Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 2, Episode 15 | Forensic Files

[Music] next on Unsolved Mysteries after murdering 48 women the Green River Killer is finally behind
bars but did police get the wrong man could the former pilot of the Delta Queen dead for over half a century be
playing Matchmaker from Beyond the Grave a police captain is found dead detectives say he killed himself his
family calls it murder an Oklahoma farmer is lured from his home by a mysterious stranger he
hasn't been seen since five cases some without endings our team is working on them and perhaps
you can help I'm Dennis finina and this is Unsolved Mysteries [Music] [Music] police spent 20 years hunting down the
Green River Killer a man named Gary Ridgeway has been tried and convicted of the crimes but some
believe that the wrong person is behind bars Seattle Washington it was one of the largest
serial murder cases in US history 2 years 48 victims all young women most of them were prostitutes
along the SeaTac strip near the Seattle Tacoma Airport nearly all of them were strangled and dumped in a remote
area thousands of leads were investigated hundreds of suspects interrogated one suspect stood
out his name William J Stevens he was a petty thief in and out of trouble with the law for most of his
life in 1981 he simply walked away from a minimum security facility where he was
serving time for burglary over the next 8 years Stevens avoided arrest dividing his time in the
cities of Seattle Spokane and Portland Bill Stevens was an alienated um disaffected individual who never held
a job he fit all the FBI profiles of serial killers his poor relationships with women a mother who rled his personality
in development he was raging to his friends about how the prostitutes of the SeaTac strip were spreading the AIDS
epidemic my brother told people on several occasions that he wanted to kill women he wanted to torture them he
wanted to cut them up dissect them he wanted to fill them with rocks he wanted to fill them with
concrete and he wanted to still put all of this on tape he thought that would be
neat can County Police Chris take the back January 1989 acting on several tips police searched
the house in Spokane where Stevens lived with his parents they uncovered a stash of guns
and police badges they also found dozens of Polaroids of nude women most of them
prostitutes in another room police discovered dozens of pornographic tapes and fraudulent credit card receipts from
19 1981 to 1989 the years of the Green River killings the Stevens also had a fully
equipped police car which he had managed to get registered to a a non-existent city he had an ambulance police
motorcycle investigators later searched a second house in Portland where Stevens
lived until 1985 in the basement there was a secret room which can only be accessed by using
a garage door opener the secret room first came to the attention of a neighbor who lived
outside Portland at the same time Stevens did he invited her into see this room in the room as I remember it uh
there was a bed and on the bed was a mannequin a store dummy that was uh Dressed in
women's underwear and was struck in a obscene [Music] pose in January of 1989 Bill Stevens was
arrested and charge with felony Escape in a series of weapons violations that summer Stevens was
publicly named as a prime suspect in the Green River killings but within months authorities
had cleared Stevens based on an alibi provided by his younger brother Bob I visited him in the king County
jail and he mentioned that he couldn't have done the killings because he was on a trip in Connecticut visiting me in
1982 when the killings first happened after that 1982 visit Bill Stevens then joined his parents on a
cross country trip Bob produced receipts which seemed to prove that his brother was still
traveling with their parents when the first five victims were murdered additionally we were able to determine
that Stevens was not in the Seattle area he was either in Spokane or or Portland
OR Vancouver Washington on the day before or the day after 19 Green River victims were last
seen however Bob now believes that his brother got away with murder at least 48 times I really believe my brother is a
green M killer it's a surprising twist for Bob the very person who provided his brother
with an alibi the police had the killer behind bars in 1989 and I helped get a killer
away [Applause] free Bob Stevens now questions whether his brother was in fact with their
parents when the first five murders were committed my dad had told me that my brother didn't always leave with them he
would always just maybe just kind of join them somewhere just appear on their trip and
then leave again that was his way of providing a paper trail he used my parents as his
Alibi Bob Stevens has never contacted us and provided us with any information contrary to what he initially gave us
this is uh basically news to me Bill Stevens died in prison of cancer in 1991 7 years after the murders
officially ended we've explored the reasons why the killings may have stopped suspect could
be dead could have be incarcerated for another crime could have moved to a different part of the
country Rick Thorp claims that the authorities did not reinvestigate William Stevens for one simple reason
