John.

Amazingly, they
have mutual friends,

and have even met socially
on a number of occasions.

Sure can.

Want coffee?

RUSTY DUNAVANT: We've braced
shoulders several times.

We've been to several places
we were within speaking

distance of each other.

And I've seen him eye to
eye, and I never would

have known he was my brother.

HOST: Later that day, the
youngest of the Rogers

children, Billy, whose
name is now Chuck Young,

arrived at the airport
and was greeted

by his brothers and sister.

How are you doing?

How are you doing?

I'm all right.

HOST: Chuck, who
lives in Tennessee,

watched our broadcast
and we shocked

when he realized that he was
one of the missing brothers.

CHUCK YOUNG: At the
end of the show,

they put the family
picture together.

Well, I seen me sitting there.

And I just got up out the chair.

And I said, that's me.
That's me.

You know, they're
looking for me.

HOST: For the Rogers
family, this reunion

marks the beginning of a
new chapter in their lives.

CELIA WANGLER: I
think what we were all

looking for was the
part of our hearts

that was torn out years ago.

And now, you know, I don't--

I don't hurt anymore because
that part of my heart

has been replaced.

It's back again,
and it feels good.

This is a toast to us.

And I want you all to
know I love all of you.

I love you all, too.

I'm glad to be here today.

Two thirds of the fugitives
profiled on Unsolved Mysteries

have been captured because
of vital information

received from our viewers.

One of those fugitives was John
Mooney, who eight years ago,

escaped from a Georgia
prison where he was serving

a life sentence for murder.

In the early morning hours
of August 30th, 1977,

an Athens, Georgia
restaurant owner

named TK Harty was murdered
while reading in his study

at home.
[gun shot]

HOST: The prime
suspect in the case

was John Mooney, a rival
restaurant owner who had

a long running feud with Harty.

Actually, I had to
do a lot of cleanup.

HOST: Four weeks
later, police got

their first break in the case.

A local restaurant
manager told them

that an Atlanta electrician
named Elmo Florence had bragged

that he killed TK
Harty and that John

Mooney had paid him to do it.

On June 20th, 1978, Elmo
Florence was convicted

of first degree murder.

John Mooney was also convicted
of first degree murder

and was sentenced to life in
a maximum security prison.

But three months later,
he was transferred

to a minimum security facility.

On March 16th, 1980, he escaped.

Update-- Scottsdale, Arizona.

Within minutes of our
broadcast, two viewers

called our telecenter to
report that John Mooney

was living in this house under
the assumed name, Robert J.

Kelly.

On August 8th, John
Mooney, alias Robert Kelly,

was arrested at his
home by the Mesa Police.

Mooney had been living
in Arizona since 1982.

He was enrolled at
Arizona State University.

For the past several
years, he'd been

working as an account
for various companies

in the Scottsdale area.

Mooney married six years ago,
and has a one-year-old child.

On September 16th, 1989, over
nine years after he escaped,

John Mooney returned to Georgia.

NEWSCASTER: Outside
the Academy Theater,

the atmosphere is electric.

Even though I have attended
15 other ceremonies, I never--

HOST: April 10th, 1967,
the night of the Oscars.

Like millions of Americans,
Ralph Probst and his wife,

Marlene, settled down in
front of the television

to watch the ceremony.

MARLENE PROBST: Well,
we were watching

the Academy Awards
on TV that night,

and I must have dozed off.

And the next thing I knew,
there was this loud explosion

that woke me up.

[glass shattering]

MARLENE PROBST (VOICEOVER):
I saw this cloud of smoke

from behind the television set.

When I went in the
kitchen, Ralph was

laying on the kitchen floor.

HOST: Ralph Probst had been shot
once in the back of the head.

By the time Marlene was
able to summon help,

her husband was dead.

He never regained consciousness.

Ralph Probst was a
30-year-old Cook County

Illinois Sheriff's officer.

In addition to
Marlene, Ralph left

behind three small children and
a series of baffling questions

that over 23 years
later remain unanswered.

Four days after his
murder, Officer Probst

was laid to rest.

Among the mourners was a
fellow officer, Bob Borowski.

On that afternoon, he
made a silent pledge.

BOB BOROWSKI: As I
stood beside the casket

and looked down at Ralph,
I made a vow to him

that I would find
his killer and I

would not rest until I get him.

I figured it would
be solved quickly,

but it didn't turn out that way.

HOST: Bob Borowski is still
trying to keep his promise.

It is said that there is no
such thing as the perfect crime.

But for more than two decades,
the murder of Ralph Probst

has come uncomfortably close.

Evidence left at the scene
pointed to a carefully

planned and premeditated crime.

But to date, no motive
has been established.

Today, 23 years later, Bob
Borowski carries on the search

for his partner's killer.

