All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S05E12.480p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-PLAYREADY_track3_[und]

ANNOUNCER: 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.

Like anybody, I would
like to live a long life.

Longevity has its place.

But I'm not concerned
about that now.

NARRATOR: On the evening
before his death,

Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. delivered

one of the most stirring and
prophetic speeches of his life.

And I've looked over, and
I've seen the promised land.

I may not get there with you.

Less than 24 hours after
he spoke those words,

Martin Luther King
was assassinated.

His accused killer, James Earl
Ray, pled guilty to the murder,

and the case was
officially closed.

This Sunday marks
the 25th anniversary

of Dr. King's death.

It is a milestone that has
focused renewed attention

on the circumstances surrounding
the investigation of James Earl

Ray.

NARRATOR: Just three days
after his conviction,

Ray recanted his
guilty plea, alleging

that he was but a pawn in
a wide-ranging conspiracy

to kill King.

Ray's claims of innocence,
however, were dismissed,

and the case remained closed.

In 1976, eight years
after King's death,

a select committee of the
US House of Representatives

was impaneled to reinvestigate
the assassinations of King

and President John F. Kennedy.

The committee concluded
that James Earl Ray was

the lone assassin of Dr. King.

It is a conclusion, however,
that Walter Fauntroy,

the chairman of the
King Subcommittee,

now believes was wrong.

When you look at a murder,
you look at three things--

who had the motive, the
means, and the opportunity.

I'm not now satisfied
that James Earl Ray had

a sufficient motive,
that he had the means,

and certainly the opportunity
to pull it off as it was done.

I also said I could establish
that I was at a service station

during the time that Martin
Luther King was shot.

NARRATOR: To this
day, James Earl Ray

maintains that he did not
shoot Martin Luther King,

but the FBI stands by
their original finding--

Ray was the lone gunman.

Now some researchers
claim that new information

corroborates Ray's
allegations of conspiracy.

Based in part on
that new information,

Walter Fauntroy is calling
for a new investigation

and for the immediate
public release

of the committee's
files, currently

sealed until the year 2029.

Tonight, we'll
examine both sides

of this complex and
controversial case.

Join me for this
special presentation

and more on
"Unsolved Mysteries."

[theme music]

Social organizations,
grassroots organizations--

NARRATOR: Martin
Luther King arrived

in Memphis on April 3, 1968, a
day before he was assassinated.

King checked into
the Lorraine Motel

and began planning a march
in support of striking city

sanitation workers.

King's presence at
the motel had been

well publicized by the press.

Across the street
from the motel was

a series of rundown
buildings, which

included a rooming house run
by a woman named Bessie Brewer.

On April 4th, shortly
before 6:00 PM,

William Anschutz, a tenant
of the rooming house,

found the building's
communal bathroom locked.

[knock on door]

What you are about to see
is the official government

account of the assassination
of Martin Luther King.

Inside the bathroom, James Earl
Ray, a career petty criminal,

loaded a high-powered
rifle and took aim at room

306 of the Lorraine Motel.

King stepped out of that
room to go to dinner.

A single, deadly shot rang out.

[gunshot]

The bullet struck
King in the face,

throwing him violently
backward onto the balcony.

Several friends
rushed to his aid.

His wounds, however, were
severe and irreparable.

According to the government,
as King lay dying,

James Earl Ray
raced into the room

he had rented earlier that day.

He wrapped the rifle along with
an overnight bag containing

personal items in a bedspread.

In the hallway, Ray
was seen by Charles

Quitman Stephens,
who lived in the room

adjacent to the bathroom.

Mere seconds from a clean
getaway, the government

believes Ray saw a
police car and panicked,

dropping his bundle in
the doorway of the Canipe

Amusement Company.

Looked like somebody
dropped something.

NARRATOR: A moment later, three
witnesses inside the building

saw a white car, possibly
a Mustang, speed away.

Police recovered the rifle
along with Ray's effects,

but by the time they identified
Ray, he had fled the country.

Two months later,
Ray was apprehended

by British authorities at
London's Heathrow Airport

as he attempted to board
a flight to Brussels.

On March 10, 1969, in
Memphis, Tennessee,

James Earl Ray pled
guilty to the murder

of Martin Luther King.

Ray was sentenced to 99 years
in the state penitentiary.

Three days after
his conviction,

however, Ray fired his attorney
and claimed he had been

pressured into pleading guilty.

Ray denied shooting King and
incredibly, alleged that he

himself was a victim of
an intricate conspiracy

which used him as
a hapless scapegoat

for the assassination.

Over the years, Ray's claim
has found many supporters

who argue that the
possibility of a conspiracy

was never adequately
investigated by either state

officials or the FBI.

