All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S04E07.480p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-PLAYREADY_track3_[und]

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.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
On the eve of Halloween,

two intriguing ghost stories
on "Unsolved Mysteries."

In its heyday, the old St.
James Hotel in New Mexico

was host to a long list
of legendary gunslingers

and outlaws.

Today, employees
report different kinds

of guests, unearthly visitors
that never check out.

For years, June Farris
dreamed of a strange house

that she had never
seen or even been in.

Later, she found herself living
in that same house for years

before the previous
owner had been murdered.

She and her family believe
that his spirit is still there.

We'll also profile
the baffling case

of Mary Anne Perez, who vanished
without a trace in 1976.

15 years later, an anonymous
caller contacted her family,

claiming that not only
was Maryanne still alive,

but she was being held
captive against her will.

And authorities need
your help to track down

a clever and corpulent
conman who masquerades

as a bona fide physician
and hoodwinks even the most

sophisticated of victims.

Call him Doctor Fraud.

Join me.

Perhaps you may be able
to help solve a mystery

or perhaps you may
encounter one that

simply cannot be explained.

[theme music]

Tomorrow brings a
one night each year,

which seems to bring
out the wide eyed child

in all of us, Halloween.

As darkness falls, our
imaginations take flight.

Houses begin to whisper and
creek, shadows come to life,

the sky fills with
ghosts and goblins.

But in Cimarron, New
Mexico, Halloween

is an everyday occurrence
at the old St. James

Hotel, which some say is haunted
by the spirits of the Wild

West.

When I bought
the hotel, I didn't

believe in ghosts at all.

Now, after the
convincing evidence

of the last five years,
I'm certain that there

are ghosts here.

They are indeed real to me.

They are not something
that I have made up.

They are indeed in this hotel.

The ghosts are here.

Are they haunting it?

No, I think they're
just living here.

There are places where the
emotions have been very strong

and it's something like the
energy gets captured or caught,

and this hotel is
certainly one of them.

[western piano music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
In its heyday,

the St. James Hotel offered good
food, attractive dancing girls,

and comfortable beds for
such wild and woolly guests

as Jesse James, Bat
Masterson, Annie Oakley,

Doc Holiday, and Wyatt Earp.

But as the glory days
of the old west faded,

the hotel fell into disrepair.

Just got one more wall left.

Yeah, we're about finished.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): In 1985,

Ed Sitzberger and his wife,
Pat, purchased the St. James.

[inaudible] goes on forever

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
They planned to bring

the old hotel back to life.

Ah, we'll get there.

[lightning and thunder]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The Sitzbergers

soon discovered that the St.
James had a life of its own.

PATRICIA (VOICEOVER): I wanted
to see how many leaks ran

the hotel and so I
got my friend to come

with me to go through the
hotel with our flashlight.

We finished doing
all the checking

and put out some buckets here
and there, because we did have

some leaks, and then we
turned the chandelier off,

and then went downstairs
and at the hotel.

And for some reason,
I turned back up

and looked back up
to the second story,

and the chandelier was on.

I don't believe it.

We got to go back in.

I'm sure I turned this off.

[light clicks off]

When we got out and had
locked the door, and looked

back up again, and the
light was again on.

So we went through the
hotel, again, and turned

the chandelier off, and
came back down the stairs,

and out again.

Locked the door, looked
back up, and it was on.

The last time we went
up, we went down the hall

and I turned back
to John and I said,

well, the former
owners had told us

about some things
that had happened

previously in the hotel.

Let me just try something.

And so before I turned
the chandelier off,

this time I said, I don't know
who you are or why you're here,

but I'm tired and I really
don't want to play tonight.

I'm glad you're here, but could
we please play another day?

And at that point I pulled
the cord on the chandelier

and heard a click, and
we turned around and back

down the stairs,
and I looked up,

and indeed, the
light had stayed off.

All right.

First, I thought maybe it
was an electrical problem

because it's an old hotel, but
after doing it three or four

times, it couldn't have been.

And I could hear it shut off,
and the three times that I shut

it off, the click of the switch,
and so there was no reason

for it coming back on.

[click]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
According to the Sitzbergers,

the hotel is haunted
top to bottom.

[clicking]

Guests in room 17 have reported
a persistent eerie tapping

noise whenever the
window is open.

[clicking speeds up]

[window shuts]

[clicking ceases]

In the kitchen, the
cook has witnessed

several bizarre occurrences.