the police are involved and misdirection here because they don't want uh the public looking too closely at the very
ious roles Stevens played in his life he believes that Stevens was a police informant police are only as good as the
information they get from people who live as Stevens did on the edge of society a guy like Stevens is constantly
giving them information about more serious criminals but at the same time he was indulging in his his little sport
there which was the murder of uh young girls Bill Stevens was never an informant with the local police
department and was never affiliated with any of the local police departments there's no cover up with
regards to uh the investigation of William Stevens he's simply not the Green River
Killer critics of the investigation still insist that Stevens could have been the serial
killer one Theory even suggests that others may have been involved it seems very clear that Stevens did not work
alone Stevens phone bills were in the possession of the police and one of the detectives told me that they were
puzzled about hours and hours of longdistance calls to a certain number what were they talking
about there is no evidence to support the theory that there was more than one killer long telephone calls to a friend
are are are not in any way incriminating and then in many cases tend to providing
with aliis there have been killings since that are Green River type killings suggesting that the person who was
Steven's accomplice has continued update Gary Ridgeway an early suspect in the Green River killings has been
arrested a lab matched his DNA to evidence found with a number of the victims Ridgeway was arrested and he
eventually pled guilty to murdering 48 women in exchange for The Plea he was given life without the possibility of
parole despite the evidence Bob Stevens still believes that his brother Bill was
somehow involved with the Green River killings next a woman flees with her son after trying to murder her husband 8
years later she's finally Behind Bars Redwood City California we recently told you the
story of Gilbert Ortiz who suddenly got sick at work and was rushed to the hospital after drifting in and out of
Consciousness for 2 weeks Gilbert told police that he thought he might have been
poisoned by his wife on the day Gilbert got sick Elizabeth brought him a special
bodybuilding drink at work it was premixed in a plastic Sports bottle it looked like a real Shake I
mean like a real chocolate shake and then I when I Tred to sort of like burn my throat and then my throat's really
really burning you and I was all shaky and then I felt like getting sick paramedics rushed Gilbert to the
hospital Elizabeth Ortiz met them there in the emergency room doctors hoped that
she had a reason for Gilbert's sudden illness have you ever seen that bottle no never I've never seen we needed to
know where that Sports bottle came from if it was something that was purchased and it was really a bad mixture that
really made him sick or whether it was a deliberate mix this is Hospital test showed the shake had been laced with a
common insecticide police obtained a search warrant for the Ortiz apartment there they discovered
Elizabeth Ortiz had vanished along with her son Jonathan then that's when to hit me she
did it you want to tell me I said where's the baby he's gone that really got me Elizabeth
Fuentes Ortiz became a fugitive wanted for attempted murder update after following up on thousands
of reported sightings of Elizabeth Ortiz Sergeant Katherine Anderson finally got
a break I received a phone call from the FBI telling me that they had Elizabeth Ortiz in custody in Mexico when
Elizabeth was arrested in Mexico she was by herself the FBI gave me their word that they would continue to look for the
little boy in Mexico in the area that they had arrested Elizabeth in Elizabeth Ortiz was brought to Redwood City for
trial but where was Jonathan assuming Elizabeth would arrange for her son to visit her
Anderson had this age processed composite of Jonathan posted at the jail I received a phone call from a
deputy telling me that they had a little boy at the jail and the little boy was a
dead ringer for the composite picture that we had Jonathan had been brought to the jail by a
relative the following day Gilbert finally was able to see the son he had been missing for 8 years it was two
years old when he disappeared and when I got him back he was 10 I mean as soon as I saw him he just
came and hugged me that's all it took one big hug I cannot explain what that feel
like Gilbert and Jonathan began the long process of getting to know one another as Father and Son meanwhile Elizabeth
Fuentes Ortiz was convicted of attempted murder and was sentenced to 25 years to
life she served her time and has been released New Orleans is home to a living Monument of the Romantic Era when
steamboats worked the Mississippi river built in the 1820s the Delta Queen is a National Treasure during World War II
she transported wounded soldiers to hospitals and then the boat was refurbished to carry tourists but there
is another side to the Delta Queen and it's a scary one it was a stormy night in New Orleans
