Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 5, Episode 14 | Forensic Files

NARRATOR: Next, on Unsolved Mysteries. The official account of Senator Huey Long's death
says that he was murdered by a lone assassin, but that official account may be wrong.
Did Donna Morrow run away in order to escape her unhappy life, or was she the victim of foul play?
A high school dance ends in tragedy when a 15-year-old collapses and dies, and he's not the first victim
of this mysterious disease. Irene Love believes that her best friend from childhood
may actually be her sister, and she hopes that you can help find her. Sound intriguing?
Well, stick around. These are unusual cases that you won't want to miss. I'm Dennis Farina, and this is Unsolved Mysteries.
[theme music] We will not destroy the profit system. We will not destroy the Capitalistic system.
NARRATOR: He was a superstar of Depression era politics, a fiery speaker known as The Kingfish.
His name was Huey Long. --let it read in the words it was written in. NARRATOR: At age 34, Long was elected governor of Louisiana,
and he became a senator three years later. Long was incredibly popular, because he
believed in redistributing America's wealth. No man must be allowed to have too much.
No man must be allowed to have too little. Unless you limit at the size of the big,
it necessarily means that the small people must become more and more impoverished, as time goes on.
NARRATOR: He was a national figure, and there was serious talk of a run for the presidency in 1936.
But that idea worried some people. To the rich and powerful, Long was the enemy,
and he received numerous threats. Some believed Long was better dead than President.
In fact, a few were convinced it was the only way to stop him. Huey Long had a great compassion for a lot of people,
but that compassion did not extend to people who crossed him. Once you crossed Huey Long, you had an enemy for life.
People lost jobs. They lost businesses. They lost lands. They lost everything, because of the vindictiveness
of Huey Long. NARRATOR: Judge Benjamin Pavy of St. Landry Parish was one of the many elected officials Long targeted
for political destruction. And it was Pavy's 29-year-old son-in-law, a respected doctor,
named Carl Weiss, who is still remembered as the man who assassinated Huey Long.
Long intended to eliminate Judge Parvy's position. He had convened a special session
of the state legislature. And I don't want to hear nobody blaming [inaudible]. Be in my office.
In 10 minutes-- NARRATOR: Ignoring threats against his life, Senator Long walked boldly between the state house chamber
and Governor Oscar Allen's office, where history says that Dr. Carl Weiss was waiting.
--you understand me? [gun shot] He shot me! [gun shot] He shot me! NARRATOR: Dr. Weiss was killed instantly,
shot more than 60 times by the bodyguards. [gun shots] His 32 caliber pistol was found beside him.
Huey Long died 30 hours later. He was just 42 years old, and his funeral drew more than 100,000 mourners.
Five days after the funeral, an inquest concluded that Dr. Carl Weiss was the lone assassin.
But now, strong evidence indicates that Huey Long may have been killed accidentally
and that Dr. Weiss is innocent. NARRATOR: On the day Huey Long was shot, Carol Weiss and his wife ate Sunday dinner
at his father's house. YVONNE: I'm fine, papa. And how is your father, the judge?
He's fine-- NARRATOR: Carl's wife, Yvonne, was the daughter of Judge Benjamin Pavy, one of Huey
Long's most outspoken critics. According to those present at dinner, Dr. Weiss' father was ranting about Long and his attack
on Judge Pavy at the special legislative session. But Despite his marriage to the judge's daughter,
Dr. Weiss minimized Long's actions and tried to calm his father. [gun shots] Ah!
NARRATOR: Yet, just a few hours later, Dr. Weiss would lie dead in the state capitol, accused
of assassinating Huey Long. He would leave behind his wife and a son, Carol Weiss Jr. Weiss granted us a rare interview.
Naturally, there's been a lot of interest focused on the minute by minute detail of my father's day, where he
went, what he did, et cetera. He spent the afternoon at home, and then he left to visit the home of a man named Morgan,
who was a patient of his. And I believe my father made a phone call from the Morgan home
to make plans for the morning surgery. Thereafter he left-- See you later. --and for reasons that I don't believe we'll ever know,
he didn't go directly home, but stopped. And the rest is, as they say, history. NARRATOR: Some people believe Weiss went to the capitol
not to shoot Huey Long, but to meet his father-in-law's case. Carl Weiss took his position outside
of the governor's office. He was in plain view, because he was approached by other people
who knew him, who saw him there, approached him, shook hands with him, talked with him.
