All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S01E22.480p.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):
Tonight, on Unsolved Mysteries,

Tim McClure and his
mother were inseparable,

until Terry McClure
was found shot

to death in a
casino parking lot,

and her son became the
number one suspect.

Tonight, Tim McClure wants to
tell his side of the story.

In 1973, America was
crippled by the gas shortage.

Liz Carmichael raised $3
million for her revolutionary,

three-wheeled car,
which she claimed would

get 70 miles to the gallon.

The government claimed fraud,
and Liz has disappeared.

In Georgia, a feud between
two rival restaurant owners,

competing for the
same customers,

ended in a contract killing.

One of the murderers
is still at large.

Four mysteries with no endings--
but they can be solved.

Last November, we presented
the story of the kidnapping

of a wealthy Mississippi
woman, whose husband was

told to send $1
million to 12 people

named in a bizarre ransom note.

He paid out, but his
wife was not released.

Tonight, an update on
this extraordinary case.

Join me-- you may be able
to help solve the mystery.

[theme music]

In 1977, TK Harty's saloon was
a popular bar and restaurant,

catering to the student
crowd of the university

town of Athens, Georgia.

The saloon's owner was Ted
K. Harty, nicknamed TK.

He rented space from a
group of businessman,

who were converting
an abandoned train

depot into a complex of
restaurants and trendy shops.

LEE EPTING: TK Harty
was an obnoxious Yankee

when you first met him.

He came on really strong.

And when he came to town,
it took me a little while

to get used to him,
so that I would even

want to have him as a tenant.

When you got to know TK, he
was just a real teddy bear.

Just a really nice guy.

He was enthusiastic about the
complex, and doing it right.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Harty's arch rival was

a man named John Mooney,
who also leased space

in the remodeled train
station for his restaurant,

called Somebody's Pizza.

Mooney and TK Harty had a
long history of animosity,

because both their
restaurants were

going after the same
student clientele.

LEE EPTING: When John
Mooney came to town,

he was the preppy,
out of college,

cool guy, who was full of
vigor and enthusiasm about what

he was going to do down there,
and how he was going to make

his millions of dollars.

And what all he had to offer.

And that lasted until he got the
lease signed and got the place,

and then he started--
well, I just need this,

and I just need that.

And I can't pay the rent.

And

Then John kind of got greedy.

Hey come see us next door,
nickel beer-- Somebody's Pizza.

Come to Somebody's
Pizza right next door.

Good deal on beer.

LEE EPTING: John started
wanting to infringe

on everybody else's business.

His idea was to go
up to TK's, pass out

flyers on the deck
for nickel beer,

and draw TK's crowd
down to his place.

John, what do you
think you're doing here?

Hey, what does it look like?

LEE EPTING: That just
went all over TK.

I mean, he couldn't stand
that that was the last straw.

I'll tell you what this
is-- this is private property!

I want you out of
here right now!

LEE EPTING: John Mooney and
TK Harty despised each other.

They really had
gotten to the point

that there was no reconciliation
between the two people.

ROBERT STACK: The feud between
TK Harty and John Mooney

started out as a dispute
between restaurateurs

going after the same customers.

But after three years,
when the original lease

on the train station
expired, TK Harty

took over the entire complex.

It was then that his
feud with John Mooney

escalated into a full-scale war.

The end result was murder.

When we decided to
not pick up the lease,

we had to sell the place.

Ted came up with
the money, and Ted

bought the station complex--
the shops, everything.

Which included John
Mooney's place.

He said he was going
to evict John as

soon as we signed the papers.

And he did that on
a Friday afternoon.

This is your eviction notice.

Eviction notice?

This is your eviction
notice-- you are out of here.

Wait a minute, TK--

HARRY GORDON: TK Harty had
made mention to several members

of his family, to his
girlfriend, that he was

concerned-- not to the
extent that he would harm him

physically, perhaps-- but
that he was really concerned

about the attitude of John
Henry Mooney against him,

concerning the eviction.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
10 days later,

in the early morning hours of
August the 30th, 1977, TK Harty

arrived home as
usual, after closing

up his saloon for the night.

