All language subtitles for Unsolved.Mysteries.S05E13.480p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-PLAYREADY_track3_[und]

[music playing]

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.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
In the 1940s,

Elizabeth Short
arrived in Hollywood

with dreams of stardom,
but at the age of 22

her life was snuffed out by
a gruesome unknown killer.

Nearly 50 years later, the
death of the Black Dahlia

remains one of the
great unsolved murder

cases of the century.

When she was just
16, Brenda Merrill

was abruptly thrust
into adulthood,

left alone to care for five
younger brothers and sisters.

But after surviving
a harsh, cold winter,

Brenda could only watch
helplessly as the children

were taken from her one by one.

And from Deadwood,
South Dakota, we'll

bring you the bizarre
tale of a ghostly alliance

between a psychic in England
and the restless spirit

of a legendary law man.

Join me for these
intriguing stories

on another edition of
"Unsolved Mysteries."

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Her looks were unmistakable.

She had jet black
hair and a penchant

for wearing black
dresses and lingerie.

Those who knew her
best said she had

a tattoo of an exotic
flower on her inner thigh.

Around Hollywood, she was
known as the Black Dahlia.

And in 1947, she became
the centerpiece of one

of the most celebrated
murder investigations

in American history.

On a cool, crisp
morning that January,

the nude, mutilated body of
22-year-old Elizabeth Short

was discovered in a weed
infested lot in the Crenshaw

district of Los Angeles.

What made the murder so
unique was the barbaric nature

of the crime.

The Black Dalia's body had
been neatly severed in half,

gutted, and drained of blood.

You know, it
looks like whoever

did this, scrubbed her down,
cleaned her up, and dumped her.

I mean, there's not an
absolute drop of blood

anywhere to be found.

As you can see,
the cuts on the body

are incredibly clean
and precise, almost as

if it were done professor.

LAWRENCE SCHERB: Her face had
been very brutally cut from ear

to ear in a grin like this.

Her throat had been cut.

And she had been
mutilated sexually.

And basically, she
was the worst case

of a sex crime in the history
of Los Angeles County.

It was on a quiet,
peaceful neighborhood,

not far from here, the
body of Elizabeth Short

was discovered nearly
half a century ago.

Ever since, the case has baffled
law enforcement officials

and crime buffs alike.

Today, Lawrence Scherb
claims to have evidence which

links the killer,
the Black Dahlia,

to another notorious
murder, Cleveland's

infamous Torso Slayer.

He is best remembered for having
evaded one of the country's

most celebrated crime
fighters, a man I came

to know quite well, Eliot Ness.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Between 1935 and 1942,

Eliot Ness served as
public safety director

in Cleveland, Ohio.

During his tenure, the
city was terrorized

by a string of sadistic,
unsolved murders, which

Lawrence Scherb believes
are directly connected

to the Black Dahlia case.

How the life of a
legendary lawman

and the death of an
obscure, aspiring actors

became intertwined is a
story well worth exploring.

I have just enough
room for dessert.

- May I take your hat?
- Not now.

We can dessert someplace else.

Oh.

What did you have in mind?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Elizabeth Short's life

was as sad as it was brief.

Like so many other young women,
she had been lured to Hollywood

with dreams of becoming a star.

But she soon discovered that
fame was an elusive fantasy.

With her career going nowhere
and her money depleted,

Elizabeth eventually
drifted into prostitution.

Can you take me home?

Yes, I will.

I need a ride all
the way to Los Angeles?

Can you take me to Los Angeles?
- Yes.

Oh, great.
Thank you.

You're welcome.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Elizabeth Short's final days

were shrouded in mystery.

She seemed to be
constantly on the move

and was last seen leaving
a diner in San Diego

with a man who has
never been identified.

LAWRENCE SCHERB: She
called him Red when

she spoke to him in the diner.

And he did have
reddish colored hair.

However, the police were never
able to positively identify

him, although some
people felt that he

might have been Robert Manley.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Robert
Manley was a hardware salesman

who had dated Elizabeth Short.

Police brought him
in for questioning

but cleared him of the crime.

Other men who were
involved with the Dalia

were also interrogated,
but each, like Manley,

had an airtight alibi.

The authorities were
completely stumped.

Then a mysterious package was
mailed to a local newspaper,

a package from the killer.

