All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S04E25.480p.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: In 1977,
outside Tucson, Arizona,

a businessman was found shot
in the back of the head.

13 years later, a
computer draftsman died

in a similar manner in Phoenix.

The only possible link
between the two men

was Don Devereux, a
freelance journalist,

who now believes the second
bullet was meant for him.

In Rochester, New York,
a brazen gang of thieves

made off with nearly $11 million
in a daring daylight robbery.

Perhaps you can help
authorities identify

three possible suspects.

Martha Brown, and her
twin brother Bobby,

spent their formative
years in foster homes.

But when the twins were
six, the authorities,

decided to separate
them, and Martha

embarked on a search
which has now spanned

more than three decades.

Also, tonight, an
important update.

Thanks to our viewers,
an alleged drunk driver

wanted in the highway
deaths of an elderly couple,

is now in custody.

Join me for another edition
of Unsolved Mysteries.

[mysterious music]

ROBERT STACK: May 14th, 1990.

In Phoenix, Arizona, Doug
Johnston, a computer draftsman,

was found slumped on the
front seat of his car.

He had been shot once
behind the left ear,

from a distance of
at least 12 inches.

13 Years earlier,
June 18th, 1977.

The body of businessman
Charles Morgan

was found in the Arizona desert,
40 miles southwest of Tucson.

He had been shot once
in the back of the head.

Ironically, he was wearing
a bulletproof vest.

Two suspicious deaths with
no apparent connection.

Except that the
authorities continue

to hold, with the
unlikely possibility,

that both men committed suicide.

Many disagree,
citing, in particular,

the case of Charles Morgan.

DON DEVEREUX: It is not a very
normal place to shoot oneself,

as a suicide.

And bear in mind, he's wearing
a bulletproof vest at the time.

I've never seen, in all
my years as a journalist,

a fellow take himself
out in the desert,

wearing a bulletproof
vest, and shoot himself

in the back of the head.

ROBERT STACK: On a
previous broadcast,

Don Devereux was a key
interview in our segment

about the Charles Morgan case.

Devereux was convinced that
the deaths of Morgan and Doug

Johnston were not suicides.

Not random killings.

Devereux believes both
men were murdered.

And that both were
targets of a contract hit.

Now, in a dramatic
twist, Don Devereux

has been warned that the bullet
which killed Doug Johnston

was meant for him.

Well, the sales agreement
looks all in order.

ROBERT STACK: The
complex saga began 15

years ago, in Tucson, Arizona.

On March 22nd, 1977, Charles
Morgan, a devoted husband

and father, disappeared,
apparently abducted on the way

to his escrow company.

Three days later, he returned
home just as suddenly

at 2:00 in the morning.

He was staggering, weak,
and unable to talk.

RUTH MORGAN: Hallucinogenic?

ROBERT STACK: Morgan
wrote notes to his wife,

telling her an hallucinogenic
drug had been painted

on the back of his throat.

RUTH MORGAN: I'm going
to call the police.

ROBERT STACK: He was afraid
the dosage was lethal.

Morgan wrote that
if his wife tried

to contact the police,
or even a physician,

the entire family
would be killed.

For a week, Morgan's wife
fed him with an eyedropper.

He still could not speak, but
began to allude to the fact

that he was secretly working
for the federal government.

He wrote that his abductors
and taken his treasury ID.

On June 7th, 1977, Charles
Morgan vanished again.

11 days later, his
body was found.

[knocking]

RUTH MORGAN: Yes?

Mrs. Ruth Morgan?

ROBERT STACK: Three
weeks later, two men,

claiming to be a
government officials,

showed up at Morgan's home.

While his widow
stood helplessly by,

the two men ransacked the house.

No one knows what
they were looking for.

Or what they found.

The case remained mired in
mystery until our broadcast.

More than 600 calls came
into the telecenter.

Don Devereux
investigated every lead.

What he learned was staggering.

DON DEVEREUX:
Morgan, it turns out,

was extensively involved in
money laundering activities

through his escrow
company in Tucson.