NARRATOR: James Earl Ray
spent most of his adult life

in and out of prison.

Though extensive,
his criminal career

was comprised almost exclusively
of small-time holdups

and robberies, none of
which involved violence.

Indeed, to many, Ray seemed
an unlikely candidate

for such a notorious crime.

I found it more
difficult today

than I found it at the
time when we closed down

the investigation to believe
that James Earl Ray, acting

alone, pulled off the
crime of the century,

was able to get out of Memphis,
out of the country into Canada,

to get three passports,
and to go all

the way to Europe without help.

NARRATOR: On April 23, 1967,
almost a year before King was

assassinated, James Earl
Ray escaped from the state

penitentiary in
Jefferson City, Missouri,

where he was serving
a 20-year sentence

for robbing a grocery store.

For some, Ray's subsequent
movements and activities

are strong evidence
of a conspiracy.

Ray initially fled to
Chicago, and then in mid July,

to Montreal.

Using the name
"Eric Starvo Galt,"

he discreetly solicited
the criminal underground

for a phony passport
or seaman's papers.

I hear you're
looking for something.

NARRATOR: According to
Ray, he was eventually

approached by a
shadowy character

who used only the name "Raul."

How hard would it be to
get Canadian seaman's papers?

NARRATOR: Ray claims that
almost nine months later, it

was Raul who set
him up as the fall

guy for the King assassination.

But when they
first met, Ray says

Raul was only looking
for an accomplice

in a smuggling scheme.

A few deliveries.

How many?

Ray claimed that in exchange
for Ray's agreeing to perform

a certain task, evidently
of a criminal nature, one,

he was provided
with money, and two,

he was promised
that at some point,

he would be given
identification, a passport,

something he needed to
get out of the country.

Where will these
deliveries be?

NARRATOR: Ray alleges that
his first job with Raul

involved smuggling
unknown contraband

across the US-Canadian
border near Detroit,

for which Ray was paid $750.

Ray claims he was
then directed by Raul

to go to Birmingham, Alabama.

Ray has detailed his travels
to his current attorney,

William Pepper.

Ironically, Pepper had once
been an associate of Dr. King's.

In 1978, Pepper was
persuaded by one

of King's closest friends, Ralph
Abernathy, to meet with Ray.

Pepper is now convinced
that Ray's story is true,

and that Raul is the
key to the conspiracy.

Well, what Raul did
from that point on

was to keep James on a string,
have him at various points

and places, pay
him bits of money,

have him do various things, and
really, pretty much keep him

on a string so that he was
available, as it turns out,

for use any time that
they wanted to use him,

always with the promise
of these travel documents.

When's the last time
you changed the brake pad?

Three months ago.

I got over $20,000
on the first set.

NARRATOR: Rays says
that in Birmingham, Raul

gave him $2,000 and told
him to purchase a car.

On August 30, 1967, seven months
before the assassination, Ray

did, in fact, buy a
white 1966 Mustang.

All right, $2,000 it is.

You got yourself
one hell of a car.

NARRATOR: Ray says he then
drove to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico,

where he and Raul engaged in
another smuggling venture.

A month later, Ray
traveled to Los Angeles

to await further instructions.

In mid March, less than three
weeks before the assassination,

Raul told Ray to
leave for Atlanta.

There, on March 29th, just five
days before the assassination,

Raul outlined their next
criminal enterprise.

I'm going to need
you to buy a gun.

What for?

I have a new client.

He wants to purchase
some rifles.

200.

- I can't buy 200 weapons.
- You'll only need one.

Right now, he just
wants to see a sample.

What kind of rifle?

Next bit of activity that
we're going to be involved in

had to do with selling guns.

And the scenario
that he developed

was one which involved the
purchase of sample weapons

that he and Raul would
show to these gunrunners.

And once they then made a
selection or made a choice,

so the story went, they
would be bought in volume.

NARRATOR: Ray alleges
that later that day, he

and Raul drove to Birmingham.

Following Raul's instructions,
Ray went to a gun shop

where he purchased a .243
caliber rifle, which he had

fitted with a telescopic sight.

Not sure, but I'm going
deer hunting with my brother.

The evidence, from the people
who witnessed his purchase

of the rifle in Birmingham,
is that he didn't know

the first thing about rifles.

He was confused about what he
wanted, didn't know what he

wanted, bought the wrong rifle.

So he didn't have the kind
of familiarity with firearms

that you would expect
of somebody who

was going to murder someone.

This isn't going to work.

Why?

The caliber's too small.

He said it was
a good deer rifle.

It's not suitable
for our purposes.

I was wondering if
I could exchange it.

Why is that?

Is something wrong
with this one?