Boss, take a look at
what I found in the mail.

Here's Dahlia's belongings.

Letter to follow.

LAWRENCE SCHERB (VOICEOVER):
Inside the envelope,

they found Elizabeth
Short's address book, which

was in reality her trick book.

And one of the pages in
that book is missing.

And it is undoubtedly
true that upon that page

was the name of the man who
actually had killed her.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): The package

was the closest anyone ever got
to the Black Dalia's killer,

until Lawrence Scherb began
to research the case in 1989

and connected it to the
torso slayings in Cleveland.

That investigation was
a great unsolved case

of Eliot Ness's career.

In 1935, after Ness left the
renowned crime busting team,

The Untouchables, he was
appointed public safety

director in Cleveland.

Can you throw any light on
the Kingsbury Run murders?

Not at this time.

That's enough questions.

Has the victim
been identified?

Mr. Ness, they found the
body late this morning.

The arms and legs
had been cut off.

Scene of a crime.

The men are still looking.

Decapitated?

Yes, sir.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Between 1934 and 1938,

no less than 13 mutilated
bodies were discovered

in the Kingsbury Run
district and surrounding

areas of Cleveland.

The victims were all
prostitutes or drifters.

The killer had dismembered and
bisected most of the bodies

with surgical precision,
as what happened

nine years later in the
case of the Black Dahlia.

Let's go.

Now, Pete, I want you and
your foot men to concentrate

your surveillance in Kingsbury.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
By the end of 1939,

it had been several months since
the last Cleveland killing.

In December, the
city police chief

received a letter which gave the
first indication that the Torso

Slayer had moved west.

A letter from Los Angeles.

And it's from the
butcher, Eliot.

It says he's killed
a woman there.

LAWRENCE SCHERB: In that
letter, the Torso Killer

describes the fact that
he has left Cleveland

and has come to California,
as he described it,

sunny California,
and is now performing

medical experiments upon
his Guinea pig victims

here in Los Angeles.

Excuse me, can you direct
me to Crenshaw and Fourth?

Yeah, about three blocks
down, straight ahead.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
In the letter,

the killer bragged that he had
already murdered one victim

and buried the head in a gully
in southwest Los Angeles.

The butchered body
of the Black Dahlia

would be found in that same
area eight years later.

LAWRENCE SCHERB (VOICEOVER):
The last Cleveland torso

murder was committed in 1938.

So when he describes coming
to Los Angeles in late 1938 that

does correspond
chronologically with the fact

that the Torso Killer
had stopped killing

earlier that year in Cleveland.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
In the letter,

the killer referred
to himself as a DC,

a doctor of chiropractic.

He said, quote, "I felt bad
operating on those people,

but science must advance."

However, the letter is just
the beginning of the Torso

Slayer Black Dahlia connection.

The killer apparently had
a fetish for cleanliness

and cleaned the Dahlia's body
very carefully with water,

washed it very carefully,
shampooed her hair,

and scrubbed her
with a bristle brush,

so severely that he left
bristles embedded in her skin.

The Cleveland victims
also indicate that there

were attempts to clean bodies.

And he was attempting to
get rid of trace evidence.

LAWRENCE SCHERB
(VOICEOVER): A butcher knife

was used to bisect the
Dahlia, and a butcher knife

was definitely the
weapon that was

used to dismember,
decapitate, and bisect

victims in Cleveland.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Police
determined that Elizabeth Short

had been held captive and
tortured for several hours

before being killed.

She had wounds on her neck,
arms, and legs that indicated

she had been tied with ropes.

Several of the Cleveland victims
had exactly the same type

of marks, suggesting that
they had been tortured

in exactly the same manner.

Also, the Dahlia's body had
been arranged in a sexually

suggestive position.

The same is true of some of
the Torso Slayer's victims.

However, there was one
significant difference.

The Dahlia, unlike
most of the Torso

Slayer's victims
was not decapitated.

LAWRENCE SCHERB (VOICEOVER):
The torso killer

killed other victims in
other places in the '40s.

And he did not capture some
of those victims either.

So it is not necessarily
true that the mere fact

of decapitation sets all the
victims of the torso killer

apart.

And then if he didn't
decapitate the Dahlia that means

she could not possibly have
been killed by the same man.