We also ascertained that he
was doing large transactions

in gold and platinum.

Anywhere from weekly to
monthly, for the several years

between 1973 and when
he was killed, in 1977.

He was doing well in
excess of a billion--

with a b-- a billion
dollars a year

in gold, alone,
over that period.

Well in excess.

And that much of
it, in fact, seems

to have been coming
out of Southeast Asia

at the end of the Vietnam War.

Charles Morgan?

DON DEVEREUX: A lot of people
seemed to have been involved,

including renegade folks from
the US intelligence community.

So, some CIA people
who were doing stuff.

Perhaps undercover
of the agency.

But probably, most likely,
to line their own pockets.

Also some indication of
Vietnamese government

officials that were going
into exile were involved.

People from the Department of
Defense probably were involved.

Again, in a renegade, rather
than in an official capacity.

ROBERT STACK: Devereux has
discovered that Charles Morgan

kept a set of duplicate
records of all

the illicit transactions.

Evidently, Morgan thought
the duplicates would

be his life insurance policy.

Instead, they became
his death warrant.

DON DEVEREUX: He was clearly
on the run, the last few months

of his life.

Literally on the run, the
last 10 days of his life.

And, nevertheless, somebody
caught up with him.

ROBERT STACK: Don
Devereux is convinced

that Charles Morgan was killed
because he knew too much.

Somebody wanted Morgan
to silence forever.

It seemed an isolated incident.

And three months after the
Unsolved Mysteries broadcast,

and 13 years after
Charles Morgan died,

another unusual death occurred.

Right across the street from
Don Devereux's home in Phoenix.

DENISE JOHNSTON: What time
are you going to be home?

DOUG JOHNSTON: 9:00, 9:30.

I'll see you then.

DENISE JOHNSTON: OK.

ROBERT STACK: On May
14th, 1990, at 11:00 PM,

Doug Johnston left
for work as usual.

He was assigned
to the night shift

at a local computer
graphics company.

Hi, John.
JOHN: Hi.

You were the first
one on the scene?

ROBERT STACK: An hour later,
Doug Johnston was found dead

in the company parking lot.

He had been shot once,
behind his left ear,

from a distance of
at least 12 inches.

At first glance, it
appeared to be suicide.

Yet, oddly, Johnston
was right-handed.

In addition, there was no
gun found at the scene.

And there was no powder
residue on Johnston's hands.

HARVEY E. HAMRICK:
As far as evidence,

the only thing we found was
a 0.25 caliber bullet casing.

We did not find a weapon
that fired that bullet.

Our medical examiner determined
that it was just as likely

that the gunshot
wound to the head

could have been
self-inflicted, as it

was as likely that another
person had done that.

So based on that,
we can't classify

it either murder or a suicide.

And it's being maintained
in our homicide files.

DENISE JOHNSTON: Doug
would never commit suicide.

He had just finished a year
of computer-aided drafting

and graduated with honors.

He was on his way up there.

And when he graduated in
March, got the job in April,

everything was
going really great.

We had a future starting
all over again for us.

And there's no way he would
have committed suicide.

ROBERT STACK: Don Devereux
followed the investigation

with great interest.

He lived across the street
from the parking lot

where Doug Johnston
had been killed.

Johnston's car was an
aging Toyota station wagon,

very much like Devereux's.

DON DEVEREUX: I contacted
Phoenix PD within a few days

of the Johnson shooting.

And told them that I
was across the street.

Had a similar car.

And was, in fact, working on a
homicide case, and some stuff

that also involves some other
substantial criminal activity,

at the time that
Johnston was killed.

The initial read I
got from Phoenix PD

was one of not really thinking
that that had any bearing

on the Johnston shooting.

And so, although I continued
to track it for a while,

over a period of time, I just
sort of put it out of my mind.

ROBERT STACK: The year after
Doug Johnston was shot,

Don Devereux was contacted by
a writer from Washington, DC,

named Dan Castillero.

Devereux agreed to
share the information

he had uncovered
concerning Charles Morgan's

illegal gold transactions.

