Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 5, Episode 1 | Forensic Files

[music playing] DENNIS FARINA: Next on "Unsolved Mysteries," a murder victim seeks justice from beyond the grave when
he contacts a private investigator with details of his own death. A helicopter pilot who was severely injured in Vietnam
searches for the nurse who saved his life. After a young girl has been missing for seven years,
her mother receives a mysterious phone call that sounds just like her daughter. And a simple classified add to sell a computer brings
an unexpected lethal response. Five stories, they're all strange, but guess what.
They're all true. I'm Dennis Farina, and this is "Unsolved Mysteries." [theme music]
GHOSTLY VOICE: I'm David Chase. I was murdered. Go buy the Sunday paper. DENNIS FARINA: This is what Phil Harris heard one night when he
fell asleep in his easy chair. It seemed crazy, but Phil couldn't help being curious.
He searched the morning paper, looking for any mention of a David Chase. He said to me, a strange thing happened.
A voice came to me about 4:00 this morning while I was sitting here studying. And he said, the voice told me his name,
and said that I need to look in the paper, and that he was murdered, and I need to help.
DENNIS FARINA: David Chase was a local cabinet maker who had drowned four months earlier.
His wife is convinced that he had been murdered. Phil Harris believed that for some reason
he had been chosen to solve the case. He knew that he had to do something, and he knew it was coming from somewhere.
And he was going to check it out. DENNIS FARINA: He arranged to meet with David's widow, Judi Chase.
I really don't know what to think. DENNIS FARINA: Naturally, Jud was skeptical, until Phil began to talk about things that only
David could have known. There were a lot of very personal details about my relationship with David that nobody else knew
about our life together, our love for one another, pet names that David called me.
He called me honey bunny and shuggies, things like this that there's no way Phil Harris could have known.
DENNIS FARINA: Phil and Judy struck an unusual deal. For $1, Phil agreed to investigate
the case until it was solved. You've got a deal. Thank you so much. DENNIS FARINA: Phil Harris was a retired police detective
and a credible source. We arranged to interview him about that case. But unfortunately, just a few weeks before filming began,
Harris died of a massive heart attack. But still, he wanted the story to be told, so here it is.
He's going to work. He's gonna wear-- DENNIS FARINA: David and Judi Chase had lived in Evergreen, Colorado, for 18 months.
They had no children, but were planning to adopt two foster kids who were living with him.
Matt should be here any minute. DENNIS FARINA: One summer day, David was scheduled to work with a local handyman
named Matt Orahoske. They needed to finish a roofing job and clear away brush from the local Elks Club.
By noon, the work was done. The two men went to lunch and then stopped at the bank,
where David cashed a check for $1,800. Hey, uh, let's go drink some beer and shoot some pool.
Sounds good. Yeah? Let's go. DENNIS FARINA: Judi was concerned when David didn't come home that night.
And by the next morning, she knew that something was wrong. She immediately drove to Matt's house.
No, Matt, where is my husband? He ain't home? No, he never came home. I left him at the bar.
Where, on the deck? Shooting pool. DENNIS FARINA: Judi claims that Matt's girlfriend
called her later that morning. She said he had told her, when she asked about David,
that David had said, oh, I'm going for a swim. I've got a raft. And I found this completely bewildering.
I mean, my husband was a very experienced mountain climber and had studied hypothermia and knew fully well
the dangers of jumping into a snow-fed river. So the story was absolutely, completely
impossible for me to believe. DENNIS FARINA: The Bear Creek River runs right by the bar
where David and Matt were last seen together. By this time, Judi didn't believe anything Matt had to say, so she went to the police.
When authorities questioned Matt, he told the same story that he had told his girlfriend.
Matt told us that he and David had been drinking most of the day and that after they did that, they went out
into the parking lot and unloaded these tree limbs from Matt's truck into Bear Creek.
As they finished unloading, Matt told us that David jumped into the river and said,
pick me up in Morrison. DENNIS FARINA: Six weeks later, David's body was found in the Bear Creek River,
3 miles downstream from where he was last seen. The autopsy supported Matt's story.
The coroner ruled that the cause of death was, quote, "consistent with drowning."