All he did was simply change
his MO in a rather small way.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Many people

believe that Eliot Ness actually
knew the slayer's identity

but never had enough evidence
to prove it in court.

In 1947, Eliot Ness
retired from public life.

He later told his
biographer, Oscar Fraley,

that after he developed
a profile of a killer,

he had been
approached by a member

of Cleveland's high society.

This lady, a socialite who was
working with him, came to him

and said a member of one
of our influential families

fits your profile.

So Elliot said, that's fine.

Let's meet him.

Hello.

Thanks for coming.

You're welcome.

May I ask what
this is regarding.

Your officer would not tell me.

Brian, would bring the
gentleman a seat, please?

OSCAR FRALEY (VOICEOVER):
This man admitted that he

had been to medical school.

So Eliot thought
surely he had the guy.

Have you ever been to
Kingsbury Run after sunset?

No.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Eliot said he gave

the man two lie detector tests.

Both times the suspect failed.

Do you live in Cleveland?

Yes.

Ness then directly confronted
the suspect and said to him,

I think you are the killer.

And the suspect
said, well, think it?

You have to prove it.

Have you ever paid for the
services of a prostitute?

No.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Soon
after he took the lie detector

test, the suspect
voluntarily committed

himself to a hospital.

Lawrence Scherb
believes this act

was part of a complex deal the
killer made to keep his family

name out of the newspapers.

Around the time, the Torso
Slayings in Cleveland

abruptly stopped.

Ness believed that this
would be the end of the case

because the suspect was
so deranged that he would

probably remain in
a mental institution

for the rest of his life.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): But
if the slayer was locked away

in an Ohio hospital,
how could the murders

have continued in other
parts of the Midwest

and later Los Angeles?

Perhaps one crucial point was
overlooked when the killer

entered the hospital.

How are you?

I'm well.

Sorry, I was late, Sweetheart.

But we can leave now.

Come along.

LAWRENCE SCHERB (VOICEOVER):
If one is voluntarily

in a mental hospital,
you are free to legally

walk out any time you want.

And I think that's
exactly what he did.

I think he used
the mental health

system most of his career.

When things got tough or
investigations heated up,

he simply checked himself
into a mental institution,

waited until they
cooled down, and then

checked himself out again and
departed and continued killing.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Eliot Ness

never publicly
identified the suspect

and took the name
with him to the grave.

LAWRENCE SCHERB (VOICEOVER):
It bothered Ness

a great deal that
the mad butcher

was able to escape punishment.

Elizabeth Short was simply one
of a number of victims who were

slammed by the same killer.

He was the most prolific
mass murderer in the history

of the United States.

And to this day, his true
identity remains unknown.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Next, a poignant story

of a woman looking for
her three younger siblings

she hasn't seen in years.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): On
a September afternoon in 1961

outside Lawrenceville,
Pennsylvania,

a woman named Betty
Nickerson made

a decision that
would forever alter

the lives of her six children.

Just leave that
stuff right there.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Betty, who was twice divorced,

had moved the children
to a remote farmhouse,

leaving her teenage daughter,
Brenda Merrill, in charge.

I'm going to ride into
town with the movers.

So you have to take care of
your brothers and sisters.

Well, aren't you coming
back up here tonight?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Betty, herself,

planned to live
in town where she

had just bought her restaurant.

But, Mama, I can't take care
of the kids all by myself.

Brenda, we've
already discussed this.

I'm not going to argue.

You go fix those
children some dinner.

BRENDA MERRILL (VOICEOVER):
She said either the kids would

have to go to a
home, or I could quit

school and take care of them.

And I couldn't see the
kids going then, you know,

so I said I would quit school.

I never thought my mother
would do things like that.

She was a deep hurt, you know.

Like what did I do
to deserve this?

That day was the beginning of
a frustrating, difficult year

for 16-year-old Brenda Merrill.

Still a child
herself, Brenda was

forced to take on the burden
of parenthood virtually

alone, to experience many
of the traumas of raising

young children, but also to
experience some of the precious

joys.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Brenda
took over her mother's role

completely with all five
of her siblings, Glenda,

Keith, Butch, Linda, and Eric.

That looks really pretty.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): The children

ranged in age from two to nine.

The oldest boy,
Butch, was death.