But before Devereux could
even mail his research,

Dan Castillero was dead.

Castillero was found
in a hotel room

with his wrists slashed
deeply a dozen times.

Police ruled the
death a suicide.

But to Don Devereux and others,
it seemed far more sinister.

DON DEVEREUX: Dan Castillero's
brother is a doctor.

The doctor tells us that Dan
Castillero was so squeamish

that he was reluctant
to allow his brother

to prick his finger to do
any kind of blood sample

work on Dan over the years.

I mean, that
squeamish about blood.

Of all the ways that Dan
Castillero might have committed

suicide, had he chosen
to commit suicide,

slashing his wrists a
dozen times in a bathtub,

and dying in that manner,
seems to me the least likely

of anything he could
possibly have done.

These guys don't offer much.

They don't volunteer
information.

ROBERT STACK: Six months
after Dan Castillero's death,

Devereux had a
shocking conversation

with another
journalist, who said

he had a warning from a highly
placed source in the CIA.

The word I got
back was that they

did think they were getting
you, and they got that guy.

DON DEVEREUX: It
was a botched job?

Yes.

These are the exact words.

There have been, and there still
are, contracts out to kill you.

DON DEVEREUX: Plural?

That mean contracts
have been out there--

DON DEVEREUX: It's
a shocker when

somebody calls you up and says
you're about to be killed.

Now, that doesn't mean it's
going to happen tomorrow.

DON DEVEREUX: My
colleague told me that it

looked like I had a problem.

That he understood, from his CIA
contact, that whatever it was,

it involved something
I was looking at,

that had both CIA and
organized crime dimensions.

And that I could be
in some real trouble.

And to get my head down.

Maybe even get out of
there, for a while,

until he could figure
out what was happening.

It's on the street.

People know that
somebody is after you.

ROBERT STACK: Later, two other
sources, one from the CIA

and one from Israeli
intelligence,

confirmed the death threats.

Has Don Devereux been
targeted for murder

because of his investigation
into the Charles Morgan case?

If so, then Doug
Johnston may very well

have been the innocent
victim of a contract hit

meant for Devereux himself.

DON DEVEREUX: His parking lot
is right across the street

from my parking lot.

There is a one digit
difference in our numbers.

I've gotten mail fairly
frequently for the building

across the street.

He was driving a car
much like my car.

Somebody, evidently, was
waiting for him in the dark.

Must have known about where he
would be pulling and parking.

And this was not just
some random shooting.

This was a shooting that
had all the characteristics

of a very professional killing.

This was a single shot, 0.25
caliber, back of the left ear.

Very slick murder.

I can't say for an absolute
fact what happened to him.

I wasn't there.

I can simply say that on the
basis of what I'm looking

at, and hearing,
I think the odds

on him having taken his own
life are virtually non-existent.

If Johnston was
killed with a bullet

that was intended for me,
I feel terrible about it.

And I feel very awful
for his wife and family.

DENISE JOHNSTON:
There is so much

evidence that these
people were after Don

instead of my husband.

It wasn't a
gang-related shooting,

or suicide, or anything.

And it all kind of fits
together they were after Don.

And my husband just happened
to be in the wrong place.

DON DEVEREUX: Thirty-some
metric tons a deal.

That's $100 million deals.

That's an awful lot--

DON DEVEREUX: I suspect that
the same network of people--

mob people, intelligence
community people,

were involved in a lot of
those 1970's activities

that we're focusing on,
in terms of bullying--

are probably still out there.

I am not thrilled to think
that there could be quote

"a high-level CIA official"
close quote who knows

about this, who is
not, himself, taking

official actions to correct it.

And, clearly, if there are
people in the US government

who know and disapprove
of this sort of thing,

then they damn well
should get off their butts

and do something about it.

ROBERT STACK: For those
unfamiliar with the details,

some of Don Devereux's
conspiracy theories

about the mob,
renegade CIA agents,

smuggled gold and contract
hits may seem far-fetched.