NARRATOR: Rays says Raul
told him to exchange

the weapon the next day, giving
him specific instructions

on what to buy.

The Remington Model 760
Gamemaster, pump action.

NARRATOR: Ray claims he gave
the Remington Gamemaster rifle

to Raul at the New Rebel
Motel in Memphis on April 3rd,

the day before
the assassination.

This will do fine.

So, uh, when are we
going to need another 200?

I'm not sure.

NARRATOR: According
to James Earl Ray,

that was the last
time he saw the rifle.

The official
investigation concluded

that it was used to kill Martin
Luther King the next day.

At 3:30 PM on the day of Martin
Luther King's assassination,

James Earl Ray claims he met
his mysterious contact, Raul,

at Jim's Grill, a
local coffee shop.

I'm going to need a room
to meet with my client.

Where?

NARRATOR: Ray says Raul told
him to go to Bessie Brewer's

rooming house upstairs.

He wanted Ray to rent a room
then await instructions.

Bessie Brewer's
fronted Main Street,

next to the Canipe
Amusement Company,

where the rifle
would later be found.

The back windows of
Bessie's, however,

where the communal
bathroom was located,

faced Mulberry Street
and the Lorraine Motel.

How long you staying?

I don't know.

A couple nights, maybe.

NARRATOR: At 4:00
PM, Ray rented a room

using the alias "John Willard."

Raul had instructed Ray to
bring along an overnight bag

for appearance's sake.

Ray says Raul also
told him to leave

the Mustang parked
nearby because Raul

wanted to use it that night.

Yeah, I'll take it.

Pay in advance.

NARRATOR: The next hour
is pure speculation.

Ray himself has changed
his story several times,

but he has always
maintained that he

left the boarding
house at around 5:00 PM

and never returned.

Ray says that just before
6:00, he drove the Mustang

to a local service station.

At 6:01 PM, Martin
Luther King was shot.

I got a leak
under my back tires.

Got a minute to
take a look at it?

Not right now.

We're awful busy.

Could you come back
in a couple of hours?

All right, thanks.

Ray claims that
at the very moment

King was shot, he himself was
totally unaware of the event

and was driving
from the gas station

back to the rooming house.

[police radio]

And as he got to the corner
of Calhoun and South Main,

he saw already that there
were police, barricades

and policemen everywhere.

Well, the state makes a
great deal of the fact

that James fled the scene.

But James was, one must
remember, a fugitive.

He was on the run, and he was
certainly not going to hang

around wherever he saw police.

So he turned left, headed
in the opposite direction,

and began to make his
way out of Memphis.

NARRATOR: Was it
James Earl Ray who

targeted room 306 at
the Lorraine Motel

from the window of Bessie
Brewer's rooming house?

For many skeptics,
Ray's apparent lack

of expertise with
firearms seems to argue

against the official account.

In the army, he was
trained with an M1,

and he was at the
lowest level of ability.

The idea of loading by hand a
single shot into that .30-06

and gambling
everything on that one

shot makes no sense whatsoever.

You have to bear in
mind that from the window

of the rooming house to the
balcony where Dr. King was

killed was less than 100 yards.

With a telescopic sight
at such a short distance,

almost anyone in the world
could have killed Dr. King.

It really required no great
marksmanship whatsoever.

NARRATOR: Many people have come
to believe that the shot which

killed Martin Luther King came
not from the boarding house

window, but instead,
from the bushy abutment

between the boarding
house and the motel.

It's now clear
to me that the shot

is likely to have come
from the ground below,

where at least two persons
personally known to me

reported that, at
least to me, they

thought the shot came from
someone in the bushes below.

NARRATOR: Two
eyewitnesses, one of them

Dr. King's driver, do
say they saw someone

dressed in white
running from the bushes

just after the shooting.

We never were sure that
there was a man in the bushes,

and if there was a
man in the bushes,

we think he had absolutely
nothing to do with the murder.

We were then, and I still
am, totally convinced

that the fatal shot
came from the window

of the rooming house.

NARRATOR: The official
version states

that Ray ran from Bessie
Brewer's, observed

by another tenant,
Charles Stephens.

However, there
are serious doubts

about Stephen's credibility.

From all accounts,
Stephens was so dead drunk

that there's no way of
relying upon his testimony

about the shot.

In fact, we did not rely
on him for an eyewitness

identification.

What we did rely on him for
was having sufficient senses

to be aware of a loud noise down
the hall and in the bathroom,

and to open the door
and see somebody run by.

What you have to
realize about that Charlie

Stephens is that he was
looking for a reward.

He was trying to get
the $100,000 reward that

had been put up for
anyone who could identify

the slayer of Dr. King.