And none of them except Brenda
had ever been to school.

God is great.

God is good.

Let us thank him for our food.

Amen.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The children's mother,

Betty, never once
visited the farmhouse,

even though her
business was thriving.

Occasionally, Brenda's
boyfriend brought up

food from Betty's restaurant.

Brenda supplemented their
meals with vegetables

from the garden.

BRENDA MERRILL (VOICEOVER): It
was just like a normal family,

because I was like
their mother, you know.

You just went and
you washed clothes.

You did the dishes.

You got their dinner and you
got them breakfast and you got

their supper and you get them
scrubbed up for bed, you know,

and sing them songs
before they go to sleep.

You know, like a
normal household.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
As cold weather came on,

Brenda was forced to have small
game to feed the children.

Memories of her old
life began to haunt her.

BRENDA MERRILL (VOICEOVER):
There was times you think

why can't I go out dancing?

Or why can't I go out
bowling, you know?

Or why can't I just go with
the kids and have a good time?

But you know, after you
leave school and you quit,

you have no friends no more.

So I didn't have no
friends after that,

because there was nobody up
there to be friends with.

So the kids who
were my friends.

You know, they were my life.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Brenda and the children

made it through the winter.

And just as a damp chilly spring
arrived, their fuel ran out.

In desperation, Brenda
chopped the children's rubber

tires swing into pieces
and fed the pieces

into the old wood stove.

BRENDA MERRILL (VOICEOVER): I
don't know where or how I even

got it or who told me that if
you put tires in with your wood

it'll burn good, you know.

You get good heat.

So that's what I did.

And boy, did I get good heat.

Brenda, there's
something burning.

BRENDA MERRILL (VOICEOVER):
I thought, oh, my word,

get the kids out.

That's all I can think
of is get the kids out

or it's going to blow.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The second floor of the farm

house was completely destroyed.

But for Brenda, it was
a blessing in disguise.

BRENDA MERRILL
(VOICEOVER): I really

felt relieved that I would never
have to go back there again.

It was a great relief
from my chest, you know.

Mom will have to take some
responsibilities for these kids

when I get them off
the hill, you know.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Reluctantly Betty

took her children in.

The man Betty lived with
assumed that the three

youngest were Brenda's.

A few weeks later, Brenda
married her boyfriend.

They moved to Corning,
New York, 28 miles away

and took Eric with them.

Betty immediately began to
farm the other children out.

Linda went to live with a
family across the street.

Butch was enrolled in a
state school for the deaf.

Glenda and Keith were kept
together and sent to live with

an acquaintance of Betty's.

A week later, Brenda
and her new husband

took Eric to visit
Glenda and Keith.

Brenda was horrified by the
children's living conditions.

BRENDA MERRILL
(VOICEOVER): It was

just a blanket on the floor with
the kids laying on the floor.

And there was cockroaches
crawling over them.

I got furious.

Glenda, Keith, get up.

I'm getting you out of here.

What do you
think you're doing?

I'm taking the kids.

Like hell you are.

I'm calling the cops.

BRENDA MERRILL (VOICEOVER): So
I said that's just what I want

you to do, call the cops,
because I know they want

these kids laying in this mess.

Go on, take them.

Get out of here.

I Don't want no trouble.

BRENDA MERRILL (VOICEOVER):
So that's what I did.

I took the kids.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Brenda went

straight to her mother's house.

What do you want?

What are Glenda and
Keith doing here?

I just took them out of that
pigsty where you left them.

It's time to start
taking care of him.

Brenda, take those kids
right back there now.

I will not.

I wouldn't keep a
dog in that place.

I can't do anything
about that right now.

Right now?

You never took care of them.

You've always been too
busy catting around

to take care of them.

Brenda, don't talk to
your mother like that.

Why don't you mind
your own business.

BRENDA MERRILL (VOICEOVER): Her
boyfriend brought back his hand

and was going to hit me for
calling my mother names.

And I said you better start
and listen before you strike,

because these are
my mother's kids.

These are not my kids.

These are Betty's kids?
Betty, is that true?

Look, I'm taking the
kids with me tonight,

but you better tell Mama to do
something about them tomorrow.

BRENDA MERRILL (VOICEOVER):
I hated my mother for that.

I hated her bad right then.

