All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S09E02.AMZN.WEB-DL.DD+2.0.H.264-AJP69_track3_[eng]

ANNOUNCER: Tonight on
Unsolved Mysteries:

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Peace, harmony, enlightenment

and 11 untimely deaths.

This is a legacy of an
obscure spiritual movement.

When a respected, young
English professor joined up,

his family became concerned.

Now, he's disappeared.

And they're asking
for your help.

To Elizabeth Grzeszczyk,
Jonathan Palmer was dashing,

sophisticated, and fearless.

Everything you'd expect a world
class race car driver to be.

Elizabeth fell madly in love.

Headlong into a bizarre mystery.

In Georgia, a
secluded lover's lane,

a burst of gunfire,
a young couple slain.

Now, two witnesses disagree
on the identity of the killer.

Once upon a time, a young boy
tossed a message in a bottle

into a landlocked lake.

He never dreamed
he was launching it

on an improbable around
the world journey.

Also tonight, an
exciting update.

See how a viewer tip
brought about the capture

of an accused killer.

Join me, perhaps you might be
able to help solve a mystery.

[theme music]

By now, you've--

I'm sure you've
heard of my death.

And I'm sorry to have to put
you through this this way.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
In this haunting message

to his family, 50-year-old
Don Hoffman revealed

he had terminal cancer.

A diagnosis he said
three different doctors

had confirmed.

He ran some tests and
found that I had terminal,

non-operable cancer.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Just
hours after making this video,

Hoffman took his own life.

An autopsy however, found
absolutely no trace of cancer.

Hoffman's children
have never been

able to learn the names
of his three doctors

or even if they existed.

On the videotape, Don
Hoffman said goodbye to five

different family members.

There was no
farewell to the heir

to Hoffman's estate,
his second wife Terri.

Founder of a spiritual movement
known as Conscious Development

of Body, Mind, and Soul.

Today, Terri Hoffman is a woman
at the center of what some

might call a circle of death.

Among the victims, Mary
Levinson, drug overdose.

David and Glenda
Goodman, shot to death,

probable double suicide.

Jill Bounds,
bludgeoned to death.

Sandy Cleaver drove off a
cliff in broad daylight.

Sandy's 14-year-old
daughter, Deveraux, drowned.

11 untimely deaths.

11 people with a direct or
indirect link to Terri Hoffman.

Now, some believe
a 12th name should

be added to this somber
list, Charles Southern Jr.,

a respected English professor.

Southern mysteriously
disappeared more than seven

years ago and his
family believes

it may be no
coincidence that he was

a disciple of Terri Hoffman.

TERRI HOFFMAN: Call
upon your master.

Visualize him.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Peace, harmony, enlightenment.

Terri Hoffman offered
all this and more

to Charles Southern and the many
others who joined her group,

Conscious Development.

The Lord of the fifth plain
to guide you at this time.

Part of the
belief system Terri

taught us was that
death was really just

another state of consciousness.

Through meditation.

PETER MUTH (VOICEOVER):
And it wasn't a bad thing.

It wasn't anything to fear.

That we've created for you.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Peter
Muth belonged to Hoffman's sect

for more than a decade.

Your personal battles
with the darker energies.

PETER MUTH (VOICEOVER):
The other thing

we learned was that the
dark forces out there

in the universe had a name.

They were the black
lords, black overlords.

They worked for Satan.

And fight those
dark lords and I.

PETER MUTH
(VOICEOVER): The group

we worked with were
the white brotherhood

or good benevolent characters.

There were on God's side.

Good guys.

And we worked with them
to combat the dark forces.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Terri Hoffman cultivated

followers around the country.

Among those who joined
the Chicago branch

of Conscious Develop was
Charles Southern Jr. Southern

was assistant chairman
of the English department

at a local junior college.

Joining Hoffman's
group was his most

recent foray in an ongoing
search for spiritual truth.

An odyssey that had taken
Charles Southern as far away

from home as India and Africa.

Charles was very interested
in eastern religions

and various religions.

In fact, he studied all
the different religions

that he could.

And that was his curiosity.

I think it got him in trouble.

My feeling is that
his interest in Terri

was he felt a power there.

And that was real to him.

The fact that this power
might not necessarily

have a good will or not.