the Delta Queen was laid up for repairs her first mate Mike Williams was the only person on
board I was quite exhausted and was sleeping a very deep solid sleep uh when I was awakened by a sound as if someone
had said next to my ear I was quite startled because I was couldn't understand how someone could have gotten
in my room and out so quickly without me hearing the door open and close there was a very loud slamming of
a door back in the after cabin Lounge area and I had personally made sure that every one of those doors was locked
before I had retired there was not supposed to be anyone on the vessel I proceeded down several doors
until I arrived at cabin 109 and it swung open in my hand I was a little frightened and
intimidated I took a flashlight and looked in the room there was no one there Mike had heard stories that the
steamboat was haunted he had always dismissed them until now what happened next would change Mike
Williams forever two women came into his life one was a coworker on the Delta Queen the other had also worked on the
ship the only difference was that for 50 years she had been dead Mary green was one of the first
women to ever pilot a steamboat she was in charge of the Delta Queen when it was purchased in 194 47
Mary was 79 after only 2 years of piloting the boat Mary died where in Cabin 109 the same one that was mysteriously
unlocked another night on the Delta Queen hello Myra fuger a new Delta Queen employee was working late oh oh we'll
have someone right over I received a call from an elderly lady in a cabin and she stated that she was cold and she was
very uncomfortable and could I please send someone at this uh particular evening
Mike Williams was the mate and I called up there and he answered and I told him the situation
and hello it's the mate does someone need help Myra has sent him to cabin 109 the beds were made little mints on
the pillows the room was obviously unoccupied that cruise it was around this time that had
this feeling that somebody was behind me or looking at me and certainly through the window I saw this little round
benevolent face but something was Eerie about it I thought thought well perhaps that's the
lady who needs assistance so I walked out of the Persia's office to see if I could catch up with her and talk to her
and she wasn't there there was no one outside on the decks I was you know a little shook up
and I went back into the persas office yeah come in Miss FR I uh just came from room 109 there's nobody there
and you're sure it was 109 absolutely they checked the passenger list no one was registered for cabin 109 Myra was so
upset by what she had seen that Mike offered to walk her back to her cabin he didn't mention that she might have seen
a ghost wait that's the woman I saw the woman in the portrait was Mary green it was very very scary at at first
surprising too because I just saw her on the deck but uh for me it was uh kind of
exhilarating I began to suspect that someone was trying to introduce me to this young
lady my and I became very close we just clicked each one of us had something that the other
needed the ghost of Captain Mary had become a Matchmaker Mike and Myra fell in love and got
married I believe since sincerely that so long as I care for this vessel in some way that the captain Mary green
spirit will protect our family and guide us as she has next a police captain is found dead
of a gunshot wound one suspicious death two theories murder or suicide [Music] Cook County
Illinois Captain Michael omera of the Cook County sheriff's police was the straightest of straight
arrows he was a devoted husband and father the only officer in the sheriff's police trained at the FBI Academy omera
became famous for leading raids on the Illinois Mafia he spent his later years at a desk
job in the records department and was getting ready for a quiet retirement it never
happened at the Cook County Courthouse a sheriff's police patrolman pulled into the private service area to gas up his
car an unmarked police car was parked at the pumps with a gas nozzle in the tank yet no officer was in sight anybody
here as the patrolman's flashlight searched the lawn around the service area it flashed on a gruesome sight
hello Michael Oma's body was slumped over a rock in the middle of the lawn he had been shot once through the
forehead his wallet and his briefcase had not been touched there was no sign of a robbery
but Michael Oma's record of fighting organized crime made murder a real possibility we approach a death scene as
possibly a homicide initially who did this there was a gun uh to the uh right side of the uh of the body near the
right hand and there was very visible gunshot wound to the forehead there was a flashlight found
next to a rock that we can identify as his flashlight the gun is his gun and there was one bullet that was discharged
from that cylinder of that weapon the victim's Pockets were intact his money was intact his car was intact you've got
nothing in any way Shaker formed to say that there was anybody else there if you
were going to weigh this there would be more weight towards a suicide or an accident than there would be towards
towards a murder two weeks after Michael Mera died the coroner determined his death was a