I really felt like I'd
like to hurt her, you know.

I really wanted to hurt
her because I felt she took

a lot of my young life away.

You two are going to mind
the nice lady, aren't you?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Betty notified the child

welfare department and
had Glenda and Keith

placed in foster care.

Brenda thought it was
only a temporary measure,

but Glenda and Keith
never came back.

The following week, Brenda
was forced to turn Eric

over to foster parents as well.

BRENDA MERRILL (VOICEOVER):
I said nobody's taking her.

And she said, yes, they are.

They'll have legal papers.

They'll show you.

You take good care of him, OK?

Don't worry, honey.

We'll take good care of him.

I'll give you this too.

BRENDA MERRILL
(VOICEOVER): I just

had that feeling, you know, a
mother's instinct, let's say,

that you're not going
to see your child again.

And I never did.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Two years

later, the house was torn down.

Eric and his foster
family disappeared.

That's right.

I was about 16.

30 years have past.

Brenda has been
reunited with her sister

Linda and her brother Butch.

Their mother Betty is now
78 and in a nursing home.

For Brenda, Butch,
and Linda, the search

for the younger siblings
has deep and varied meaning.

LINDA ERSKIN: It's hard to
explain missing somebody

and not being able to see them.

It takes-- when you love
somebody and you lose them,

it's like losing
your whole life.

You have nothing more to go.

You have no place
to go without them.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Butch Erskin

also has a message for his
lost sister and brothers.

INTERPRETER: I love
you and I miss you.

I do.

I do.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Brenda
hopes that when Eric, Glenda

and Keith are found
she can finally

make peace with her mother.

BRENDA MERRILL (VOICEOVER): I
feel if they can forgive her,

then I can forgive her.

You know, because I'm still
here, and they're gone,

you know.

And I feel if they can
forgive her, I can do too.

On the evening
of our broadcast,

Brenda Merrill's single
minded determination

to bring her family
back together

finally began to pay off.

An hour after
Brenda's story aired,

a man named Keith Robinson
of Hornell, New York,

contacted our telecenter
and said that he

was Brenda's long lost brother.

Brenda called me that same
night, like five minutes later.

And we was talking
and I mentioned

about having a photograph that
she had aired on the program.

And basically I told
her detail for detail

what was in the photo so she
knew that I was her brother.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
On December 19, 1982,

just in time for Christmas,
Keith Robinson and his wife

and children traveled to
Montour Falls, New York,

for an emotional
reunion with his sisters

Brendan and Linda and
his brother Butch.

He had not seen them
in more than 30 years.

KEITH: I thought
a lot about what

they were going to be like.

You know, if they were going
to love me for just being

a brother or love me for what I
am now today if they were going

to accept my family and their
hurt, because, you know,

it's over a 30 year period
of waiting and looking.

BRENDA MERRILL (VOICEOVER): This
is a great Christmas present,

you don't know.

He is the greatest Christmas
present, especially his wife

and kids too.

He has the nicest wife and kids.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
For everyone involved,

the reunion was bittersweet.

Their joy tempered
by the knowledge

that one brother
was still missing.

Eric Nickerson was
still a toddler when

his family was split apart.

Just five weeks after we filmed
this update, he too was found.

Eric's name is
now Richard Moore.

And he lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma,
with his wife and two children.

In February of 1993,
he was reunited

with his sisters
Brenda and Linda,

after more than 30
years of separation.

Brenda Miller's long search
to find all her brothers

and sisters was finally over.

When we return, a ghostly
tale of the wild west.

[music playing]

Some ghost stories, no
matter how unbelievable,

are just too good to pass up.

We next have the unusual
tale of a legendary lawman,

a psychic in England, and a
small town in South Dakota,

where fact, fantasy, and
history have come together

to tease the imagination.

It all began more
than a century ago.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
In the late 1870s,

South Dakota was
booming with gold fever,

attracting outlaws,
gamblers, and swindlers.

Mining towns dotted
the landscape.

And perhaps the most
infamous was Deadwood.

It was here that Wild
Bill Hitchcock who

shot to death and Calamity
Jane practice her trade

in a house of ill repute.

RENA WEBB (VOICEOVER): It
was a wild and woolly town.

The miners just absolutely
were raising hell in this town.