But Judi said that some of the coroner's findings made her suspicious. For instance, even though Matt claimed that they had been
drinking all day, the autopsy didn't show that David was drunk at the time of death.
Also, his neck was broken, and there were unusual cuts on both of his legs. His clothes were evidently ripped from his body.
He had partial clothing around his leg from his pants. And his shoes and socks were still intact,
but the rest of his clothes were missing. There's no way David's blue jeans would come off, no matter
how long he'd been in that water, because he tucked them into his boots. And the only way to get those jeans off
would be to cut them off. DENNIS FARINA: Police questioned Matt again. This time, he changed two important details in his story.
He now said that he and David left the bar and drove down the street to dump the brush from the job.
He also said that David fell into the river and didn't jump. If it really was an accident, Judi
wondered why Matt didn't try to get help from the nearby fire station. This location was 50 yards from the fire station.
It was 10 yards from where people were still playing pool. You could have gotten someone to come and help
with within one minute, and David's life could have been saved. DENNIS FARINA: It was three months later that Phil Harris
contacted Judi to say that David had been speaking to him from beyond the grave on a regular basis.
Phil said the voice gave him details about what happened the day that David disappeared.
These are the exact words he heard. GHOSTLY VOICE: Where I deposited my check for $1,800,
he talked me into cashing it and keeping the money in my pocket, under the guise of possibly buying a decent truck.
I had second thoughts about buying a truck from Matt, and I told him that as we were leaving the bar.
Matt was furious with me at the time, which I didn't realize. As soon as we got back by his truck,
he started to tell me that I had promised him this money, and therefore it was his.
Matt shoved me in the chest. I shoved him back, and he hit me in the face. I immediately hit him back in the nose,
and he started bleeding very hard from the nose. This made him extremely mad, and he flew into me.
We went down very near the edge of the water. In fact, we were up against a small retaining
wall, fighting on the ground. We rolled around and tried to punch each other, and I feel Matt got in a couple of good punches.
I only remember him hitting me in the back of the neck with a hard object. I don't know what he hit me with, but it broke my neck.
DENNIS FARINA: Phil went on to say that Matt had an accomplice who helped him get rid of the body
and the bloody clothes. The cuts on David's legs came from a knife. GHOSTLY VOICE: The knife that was used to cut my clothing off
belonged to the other person. This is where Matt cut my clothes off, rather than take my boots off.
DENNIS FARINA: Exactly a year and a day after David's death, Phil took Judi to the local reservoir.
Testing, one, two, three, hello. What is that for, Phil? Just in case anything should happen to me.
DENNIS FARINA: He pointed out the area where he believed the murder weapon and the bloody clothes
had been dumped. What follows is part of Phil's taped conversation with Judi. PHIL (ON TAPE): David told me that,
uh, he had tied David's clothes around the murder weapon. He told the kid to come up on top
and throw them out in the middle as far as he could throw them. I'm not sure whether it was a hammer or a crowbar.
David just said, like, a prying tool. DENNIS FARINA: A week later, Phil died, leaving Judi to carry on their investigation alone.
He was a hero in my eyes. I mean, he put everything else in his life aside to stand by my side and help me find the answers
that I so desperately needed. Phil had a favorite saying. What other people think of me is none of my business.
And he felt that he had information that people needed to hear, and he wanted to give it.
And he really did not mind if anybody thought he was a little kooky because he felt he could help the case.
And other people needed to know what he was hearing. Well, obviously, if we were going
to develop a criminal case, we would have to have something that we could present in court that would
be a prosecutable situation. And in order to do that, you have to have evidence that you can put your hands on
and witnesses that you can talk to. So the information that Phil Harris was presenting,
although not discounted, needs to be corroborated through some other source. DENNIS FARINA: Matt Orahoske declined to be
interviewed for this story. It is important to remember that he has not been charged
with any crime, and the source of the accusations against him is highly questionable.
According to Phil Harris, the voice of David's spirit told him there was, in fact, a witness to his murder.
If you are that witness, or if you have any information about the death of David Chase, please, log on to our website
at unsolved.com. In a moment, a war pilot is brought back from the brink of death by a kind-hearted nurse.
