All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S05E24.480p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-PLAYREADY_track3_[und]

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.

[music playing]

NARRATOR: On the surface,
Reggie DePalma was

a caring and dedicated fireman.

In reality, DePalma was
a cynical manipulator

who used his position
as a scout leader

to prey on vulnerable
young girls.

For years, a woman
named Miriam was haunted

by erratic, frightening
images from a life

she barely remembered.

In time, a fragmented
portrait emerged

of two very special
people Miriam believes

helped her survive a
troubled, traumatic childhood.

Based on his own confession,
Michael Self of Webster, Texas

was convicted of murdering
two teenage girls.

But Self has always
maintained that he is innocent

and that the
confession was coerced

by a sadistic police chief.

Surprisingly, both a local
Sheriff and a state prosecutor

believe Michael
Self's story is true.

And from the annals
of World War II,

the fascinating legend
of the ghost blimp.

In 1942, a US Navy airship
crashed to earth in California

with no one on board.

To this day, the
fate of its crew

remains an unsolved mystery.

Join me.

Perhaps you may solve a mystery.

[intro music]

NARRATOR: Her name is Miriam.

She's 50 years old,
lives in New York,

and has one grown daughter.

Miriam's husband died in 1984.

And she now does
extensive volunteer work

with other widows and widowers.

I have this vague feeling
that, uh [inaudible].

NARRATOR: In July
of 1982, Miriam

was seeing a psychologist.

Therapy led her down a
frightening path filled

with confusing,
fragmented images,

which appeared to spring from
the depths of her memory.

[gasp] Oh my god!

I had this image like a
mummy was the only thing

I could liken it to.

It was so terrifying
and so frightening.

And I became so petrified by it.

I didn't know what
was happening.

I didn't understand
what was going on.

The human mind is a
vast, uncharted universe.

The thoughts, and moments,
and memories lurk randomly.

For 10 years, Miriam has
been piecing together

the events of her childhood
attempting to understand

what is real and what is not.

Wondering if things happened
as she remembers them.

Her doctors are
convinced they did.

In any case, Miriam
has now embarked

on a search for two
people whom she recalls

with love and compassion.

NARRATOR: Miriam's journey
into her past began in 1983.

Once her disconnected memories
started to break through,

they simply refused to go away.

I found myself
getting up at night,

and sitting on the
floor in the bathroom.

And all of these memories
started coming back

of my father attacking
me, of my father

being subdued by the police.

I really allowed the images.

I worked at it.

I let them come, and I tried
to figure out what I was seeing

and try to understand
what was happening to me.

What would happen is that she
began to become subject to what

she called flashbacks.

These would be images that would
suddenly come out of nowhere,

and grab her in
such a way that she

would just be paralyzed for
the instant that it occurred.

I don't I just--

Those flashbacks indicated
that there was a certain amount

of abuse that went
on very early in life

that she did not
have a handle on.

And there was a big
part of her that they

did not want to deal with it.

You're not gonna like me.

I only remembered good
things about my father.

And to suddenly have a whole
new side of him revealed to me

was a terrible shock.

And I remember saying in therapy
I don't want this to be true.

I don't want to believe
this about my father.

NARRATOR: Miriam
was an only child.

Her father, Harry,
died in 1984, two years

into Miriam's psychotherapy.

Although he had often
exhibited erratic behavior,

Miriam's conscious memories of
him had always been happy ones.

Now, however, the years between
her third and fifth birthdays

began to haunt her.

At the time, Miriam lived
with her mother and father

in Miami Beach.

The detail recreations
you are about to see

are based solely on
Miriam's memories.

I won't need a ride, honey.

Jane's gonna pick me up.

All right.

I'll see you later Miriam.

Bye.

Can I have that coconut?

I don't see why not.

Honey, I don't think
that coconut's ripe yet.

Honey, what are
you talking about?

A coconut is ripe when
it falls off the tree.

It's fine.

Miriam, would you
rather have some crackers?

Crackers?
She said she wanted a coconut.

What is the big deal?

Oh, not with that knife.

So now your mommy's an
expert on coconuts, huh?

[crashing]

Why are you looking
at me like that, huh?

I remembered
that he grabbed me.

What's the matter with you?

And my father
was attacking me.

What's the matter with you!

And somehow, I guess, I
kicked him enough to hurt him.

And he put me down, or
dropped me, or whatever.

And I ran and wanted
to hide from him.

I remember watching
from a hiding place

where he finally left me alone.

Here doggy, doggy.

Come on, boy.

Come on.

He was calling
me a dog and a cat.

He was calling me an animal.

I mean, he didn't
know it was me anyone.

And somehow,
policemen were there.

My father, I mean,
he was ranting.

He had no idea there
was anybody there.

[yelling]

NARRATOR: Miriam says
that she remembers

hospital orderlies
with the policeman

trying to subdue her father.

She assumes they were
called by her mother.

I was terrified
beyond anything

I can possibly relate to you.

I don't know how to tell
you the terror that I felt.

Get you some ice cream and--

NARRATOR: Miriam
has come to believe

that her father suffered
from severe mental illness.

You'll be fine.

NARRATOR: She now feels certain
that while her mother tried

to cope, Miriam
herself was taken away.

When I started having
these flashbacks,

I started thinking
about mommy and daddy.

And the images that
went with my parents

weren't the images that
were popping in my mind.

And I didn't know who
these people were.

I suddenly realized they
were people in my life

that were important to me.

And I didn't know who they were.

I brought you
something to eat.

You're really afraid.

It's all right.

I remember I was absolutely
frightened out of my mind.

Slowly, I realized that
this was a safe place.

That these people were kind.

And they weren't
going to hurt me.

And they were loving.

And I was very happy there.

What are you
coloring, sweetheart?

