Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 2, Episode 16 | Forensic Files

[Music] next on Unsolved Mysteries the final desperate moments of a World War II
sailor trapped inside a doomed submarine these are vivid memories of a man living
decades after the sailor's death is this evidence of reincarnation a decaying marriage a
shocking case of arson a wife is dead and her husband is on the Run meet Oliver he looks like a
chimpanzee but acts like a human being his very existence is a source of mystery and
wonder join the War on Drugs help find this big- time Smuggler who has not been seen in 20
[Music] years you're not going to want to miss these stories so stick around I'm Dennis
finina and this is Unsolved Mysteries [Applause] [Music] [Music] he Glendora California Bruce Kelly grew up in
Southern California in a small town just outside of Los Angeles for his entire life Bruce
suffered from three overpowering phobias a fear of flying a fear of enclosed spaces and a fear of water anytime that
I got around a swimming pool I would be afraid to even go close to the edge of the pool I would just walk way around it
it would even it even was um to the point bad enough where I couldn't sit in a bathtub I didn't like the feeling of
water coming up around me over the years Bruce tried many different treatments for his anxieties
but nothing seemed to help in desperation he went to a hypnotherapist who specializes in past life regression
Bruce would learn that his deep irrational fears were the result of traumas that happened years
earlier even before he was born on the number three you're going there now on the next number two you become a part of
it on one you're there when I was seeing what I was seeing and I said to him this can't be
real um his Direction at the time was just go with it probably 99% of the people who come to me do not go into
past lives probably only 1% of the people have spontaneous regressions when working with phobias and Bruce did have
a spontaneous regression to a past life where are you I'm in a submarine what's happening Bruce was ring in the chair he
was actually moving around and going through the death scene tell me your name Johnston what is
your full name James Edward Johnston Bruce Kelly was apparently experiencing the life of an American
sailor named James Edward Johnston the details he recalled were Vivid now and specific what's going on
Bruce as Johnston was drowning in a sub Marine the USS shark during World War II
Bruce said the shark had gone down just off celes an island near Borneo are you alone in this
hallway no there's another man in the hallway Bruce even knew the name of the other man trapped with Johnston in the
submarine Walter Pilgrim everything goes blank and there's there's the sense that
something's really wrong there's there's water Bruce said that Johnston and both
died at precisely 11:34 p.m. on February 11th 1942 are there any survivors no the
memories were just like the it was something that happened yesterday they were very close to the surface um they
they came up real easily at at first it was like I was just making it up like this this really
can't be happening this really can't be real I have to be making this up and I went to the library
more to prove that it didn't happen than it did happen but Bruce was in for a surprise he was stunned to learn that
the first American sub lost in the war was the USS shark the very submarine Bruce had named
under hypnosis and just like he said it had sank near the island called celes they also had a crew roster there
and on the crew roster was James E Johnston which was the name that I had come up with under hypnosis and it also
gave the the approximate date of loss which was February 11th 1942 which was also the date that I'd come up with
under hypnosis the name of the crewman the date the location these were not the only facts that Bruce got right the name
Walter Pilgrim was also on that roster he had been the chief electricians mate hairs were standing up on the back of my
neck when I when I saw it it was like oh God this is real I was in total total disbelief and
total shock and and there was there was also a there was also an element of excitement that um you know maybe there
is something to this is your mother married no over the next 6 months Bruce Kelly recalled more
details about the life of James Edward Johnston a man he didn't know even existed going to go now to your mother's
death is that acceptable Yes Rick Brown began to talk to Bruce as if he were Johnston are you at home or in the
hospital Bruce saw himself as Johnston around age 12 he was at his mother's deathbed with his cousin
[Music] Elizabeth some memories were trivial as as Johnston Bruce clearly recalled that
he always ate the end pieces of a loaf of bread other details that Bruce recounted
during hypnosis included Johnston's birth in February of 1921 as a young man he enrolled in the
Civilian Conservation Court a Depression era government work program the year was
1938 the place Tuli Lake California [Music] Bruce and Rick dug into government archives what were the chances that
Bruce's memories were accurate it turned out they were James Johnston had been in the CCC in 1938 and