So that became very
much a business for him,

and it became very much his
concern to try to be credible.

NARRATOR: In his flight
from the rooming house,

Ray purportedly ran by the
Canipe Amusement Company,

dropping his weapon in a panic.

But a former
defense investigator

believes it highly improbable
that any killer, no matter how

panicked, would drop
a bundle of evidence

so thoroughly incriminating.

He didn't have to take
all that junk with him.

He didn't even have to
take the rifle with him.

Even if he had used the rifle,
all he had to do was get out.

It strikes many
people, myself included,

that that looks like
a setup, that somebody

else gathered that evidence
up and planted it there.

NARRATOR: A dusting
of the rooming house

turned up a number
of fingerprints

which were never identified.

But the investigation failed
to turn up even a single print

belonging to James Earl Ray.

That's not really strange.

I've worked any
number of cases where

you don't find fingerprints
when you think you should.

You may find a lot of
smudges and smears,

but you won't find a
fingerprint that in itself

is complete enough to make
a positive identification.

NARRATOR: The abandoned gun
was void of fingerprints except

for two of James Earl Ray's.

As part of the
investigation, the FBI swab

tested the rifle
Ray had returned

to determine whether or
not it had been fired.

However, they never
conducted a swab test

on the gun they believe
to be the murder weapon.

My recollection is
that it had a spent shell

that was in the chamber.

So common sense would
tell you that someone

had fired that rifle.

NARRATOR: The FBI could
not match the bullet which

killed King with the rifle.

They could say only
that the bullet

was consistent with
that type of rifle.

The fact that the bullet
markings are said to have been

consistent with having
been from the rifle

means absolutely nothing.

It was also consistent
with several million

other rifles of the same kind.

Ray bought the rifle.

The rifle was used
to shoot King.

He fled the scene.

His fingerprints are on it.

His explanations for
an alibi, his flight,

all don't hold water.

NARRATOR: Even for those
who believe Ray's story,

there remains a
nagging question--

if indeed James Earl
Ray is innocent,

why did he plead guilty?

I just am not
going to discuss it.

NARRATOR: Ray claims
that he was coerced

by his attorney, who
wanted exclusive publishing

rights to Ray's story.

If Ray had testified in court,
his allegations of conspiracy

would have become public domain.

This will do fine.

NARRATOR: The crucial
element of Ray's story

was the elusive
Raul, the man Ray

said had moved him like a puppet
all over the United States.

Where do you
want me to be next?

In our investigation
to identify Ray,

and to find out what he
did, and where, and when,

we turned up nothing
to indicate that there

was either a Raul or
any other conspirator

involved in this crime.

NARRATOR: In 1975,
former defense

investigator Harold
Weisberg filed

a lawsuit against the FBI.

He received 60,000
pages of documents

on the King assassination.

Three years later, Weisberg
found evidence in the files

that Ray had been involved
with a man named JC Hardin.

Weisberg believes that evidence
is proof of a conspiracy.

When I was going through the
files of the Los Angeles FBI

office, I found that a man who
used the name of "JC Hardin"

had called Jimmy from Atlanta.

Yeah, he's here, room 313.
But he's out.

I saw him go out
about an hour ago.

Ask him to call
James C. Hardin.

MAN (ON PHONE): Could
you spell that for me?

H-A-R-D-I-N.

When Jimmy didn't return
the call, so far as we know,

Hardin then went
out to California,

and he met with Jimmy.

This is the confirmed
story in the FBI's records.

313.

NARRATOR: Is it possible that
JC Hardin, the man who visited

James Earl Ray three weeks
before the assassination,

was, in fact, Raul?

At the very least, the
timing of the visit

appears to be more than
simple coincidence.

It is a live lead, that one
thing you have to question,

given the history
of this whole thing.

Hardin goes to
California, Jimmy goes

east, Jimmy goes
east on the trip

in which Dr. King gets killed.

It's not like pushing buttons,
but it's the next thing to it.

And that should have
been investigated.

NARRATOR: In 1968, the FBI
pursued the lead long enough

to create this
sketch of JC Hardin,

based on a description
given by the manager

of the St. Francis Hotel.

However, as soon as James
Earl Ray was arrested,

the Hardin investigation
was dropped.

We knew nothing about Hardin.

I'd like to find Mr. Hardin, and
I'd like further to interrogate

Mr. Ray, because I don't think
he is telling us everything

that he knows that may lead
us to a different conclusion

than that which we
reached back in 1978.

NARRATOR: James
Earl Ray has refused

to say whether JC Hardin and
Raul are one in the same.

In addition, he has
been unwilling to make

a positive
identification of Raul.

I don't have any reason to
believe that Hardin could be

Raul because I don't
really have any reason

to believe that Raul is Raul.