A man lurked in the shadows
of TK's kitchen, watching him.

When Harty left to walk into
his study, a man followed him.

[gun shot]

TK Harty was shot
one time in the head.

He died instantly.

Four hours after
Harty's body was found,

police picked up John
Mooney for interrogation.

At first, Mooney was
very cooperative.

John, do you know why
you are here tonight?

Well, I guess it's about
the shooting of TK Harty.

How did you know
about the shooting?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
News of Harty's murder

had not been released
to anyone, yet Mooney

seemed to know exactly why
he was being questioned.

On the shooting,
and how I felt about.

KENNETH KILGORE: When
John Mooney told me

that he was aware that
TK Harty had been shot,

I told him that we had not
released that information,

and that nobody knew that
except the police department,

and the people that
were investigating

this murder-- that
he had been killed,

or how he had been killed.

At that time, he
did become nervous.

He said, I think I need
to talk to my lawyer.

All righty, thanks.

Bye

Hold on just a
second, sit down.

KENNETH KILGORE: When
he hung up the phone,

he said, my lawyer said
for me to get up and walk

out if I wasn't under arrest.

I'm going to
allow you to leave.

I want to tell you something
before you go-- you're not

under arrest right now, but--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Police did not

have sufficient evidence
to arrest Mooney.

No other leads surfaced, and
three weeks after the murder,

the authorities were
still at a dead end.

On the fourth week, another
local restaurant manager

who known both TK
Harty and John Mooney

called the police
with a bizarre story.

He said he was cleaning
up behind the bar

one night when an Atlanta
electrician, named Elmo

Florence, began to drop hints
that he was willing to kill

people for money.

You're a what?

I'm a hit man.

You don't need to call
into Jersey, if you want

somebody good-- give me a call.

Yeah?

RESTAURANT MANAGER: Elmo was
bragging to me about the fact

that he was a hit man-- and
that his services were for hire.

At first I thought
he was kidding me--

that he had murdered TK Harty.

You're batty.

RESTAURANT MANAGER: You have
to understand Elmo-- I just

thought he was kidding
around with me, some sort

of warped sense of humor.

And then we started to
go on, and you know,

I just said to him,
I said, all right--

how'd you get in the house?

Piece of cake.

Busted out the glass.

[glass shatters] Went in,
swept the glass up in a pile,

waited around for him.

[phone rings]

Telephone signal-- two rings.

I knew he was on his way.

I waited.

Saw the car lights, heard
the car, and waited for him.

Elmo Florence
began to describe

the inside of the house,
where the murder took place.

He began to tell
the point of entry.

He told what type of weapon
was used to kill Ted Harty.

He told where the bullet entered
the head, and where it exited.

There was basically, in the
statement that we received

from the manager
of the restaurant,

there were 21 different
points that we

had not released to the public.

[knocking]

We knew at that time that we
had a very hot suspect here.

Mr. Florence?

Yeah.

Elmo Florence?

That's right.

You're under
arrest for murder.

Don't move.

All right, get out of here.

OK, get them on him--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Elmo Florence

had told the restaurant
manager that John Mooney

hired him to kill TK Harty.

But when the police
tried to arrest Mooney,

they found that he
had left the country.

KENNETH KILGORE: If
Elmore Florence had not

walked into the bar, and started
telling the different things

that we later
determined to be true,

possibly the investigation
into this murder

would have never been solved.

John Mooney had already been
established as a suspect,

but there was no
connection at that time

between Mooney and Florence.

I don't know how long
that would have taken,

if it were ever uncovered.

This was a terrific
break-- it was lucky.

And we took advantage of it.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Two weeks later, police

were tipped off that Mooney had
returned to the United States

and was staying at a
friend's apartment.

Cobb County Police
Lieutenant, Lee Moss,

went to the apartment building,
and approached two men who were

drinking in the parking lot.

LEE MOSS: The time I
arrested John Mooney,

all I knew was his name
and a general description.

And I knew that the
warrant was for murder.

So when I saw the two
individuals drinking beer,

this gave me a perfect out,
I figured, to approach them

from this angle.