1939 he was in California and his birth certificate confirmed that Johnston was indeed born in February 1921 in
Jacksonville Alabama how did Bruce do it Bruce came up with a significant amount of
information that was uh well past being coincidental there were too many lines of of of evidence that pointed to the
fact that Bruce Kelly is The Reincarnation of James Edward Johnston I Could Be The Reincarnation of
James um or it just may be some information that somehow or another that I've tapped into and it means you know
it's it's something else that's happening I don't I don't know were the images that haunted Bruce
Kelly's subconscious evidence of [Music] reincarnation next Bruce travels to James Johnson's Hometown in Alabama and
discovers more eerie similarities James Edward Johnston died when a submarine went down during World
War II Bruce Kelly wasn't even born yet but under hypnosis Bruce was able to provide accurate details about
Johnston's life how is that possible Jacksonville Alabama 5 years after first being
hypnotized Bruce decided to visit Johnston's Hometown Unsolved Mysteries joined Bruce
and Rick Brown [Music] what you are about to see is not a recreation at the house where Johnston
and his mother lived Bruce had a strong reaction there's a lot of stuff here the
back bedrooms right over here you feel that yeah yeah that's the bedroom okay that's the room they stayed
in so I remember used to come in the back there was there's like a there was an alley back here or a dirt road or
something yeah is almost like um he wasn't good enough to come in the front [Applause]
door moving to the side of the house when I could actually see the bedroom and I knew that was the bedroom that's
when the feelings really started hitting remembering that he used to have to come in on the back street and come
through the back door the back porch um I remember that I remember the feelings of kind of feeling like a second class
citizen they were poor she was [Music] unmarried I couldn't vocalize it myself self and somebody off camera said
something to the effect of you're you're you've come home and that's when I got real emotional because that's exactly
what it was say you made it back down this part of the country afterwards Bruce Kelly
meets several people who remembered James Edward Johnston as a boy one of them is Johnston's cousin Betty we've
heard all about you Betty's real name is Elizabeth Bruce believes she's the same Elizabeth he saw
under hypnosis the little girl who was with James when his mother died when Bruce first meets Betty she asks a
surprising question remember anything about bread yeah one of the first sessions
that that Rick and I had um I talked to him about always uh liking to heal the bread wanting to get the the end off the
bread because the the only thing only reason that anything to me was um growing up I was the same way my mom
would bring home a loaf of bread and the first thing I do is open that thing up and grab the heel out of there did you
both ANS sometimes and I'd get in trouble for it sometimes too oh really yeah yes I did did you went you went to
that house yeah the second on the left did you have what were your feelings there well that's that's been the the
emotional high of the of the trip it was it was real difficult real emotional do you feel that that you are Edward
reincarnated I don't you don't really feel like I don't know I don't know all you know I've been asked that question
so many times and all I know is for some reason or another I have all this information about him I really don't
know what to believe I have doubts Bruce said that uh Edward used the back door and this is is true and not everyone
would would have that knowledge the older you get the more you're going to look at something like
reincarnation or anything that offers an answer and reincarnation regardless of what this religion or that religion or
anything else thinks of it it offers a solution at the Jacksonville Cemetery a memorial Stone has been erected in honor
of James Edward Johnston no one knows the details of Johnston's final moments but Bruce Kelly's Visions provide a
possible [Music] scenario I was in my bunk and when the attack [Music] happened and everybody was heading
toward their stations I'd gotten into the first hallway when there was a depth charge
[Music] the submarine was rolling and moving James got to his feet and he'd gotten 5 10 ft more down the hallway
when there was a second depth charge it was obviously a dread thr the next memory I have is um the
area that I'm in filling up with water and filling up real fast is that you there was another man in the hallway
and he was experiencing the same thing I was knocked off his feet a couple times
and now um trapped in this hallway that was filling up with [Music] [Applause] water the last real image that that I
had was the the other man in the corridor you know that I wasn't alone in this Corridor there's somebody else here
and they're going through the same thing I am we are dying I [Music] can't I can't
see I'm probably not as afraid of death as most people in the United States are or Western Civilization are death isn't