And that was sort of
irrelevant to him, I guess.

I will be able to relax.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Charles

rose quickly to a position
of influence in Terri

Hoffman's organization.

Teaching classes and
leading meditation sessions.

At your own pace.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Eventually he was

invited to her home in Dallas.

The darkness of the Lord comes
and he is bright in his evil.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
By then, Terri Hoffman

had begun to portray herself
as a target of attack

by the so-called black lords.

During special
meditation sessions,

Hoffman exhorted her trusted
inner circle to erect quote

"a psychic shield around her."

Peter Muth says he saw Charles
at one of these meetings.

It continues.

PETER MUTH: I just
met him briefly.

But the reason it sticks in my
mind is he came as a visitor

to one of these closed
meetings at Terri's house.

Where she's having
psychic surgery

to repair damage to her
done by the black lords who

have been attacking her.

Now, I see the intertwining
of light and dark.

PETER MUTH: I felt that if
Charles or any of us who

were in that room,
Terri's master bedroom,

would only be there
with Terri's invitation.

And only be there
because they are true

believers in the reality
she is selling us.

About creation and her role
in it as a godlike figure.

Shield is strong but
it must be stronger.

PETER MUTH: Our inner core group
that were fighting the battles

lived in a kind of
constant state of fear

because we're always under
attack from black mag--

magicians who supposedly
could kill us,

who could drive us insane.

And as the years went by,
you saw people in your group

actually start to show
signs of the strain.

Shows signs of mental
and emotional problems.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Charles Southern was apparently

one of those who buckled
under the pressure.

CHERYLE D. SOUTHERN:
We found Charles

wandering on the street
carrying a newspaper

stating, "I lived for art."

We got him in the car
and took him to Michael

Reese Hospital for examination.

Stating that he
might be suicidal

and he also seemed
to be reciting

something in a strange language
over and over and over again.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
During Charles' recovery,

his mother visited every day.

So did two members
of Hoffman's sect.

You're looking good.

I'm feeling much better.

Great, I'm glad to hear it.

This is my mother.

CHERYLE D. SOUTHERN: Later, I
was to find out from my mother,

who stayed with my brother
during the whole five days,

that whenever she was there
at the hospital and they came,

she was asked to leave
the room and stay out.

How are you?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Upon his release,

Charles resumed his
normal activities.

He remained active
in Hoffman's group,

though friends say he
eventually became disillusioned

with Hoffman herself.

As 1987 drew to a
close, Charles made

arrangements for a trip to India
during the Christmas break.

[phone rings]

Charles talked to his family
several times in the days

before his scheduled departure.

His mother believes
something was very wrong.

[answering machine beeps]

INGERBORG D. SOUTHERN
(ON ANSWERING MACHINE):

Hello, Charles?

This is your mother.

I was concerned.

Mother?

Yes, it's me.

No.
No, I'm fine.

I'm fine.

INGERBORG D. SOUTHERN: I told
him that I was disturbed.

And I felt that I
should come to Chicago.

And he said, no.

He said, you don't need to
come to Chicago because I'm

perfectly all right.

And I would be leaving
for India in three days.

So he assured me that
everything was all right.

And with that
assurance, I didn't go.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
It was the last time

Mrs. Southern spoke to her son.

Two weeks passed.

We, of course, wondered
why we didn't hear from him.

But he had traveled
so much and so often

to so many parts of the world,
I wasn't overly concerned

until he was overdue.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Charles' parents drove

the 300 miles from Cincinnati.

When they broke into
their son's house,

a nagging concern
for his well-being

turned to outright fear.

Charles's passport show no sign
of entry stamps from India.

If he had not flown overseas,
then where was Charles

during the previous two weeks?

Stashed in a drawer
was a vile containing

a powerful medication
similar to the lethal South

American poison, curare.

CHERYLE D. SOUTHERN: We
don't know why my brother had

this vile, which
was later identified

to be a ganglionic
blocker, which

is a medicine used
in anesthesia, which

causes total muscle paralysis.

It has to be injected, too.

Not eaten.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Precisely arranged

on a ceremonial
stool from Africa,

were Charles winter
dress hat and his coat.

Neatly folded, inside out.