And in May of 1988,
Charlie Varela,

a local high school student,
was cleaning the bar at 5:00 AM.

Charlie thought he was alone.

CHARLIE (VOICEOVER): It
was kind of dark in there

and I was going to back to
get some liners for the trash,

and as I was going back to it,
I just glanced over to the bar.

And I just--

I seen a little boy sitting on
the bar and spinning the glass.

You can hear it on the
table go (WHIRRING),

spinning and just
perfectly spinning.

At first, I thought it was
a little boy from upstairs,

and he was just
down, messing around.

I was going telling
him, excuse me,

you're not supposed
to be in here.

But when I went to make the move
to tell him, he turned around.

CHARLIE (VOICEOVER):
His face was hideous.

He just jumped off and just
scared me, and I just took off.

I quit that morning.

I just-- seeing that, it
scared me, and I didn't want

to work here anymore.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Dr. Kenneth Wright, a surgeon

and amateur ghost hunter, heard
about the spirits at the St.

James and came to investigate.

Let's go inside.

PATRICIA (VOICEOVER): When Dr.
Wright asked me to go into room

18, I was a little skeptical
because I had been in there

many times before and
had felt the chilliness,

and the negativeness in there.

The room was cold,
and when I looked up

in the upper left hand corner,
the was a whirling that

was going on in the corner.

You couldn't see the
corner of the room.

It was like a white swirl.

There was this
anger and hatred,

and instantly, I was
filled with terror.

I was gasping for breath
because I had not expected it,

did not encounter it.

I've never been that
terrified in my life

and as this was happening
to me, I heard Pat saying--

You can go.

You're free to go.

You can go.

[spirit whirring]

PATRICIA (VOICEOVER):
I couldn't believe

what was happening to me.

I don't know what the
swirling presence was.

It was negative, it was cold, it
felt like it was from the past.

It didn't want me there.

That was very obvious.

He was angry at her
because it was his place

and she was telling him
that he was free to leave.

And he was telling her you
don't tell me I am free.

This is-- you leave.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Next, Ed

Sitzberger contacted
Jackie Littlejohn,

a psychic from Albuquerque.

Jackie claims to be
able to communicate

with the spirit world.

JACKIE: I was able to sense
physical violence, a gunshot.

It was so strong, I stepped
back where I could see,

and feel, and smell.

The evidence of
violence was so intense.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
During her tour of the hotel,

Jackie claims she had a
vision of a deadly poker game.

JACKIE (VOICEOVER): The
poker game had been going on

for a long time and
it was a feeling

that either the hotel was at
stake or a very large heard.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
According to Jackie,

one of the card
players was a man whose

ghost now inhabits room 18.

[footsteps]

[gunshot]

JACKIE (VOICEOVER): He
died of blood poisoning.

Very slow, very painful,
very dreadful, desperate.

Desperate man, very fearful.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Jackie
says the dead man's name was

T.J Wright, and that he probably
won the hotel in the poker game

just before he was killed.

ED (VOICEOVER): We wanted
to look back in the records

and corroborate the story.

So we went back and looked
at the hotel register in 1881

and found T.J Wright registered
three different days in 1881.

It just is reasonable
to me that he believes

he owns the hotel still and
wants to maintain possession,

or at least live here.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Ed Sitzberger

keeps the old registry
locked in a glass case,

and he is certain that
Jackie Littlejohn never

had access to it.

There is, of course, no way
to prove that the ghost of T.J

Wright is now haunting
room 18, but Ed Sitzberger

is not taking any chances.

ED (VOICEOVER):
There's no construction

activity in that
room or renovation

work that's going to be done.

That's his room, as
far as I'm concerned,

as a permanent resident for
as long as I have the hotel.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Is it truly possible

that the St. James
Hotel is haunted

by the spirits of the old west?

[rolling thunder]

The firsthand accounts
you've just heard

are definitely
difficult to believe,

but if you can offer a better
explanation for what goes on

in the old hotel, the
folks at the St. James

would certainly like to hear it.

When we return, a
family in Florida

claims that the ghost
of a murder victim

has returned to haunt
the scene of the crime.

[theme music]

[crickets chirping]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): August
1968, in Richmond, Virginia,

a woman named June
Ferris is having

a disturbing dream about
a strange house she has

never set foot in or even seen.

The dream has plagued
her for months.

JUNE (VOICEOVER): In the dream
I was in an upstairs bedroom,

and I would come
out of the bedroom,

go out into the hallway, and
I would turn to the right,

and go down the
narrow staircase.