NARRATOR: At the state capitol that evening, the career of Yvonne Weiss' father, Judge Benjamin Pavy,
was on the line. House Bill number one, a redistricting plan, was Huey Long's top priority.
How much longer am I have to wait for House Bill number one to pass? - Oh, we just got started.
I am tired of Henry Pavy sitting on that judge's bench, and I thought y'all was going to get him out tonight.
NARRATOR: We just started working on this last night. You've gotten resistance on this.
Oh, you get resistance every bill you pass. That ain't no excuse no more. We've just got to take our time, Huey.
HUEY: Time? - You pushing too hard. I built this building faster than you boys are passing this bill.
Now, what's the deal here? Huey, Huey, I don't think you understand. Look, we've got a state constitution that
tells us how to run things. Let me tell you something about the state constitution.
I am The state constitution! John [inaudible], how you doing? NARRATOR: Three times, Weiss approached
Huey Long that night. And three times, he was brushed aside. [loud overlapping chatter]
--can I have a word-- I'm a little busy right now. Oscar! On another pass, Weiss was a little bit more urgent,
and he told Long that he really had to talk with him. And Long, once again, said he didn't
have the time to talk to Weiss. Senator Long, could I speak with you, please? Eleanor got Anderson to come over to [inaudible].
Well, that's good, governor. Mr. Senator, can I just speak with you for a second?
I'm a little busy, son, but you just make yourself comfortable. In just a few minutes--
But Senator Long! Senator Long, this is very important! Mr. Senator! History records the rest in some blue haze, really,
but we're uncertain as to what happened. --asking you people to do your job. You know your jobs.
You know what you've got to do. Why do I have to come tell you what to do? No! I don't want to hear--
NARRATOR: At 9:20 PM, Dr. Weiss approached Long for the third and final time. The historians who are convinced that Weiss
did not kill Huey Long believed it happened like this. --last time I'm doing your job for you, you understand me?
Mr. Long, I've got to talk to you. Just one second! Will you leave me alone? You little piss ant!
[gun shot] He shot me! He shot me! [gun shots] Huey! [screaming] Huey! NARRATOR: Long was taken to a nearby hospital.
Despite his wounds, The Kingfish remained very much in charge. Boys, you staying in here? [inaudible] you hear me?
- Stick. - OK. I won't fight you. - All right. Let's go. Huey Long had been briefed as to who
the man was who was there who they claimed had shot him. He had been given a lot of information.
Somebody had to come up with a story as to exactly what happened there, and Huey Long felt
that he was the man to do it. No matter what happens in here, you keep your mouth shut
about the capitol, you hear me? I'll do all the talking about that. - OK. - All right?
You tell them other boys I said to shut the hell up. I'll do the talking about that.
BODYGUARD: All right, Huey. All right. Let's put him under. Let's put him under.
Huey Long was shot around 9:20. He was operated on sometime around 11 o'clock. They went inside, found out that the colon had
been punctured in two places. They sewed up Huey Long, and then pronounced him cured.
NARRATOR: However, the surgeons had overlooked a serious wound to the senator's kidney.
A day and a half later, on September 10th, 1935, Huey Long was dead. It was the end of an era.
Huey Long, The Kingfish, was gone. At the official inquest, Dr. Carl Austin Weiss
was named as Long's assassin. However, some question that conclusion. Next, new evidence indicates that Huey
Long may have actually been gunned down by his own bodyguards. [gun shot] [gun shots]
Senator Huey Long of Louisiana died a day and a half after being struck down by an assassin's bullet.
The man accused of firing that fatal shot was Dr. Carl Austin Weiss-- He shot me!
NARRATOR: --who was killed at the scene. However, in the decades since, some researchers
have come to believe that Dr. Weiss was innocent. Most assassins leave a paper trail.
They leave some hint as to what they did and why they did it. There was nothing like this.
Carl Weiss was not a man who was preparing to shoot anybody. And at that dinner, at noontime, on September the 8th,
he was a model of propriety and [inaudible] he was in complete control of himself.