He just wants to say, thanks. [music playing] In 1965, 18-year-old Jim Meade, Jr., quit
college to serve in Vietnam. We tried to talk him out of it. Finish college and then go.
The war will still be there after you finish college. But he was determined, and he went.
DENNIS FARINA: Two years later, Jim earned his wings as an Army helicopter pilot in Vietnam.
It didn't surprise me to see him want to give time to his country. And being in helicopters and being in the rescue mission
and what have you, these were all part of Jim. DENNIS FARINA: Jim served in Vietnam for only three months,
transporting troops to and from the front line. Twice, Jim was shot down, and twice he went back to duty.
But the third time, he was not so lucky. Jim's parents received a telegram, saying their son had been placed on the seriously ill list.
He had a fractured skull. Jim was transferred to a hospital in Washington State.
Jim's family went to meet him there and waited in the lobby for him to be assigned to a room.
They had no idea what to expect. It was quite difficult for me to just sit and relax
and wait till they came to tell us that Jim had been put in a room. So myself and two sons, I got up.
I said, I'm gonna walk down the hallway for a while. I just can't sit here and wait.
There was a soldier on the gurney. And he had bandages all over him, bandages on the head, legs, and calves, tubes and bottles.
So I said to the other boys, the two sons, I said, boy, that soldier is tore all to hell.
We went into that room, and here was that gurney. That guy that was tore all to hell
was my son, beyond recognition. CHRISTINE BOYED: I worked in an emergency room. Jim, it's Mom.
And I've seen a lot of things. But I don't think I have seen anything as horrible as my son was.
DENNIS FARINA: Jim was in a coma. A helicopter rotor blade had fractured his skull.
He made only animal-like sounds and flailed his arms involuntarily. Both of his legs were shattered and full of gangrene.
The doctors feared that Jim would not come out of his coma. As a last resort, the doctors asked the other patients
to talk to Jim as if he could hear them, hoping that the constant exposure to other people
would trigger a response. Incredibly, it worked. After 10 weeks, Jim came out of his coma.
He would eventually make a full recovery. But when Jim came out of the coma, he had no memory of his first 19 years.
He couldn't talk or move his arms and legs. I didn't know that I'd been a helicopter pilot.
I didn't know I'd been to Vietnam. I didn't know that I'd been injured so seriously.
I didn't know anything. It was like a whole new world. After his recovery, Jim Meade got married, earned a PhD,
and enjoyed a career as a psychologist. But when he came out of Vietnam, he was a little
more than a crumpled body. Jim Meade feels that he owes it all to his nurse, Lieutenant Karen Stephens, who literally
brought him back to life. All right, now start with this hand and this leg. Ready?
Keep your legs straight. Keep your legs straight. There you go, good. Grip that mat.
Feel the mat. JIM MEADE: To learn how to walk, I first had to learn how to crawl.
Keep going. JIM MEADE: Lieutenant Stephens would get down on the mat with me and be right next to me
and show me because I didn't have any coordination between my arms, legs, and the commands
from my brain. I remember one time in particular, there were some basic trainees who
had sprained ankles or whatever and were in the hospital and were in physical therapy.
OK, get your legs a little bit further apart. There you go. JIM MEADE: And one time, or after a series
of times of falling on my face, they started laughing at me. [laughter] And I remember her getting so angry.
What gives you the right to laugh at him? That is a person who has been at war. Now I want you both out of here right now.
Come on. Get out. JIM MEADE: And just the way she yelled at them and kicked them out-- she was so mad-- it meant a lot to me.
DENNIS FARINA: Because she had so many patients, Lieutenant Stephens could only give Jim physical therapy
one hour each day. She thought it would be better if he returned home to work more intensely with his parents.
We're going to play ball today. DENNIS FARINA: For 12 grueling hours every day, Jim's parents exercised his motor skills
and taught him how to talk, all under the guidance of Lieutenant Stephens. Nearly one year after Jim first arrived at the hospital,
Lieutenant Stephens told him that she was leaving the Army. She never got to see Jim walk, and she had no idea how she
had influenced his recovery. JIM MEADE: And over the years, I've thought about her many, many times.
She was really important to me, and she always will be. Don't give up, don't. JIM MEADE: If I saw her now, I don't know what I'd do.