But the fact remains that Don
Devereux has tape recordings

of a number of credible
sources who warned

him that he is the next target.

[ominous music]

ROBERT STACK: In
1979, John Constable

and his wife, Virginia,
retired to Davenport, Florida.

On March 3rd, 1991, the
couple left their home

to visit their only
daughter, Linda,

who lived in Jacksonville,
200 miles north.

That same morning,
12 miles away,

a man named James White
got behind the wheel

of his pickup truck.

White, a house
painter and handyman,

had a long history of
drunk driving arrests.

[car horn]

ROBERT STACK: John Constable was
pronounced dead at the scene.

His wife, Virginia,
died an hour later,

from massive internal injuries.

LINDA FAULKNER:
The Florida Highway

Patrol officer
said that there had

been an automobile accident.

And there was a fatality.

I just remember
asking which one.

I never dreamed it would
have been both of them.

ROBERT STACK: James
White was transported

to a nearby hospital.

He suffered a fractured
jaw, a broken ankle,

and three broken ribs.

Tests later revealed that
at the time of the crash,

White's blood
alcohol content was

twice Florida's legal limit.

James White was
eventually charged

with two counts of
DUI manslaughter,

and one count of driving
under the influence.

But just three days
after the crash,

White, assisted by his
relatives, left the hospital

and disappeared.

His whereabouts remained
a mystery until the night

of our broadcast.

Update.

Burlington, Vermont.

James White has been arrested.

CHUCK WILLIAMS: Following
the broadcast of Unsolved

Mysteries, we received some
200 phone calls about James

White and his whereabouts.

Two days after the Unsolved
Mysteries broadcast,

we got the phone call
we were waiting on.

James White was
spotted by someone

who had seen the program,
up in Burlington, Vermont.

He was seen in a bar.

And he was arrested and
taken into custody up there.

PEARL HASKINS: I was very
glad to get him off the road,

to think that he's not
going to kill someone else.

I think it's a terrible
thing, what he did.

He should have stayed there.

And he should have
faced the music.

ROBERT STACK: Two weeks after
he was captured, James White was

returned to Florida,
where he is scheduled

to stand trial on all charges.

White, who has two prior
convictions for drunk driving,

could receive a maximum
sentence of 30 years in prison.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK:
Rochester, New York.

June 26th, 1990.

At around 6:45 AM, Armored
Motor Services of America

dispatched the transport
for a scheduled delivery.

Inside the truck was
nearly $11 million

in various denominations.

The events you're about to see
are based on an official police

investigation.

Just after 7:00 AM,
the armored truck

made a unauthorized,
but not uncommon,

stop at a convenience store.

A guard, whom we will call Mary
Wilson, went inside the store,

while the driver, Albert
Ranieri, waited in the truck.

MARY WILSON: We stopped there
about once or twice a week.

And usually get the same thing.

And, that morning, there was no
one in there when I walked in.

It was just me.

And then a lady
came in later on.

It was normal.

ROBERT STACK: While Mary Wilson
was buying donuts and coffee,

a daring assault was
unfolding in full view,

just 100 feet away.

Put your hands on the wheel!

Look straight ahead.

We'll all get home tonight.

Don't move, or I'll kill you.

Don't turn around.

ROBERT STACK: Five
minutes later, Mary Wilson

returned to the truck,
unaware that her partner

was no longer in control.

MARY WILSON: OK.

Here's your sandwich.

[inaudible] Get
down on the ground.

MARY WILSON: It happened
so fast I didn't really

get a chance to get scared.

He pushed me to the floor
and tied my hands and my feet

together with plastic handcuffs.

When I say drive, you drive.

When I say turn, you turn.

ROBERT STACK: Albert Ranieri
was forced, at gunpoint,

to drive to a secluded
location, one and a half miles

from the convenience store.

The armored truck was followed
by a gray Chevrolet van.

NEIL FLOOD: One couldn't have
picked a better location.

It was about 75 to 100
yards off the road.

And it completely disappears
from sight behind a small hill.

And we know that
the site had been

prepared prior to the robbery.