Only later would
the family learn

the tableau was a Nigerian
tribal symbol of death.

But who might have left
this sinister display?

And finally, there were
two scribbled notes.

Barely legible but
appearing to constitute

a last will and testament.

This is Charles' handwriting
but it doesn't make sense.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): One said

in part, I came
under a bad influence

and I was trying
to fight it myself.

Terri Hoffman was mentioned
twice and named executor.

There is just a lot
of death and unhappiness

around this woman.

And Charles' disappearance
simply fits into that pattern.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Is there a pattern?

If so, that is marked
by stunning coincidence.

Over a 12 year period, two
of Hoffman's four husbands,

her only son, six followers,
and two people related to

or employed by a follower
came to an unnatural end.

Causes of death: one murder,
four fatal accidents,

and six suicides.

In over half of these deaths,
Terri Hoffman had been recently

named heir or beneficiary.

Designated to receive well
over a half a million dollars

in cash, plus hundreds
of thousands more

in real estate, fine
art, and jewelry.

Should Charles Southern
be added to the list?

Or can his long absence
be otherwise explained?

Perhaps another mental break and
a descent into the silent world

of Chicago's homeless.

It is important to note that
authorities have not directly

linked Terri Hoffman
to any of the deaths

and no charges have been filed.

Our letters and calls
to Hoffman inviting

her to participate in this
broadcast were not answered.

As for Charles Southern,
at the time he vanished,

Hoffman assured his family
that she had no idea

what had happened to him.

Next, if you're young,
attractive, and female,

look out for a man
named Jonathan Kern.

He may be out to steal
more than your heart.

[theme music]

In the high octane world
of Formula One Auto Racing,

danger and destruction may
lurk around any corner.

[sounds of car accident]

Those who emerge triumphant,
can win fame, fortune,

and the kind of adoration
usually reserved

for rock stars and royalty.

Big time racing has spawned its
own special breed of criminals.

Case and point, alleged
con man Jonathan Kern.

He has reportedly made a
career of impersonating

a noted Formula One racer
named Jonathan Palmer.

The real Jonathan Palmer was
a medical doctor before he

became a world champion driver.

He is all too familiar
with Jonathan Kern.

JONATHAN PALMER: He is most at
home wearing Versace clothes,

eating caviar and smoked
salmon, and driving

Mercedes Benz sports
cars and being

escorted by gorgeous women.

And as he cannot do that
through genuinely earned income,

he resorts to fraud to
achieve his desired lifestyle.

Weed

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Beginning in 1989,

Kern reportedly
crisscrossed Europe.

Racking up bills for designer
clothes, elegant restaurants,

and five star hotels.

All in the name of
Jonathan Palmer.

All unpaid.

Police say that in
1994, Kern brought

his masquerade to America.

Elizabeth Grzeszczyk met him
at a hotel in Miami, Florida.

Hello.

Hi.

I'm sorry.

I don't usually do this
but I couldn't help

but notice that
book you're reading.

I read it myself some
time ago, I loved it.

I'm wondering how you like it.

I'm Jonathan Palmer.

There's a race car driver
by that name, Jonathan Palmer.

That's me.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Elizabeth,

who happened to know
about car racing,

had some initial doubts.

Wasn't your hair
a little blonder?

It was blonder.

Yes, you're right.

ELIZABETH GRZESZCZYK: And I
asked a few more questions.

And I said, well, what did
you do before you raced cars?

And he said, I was
a medical doctor.

And I said, that's right.

I knew some background.

I said, who did you race for?

And he told me Tyrrell, which
I knew was a British team

and I thought, wow
it really is you.

Here.

Proof.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Kern's passport was a clincher.

So--

ELIZABETH GRZESZCZYK:
I started having

some doubt as to whether
he was Jonathan Palmer.

But it seemed
easier to believe he

was Jonathan Palmer than someone
impersonating Jonathan Palmer.

That never entered my mind that
someone would be doing that.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Elizabeth Grzeszczyk

wasn't the only one
impressed by Jonathan Kern.

A car dealer provided
Kern with a $78,000

Jaguar, free of charge.

DAVID COLBY: And they
dropped the keys at the desk.

And they said this is for
Mr. Palmer for his use

while he's in America.

And please make sure
that he gets it.