Cry maybe, maybe just laugh a lot, I don't know. I've thought about seeing her so many times,
it's like she never left. DENNIS FARINA: Update-- the morning after our broadcast,
Jim's 15-year search came to an end. I was watching TV, and I saw Jim at the beginning
of the program. And I said to my family, I treated that fella when I was in the service.
And the next remark was that they were looking for Lieutenant Stephens. And I thought, well, that was my maiden name.
And at that point, I realized that this was going to be more than just a program to watch.
DENNIS FARINA: A short time later, Jim and Karen were reunited. Hello. Oh, it's good to see you.
[laughter] How you doing? I'm good. How you doing? Oh, I'm fine. You look wonderful.
The reunion today has been everything I expected it to be. It will stand out as one of the most exciting days of my life.
It's thrilling to see someone that has come back so far and made a success of their life.
But a lot of people had a lot to do with Jim Meade's recovery. I was just a small part.
It would be very difficult for me to put into words what this day has meant to me.
It just makes the future that much brighter because I do know no now that dreams do come true.
DENNIS FARINA: Today, Jim Meade is retired and lives with his wife in Oregon. Karen Stephens Nelson lives in San Diego.
They still keep in touch. Next, a violent confrontation, a mysterious phone call,
and a strange, psychic vision are the only clues to a young woman's disappearance.
30-year-old Holly Krewson lies comatose in a hospital bed, possibly the victim of a car accident.
Her location is a mystery. How she got there is unknown. These are not scenes from real life.
They are images from the mind of a psychic. Over the years, we've heard many claims about what
psychics can and cannot do. In this case, a psychic tells us that her visions may explain the disappearance of a young woman in California.
La Mesa, California, was Holly Krewson's hometown. From a very young age, she dreamed
of becoming a movie star. She started into beauty pageants, and she loved the attention and the beautiful dresses.
And we kind of put her on a pedestal, you know. DENNIS FARINA: But Holly's life wasn't
all pageants and dresses. According to her mother, Holly was molested by a trusted family friend
when she was just 11 years old. A few years later, her parents divorced. This is my friend, Holly.
And then when she got into her middle teens, I think she started hanging around with the wrong crowd,
and kind of lost interest in the dancing and the pageants, and wanted to be grown up.
DENNIS FARINA: Holly dropped out of school and began working as a waitress. Who's that guy?
Just one of the customers. She She ended up with a lover who was abusive and violent.
Several times, he was arrested for beating her. No, I'm not getting smart with you.
- That's not good. - Will you please relax, OK? Listen, don't tell me to relax. DENNIS FARINA: Gwen says she didn't
see her daughter very often, but one day Holly came to see her at work. Where are you going?
I'm just gonna go upstairs and grab a few things. I'll be back in a second. Is everything OK?
Yes. DENNIS FARINA: Gwen didn't know that this was the last time she would ever see her daughter.
Um, have you seen Holly around? DENNIS FARINA: Over the next several weeks, Gwen tried to find Holly, but had no luck.
I panicked, and I called all of her friends. They hadn't seen her. DENNIS FARINA: Gwen reported her missing to the police.
She was told that they couldn't help because Holly was an adult, and that there was no evidence of foul play.
Two years later, with Holly still missing, police took a closer look at her boyfriend's criminal past.
Because the boyfriend was arrested at least three different times for domestic violence with Holly,
detectives from La Mesa Police Department polygraphed her boyfriend. And it appeared at the time that he had no involvement
in her disappearance. DENNIS FARINA: On Holly's 30th birthday, a San Diego newspaper publicized a story of Gwen's search
for her daughter. A local psychic saw the story and says that she immediately began receiving images of Holly.
Well, I started to get little flashes, like, short, little images. It's how I receive a lot of my psychic information.
And my first impression was seeing her in a hospital bed, so I knew right off that I wanted
to contact this mother, who was obviously missing her daughter something fierce.
And I saw Holly in a hospital bed. DENNIS FARINA: Joyce told Gwen that Holly had left California to escape her abusive relationship.
My feeling was that there was a car accident. And she was in a somewhat semi-comatose condition.