But I knew if he
knew he was wanted,

he would probably flee from us,
or else he'd pull a gun on us.

I tell you, all these cans
here, it kind of upsets me--

all this littering, y'all
sitting out here drinking.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Officer Moss

ascertained that one of the
men was indeed John Mooney.

I tell you what-- put
your hands on the car.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
He arrested Mooney,

and charged him with murder.

When the police inventoried
Mooney's belongings,

they found several incriminating
notes he'd jotted to himself.

Incredibly, Mooney had
written, "See Elmo,

offer to him, if worse comes
to worst, to take the whole rap

and say robbery was the motive.

We have agreement for me to take
care of his wife and family."

Elmo Florence's trial
lasted only one week.

He was sentenced to life
at a maximum security

prison in Georgia.

John Mooney was also
sentenced to life

in a maximum security prison.

But three months
later, he was moved

to a minimum security facility.

After six months of observation
there, prison officials

gave Mooney the job
of kitchen clerk.

Now, he had access to
areas that were not

available to most prisoners.

How's the count
today, pretty good?

245.

245.

CALVIN GREEN: John
Mooney was a--

what you call an ideal inmate.

He fit in well with
the inmate and staff.

He didn't complain about
the rules and regulations,

he just worked hard.

And he gained the confidence
of the staff, and myself.

So he had proven himself.

But he-- now we see
he was a con artist,

and he was conning us all.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
On March the 16th,

1980, after serving only 19
months of his life sentence,

John Mooney
engineered his escape.

When the prisoners
went back inside,

the guard locked the
gate and walked away.

Mooney made his break.

An accomplice was waiting
in a car parked nearby.

As Mooney ran toward the car,
he discarded his prisoner

wardrobe, piece by piece.

Two hours went by
before prison officials

noticed Mooney was missing.

By then, it was too late-- John
Mooney had made his getaway.

He has not been seen
for over nine years.

HARRY GORDON: Without the
actions of Mooney, and actually

hiring somebody to take
another person's life,

TK Harty would be here today.

Unless John Henry
Mooney is captured,

he got away with murder.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): These
photographs were taken in 1979.

Today, John Mooney
would be 40 years old.

He is 5 feet 10 inches tall,
and weighs about 170 pounds.

Mooney has a fair
complexion, green eyes

and sandy-blond hair.

He may be living in
the Dayton, Ohio area.

Update-- Scottsdale, Arizona.

Within minutes of our
broadcast, two viewers

called our telecenter to
report that John Mooney

was living in this house,
under the assumed name,

Robert J. Kelly.

On August 8th,
John Mooney-- alias

Robert Kelly-- was arrested at
his home by the Mesa Police.

Mooney had been living
in Arizona since 1982.

He was enrolled at
Arizona State University.

For the past several
years, he'd been

working as an accountant
for various companies

in the Scottsdale area.

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

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

John Mooney was
returned to Georgia.

In a moment, the story of
Liz Carmichael-- visionary,

automotive genius,
wanted fugitive.

[theme music]

In 1973, America was faced
with an oil crisis that

nearly crippled the country.

It created a gas shortage, and
motorists had to wait hours

to fill up their tanks.

Consumers wanted a
solution-- cheaper

gas, or more economical cars.

One visionary
claims she had just

such a car-- a startling new
three-wheeled vehicle called

the Dale.

It was claimed that
this revolutionary car

would get 70 miles
to the gallon,

and cost less than $2,000.

Made of a special
aerospace plastic,

its creator claimed
it could withstand

an impact against a brick
wall at 50 miles an hour,

and was impossible to tip over.

It seemed the perfect
answer to the gas crunch.

It was a new idea.

It's something-- we
all heard of the gas

guzzlers coming from Detroit.

And here's somebody who could
put out an automobile that

could get 60 miles
to a gallon gas,

and travel all over the
city without a problem--

would've been the
ideal automobile .

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The entrepreneur

who unveiled the Dale was a
remarkable and forceful woman

named Liz Carmichael,
who saw herself

as a cross between Howard
Hughes and Henry Ford.

We have pledges from
private individuals--

for private stock.