I knew the house had
a front staircase,

but I never used the front
staircase in the dream.

It was always the back.

And I would turn to the left
and go through the kitchen,

around the
refrigerator and stove

that were on the one wall.

I had a feeling of anxiety.

An anxious feeling
that something

was going to happen that
I should know about.

And I would go out the
kitchen door, onto the porch.

[door slams]

And that's where
I would wake up.

[exhales]

And I suppose that
this dream continued

maybe once a month
until we moved

to Orlando, four years later.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
June and her family

moved to Florida in 1972.

Two years later, she was
driving through the small town

of Clermont, Florida,
when she came upon a house

that enchanted her.

I've always liked
old Victorian houses.

It was such a lovely home.

So I called the realtor and
asked if I could go through it.

This is great.

How ever did you
find this place?

I just drove by on the
side, it was right out front.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
June returned with a friend

for a closer look.

Once inside, June began to
experience an eerie sensation.

Let's go upstairs.

OK.

JUNE (VOICEOVER): We went
through the downstairs

first, and went up
the front staircase,

and I had a feeling of--

I guess you would say, deja vu.

I had definitely
been here before.

Oh look, more stairs.

I wonder where they go.

I know where they go.

JUNE: They go down through
the kitchen, past the stove,

and onto the back porch.

How do you know that?

I've dreamed about this house.

JUNE (VOICEOVER): So as we
walked through the house,

it definitely was the
same house of the dream.

And I knew every room in
the house, every closet,

where everything was.

It was just a real
unusual experience.

Not scary.

I didn't feel spooked.

It was just-- it
was a good feeling.

It was a feeling
like I had come home.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
In March of 1978, June,

and her husband, and
three of their children

moved into the old house.

Almost immediately, odd
things began to happen.

ROBIN (VOICEOVER): My father
had brought the boat out

on the trailer and trailer hitch
was on a sawhorse type stand,

and it looked as if
someone had reached over,

picked the trailer hitch up, and
just dropped it on the ground.

Robin, what are You doing

I didn't do it.

ROBIN (VOICEOVER):
There was nobody there.

I mean, it was blank space.

It wasn't like it jumped off.

It was like someone had actually
lifted it off of the stand

and dropped it, and it happened
several times again afterwards.

It was so fast

[thud]

that you really wanted
to think to yourself,

did I really see that?

Did that really happen?

That it was just shock.

Absolute shock.

[crickets chirping]

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

the Farris's were
to witness more

and ever stranger occurrences.

[music box playing]

[music boxes playing faster]

The extraordinary
became the ordinary,

and the family began
to suspect that they

were not the only ones
living in a house.

ROBIN (VOICEOVER): I
was about 20 or 21.

It was when my husband
David and I were married

and we were living
in my mother's house.

He woke me up in the middle
of the night one night.

Robin, what was that?

Listen.

Sounds like my music boxes.

ROBIN (VOICEOVER): He knew
that the house was haunted

and he was just terrified.

[music boxes playing]

The switches were not on.

They were just wound up
and they were playing.

All of them were playing.

The music boxes coming on really
assured me that we definitely

had a ghost in that house, and
I felt like we did before then.

It wasn't scary to me anymore.

It was kind of fascinating.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): In
1985, Bob Vitter began dating

June's younger daughter, Lori.

I was a firm
disbeliever in ghosts,

but after everything that's
happened to me in that house,

there is such a thing
as ghosts, and there

is a ghost in that house.

[tv playing]

BOB (VOICEOVER): A couple of
nights before Halloween, Laura

and I were in the
parlor on the couch,

and we heard the back
screen door slam.

[door slams]

What was that?

It's just my mom.

Oh.

[footsteps]

BOB (VOICEOVER): I heard
something with boots

come through the kitchen--
- That's not your mother.

BOB (VOICEOVER): And
walked down the hallway,

and stop in the opening
going into the parlor,

and I had a feeling
that whatever it was,

it was standing right
there, watching us.

And the sound of its boots
continued down the hallway,

and I followed it,
and at that point,

I was really very, very scared.

[footsteps continue]

I never encountered
anything like that.

I was just so terrified,
I couldn't even move.

[footsteps grow quieter]

[door slams]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): By
now, everyone was convinced

that the house was haunted.

But no one had actually
seen a ghost, yet.

ROBIN (VOICEOVER): I was
walking up the stairway

in the foyer of the house.