It's the stars and the moon.

NARRATOR: As the gates of
repressed memory opened,

Miriam began to believe
she had once been

placed with foster parents.

She was inundated with
images of warmth and love.

My foster father
had white hair.

And he was a young man.

It was very striking.

I remember his hands.

I remember that they were
strong and powerful hands

that made me feel very safe.

Bye.

See you later.

OK.

NARRATOR: Miriam believes
she called her foster parents

mommy Pat and daddy Mike.

Bye!

NARRATOR: Mike was a fireman.

And Pat sang her to sleep
with Irish lullabies.

[singing in irish]

I remember a song called
Too Ra Loo Ra Loo Ra.

All my life, I've known
this lullaby was sung to me.

[singing] Don't you cry.

I just remember being
hugged, and kissed,

and just playing
with mommy Pat's

ringlets, and the overwhelming
sense of being loved.

[singing] Too
ra loo ra loo ra.

They thought I was the most
wonderful child in the world.

And I really delighted in that.

We have to talk to you.

There's some people who
think it might be better--

NARRATOR: But unhappy
memories soon intruded.

--if we didn't live
together anymore.

NARRATOR: First, a serious
discussion with Mike and Pat.

Miriam sensed that she
was about to lose them.

Baby, what's important
is that we love you.

We'll always love you.

Always love you.

[gavel banging]

After hearing the testimony
of all the parties--

NARRATOR: Miriam then saw
herself in a courtroom

sitting with a social worker.

Her real parents, as well as
Pat and Mike, were also there.

Clearly, Miriam
Parten's foster parents

have provided a good home
during a difficult period.

However, in cases
like this, we must

consider first and foremost
the best interest of the child.

Since the original reasons for
placement in the foster home

no longer exist, it's the
decision of this court

that Miriam Parten be returned
to the physical custody

of her natural parents.

[gavel bang]

Court is adjourned.

I'm so sorry.

I was very, very distraught.

I did not want to leave them.

[crying]

As far as I was
concerned, these were

the people I wanted to spend
the rest of my life with.

[crying]

I really didn't remember about
that kiss for a very long time.

Actually, it didn't come
until almost the very, very

end of all my memories.

In fact, that was probably one
of the very last flashbacks

I had.

And until I had that memory,
I really felt at a loss.

And somehow, that I love you
that came across in that kiss

has been enough for me to
make peace with the loss,

and to go on with my life,
and just keep their memory

in my soul and in my heart.

NARRATOR: Miriam lived
with her natural parents

until she married
at the age of 21.

At the age of 47, she began
her search for Mike and Pat.

Their names were Pat and Mike.

And I think their
last name was McGuire.

NARRATOR: According to Miriam,
her mother admits that Miriam's

father had emotional problems
and that life was often

difficult. However, Miriam says
her mother denies that she was

ever placed in foster care,
which has prompted suggestions

that Miriam might suffer
from false memory syndrome

and that Mike and Pat
might never have existed.

The question of whether all
of this is made up certainly

arises because it's
hard to believe

that people could be this way.

All right.

[sigh]

But I can't help
but believe that this

is the absolute truth.

There may be a certain amount
of condensation and distortion

around the edges.

But essentially, I think
that the story is accurate,

and it was relayed
in a truthful manner,

especially since all
during the relation

of this tale Miriam was wanting
to get out of the treatment.

Her emotional reactions to
the pieces and to the whole

were consistent with a real
event and not with a fantasy.

And repeated flashbacks, we
got the beautiful picture of

these marvelous foster parents.

And without these months
with two loving parents,

she might not have survived.

They gave me a lot.

They saved me from despair.

And I would like them to know
that there was a good outcome.

I just pray that their
lives are wonderful

and that they've had happiness.

And I hope that I'll get a
chance to be reunited with them

and share with them the good
things that I have in my life.

Miriam believes that she
lived with her foster parents

in 1945 or 1946 when
she was between three

and four years old.

She remembers their
last name as McGuire.

Neither records
of a court hearing

or records of foster care
from Miriam have been found.

However, the Dade
County clerk's office

says this was not unusual in
Florida during the period right

after World War II.

[music playing]

Along the Pacific
Coast, the hunt

is on for the Jap submarine
that brought the war to US soil.

NARRATOR: In 1942, the final
outcome of World War II

was still very much in doubt.

The United States
had every reason

to fear a Japanese invasion
of it's Western shores.

There were known to
be Japanese submarines

operating off the coast.

There had been an attack
on an ore refinery down

near Santa Monica, Los Angeles.

There was a great fear that
there would be more attacks.

NARRATOR: One
response to the threat

was unusual, to say the least.

The Navy assembled an unlikely
fleet of 12 odd sized blimps

to monitor possible
enemy activity

along the California coastline.

The mission of airship
squadron 32, though critical,

was largely routine
and uneventful

until August 16, 1942.

That day, an airship
on its regular patrol

made a spectacular
descent and crashed

to earth with no one on board.

Incredibly, its two
man crew had vanished.

And no trace of
them was ever found.

The legend of the ghost
blimp had been born.

It was almost
impossible for them not

to have been seen by somebody.

But nobody saw them go.

Nobody saw them jump.

And there's no relics
of them at all.

A real puzzle.

It was, perhaps, a
strangest home front incident

of the Second World War.

So strange that
many remember it as

if it happened only yesterday.

Throughout the entire
war, airship squadron 32

lost only the two men who
disappeared on that patrol.

50 years later, their exact
fate is still unknown.

And the mystery
surrounding the ghost blimp

remains a subject of
endless fascination.

[music playing]

NARRATOR: Sunday,
August 16th 1942,

the flight of the ghost blimp
began like hundreds of others

had.

Just after 6:00 AM, the
blimp designated flight 101

prepared to take off.