And we always believed
him and that just

made us more convinced
that everything was OK.

Thank you, Elizabeth.

Oh, you're too sweet.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
For Elizabeth Grzeszczyk,

Jonathan Kern was almost
too good to be true.

Don't toy with me, Jonathan.

If it's a fling that
you're looking for,

you're going to have
to look somewhere else.

Elizabeth, I'll put my
hand on my heart and promise

that if this is
what we really want,

nothing will keep us apart.

Do it.

ELIZABETH GRZESZCZYK: I couldn't
understand, intellectually,

why he was interested in me.

I've been to a lot of
the Formula One races

and I know a lot of them have
beautiful girlfriends and wives

and they're wealthy.

And I'm just a nobody.

And I said to him, why
are you interested in me?

And he told me he just wanted--

And nothing will
keep us apart.

ELIZABETH GRZESZCZYK
(VOICEOVER):

--a steady relationship.

He didn't want the jet set life.

And he convinced me
over the next few days,

that I was what he
was looking for.

[speaking foreign language]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): With
Jonathan Kern, Elizabeth saw

close up, the busy life
of an international star.

Or so it seemed.

[speaking foreign language] As

Want anything else for dinner?

No, thank you.
I'm fine.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Indeed, everyone at the hotel,

from bellhops to the
manager, has been totally

snowed by Kerns' performance.

[speaking foreign language]

DAVID COLBY: He just wove
a web of intrigue around us

and managed to stay.

Have a very nice holiday
at the hotel for five days

and run up a huge bill
in the restaurant.

And have bottles of champagne
delivered to his room.

And we always believed him.

Despite the fact that he was
already having a little bit

of a problem with my
front desk about how

he was going to pay his bill.

Jonathan, excuse me.

David how are
you this evening?

I'm fine.

We have some business to
attend to at the front desk.

JONATHAN KERN: It's
all been arranged

by the office in Italy.
- Well, I know.

But we still haven't
received an imprint.

I will call them tonight.
Immediately.

Well, if you would
just take a moment.

It won't take long at all.

I'm in a bit of
a rush right now.

I will call the office.

I will have them
ring you in the AM.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): One week

later, Kern left the hotel.

Without paying a dime
on his $3,000 bill.

Eventually Elizabeth
invited Kern to stay

at her home in Connecticut.

She still believed he
was Jonathan Palmer.

Still believe he
had put his career

on hold to spend time with her.

Come on inside.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
But Kern's thoughts that

apparently turned to money.

Elizabeth's money.
JONATHAN KERN: Beautiful area.

Thanks.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Elizabeth

says that Kern convinced her
to accept a personal check.

It was drawn on an
Italian bank for 11

million lira, nearly $8,000.

At the time, I was
nervous about it.

And the first question out
of my family and friends

when I told them, was did
you give him any money?

And I said-- first I lied
and I just said oh, no, no.

And then once the check cleared,
I said, see, It was fine.

Yes, I did give him some money
but now the check has cleared

and I have the money back.

I've got a meeting tonight.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Jonathan's stay

with Elizabeth was punctuated
by frequent business trips

to Manhattan.

As usual, he went in style.

Now, in a $125,000 Mercedes,
lent to him by a local dealer.

He also carried
Elizabeth's ATM card,

just in case of an emergency.

[phone rings]

Sure enough, Jonathan
had an emergency.

JONATHAN KERN (ON PHONE):
Hi, it's Jonathan.

Hi, what's wrong?

JONATHAN KERN (ON PHONE): You're
not going to believe this,

my wallet was stolen.

So what are you
going to do now?

JONATHAN KERN (ON
PHONE): I don't know.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Once again,

Elizabeth put her own
money at Kern's disposal.

You still have my
ATM card, don't you?

JONATHAN KERN (ON PHONE): Yes.

That was in my suitcase.

Well, why don't you use
that, until you get home.

JONATHAN KERN (ON PHONE):
Wonderful, that's a great idea.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Elizabeth never dreamed

Jonathan, would use
the card like a spigot

to drain her account of cash.

I love you, bye.

ELIZABETH GRZESZCZYK: I
didn't really check up on him.

I could have gone through
his things but I didn't.