I felt a cold chill.

It's almost like when
you open your freezer

in the hot summer time.

It was very definitely
a person and he was very

early middle age or late 30s.

And it was just
like a vapor, just

like a cloud of smoke kind of.

It's there and then it's gone.

But it was very definite.

It was very definitely a person.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Three months later, Bob Vitter

had his own ghostly encounter.

BOB (VOICEOVER): I was
upstairs preparing to paint.

I opened the attic door
and there in front of me

was a white vapor, almost
in the shape of a human.

And as I took another step
forward, this vapor came at me,

and it went right through me.

And I felt a cold blast of
air and the musty smell that

always accompanied the ghost.

And just as quickly as it
went through me, it was over.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
In October 1985,

Bob Vitter began looking into
the history of the old mansion.

In a local library, he found
volumes of old newspapers

and was startled to discover
an account of a brutal murder

in which the owner of
the house was gunned

down in his own backyard.

The victim's name
was John Harden.

Bob began to believe
that if there

were a ghost in
the house, perhaps

it was the ghost of John Harden.

Hardin grew up in South
Florida, and at 18,

married his high school
sweetheart, Rita.

Together, they
raised four children

in Jacksonville, Florida.

Every moment with
him was wonderful.

He was a good person.

He was always caring, not
only about his family,

but his friends.

You know, everybody.

He was always concerned
about everyone around him,

everyone that touched his life.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): But
after 14 years of marriage,

John Harden dropped a
bombshell on his wife.

RITA (VOICEOVER): He came
in from work one afternoon.

I love you, you know that.

RITA (VOICEOVER): Put
his arms around me.

Yes, I do.

RITA (VOICEOVER):
He said, I love you.

I have to go away.

What do you mean?

I have to leave for a while.

He said, I have some problems.

I'm going to get
myself together.

I'll be home, but
he never came home.

[birds chirping]

Good morning!

RITA: Good morning!

Are you the owner?

Yes, I am.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
About a year and a half

later, Harden remarried.

Yeah, uh, beautiful
house [inaudible].

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
He his second wife

moved to Clermont,
where they purchased

the old Victorian mansion.

Nine months later, John
Harden awoke to a disturbance

outside of his bedroom window.

[soft sound of flames]

Harden's pickup truck
was engulfed in flames.

[flames grow louder]

It was later determined that
the fire been deliberately set.

[gunshot]

Harden lay mortally wounded,
shot once in the chest

with a single barreled shotgun.

He died less than an hour later.

No one was ever arrested in
connection with the shooting.

Had there been
a motive, we could

have proceeded with the case
and investigation a lot better.

There was several things that
was brought to our attention,

but there was never a
firm motive established.

[POLICE CHATTER ON WALKIE
TALKIE]

BRUCE (VOICEOVER): We
had absolutely nothing

after three and a half months
of a great deal of travel,

and interviewing literally
hundreds of witnesses.

We didn't have any
more at the end

of the three and a half months
than we had when we started.

On a scale of 1 to 10
difficulty of solving a crime,

this is probably about as close
to a 10 as I've ever seen.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Could
John Harden's spirit possibly

be haunting his
former residence?

There do seem to be amazing
similarities between the ghost

and the man himself.

According to his first wife,
Harden was a loving and overly

protective parent.

RITA (VOICEOVER): When
our children were little,

Johnny would be very
concerned about them,

always going to the
other room to check them

just to be sure they were OK.

To be sure they weren't
wrapped up in the covers or--

always wanting to be sure
that they were all right.

Very concerned
about them, always.

Even as they got older,
he was always concerned.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): The Farris's

believe that the
spirit in their house

has the same nurturing attitude.

JUNE (VOICEOVER):
Apparently, he was

very fond of children and
babies because my grandson

had an experience with him.

He would wake up and see this
man standing over his bed,

and of course, that would
scare the bejeebers out of me,

RAYMOND (SCARED): Mom!
Mom!

JUNE (VOICEOVER): And
I'm sure it did him.

RAYMOND (SCARED): Mom!

Mom!

Mom!

Mom!

Mom!

JUNE (VOICEOVER): And it
happened several times

until Robin went
into the room one

night before Raymond
went to sleep

and she spoke to the ghost.

And she said please do not
come back in this room anymore,

and please leave Raymond alone.

And after that he didn't come
back, or at least if he did,

Raymond didn't wake up.