There were several
tree branches that

had been freshly cut, to make
sure that this large vehicle

would fit.

All right.

Get back here.

Crawl through that window.
Shut up!

Don't talk to me.

Crawl through that
window, or I'll kill you.

ROBERT STACK: Authorities
believe that the two

robbers were met at the
location by at least

one other accomplice.

Albert Ranieri was bound
and gagged, and forced

on top of Mary Wilson.

NEIL FLOOD: At that point in
time, the vehicle is unloaded.

And there's approximately
2,000 pounds of money there.

One tray, in particular,
was full of $100 bills.

There was $1
million in hundreds.

There was almost
$8 million in 20's.

And the rest was in a variety
of other denominations.

ROBERT STACK: According
to Wilson and Ranieri,

there was little dialogue
between the robbers.

The money was transferred
with brisk efficiency.

DALE ANDERSON This
was a lot of money.

So we believe that
it took probably

in the neighborhood of
five, maybe 10 minutes,

to offload that amount of bulk.

MARY WILSON: I sat there quiet.

Make sure I didn't
hear any more voices.

I was scared for my life.

I kept thinking about my son.

And I just thought
I was going to die.

That's why I broke loose.

Because I wasn't going to sit
there and wait for somebody

to come back and kill me.

ROBERT STACK: It
took Mary Wilson

15 painful minutes to rip
through the plastic handcuffs.

Unable to free her partner
from his restraints,

she drove the armored truck
to company headquarters

and reported the robbery.

In less than an hour,
the thieves made

off with nearly $11 million.

The next day, the getaway van
was discovered five miles away.

The interior was littered with
over $13,000 in small bills,

the leftovers of what
authorities have determined

is the largest on-the-road
armored car robbery

in the United States history.

Everything seemed to
indicate that the heist

was an inside job.

A conveniently broken
porthole allowed one robber

to hold the driver at
gunpoint, while the other

allegedly used a
key to gain entry

through the truck side door.

Both gunmen wore
clothing which was

nearly identical to the uniforms
worn by company employees.

Finally, only a limited
number of people

were aware of the enormous
amount of untraceable cash

being transported that day.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK: When we return,
a woman needs your help to find

her long lost twin brother.

The Dust Bowl.

One of the most devastating
natural disasters

in American history.

During the 1930's, years
of relentless drought

transformed the lush
farmlands of Oklahoma, Texas,

and the Midwest into
a barren wasteland.

Thousands of
families were forced

to abandoned their
ancestral homes,

desperately searching for work.

Uprooted and
impoverished, many made

their way west to California's
fertile San Joaquin Valley.

15 years later, many
still remained in the area

as migrant farm
workers, following

the fruit and vegetable
harvest from town to town.

Ira and Dora Brown were
typical dust bowl refugees.

They had lost their farm in
Oklahoma, and never returned.

By 1951, they had four children,
and Dora was pregnant again.

On July 27th, 1951,
Nora Brown gave birth

to twins, a girl and a boy.

The children were named
Martha and Robert.

With six mouths to
feed, the Browns

felt they had no choice but to
put the twins up for adoption.

MARTHA SMITH: I think
my parents gave me

up out of their best interest.

And they really
couldn't afford us.

I had a heart condition.

I think my father finally,
reluctantly, gave us up

for adoption so I could
get good medical treatment

and get an education.

ROBERT STACK: Martha and Bobby
were placed in California's

foster care system.

They were shuttled from
one family to another,

never knowing what it was
like to live in a secure home.

Finally, in 1956, when
they were five years old,

Martha and Bobby came to live
with Alice and Arnold Breitler

in Reedley, California.

ALICE BREITLER:
My name is Alice.

And this is Arnold.

And we're very happy
to have you here.

And in the house, we have
some presents for you.

Would you like to go
inside and see them?

All right.

Let's do that.

ALICE BREITLER: I can
see Martha and Bobby

as they came to my door.

They were so
pretty, and so cute,

my first time to see them.

And I really fell in love
with them right away.