The name, Marymount, came to me. DENNIS FARINA: Joyce believed that Holly possibly received treatment at a hospital called Marymount.
She also claimed the towns of Marysville and Kenwood were significant, but she couldn't
make any further connections. [phone ringing] Three months later, Gwen received a phone call
that would change her life. Hello? Holly? GWEN: I hear this weak, little voice say, hi, Mama.
And I didn't hear anything. And I said, who is this? And the voice said, Holly, kind of strained,
like she was crying. And I said, Holly, is that you? Are you still there, Holly?
DENNIS FARINA: Gwen had a tape recorder handy and recorded part of the call. GWEN (ON TAPE): Holly, I love you.
Talk to me. This is your mom. And then pretty soon it disconnected. But I know it was her.
I mean, mothers know these things. DENNIS FARINA: With the new possibility that Holly was
in Ohio, Gwen studied the information that the psychic had given her. I got my atlas out, and I found Marysville.
There's a Marysville there. There's a Marymount Hospital, and it's right on the map.
DENNIS FARINA: Gwen contacted several Ohio hospitals, however they were not allowed to release
any medical information, even if they had treated Holly. Are you sure you don't have anybody there by that name?
DENNIS FARINA: Investigators later turned up a promising lead. The owner of a campground outside La Mesa
reported seeing Holly a few months after she was believed to have disappeared. Holly Krewson, her boyfriend, and one other person,
the last name of Humby, were up at a campground in Julian, California. Throughout the weekend, Holly's boyfriend
was creating trouble, drinking too much, it sounded like, just creating a general disturbance.
You guys are taking off. What are you talking about, load it up? VINCENT BROWN: When they were finally asked to leave,
as they left the campground, the boyfriend pointed a gun at the owner and threatened
to come back and shoot him because they were being kicked out of the park. DENNIS FARINA: Gwen says she will not rest until she finds
out what happened to Holly. If I gave up hope, whoever took her, or killed her, or is
holding her captive, or whatever the case may be, they've won. And they're not gonna win.
As long as I'm alive, I'm gonna keep looking for my daughter. DENNIS FARINA: Update-- a year after Holly disappeared,
skeletal remains were found near San Diego. Dental records later confirmed that the remains
were those of Holly Krewson. Authorities won't release any details, other than to say her case is now considered a homicide.
Next, when he answered the for-sale ad, he seemed like an innocent buyer. But it was just the cover for a deadly trap.
[music playing] When a Nashville video company had some computer equipment to sell, it ran an ad
in a local trade publication. No one could have imagined that the sale of that equipment
would end in murder. Well, if you've got a couple of minutes, I'd like to ask you some specific questions about it,
because I'm really interested. DENNIS FARINA: One fall day, a man calling himself
Tom Johnson answered the ad. He said that he was a freelance computer programmer
and database consultant. A few days later, Johnson met with a videotape editor named
Jeremy for a demonstration. I'm mainly concerned with a fast processor and a-- DENNIS FARINA: The two men eventually
agreed on a price of $31,000. Johnson asked that the computer system be delivered to his office, which
was several hundred miles away. In the middle of the night, Jeremy and his fiancee,
Heather Uffelman, set off on the five-hour drive. --that you were attracted to me.
I'd been working for about 30 hours on another project and was completely exhausted.
And I said, well, I don't know if I'm gonna be able to find anybody except Heather at this point.
And I'd like to take her along anyway because, you know, we enjoy taking trips together.
DENNIS FARINA: After driving all night, they arrived at Tom Johnson's motel. JEREMY: Originally, we had been set
to meet in an industrial park. But he said that the directions to the industrial park
were so complex that he would prefer to meet us first at his motel. Come on in. Tom, hi.
How you doing? This is my fiance, Heather. - Hi. Nice to meet you. JEREMY: We arrived a little early, I think.
But he said that his business partner would be along shortly, and he was bringing the certified check.
--bring it here. And he should be here in about half an hour, 45 minutes. Where is he coming from? Do you know?
He's coming from the office. DENNIS FARINA: A half an hour later, Johnson suggested that they put the computer into his car
while they waited for his partner to arrive with the money. JEREMY: We so trusted this guy, it
didn't strike me as being odd. There were absolutely no clues that this guy was anything
but what he said he was. DENNIS FARINA: The three returned to Johnson's room and talked for another 20 minutes.