I'm not convinced that
there is anybody named

Raul involved in this case.

There is no way that James
Earl Ray is a lone assassin.

James Earl Ray is
a classic patsy.

Martin King was killed as
a result of a conspiracy.

We do not know the
whole truth about this.

We need to know it in decade
of the '90s when we've

got a new generation of
leadership on the scene

that we don't want to meet
the same fate that Martin,

Malcolm, Bobby, and John met.

Will we ever know?

The answer is no.

We won't know because
the FBI in 1968

didn't conduct an adequate
conspiracy investigation.

They conducted a shooter
investigation and then stopped.

I've seen the promised land.

And that's one of the
tragedies in Dr. King's death.

He did not get, in his
death, an investigation

commensurate with the
dignity of his life.

Had he gotten it, many of
the unanswered questions

about his death would
have answers to them.

[theme music]

NARRATOR: In 1943, the
outcome of World War II

hung in the balance as US
and Allied forces launched

an all-out assault on the
German and Italian strongholds

in North Africa.

After months of fierce
combat and thousands

of Allied casualties, enemy
resistance finally collapsed.

But during the summer and fall,
sporadic fighting continued

to claim American lives.

One of those killed
in action was

army private Harry A. Young
from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

He left behind a
wife and two sons.

37 years later, Harry Young
would become the focal point

of an unsolved mystery when
his son and granddaughter

came across his obituary
while researching

their family history.

The information in
the death notice

seemed all wrong, as
if it had been written

for a completely different man.

"He was survived by a
three-month-old daughter,

Kathleen."

ALBERT YOUNG (VOICEOVER):
When I found the notice,

and I realized that it
wasn't written right.

Mother's first name was right
and everything, but the address

and the fact that there
was a baby girl mentioned,

and me or my brother
was not mentioned.

Well, at first, I
thought that the paper

made a mistake, which
wasn't uncommon,

papers do make mistakes.

And I thought maybe that they
had got the information wrong,

and I had a copy made so I
could go into it further.

Imagine reading
your father's obituary

and stumbling upon a dark family
secret which had been kept

hushed for more than 37 years.

Albert Young was
suddenly confronted

with two puzzling questions--

why had he and his brother Jimmy
not been listed as survivors?

Was the three-month-old girl
named in the notice a sister

they never knew existed?

Albert Young's
search for answers

took him back to the early
days of the Second World War.

[explosion]

NARRATOR: Following the
surprise attack on Pearl Harbor

by the Japanese, Harry Young
and millions of other Americans

rushed to enlist in the service.

I can't stay here while
there's a war going on.

I need you to sign this paper.

NARRATOR: But Harry had already
served six years in the Marine

Corps, and at age 30,
with a family to support,

he was required to
get his wife Laura's

permission to re-enlist.

--six years.

I'd like to have a little help.

Look, two years, I'll be back.

Just sign the paper.

No.

NARRATOR: Laura
adamantly refused.

Laura.

NARRATOR: Harry Young walked
out that day, never to return.

He had no idea that Laura was
pregnant with her second child.

Four months later,
using forged documents,

Harry enlisted in the army
and was sent overseas to fight

in the African campaign.

Only then did he inform
Laura of what he had done.

[knock on door]

Mrs. Young?

Yes.

This is from the
War Department.

NARRATOR: On October 24, 1943,
Laura Young received the news

every soldier's wife fears--

her husband Harry was dead.

A short time later,
the local office

of the Veterans Administration
uncovered a serious problem.

According to their
records, Harry Young

was survived by two wives.

Mrs. Young, there
seems to be a problem.

We have another Laura
Young who has already filed

for Harry's death benefits.

But I'm Harry's wife.

Well, that may be, ma'am.

Do you have a daughter?

No, I have two sons.

Do you live on Fayette
Street in Conshohocken?

No, I've always
lived in Philadelphia.

Well, this certainly
does pose a problem.

From what I have found out,
there were two women collecting

benefits for one man.

And that's when it had to be
proven that my grandmother was

indeed the first
wife and was never

divorced from my grandfather.

This means a lot to me though.

I know.

NARRATOR: Apparently,
after leaving Laura,

Harry Young began living with
another woman named Estella

in a town just 10 miles away.

After Harry's death,
Estella filed for benefits

using Laura's name.

"Signature of wife," right?

As far as I'm concerned,
you are my wife.

Well, do you
know who this woman

is who claims to be
Laura Young on Fayette

Street in Conshohocken?

No, I do not, but what I do
know is that I am Laura Young,

and I was married to Harry.

Mrs. Young,
we're going to need

a marriage certificate
or some documentation

to substantiate your claim.

I have one right here.