I just continued to
try and believe in him.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
However, by the time Jonathan

returned from
Manhattan, Elizabeth had

had a complete change of heart.

I don't want to
do this anymore.

Beth, you have
to have patience.

I have been patient,
it's not working.

Beth.

Look, you could
stay here for a week.

If you want to.

But I don't want
to do this anymore.

Look, you'll have
your money on Monday.

It is not the money.

It's us.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Jonathan Kern

cleared out the next day.

Is this Stephania--

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Elizabeth began calling

numbers from her phone bill.

Matching them with names
Jonathan had mentioned.

Do you know Jonathan Palmer?

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Invariably,

the answers came back the same.

You don't?

I mean, didn't he call you?

I mean I have your
phone number right here.

ELIZABETH GRZESZCZYK
(VOICEOVER):

And that's when I knew, this
hadn't been Jonathan Palmer

that was staying with me.
- All right?

Call me when you get in.

I'll try.

ELIZABETH GRZESZCZYK
(VOICEOVER):

Now, I realized
some of the numbers

that I called were other women.

He'd been romancing other women
while he was in Manhattan.

I had been taken, he hadn't
been in love with me.

He was just using me.

I just felt awful.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
There was one final insult.

Nearly a year after Elizabeth's
bank cleared the check

from Jonathan Kern,
the bank learned

the check was in fact not good.

They debited
Elizabeth's account.

Police say that Kern
swindled totals some $15,000.

Elizabeth Grzeszczyk was
forced into bankruptcy.

Jonathan Philip Kern
has been charged

with forgery, felony criminal
and impersonation, and larceny.

Kern is 42 years old,
5'10", 180 pounds.

Though he is British, he
is not Jonathan Palmer.

I think the most important
thing is to be very, very

suspicious if anybody comes
to you wanting something

and saying that
they are Jonathan

Palmer the Formula One driver.

This, me, is Jonathan Palmer.

Jonathan Kern does
not look like me.

And I will have no
problem if I'm in the US

and being asked all sorts
of probing questions

to make sure that anyone can be
sure that it is me who is going

to a hotel or shop or whatever.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
When we return,

the murder of a young couple
spawns two conflicting theories

but only one known suspect.

But first, an accused killer
spent 18 months on the run

until one of our
viewers spotted him.

[theme music]

January 11th, 1995.

Pasco County, Florida.

He's running!

[gunshot]

[brakes screeching]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): It was
a brazen and stunning escape.

In police lingo, an accused
killer was in the wind.

Albert Leon Fletcher
was a career criminal,

who'd been awaiting
trial on charges

of murder, armed robbery, and
aggravated assault and battery.

All of the charges stem
from his activities

during a single 24-hour period.

On April 2nd 1993,
Fletcher and his cousin

Douglas Porter embarked
on a wild rampage

that ended in a brutal murder.

Give me your money.

Come on, give me the wallet.

Give me your wallet.

[gun shot]

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): The victim

was 32-year-old Nelson Medina.

He left behind a wife
and two young children.

A few hours later,
police arrested Albert

Fletcher and Douglas Porter.

Porter was convicted in
the case and sentenced

to life in prison.

But Fletcher escaped before
it could be brought to trial

and remained at
large for 18 months.

But on the night
of our broadcast,

he was finally
flushed from hiding.

Here's Keely Shaye
Smith with the details.

Bob, it was a
viewer in Delaware

who pinpointed the whereabouts
of Albert Leon Fletcher.

She recognized Fletcher
as one of her neighbors

and immediately
contacted the police.

On April the 29th, I
received a telephone call

from the authorities
in Delaware.

Advising me that they had
a confidential informant

and they knew the whereabouts
of Albert Leon Fletcher.

At that time, I sent
a bulletin to Delaware

and this was around 3
o'clock that afternoon.

At about 3:30 or 4 o'clock
they had him apprehended.

KEELY SHAY SMITH (VOICEOVER):
Authorities arrested Fletcher,

without incident,
at the Holly Hill

Estates in Smyrna, Delaware.

He had been living
there, since his escape,

using the alias Kevin Woodside.

Apparently Fletcher himself had
grown tired of life on the run.

I know when Albert
was talking to me,

he was glad it was
all over the with.

He to come back to Pasco
Country and to Po County

and face the charges.