something that I think about every day um and I just I just try to live every day and enjoy every day
the best that I can and when death comes it comes I think that there is something
Beyond and I don't I don't think it's a a final um situation I don't think just it's the end of there's
more perhaps there was more for James Johnston who died trapped in a submarine during World War II perhaps just perhaps
he had a second chance at life in the person of Bruce Kelly next it seemed like a routine house fire
but it turned out to be arson which turned out to be murder can you help catch a
[Music] killer White Bear Lake Minnesota go do it I just just go do it Jean Weaver's
troubled marriage is almost done with this joke of a relationship that we're saying is a marriage that
we're saying after 17 years together she tells her husband Gordon that she wants
a divorce this is done Gordon this this is done I'm going to try her again 2 Days
Later Jean known for her punctuality is 45 minutes late for a family gathering her sister Kathy is worried she and her
husband Tom drive to Jean's home to check on her all right we're on our way all right we get to the house and I'm
I'm panicking by then I heard this beeping noise I didn't know what it was I was thinking I I
don't understand this and then it hit me that was the fire alarm it was smoke obscuring the windows and I
screamed at Tom Tom the house is full of smoke dial 911 Je as firefighters race to the scene Kathy
and Tom search for Jean in the house but the smoke is too [Music] [Applause] [Music]
thick in the basement firefighters discover that Flames have burst the water pipes they also discover a body got a
body I got a body it's Jean Weaver and then the please Chief comes over and said she's
gone I just ran and I ran and I screamed and I [Music] screamed I just can't begin to say how
special Jean was the fire had been deliberately set police believed Jean had been murdered
and the primary suspect was her Hospital Gordon Weaver had every advantage in life yet he seemed destined to struggle
in spite of wealthy parents he was plagued by financial problems and as his own business began to fail he resented
Jean's success we wanted so much to find out that it was just a horrible accident
that he had nothing to do with it but the more time passed you know I started to think that Cy had actually killed
Jean it was unbelievable but I believed it Jean's marriage had been troubled for
years Gordon suffered from serious bouts of depression could you just look at me
while we talk about this what jean would say about Gordy is that he would withdraw into himself for many years I
just felt sorry sorry for him because he seemed unhappy and um just couldn't have
a normal relationship with Jean and she wasn't happy at all but she thought it was the best for their son to remain
together as a [Music] family the day that Jean was found dead Gordon had been working at his office
and running errands their son was at a soccer game Gordon returned home as soon as police
called him we were not able to give him a whole lot of information at that time and he was asked to voluntarily come up
to the police department to speak to one of our investigators which was myself was my wife in the house is she all
right Mr Weaver I'm afraid I have some bad news was she hurt I'm afraid your wife passed
away I'm sorry some of his mannerisms or behavior was not what one would expect having
come home finding his house you know surrounded by evidence tape and then being told that his wife was you know
killed in the fire and we began to suspect that he was possibly involved in the death of Jee
Weaver investigators examined the clothes Gordon was wearing that day they found traces of two flammable liquids
those same liquids were also found on Jean's body investigators also discovered that
Jean had several life insurance policies they were worth more than $350,000 and were due to lapse just 2
days after she was killed the sole beneficiary Gordon Weaver I believe Gordon went to confront
Jean and I believe he pushed her or shoved her ouch she had a wound to the head and he panicked
[Music] and he set my sister on [Music] fire my sister was alive when he set her
on fire because of the fire some water pipes burst in the basement the water pipes uh appeared to contain the fire to
the laundry room area and also help Preserve resed her body to the point that the medical examiner could do a
complete autopsy and uh locate the the head injury and some other physical evidence almost 2 weeks after Jean's
death Gordon Weaver was arrested for her murder he was soon released on bail the
$300,000 cash Bond was provided by his parents with the indictment hearing a week away Gordon borrowed his parents
car [Music] they said he was going on vacation Alone 2 Days Later the car was found
abandoned in a suburb of Chicago blood stains found inside suggested that Gordon Weaver had been
the victim of a violent carjacking forensics determined the blood was human but they couldn't tell if it was
Gordon's the timing of things is just all too coincidental for for him to disappear or be carjacked it's a week