[crackling fire]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): When
June Farris learned the details

of John Harden's
life and death, she

recognized a startling
connection with a dream which

had plagued her for years.

JUNE (VOICEOVER): When I first
learned that John Harden came

down the back stairs
into the kitchen,

and out the back door, which
was the same path that I took

in my dreams, I felt
like there was something

there that I should know.

Maybe if the dream had continued
I would have learned something,

that there was a
link, and in some way

he's trying to tell us
what happened to him,

and even help us
find the killer.

I think that he haunts to
try to make a point to people.

That hey, I'm here,
and I can't go anywhere

until this is taken care of.

[crickets chirping]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
In 1990, the Farris's

moved out of the old mansion.

The new owners
also tell haunting

tales of a restless
spirit roaming

the hallways each night.

Curiously, when we filmed
at the old Victorian house

in Claremont, our production
crew encountered a number

of unusual difficulties.

Lights flickered on and
off for no apparent reason.

The equipment failed,
doors opened on their own,

and a window in the
attic shattered.

The cause, unknown.

Perhaps it was just
coincidence, or perhaps it

was the spirit of John
Harden, unable to rest

until justice is served.

And the final
footnote to this story

is apt to give anyone pause.

The investigation into
the murder of John Harden

has now been reopened.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Next, an anonymous phone

call rekindles a case of a
woman who disappeared in 1976.

[theme music]

I got to get going, darling.

All right, mom.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): On
March 25th, 1976, Mary Ann

Perez of Chalmette,
Louisiana said goodbye

to her teenage daughter, Donna.

Yeah.

And would you put everything
in the fridge when you're done?

Sure.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Donna had agreed to babysit her

younger brothers and sisters
so Maryanne could go out

with one of her girlfriends.

I love you, I'm a come
and check up on y'all.

- OK
- Lock the doors.

I will.

SHANNON (VOICEOVER): She told
Donna that she would be calling

to check on us about
10:00, 11:00 o'clock

and Donna said she got a
phone call from mama first.

Mama said that she was OK.

She would be home shortly.

And then about 1:30
in the morning,

Donna said she got a
phone call from a woman

by the name of Dorothy.

[phone ringing]

Hello?

DOROTHY (ON PHONE): Hi, my
name's Dorothy and I'm a friend

of your mama's.

I'm calling to let
you know that she's

having car trouble
so she'll be a little

late getting home tonight.
- Is she OK?

DOROTHY (ON PHONE):
She'll be fine.

She'll be home soon, bye.

[phone clicks]

Hello?

Hello?

[phone clicks into place]

When I heard about the call
and heard the name Dorothy,

I couldn't imagine who in the
world that could have been.

I knew there was
something wrong somewhere,

the car being practically new,
and no reason for car trouble.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Mary Ann Perez never

called and never came home.

Her family soon
discovered that she

had gone to meet her
friend at a country

Western club on the
outskirts of New Orleans.

Uh, cold beer.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The next morning,

Mary Ann's car was found
parked in front of the club.

When the New Orleans Police
inspected the vehicle,

they saw no evidence
of car trouble.

The automobile was in
perfect running condition.

[POLICE CHATTER OVER WALKIE
TALKIE]

There's nothing
in the back seat.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Three days

later, Mary Ann's purse,
weighted down with a brick,

was found in Lake
Pontchartrain 10 miles away.

There was no trace
of Mary Anne Perez.

Nine years passed.

Mary Anne's family
waited, not knowing

whether she was dead or alive.

Then in 1985, the New
Orleans Police Department

dispatched a detective
to Wichita, Kansas

to question a man
named David Courtney.

Courtney, along with
his wife, confessed

to a multi-state killing spree.

One of their victims
seemed to have a lot

in common with Mary Ann Perez.

Um, OK, um, I was going
to this bar for a drink,

and I saw this woman,
and um, she was heading

for her car in the parking lot.

She looked a little tipsy--

When I went up to Kansas
to interview David Courtney,

he told me about the female
he abducted in New Orleans.

He stated that he was
driving down the highway

and pulled into a parking lot
of the Country Western bar.

[car running]

- Whoa.
- Oh.

Hey, you OK?

Yeah, I'm OK.

Thank you.

Um, you're not driving
that car, are you?

I gotta.

I got to get home to my kids.

Well, look, why don't you let
my wife and I take you home?

She's right up the road here and
I'm picking her up from work.

I can't.

I can't ask you to do that.

I live all the way in Chalmette.