ALICE BREITLER: And
this is your room.

There's your doll.

There's your truck.

ALICE BREITLER: Martha
went right to the bedroom

and grabbed the doll,
and just hugged it.

And I thought that
was very sweet of her.

I didn't, at the time,
realize that they

hadn't had toys before.

ALICE BREITLER: One more brush.

One more brush.

Is that OK?

ALICE BREITLER: The
social worker told us

that they had been mistreated.

It took me two and
a half hours to get

the dirt off of their bodies.

ALICE BREITLER: Martha, don't
eat with your fingers, honey.

Don't eat with your fingers.

Eat with your fork.

ALICE BREITLER:
They were so hungry.

And they just ate for a week.

It seemed like we
couldn't fill them up.

ALICE BREITLER: You
are a hungry boy.

ALICE BREITLER: As time went
by, Martha would tell me things.

That the home that they had
been in-- a foster home--

that they had to
stand on the outside

while the family
ate their dinner.

And then they would bring
them in, and give them beans.

MARTHA SMITH: We were hungry
when we got to the Breitlers'.

Very malnourished.

I have memories of Bobby
and I going to the kitchen

and sneaking out what
food we could find.

It seemed to be
a nightly ritual.

We were so afraid of
going hungry again.

Bobby and I were very close
to each other at that time.

It was like we were the
only kids in the whole world

that loved each other.

And nobody else loved us.

ROBERT STACK: Years
of severe neglect

have taken a tremendous
emotional toll

on the twins, especially Bobby.

Almost immediately,
there was evidence

of serious behavioral problems.

ALICE BREITLER: One
day, they were playing

out there, in the backyard.

And I went out, and here Bobby
was holding Martha's face

right down in the water.

And he wouldn't let her up.

MARTHA SMITH: Mommy!

ALICE BREITLER:
Bobby, stop that!

Don't do that!

Bobby, you're hurting Martha.

You mustn't do that.

ALICE BREITLER: I think Bobby
loved his sister very much.

But he also resented her.

ALICE BREITLER: Go to your room.

Right this minute.

Now, you go to your room.

ALICE BREITLER:
He'd be real sweet.

And then he'd built himself up
into these little fits like.

And then they'd pass away.

And then he'd be sweet again.

And it seemed to be
something in him.

ROBERT STACK: Bobby's
violent temper

was a constant worry
for both the Breitlers

and the child welfare office.

In 1957, the welfare board,
fearing for Martha's safety,

decided it would be best
to separate the twins.

Bobby was sent to yet
another foster home.

MARTHA SMITH: I
remember very well

the day my twin brother left.

We were sitting
out on the steps.

And I didn't know he
was going to leave.

And I don't know if he
knew he was going to leave.

ALICE BREITLER: Now
be a good boy, Bobby.

I'm going to miss you.

Give me a hug.

Now say goodbye to your sister.

MARTHA SMITH: And,
at the last minute,

Bobby gave me his
clown outfit that he

had worn that Halloween.

BOBBY: You can keep this.

MARTHA SMITH: Really?

And that was the one
thing he could give me

that was very special to him.

I miss my twin very, very much.

Because it seemed like he was
only person in the whole world

that really loved me.

And he was the only person in
the whole world that I loved.

So when he left, I
really missed him.

ALICE BREITLER: I felt so bad.

And even to this
day, I feel like I

wish I hadn't sent him away.

But, I mean, I'm sorry that
they had me send him away.

ROBERT STACK: When
the twins were 11,

Bobby and his foster family
moved out of the area.

Martha and the Breitlers
never heard from him again.

In 1962, Martha was legally
adopted by the Breitlers.

After the death of her adoptive
father, she and her mother

moved to Ashland, Oregon.

But Martha never forgot
her twin brother.

When she was 18, Martha made
a special trip to the welfare

office in Fresno, California.

She learned that Bobby
had been adopted,

and eventually
obtained his address.

MARTHA SMITH: I
wrote my twin brother

to ask him if he could come
to my high school graduation.

