Beyond Belief - Season 4, Episode 7 - Full Episode | Forensic Files

beyond belief fact or fiction hosted by jonathan franks tonight your challenge is to separate what is
true from what is false five stories some real some fake can you judge which are fact and which
are fiction to find out you must enter a world of both truth and deception a world that is beyond
[Music] belief examine if you will two sculptures of different sizes obviously this one is larger than this one
but is it really now you can see they're exactly the same size remember this illusion as you make your
judgments on our stories tonight we'll tell you which are true and which are false at the end of our show but
keep this in mind in measuring the amount of truth very often size matters this is always a sight you'd rather not
see a memorial to a recently departed one often they're displayed in front of places that the deceased was associated
with a school a church community center matt and denise russell have just lost their son danny
a victim of a cowardly hit and run they want a memorial placed at the deadly intersection to remind people of the
potential danger and like their son's memory what they're about to experience will live in their hearts forever
danny russell was only nine years old when a hit and run snapped out his life and i bet the creek didn't even look
back there were no witnesses and no suspects all i had was a chip of blue paint from
the fender of danny's mangled hey phil thanks for doing this no problem how are you two holding up it hasn't
been easy still no leads no nothing sorry i think it's ready for us i've become very close to matt and
denise russell danny's parents so when asked for my help i couldn't refuse they lost their only child and they
simply wanted to erect a small memorial to him at the sight of his death but first they had to get past civil
servant andrew burke mr and mrs russell i can't possibly approve your request for a memorial
if if we started doing this type of thing there'd be memorials going up all over town
but mr burke i'm sorry for your loss but my hands are tied on this mr burke where danny was killed is a very
dangerous intersection people speed through there all the time running that stop sign
now if they saw a memorial and knew a child died there maybe they'd slow down you're making me
look like a very bad person detective duncan and i'm not i feel your pain but you you don't
understand the amount of work and money that goes into getting an approval on this type of request
mr burke we're more than willing to pay for whatever costs come up good that's good
it's not the hard part though the hard part is getting the special permit so how do they get the special permit
they would need an executive waiver and those are very difficult to get i'm sorry i can't be of more help to you
on this now you'll have to excuse me i'm gonna be late for a meeting i'm sorry thank you all for coming in
just a second you just gonna brush us off like that can't you see these people are hurting
i see that and i understand but what you're asking for would set a very dangerous precedent
now i really am late [Music] dangerous dangerous [Music] this building is just full of
bureaucratic weasels like him nothing but double talk well you did your best phil yeah i did nothing
i keep letting you people down that's not true you have been a rock to us both i don't know what we would have done
without you i just want to find the person who took your boy away thank you thanks for trying
just when i thought it was all over something unexplainable happened a permit signed by the mayor approving a
memorial for danny russell turned up on andrew burke's desk the following day burke thought the russells and i went to
the mayor but we didn't the permit simply appeared and no one knew how it got there
i found out later that the mayor didn't even remember signing it thank you all for coming today
my wife and i want to thank mayor cousins for approving this memorial to our son danny we uh hope that this
memorial will serve as a reminder that a young life was taken here for no reason
maybe it will save other parents the agony of such a loss and we'd especially like to thank
detective phil duncan for all the support he's given us [Music] my wife and i would now like to
officially dedicate this memorial or someone's memory to this day i truly believe there was
something that was not of this world about the wind that day it just came up out of nowhere and started blowing
strong warm wind stranger the month of november what that wind did next will be talked
about 30 second district long after i'm gone [Music] i've never seen anything like it in my
life nobody had the blue car running that same stop sign that was when i got to thinking it
didn't seem possible but i decided to check it out anyway i ran the chip of paint through the lab
and it came out a match to the blue paint i found on the front of danny russell's bike
the case was finally solved i thought i was working it alone but i guess i had a partner
how do you explain this series of coincidences a mysterious last minute permit granted by the mayor suddenly
appears a change in the weather kicks up winds strong enough to blow the wreath into
the air and the car it knocks off course belongs to the hit-and-run driver it seems that the hand of fate may have