NARRATOR: After a lengthy
and humiliating battle

with the Veterans
Administration,

Laura Young was finally
able to prove that she

was Harry's lawful wife.

She retained all
benefits for herself

and her two sons,
Albert and Jimmy.

Well, this
certainly will help.

NARRATOR: For nearly 40
years, the details of Harry

and Estella's love affair were
kept secret from his sons.

Then in 1992, an
intriguing letter surfaced.

It had been written by Estella
and sent to Harry's parents

the day after she
learned of Harry's death.

ESTELLA (VOICEOVER):
"Dear Mother

and Dad Young, this is a very
hard letter for me to write.

I guess I had better
explain myself to you,

I know that Harry
would want it that way.

I knew he was married
and that we couldn't be,

so we lived together
as man and wife.

He was happy with
me, and we really

loved each other very deeply.

We have a three-month-old
baby girl.

She was born July 29th.

We named her
Kathleen Mary Young."

It's OK.

We're going to be all right.

We're going to be just fine.

ESTELLA (VOICEOVER): "I loved
him more than life itself

and still believe that he
will come back to me someday."

When I read the
letter, I got the feeling

that she was very much in
love with my grandfather,

that she was devoted to
him, and she would do

anything in the world for him.

NARRATOR: After receiving
no reply to her letter,

Estella paid a surprise
visit to Harry's parents.

OK.

[knock on door]

Hello, Mr. Young, I'm Estella.

This is Kathleen Mary.

Pleased to meet you.

We got your letter, and,
well, my wife and I agree

that what you did was wrong.

Mr. Young, Harry and I loved
each other very, very much.

I just thought that you'd like
to meet your granddaughter.

LAURA ANDERSON (VOICEOVER):
Maybe she had had dreams

that after he came
home from war,

they could work things out, or
who knows what was in her mind.

I have some of Harry's things.

Would you like me to
bring them over to you?

No.

Just send them.

NARRATOR: As far
as anyone knows,

that was the last time
Estella and her daughter

Kathleen Mary had any
contact with Harry's family.

I think this was
something that's

really important for
my father and my uncle

to know their sister.

Over the years, I've seen what
the secrets that the family

kept from them has
done to them, and they

need to know who their sister is
and share their life with her.

My own feelings are that,
out of this whole mess,

there's no real winners.

There's a lot of time lost.

There was a lot of time
lost between family, really.

And I'd like to talk to
her, and see how she's doing,

and if she got married,
if she has children,

and let her know
that there's a family

out here that cares for her.

NARRATOR: Kathleen Mary Young
grew up knowing next to nothing

about her two half
brothers, Albert and Jim,

until the night
of our broadcast.

That evening,
Kathleen couldn't have

been more surprised when she
heard her name on television.

By the next morning, she had
talked to both Albert and Jim.

Kathleen had heard that Harry's
parents rejected her mother,

and she knew about
one of her brothers,

but she never imagined that
anyone was looking for her.

It makes me feel--

I don't know.

It makes me feel good,
it makes me feel special,

in a way, that they took the
time, and all those years

that, now, I know that
they were looking for me.

NARRATOR: On September 19,
1993, the long separation

came to an end when
Kathleen Young, accompanied

by her family, came to
Stratford, New Jersey,

to meet her half brothers
for the first time.

When I hugged her,
it was just euphoria.

It felt wonderful.

I knew it was her as
soon as she stepped

out of the car, that's a Young.

NARRATOR: For the three
children of Harry Young,

the reunion meant
a new beginning.

After 50 years apart, they
were finally a family.

Thank you.

Nice to meet you both.

NARRATOR: When we
return, authorities

need your help to
capture an accused killer

on the run for 14 years.

[theme music]

Bryan, Texas, is
the type of place

that people have
in mind when they

dream of escaping the big city.

But in September of 1984, the
illusion of small town security

was shattered for
one local couple,

whom we will call Sue and Bill.

- Love you.
- Love you too.

Bye.

I'll call you this afternoon.
OK?

OK.

NARRATOR: Sue had always
considered herself

strong and self-reliant.

However, the events
of September 6th

would test her character
in ways she never imagined.

Well, it started
like any other morning.

My husband was leaving for work.

My three-year-old was up front,
watching "Sesame Street."

My husband left, and I
went back into the bathroom

in the master bedroom to
finish getting dressed.

I was standing there,
looking in the mirror,

finishing up my hair.

And I picked up
the makeup mirror.

And I looked, and he had
a large hunting knife.

[screaming]

NARRATOR: Fearing for
the safety of her child,

Sue instinctively attacked.

She forced the intruder
from the bathroom

and then drove him out
of the house at gunpoint.

I'll kill you!

I'll kill you!