BILL HALL: Elizabeth
Carmichael was very positive,

a very command presence, a
very powerful appearing person.

A big woman, a
massive woman-- but that

was part of her appeal.

She wanted to be a man.

She wanted to wear
a man's pants.

She acted like a
man-- she was strong.

She was determined.

FRANK GAVRICH: She
had the ability

to incite the fire in you.

Not wimpish in any way-- she was
a very dynamic, strong person.

And she did things
that impressed us.

ROBERT STACK: Liz
achieved celebrity status

while raising over $3
million, through advanced

purchases of her car.

Then on May 29th, 1975,
Geraldine Elizabeth Carmichael

was indicted by the Los
Angeles County grand jury

for a grand theft and fraud.

She was later found
guilty on 34 counts.

Liz Carmichael's car, the
Dale, turned out to be a sham.

Was this a case of
someone simply failing

to live up to their dreams,
or did Liz Carmichael

deliberately set out to swindle
millions from naive investors?

In 1973, Liz was a
housewife living in Los

Angeles with her five children.

She claimed she had a degree
in mechanical engineering,

and in 1974, formed
20th Century Motor

Car Corporation to produce her
three-wheeled car, the Dale.

I've called you all
together to try and give you

some updated information
on what we're

doing here at 20th Century
Motors, and with the Dale.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Liz Carmichael

told investors and the press
that her company was renting

three large aircraft
hangars, where they

would soon start production.

In our first year.

And what about the cost?

Cost factor-- any
American can afford our car.

ROBERT YOUNGDAHL: And the
questions that were asked

were not, well, if you've
got a manufacturing

facility, where is it?

And how long have
you been making cars?

And who are your engineers?

I mean, not the tough
questions-- the questions

were basically, well,
Liz, we're behind you.

And where can I send my money?

It was just so exciting.

And it was unbelievable.

We used to get mails
sacks full of mail

dragged into that
office almost every day.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): News
of Liz and her infamous car

spread across the
country, and soon

she was being interviewed by
Newsweek and People Magazine.

Back at Liz's headquarters
in Encino, California,

the authorities began
to question her claims.

I'd like to see
Liz Carmichael.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The California Department

of Corporations accused
Liz of illegally

selling both dealer
franchises, and cars

that did not yet exist.

Department of Corporations.

How do you do?

I have a desist
and refrain order,

issued against the 20th
Century Motor Car Corporation.

It orders 20th Century
to desist and refrain

from the further offer
and sale of securities.

Thank you.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The
Department of Motor Vehicles

discovered the company had no
state permit to manufacture

cars, and even questioned
whether the lab was

developing a vehicle at all.

We went to the research
and development lab,

and observed what appeared to
be people appearing to be busy,

but in wandering
through the lab,

I saw no evidence that they
were designing a vehicle,

or in the process
of making a vehicle.

GERRY MCGUINESS: Everyone in the
research and development lab,

without a doubt, was
sincere-- believed in the car.

And there was even talk,
if the company should fold,

there was a group of us
that wanted to get together

and continue with the car.

We believed that
much in the car.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Bill Hall

went to check out
the three hangars

where Liz claimed she was
gearing up to make the cars.

BILL HALL: I went
to this airport.

Upon entering, I
discovered the factory

were nothing-- the hangars
were absolutely empty.

No tools, no machinery, nothing
but a little dirt on the floor.

They had rented this
for only one month,

and the rent had now expired.

So they actually did not
have a factory that they

were representing they had.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): With
the authorities closing in,

Liz decided it was time to move
her headquarters to Dallas.

But there, two and a half weeks
later, the district attorney

filed criminal charges
against Elizabeth Carmichael

for grand theft.

One week later, Bill Hall went
to the research and development

lab with a search warrant.

BILL HALL: Upon inspection
of this vehicle,

it was not a viable
vehicle at all--

it had no engine, two by fours
were holding up the rear wheel.

The accelerator was just
sitting on the floor--

it wasn't even attached.

The windows were
not safety glass,

they would bend back and forth.

The doors were put on by
a regular door hinges--

like one might find
on a house door.

The vehicle just
absolutely did not exist.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Armed with a search

warrant, the Dallas police
arrived at Liz's home.