reached in to ensure that justice was done will you remember this story as being
built on a series of lies or have we erected a memorial to the truth we'll find out if this story is true or
false at the end of our show next a quiet night at home is interrupted by terror on beyond belief
fact or fiction have you called a plumber to your home lately some of them charge more than
doctors you usually don't have time for a second opinion and sarah cummings are about to have a
crisis that no plumber can possibly fix in fact they won't just be living in an apartment with plumbing problems
they're about to live in a state of fear my husband and i loved our old brownstone apartment
we enjoyed it so much we hardly went out anymore especially when the weather was bad do
you hear something the rain now there's something dripping in the bathroom i think we got a leak maybe it's just a
faucet yeah let's hope that's all it is this is so annoying [Music] good you were right it was just a faucet
one of us didn't turn up tight enough oh i don't believe it it's dripping again i guess one of us didn't turn it
off tight enough funny jeff's just let it drop it's not bothering me yeah well it's
bothering me i can't concentrate [Music] i should do i it it this time oh my big strong man
there's no faucet you can't handle put that book down what now oh no jeff it sound like something broke
oh god jeff i thought you said you tried it off yeah i did i don't get it how can it come back on
there is definitely something wrong [Music] just the camera all by itself i know
[Music] what is going on here i'll call a plumber in the morning i was too upset to sleep
jeff tried to calm me down but it was probably just to build up bear in the pipes
do you really believe that well what else could it be [Music] it's just air in the pipes that's all it
is i've never heard pipe sound like that before it's like there's something dying
inside the walls okay let's go how is this happening the drains must be plugged jeff you're getting water all over the
place there's nothing wrong in here shut it off i'm trying [Music] do you think it's over i don't know
there's water everywhere we better check on the tenant under us i bet it leaked through i'm gonna go wake up the super
that is the weirdest thing i've ever heard i know i just couldn't turn it off did nothing happen in your apartment no
you didn't hear the sound of the pipe no i mean all i heard was the rain outside
this whole thing is so bizarre mrs flores it's roy i know it's late but we got a plumbing problem
mrs flores there's something wrong here she's always here this is flores flores call 9-1-1 agnes flores the widow who
lived below us had suffered a heart attack that night while she was drawing a bath for herself
if our plumbing hadn't gone haywire we never would have found her in time to save her life
[Music] jeff and i thought it was just a weird coincidence until we got back to our apartment what
a night [Music] sounds like running water now what [Music] how do you account for all of this was
it just a case of bad pipes if so how do you explain the fact that jeff and sarah never had any other
problems with the pipes before or since and how about the word thanks that appeared on their bathroom
mirror was it really there just an optical illusion did the downstairs neighbor somehow send
an unconscious cry for help through the running water is this the story of plumbing with a mind of its own
or is it just another pipe dream we'll find out if this story is true or false at the end of our show
next a portrait artist selects an unusual new subject on beyond belief fact or fiction what can you learn from
looking at a portrait some believe through the genius of an expert artist you can actually see the
soul of the subject that by gazing at a portrait long enough a story actually begins to form in your mind
this picture has a fascinating story behind it some would say unbelievable how it came
to be what happened as a result of its existence are about to unfold i sold my first painting when i was 12
years old it was to my uncle ben but it was a start since then i've been lucky enough to
have showings and top galleries in this country and europe one saturday i went down to the local
park near my studio to do some sketch work as i often did and that's when i saw her for the first
time the old woman looked so lonely and sad yet there was such a great strength and
beauty in her face and her eyes were so intense and so knowing i had to paint her
[Music] what's up i'm sorry for staring i'm beth abrams i'm an artist i have a studio right down the street
i'd love to do an oil painting of you why would you want to paint a portrait of me
i'm old and tired painted children they're still beautiful and full of life i have enough paintings of children i'd
like to paint you you have an amazing face it's just a face i'd rather not well it's up to you but i think you'd be
pretty happy with the painting i could pay you for your time do you have tea at your house tea
i have so much tea i don't know what to do with it do you have chamomile mostly chamomile i
love a cup of tea in the afternoon so do i what's your name call me tents hello hello
[Music] that first day with tents i worked as fast as i could i i didn't want to
exhaust her she wouldn't take her coat off i don't think she was cold she just didn't want