[gunshot]

I swear I'll kill you!

You son of a--

[gunshot]

I'll kill you!

SUE (VOICEOVER): He was getting
in the truck at the time,

and I do remember hitting metal,
but I don't think I hit him.

It was very quick,
and I don't think

he was expecting me to do that.

I think he probably was
expecting me to plead with him

not to do anything, and I
reversed the situation on him.

Well, after that, the police
came out and took the report

and all that, and we went
downtown to go through the mug

book and all that.

And we went through
page after page

and never saw anything
that resembled him.

Allen beat Bryan
again, 35 to zip.

NARRATOR: Four months
passed without further clues

to the man's identity.

Sue had assumed he was
simply a first-time burglar.

She couldn't have
been more wrong.

SUE (VOICEOVER): I was
going through the newspaper,

and I opened it up, and his
picture was in the newspaper.

SUE: That's the guy.
BILL: What?

SUE: That's the guy.

Honey, this is the guy
that tried to kill me.

SUE (VOICEOVER): And
I was just shocked

to find out what he had done.

That's him right there.

NARRATOR: In January of 1985,
the Texas governor's office

released a roster of the
state's most wanted criminals.

Heading the list was a
knife-wielding intruder.

His name was Edward Harold Bell,
and he was wanted for murder.

Edward Bell's long criminal
record stretched back to 1969,

and included aggravated
rape and numerous counts of

indecent exposure to children.

Bell is a formidable fugitive.

A graduate of Texas
A&M University and once

a successful businessman,
he has eluded

capture for almost 16 years.

He has yet to stand trial
for the shocking murder that

took place August 24, 1978.

NARRATOR: That summer,
26-year-old Larry Dickens

was visiting his mother
and sister in Pasadena,

Texas, a suburb of Houston.

An ex-marine and youth
counselor, Larry was the father

of a three-year-old girl.

My son Larry, he was
home for a few days,

and he was cutting
our lawn for us.

I was standing at
the kitchen window,

and there were a lot of children
playing in the intersection

right by our house.

We live on a corner.

And I saw this pickup
truck drive up.

He parked, and he was
looking all around,

and he was fooling with
something in his seat.

I thought this must be
one of Larry's friends

looking for our address.

He got out of his truck, and he
was nude from his waist down.

And he started walking
toward the children.

Get me the Pasadena
Police, real quick, please.

Yes, you've got a guy
out here at the corner

of Moore and Apple, and
he's exposing himself.

Mom, Mom, what's wrong?

Honey, honey, look
at that man out there.

Look what he is doing, Larry.

No.

NARRATOR: What
you're about to see

is a mother's worst nightmare.

Every horrible detail is true.

Oh, my son has gone out there.

He's taking the keys.

He's trying to detain him.

The guy's come back.

No, he's putting
his pants on now.

I don't know.

I hear them arguing, I don't
know what they're saying.

Oh my gosh, he's got a gun.

Oh, god, he's got a gun.

I don't know.

It's a little gun.

I think it's a cap gun.

You're not getting your keys.

[gunshot]

He just shot it in the air.

He's shooting Larry!

It's not a cap gun.

I see blood.

He's shooting Larry.

Larry!

Larry!

Larry!
- Keys!

Give me the keys!

No, no!

Tell him to give me the keys!

Give him the keys.

- Tell him to give me the keys!
- Leave!

I've called the police!
- Tell him!

Go, just go!

The police are coming.

You go No, don't--

no!

And I said, please,
don't shoot him.

And the man just
shot him anyway.

And then he turned and started
running out of our garage.

And Larry, even with all
those bullets in him,

was still trying
to stop this man.

NARRATOR: Larry had been
shot four times in the chest

and once in the head
with a .22 pistol.

Don't move,
darling, don't move.

DOROTHY LANG (VOICEOVER): And
I said, Larry, lay very still

because you don't know
where those bullets are,

and I'll run in there
and call an ambulance.

But I said, whatever
you do, don't move.

NARRATOR: When Larry's mother
came back to the phone,

the emergency operator
was still on the line.

She told Larry's mother that
police units and an ambulance

were on the way.

Get me an ambulance.

Oh, god, he's got a rifle.

He's coming back.

NARRATOR: At just
that moment, Larry's

17-year-old sister,
Dawna, was returning

home from cheerleader practice.

DAWNA GAY (VOICEOVER): I
pulled up to the stop sign,

and I saw a man cross the street
to the edge of my driveway.

[gunshot]

He saw me.

We made eye contact.

And I looked, and I got a
good, close look at the man.

And I tried to block his exit.

I pulled up beside his
truck, and I realized

he had just shot my brother.

Larry!

Larry!

Oh my god.