Chalmette's no problem for us.

We live in Chalmette.

It's on the way there.

You don't mind?

No problem at all, you know?

I'd feel guilty if I left you
here in the shape you're in.

Come on in.

I probably should.

[winces]

So what's your name?

Mary Ann.

I'm David.

Did you pick your wife up?

Yeah and then we took her
straight to our trailer.

After you got to the
trailer, did y'all have sexual

advances towards this woman?

BOB LAMBERT: He stated that
this female fell asleep

on a chair in the
trailer and there

was some sexual advancements
by David Courtney's wife, which

woke this female
up, and she became

disturbed, and irate, and
upset about what was going on.

And they agreed to give her
a ride home at that time.

[car wooshing past]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
David Courtney

stated that his wife drove
and he sat in the back seat

with her their intended victim.

[inaudible] we're just taking
you back and it's all over.

That's all.

No problem at all.

This is your road, right?

I mean, you can see it.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Courtney said he had already

killed once, and he
and his wife were

afraid that this woman
would go to the police

if they let her live.

[inaudible]
recognize this place.

Is this it?
- This is it.

You know-- hey baby, you're
going down the right road?

This is not the way home.
This is not the way home.

It's not.

[struggling]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
According to David Courtney,

he and his wife dumped their
victim near the Louisiana,

Mississippi State line.

Come on!

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
They made absolutely

no attempt to hide the body.

Come on, grab her legs.

I got her.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Detective Lambert

was becoming more
and more certain

that the Courtney's victim had
indeed been Mary Ann Perez.

DAVID: Come on, let's
get out of here.

I'm going to show
you a photograph

and I want you to
take a look at it

and see whether or not you
can identify this person.

DAVID: Um, could be.

Yeah, it kind of looks like her.

A little bit heavy, but I
can't be 100% sure of it.

Yeah, I think so, maybe.

BOB LAMBERT: I'm going to
show you a small photograph.

I want you look at and
see if you recognize

anything in that photograph.

DAVID: Well yeah,
that's her car.

It's green.

Definitely, uh-huh.

Yeah, that's her car.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Detective Lambert

next questioned Courtney's
wife, specifically

about Mary Ann's purse.

[inaudible] police department.

I spoke with your
attorney last night.

It's my understanding
that you don't wish to--

BOB LAMBERT: I asked her if
the female they abducted had

a purse and she said
yes, that she threw

it over the side of
a bridge that they

were crossing at the time.

SHANNON (VOICEOVER): My
daddy came into the room,

and he got us all together,
and he said to us-- he said,

mama is dead.

He said they found that people
that did it and she's dead.

She's gone.

And it tore us up because we
had a lot of hope until that.

DAVID'S WIFE: Get
her out, quick.

DAVID: Get her legs.

DAVID'S WIFE: I
got it, I got it.

Just move her.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Based on Courtney's statement,

an extensive search
was conducted.

A body was not recovered
even though all

of Courtney's other
victims had been found

where he said they would be.

[car door slams]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The Courtney's were never

charged with Mary Ann's murder.

The slim hope that she was
alive continued to flicker.

Then in 1990, the
case of Mary Ann Perez

was resurrected once more.

[phone ringing]

15 Years after Mary
Ann's disappearance,

the wife of her
oldest son, Elward,

received a phone call
from a woman who claimed

to be Mary Ann's best friend.

I'm not going to let you
speak with him unless you

tell me what it's about.

SHAWN (VOICEOVER): She
asked to speak with Elward

and he wasn't home, and I
didn't want to tell the stranger

that my husband wasn't home.

She asked to speak
with Elward again,

and I said well, if you're not
going to tell me who you are,

I'm not going to let
you speak with him.

And she said, well,
it's about Mary Ann.

And I said, what
about Miss Mary Ann?

And she said, well, Miss
Mary Ann's still alive.

WOMAN (ON PHONE): I'm
calling for Mary Ann

because they won't let her call.

Mary Ann can't remember-- look,
do you have Donna's number?

No, I don't know Donna's
number, but I can--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The caller was emphatic.

She would not be able
to telephone again.

Like Mary Ann, she
was not allowed.

WOMAN (ON PHONE): I'm telling
you, Mary Ann is still alive.

I don't understand why you
don't want to help her.

[phone hangs up]

That caused me to think more
positive that she was alive.

And of course, there were
statements made that it's

possibly a prank call.

I don't know, but I do
know that if she is alive,

I'd like to see her.