Most towns are 95% solid
citizens and 5% characters.

In Deadwood, the
reverse is true.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Finally, the summer

of 1876, a call went out
for a man who could bring

law and order to the community.

The call was answered
by Seth Bullock,

who had come into town from
Montana a few months earlier.

He became Deadwood's
first sheriff.

RENA WEBB (VOICEOVER):
From what I have read,

he didn't have to
use a gun actually.

The story is that one look
from his very penetrating gaze

was enough to quell
most lawbreakers.

Take your hands off me.

All right, boys,
what's going on?

I don't need this.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Sheriff Bullock

took his cleanup campaign
throughout the territory.

One afternoon in
1887, he encountered

three men, whom he took at first
glance to be cattle rustlers.

What the hell's going on here?

What are you boys
doing in these parts?

We're looking
for a horse thief.

What's your name?

My name's Theodore Roosevelt.
I'm the deputy sheriff

of Billings County.

Who are these other
fellers you've got with you?

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Seth Bullock

and Theodore Roosevelt went on
to become the best of friends.

When Roosevelt formed the
Rough Riders, Seth joined up.

Teddy, of course, would
later be elected president.

And in 1905, Seth was an honored
guest at the inauguration.

But even in Deadwood,
not many people

knew that when President
Roosevelt died in 1919,

the sheriff arranged
to have this memorial,

called the Friendship Tower,
erected just outside of town.

Nine months later
Seth Bullock himself

passed away and was
buried at a grave site

overlooking the monument.

Today Deadwood is once again a
boom town thanks to the passage

of the law legalizing
low stakes gambling.

The Bullock Hotel
founded by Seth in 1895

has been revitalized.

And according to some,
the spirit of Seth Bullock

can occasionally be
seen be meandering

through the hallways.

MARY SCHMIT: At
this point, over 30

employees and a
handful of hotel guests

have had experiences here.

To the point where
it's commonplace,

to the point where
we laugh about it

and just take kind of a
lot of fun in the fact

that we feel that
we're not alone here.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Norm Stevens, a slot machine

supervisor at the hotel,
says that one morning he

was working in the basement
when a mysterious shadow

fell across the wall.

It was a figure of a man,
but when Norm turned,

the shadow vanished.

A few weeks later operations
manager, Joe George,

had his own ghostly encounter.

He claims that when he walked
by the bar after closing time

all of the stools were
lined up in a row.

Joey stepped into
the office, then

heard unusual noises behind him.

He returned to the bar.

All of the stools
had been moved.

But both of these
mysterious incidents

paled in comparison
with another hotel

workers experience in 1989.

We had a young employee,
who was I think about 18

at the time, and he was
working in the back,

which is the restaurant now.

And he came flying
out of the back room

and he was just
ghost white and said

that he saw a figure
in Western attire

with jeans tucked
into the boots.

And what he had seen
scared him because he

felt that it wasn't real.

And he was very,
very much afraid

and he would never go back
into the kitchen by himself

after that and there after quit.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): The people

of Deadwood always assumed it
was the ghost of Seth Bullock

who was haunting the hotel.

Then in April of 1991,
apparent confirmation came

from a most unlikely source.

5,000 miles away
in Dorset, England,

a man who claimed
to be a psychic

said he began receiving
messages from beyond the grave.

By pure coincidence,
the psychic's name

was Sandy Bullock.

Occasionally various
people pop through.

And the name Seth
Bullock I thought perhaps

it was an ancestor that was
coming through to say hello

or something like that.

And I rather dismissed it.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): But
the spirit of Seth Bullock

did not go away.

Sandy claims that Seth
communicated with him

through a Native American
guide who issued a warning

to the people of Deadwood,
a period of lawlessness

loomed on the horizon.

Will happen in 1993.

It could happen again
in Deadwood in 1993.

Beware.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The psychic warning

seems so urgent,
Sandy immediately

wrote an open letter
to the proprietors

of the Bullock Hotel.

SANDY BULLOCK: I thought if I
write to someone in this place

called Deadwood, they would
just think I'm a nutty

old Englishman and forget it.

Throw it away.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): A
few weeks later, Sandy's letter

arrived at the Bullock
Hotel, which at the time

was undergoing
extensive renovations.