Don't-- Dawna--

Mama!

I said, Mom, is he dead?

Is he dead?

And she said, I don't
know, Dawna, I think so.

And I remember I just
started screaming.

And I just screamed,
and screamed,

and then when I couldn't
scream any more,

I remember I just went over, and
I knelt down beside my brother

and held his hand to my
face, and I watched him die.

NARRATOR: The dispatcher radioed
the suspect's description

as police units
headed to the scene.

At that very
instant, the officers

recognized the suspect's truck.

[tires screeching]

[police sirens]

Pull over immediately and exit
your vehicle with your hands

up.

[crash]

NARRATOR: Edward Bell
might have claimed

a second victim that
afternoon, but his M1 rifle

suddenly jammed.

[click]

[crash]

OFFICER: Freeze!

Put your hands up!

Don't move!

Drop the gun!

OFFICER: Drop it!

Back away!

Back away from it!

Easy.

NARRATOR: Within 20
minutes of the murder,

Bell was in the
hands of the police

and on his way to face
Larry's mother and sister.

OK, Mrs. Lang, I need for
you to identify the suspect.

They just brought him back.

I can't, I'm sorry.

I can't.

I'll do it.

I'll do it, Mama, I'll do it.
- It's OK.

Sure, come on.

I just couldn't.

I can't do it.
I can't.

It's all right.

It's all right.

DAWNA GAY (VOICEOVER):
They opened

the back door of the police car
so that I could see him better.

Yeah, that's him!

I hate you!

I hate you!

I hate you so much!

DAWNA GAY (VOICEOVER): I just
wanted to get my hands on him.

I hate you!

DAWNA GAY (VOICEOVER):
It hurts me so bad

that he killed my brother.

It's just broken up
the whole family.

There's always going to be
an emptiness, a part that's

never going to be reunited.

Part of me is missing.

NARRATOR: Edward Bell was
released on bail less than two

months after the murder.

He quietly liquidated
his assets,

and with more than $140,000
in his pocket, disappeared.

Bell has been seen
only once since then,

when he entered the
home in Bryan, Texas,

in September of 1984.

Everywhere I go,
I see this man.

I go to the grocery
store, and he's there.

Of course, it's not him, but
it looks just like him to me.

I live in fear that this
guy is going to come back

or fear that he's going
to hurt someone else.

DOROTHY LANG
(VOICEOVER): Our family

has missed Larry so much.

He was strong, and he was
so special to all of us.

It just doesn't seem right
that this man can be back

on the streets, exposing
himself to children

and doing God knows what
else, when Larry has been dead

all these years.

And he's still at large.

He's not leaving
a paper trail.

That tells me that probably,
he's changed his name,

and he's living somewhere
where someone doesn't

know how dangerous he is.

For almost 15
years, Edward Bell

eluded detection,
until December 2, 1992,

the night of our broadcast.

One of our viewers
was stunned to realize

that a man he had recently
conducted business

with in Panama City,
Panama, was none

other than the fugitive
killer, Edward Harold Bell.

A second viewer, who
remains anonymous,

sent these pictures in a letter,
claiming that Bell had been

living in Panama for 10 years.

Among other business
activities, Bell

was prospecting for gold on
land he owned near Panama City.

The Panama police were able to
locate Mr. Bell, at which time,

they placed him under arrest.

And the FBI along
with the Panama City

Police Department
then brought Mr. Bell

back to the United States.

NARRATOR: Finally, a decade and
a half after Dorothy Lang's son

had been gunned down
before her eyes,

the accused killer
shuffled past her,

shackled in hand and leg cuffs.

When he got off the airplane,
he seemed so arrogant.

It just infuriated me.

Here, they're bringing
this murderer back,

and they could never
bring back my son.

And just the grief
welled up in me again.

The wounds will never heal.

The hurt will always be
there, that I lost my brother.

But at least justice
will be done,

and I think we'll all be
able to go on with our lives.

NARRATOR: At Bell's trial, the
prosecution's chief witnesses

will be Larry's
sister and mother.

I feel that I can face
this man in court and say,

we finally got you in custody,
and I hope they throw the book

at you, because you deserve it.

That's the way
I'll feel about it.

NARRATOR: In 1947,
Hollywood's post-war euphoria

was shattered by the brutal
murder of a young woman

known as the Black Dahlia.

Nearly a half century
later, there is evidence

that the same killer
was the personal nemesis

of legendary lawman Eliot Ness.

In Pennsylvania, a
brave teenage girl

cared for her five brothers and
sisters through a harsh winter,

only to see them taken
away, one by one.

Perhaps you can help
end her long search.

Join me next time
for another edition

of "Unsolved Mysteries."

[theme music]