Bob Borowski and Ralph Probst
met for the first time in 1964,

shortly after Ralph graduated
from the Police Academy.

OK, gentlemen.

Let's shape up your
inspection times.

HOST: The two men were both
assigned to an elite unit

called the Tactical Squad.

Ralph had originally
been a chemical engineer,

but then decided to pursue
a career in law enforcement.

Looking good.

Probst and Borowski, you've
got Stickney Township tonight.

We had a lot of problems
out there last night.

BOB BOROWSKI: Everybody
else in the department

looked up to the Tact Unit.

We were a very elite unit.

We were all spit and polish.

And we were a very proud bunch.

And Ralph was not
only a partner,

but he was also a friend.

And it was that
sort of relationship

you can depend on him, and
he could depend on you.

You driving again?

HOST: Ralph soon earned
the reputation as a man who

played strictly by the rules.

This inflexibility earned him
at least one bitter enemy.

A few months before his
death, Ralph and Bob

were two of the
officers assigned

to guard duty on a notorious
mobster, Sam DeStefano.

DeStefano had been
convicted and sentenced

on charges of conspiracy,
but had been transferred

from prison to a local
hospital after complaining

of stomach trouble.

We're here to guard you.

You two lackeys are
going to guard me?

Sam, you can't have
any visitors here.

You folks are going
to have to go.

Come on.
- What are you, my doctor?

Hang up the phone.

Call the doctor.

Take this with you.

Don't steal my apples, copper.

Ma'am, you're going
to have to go, too.

Get your hands off of her.

Call my lawyer.

You're also going to have to
eat the regular hospital food,

just like everyone
else in the hospital.

Do you know who I am?

As a matter of fact, I do.

That's why you're here.

Now lie down on the bed.

Hey, what are you doing?

BOB BOROWSKI (VOICEOVER):
When Ralph handcuffed

DeStefano to the bed--
- You can't do this.

It's a hospital.

BOB BOROWSKI (VOICEOVER):
He became very irate

and threatened to kill him.

I am doing it.

You better grow eyes
in the back of your head.

If you need us,
we'll be outside.

Get out.

Get out of here.

BOB BOROWSKI: We really
didn't take it very serious.

We felt that he was
just a big bag of wind

and just brushed it off.

I don't think that the risk
ever entered Ralph's mind.

I really don't.

I think it to him, it
was a job, he enjoyed it,

and I don't think
he was ever afraid.

I imagine, in the
back of anyone's

mind something could happen, but
I don't think he dwelled on it.

HOST: The night of
Ralph's death, police

were confronted by
an unusual pattern

of circumstantial evidence.

It appeared as if
Ralph had been shot

through the kitchen window.

OK.

Now, secure the house.

Make sure nobody gets into
it who doesn't belong.

I don't care who it is.

HOST: Police canvassed
the neighborhood

looking for witnesses.

Though the killer was allegedly
standing outside the house,

nobody saw the gunman.

But a few people
did hear a shot.

We want a good, clear
shot of this ricochet mark.

HOST: The bullet
that killed Ralph

had ricocheted off
a kitchen cabinet

and then fallen onto the stove.

This bullet had been fired
from a rare 41 caliber magnum--

a gun that had only
recently been manufactured.

Keep your eyes and
ears working as what's

going on on the street.

See if there's any talk.

Contact all your informants.

HOST: Though there
were only 2,000

of these guns in
the United States,

police were unable to
locate the murder weapon.

And in spite of a huge manhunt,
there were no suspects,

and no other leads.

OK.

We don't have a motive
on this one yet.

It could be some nut who just
doesn't like police officers.

So when you're out
there, be very careful.

HOST: One likely
suspect, Sam DeStefano,

was immediately cleared of
complicity in the murder.

There were no other
suspects save one--

Ralph's wife, Marlene.

MARLENE PROBST: I know
from the beginning

of the investigation--

I think what puzzled
everybody is how I had

seen smoke inside the house.

But if the gunman
had been outside,

there wouldn't have
been smoke inside.

And yet, when I woke up,
that's the first thing

I saw was this
small cloud of smoke

coming up from like in
back of my television set.

HOST: This telltale
puff of smoke

led police to suspect
that the shot had been

fired from inside the house.

In addition, glass
was found in the yard,

not on the kitchen floor.

When you are having
a murder investigation,

one of the first places you
start with is with the family.

And it's just normal unless you
have immediate evidence to lead

you away from the family.

Are you set inside?

Yeah.

HOST: The
investigators conducted

an experiment to see if
Marlene was telling the truth.

[gun shot]

HOST: First, they fired
from 15 feet away.

There was no smoke, and
the glass fell inside.

But then, they fired two
inches away from the window.

JERRY HARMON (VOICEOVER):
There it was.