Ms. Carmichael?

Police officers.

We have a warrant.

Police officers, ma'am.

Ms. Carmichael?

Police officers.

What do you make
of this? [inaudible]

[knocking]

Ms. Carmichael?

We have a warrant.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The
police searched the house.

It appeared Liz and her five
children had left in a hurry.

God-- will you
look at this stuff?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Looking through Liz's

belongings, the police found
evidence that Liz Carmichael

was not what she seemed.

What do you got there?

Looks like some
kind of padded girdle.

This is incredible.

Mrs. Carmichael?

I don't know.

You know, we better
call this stuff in.

OK, c'mon.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Nine weeks later,

Liz Carmichael was
discovered living in Miami

with her five children.

A neighbor recognized
her from a news photo

and called the authorities.

She was working for a dating
service, and going by the name

was Susan Raines.

They also learned
that Liz Carmichael

had another identity.

She was really a man--
Gerry Dean Michael.

Michael claimed he
had begun hormone

treatments in preparation
for a sex change operation.

It was later learned
that Michael was wanted

by the federal authorities
for counterfeiting in 1961,

and jumping bail in 1962.

We had no doubt
that this was a woman.

You just didn't question it.

You just didn't question it.

I never thought
that Liz was a man.

I always thought
that-- and she is,

today, she's still Liz to me.
Still a female.

Ms. Carmichael?

We have a warrant
for your arrest.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): On April

the 12th, 1975,
Gerry Dean Michael,

alias Geraldine Elizabeth
Carmichael, was arrested.

She was extradited
to Los Angeles,

where she went on trial.

Liz, you know, arrived
in court, every day,

in miniskirts.

Now here is somebody
who's over 200 pounds,

and over 6 feet tall,
and has a demeanor of I

am a new Henry Ford.

It was rather bizarre.

You can say that Liz did not
give one quarter in the course

of the trial--
there was never once

when Liz gave up her possession
that the people who supported

her would vindicate her.

Why did you tell the
public that that car

could go 70 miles an hour, and
still get 70 miles per gallon?

Because it can, sir.

This car is the car
of the future, sir.

Without all these
trial proceedings,

this car would now
be in production.

Well, then why did you collect
$19.95 from over 5,000 people,

when there was no car existing?

The car has yet to
roll off the line?

As soon as the car
rolls off the line,

the cars will be delivered.

As soon as this thing is
over, we will be rolling.

GERRY MCGUINESS: The idea
was valid-- it was sound.

It could be done today.

It could still go
back in production,

it still would be a great car.

There's no doubt about it.

If she were to walk in this
room and say, let's go again,

I'd go right with her.

Has the jury
reached its verdict?

JURY FOREMAN: Yes,
we have, your honor.

JUDGE: What is your verdict?

We find the defendant guilty.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
On January 24, 1977,

Carmichael was
convicted of conspiracy,

grand theft, and fraud.

She was released on
$50,000 bail, which

was paid by a
prominent television

production company in exchange
for the rights to her story.

For four years, Liz
appealed her conviction.

Finally, in 1980,
she failed to show up

in court for sentencing, and
Liz Carmichael and her five

children vanished again.

They have not been seen
for over eight years.

If I were Liz, I would
be living as a man.

Because all of this publicity,
and all of these victims,

know Liz as a woman.

So I can't see how
anybody could now

imagine, with the
passage of the years,

what Liz would look like.

And if I were Liz, I
think I would be a man.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): This
is what Liz Carmichael looked

like is a man in 1960-- and
using the FBI computers to age

his appearance, how
he may look today.

This is Liz Carmichael
dressed as a woman in 1975,

and how she may look today.

Update, within minutes
of our broadcast,

our telecenter received
a tip from a viewer

who recognized Liz
Carmichael as a flower

vendor named Katherine Johnson.

Curiously, she had chosen a
small community of Dale, Texas,

as their new home.

Shortly thereafter,
Elizabeth Carmichael, a.k.a.

Gerry Dean Michael, was
arrested at her home.

Eight years after
she jumped bail,

Carmichael was returned to
California to face sentencing

for her prior conviction.