The weather looks good today.

Flight 101's pilots were
27-year-old Lieutenant

Ernest Dewitt Cody
and 34-year-old

Ensign Charles Ellis Adams.

Both were experienced
and reliable.

All the more reason
to wonder about what

would occur over
the next five hours.

Good.

Good.

Lieutenant Cody was a
thoroughly experienced pilot.

He had many, many hours in this
particular type of an aircraft.

He was called a very cool,
determined if, somewhat,

taciturn officer.

Adams had flown in
the large dirigibles

and was thoroughly checked out.

But he had never flown
in the small blimps.

And this was an indoctrination
flight for him that Sunday

morning.

NARRATOR: Aviation
machinist Mick

Riley Hill was assigned
to crew for Adams and Cody

that morning.

But just before departure,
Hill was inexplicably

ordered to leave the ship.

No need for you to go, Riley.

Adams and I will take it.

Yes, sir.

NARRATOR: Hill now believes
heavy moisture in the air

was weighing the blimp down
making it unwise to take

off with three men aboard.

So I got out, shut the
door and locked it closed,

and they took off.

The flight plan
called for the 101

to depart Treasure Island, pass
over the Golden Gate Bridge,

then head to the Farallon
Islands 25 miles off the coast.

From there, the patrol would
continue north to Point Reyes,

then south along the coastline.

The first leg proceeded
without incident.

An hour and a half after
takeoff, at 7:38 AM,

Lieutenant Cody had
radioed squadron

headquarters at Moffett Field.

Position four miles
east of the Farallons.

Stand by.

Four minutes later,
Cody called again.

Investigating
suspicious [inaudible].

Stand by.

Go 101.

NARRATOR: Those were
the last words ever

received from flight 101.

Go 101.

When it came time
for further explanation

and we didn't get
it, we just assumed,

well, that was negative, and
they had went on their way.

Then, it came time for the
hourly position report.

And that didn't come in.

And the second one
didn't come in.

And that's when we began
to feel that something

was grossly wrong.

And we just could not believe
that our radios weren't working

because we had good radio crew.

And the machinery was working.

NARRATOR: After more than
three hours of radio silence,

personnel at Moffett Field
grew increasingly alarmed.

Frantic attempts to contact
the blimp went unanswered.

Any word yet?

No, sir.

No communications from the
crew since the report at 7:42.

I'm investigating
suspicious oil slick.

Yes, sir.

Flight 101--

NARRATOR: Finally, a
message was received,

but not from flight 101.

MAN (ON RADIO): San
Francisco shore control.

One blimp [inaudible]
crashed into the golf course.

Just dropped the depth charge.

Peeled it off.

Let's get a team
over there right away.

NARRATOR: The blimp
had come ashore

just south of San Francisco.

Flight 101 had inexplicably
drifted eight miles off course.

There was a
swimmer there, a man

called Mr. Kapovia,
who was standing

ready to go into the water.

And all of a sudden, he
saw this huge gray mass

just coming right at him.

But remember, this
thing is 47 feet wide.

And it wasn't too
high off the water.

And he watched it come in.

It dragged it's wheel along
the sand at the water's edge.

Then, hit a little sand knoll.

It bounced up into the
air, and then slid up

a little bit of a canyon.

And then, hit rather heavily
on the side of the canyon.

And this knocked off what turned
out to be a depths charge.

Relieved of the
weight, the L8 then

soared up into the
overcast again and out

of sight of this Mr. Kapovia.

And began to drift
inland, I guess,

with the winds over Daly City.

NARRATOR: The rapidly
deflating blimp

was seen by hundreds of people.

Bunny Gillespie was 16
years old at the time.

I was on the way home
from Sunday school.

And I saw this big, gray thing
coming in over what I thought

was going to be right
over Templeton Avenue.

When I saw this thing
coming in through the sky,

I was very surprised, as
were a lot of other people

because things like that just
didn't happen in Daly City.

NARRATOR: Flight 101 was
quickly losing altitude

and in danger of becoming
entangled in power lines.

The blimp was on a collision
course with the steep hills

in Daly City.

One woman's house almost
became the point of impact.

It was a Mrs. Appleton.

She said that, all of a
sudden, this huge behemoth

had settled and scraped
across the top of her roof.

And she said it sounded
like chains dragging.

But the entire house
was blacked out because

of the size of this thing.

And she raced to
the front window

wondering what in the
world was going on.

And she saw the rest of the
gondola hit the cross arm,

break off part of
the mechanism there,

and gradually settle
down to the ground.

I missed the actual
landing of the thing.

But when I got
there, it was just

like a great, big, gray
monster with the gondola

jutting up towards the
tops of the houses.

It was huge.

NARRATOR: Miraculously,
no one was

injured as the
blimp came to rest

in the middle of the street.

Almost immediately, Daly City
officials were on the scene.

When Navy personnel
arrived, they

were stunned to discover that
there was no sign of Lieutenant

Cody or Ensign Adams.

Apparently, the blimp had
piloted itself straight

into downtown Daly City.

A search of the gondola
left investigators perplexed.

The door was latched
open, a highly

unusual in-flight position.

The safety bar, normally
used to block the doorway,

was no longer in place.

A microphone hooked to
an external loud speaker

dangled out of the gondola.

The ignition
switches were still on.

The radio was still
on and working.

Nobody had touched
my fuel valves.

They were set up just exactly
the way that I'd left them.

We still had another
six hours of fuel.

It's two life jackets
out of the three

that were normally carried
aboard we're missing.

But there was no other
equipment that was gone.

The machine gun was still there.

The other flares, there
were three other flares,

were still there.

The expandable life
raft was there,

and one more life jacket.

There was nothing missing.

NARRATOR: Lieutenant Cody's cap
lay on the instrument panel.