Finally, Jeremy grew tired of waiting. Tom, I-- I've been up about 30 hours. If you knew where your president was,
we could, uh, close this deal. I think we can close this deal right now. Are you kidding?
No, I'm not kidding. Put your money belt over there and get down on your knees. You, stand up.
Take the sheet off that bed and lay it down here on the floor. Hurry up. Put the sheet down here.
Lay it on the ground. Lay down. JEREMY: The person we'd been talking to before was
this kind of thoughtful, introspective guy, interested in computers. And then this person who was pointing the gun
was cold and calculating and deliberate. He knew exactly what he wanted to do. TOM: Now lay down in it.
Roll yourself up in it. Your company is gonna get an insurance check, and I'm gonna get the computer.
And everybody's gonna be fine. Don't look at her. And then a second later, I hear a sharp buzzing in my ear,
almost like a siren. And the whole room spins because he's struck me in the back of the head.
And then he leaned over to Heather, and I saw him raise his hand up and bring it down.
And when he did, Heather screamed this horrible scream, so he kept hitting her. [screaming]
Stop screaming, and he'll leave. So he came back over and hit me more and then went
back over and hit her more. And then, as he backed out of the room, still pointing the gun at us, he dusted
the counter top for fingerprints as he walked out of the room. And as soon as he left, I crawled over to Heather.
And I told her that I was going to get help and that we were going to be OK. And what I saw haunts me.
You know, I can't-- I can't get the picture out of my head, I mean, that someone could so hurt such a gentle person.
DENNIS FARINA: Heather and Jeremy were rushed to a nearby hospital. Two hours later, Heather died of massive head injuries.
Authorities questioned witnesses and searched the motel room. They found what the killer had used
to beat Jeremy and Heather. The hammer was still wrapped in plastic. It still had the card identifying its weight,
it's SKU number. But we have not been able to trace exactly which store it was purchased from.
I think we can close this deal right now. BILLY HUGGINS: It's unusual that he had a hand gun, especially
a small-caliber handgun, and didn't use this handgun to kill the victims. DENNIS FARINA: Police discovered that a woman
had visited the motel manager about an hour before the attack. Yes, ma'am, may I help you?
Yes, I would like to report a disturbance down-- DENNIS FARINA: Investigators believe that woman may
have been Johnson's accomplice. They speculate that she tried to sabotage the plan after learning that Johnson
intended to murder his victims. I wouldn't have come down here if I didn't think this was urgent.
If we could locate the mystery woman that entered into the motel that morning, maybe she
could give us further information, or anybody at the motel, if they would come forward and give us
any further information on the vehicle or this suspect called Tom Johnson, or if anybody has any information on
the computer, its whereabouts. DENNIS FARINA: Johnson is approximately 6 feet tall
and weighs 165 pounds. He has sandy brown hair and may be wearing glasses. Tom Johnson is a riddle.
He had a smile and a way of talking to you that made you feel very much at ease.
Tom Johnson could be someone's coworker. He could be someone's, you know, acquaintance,
and they would have no clue that this other side is there at all until it was too late.
DENNIS FARINA: If you have any information about this case, please log on to our website at unsolved.com.
Next, a loving husband sends a letter to his wife on her birthday, from beyond the grave.
[music playing] I can't believe it's been 34 years. 34 years married, and 34 years he's gone.
I have a feeling that he's here all the time, around me. I really do. DENNIS FARINA: During the 1930s and '40s,
Teresa and Frank Wilson were busy raising their seven children. Money was scarce, but the Wilsons
were content with the simple things in life. And then tragedy struck. Frank? TERESA WILSON: The last time I saw Frank, we got up
at our usual time, 6 o'clock. And I went to the door, like I always did, to kiss him goodbye.
Surprise me. All right. Goodbye, sweetheart. TERESA WILSON: That was his last words, when he said,
goodbye, sweetheart. DENNIS FARINA: Frank Wilson died of a heart attack on his way to work.