suicide Mike's family could not believe that he would kill himself his wife Barbara recalls he left
the house that night in good spirits right before he left he said he was going to stop on the way back to get
yogurt and he asked everybody what what flavor they wanted and of course day before payday and he didn't have any
money in his wallet so he asked me for some money to go Barbara do you have any cash thanks why would he take my last
couple of dollars to get the yogurt if he was planning on not coming back see you it doesn't make any
sense in this case you can take any isolated fact and say it can be consistent with suicide the problem is
is the whole scenario when you look at that is not that of a suicide Barbara omera hired Dr Deo to
review the case there was no financial problems no personal problems no fatal disease that does not completely rule
out suicide but it kind of makes the conclusion that a death is suicide a little more
difficult the man is found dead in a field with a flashlight next to him and his gun his car is parked nearby with
the gasoline nozzle inserted into the tank this does not sound like a suicide side was kind of
bizarre based on his investigation Dr deile believes Mike was murdered the evidence of the scene
suggests that this Mara began to fill the tank of his car when he saw or heard something in the field he then took a
gun from his briefcase and went to investigate when he got into the field he met somebody or a number of people
and he was shot when our investigators went to the scene and they looked in the field there
was no evidence of of a struggle the police pH say that Oma killed himself and they consider the
case closed but if Mike Oma was murdered what was the motive could it have been a
long lost enemy from his past or did he have an enemy in the sheriff Department based on the information that
I have in front of me it tends to be suicide I don't have any evidence in front of me that would conclude that
this was a homicide and we need when we're looking for the offenders but Dr demile points to one
additional fact that argues against suicide when people uh shoot themselves they tend to put the gun firmly against
the head at the time of discharge in this case the muscle of the weapon was between 2 and 4 in away from
the skin and you could see that by the powder tattooing uh on the skin around the entrance
W see you he may have chosen to have it not be a contact Moon because he taught homicide investigation he taught courses
and he taught about suicide so he if if he wanted to make it look like something
other than it was he may have deliberately done that it wasn't an accident he was purposely
shot and uh why it's being covered up or whether they know or anybody knows I don't know you know what happened out
there I'll never know but suicide I'll never believe if you have any information
about the death of Captain Michael omera please log on to our website at unsolved.com
[Music] next did this man leave his family to get away from it all or is he the victim
of a mysterious [Music] stranger Cheyenne Oklahoma it began as a typical morning
at Leonard deron's dairy farm [Music] Jared breakfast is ready Leonard made breakfast for his 19-year-old son Jared
and the two sat down to eat before a long day of [Music] chores then a visitor arrived
unannounced in a white pickup truck Jared you know whose truck that ISM I let see what he
want leard spent several minutes talking to the driver of the truck they did not appear to know each
other but their conversation seemed friendly enough when Leonard returned he told
Jared that the man wanted to look at one of his stud horses put about 25 bails out in that back Leonard gave no sign
that he found anything unusual about the stranger so he told me that he was going
to go with him he said to stay here here and go to Elk and get some feed and go feed the cows and he be back that
afternoon Jared derkson is still waiting for his father to come home nobody has any idea what happened to Leonard
derkson police found no signs of a struggle and no evidence of Foul Play and nobody the only clue is that mysterious
man who came to Leonard's house after leaving his home Leonard derkson did not simply
vanish 2 hours later a waitress claims she saw him eating breakfast with another man at a local coffee shop now
that's a little odd to us because at 9:00 Leonard just got through eating breakfast with his
son it's extremely odd to eat two breakfasts in the same day two hours apart they were um sitting there in the
restaurant and the unknown men that were trying to identify was doing most of the
talking and Leonard was just drinking coffee and listening to the man talk the man at the diner matched the
description of the man who picked Leonard up at his home there was nothing suspicious about
the man's behavior and if he had metant the harm Leonard why would he be seen with him in a public
place yet neither Leonard nor the man turned up that day at the barn where Leonard kept his stud
horses Leonard was apparently seen again 6 months later this sighting was even Stranger than the
first a man at a baron Amarillo Texas pH the police yeah I want to report this guy
leard derkson he's supposed to be missing the individual that called stated I know Leonard derkson I'm from