The missing life
jackets indicated

the crew had put them
on before takeoff

as regulations required.

[inaudible] still here.

NARRATOR: A locked
and heavily weighted

briefcase containing top secret
codes was still in place.

It was as if Cody and
Adams had opened the door

and simply stepped
out into thin air.

The Navy investigation
revealed that flight 101

had been seen by several ships
and planes between 7 and 11 AM.

Some of the
eyewitnesses reported

being close enough to make out
Cody and Adams in the gondola.

In each instance, everything
about flight 101 seemed normal.

Speculation on the fate of the
two Navy airman ran rampant.

Some people believe
that Cody and Adams

had spotted an enemy submarine.

When they descended
to investigate,

they were taken prisoner.

One outrageous rumor
suggested that the pilots

were involved in a lover's
triangle with an unknown woman.

One had murdered the other in
a jealous rage, the story went.

And then, fled when
the L8 reached land.

The Navy finally settled on
the most plausible theory.

There had been an
accident on board,

perhaps, caused by a
mechanical malfunction.

Presumably, one of the men had
climbed outside the gondola

to correct the problem
and had run into trouble.

When the second man tried
to come to his aide,

both fell to their doom.

A year later, on
August 17, 1943,

Lieutenant Ernest Dewitt Cody
and Ensign Charles Ellis Adams

were officially declared dead.

And the mystery of flight
101 passed into legend.

[music playing]

After the crash, the
L8 was patched up and put

back into service by the Navy.

Ultimately, the blimp became
part of the Goodyear fleet.

And during the 1960s
and 70s, it was seen

by millions of sporting events.

Few of them had any idea that
the stately craft circling

overhead was a
fabled ghost blimp.

NARRATOR: Next, a
respected community leader

goes into hiding after he is
convicted of statutory rape

and sexual assault.

[theme music]

Perhaps, the most disturbing
crimes are those that

betray the trust of children.

In 1981, a group of teenage
girls in Danbury, Connecticut

were betrayed by a
respected community leader.

Reggie Depalma was
a 12 year veteran

of the Danbury Fire
Department and adviser

to a local explorer scout post.

But behind that facade
of respectability,

DePalma was a time bomb
just waiting to explode.

Boyfriend [inaudible].

No, we're not
boyfriend and girlfriend.

No?
No?

NARRATOR: In 1978,
Reggie DePalma

had organized the explorer
post in affiliation

with the fire department.

You guys want to, uh,
go get the mats for me?

NARRATOR: His girlfriend,
Connie, was co-leader.

And the group quickly became a
popular after school activity.

Yeah, that'd be really great.

Oh, that would be great.

Yeah--

When I first joined
the troop, my impression

of Reggie and Connie were that
they were very nice people.

So it was just never
even a question

that you would not trust
them with anything.

I mean, you just tell
them confidential things.

And you would
really feel like you

would trust them
all the time and go

to them if you needed help.

Should we put them here?

Yes, put the blankets down.

- OK.
- Oh, my gosh.

[inaudible]

NARRATOR: By 1981, the explorer
post had grown to include

15 girls and 10 boys.

They met at the fire
station regularly

and were drilled in lifesaving
and rescue techniques.

OK, you're going
to be administering

five pumps in the chest.

NARRATOR: Reggie was
supervisor of Dan

Barry's ambulance service.

And the scouts
training was often

interrupted by emergency calls.

[emergency alarm]

All right.
It's an emergency call.

Let's get this stuff cleared up.

All right, guys, let's
get this stuff together.

- Out of the way.
- Come on!

Come on.

NARRATOR: The post members
idolized Reggie DePalma.

And he soon became a virtual
hero, especially to the girls.

[sirens and alarm sounding]

It's kind of hard
to describe Reggie.

Reggie was a lot of fun.

Reggie and his
girlfriend, Connie,

they were easygoing people.

They were easy to talk to.

If you had a problem, they
really wanted you to open up

to them and get close to them.

And you know, they were good
at getting people's trust.

NARRATOR: In 1981,
the Explorer's

organized a Halloween
haunted house to raise money

for an upcoming camping trip.

It was a night which would burn
itself into Terry's memory.

So you're 13 and you still
don't have a boyfriend?

Yeah.

Have you ever gone all
the way with a boy before?

No.

Well I'd like to
teach you about that

because I'm your friend.

Are you my friend?

Yeah.

Good.

I thought that he
was concerned with me

and, you know, how I'd handle
it because we were at that age.

And you know, I took it as,
like, a fatherly concern

and something that he wanted to
not be a part of but help with.

Hey, you OK?

Yeah, just
something Reggie said.

Connie came up to
me and said, you know,

we have to go get some things.

Why don't you come
back to the house.

And why don't
you come with me.

And we promptly went back to the
house where Reggie was waiting.

Can't have you upset.

OK, um, well here's the towel.

We went back to the apartment.

And you know, she said why
don't you go shower and get

some of this makeup off.

So I did.

I didn't think anything of it.

When I came out,
it all happened.

(ON TV) Thank you.

Thank you.
Thank you you're too kind.

Hey.

Hey.

Come on in, honey.

Yeah, we're just
watching some TV.

NARRATOR: That
night, Reggie forced

Terry to have sexual intercourse
while Connie watched.

Tragically, Terri was not
Reggie DePalma's first victim,

nor would she be his last.

I was 13 years old.

And I did not go immediately to
my parents or the authorities

because, at that
age, I don't think

that you have any understanding
even what's going on.

You just feel a terrible
amount of humiliation,

of guilt. What did I do wrong
to cause this to happen?

I don't know what to do.

I can't believe he
did it to you too.

NARRATOR: Over the next
year, Reggie Depalma

continued to sexually abuse
girls in the Explorer post.