[theme music]

GRANT HENDRICKSON:
I really missed you.

MICHELLE CARTAGENA:
I missed you, too.

GRANT HENDRICKSON: So how
about next spring break we go

away together, just you and I?

MICHELLE CARTAGENA: OK.

[car approaching]

[gun shots]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): It
was a savage double murder as

mystifying as it was ruthless.

Grant Hendrickson and
Michelle Cartagena, two

straitlaced, Dean's List
students from Mercer

University in Macon, Georgia.

Killed in a fearsome barrage
of semi-automatic rifle fire.

No one knew why.

I'm starving.

I am, too What do
you feel like eating?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): They
had been sweethearts for about

eight months when they went
out for dinner and a movie

on January 2nd, 1995.

It was a beginning of a
new year, full of promise.

SARA SILIVIO: Grant
was the nicest guy

and he treated
Michelle just like gold

and would do anything for her.

Michelle was very
serious about Grant.

And she cared for him a lot.

I believe that he had, would
have liked to have married her.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
As Michelle and Grant drove

to the movie theater, they were
seen by a railroad foreman,

named John Ambrose.

Michelle's white Honda
Accord was in the right lane

and Ambrose was next to her
when a blue Honda CRX suddenly

swerved in front of them.

[tires screeching]

JOHN AMBROSE: Blue
Honda came up to my left

at a high rate of speed.

And immediately cut
back in front of me

and cut into the right hand
lane in front of the white Honda

and then started
slowing excessively.

As I passed it, the driver
looked at me like, you

know, like, what's up?

And it was a light
skinned, black male

and it appeared he had
a white male or female

in the car with brown hair.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The
blue CRX Rex continued to slow.

Forcing Michelle to drop back.

When Ambrose exited
the interstate,

he lost sight of both cars.

Despite what happened
on the highway,

Grant and Michelle
did get to the movies.

Afterwards, they drove to
a popular scenic overlook

at nearby Lake Juliette.

In an extraordinary
coincidence, John Ambrose

again found himself witnessing
the prelude to murder.

Now with a co-worker,
Ambrose happened

to be driving near
the lake when he

spotted both the white
Accord and the blue CRX.

That's odd.

Looks like the
car I saw earlier.

The blue Honda was sitting
there beside the road

with its parking lights on.

And it dawned on me
at that time that that

was the same car that I'd
seen on the interstate.

Because it's just such a
outstanding looking car.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Just down the road,

Ambrose saw Michelle's car.

It was heading in the
direction of the parking area

at Lake Juliette.

I thought it strange that I
saw these two vehicles at two

different times
within a three to four

hour span that same
particular night.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Two other eyewitnesses,

teenagers parked
at the lake were

able to pick up the account
where Ambrose left off.

They told police that the
blue CRX drove into the park

around 12:30 AM.

[gun shots in distance]

What was that?

Turn the music down.

Listen.

[gunshots in distance]

There What was that?

That can't be gunshots.

Somebody's go to
be playing around.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Moments

later, the CRX raced out.

Let's go check it out.

[car starting]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): The
next morning investigators

faced the carnage.

More than a dozen bullet
holes perforated the car.

Michelle and Greg
had been killed

instantly by multiple rounds
of semi-automatic rifle fire.

Grant was also shot twice in
the chest and once in the head,

with a handgun.

Michelle's body had
been pulled from the car

and dragged nearly 25 feet.

Her clothing had been
left in disarray.

It was a very
horrendous type crime.

Something that I've never
seen before and in my tenure

of law enforcement.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Everything

pointed to the blue CRX.

Then yet another
witness came forward

and spun the investigation
in a totally new direction.

Towards two young men
in a white pickup truck.

The night of the
murders, Steven Boyd

was in the theater parking
lot just after Grant

and Michelle left the movies.

Hey, man.

Why don't you get
out of the car, huh?

Come on.

MICHELLE CARTAGENA: Why
don't you calm-- calm down.

I'm perfectly calm.

What are you doing
with this guy?

- Michelle, get back in the car.
- You're being a jerk.

- I'm being a jerk?
- Yes.

- Michelle--
- How am I being a jerk here?

Some of his cussing words
were sounding stuttered.

And that made me feel like he
was-- he had been drinking,

a lot.