to part with it all right i'm fine stop bullying we can take a break if you want i don't
need a break and don't paint so fast you might make a mistake on miss arinko there was something about those eyes
that were mesmerizing to me they were hard to capture but they had a deep strength that went beyond her sad
lonely face [Music] you're chamomile thank you i just love a cup of tea in the afternoon
it's a habit i developed from my father a long long time ago i'd sit on his lap and he'd tell me
stories about when he was a boy he would hold my teacup so i wouldn't burn myself
i still remember those stories and my father that's a beautiful memory i have some
you noticed my mark yes i did i was for three years a prisoner at auschwitz the camp was liberated one day before i
was to die i lost my whole family my parents my husband my darling little daughter
everyone i loved i'm so sorry dance i keep the mark so the world will never forget
what happened [Music] don't cry toddler i've cried enough for both of us always remember as long as there's
life there's hope [Music] i began spending a lot of time with dance not only for the painting but just
to be around her i made her smile and we made each other feel good there was a strong connection it was
like i'd known her for a lifetime beth mom hi [Music] you how was your goose wonderful your father
finally relaxed a little and uh i caught up on my reading so how's your work going oh pretty good
i've got a show coming up in late april in manhattan i'm a little worried i won't be ready oh
you'll be ready that's how you motivate yourself by making yourself crazy you know me mom
do you like it who is this woman you painted just someone i met in the park what's wrong those eyes
i know she has the most beautiful eyes who is she an interesting old woman i met in the park
her name is tense [Music] tense yeah can you take me to see her [Music] my mother was holding my hand so tight
that it hurt i asked her what was wrong she wouldn't tell me she just wanted to see dance
[Music] dance mama is it really you sir my little baby yes mama it's your little silver
you're alive [Music] but i i know i thought you were dead too my mother was one of the lucky children
who escaped from germany just in time to avoid the concentration camps her parents were sent to auschwitz and
according to the records they both died there but the records were wrong tantz was my grandmother
the woman known as tantz moved in with her long-lost daughter and lived out her days in peace and
comfort was this family reunited through mere happenstance there was some greater power at work
here we'll find out if this story is true or false at the end of our show next an unseen power becomes part of a
political campaign on beyond belief fact or fiction there's nothing noisier more spirited or
competitive than an old-fashioned political campaign no matter how it turns out it's democracy in action
flaws and all senator wilton quigley represents the flaws in the system and he's represented them brazenly and
arrogantly for over four decades in that time he's handled every young challenger to his senate seat
with ease but this is quigley's last hurrah and this time his opponent may be fate
[Music] itself [Applause] [Music] welcome quickly i'm running for u.s senate again i'd appreciate your support
son i was hired to run the re-election campaign for senator wilton quigley senator quigley had been a member of the
u.s senate for the past 40 years senator wilton quigley ma'am i'd appreciate your support
during that time he racked up one of the worst voting records in senate history i'll be working for you in
washington god bless you son he was often absent during critical votes and when he was there
he only voted for bills that he was paid to vote for by his wealthy backers just want you to know i'm for the little
guy right before i signed on quigley had agreed to a televised debate with his young opponent
dave bridges and bridges was sharp good to see so many of my supporters here and i'm looking forward to my
debate with my opponent dave on top of everything quigley's memory was beginning to fail i'll give you my
word i'll go easy on him he he'd forget what to say at times and often confused his words
that's why he hired me i was one of the best spin doctors in the business we arranged for the debate to take place
at the oldest hotel in the state the hunnicutt it's where the senator stayed the first night he was elected to
the senate 40 years ago and for 40 years he considered it his good luck hotel he insisted that only good things
happened at the honeycutt good evening my name is judith bartel i'd like to call the room to order and
thank you for being here this evening to witness this very important debate i would like now to introduce the two
candidates running for the seat in the united states senate please welcome the honorable senator
wilton quigley and mr dave bridges the senator was worried about his memory problem so we planted a tiny receiver in
his ears so i could feed him answers from our hotel suite i'd done this before with other
candidates and it was foolproof stop scowling senator you look too angry good it's good the first question
goes to the challenger mr bridges mr bridges do you believe that big industries should be allowed to set their own