Frank was only 59 years old. Teresa's family, which eventually grew to include more than two dozen grandchildren,
help to fill the void left by Frank's death. As Teresa approached her 80th birthday,
her children planned a special celebration. They wanted to put together a memory book with letters
from all the relatives and the children and grandchildren and people all across the States,
just writing her a letter, and telling her how they felt about her, and remembering things
that they had done in the past. And it took a long time, and it was a lot of work,
but it was worth it. DENNIS FARINA: Margaret says that one of those letters arrived as she tossed and turned on a sleepless night.
MARGARET LOCH: I sensed that there were someone in the door. And I looked over, and there was a man standing there.
And it just came to me that it was my father. Margaret, I am here because I want you to take down a letter.
Letter? You mean, a letter for Mom's book? DENNIS FARINA: Margaret says that she grabbed her journal
and began scribbling. Dear Teres, as you celebrate your 80th birthday, I want you to know I'll be at your side
as you blow out the candles on your cake. Happy birthday, sweetheart. MARGARET LOCH: When he was done, I looked up at him again.
And he smiled, and he was gone. He just vanished. And I woke up the next morning, and I thought, what a dream.
What a dream I had. DENNIS FARINA: When Margaret read the love letter the next day, she began to realize
that this was not just a dream. GHOSTLY VOICE: If I were really here, I would shower you with sapphires as blue as the ocean,
to match your eyes. My father was always like that. I mean, when my mother's regular birthdays came around,
he was so-- sometimes they didn't have enough money to buy her a gift. But he always had something special for her,
and I really think this was the most special thing he had in all her years. DENNIS FARINA: The night of the party finally arrived.
PEOPLE: Surprise! Happy birthday. Well, when they took me there, it was a hall. And I knew it was gonna be a party.
And it was my birthday, so I figured, that's it. DENNIS FARINA: Teresa may have guessed right about her party,
but she had no idea what was in that book. She opened the first page, and inside was the invitation,
which, oh, that's nice. And then she opened it up, and there was a picture of her and my dad that my nephew had drawn.
And then there was the letter. GHOSTLY VOICE: Dear Teres-- TERESA WILSON: I just couldn't control myself.
I just started to cry. DENNIS FARINA: At first, Teresa thought that Margaret had
written the letter as a way of including Frank in the celebration. But then she began to wonder.
When it said, "Dear Teres," everybody else called me Teresa. But he called me Teres.
GHOSTLY VOICE: Happy birthday, sweetheart, Frank. TERESA WILSON: Couldn't get past the first page.
I was in tears. How did you know what he called me? What do you mean? Sweetheart?
I didn't. I just wrote what he said. TERESA WILSON: I couldn't believe it. I said, oh, no, it's just a dream.
But then when she told me that she never knew about him calling me sweetheart, and she said
that's what he told me to sign it, and then I believed it. DENNIS FARINA: More than a decade has passed since Teresa
has received the letter. Could it really have been a message from beyond the grave?
Well, for Teresa the answer is immaterial. For her, the letter remains a tangible link
to her one true love. TERESA WILSON: Well, I read his letter, and I can just hear him say it, just like he was right there.
GHOSTLY VOICE: I love you more as each day brings us closer together. Stay a while, though.
I'll wait forever. I love that part of it. He doesn't want me to leave yet. And I guess my kids don't want me to leave either.
But it gave me a good feeling to know that when I go, they shouldn't feel bad, because I'll
have somebody waiting for me. [theme music]

Brief Summary

Five true stories of murder, missing persons, and emotional reunions highlight the mysteries of life and death.

Key points

A Voice from Beyond. Phil Harris hears a ghostly voice that leads him to investigate a murder.
A Soldier's Recovery. Jim Meade, a Vietnam pilot, recovers from a coma thanks to a dedicated nurse.
A Mother's Desperate Search. Gwen searches for her missing daughter, Holly, leading to a psychic's involvement.
A Mother's Love. Gwen refuses to give up hope in finding her daughter Holly, saying, 'As long as I’m alive, I’m gonna keep looking for my daughter.'
A Letter from Beyond. Teresa receives a heartfelt letter from her deceased husband on her 80th birthday, leaving her in tears.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I was murdered.

A ghostly voice reveals its identity.

1:39WatchMar 9, 2017

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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