Finally, they began to
confide in one another.

Are you guys gonna go
back, I mean, if he asks you?

I've been back, but I
can't go back anymore.

One of the girls had
gotten upset about something

and started talking.

And it just started
snowballing because

as soon as she said something,
then the next person.

And everybody
started coming forth.

And then, we all realized
that we weren't alone.

That we were all in this group
together and that, together,

we could try to stop this.

We have to tell somebody.

OK.

Are you gonna do it?

We'll go with you if you want.

Yeah.

Will you tell ?

Yeah.

I'll, I'll tell my mom.

OK.

One of the girls mothers
came to the police station

to report what her
daughter had told her.

So Detective Benjamin and I were
assigned to investigate this.

And I spoke with all
the girls involved.

And he spoke with all the boys.

At that point, you know, I was
still very young in high school

trying to deal with all this.

It was not an easy
thing to just discuss

with someone to tell them.

She was very supportive.

She was very nice and
helped me through it a lot.

So what I need to know is,
did you ever have, um, occasion

to be alone with Reggie?

Um, yeah.

There was one time when
I was at his apartment.

OK.

So, um, what happened once
you got to the apartment?

He gave me some wine.

Uh huh.

And um, how much
wine did you have?

Three glasses.

Three glasses of wine?

Three.

OK.

Right off the
bat, when I heard

the stories that these girls
told, I felt, myself, betrayed.

And I don't even know Reggie.

These girls were so devastated
over what had happened

to them that I had nightmares.

Went to his bedroom.

The details of what
they were telling me

made me feel such
rage towards this man.

[inaudible] into the bedroom?

I had to get him arrested
as soon as possible.

Why don't you just tell
me what's going on, Russ?

Five counts of child
molestation, Reggie.

You have the right
to remain silent.

You understand?

Yeah.

You have a right
to an attorney.

You understand?

If you waive that right,
anything you say or do

will be used against
you in a court of law.

You understand?
- Yeah

NARRATOR: On the same
day Reggie was arrested,

his girlfriend,
Connie, was questioned.

She believed in him
so much, she would

have done anything for him.

And she felt so insecure
about their relationship

that she even went this
far to do these things

with these girls for Reggie.

Uh, ladies and
gentlemen, I just

have one more set of
questions I'd like

to ask Terry [inaudible].

NARRATOR: Just over a
year after his arrest,

Roger DePalma went to
trial on nine counts,

including two counts
of statutory rape

and five counts of
risking injury to a minor.

Why on this terrible night
you didn't tell someone about

what happened?

Why, particularly, you
didn't tell your parents.

I thought, um, I thought that
they would think less of me.

And that, maybe, it
was my fault too.

And Reggie had told me
not to tell anybody.

Reggie told you not to--

Reggie DePalma, the
first day during the trial,

it was obvious that
he did not believe

the girls had the courage
to testify against him.

He felt he still had
sufficient sway over them

that they would crumble
on the witness stand.

After the first witness
was able to testify

against him, certainly then
his confidence had to waver.

And of course, after a
third girl had testified,

he must have decided
that he would

be better in parts unknown.

NARRATOR: After the
fifth day of the trial,

Reggie DePalma who
was out on bail,

left Danbury to
visit his mother.

She was hospitalized
at New Haven,

Connecticut, 38 miles away.

Although his car was found
in the hospital parking lot,

DePalma never showed up
in his mother's room.

A fugitive warrant was
issued for his arrest.

The trial continued without him.

And on October 25,
1983, Reginald DePalma

was convicted on seven counts
and sentenced in absentia

to 21 years in prison.

He is still at large
and has never served

a single day behind bars.

His victims are now adults.

But the Chilling
effects of abuse linger.

There are times when
I'll psych myself out,

like if I'm leaving work late
or, when I was in college,

if I was walking back to the
dorms or something late at

night that it was, like, you
know, he's out there somewhere.

You know, he could be
watching me right now.

When I think about the
fact that he's still out

there somewhere
is very upsetting.

The first, of
course, to all of us.

The injustice that
we feel because he

is not paying for the
crimes that were committed.

And then, again, the
fear for other people

out there that he
could be harming

individuals all over
again, and put them

all through this living hell.

[music playing]

NARRATOR: When we
return, a convicted

killer claims he is innocent.

And at least one
prosecutor believes

he is telling the truth.

[theme music]

NARRATOR: In the
past, we presented

a number of final appeal cases.

Dramatic profiles of men
and women who claim they

have been wrongfully
convicted of a crime.

They were saying
that they knew

that that baby had been poisoned
by either me or my husband.

I was devastated.

I was blown away.

I just could not believe
that they could even think--

I mean, Ryan was my world.

NARRATOR: In 1989,
Patty Stallings

was arrested for poisoning
her 5-month-old son.

When the baby died, she
was charged with murder

and later convicted.

Unfortunately, we
can't undo the suffering

that the Stallings have endured.

And I apologize to
them, both, personally

and for the state of Missouri.

NARRATOR: After our
broadcast, Patty Stallings

was released from prison
and exonerated when doctors

determined that her son,
Ryan, had actually suffered

from a rare genetic disorder.

I absolutely did not commit
the robbery or the shooting

of the police officer.

I'm a musician and a artist.

I'm not a criminal.

NARRATOR: Tony Miller
spent 8 1/2 years

in prison for
robbery and assault.

Today, Miller is a free man.

The charges against
him have been dropped.

After his story
aired, a viewer who

had been an eyewitness to the
crime contacted the court.

Miller's conviction was
overturned thanks, in part,

to the witnesses sworn
statement that Tony

was not a guilty party.

I am innocent is a phrase that
echoes through every cell block

and every prison in America.

Almost always, it
is an empty claim.

A little more than
jailhouse posturing.