A judge reimposed a
sentence of one to 10 years.

Carmichael served
two and a half years,

and was released from prison.

She is currently living
as a private citizen

in an undisclosed location.

[theme music]

On a previous
broadcast, we examined

the case of 72-year-old
Annie Laurie Hearin,

wife of Robert Hearin
Sr., one of the wealthiest

men in Mississippi.

On the afternoon of
July the 26th, 1988,

Mrs. Hearin was
abducted from her home

in Jackson, Mississippi.

The kidnapper left behind
a bizarre ransom note,

demanding that Robert
Hearin pay money

to 12 people, who
had all been sued

by a company he controlled.

Neighbors reported seeing
a suspicious white van

with Florida license plates
driving by the Hearin home,

just before Annie
Laurie was kidnapped.

Robert Hearin held
a press conference

on the steps of
his home, to make

a personal plea to the
kidnapper for his wife's safety.

My children and I appeal
to whomever has my wife,

that they may safe-- that she
may be safely returned to us.

Thank you.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Eight days

after the press
conference, Robert Hearin

received a letter,
postmarked Atlanta, Georgia.

He recognized the
handwriting as his wife's.

ANNIE HEARIN (VOICEOVER):
Bob, if you don't

do what these people
want you to do,

they're going to seal me up
in the cellar of this house

with only a few jugs of water.

Please save me.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Robert Hearin sent out checks

totaling nearly $1
million to the people

named on the kidnapper's list.

He never again heard
from the kidnapper,

or from Annie Laurie.

Update-- last month,
Newton Alfred Wynn,

a 65-year-old lawyer,
was arrested by the FBI

in Florida, on charges
relating to the abduction

of Annie Laurie Hearin.

Wynn was one of the 12
men named in the ransom

note left at the Hearin home.

Also, less than one month
before the kidnapping,

he had allegedly
purchased a van which

matched the description
of the vehicle seen

in the Hearin neighborhood.

The woman told the FBI
that Wynn had promised her

$500 to travel from Florida
to Atlanta, Georgia,

and mail a letter for him,
just 16 days after Annie

Laurie Hearin was kidnapped.

He handed her a manila envelope.

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

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

But to deposit the
letter in a mail slot,

she had to ease the napkin off,
and she was able to observe

the writing on the envelope.

Later, she identified a
photograph of the envelope

Robert Hearin had
received from his wife,

as the one she had
mailed in Atlanta.

ROBERT HEARIN JR: I think
of my mama all the time,

and I'm sure my daddy does, too.

There's no real way to quantify
what this-- how enormous

a tragedy and ordeal
this has been to him,

and to the rest of the family.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
In 1983, Terry McClure

was discovered murdered.

Her son, Tim, was a key suspect.

When he took a polygraph
test, he flunked.

Tonight, he tells why.

[theme music]

This is the Unsolved Mysteries
telephone center, where

viewers call with information.

They also call with
suggestions for stories.

Six months ago we received
a highly unusual call.

It came from a man who is a
leading suspect in the murder

of his own mother.

38-year-old Tim McClure
lived with his mother, Terry,

off and on throughout his 20s.

Tim and his mother
were often seen

together around town,
gambling at the slot machines,

or dining out.

Even after Tim moved
away from Reno,

he remained close to Terry.

She'd do anything for anybody.

She'd-- you know-- give
the shirt off her back,

or her last nickel to anybody.

She was just-- she was just
a real kind-hearted woman.

Very gentle-- she was
just a very calm person.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
In 1983, Terry McClure was

62 years old and living alone.

She was thrilled when
Tim called to tell her

he was getting married.

His wedding took place
on Friday, January

the 14th, 1983 at
Lake Tahoe, Nevada.

TIM MCCLURE: I was
totally ecstatic.

I mean, a person waits all
their life to get married,

and it's, you know, the
big moment in their life.

You know, it wasn't
an elaborate wedding,

but to me it was the big moment.

And it was great.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The newlyweds

and their parents celebrated
by doing a little gambling.

Then, around 10
o'clock in the evening,

Tim left to walk his
mother to her car.