I'd like to find her.

And I feel that I'm speaking
for my family, and her family,

and her children, her husband.

We'd all like to have
her to come home.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The authorities

believe it is almost
impossible that Mary

Ann Perez might still be alive.

However, Mary Ann's family
clings to the fragile belief

that David Courtney, who admits
he was drunk at the time,

did not succeed in his
attempt to strangle her.

DAVID: It's OK,
[inaudible] it's OK!

SHANNON (VOICEOVER): He
murdered several other people

and their bodies were found.

So that gives us some
hope that maybe he

might have strangled her
unconscious, thinking that she

was dead, and threw her out.

Maybe she had amnesia
or something like it.

Or maybe some of the
brain cells were destroyed

and she can't remember who
she is, or what she was,

and coming to some time
after the Courtneys

left, and just wandered out.

SHANNON (VOICEOVER): Maybe she
got up several hours later.

Maybe there's a possibility,
a slight possibility, that she

is somewhere out there.

[footsteps]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Did
Maryann Perez miraculously

survive, the victim of amnesia?

Or did David Courtney kill her?

Courtney is currently
serving a life

sentence for the
confessed murder

of one of his other victims.

One day, I think
that he did do

it, another day I think I don't
know what happened to her.

The fact is, she's gone and
has been gone for 15 years.

Whether she's dead or
alive, I don't know.

We love her, we miss
her, and we want her back.

That's all we want.

And if she's gone, we
still want a grave site

to go put flowers on.

For 15 long years,
Mary Ann Perez's family

has watched and waited.

They are anxious for
any news of Mary Ann,

but they especially hope
the woman who telephoned

Shawn Perez will call again.

Mary Ann's family members
want the caller to know how

eager they are to cooperate.

Each of them holds onto
the hope, however illusory,

that one day Mary
Ann will come home.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Mary Ann Perez

has reddish brown
hair and blue eyes.

She is five feet,
four inches tall,

and at the time of
her disappearance,

weighed 108 pounds.

This is a computer
aged photograph

to show how Mary Ann might
look today at the age of 48.

When we return,
authorities need your help

to track down a clever con
man who operates as a doctor.

[theme music]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Cincinnati, Ohio November 1986.

A smooth talking con artist
lays the intricate groundwork

for his latest scam.

- Mike Wills?
- Yes.

Dr. John Anderson.
How are you doing?

Well, nice to
meet you, Doctor.

We spoke on the phone.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The target is Mike

Wills, a veteran coin dealer.

Like most of us,
Mike thinks he would

never fall prey to a con man.

[inaudible] we've been
talking about, the maple

leaf and the [inaudible].

And he came across as a
very polite, articulate man,

and I had no reason at
that time to doubt that he

was anything other than
what he told me he was,

indeed a doctor.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The corpulent con man

who called himself
Doctor John Anderson,

was interested in
buying gold coins.

He suggested that Wills visit
him at Children's Hospital

and speak to his physician's
investment group.

I got to be rushing
on over to the hospital.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The trap was now in place.

[inaudible] and
I'll be back with you.

Nice meeting you.

[phone ringing]

Coins plus.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Two days

later, Dr. Anderson ordered
$30,000 worth of gold coins.

Mike Wills agreed to bring
the coins to the hospital

when he addressed
Anderson's investment group.

At 8:00 AM on
November 26th, 1986,

Mike Wills arrived at
Children's Hospital.

Dr. Anderson had
arranged to meet

with Mike privately before Mike
spoke to the physicians group.

WOMAN (ON SPEAKER):
Dr. Kravitz, you have

a visitor in the main lobby.

MICHAEL (VOICEOVER): The
elevator door opens up

and he's in the elevator.

Hey, Mike, how are you doing?

[inaudible] How are
you doing this morning?

Pretty good.
How about yourself?

All right, good.

Go ahead and press G for me.
- OK.

Thank you.

Now, care for a
little transaction?

We'll take care
of our business

as soon as we get downstairs.

That's fine.

MICHAEL (VOICEOVER):
There were two

other doctors on the elevator.

He was not having conversation
with the gentleman--

See you later.

MICHAEL (VOICEOVER): --but as we
got off, he acknowledged them.

I'll just head on
over here to radiology.

MICHAEL (VOICEOVER):
There was nobody

at all in the hall,
which didn't strike

me as being odd because it
was so early in the morning.

OK, let's see
what we have here.