before that he is going to be indicted by a Ramsey County grandury for first-degree murder it doesn't make any
kind of sense at all 2 days after the car was found a business associate of Gordon's received
an unexpected phone call confirming the suspicions of the FBI this individual identified the person as Gordon Weaver
uh Gordon Weaver asked if they found his car this coworker spoke with him for just a very brief time uh and then
Gordon Weaver hung up we do not believe in any way shape or form the Gordon Weaver is dead why
should he be off somewhere and Jean the most beautiful person that you could imagine is gone
forever if I knew them what I knew now I would never have left Jean alone for a second the phone call makes it all
crystal clear that Gordon we did not die in that vehicle on that night Gordon Weaver still on the
Run update after 4 years on the Run Gordon Weaver was captured he was found in a
remote corner of Oregon living under the name David Carson a woman recognized him
from a mug shot on the internet and tipped off the authorities Gordon Weaver was arrested and charged with murder
[Music] next he looks like an ape but Walks Like a Man is Oliver just a talented
chimpanzee or the missing link between man and [Music] Beast Henderson Nevada Joe come on out Joe we recently
told you the story of Joseph welin Smith who was wanted for murder when police had entered Smith's
home they found the bodies of his wife Judith and his two stepdaughters all three had been
strangled and bludgeoned to death hello 2 hours after the bodies were discovered Smith telephoned a
family member he denied any involvement in the murders Joe what's going on it's called her on the phone told her that he
had killed one of the people that did The Killing and knew who the other ones were I'm going to find the guys who did
it I know who they are and I'm going to kill them in my opinion it was a roost by Mr Smith to get support from Judah
Smith's family members and make them believe that he was not involved in the killings by the time murder charges
could be brought against him Smith had vanished but he didn't get very far update just minutes after we profiled
the case of Joseph welen Smith a viewer called to report that Smith was living near Los Angeles California he was
hiding out in this motel but managed to escape before he could be caught once we established a Joe William
Smith was in the Los Angeles area we focused our attention to his brother who we know that he had close contact with
after 5 days of surveilling this brother uh we established where the suspect was
residing 20 minutes later Smith was arrested at a second Los Angeles Motel where he had registered under an assumed
name inside his room detectives found several credit and identification cards Smith told police that he was in the
process of creating a new identity at the time of his arrest Joe Smith indicated to me that he had seen
the last airing of the unsolved mystery program he also told me that it was very
tough being a fugitive and he always knew that you know someone would be knocking at the door one day he kind of
glad it's all over at this point two days later Joseph welen Smith was returned to Nevada where he was
convicted on all three counts of first-degree murder he will spend the rest of his life Behind
[Music] Bars the DNA scientists tell us that humans are just a few chromosomes different than
chimpanzees but now a chimp has been found that may bring the two species even closer
together San Antonio Texas a wildlife sanctuary in San Antonio known as primarily primates is a
retirement home of sorts for some 500 wild animals they have been rescued from medical labs circus
and sides shows after years of living in cages new residents often move in pained halting
steps but one chimpanzee was remarkably different when he showed up hi Ollie his
name is Oliver wow you stand up look at you when Oliver came outside for the first time he'd been 9 years in a lab
cage he walked out and he walked upright in a way that no chimp who was trained to walk upright would ever
walk his back is straight his shoulders back and his knees are locked it's Unique in his younger days Oliver was an
International Celebrity some said he was proof of the existence of the legendary
Bigfoot others believed he was a completely new species since long before before I helped start primarily primates
I had heard about the ape called Oliver i' collected old tabloid articles and I really wondered is this
the same Oliver I wasn't quite sure until I saw him and there's no doubt this is the upright walking ape who had
become a living legend Oliver had been imported from Africa as an infant in 1960 his first animal trainer Frank
berer was surprised by Oliver's humanlike traits the first thing I noticed with him he was bheed Jim's half hair right
with his bone structure he his head was smaller he had a narrower face one day I sat at the desk and he
come crawled to me and all of a sudden he took a hold of my pen SL and he stand straight
up I almost faint and within one and a half years that animal stand up in front of me and
never I saw him with down I've seen a lot of chips but I've never seen one just like