And I remember waiting excitedly
each day for the postman

to bring me a letter from him.

ROBERT STACK: A few weeks later,
Martha's letter was returned.

Unopened.

MARTHA SMITH: I think I
thought, at that time,

that I had lost
my twin for good.

That I would never be
able to find him again.

ROBERT STACK: 20 years
would pass before Martha

was able to uncover any
additional information

about her brother.

In 1989, Martha obtained copies
of Bobby's birth certificate

and driver's license.

She also found that he had
an address in Los Angeles.

MARTHA SMITH: I was so excited.

I was jumping up and down
and clapping and yelling

and the whole bit.

What Martha did not realize
was that the address belonged

to a shelter for the homeless.

But according to the records
of the midnight mission,

Bobby had not been seen there
for more than two years.

I think my twin brother and
I, while we were little,

had a special bond.

I still think he, in
his own little way,

still remembers
me, and loves me,

as he did when I was a child.

It's just very important
for me to find him.

It would mean the world
to me if I could find him.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK: Next, a
murder investigation

is complicated by the
victim's religious beliefs.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK: America is God's
crucible, a great melting pot.

These words written
nearly a century ago

are as true today as they
were during the Great

European Migration.

However, woven into the colorful
fabric of American society,

a few subcultures are so
self-contained and tradition

bound that they are
shrouded in mystery

for those in the mainstream.

And are all too
often misunderstood.

Orthodox Jews comprise
only about 1/10

of 1% of our population.

Their roots may be
traced back 5,000 years,

to the time of Moses.

Observant Orthodox Jews live
according to strict codes

of social and moral
conduct, which have remained

unchanged for centuries.

Hours of daily prayer, and
a rigid dietary regime,

are among the
ancient rituals which

guide the Orthodox Jew through
birth, marriage, and death.

To ensure the continuation
of the tradition,

many communities have
established yeshivas, schools

which include an emphasis
on the religious and ethical

principles of Orthodox Judaism.

On Saturday, November 1st,
1986, Don Daly, a veteran Nassau

County New York
police detective,

was unexpectedly thrust into
this uncommon environment.

At 8:00 AM, Daly was
dispatched to a yeshiva

in Long Beach, New York,
to investigate the murder

of one of its students.

The victim was 15-year-old
Chaim Weiss, of New York City.

A single blow to his
skull with a sharp object

had severed his spinal column.

[inaudible]

ROBERT STACK: Investigators
found no murder weapon.

There was no evidence
of a robbery,

or signs of a struggle.

Almost immediately,
detective Daly

realized that this would
be a unique investigation,

unlike any other in
his 25-year career.

DON DALY: Well, I
think initially,

we were dealing with a
Saturday, which is the Sabbath.

When we arrived at the scene,
sometime around 8:00 o'clock

in the morning, it was
difficult to talk to anybody

at that particular time.

Because, number one,
the people we're

dealing with, being Orthodox
Jew, they're not able to write.

We couldn't take
statements from anybody.

We got the impression a lot
of the students at that time

were afraid to talk to us.

Or were a little shy.

ROBERT STACK: In
the victim's room,

Daly found a series of clues,
which indicated that the killer

might have been
familiar with a yeshiva,

and the customs of
Orthodox Judaism.

It appeared that Chaim had
been killed as he slept.

His body was then moved.

Not once, but twice.

First, from the
bed to the floor.

And later, to another
spot, two feet away.

It also seemed
strange that Chaim's

window had been left wide open
on a chilly October evening.

DON DALY: We spoke
to several people

about this, who are involved
in the Orthodox religion.

It would be customary,
in the religion,

to open a window or a door
where the dead person would be,

to let the spirit out.

It would also be
customary for the body

to be taken off the bed.

Because the body
should be at the lowest

point, and the coolest point.

The coolest point being the
floor, compared to the bed.

ROBERT STACK:
Another ritual would

result in a third peculiarity.

One of the rabbis asked
to leave a memorial

candle in the room, which
would burn for seven days.

The crime scene was then sealed.

However, two days later, another
candle mysteriously appeared.