Terry planned to drive
straight home to Reno,

about an hour's drive
from Lake Tahoe.

Tim told her that
he and his wife

would stop by to
visit the next day.

When the newlyweds went
to visit Terry at 6:00 PM

the next evening, they noticed
signs that she was not at home.

Wow, this is strange.

I wonder why she didn't take
the paper in this morning.

It just appeared as though
she hadn't been home.

And it was at that point I
just had the strangest feeling

that something was wrong.

I didn't know, but it just--
I knew she hadn't been home.

And to me, that was
real odd and strange,

because there I was, you
know, on my honeymoon,

there to get married, and
she'd taken time off of work.

And did not find her at home-- I
just, I couldn't understand it.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Tim
call various family members

and friends of his mother.

No one had seen or
heard from Terry.

So he called the police.

Yes, I'd like to
report a missing person.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Three days later, on Monday,

January the 17th,
Terry McClure's car

was found in the
parking lot of a Carson

City, Nevada casino--
only a half hour's drive

outside Lake Tahoe.

The keys were in the ignition,
the doors were locked,

and Terry McClure was sitting
in the front seat, dead.

She had been shot
twice in the head.

The day after they
found the body,

Carson City detectives
questioned Tim.

He was shocked when they
asked him if he wanted

to have an attorney present.

But slowly it dawned on Tim that
he was considered a suspect.

TIM MCCLURE: started
to feel like a victim.

And I thought, why should
I have an attorney?

You know, I mean, this
is my mother's death--

you should be investigating
it on another level,

rather than thinking of me as
doing it-- which, I found out,

they were looking towards me.
I couldn't understand why.

I started to feel
like the victim.

And it just--it
didn't make sense.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Tim told the police

that after he'd walked
his mother to her car

at 10:00 PM on the
night of his wedding,

he'd returned immediately
to the casino.

Tim said his wife was still
gambling with her parents,

so he gambled alone for two
hours, then rejoined his wife.

They went out dancing till dawn.

Police have not been
able to substantiate

Tim's or his wife's
whereabouts that night.

Although they couldn't provide
specific locations where they

went, we made every attempt
to determine which bar

or which dance hall they
had gone to that night,

and we were unsuccessful.

They indicated that they partied
from approximately midnight

until 6:00 AM the
following morning.

None of which we were
able to substantiate,

one way or another.

So we kind of went
on what he said.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Tim also told the police

that two days before his
mother's body was discovered,

he'd searched the main highway
between Lake Tahoe and Reno.

The police became suspicious
when Tim said he was

looking for his mother's purse.

SCOTT BURAU: You know,
we, again, found it odd

that he would attempt to
retrace his mother's steps

for the purpose of
finding something

that nobody knew was missing.

On the 16th, nobody had any
idea her purse was missing.

But he felt a specific need to
go out and look for that purse.

Yeah, oddly
enough, she was found

with only her purse missing.

She was fully clothed,
had all her jewelry.

The only thing
missing was her purse.

They put together
the fact that I

said I was looking for--
some evidence of her purse

along the side of the highway.

And the only reason I said that
was because my older sister

had put the idea
that maybe somebody

had commandeered her vehicle,
and stolen her purse.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Tim also drove

through the parking
lots of the casinos

along his mother's route.

He proceeded at a slow
crawl through the lots

of every casino, except one.

TIM MCCLURE: Sometimes
you get a gut feeling--

you could, maybe, think
of the Holy Spirit,

if you will, just kind of
guiding you through perhaps

a feeling of keeping
me away from there,

to save me from finding her.

I thank God I didn't find her.

That would have
destroyed me to find her.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
That casino parking lot

was the very spot
where Terry McClure's

body would be found two days
later, on Monday, January

the 17th.

Police estimated that Terry
had been dead since Friday,

the night of Tim's wedding.

Police are also puzzled by a
call Tim made to cancel one

of his mother's credit cards.

Tim claimed you made the
call and Monday, January

the 17th, the day his
mother's body was found.

But the credit card
company says he

called on Friday, before
his mother had disappeared.