You've been
drinking, haven't you?

I've had a few So?

Please just leave us alone.

OK?

I am sick of this.

Stop it!

Get in the car, Michelle.

He was trying to make the
other guy get out of the car.

Because, to me, it felt like
that used to be-- you know, it

felt like someone that she
used to go with or something,

you know?
- Hey.

Come on, man,

His friend came and told him,
said let's go it's not worth

it.

And that's what I had
noticed that this guy had

a knife with a gun on the side.

Because it just glittered.

It caught my eye.

[pick-up accelerates]

Stephen, I'm going to
show you 12 photographs.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Steven Boyd's information seems

solid, credible.

Police ran a photo
line-up hoping for more.

They got it.

That's him right there.

SPECIAL AGENT MARC MANSFIELD:
The person that Steven Boyd

had picked out of
the photo lineup

was a fellow college student.

Was a friend of Michelle's.

Had a crush on
Michelle at one time.

He is a very
soft spoken person.

But when you introduce
alcohol into a scenario

and he's been drinking,
then he gets--

he has a very violent temper.

And I've seen him
do some very violent

things when he's been drunk.

Well he denied that he
was in the parking lot

when he was confronted
with this information.

He denied being
anywhere in the area.

The alibi that he had
provided us, to this day,

we're still unable
to eliminate him.

He is still suspicious.

Why don't you just
leave us alone, OK?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Now, everything

pointed to the young
man in the parking lot.

But then there was
a blue CRX, clearly

implicated in the killings.

Something was missing.

SPECIAL AGENT MARC MANSFIELD:
Connecting the blue Honda CRX

and the individuals
at the parking lot,

we have not been
able to do that yet.

That is one thing
that we are-- hopes

to-- when we do find
this Honda CRX, to see

if there is a connection.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
When we return,

the remarkable story of what
may be one of the longest

ocean voyages on record.

20 years and 25,000 miles.

[theme music]

Most unsolved mysteries,
are fashioned by human hands.

But as you're about to see,
the most capable mistress of

mystery may be mother nature.

July 16th, 1978.

The Finger Lakes of
upstate New York.

Nine-year-old Kevin Reeder
and his mother Merle,

wiled away a lazy
summer afternoon

with a little homespun whimsy.

When you find this bottle.

- I know, please drop me a line.
- Perfect.

Please drop me a line.

I sent this out from
Elm Beach, Ovid.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
They signed the note

with Kevin's name and
address and tucked it

inside an old
green, glass bottle.

MERLE CUSHMAN: OK All
right, you go ahead.

Give it a good throw.

Go ahead.

Good arm!

Mom?

What, sweetie?

How far do you
think it could go?

I don't know.

MERLE CUSHMAN: We thought
somebody around Aurora

might find it.

Or it would go to the south
end of the lake to Ithaca.

Where there's
college kids and they

might be interested
and see where it went.

And right to Kevin and
give him a new pen pal.

After we tossed a bottle
into the lake, it was probably,

or it was part of a daily,
daily thought process.

Waiting for the mail,
checking the mail.

The anticipation.

Until it progressively
faded away until you've

forgotten entirely about it.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Kevin grew up and moved away.

First to Florida, then to Texas.

Like a bottle in a lake,
he drifted a bit, trying

to find his place in the world.

Kevin had no idea
he had launched

the bottle on his own journey.

A journey that would
one day amaze everyone.

In 1996, after 18 years, Kevin
returned to his hometown.

A letter postmarked San Diego,
California was waiting for him.

It had arrived only days before.

Inside, Kevin found the
last thing he ever expected.

The message he had
put in the bottle

almost two decades earlier.

It was accompanied by a
note from two strangers.

KEVIN REEDER (VOICEOVER):
When I called my mother

the first thing that
came out of my mouth was,

you're never going
to believe this.

It says, "Hello, Kevin.

I found your message in
a bottle, like that song.

At the beach in San
Diego, California.

I thought it would be
funny to write back.

Pretty cool."

Yeah, it was signed
by Rose and Bruce.

And it has a P.S. "Where
the heck is Ovid?"

But there's no return
address or phone number.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): 18 years

and more than 3,000 miles.

The concept of how long and
far the bottle had traveled

was mind boggling.