Carl Weiss was a father of a three-month-old son. He was making provisions for the future.
He spent a very normal Sunday, and there was nothing to incline anybody to believe
that he had this on his mind. I think it was altogether incomprehensible that he could have been the perpetrator of this crime.
NARRATOR: No one disputes that Carl Weiss owned a gun, a 0.32 caliber pistol, which he kept in the glove
compartment of his car. However, historian Ed Reed believes that he has uncovered evidence that Huey
Long was not shot by that gun. The official version of the operation makes no mention of a bullet being
retrieved from Long's body. But Reed heard a conflicting story from a relative of one of the surgeons.
All right. Got a bullet here. Indeed. It looks like about a 0.38 caliber, wouldn't you say, Dr. [inaudible]
Yes, I would. All right. During the operation, there was a 0.38 caliber bullet removed from Huey Long.
This is significant, because Carol Weiss was alleged to have been carrying a 0.32.
But the bodyguards were carrying 0.38s and 0.45s. So therefore, if a 0.38 was removed, and I believe it was,
then that could not have come from Carl Weiss or his gun, certainly. NARRATOR: Within half an hour of the shooting,
Dr. Weiss had been tentatively identified as Long's assailant. Weiss' brother and cousin heard the rumors
and went straight to the capitol. There, they found Weiss' car. Weiss' brother and cousin discovered
that the doctor's gun was missing from the glove compartment. To this day, no one can be sure who
removed the gun from the car. Elois Sahuk, a security guard at the state capitol that night,
told Ed Reed that it was not Carl Weiss. He told me that he felt that that gun was a throw down gun,
that one of the bodyguards had gone out to the car that Carl Weiss had driven up in, had gotten that pistol,
and had thrown it next to the body. NARRATOR: Reed believes his theory is supported by Weiss'
own actions inside the capital. If Carl Weiss was actually at the state capitol to kill Huey Long, he had a perfect opportunity
that passed. Huey Long had his back turned to Carl Weiss. It would have been very easy for Carl Weiss
to shove his pistol up against Long's body, emptied out the magazine, and then made his escape.
HUEY: It's the last time I'm doing your job for you, you understand me? Because of the rumors that had been flying that there would be
an attempt made on Huey Long's life, that night, because of that, fuses were very, very short.
Something that happened that night, perhaps Carl Weiss hit Huey Long. [gun shots]
Perhaps he just moved too fast. And I think the bodyguards, who were without any training whatsoever in security,
I think they overreacted. I think the bullets that entered Huey Long's body were the bullets that
came from the bodyguard's guns. [gun shots] NARRATOR: Reed offers up what he believes
is one final piece of evidence. When Huey Long was admitted to the hospital, his lip was bleeding.
Melvis, I said, shut the hell up. I'll do all the talking about that. BODYGUARD: All right, Huey.
Your lip, Huey. That's where he hit me. Oh, god. NARRATOR: Was Long referring to his encounter with Carl Weiss?
According to a sworn affidavit from a witness, he most certainly was. In hindsight, there seems to be considerable doubt about
who actually shot Huey Long. But at the time, it was treated as an open and shut case.
No one was allowed to investigate further, and all official records, as well as Dr. Weiss' gun,
disappeared a few years after the inquest and remained missing for more than half a century.
That is, until Professor James Starrs a forensic expert, began researching the case.
In trying to find a gun and the state police files, I decided that the police were
the prime suspects that should be looked at, starting from the top down. And I literally made a laundry list of the individuals
with, Louis F. Guerre at the top of that list. NARRATOR: Louis F. Guerre was the head of the criminal bureau
of investigation in Louisiana at the time of Huey Long's death. Years after Guerre died, a researcher
hired by Starrs found Guerre's will in the public records. There was a listing in the inventory
of miscellaneous files listed as no value. Now, being a lawyer, as well as a scientist,
I realized that inventories of estates do not list items of no value. And I said to myself, those are the state police files.
NARRATOR: Guerre's will listed something else of interest. Carl Weiss' gun. My father's handgun was, in fact, in existence,
and its location was eventually traced to a safe deposit box in downtown New Orleans.
NARRATOR: With a gun were several unused 0.32 caliber bullets and one spent 0.32 caliber slug.