But as you have just seen,
those three words do sometimes

carry the ring of truth.

A few cases like our next
one deserve a second look.

[music playing]

NARRATOR: January 3, 1972.

Two boys out fishing on
Taylor Bayou near Webster,

Texas found evidence
of a tragedy.

What's that out there?

It, kind of, looks like a ball.

[inaudible]

It's a skull!

NARRATOR: It was a
skull of a young girl.

Six weeks later,
police discovered

the rest of her bones
along with the remains

of another young woman.

[inaudible] Come on
in here and get a shot

of this up close, please.

NARRATOR: Dental records
identify the two girls

as 14-year-old
Rhonda Renee Johnson

and 15-year-old Sharon
Shaw who had been missing

since a previous summer.

The cause of their deaths
could not be determined.

Five months after the bones
were found, police arrested

23-year-old Michael
Self, a gas station

attendant with below
average intelligence.

Self was charged with
two counts of murder.

20 years later, he is still
in prison convicted of a crime

he swears he did not commit.

I did not kill Sharon
Shaw and Renee Johnson.

It was just all behind politics
and wanting a conviction.

That was it.

Just somebody to play the patsy.

Imagine that you're a jury
member in a murder trial.

The defendant has
confessed twice,

and you vote to convict him.

Later, you discover the
confessions were allegedly

coerced by two
police officers who

used a kind of rough justice.

Physical and psychological
intimidation.

As it turned out, those
two police officers

were criminals themselves.

It may seem incredible, but
Michael Self claims that he was

a victim of just that scenario.

NARRATOR: Rhonda
Johnson and Sharon Shaw

disappeared on August 4, 1971.

They were last seen heading
toward the Jericho Surf and Ski

Shop in Galveston, Texas
20 miles south of Rhonda's

hometown of Webster.

No, that's OK.

We've just got a couple
more blocks to go.

NARRATOR: Police
immediately launched

an exhaustive investigation.

There was a great deal
of community pressure

to find the girls.

Pressure intensified
by the fact that Rhonda

was a granddaughter
of a prominent Webster

City councilman.

I put in many
hours, many hours,

night and day on
trying to find out

what happened to these
girls when they disappeared.

But I kept coming up
to some loose ends.

I was getting close, I thought.

Then, it would disappear.

All my leads would
just disappear.

We're awful lucky to have a
couple of DPS boys on board.

NARRATOR: In late May of 1972,
the Webster City Council hired

a new police chief, Don Morris.

Morris and his assistant,
Chief Tommy Diehl,

came from the traffic
division of the Texas

Department of Public Safety.

Son, I'm glad you're with us.

I know I can count on ya.

Yes, sir.

NARRATOR: The hunt
for Rhonda and Sharon

had been going on
fruitlessly for 10 months.

But within three weeks
of taking office,

Morris got a tip on a suspect.

Seems to me, a few
years back, a boy named

Michael Self was [inaudible].

NARRATOR: Glen Price,
another city councilman,

suggested Tommy Diehl
check known sex offenders

and mentioned
Michael Self's name.

Self had been arrested twice
in peeping tom incidents.

I know you'll do
a good job, Tommy.

I'll give it a whirl, Glen.

Bye.

Bye bye.

[bell ringing]

NARRATOR: June 9th 1972, at
5:00 AM, assistant chief, Tommy

Diehl, and officer Herman Morgan
stopped by the gas station

where 23-year-old Michael
Self worked the night shift.

Say, look here, Mike.

What's up?

You got ESP?

Say it again.

I got ESP.

Is that right?

That's right.

And I can tell you exactly
what you're thinking right now.

You're thinking about two girls.

[laughing]

Well I didn't know what two
girls he was talking about.

My wife and I had
been separated.

And I was dating a girl.

And I thought that's who he
was, you know, talking about.

That's the only one
I could think of.

[phone ringing]

NARRATOR: Later that morning,
Michael Self voluntarily

went to the police station.

Detective.

Detective Hanes.

Could you bring that
file [inaudible].

I knew I hadn't done anything.

I just went ahead and
agreed to meeting there.

Now Mike, I want you to
answer some questions for me.

I want you to tell us if
you've ever seen either one

of these girls before.

NARRATOR: Self said he
recognized the girls

but did not know them.

Yes.

Renae Johnson.

NARRATOR: To his
surprise, he was

immediately taken into custody.

Sharon Shaw.

That's right.

Cuff him.
- Why?

We are putting
you under arrest--

Come on in here, son.

--for the murder
of these two girls.

Sit down in that chair.

All right.

Mike, Mike, Mike.

You know we already know
you killed those two girls.

We got the evidence.

Oh, come on.

I didn't have nothing to
do with killing no girls.

And y'all know that.

NARRATOR: While Self
was being questioned,

another police officer,
Jerry Mitchell,

stopped by to observe.

If you cooperate,
if you confess--

NARRATOR: Mitchell knew Self
and says Self was not a tone

nervous at that stage
of the interrogation.

So what happens to
somebody they get caught

for doing something like that?

Mike looked relaxed.

Easy going.

Kind of laid back.

He was grinning.

And I don't know if it ever
really sunk in, at that time,

what he was being involved in.

You got something to tell us?

Well like I say, I
ain't done nothing.

I ain't broke no law.

[sigh] Don't you
need to be on patrol.

NARRATOR: Mitchell
left the room.

According to Self,
Chief Don Morris

then took personal charge
of the interrogation.

And the tone changed radically.

No, Don.

We're not.
- What?

Is he innocent?

[laughing]

You innocent, Michael?

Yes, sir.

Tell you what, Tom.

Why don't you go home and
take a nap and let me, uh--

NARRATOR: What you
are about to see

is based on Michael
Self's recollection.

Yeah, Michael.

Don Morris started
asking me questions.