Elk City I can't give you my name but he's in this bar I'm watching him he's wearing a blue check shirt and he's
drunk by the time the local police arrived both the caller and the man he claims was Leonard
derkson were gone we have no reason to disbelieve it it would almost stretch the imagination
that a guy would dance around in the bar screaming hollering it's Leonard it's Leonard and it not be Leonard I believe
he was in the bar in amilla Leonard had recently suffered through a painful divorce and was having business
difficulties could he have just decided to walk away from it all there is only one problem with that
theory Leonard's son Jared me and my dad we was together every day every morning we'd go work do
the chores and I go to school I don't think he would have ever have left me and not ever come back to S
me or nothing cuz we was close and I don't think he'd ever done that to me if Leonard didn't just walk away from
his life the focus then switches back to the mysterious man there's a possibility that that this
man was involved in setting Leonard up uh to be murdered if this man didn't do the
murder he may have taken Leonard somewhere to someone that wanted to that's a possibility we just we don't have a
motive for that uh have not found one this is a composite drawing of the man last scene with Leonard derkson
police would like to question him regarding Leonard's disappearance if you have any
information that can help solve this case please log on to our website at uno.com
[Music] next a sudden death in a doctor's office and a deadly insurance scam begins to
unravel when a patient dies in a doctor's care it's usually treated as a routine death and the case is closed and
that's exactly what Dr Richard bogs and his partners in crime were counting on Glend
California around 7 a.m. paramedics responded to an emergency Call at the medical office of Dr Richard
bogs inside they found a man lying on the floor of an examining room bog said that his name was Melvin
Eugene Hansen bogs says that he received a phone call from one of his patients a
long-term patient Melvin Eugene Hansen the Man City been drinking heavily he was having chest pains and he
wanted to come in and be examined bog said Hansen had been a patient for 7 years he agreed to meet
Hansen at 500 a.m. for an EKG he brought Hansen in examined him left him in a treatment room by himself
to rest for a few minutes I really don't think you have any need for alarm I want
don't you just lie down here for a few minutes and I'll be right back then bogs went into another room to sort
through things while he was waiting for Hansen to rest when he heard a thud bog said he rushed back and found
Hansen lying unconscious he immediately called 911 but found it was busy bog said he tried to revive Hansen
for 30 minutes and at 7:04 he finally reached 911 finally p Medics arrived he the body
was pronounced dead at the scene originally it was just a normal death just a natural death in a doctor's
office with a doctor in attendance cardiovascular problems when paramedics examined the body in B's office they
noticed that its condition seemed inconsistent with the doctor's story he's got some riger in his neck his jaw
the onset of riger Morse suggests that the death had actually occurred much earlier than bogs was claiming
in fact the EKG tape revealed the machine had last been used just after midnight not at 5 a.m. how long do you
say he's been down suspicious paramedics called the police Dr bogs ignored basic life-saving
protocol a doctor is not going to try and help a heart attack patient in his office he's going to have an ambulance
waiting for him Dr BOS you tell me a little more about the 911 call his comments regarding the 911 bothered me
he had told us he had gotten a busy signal uh that time of the morning uh I found it hard to believe that he'd get a
busy signal on a 911 system three credit cards and a copy of a birth certificate
were discovered in Hansen's wallet but there was no Ida with a photograph of Hansen police asked to for an emergency
contact bogs provided the name of Hansen's business partner John Hawkins Columbus Ohio W KS yes bogs was one of
the most respected physicians in Southern California police were reluctant to further question him without more
evidence but there were rumors that he was financially overextended and that his practice and medical license were in
Jeopardy the most probable cause of death is acute non-specific myocarditis when the body was autopsy
the pathologist noted something peculiar the body is noted to be that of a Caucasian male appearing to be younger
than the state age of 46 then the autopsy was interrupted Hansen's business partner
John Hawkins arrived to claim the body John Hawkins and Melvin Hansen co-owned a chain of successful clothing
stores Hawkins said he needed to settle Hansen's Affairs quickly to get back home to his business I'd like show you
the re what I really need to know is when is the body going to be cremated when John Hawkins arrived from Columbus
Ohio he made arrangements with a local Mortuary to have the body cremated when Hawkins learned that the
ashes would not be scattered until a much later time uh that being up to a month uh he was upset business there I