At first, it was assumed that this was the bullet that killed Huey Long. But ballistics tests showed it did
not come from Dr. Weiss' gun. The obvious questions were, where did it come from,
and why was it kept with the gun? Some believe that the answer would be found with the official state files,
which were also recovered by Starr's investigation. However, the Louisiana state police reviewed those
files and concluded that there was nothing in them that changes the original ruling.
It's my opinion that Dr. Weiss was the assassin in this case. We believe, from a law enforcement standpoint,
that he had motive. We believe he had opportunity, and we believe he had the means to do the job.
And we know that he was there. If I were asked whether my father shot Huey Long today,
I would say, categorically, no. He didn't. NARRATOR: Update. Colonel Francis Grevemberg, head of Louisiana state police
during the early '50s, was among those who believed that Long's bodyguards killed him accidentally.
And Grevemberg was in a position to know. He claimed that two state troopers who were eyewitnesses
to the shooting told him Dr. Carl Weiss was unarmed when Long was shot. The state troopers confirmed that after the bodyguard shot
Long, they planted a gun on Weiss. Despite this information, the official position
of the Louisiana state police is still Dr. Carl Weiss killed Huey Long. There is one final piece of evidence
that suggests that Huey Long's death might have been accidental. Records uncovered decades later revealed that a $40,000
life insurance payment was awarded to Long's family. At the time, insurance company investigators
concluded that Huey Long's death was, quote, "accidental." NARRATOR: Next, a joyful Christmas
holiday turns to tragedy when a mother of four disappears. Her husband is the prime suspect.
Menlo Park, California. With only six days left to Christmas, 37-year-old Donna Morrow had finally finished her shopping.
She looked forward to spending the holidays with her four young children. Where you been?
NARRATOR: But her relationship with her husband, Joe, was rapidly disintegrating.
She She had told me that Joe was very controlling. And she didn't indicate to me that he was physically abusive,
but I got the impression that she was afraid of him. NARRATOR: When Donna first met Joe, 13 years earlier,
she saw him as charming and kind. Donna's family, however, had a different impression.
He was arrogant, and he thought he was better than everybody else. And he was condescending.
He was just basically a jerk with money. NARRATOR: Within months, the couple married and began a large family both had always wanted.
They moved into a luxurious home in upscale Menlo Park, California, and Donna settled into her role
as a full-time mother. For 13 years, Donna appeared happy with her life. And then, on Thanksgiving, Donna revealed the truth about
her seemingly perfect marriage. She told me that she did not love Joe anymore, that she wanted a divorce.
And she said, but mom, until after the holidays, I won't do anything, because I don't want to ruin
Christmas for the children. NARRATOR: That holiday season, Donna's mother and her relatives gathered in Missouri to celebrate.
Donna stayed in California. On Christmas Day, they called to wish her a happy holiday.
And that's when her family first heard that Donna had been missing for five days.
[phone ringing] Hello? FRANK (ON PHONE): Hey, Joe, merry Christmas. Hey, Frank. Merry Christmas to you, too.
Hey, I want to talk to Donna. JOE (ON PHONE): She's not here right now. Well, where is she?
JOE (ON PHONE): Oh, you know what? I don't know. We had an argument on the 19th, and she walked out,
and I haven't heard from her since. SHIRLEY: Joe didn't bother to give us any kind of a story,
just that she was gone. - What's happening? He says she's not there. Looks like the whole atmosphere over Christmas
just died right there. Joe Morrow insists that his wife, Donna, chose to leave her family and start a new life.
But Donna's friends and family are just as convinced that she was murdered. In this troubling case, there was
little physical evidence that supports either conclusion. What happened the night your wife disappeared?
NARRATOR: In an interview with police, Joe Morrow stated that he last saw his wife on December 19th,
at approximately 10:00 PM. He said that Donna stormed out the front door, taking her purse and her keys.
She stormed out the front door. Did she take her car? No. She didn't take her car?
We asked him if he had any explanation as to why she had not taken the car. He didn't have an explanation, other than that she
is known to go out for walks from time to time. I thought that she was seeing another man.
NARRATOR: Further investigation confirmed that Donna had formed a close friendship with another man.
I think he was kind, and understanding, and was giving her a shoulder to cry on, so to speak.