MARY SCHMIT: All
information at the time

as I read it, I thought
to myself, well,

he found a book some
place on Deadwood,

read it, and wrote to me.

But at the very
bottom of the letter,

it mentioned that
Seth says he can't

haunt the hotel right
now because of all

the banging that's going on.

And I thought to myself, well,
it's driving me crazy too.

But he also said
that he'll be back

and you'll know it's "Old
Seth," quote, unquote.

And that is when again the hair
stood up on the back of my neck

because that was my
aunt's pet name for Seth.

Anytime something strange
would happen, Gerri would say,

Old Seth is up to
his tricks again.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Local journalist

Rena Webb was
intrigued and decided

to write back to Sandy Bullock.

And in this letter, I said
to him, I am categorized,

I suppose, neither as a
believer or a nonbeliever.

I will treat your story
with the utmost respect.

However, I have a lot of
readers who will be totally

skeptical about your story.

Because of this
skepticism, I would like

to pose to you a test question.

RENA WEBB (VOICEOVER): Who was
the well known person who was

a close friend of Seth Bullock?

And how is Bullock's
grave positioned

in relation to that friendship?

When I got his letter in
response to my test question,

he said, tall trees block
the view from his old bones,

but Teddy and he still
meet in the afterlife.

And I said, whoa.

And I still get goose
pimples when I think about.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER): Rena
believes the message referred

to a stand of pine trees
which now obstructs

the view of Theodore
Roosevelt's monument

from Seth Bullock's grave site.

It was a story that
was not well known.

And there was no
way Sandy Bullock

sitting in Dorset, England,
could have researched this.

I mean, it's just not possible.

RENA WEBB (VOICEOVER):
There's just too much evidence

of Seth's presence in
this town and particularly

at the Bullock Hotel
to discount it.

Perhaps other people
might feel differently.

All I know is the evidence
seems to point very strongly

in the direction of
Sheriff Seth Bullock

still being on the job in
Deadwood, South Dakota, today.

Now about Seth
Bullock's dire prediction,

we just have to wait and see.

Curiously, in 1993, there are
plans to raise gambling stakes

from their present $5 limit.

Some fear this will introduce
a new criminal element

in Deadwood.

Perhaps that is what prompted
Old Seth's urgent warnings.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Friday, March 1, 1991,

for most of the
patrons at a biker

bar in central New Jersey,
it seemed like the start

of an ordinary weekend.

Who's that?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
However, Gloria Brown, a friend

of the owner's,
would soon become

a key witness in a bizarre
missing persons case.

She was helping
out behind the bar

when a young woman, a stranger,
drifted in at about 3:45 PM.

Can I get you
something, honey?

No thanks.

I'm sorry.

If you're going to sit here,
you have to order something.

I don't have any money.

Do you want a soda?

GLORIA BROWN: She
seemed very depressed.

She didn't smile .

She didn't hardly speak.

And very strange, very strange.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Several days later,

Gloria Brown saw this flyer.

She was startled to realize that
the sad, young woman strongly

resembled Dede
Rosenthal, who had

vanished under peculiar
circumstances the week before.

Gloria Brown's account
was a first indication

that Dede might still be
alive, but before police

could talk to the
stranger in the bar,

she, too, had disappeared.

The uncertain fate
of Dede Rosenthal

has left her family heartbroken
and authorities baffled.

Dede's trail is obscured
by conflicting clues,

unexplained phone calls, and not
one, but two alleged sightings.

Nothing about the
case makes any sense.

Dede Rosenthal hardly seemed
the type to be at the center

of an unsolved mystery.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
32-year-old Dede Rosenthal

was a highly regarded
therapist who

worked with autistic children.

When she failed to show up
at her clinic on Monday,

February 25, 1991,
her colleagues

naturally became concerned.

One of Dede's coworkers
notified police and met

them at Dede's apartment.

Immediately it was clear
that something was wrong.

The front door was
unlocked, and the Sunday

paper was still untouched.

Inside everything seemed to
be in order without signs

of ransacking or a struggle.

However, investigators
discovered that Dede was being

evicted from her apartment.

She apparently spent money
freely and occasionally went

into debt.

RICHARD TOMLINSON: The
missing girl had been having

some financial difficulties.

So it kind of gave
rise to the belief

that maybe it
became overwhelming

and she left of
her own volition.