Kevin's mother pictured it
as a delightful adventure.

MERLE CUSHMAN: Bobbing along on
the beach here and in a gully

there.

And somebody picked it up and
just threw it back in again.

Here I go again.

Maybe a little bit of--

it heard some Japanese
along the way.

Or spotted a Hawaiian
girl sitting on the beach.

It had to have of bogged
down in different places,

with floods and things.

Reappeared and just keep
on moving until somebody

finally decided to pick
up some trash on the beach

and found it.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The idea of a little bottle

that could.

Floating its way around the
world is very appealing.

But take away that
romantic image

and we are left with an
astonishing conundrum.

How could an ordinary glass
bottle transport itself

across an entire continent?

From an inland Lake in
upstate New York to the shores

of the Pacific Ocean.

That is really amazing.

I think it's a bit unlikely
because of all the difficulties

to get there.

But that is a truly amazing.

But not impossible.

Go ahead.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Not impossible.

The dreamers motto.

Dr. Richardson is one of
the world's top experts

on global water currents.

Here's how Richardson says
the most well traveled bottle

in history might have
maneuvered through the waterways

of the world.

First, the bottle would
have floated out of the lake

through the Erie Canal.

Into the St. Lawrence Seaway.

Then out into the Atlantic
Ocean, near Nova Scotia.

That's the hardest
part because it's

so easy for a bottle to go
ashore and be found by someone.

Once it gets into the Atlantic,
it's easy for a bottle

to stay adrift for many years.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
From Nova Scotia,

Dr. Richardson speculates
the bottle might have

floated south down
the eastern seaboard,

then veered east toward Europe.

It cruised the west
coast of Africa

until a current swung it
west to South America.

Once it managed to cross the
northward moving currents

at the equator, the
bottle would proceed back

toward Africa, past
the Cape of Good Hope,

and into the Indian Ocean.

It would then move east until
it reached the South Pacific.

After the battle managed to
again float across the equator.

It must have drifted
north past the Philippine

Islands and Japan.

After that, the bottle would
have to travel east again.

Heading down the west coast
of North America until it

reached his final destination,
San Diego, California.

I'm a bit skeptical.

I think it went to
California in someone's

pocket or someone's suitcase.

So I don't think it
actually drifted there.

Because of the-- I
think if you threw

a million bottles
in Lake Cayuga,

you wouldn't have one
reach the Atlantic.

So that's sort of my conclusion.

It's very difficult to get out
through the canals and rivers

without going to ground
or being found by someone.

Wind up and give it a throw.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
To Kevin, the details

of the bottles journey
don't really matter.

Good arm!

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Whether it went by land or sea

or even air, what
counts is that once upon

a time he sent out a message.

And at long last he
has received an answer.

KEVIN REEDER (VOICEOVER): It
gave me a sense of closure.

When I got back home
and to find this note.

To tap back into my childhood.

And to kind of parallel
it with my life.

The bottles journey
with my life's journey

and just kind of a
reaffirmation that, hey,

maybe you do belong right here.

And this is just
a little back-up,

a little support for you.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Bruce and Rosa

did not give their last
names or a return address.

But Kevin's mother feels
sure she knows at least

a little bit about them.

The had to have some
kind of a sense of humor

to bother to pick it up and open
it read it and then you know,

send our a note back and
say, where the heck is Ovid?

I like to picture it as a
couple strolling the beach

and just coming upon it.

And taking the time and
energy to allow somebody

to revisit their
childhood like they--

like they've allowed me to do.

And also just to
thank them for it.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Admittedly,

the incredible journey of
Kevin's message in a bottle

is one of our smaller
mysteries but it is

also one of our most charming.

We're hoping Bruce and
Rosa will contact us here

at "Unsolved
Mysteries" to fill us

in on the final chapter of
Kevin Reeder's magical bottle.

[theme music]

On our next
"Unsolved Mysteries,"

Bobby Fuller was on his
way to rock and roll style.

Then, he turned up dead in the
front seat of his car doused

with gasoline.

In Florida, two primitive
fertility statues

cause an uproar when
one woman after another,

after another, becomes pregnant
with just a simple touch.

Join me next time for
more "Unsolved Mysteries."

[theme music]