pollution standards no i don't that's something my opponent has always ignored if i were elected i would immediately
push to toughen our state's environmental laws under senator quigley's leadership our
state has compiled one of the worst environmental records in the entire country it's been a health hazard for
all of our citizens and i believe a change is needed thank you mr bridges thank you
senator quigley same question good question judith say my opponent is absolutely wrong
say it my opponent is absolutely wrong my opponent is absolutely right what are you doing you just agreed with
him say i have always put the health of the people ahead of the interests of big
business as your u.s senator i've always put the interest of big industry ahead of the
health of the people what are you doing wait wait that's not what i meant you're not
listening to me okay calm calm down senator calm down touch your chin if you can hear me
uh senator quigley would you like to retract that last statement yes yes say yes say i was misunderstood
i have never been in the back pocket of big business i was misunderstood and i've always been
in the back pocket of big business no yet this can't be happening i didn't mean that well what i meant was
i i think it's time for a change and and i believe that you would be the best man
to make those changes thank you senator for that endorsement wait wait i just mean that
i just don't understand what happened i've repeated every word i heard you saying other words kept coming out of my
mouth can't believe you endorsed bridges i didn't mean to it just came out it's over senator basically conceded the
election to him i don't want to go out like this looking like a damn fool yeah well so much for your lucky
honeycut hotel no it ain't called the honeycutt no more what's that yeah the new owners changed the name
because they found out old honest abe himself gave a speech right here in this hotel
you believe that senator looking back it wasn't me feeding quigly his lines that night
it was abraham lincoln what happened here did the spirit of abraham lincoln actually seize hold of
senator quigley and force him to tell the truth or did the senator just crack under the
pressure of one too many campaigns how do you explain his inability to say what he wanted to was it the symptom
of a failing mind in debating the veracity of this story will you vote for a victory for truth or
will you demand a recount we'll find out this story is true or false at the end of our show
next lust and murder in a beauty salon on beyond belief fact or fiction the beauty salon
how many secrets have been told here between stylist and client how many confidences have been shared or
betrayed in places like this tiffany sands is a beautician with a secret the secret
she doesn't dare tell her client eileen wyatt and as for eileen's future well-being
only your hairdresser knows for sure so i thought spago you know tiffany sands had been working as a hairdresser
for only bonnet salon for the past year ever since she put her dream of becoming
an actress on hold no no we have to have the golden globes party at our house and it's so much more personal that way
you know i had to agree with him i swear he is always right it's why he's such a good lawyer
eileen wyatt loved having her hair done by tiffany they acted like a couple of old girlfriends
the only thing that separated them was a beverly hills address and a few million
dollars you're the best tip hey reese and i are having a party on saturday night
everybody is gonna be there i'd love it if you could come i would love to but i'm busy oh too bad well
maybe next time yeah reese what are you doing here i thought i'd come by and surprise you
oh that's so sweet i don't deserve you oh hey do you remember tiffany tiffany of course how've you been fine
so what do you think do you like it is it too short what honey no it's perfect it's
beautiful you're beautiful thank you sweetie hey do you have time to do lunch oh
honey don't tempt me no i'm sorry i gotta run to another meeting oh i know you work too hard yeah
i love you what i just can't stand this anymore why i thought everything was going great
well it's not look at us the laundry room with the salon yeah well i should be in your bed i
should be your wife tiffany we've been all through this i want you to divorce that cow
i can't do that why not it would cost me a fortune so what you're rich i won't be once eileen gets through it i
don't care i don't want this anymore tiffany come on can we just have some fun no i can't
tiffany tiffany wait [Music] i got this for you this must have cost you a fortune it's
just a fraction of what you're worth to me [Music] it looks like the hope diamond
does it come with a curse oh yeah my wife that is some ring oh it's beautiful my boyfriend gave it to me
oh he's an attorney just like rhys really what's his name gil gil grayson i don't know he must be a great guy to
give you a ring like that he is he's the best well you should marry him sweetie i'm working on it
it was tiffany's job to close up that night and she couldn't get reese off her mind
she had to have him and his money all to herself are you busy tonight yeah i am oh it's too bad i uh i just happen to be
free i'm sure you'll find something to do yeah i'm sure i will all right let's see
if this baby works okay take it easy okay everything's fine um nothing's on fire