But due to her marital status, it was not going beyond that, other than seeking friendship.
Hey. It's me. NARRATOR: Police learned that on the night she disappeared, Donna telephoned that close friend.
So we knew that she was alive and well at that point. And Joe is-- [sighs]. Donna had wanted to get together with him,
and he declined the invitation. NARRATOR: Donna's friend provided authorities with an alibi and passed a lie detector test.
Bye. JOE: I'm not going to take any more crap from you! NARRATOR: Police then found a witness who can tell them what
happened later that evening-- Donna and Joe's eight-year-old daughter. She told detectives that at 9:30 PM,
she woke up and heard her parents screaming at each other. The yelling got quieter and quieter,
and then finally stopped altogether. DONNA (CRYING): All right. JOE: You pay attention to me, from now on.
And shortly thereafter, she ended up hearing one set of footsteps leading to the front door area.
She didn't see whether it was her father or her mom who was walking to the front doorsteps.
She just heard them. NARRATOR: A few hours later, she went into her parents' bedroom.
Only her father was there, asleep. Could Donna, trapped in an abusive marriage, have simply walked out the front door to start a new life?
Donna would never just walk out. She lived for her children. She would never just go and leave
him with a man that she planned to leave in a couple of weeks. And then, police discovered the first promising clue--
a small spatter of blood on the side of a bucket. Want to come take a look a this?
We don't have Donna's blood to compare it to, but we were able to exclude the children and Joe as being
the donors of that blood. The question remains, could it be Donna's? NARRATOR: Without a body, a crime scene,
or any forensic evidence, the police investigation ground to a halt. Two years after Donna disappeared,
her parents sued Morrow in civil court for wrongful death on behalf of her children.
At the same time, he pleaded guilty to an unrelated fraud charge. But on the day he was scheduled to surrender,
Joe Morrow didn't show up. I think that Joe Morrow was shrewd enough that he knew if he could stagger around us for as long
as he did, that he could build an exit strategy, and that's what he did. NARRATOR: After Morrow disappeared,
his estate settled the wrongful death suit for $2 million. His brother and sister-in-law became guardians of Joe
and Donna's four children. Joe Morrow was charged with Donna's murder, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Update. 10 years after Joe Morrow disappeared, he was arrested in the Philippines
and extradited to the United States. At that time, a tip led police to Donna's remains, which had been buried on one of Morrow's properties.
Joe Morrow pleaded no contest to a charge of second degree murder, as well as seven counts of assault
for years of domestic abuse. His sentence was 25 years to life. Next, a family fights to find a cure
for a baffling illness which has claimed six of its members. Santa Clara, California.
A lively high school dance is interrupted by an unexpected tragedy. 15-Year-old Frank Santos, Jr. has collapsed.
He dies within an hour, the victim of a baffling illness. Frank's death was just the latest blow for the Santos
family, who had been tormented by a mysterious heart disease for three generations.
Frank was the sixth family member to die. The long, sad history began when Frank's grandfather
died suddenly, at 34. DONATILA (VOICEOVER): That morning, he starts snoring. And he never snored in his life, ever since we were married.
He wouldn't wake up. Francisco, wake up! Francisco! [crying] Then, all of a sudden, he took his last breath,
and that was it. He was gone. NARRATOR: 30 years earlier, Francisco Santos' death was first thought to be a stroke, and later,
heart failure. His wife, Donatila, was left to raise seven young children by herself.
Donatila eventually remarried and moved with her children and new husband to northern California,
where there was another sudden death. 27-year-old Doris, the youngest daughter, was found unconscious by her brother.
He starts knocking at my door and says, mom, wake up, because something's wrong.
Doris don't want to wake up. Immediately jump out of bed, went into her bedroom.
And I start waking her up, and she won't wake up. I told my son, Steve. I said, call the paramedic and the priest immediately.
NARRATOR: Doctors concluded that Doris died of acute congestive heart failure, which is the inability to pump sufficient blood to the body.
The doctors saw no connection between Doris' death and that of her father, who had died 20 years earlier.
Two years later, 23-year-old Ronnie, the baby of the family, began experiencing chest pains.