That's what I saw that night.

JERRY HARMON (VOICEOVER): The
puff of smoke inside the house.

- I never seen--
- It went back all over me.

I never saw anything like that.
- Never seen anything like that?

JERRY HARMON (VOICEOVER): We
found the glass came out back

onto the shooter, and
fell to the ground,

and we had the puff of
smoke inside the house.

From that point on, we knew that
Marlene was telling the truth.

We determined that the shooter
would have had to have been 5'

11" or taller in order
for that projectile

to follow the path to
where it struck Ralph.

[gun shot]

To strike the center
of the back of the head

where the entry point was--
took one terrific shot.

He could have been a
professional hit man.

And he could always have been
a law enforcement person.

HOST: There was another
baffling facet to this case.

How was a killer able to
know that Ralph would be

standing by the kitchen window?

MARLENE PROBST: If anyone
had been watching the house,

they wouldn't have been able
to know even what room we

were sitting in unless
they were standing

by that kitchen window.

There was no other
window in our house

that they could have seen
through but the kitchen window.

Every other window was covered.

My theory on Ralph's
murder is that somebody

knew Ralph was going
to be in that position

at that certain time.

There was too much
light in the driveway,

and that person
did not stay there

and wait for hours for Ralph to
get in that certain position.

Whoever did it knew Ralph was
going to be there at that time,

and that person was
there at that time.

It wasn't somebody that
was laying for him.

Ralph was set up to
be in that position.

I believe that possibly he was
going to receive a phone call,

or he was going to
make a phone call.

[gun shot]

We have information
that prior to coming home

and watching TV with his
wife that Ralph went to a gas

station and made a phone call.

That could have been where
he received information

that he was going to
receive a phone call

or to make a phone call.

Therefore, put him in that
position by the window

at that certain time.

Hi, it's Ralph.

MARLENE PROBST: The biggest
question, I think in my mind,

is why he was killed.

Who did it and why.

I can remember a
conversation with Ralph

where he made a statement
that, I'm working on something,

and when I saw that they're
going to make me a Sergeant.

- You're going to be Sergeant?
- I'm tell you.

I'm going to make Sergeant.

BOB BOROWSKI: And of
course, my reaction

was, yeah, sure, Ralph.
OK.

You know, and they're going
to make me the President

of the United States.

And it was just laughed off.

And he said no more on it.

And apparently, he was serious.

HOST: Borowski
believes that Ralph

may have been working
on his own secretly

in order to bring
down a vice ring.

Support for this theory
came when it was discovered

that several days
before his death,

Ralph had been seen at the
home of the ex-convict, Frank

Calvese.

Ralph had spoken with
Calvese's wife and then left.

Come on in.
I'll show you around.

I think you'll like it.

HOST: One week before
the murder, a man closely

resembling Calvese paid a
visit to a house for sale

across the street
from Ralph's home.

As they toured the
house, the visitor

asked if the floor plan
was similar to the Probst's

residence.

There's a washer,
a garbage disposal.

HOST: It was.

And we just put
in new cabinets.

Hey, I just was wondering.

All the houses on this block
have the same floor plan?

Most of the
houses in this area

were built about
the same time, yeah.

HOST: However, after identifying
Calvese in a police lineup,

the neighbor changed his story.

Some believe he was frightened
into retracting his testimony.

Not bad.

Not bad.
I'll be in touch.

Do you have any
other questions?

JERRY HARMON: He stated to
one of the investigators,

you realize that if they shot
Ralph Probst across the street,

they wouldn't hesitate
to kill me, too.

So that left us at a dead
end on Frank Calvese.

That house over there--

is that the same as yours?

HOST: Frank Calvese
died in 1974.

No charges were ever filed in
connection with Ralph's death.

BOB BOROWSKI: Ralph
had information

on something,
whether it be vice,

pornography, fencing operation.

And whoever killed
him, knew that he

was going to talk
about it, and they

killed him before he could.

HOST: Immediately after
Ralph Probst's murder,

30 officers were assigned
to the investigation.

Today, only two Cook County
officers are on the case.

Bob Borowski works on his own.

BOB BOROWSKI (VOICEOVER):
At this time,

I am unofficially still
working on the case.

And whoever did it, I've been
making them awful nervous.

Because he knows that
I'm not giving up.

That somehow, someway, somebody
is going to say something,

and he's going to get caught.

So somewhere, somebody
is awful nervous,

and I'm going get to
keep him that way.

Next week on
Unsolved Mysteries.

For over 100 years, the
inhabitants of Marfa, Texas

have seen bizarre lights
hovering over the desert sands.

Science can offer
little explanation

as to what they might be,
but local legend has given

them the name, ghost lights.

Join me next week for another
edition of Unsolved Mysteries.