[door closes]

Over here I have
two tubes of gold,

each that have 25 pieces in it.

OK.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Dr. Anderson

told Mike Wills he had
access to his safe upstairs,

where he wanted
to store the gold.

He would return momentarily.

[inaudible] business.

You might want to have a seat
and I'll be back with a check.

OK?

[door opens and closes]

MICHAEL (VOICEOVER): I sat
there thinking back on it.

What seems to be an eternity
was most probably more

like five to six minutes,
and my gold is gone,

and Doctor Anderson is gone, and
I have nothing to show for it.

That was about all I
could take, I guess.

At that moment, I got up and I
walked out of this blind door,

and now , everybody is there.

I think there's five or six
parents in the waiting room.

Now there's a nurse
at the nurses station.

WOMAN (ON SPEAKER): Doctor Mark
Standler, please dial 1917.

Can I help you?

Yes, I'm Mike Wills from a
coin store here in Cincinnati.

I need you to page a Dr.
John Anderson for me.

I just gave him a
large amount of gold.

There's no Dr. Anderson
at this hospital.

There was a Dr. Anderson right
down in the room down the hall

five minutes ago.
- Well, I'm sorry.

I don't know of any Dr.
Anderson on staff here.

You may want to try upstairs.

- You can page for me from here?
- Sir.

MICHAEL (VOICEOVER):
It made me feel

extremely gullible
that I could be

duped so easily out of $30,000.

I trusted a name tag.

I trusted what this man told me.

When he mentioned doctor, maybe
checks that I could have made,

I didn't make because this
made everything seem right.

Here you go, 10
gold maple leaves.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Three years, later Dr. Alfred

Evan's, notable for his girth,
showed up at a coin shop

in Albany, New York.
- Sounds fair enough.

Will you take a check?

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): The doctor

made several small
purchases from a coin

dealer, Wendell Williams.

Then, a new twist.

Williams received a $45,000
gold coin order from Doctor

Evans via Federal Express.

I decided that I
wouldn't buy any gold,

but I would see what
he did when he came in.

That Saturday, which
was on November the 4th,

when I was waiting
on other customers,

he came in, in his jovial
way, and said hello to me.

The first words out of his
mouth was did you get my gold?

I told him no.

He seemed a little alarmed, but
turned around and said well,

then what do you have for me?

And he said, what about that
Rolex wristwatch that you had?

Well, I got that
for somebody else,

but I'll get you some gold.

OK, here you go doc.

80 ounces of gold maple leaves.

How much is this?

It'll be $385.75 each.

All right, I'll make
you out a check for it.

You know, I'm going
to have to hold the gold

until that check clears.

You know my checks are good.

That might be, but--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
When plan A didn't work,

the bogus M.D.
switched strategies.

Look, I'll pay [inaudible]
just so doesn't happen again,

I'm going to go ahead and
make out a blank check.

You hold onto this, and
that way next time we

won't have to go through this.

Sounds good.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
After Evans wrote the check,

he started to chat
with another customer

and waited patiently
for a new opportunity.

I've got some [inaudible]
in one of my offices

that I'm looking to possible--
- Excuse me, fellas.

I've got to take
care of a customer.

Sure.

Can I help you?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): With
Wendell Williams occupied,

the coast was clear.

Plan B went off without a hitch.

All right, I'll tell you
what, if you do me a favor,

uh, I've got to get running
off to the hospital.

So I'm going to leave
these checks here,

and if you can
just do me a favor

and make sure that he gets them.

Sure.

Take care of this for me.

OK.

All right, thank
you very much.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
As one might expect,

Dr. Evans skipped town.

His check for more than $30,000
was, of course, no good.

In trying to track the
activities of Doctor Evans,

we've noticed that he'll be
in town for a couple of months

to pull his scam, and
then he'll be disappeared

for a couple of months.

We can't seem to find
out what he's been doing

during that period of time.

There will be gaps
of anywhere from two

to five months between cities.

He could be doing anything from
having a legitimate business,

pulling another scam, or just
plain vacationing somewhere.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Authorities

have uncovered these photographs
of the elusive pseudo Doctor.

They were taken in 1990 at
a bank in Massachusetts.

The authorities do not know
the con man doctors real name,

but in addition to
Anderson and Evans,

he is also used
the aliases Doctor

John Miller, Doctor Michael
Baker, and Doctor Brown.

[music playing]

[theme music]

Join me next time
for another edition

of "Unsolved Mysteries."