At the time, he was engaged to his high school sweetheart, Dana. Ronnie was found to have had a virus of the heart muscle
which could be controlled by medication. Under a doctor's supervision, Ronnie lived a normal, active life, including
weekly games of softball. He was standing by the backstop, talking to a few friends, leaning on a bat.
Ronnie! Let me go call help. Ronnie! DANA (VOICEOVER): He was groaning, and moaning,
and I couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. And I was just standing there, screaming.
All I could do was scream and point. Ronnie! NARRATOR: Ronnie Santos was pronounced dead on arrival
at the hospital. The official cause of death was cardiomyopathy, an irregular heartbeat, probably the result
of a viral infection. I still can't believe, at 24, he was gone. It's-- it's, such a shock to think that.
It's just too young. NARRATOR: A year later, the Santos family was forced to attend yet another funeral.
This time, the victim was the oldest son, 33-year-old Frank, who collapsed while sitting at home,
watching television. His mother and I were-- were out running errands. And we received a phone call.
And she said, we've got to go. We've got to go. Something's wrong. Something happened to Frank.
MOTHER: Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women.
Blessed is the fruit of thy womb. ANNETTE: It's going to be all right. MOTHER: My son!
I've got to get to him! Not again! I told myself, he cannot leave. He's my oldest son.
And he-- he cannot-- he's not supposed to die. But he was gone. NARRATOR: Frank's death was also attributed to cardiomyopathy,
but doctors were unable to identify the specific disease, which soon claimed two more
members of the Santos family. Another brother, 30-year-old Ralph Santos, fell asleep on the sofa, and never woke up.
It was said that he had a viral infection of the heart. He left behind a wife and two young sons.
Then, four years later, 15-year-old Frank Santos, Jr. was struck down at a high school dance.
The mysterious disease had now moved on to the next generation. Frank Santos, Jr. was buried next to his uncle Ronnie.
Nearby are the graves of his father, his aunt Doris, and his uncle Ralph. At the funeral, Steve Santos, the family's
only surviving son, worried about his own uncertain future. And I was thinking that I-- I might be next,
you know, or is my sister going to be next, or, you know, one of us? NARRATOR: Update.
When this story aired, many people called to suggest a diagnosis that tests have proven to be correct.
Brugada syndrome is a genetic disease that can cause sudden death from heart arrhythmia.
As a result of the diagnosis, Frank Jr.'s surviving brother wears an implanted defibrillator,
and other family members have been treated with medication. Since our broadcast, there have been no other deaths
in the immediate family. Coming up, a Vietnam vet searches for the Army nurse who saved his life.
We recently told you the story of army helicopter pilot, Jim Meade, who was severely injured when he was
shot down in Vietnam in 1967. Jim's war wounds left him in a coma which lasted for 10 weeks.
When he came out of his coma, Jim had no memory of his first 19 years. He had even forgotten how to talk and walk.
His recovery was directed by an army physical therapist he knew as Lieutenant Stephens.
Come on! NARRATOR: For the next nine months, with the help and encouragement of Lieutenant Stephens,
Jim struggled to regain his speech and motor skills. I don't know if I would have learned
to do these things without her. I always wanted to get better and learn things so I can show
her how much I had improved. It was always important to me. NARRATOR: Nearly one year after Jim arrived at the hospital,
Lieutenant Stephens left the army. She never saw Jim again or had any idea that she
had inspired his recovery. It's always been important for me that she knows that I'm OK.
NARRATOR: The morning after our broadcast, Jim Meade's search came to an end when he received a phone
call from one of our viewers. 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. Hi. How are You? Oh, it's good to see you. [laughing]
How are you doing? I'm great! How you doing? In my heart, Karen hasn't changed a bit.
And I'm glad to tell her, thank you. It will stand out as one of the most exciting days of my life.
A lot of people had a lot to do with Jim Meade's recovery. I was just a small part.
It will be very difficult for me to put into words what this day has meant to me.
Dreams do come true. Nearly Nearly 21 years after they said goodbye, Jim and Karen were reunited.
And now, almost another 20 years have gone by, and Jim and Karen still keep in touch.