him for the next 10 years Oliver's unique characteristics were on display as a popular Sideshow attraction at
circuses he was uh build as a missing link um they had a window where the public could walk past him and look in
and see him in his in his exhibit they did take him out a number of times onto a stage and for the Press uh to take a
look at him for publicity but otherwise he was generally in this enclosure alone
where people could walk past the window and see him Oliver caught the attention of an
attorney Michael Miller in walks this almost 4 and 1/2t or 5 foot creature uh his hair bristling uh and walking
absolutely upright as they say as advertised I could not believe what I saw in 1975 Miller purchased Oliver from
Frank burger for the sum of $88,000 there were many many many questions about uh Oliver enthusiastic
to the point of being wild people were offering me money for the story I had no interest in it I said I really want the
story to get out but I want to get the story out to attract serious attention from the scientific Community this
creature may have interest and import that turned me up that spring he took Oliver to the annual banquet of the
famed Explorers Club in New York City Oliver created a huge sensation it was an amazing experience
because it was King Kong I mean that was truly King Kong I I would say that there was a
consensus there too that this is a very aberant chimpanzee they were always grounding it in this is a chimpanzee
who's aberant um and I understood that but when I would say can you explain the aberration that would be
interesting the answer was always the same no we [Music] can't Oliver was then invited to tour
Japan he caused excitement wherever he [Music] [Applause] went throughout the tour Oliver
underwent a series of medical exams his blood test results proved to be unusual curiously two of the 40 tests
suggested he was not human and not ape but something in between these blood samples contain 47
chromosomes one more than a human and one less than a chimp the other cells contain
48 the Japanese doctors however attributed the discrepancy to human error when the tour ended Michael Miller found
he could no longer afford to support Oliver he placed him in a wild animal park in
California Oliver eventually wound up in a research lab there he languished in a
5x7 ft cage for nine long years Oliver was never used in any experiments and was finally rescued by
primarily primates you I had the impression when I saw Oliver walking bipedal that he had
um possibly been trained to walk bipedally he could do it for quite a while I don't think he's anything but a
chimpanzee I know that there are other animals out there we haven't found yet Oliver very well could be very special
in that he could be the only example around of a whole new species 197 after 20 years apart a very special
reunion took place between Oliver and his first owner Frank Burger where's Oliver Oliver my God where you been
where you been oh God attorney Michael Miller was also there he looks happier he looks much more peaceful it's
delightful to see that he's in such great uh environment and he's cared for finally that's very very satisfying very
rewarding yeah give me a kiss Oliver is still alive today scientists hope that during his senior
years DNA testing May finally solve the mystery of who or what Oliver truly [Music]
is next the search for The Mastermind of a $40 million drug smuggling ring [Music]
Grotton Connecticut okay guys let's move [Music] in Agents from the FBI The Drug
Enforcement Administration and the US Marshall Service track a fugitive to to a local
Motel federal agents with [Music] Awards when they enter the room the man they're looking for has
vanished Salvatore Michael Carana was suspected of major narcotic smuggling it was said he had ties to organized crime
he had now become the focus of an intense Manhunt carolana hasn't been seen in more than 20 years
when FBI agents found his motel room empty they immediately suspected that he was the victim of a mob contract it
however it's also possible that kowana may have staged his own disappearance kowana criminal history
began when he was charged with armed robbery years later kowana had gone big time he moved into narcotics as part of
an organized crime syndicate in New England Mr Carana was involved in the distribution of approximately $40
million worth of marijuana we have testimony from just one distributor that in one particular
operation he himself brought $4 million to Mr kowana he spy let me see what we got
going in these marijuana operations that Carana was involved he was with the supervisor Carana would show up on the
scene himself at the stash house before the marijuana was sent out and talk to his people make sure it was weighed
correctly make sure the quality was good he would then tell his distributor that
I want x amount of dollars for each pound of marijuana that's here I think it'll be good what do you think he
carried guns he was big with guns uh he was big with threats he would threaten to kill you there was no question if you
messed up he threatened to kill [Music] you eventually kowana was caught his smuggling operation collapsed with the