Why I killed these girls.

I told him I didn't know
what he was talking about.

I've seen a lot of
innocent people, Michael.

And you don't look
like one of them.

Now tell me about the girls.

I don't really know
what you want me to tell

you about the girls, sir.

Tell me about the girls.

He said that he
wanted a confession.

I wasn't gonna leave
until he got one.

Tell me about the girls.

I don't nothing
about no girls.

I done told you.

I think I'll go round
up some stray dogs.

Aye, you be careful out there.

He said, don't you
have a guilty conscience

for doing this and having to
look Roy Johnson in the face?

And I'd tell him that I didn't
know what he was talking about.

Get up!

He had me against the wall.

My hands are behind my back.

And he's poking this
nightstick in my stomach

and said he was gonna
get a confession.

You could tell that he was more
or less a mad man about it.

[coughing]

You getting tired
of this, Michael, huh?

[coughing]

I'm pretty tired of it myself.

I was crying.

I was upset.

He took his gun,
opens the cylinder,

and takes five bullets,
and stands them

on end where I can see them.

[crying] What are
you talking about?

I want you to tell me
where you picked them up.

[crying] told you, sir.

I don't know.

I want you to tell me--

I was more scared
then I was anything.

I didn't know what was going on.

I didn't know what to say.

Cause I will
blow your head off.

No!

Tell me about the girls.

[inaudible].

He closed it, he
spun the chamber,

and he points his gun
like this, and says

he's gonna blow my brains out
if I don't sign a confession.

[crying] OK.

OK.

OK.

[inaudible]

Now I want you to
write down everything

you remember about that day.

He had already beat
me half to death.

Poked me in the stomach.

And I can see that he
meant what he said.

And I asked him, what
do you want me to sign?

He tells me that he he'll
tell me what to write.

And you were drinking beer
while you were riding around.

Isn't that the way it happened?

Yes, sir.

NARRATOR: Less than an
hour after Jerry Mitchell

left the room, he returned.

Self now seemed upset
and visibly shaken.

Now let me see
what you wrote down.

Let me see that.

It was, in my
opinion, kind of being

led in a sequence of events
of how they wanted it written.

You gonna have to do it again.

I had seen about a half a page
of writing on there by the time

it was all over with.

And I think they had
to rewrite that one.

Something wasn't right in it.

Now I want you to
write some truth.

Now let's start again.

You--

Not being part of
the investigation,

I really wasn't privy to all
the details of it, the whys

and the wherefores, but I
do know that they rewrote

the confession several times.

NARRATOR: Self's
confession, however,

did not fit the known facts
of the girl's disappearance.

One glaring instance.

The confession said Self
dumped the bodies at a place

called El Largo 20 miles
from the Taylor Bayou

where the bodies
were actually found.

Self's appellate
attorney, Gerry Birnberg,

points out other discrepancies.

There's the statement in
here that what he did was,

in essence, he choked
one of the two girls.

There was no evidence of the
breaking of some very tender

bones in the neck that
necessarily would have

been damaged if, in fact, he
had choked one of the girls

to death.

There is this claim that he
went to Sharon Shaw's house.

Well Sharon Shaw's
family contradicts that.

So she wasn't home that day.

That didn't occur.

There is the statement that
the girls were hanging out

of the window and
hollering as they

were all driving in the car.

And yet, Dave Colburn did this
very thorough investigation,

and nobody saw the two girls
that night, or anybody else,

driving down the road hollering,
waving, and screaming.

I had statements from two
girls signed by their parents

as a witness that they talked
to Sharon Shaw and Renee Johnson

in Galveston between
8:00 and 9 o'clock.

There is no conceivable way that
Sharon Shaw and Renee Johnson

could have got another ride
and been in Webster riding

around with Michael [inaudible]
itself at the time that they've

gotten this confession.

NARRATOR: Three days after
Michael Self's arrest,

he went against his
original attorney's advice

and agreed to take
a lie detector test.

Is your first name Michael?

Yes, sir.

NARRATOR: According
to Gerry Birnberg,

police asked Self about
more area murders.

Yes.

NARRATOR: Between July
1971 and February 1972,

seven other young
girls and one young boy

had been found murdered
in a four county

area that included Webster.

Do you know who caused
the death of the two girls?

Yes.

And the courts are giving
him the polygraph exam.

They say, well, now we've
got this statement that you

gave last Friday
where you confessed

to killing these two girls.

Is it true?

And he says, yeah.

And the lie detector
says no it's not!

It's not true at all!

Yes, sir.

NARRATOR: After
taking the polygraph,

Self says he was still
so afraid of Chief Morris

that he agreed to sign
a second confession.

It did not mention any
of the other murders

but did contain a new
version of the deaths

of Rhonda and Sharon.

Yes, that's how it happened.

NARRATOR: In the
first confession,

Self said he struck
Sharon Shaw with his fist

and shoved the girl's
bodies into a culvert.

In the second, Self claimed he
hit Shaw with a Coke bottle,

and dumped their
bodies in the bayou.

The second confession
also says self

stripped the murdered
girls of their clothing

and tossed it out
along the highway.

However, clothing was
found with the remains,

along with an unidentified
set of car keys,

and a crucifix worn
by Sharon Shaw.

There was a slight difference
in the two written confessions.

But all I had to do
was offer in evidence

the confession I
wanted to go with.

And if the facts,
the outlined facts,

tended to support the
elements of this confession,

that's all I needed if
the jury believed it.

You were out driving around
around 9:00 or 10 o'clock.

Weren't you?

Yes, sir.

NARRATOR: Two weeks after
Self's arrest, two Harris County

Sheriff's deputies checked
him out of jail on the pretext

of buying him a hamburger.

Afterwards, they
drove him to places

mentioned in the confessions
and took pictures of him

at each location.