NARRATOR: Los Angeles, California. 16-year-old Irene Love was home alone one Saturday afternoon,
exploring a box that she had found in her mother's bedroom. I opened it up. And there was a birth certificate,
and it had Irene Wynn on it. And I go, hm. Same first name as mine. I noticed the father's name was Glenn, mother's name
was Ramona, date with the same date as my birth. And, uh, by that time, a little bit later on,
my mother came home. And I showed her the paper. [sighs] Oh, no. Are you my real mother?
And it came to light that I was adopted, and she and my dad had adopted me three days after I was born.
NARRATOR: Minnie and Forest Love had no children of their own, so they were thrilled with their newly adopted daughter.
Oh. We're home. NARRATOR: Irene's parents gave her everything, even a best friend.
Dolores Ford was one year older than Irene and the only child of her parent's best friends.
IRENE: They would bring her over every day or every weekend. We went on camping trips.
We went to the park. We never really argued. It was like we-- we knew each other.
We connected. They made sure that we were happy kids. Is there anything else you should tell me?
Well, honey-- NARRATOR: Irene's mother asked her to recall Clifton's, the restaurant
they had gone to every Sunday. And now, Irene's mother explained why they had always gone to the same place.
Irene's birth mother, Ramona, worked at the cafeteria. This was her only opportunity to watch Irene grow up.
At some point, Irene's birth father, Glenn, began to work at Clifton's also. The Loves would sit at different tables in the restaurant
each week, so both Glen and Ramona could see the daughter they had been too poverty
stricken to raise themselves. I never faulted them for what they did. They had to do what they had to do.
And I'm thankful that they gave me to a family-- to the family that they did give me to.
NARRATOR: When Irene was 10 years old, her best friend's mother died. And suddenly, Dolores seemed to vanish into thin air.
Irene never saw her again. Years later, Irene's mother finally explained what had happened to her friend.
Dolores's father took her to live with Glenn and Ramona, the couple who had worked at Clifton's cafeteria.
MAN: Dolores, this is Ramona. NARRATOR: But why? Hi, Dolores. NARRATOR: Well, finally, the shocking news came out.
Dolores was also Glenn and Ramona's child. Dolores and Irene were sisters. You remember Dolores?
NARRATOR: Irene was stunned. Her mother explained why she had not let Irene keep seeing Dolores.
I love you so much. I was afraid if I told you the truth, that I would lose you.
No matter what, you'll always be my mother. NARRATOR: After both of her adoptive parents died,
Irene found herself drawn back to the old neighborhood, reliving her happy childhood with Dolores.
LADY: Come and go now. Fudge, fudge, tell the judge. Mama's got a newborn baby. NARRATOR: We were like twins, you know, but not
knowing that we were sisters. I feel things that I don't think anybody else could feel right
now, because it's like an emptiness that's going on inside of me, due to the fact
I don't know where she's at. And I hope one day soon, that we can come together and be the silly little girls that we
were when we were growing up. I want to be with her as soon as possible. NARRATOR: These are two of the last known
photographs of Dolores Ford. When she was 10, Dolores moved to 2nd Street in Downtown Los Angeles to live
with Glenn and Ramona Wynn. Dolores' last known address was also in the Los Angeles area.
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[theme music]

This, Episode includes: Huey Long (Pts. 1 & 2), Not Home for the Holidays, Broken Hearts, Update: Thanks Lieutenant Stevens and Best Friend's Sister.

Brief Summary

The episode investigates Huey Long's assassination, Donna Morrow's disappearance, and a family's struggle with a genetic heart disease.

Key points

The Mysterious Death of Huey Long. Senator Huey Long's death is shrouded in controversy, with new evidence suggesting he may have been accidentally killed by his own bodyguards.
Donna Morrow's Disappearance. A mother of four goes missing just before Christmas, and her husband becomes the prime suspect.
A Family's Tragic Legacy. The Santos family faces a mysterious heart disease that claims six members over generations.
A Soldier's Gratitude. Jim Meade searches for the nurse who helped him recover after a traumatic injury in Vietnam.
Sisters Reunited. Irene discovers her best friend Dolores is actually her sister, leading to a heartfelt reunion.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Did Donna Morrow run away or was she the victim of foul play?

NARRATOR posing a question about Donna Morrow's disappearance

0:22WatchMar 9, 2017

Tension

65/ 100Some tension

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