No one in the school
ever admitted to having

placed it in the room.

DON DALY: If they lit that
candle as a gesture of sympathy

or love for Chaim, why wouldn't
they come forward and say that?

That's certainly a
good thing to do.

Nobody came forward with that.

With little else to
go on, detective Daly

set about piecing
together the final hours

of Chaim Weiss's life.

He learned that Chaim was an
outgoing, likeable teenager,

who was at the top of his class.

He had been attending
the yeshiva in Long

Beach for two and a half years.

ANTON WEISS: Chaim was
loving, joyous, bright.

As far as I know,
at the yeshiva,

Chaim had no problems
I can think of.

He felt comfortable.

Maybe there was some
things going on,

which is normal among kids.

RABBI: Now go, students.

Go.

Good Shabbos to you.

Don't forget, it's Halloween.

ROBERT STACK: In
1986, Halloween fell

on a Friday night, the
beginning of the Jewish Sabbath.

In the late afternoon, Chaim
left class with his friends

to attend services.

Afterwards, he would
return to the dormitory.

Several hours later,
two classmates saw

Chaim reading in the hallway.

DON DALY: Many of
the students do that.

Because of their
religion, they don't put

lights on and off at that time.

On the Sabbath, it was dark.

So the lights are left
on in the main hallway.

The students sit out in
the hallway and read.

ROBERT STACK: Chaim Weiss was
last seen alive at 1:00 AM.

Police speculate that the killer
might have known the layout

of the dormitory,
and was probably

aware that Chaim was
one of only two students

without a roommate.

DON DALY: If somebody came
up through that stairwell,

those rooms were all
occupied by students.

Nobody heard anything unusual.

No yelling or screaming.

However, we did
have one student who

felt that he heard his door open
up sometime during the night.

And then close again.

But he assumed it
was his roommate.

There are a lot of
questions that we

haven't been able to answer.

DON DALY: We have
some things that we

have to put behind us here.

ROBERT STACK: A few
days after the murder,

detective Daly called a
meeting with the students,

teachers, and rabbis.

Daly was desperate
for information,

and implored them
to come forward.

DON DALY: But if anybody knows
anything, we need the help.

ROBERT STACK: But
almost every question

he asked was answered
by stony silence.

DON DALY: Do you fellas
really understand

how important this is?

DON DALY: We learned,
at one point,

that in their particular
Orthodox religion, unless you

have proof, or another witness,
mere suspicion alone is not

enough to go and say anything.

Or to accuse somebody.

So they wouldn't talk
about other students.

Or who they might suspect.

Or what their feelings were.

Because they didn't want
to put any blame on anyone

without more than
mere suspicion.

Do you know for sure
who killed Chaim Weiss?

No.

ROBERT STACK: Police eventually
polygraphed 40 students,

and several of the school's
teachers and rabbis.

Did you kill Chaim Weiss?

God forbid.

Just answer a yes
or no answer, please.

No.

ROBERT STACK: However,
detective Daly

obtain no useful information
from the polygraph exams.

It seemed as if he would
never find a suspect.

Or a motive.

DON DALY: We'd
like to see anybody

with any information at all.

Whether, at that time,
they didn't want to tell us

because it was mere
suspicion, maybe

they have a different
feeling now.

And maybe mere suspicion
would be helpful to us.

And give us those
suspicious, so we can

go out and investigate them.

ANTON WEISS: The not
knowing makes it much

more difficult for me to cope.

Certain things I accept.

My son's dead.

But the murder's still loose.

All these unanswered questions.

Makes me feel very, very uneasy.

ROBERT STACK: One
question above all others

continues to haunt this case.

Why would any brutally
murdered a 15-year-old boy

with no known enemies?

Police have uncovered
only one significant clue.

A jogger has stated that he saw
a young man who could have been

a yeshiva student a few
blocks from the school

at 7:00 AM on the day
Chaim's body was found.

All attempts to identify the
student have been unsuccessful.

Join me next time.

Perhaps you may be able
to help solve a mystery.