arrest of several of his key Associates their testimony led to an 11c count grand jury indictment what you got
Back Against The Wall face the camera kowana was charged with drug trafficking and faced the possibility of
a life sentence Straight Ahead Bond was set at $500,000 he easily post at the BN and
was released the same day just in time 2 days before his trial Salvatore Michael kowana just
disappeared two of his Close Associates signed agreements with the government to
cooperate and testify I think he felt that our case was much stronger with these two witnesses coming into the case
to testify against him and I believe he just didn't want to come in and face that because I think he felt that uh he
would face some serious time in jail what do we have on this guy so far I know a federal task force looked deeper
into kowana operation they discovered that smuggling marijuana was only a small part of his criminal life in fact
kowana was laundering enormous amounts of money and was actually a multime [Music]
millionaire federal agents raided kowana home it was like a fortress with an elaborate security system they found
several hidden vaults filled with weapons and financial papers but they didn't find
kowana evidence LED them to a condo he owned in connectic but by the time they arrived kowana had
cleaned the place out and disappeared he's very smart guy he's probably one of the most cunning and Sly
fugitives uh that we've come across in a very long time 3 months later an informant LED
authorities to the motel in Groton Connecticut we had determined he was using the Alias Vincent SPO and based
upon the information we received from the manager and the fact fact that the Alias name was registered there at that
motor in uh we use that as probable cause to get a search warrant to enter the [Applause]
apartment go four you're in the best position what do you see nothing's going on okay we've given it enough time let's
uh let's move in guys [Music] when we first got into the room it appeared like chees he just got up to
get a newspaper that he could be coming back any minute all right all secure but once we
started looking at specific items in the room such as the newspaper and spoiled food it looked like he hadn't been there
for a couple of weeks yeah look at this newspaper dated May 9th we found Mada shotgun with four
shells up in the barrel so it was ready to be what we call combat loaded we also
located a briefcase a gun here in the briefcase was a semi-automatic 22 and cash from what we found at the motor and
you could assume that he had been killed by organized crime people who thought that if he was caught he might talk but
we don't have the body and if it was an organized crime hit I would think that they would want to leave the body behind
so that we wouldn't keep poking our noses into his business which eventually would lead back to them got the
paperwork kowana van was missing so were his keys his wallet and a camera case he
was known to carry with him at all times in the camera case it is said that he carried an Uzi submachine
gun A month later kowana van turned up at a police impound lot it had been abandoned at a connectic get truck
stopped when Marshalls dusted for fingerprints they found the van had been wiped
clean what we're looking for is somebody to come forward and tell us that they have seen Salvadore kowana alive after
May of '87 he could very well have been killed but we really don't have anything to
point to that we don't have anybody coming forward and saying yes I saw him abducted from the truck
stop it appears that he's done the very smart thing he hasn't made main contact with the people that he knew before we
were chasing him salvator kowana is 6 ft tall and weighs 175 lb he has brown eyes and gray
black hair kowana uses the aliases John Michael Hurley Vincent SPO and face kowana is a licensed pilot and
computer expert he should be considered armed and extremely dangerous if you you have any
information please log on to our website at unsolved.com [Music] [Music] now [Music]

Brief Summary

Bruce Kelly recalls past life as WWII sailor; Jean Weaver's murder; Oliver the unique chimp; Salvatore Kowana's drug smuggling case.

Key points

The Mystery of Reincarnation. Bruce Kelly undergoes hypnosis and recalls a past life as a WWII sailor.
Tragic House Fire. Jean Weaver's family discovers her body in a house fire, leading to a murder investigation.
Gordon Weaver's Arrest. After years on the run, Gordon Weaver is captured in Oregon, facing murder charges.
Joe Smith's Arrest. Joe Smith was arrested while trying to create a new identity. 'It's tough being a fugitive.'
Oliver the Chimpanzee's Unique Traits. Oliver, a chimpanzee, walked upright in a unique manner, captivating many. 'This is the upright walking ape who had become a living legend.'
Oliver's Rescue and Reunion. After years of captivity, Oliver was rescued and reunited with his first owner. 'He looks happier. He looks much more peaceful.'

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

This really can't be real.

Bruce Kelly doubts his past life memories.

2:55WatchMar 9, 2017

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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