Dede just would not be
the person just to take off.

If she was going to take
off or was going to go away,

she would either call her
mom or she would call me.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Disquieting evidence

hinted that Dede had
met with foul play.

Her purse had been left behind
with a key, identification,

and credit cards inside.

One discovery in particular
suggested that Dede

might have been abducted.

There's a cat out here, John.

SHERRI KLEMOW-SHEVLIN: Dede
would not have left her cat,

her most loved possession.

She took her cat
everywhere where she went.

She would never have let it--

let alone in the apartment, let
alone sitting out on a balcony.

She would not have
put it out the door

and say, all right,
good bye, I'm leaving.

That's totally out of character.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Police found Dede's car

parked in its usual spot.

But oddly, her briefcase
with all her client

records had been
left in the car.

If Dede were to
take off on her own,

why wouldn't she take her car?

I knew something was horribly
wrong with this scenario.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): The evidence

of foul play was mounting.

The investigation raised
the distinct possibility

that Dede Rosenthal
had been kidnapped

and perhaps murdered
sometime between 10:00

PM Friday and dawn Sunday.

That conclusion was
bolstered by an account

from one of Dede's neighbors.

The woman was awakened
around 3:45 AM Sunday morning

by strange sounds coming
from Dede's apartment.

[screaming]

RICHARD TOMLINSON
(VOICEOVER): She

heard what sounded like a
scream, followed by a thud.

And she likened it to
someone falling out of bed

and being startled.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Five hours

later at around 8:30,
the same neighbor

heard the balcony door open
and assumed Dede was at home.

However, no one can
be certain whether it

was Didi or an assailant
in the apartment.

But unexpected evidence that
Dede might still be alive

surfaced a week later when
the woman who resembled her

wandered into the New
Jersey biker hangout.

If it was in fact
Dede, she was pitifully

confused about her identity.

GLORIA BROWN: I do
believe it was her.

I really do.

She looks so much
like the picture.

If she had only smiled, I
would have known definitely.

But it looked like her.

Hi.

Hi.

You're not from
around here are you?

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
The young woman

said her name was
Lori and that she

was trying to get to Florida.

She left with one of the
bikers who is not a suspect.

He told police he dropped
her off the next day

at a liquor store
near a major highway.

[telephone ringing]

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
Just one week

later, Dede's Aunt
Celia was startled

by a mysterious phone call.

WOMAN (ON PHONE): Mama?

Who is this?

WOMAN (ON PHONE): Mama?

Mama?

Dede?

WOMAN (ON PHONE): I'm OK.

Dede, is that you?

Celia called me.

She was very excited.

She told me that
she just received

a phone call from someone that
she swore was my sister Dede.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): Five weeks

went by with no more news.

Then Dede's brother
received a tip

that his sister was in Florida.

BLAINE ROSENBERG:
Approximately April 15,

I received a phone call from
a male party who asked me

if I was Blaine Rosenberg, I was
her brother, which I said, yes.

They said we've seen
TV, or we spotted Dede

in the Fort Lauderdale area.

As I started talking,
the phone disconnected.

ROBERT STACK (VOICEOVER):
A year passed

and Dede's family
still had no idea

whether she was dead or alive.

Then on September 5, 1992, the
woman who called herself Lori

returned to the biker bar.

She had dyed her hair
blonde and claimed

to have been in Florida.

GLORIA BROWN: My
impression was that she

had had a nervous breakdown.

Excuse me, is your name Dede?

No, it's Lori.

Well, If you are
Dede, you better

get in touch with your mother.

She's pretty upset.

GLORIA BROWN: I believe that
she just turned away from me

because she didn't
want to have anything

to do with what I was
saying because I knew

and she knew that I knew.

ROBERT STACK
(VOICEOVER): The woman

known as Lori was last
seen at the Lakehurst, New

Jersey tavern where
she was dropped

off by a patron of the bar.

Once again, she disappeared
before she could be interviewed

by police who were skeptical
that Dede and Lori are

one and the same person.

Today, investigators still
lack sufficient evidence

to determine whether
she was murdered

or is wandering the streets
uncertain of her own identity.

[music playing]

Join me next time.

Perhaps you may be able
to solve a mystery.

[music playing]