need to expedite this as much as possible is there any other way Hawkins uh through the mortuary Personnel uh
located a local scattering service that uh scattered those ashes the following day L Police Department a you go to m
two months later this case took another intriguing turn on June 9th a detective received a
phone call from a insurance company representative who informed him they were about to pay a $1 million life
insurance policy for the death of Jean Hansen the beneficiary of that policy was John
of Columbus Ohio the representative inquired if the photographs of the body had ever been
compared to any other known pictures of Melvin Hansen up to that point that had not
occurred the detective sent away for a California driver's license photo of Melvin Eugene
Hansen when the photographs arrived police realized the man found in B's office was not Melvin
Hansen the detective contacted the insurance representative immediately and it was too late and that the insurance
company had already paid out the $1 million to the beneficiary John Hawkins but if the dead man at B's
office was not Hansen then who was it police used fingerprints to match the dead body with missing persons
reports the body that bogs had identified as his patient Melvin Eugene Hansen was in fact a 32-year-old
bookkeeper named Ellis Henry green John Hawkins the man who had ordered green cremated now had some
explaining to do investigators followed up on John Hawkins they found that he had abandoned
the residence that he had lived [Music] in and later discovered his Convertible Mercedes parked at the airport top down
he's still in the ignition uh indicating an obvious uh quick exit from that particular
area when questioned again Dr bogs continued to insist that the man found in his office was the man he knew as
Melvin Hansen right there same man I identified to the other officers have you ever seen
the other man before nope thank you very much for your the police weren't buying his story and
issued a search warrant for bogs files his phone records showed frequent calls to Hansen's business number and
more suspiciously to John Hawkins bogs also received calls from Wolf Gang Von Snowden in the same night
that Green's body was found police wanted to know why and put snowden's name to law enforcement
agencies around the country several months when went by after Ellis green was found in Richard
boog's office back then a suspicious acting man was interrogated by Customs officials
after getting off a flight from Mexico in his bag was $14,000 in Undeclared cash let me see
your back why I can when the Customs agent searched the man's bags he discovered not only the identification
that he was using at that time but he also disced Ed photo identification of the same person with the name of Wolf
Gang Bon Snowden but the most critical Discovery was the original California driver's
license for the dead man Ellis Henry green take off your sunglasses why take off your
sunglasses the Customs agent made a computer inquiry and learned that wolfking Von Snowden was in fact wanted
by authorities within a few hours the man who carried ID as wolf gang van Snowden
was finally identified by his real name Melvin Eugene Hansen melin Eugene Hansen was
alive yet bogs claimed that he had died in his office police began to piece together a
conspiracy to pull off the Perfect Crime Melvin Hansen and John Hawkins were business partners police believe
they came up with this plan first they would murder a perfect stranger then they would switch his
identity with Hansen's and finally collect the million dooll insurance payoff to cover their tracks They had
the body cremated 5 days after Hansen was caught Richard bogs was arrested at his
Glendale office he was charged with insurance fraud and the murder of Ellis green Richard bogs was convicted of
first-degree murder both he and Melvin Eugene Hansen were sentenced to life in prison John Hawkins was eventually
caught in Italy and convicted of Fraud and conspiracy John Hawkins served his time
and has been released [Music] [Music]

Brief Summary

The episode examines the Green River Killer case, Captain O'Meara's suspicious death, and a farmer's mysterious disappearance.

Key points

The Green River Killer's Legacy. Gary Ridgeway was convicted of murdering 48 women, but questions linger about the investigation.
A Father's Long Wait. Gilbert Ortiz reunites with his son after eight years apart, following a near-fatal poisoning.
The Mysterious Death of Captain O'Mera. Captain Michael O'Mera's death is ruled a suicide, but his family suspects foul play.
The Mysterious Disappearance of Leonard Derkson. Leonard Derkson vanished after a visit from a stranger, leaving his son waiting for him.
A Shocking Case of Mistaken Identity. Police discover the body identified as Melvin Hansen is actually someone else.
A Conspiracy Unraveled. The plot to commit insurance fraud leads to murder and deception.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I really believe my brother is a Green River killer.

Bob Stevens reflects on his brother's possible involvement in the murders.

6:23WatchMar 9, 2017

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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