it's probably just a short circuit can you fix it yes i can fix anything you know you're lucky you didn't have
one of your rich clients in here would have turned their brains to french fries really oh yeah there's enough voltage in
here to turn somebody's brain to soup so tell me ned could you rig one up to do that
oh yeah easy [Music] why what you got in mind you see this ring it's worth 150 000
i'll sell it and give you half if you rig a dryer up to do that when i turn it on
you got anything that you want to sweeten the pot with i think we could work something out
[Music] well i don't know highlights are you sure well you can relax it's gonna look great
for sure yes for sure okay i trust you hey has that lawyer asked you to marry him yet not yet
but he might by the end of the day really oh tiffany i'm so happy for you that's
wonderful thank you listen don't forget to send me an invitation i won't so it's time for the dryer eileen oh i
hate sitting under those things can you just blow it out no eileen it wouldn't process right come
on you gotta sit under the dryer sweetie okay fine okay it's a great retro model we just got it
lucky me so have a seat [Music] how's that all right yeah it's fine great goodbye
[Music] [Applause] the fatal shock of electricity traveled from the dryer to tiffany's expensive ring
when the repair man showed up that evening he was questioned by the police eventually he tripped up and confessed
to rigging the dryer he then received a criminal conviction in connection with the death of tiffany
sands was it really a curse in the diamond tiffany was wearing was she just the victim of her own greedy treachery
does the story of the deadly diamond sound like an out and out lie or does it bear the ring of truth
next you'll find out which of our stories are fact and which are fictional when beyond
belief returns now let's look back at tonight's stories and find out which ones are inspired by
actual events and which ones are totally false let's review the story of the memorial wreath
that caught killer [Music] can it be that this story is fact yes it is this event was reported as taking place
in the gulf coast area in the late 80s let's take another look at the couple whose night of terror saved a neighbor's
life this whole thing is so bizarre mrs flores it's roy i know it's late but we got a plumbing problem
[Music] mrs flores [Music] there's something wrong here she's always there this is
call 9-1-1 is it possible that this story is true yes it is there's a published report
that a similar story happened to a couple on the east coast in the late 80s how about the story of the reunion of
the family brought together by a portrait [Music] what's wrong those eyes i know she has the most beautiful eyes
who is she an interesting old woman i met in the park her name is tense tense yeah
[Music] can you take me to see her is this story based on a real happening yes it happened in new york in the mid
70s what was your opinion of the dishonest senator who was forced to tell the truth
in the historic shadow of abraham lincoln i've repeated every word i heard you saying other words kept coming out of my
mouth can't believe you endorsed bridges i didn't mean to it just came out it's over senator basically conceded the
election to him i don't want to go out like this looking like a damn fool yeah well
so much for your lucky honeycut hotel oh it ain't called the honeycutt no more what's that
was this story inspired by an actual event not on your life it's a lie the story of the beautician who was
killed by her ill-gotten expensive ring how did you judge that one [Music] oh maurice this must have cost you a
fortune it's just a fraction of what you're worth to me looks like the hope diamond
does it come with a curse oh yeah my wife is this strange lesson on the evils of greed and lust true
sorry it's a fraud was it easy to find the truth among the lies tonight or did they seem to blend together and
are impossible to separate perhaps real truth can only be found when you're willing to accept
that very often it's beyond belief i'm jonathan franks the true stories on tonight's show were
based upon first-hand research by author robert treylands this is campbell lane [Music]
you

This episode features the following cases: The Wreath, Terror Night, Tants, The Candidate, The Ring.

Brief Summary

A memorial, plumbing emergency, family reunion, debate mishap, and a beautician's death highlight this episode's stories of truth and deception.

Key points

Memorial for Danny Russell. Matt and Denise Russell seek a memorial for their son, a victim of a hit-and-run.
A Mysterious Permit. A last-minute permit for Danny's memorial appears unexpectedly, raising questions of fate.
Reunion Through Coincidence. A painter's connection with an elderly woman leads to an unexpected family reunion.
Political Debate Gone Awry. Senator Quigley's memory fails during a debate, leading to unexpected and humorous outcomes.
The Senator's Concession. The senator basically conceded the election, leaving him feeling like a fool.
The Fatal Shock. Tiffany's expensive ring leads to a tragic accident, raising questions of greed and treachery.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Size matters.

1:15WatchJan 27, 2021

Tension

60/ 100Some tension

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