TIM MCCLURE: I had reported
her credit cards missing,

thinking maybe that somebody
had commandeered the vehicle,

and that her purse might
have possibly been missing.

I called on Monday.

The woman had written down
that I called on Friday--

which I couldn't understand.

It just didn't make any
sense to me why she would mix

up from a Monday to a Friday.

The credit memo for
that particular company

is now in the possession
of the Sheriff's office.

And it clearly shows,
according to their file,

that Tim called, indicated
to the recipient,

that his mother was dead.

And the fact that his father
was dead, and to please

cancel the account.

TIM MCCLURE: It's just-- it's
one of the strangest things

I have ever heard of.

Because I called on Monday,
and how she could have mistaken

that for a Friday,
and then mixed

up my words like that--
saying she had been murdered.

I had no idea she'd
been murdered.

All I knew, she was missing.

And that's what I told them.

We have a credit
memo, dated January 14.

The lady that wrote that
credit memo, in her own mind,

is absolutely sure that's the
date she received the phone

call, from a person identifying
himself as Tim McClure.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Six months

before Terry McClure
was murdered,

she took out a $10,000
insurance policy on her life.

Tim and one of his sisters
were named as co-beneficiaries.

TIM MCCLURE: I didn't
think my mother would

take out an insurance policy.

It just wasn't like her.

I mean, they're thinking
that I, you know,

did this for a reason.

Which, my share is only $5,000.

I mean, that's ridiculous.

Well, I can't say that
that is the absolute motive

in this case, but,
you know, I'm here

to tell you that people have
been killed for a lot less.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): On February

the 14th, 1983, the
Carson City police

asked Tim and his wife
to take a polygraph test.

TIM MCCLURE: was
completely cooperative.

I, you know, had
nothing to hide,

no reason not to take one.

So, naturally, I said,
sure, I'll take a polygraph.

My wife agreed, too.

So it was a strange situation--
when they were asking

the questions, they
made me close my eyes,

being all wired up,
I felt like I was

an electric chair, a very
hard, wood-armed chair,

sitting there.

And as they asked
the question, there

was, oh, it seemed like maybe
a minute between each question,

with my eyes closed.

Just a number of
things were just

going around through my mind.

At that point, that's when I
started thinking, well, geez,

what if they think I did it.

I'd never taken a
polygraph before, I

didn't know how to react.

And it was just a very awkward
and uncomfortable situation

for me.

No.

The results of those
polygraph examinations

would strongly suggest deception
on both the part of Timothy

McClure and his wife.

They were both
adamantly confronted

about those deceptions,
and in the interviews,

they had no response.

They could not respond to why
the machine was telling them

they were being deceptive.

They had no answers.

I don't know why,
but I flunked the test.

And my wife had flunked only
one question, which didn't make

any sense-- do you know who
murdered Terry McClure was

a question she was
asked, and it appeared

to be a lie when she said no.

So it looked like she
was trying to cover up.

Which is unexplainable to me.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): All
the circumstantial evidence was

submitted to the
Nevada DA, but he

deemed it insufficient
to arrest Tim McLure.

Police questioned friends,
family, and acquaintances

of Tim and Terry.

Their testimony indicated that
Tim had been genuinely devoted

to his mother, and they
believed he would never

have done anything to harm her.

TIM MCCLURE: mother
was my best friend.

I mean, all I could think of
was taking care of my mother,

you know, for the
rest of her life,

after she had taken
care of me all my life.

That's the one thing I wanted to
do, was take care of my mother.

And now I can't.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): This
picture of Tim and his mother

was taken at his
wedding on January

the 14th, 1983, the
night she disappeared.

Tim is hoping that someone
who was in the casino,

or the dance hall in
Lake Tahoe that night,

will remember him
because of his long hair

and his unusual height
of 6 feet 5 inches.

He wants his alibi with
the night of his mother's

murder to be substantiated.

Perhaps somebody
will come forward.

Maybe they were
afraid in the past.

Maybe somebody saw something.

There has to be somebody out
there that had seen something

that happened to my mother.

You know, now would be a good
time to come out with it.

[theme music]

Join me next week, for another
edition of Unsolved Mysteries.