It was presented in court
as a third confession.

He didn't confess
a third time.

He went on a ride with
two police officers

who had illegally checked
him out of the jail

to drive him around
to take pictures

to get evidence for a trial.

They didn't discover
anything new.

NARRATOR: While Self
was awaiting trial,

he was visited by
Dave Colburn who

was, by then, chief of police
in nearby Cleveland, Texas.

Hello, Mike.

- How you doing, Mr. Colburn?
- Fine.

How are you doing?

Well, not too good.

At the time, he looked very
depressed and very distraught,

you know, when I walked in.

And I asked him--

he said he didn't do it.

And I asked him
what had happened.

And uh, he had told
me about Don Morris

threatening him with this
billy club and poking him.

He pulled out his gun.

Yes.

Opened it up.

Started pulling out five
bullets one at a time.

When he made that
statement to me,

I knew what had come
down because a year

prior I witnessed Don
Morris taking one shell out

of his revolver, hiding it,
placing five shells in front

of a prisoner, and
playing Russian roulette

with that person,
threatening him.

And there's no doubt in
my mind that he did that

to Michael [inaudible] Self.

And when it came to the
trial, I was prepared

to go in and make statements.

And I was never called.

And he said--

I don't know whether he did
the Russian roulette number.

Bottom line.

All three confessions
are consistent.

I killed the girls.

All of them are consistent.

NARRATOR: On May 15,
1973, Michael Self

was convicted of murder and
sentenced to life in prison.

Three years later,
the town of Webster

was shocked when Don
Morris and Tommy Diehl

were arrested for bank robbery.

They were members of a gang of
robbers that had been stinking

up banks as far back as 1972,
five months before Michael

Self was arrested.

In early 1976, Don Morris
was sentenced to 55 years.

Tommy Diehl to 30 years.

Both were eventually parole.

But Tommy Diehl returned
to robbing banks

and is now back
in federal prison.

Gerry Birnberg petitioned
the court to get

Michael Self a new trial.

After an extensive
evidentiary hearing,

in just nine days
before oral arguments,

the defense got what looked
like a gift from heaven.

It's been bugging
me for a long time.

I just wanted to
get it off my chest.

It was Sharon Shaw
and Renee Johnson.

I'm the one that killed them.

How, how did you kill them.

NARRATOR: On April 2nd 1980,
a man walked into the police

station in Taylor Lake, Texas.

He told George Keram and state
prosecutor Douglas O'Brien

that he, not Michael
Self, had murdered

Rhonda Johnson and Sharon Shaw.

[inaudible] really
upset with them and I--

What'd you use
to kill them with?

I don't remember exactly.

NARRATOR: Douglas O'Brian
represented the state

when Self appealed
his conviction

but now believes
Self is innocent.

What'd you do with their
bodies after you killed them?

I basically got the
impression from him

that what he wanted
to do was to get it

off his chest and
confess to the fact

that he'd killed the girls.

But at the same time, not
give me information, which

would allow prosecution of him.

Where'd you put their
bodies in the water?

I don't know.

It was beside where the car was.

I mean, they didn't want to go
through with it on the date.

And it was like, I tied them
up with this, this black cord.

And I tied them up.

And I just, I put
them in the water.

His account of
how he killed them

or whatever was very
vague and disjointed.

But he did mention
that he used a cord

in which to tie the
girls' bodies down when he

put them into the water.

The statement
by this individual

indicated that he
had tied their feet

with black cord,
something Michael

Self had never mentioned.

Not found in any
statement by Michael Self.

That was the secret
fact that the police

had held back all these years.

This guy knew it.

That guy was out of his gourd.

He was, he was a--

I don't know why
he came forward.

I think he was unbalanced.

I don't remember exactly
what I did. all right?

I don't remember exactly.

What he talked about was
anything that could have been

picked out of the newspaper.

And even then, he had it wrong.

The whole thing might've
just been a dream.

There's no question in my
mind that this person who

came forward was just,
uh, one of these people

who like to confess to crimes.

The individual was clearly
a very troubled person

with some flights to psychosis.

But he knew the girls.

He lived in the same apartment
complex with one of them.

And the most important
thing of all,

he knew about the black cord.

NARRATOR: Despite the surprise
confession and the credibility

gap created by the criminal
activities of Morris and Diehl,

Michael Self's
conviction was upheld.

They have no corroborating
evidence whatsoever!

Nothing to tie him to
any murders or to even

being seen with these girls
except this, which is not

worth the paper it's wrote on.

Legally speaking, he's
innocent just from a standpoint

that, number one, I don't
think his confessions

were voluntarily entered.

Number two, I
don't think there's

any corroborating evidence
concerning those confessions.

He was the type of
personality that

was easy prey for Don
Morris, that was easy

prey for Tommy Diehl.

It's easy prey for bank robbers
parading as police officers.

And that's what happened.

If he were tried today,
naturally, some of these areas

would be clarified,
these particular points

we're talking about.

We'd go back and
spend more time,

and send better investigators
out, and make our decision as

to whether to prosecute or not.

[theme music]

NARRATOR: Next Wednesday on
the season premiere of Unsolved

Mysteries, for five
years, Bruce Kelly

has been haunted by fragmented
images of a life not his own.

A life that, apparently,
ended on a doomed submarine

during World War II.

Is Kelly's story a remarkable
case of reincarnation?

Or is there another more
rational explanation?

In Chicago, a young
boy was victimized

by a hit and run driver.

His family needs your help
to find the man they believe

was responsible.

And thanks to tips from you,
our viewers, a fugitive cult

leader wanted on criminal
charges in Missouri

has been arrested.

Join me next Wednesday
for the dramatic season

premiere of Unsold Mysteries.

[music playing]