Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 5, Episode 16 | Forensic Files

[Music] next on Unsolved Mysteries authorities rule that a young woman has drowned accidentally but
eyewitness accounts missing evidence and a cryptic phone call suggests it was murder a Gravely wounded Vietnam vet who
was close to dying searches for the Army Nurse who gave him a reason to live two hitchhikers unknowingly catch a
ride with a murder suspect but when they try to report him nobody listens and our viewers help capture a
Tennessee man accused of murdering two teenage girls some hot cases some cold cases and
some cases that will even shock you I'm Dennis finina and this is Unsolved Mysteries
[Music] [Music] he fville North Carolina the day after Christmas after completing her shift at
the hospital Debbie Wolf left work presumably heading home the next morning Debbie should have
been at work uh she had to be at work at 8 Debbie did not go to work Debbie did not answer her telephone uh it wasn't
like Debbie at all she never missed work she would call in if she was even going
to be a few minutes late Debbie's parents and a family friend named Kevin Gorton hurried over
to her house an isolated cabin 4 miles outside of fville wonder why Deb's car is not Debbie's car was not parked where
she always parked it but look at the seat that seat's pushed way back we looked around and we saw beer cans
laying in the yard she never drank that kind anyway dogs were running loose but they had not been
fed it's been a while since Debbie there were small things that were out of place that Debbie would not have
put where they were placed there was a uniform laying on the floor in the kitchen uh things thrown in
in the kitchen on the floor like maybe she took them off Debbie's purse was not in its usual place Kevin found it shoved
under the bed first it is hey Dad miss you here at work there was also an odd message on
Debbie's answering machine recorded earlier that day you been out a lot of days you make
me worry when you miss another one just want to what concerned me about his message was that he said that she
had missed a lot of days at work and she hadn't in fact she had only missed a few
hours at work at the time that he put the message on the answering machine the search continued out inside
the cabin and around a nearby Pond but there was no sign of Debbie Wolf Debbie's mother called the
Sheriff's Office and was told they would investigate only after Debbie had been missing for 3
days but 5 days would pass before authorities began a fullscale search they searched the cabin later
that afternoon they brought the blood hounds out which they could find nothing at all they then walked around the edge
of the pond I was there for that Friends of the family had been there a couple of
days prior had done some searching on their own they had already looked in the pond there was no use for us to look in
the pond so I don't think we did a dive of the pond or a complete search of the pond on that day no we did not at that
time I asked him if it would be all right then if I got my own divers to go into the pond and he said
certainly Kevin Gordon and another friend Gordon chis returned to the pond both men were familiar with rescue
work childrenis dragged the pond looking for evidence Kevin I found what looks like a set of tracks he was in the water
approximately 2 minutes when he called out to me and told me that he had found what looked like a set of footprints and
a drag Mark in fact Gordon childr says that he found two sets of footprints pressed
into the thick mud along with drag marks I went out and went under and following the trail I was maybe 6 in
from the bottom I hit something my mask [Applause] [Music] [Applause] flooded looks like a body down here are
you sure let me double check so I went back down confirmed the hole spent more time looking didn't touch or
disturb anything I couldn't see above mid drift cuz it was inside of a looked like a burn
barrel there's a rusty 55g oil drum type thing with holes in police were called to the scene the dead woman was
identified as Debbie Wolf the corner concluded that Debbie Wolf had drowned an autopsy revealed no
trace of drugs no alcohol in her system no obvious signs of Foul Play but evidence at the scene and a mysterious
phone call LED Debbie's family and friends to believe that she was murdered Kevin want you to come over
here and identify the body hey typical cold water drowning will be eyes open mouth open hands and arms in a very
clawed State you know just a fight for life which was quite on contrary to the way that the Debbie was the eyes were
closed the mouth was closed arms were in a relaxed State just her whole body was
relaxed she looked like she was asleep we theorized that um if it was an accidental drowning she may have been
out around the pond possibly she was playing with the dogs and fell in as the investigation continued police
began to deny that Debbie's body had been found inside of a barrel I asked do they have the barrel
and they said no they decided to leave it there they'll get it in the morning the next day they went back to get the
barrel it seems that the barrel was gone all of a sudden it didn't exist the same
Barrel that had been there the night before in my opinion and opinions of some of
the investigators um what appeared to be a barrel to some of the divers could have been the field jacket
which may have ballooned out as she was laying at that angle at the bottom of the
pond there was no doubt my mind 100% positive that it was an old burn barrel or something of that nature you know
metal rusted 55 gallon type drum now that the body was in there was an oil barrel it was
sitting by de's cabin we used it for target practice after I had called law enforcement that
we had located a body I went over to the spot where the barrel was the barrel was no longer
there a few months later Jenny discovered another inconsistency when I got a chance to
examine the clothes that were on Debbie's body I realized that those were not Debbie's clothes the bra was uh cup
size three sizes too large for her the pants were very very much too long the shoes Debbie were a lady's size seven
and these were a men's size six the tennis shoes she had on were her tennis shoes we have photographs of her
with those tennis shoes on prior to her death that's as much as I want to comment on
col Debbie's family remained convinced that she had been murdered among Debbie's responsibilities
at work was coordinating the hospital's volunteers come on I want to go out with
you I don't want to go out with you I told you one volunteer in particular seemed to bother her quite a bit because
he had a history of psychiatric illnesses you wait here wait here wait a minute according to Debbie's mother one
volunteer had obtained Debbie's Home phone number hello he was investigated by the sheriff's department uh the night
that the body was brought to the surface however he provided an alibi and refused
to take a polygraph so he wasn't questioned any longer he left several days after that
to go out of [Music] state he did there was another volunteer at the hospital at the same time that
wanted to become romantically involved with Debbie Debbie discussed this with everyone including him and told him that
she would be his friend but nothing else she was interested in someone else totally away from the hospital you know
I've got a boyfriend Jenny is convinced that this was the man who called Debbie the day
after she disappeared expressing concern that she had been missing from work for
days Days make me worry when you miss another one there was nothing there that we could uh uh use in any criminal
prosecution or there was nothing there that to indicate to us that this was a homicide what really happened to Debbie
Wolf her mother believes that she was taken hostage and then murdered she believes that later someone
returned to the pond to remove the barrel so that the death would seem accidentally
and there are people out there who know what happened to Debbie and I'm hoping that they will
come forward and finally say something she was loved by very very many people and I think that she has a
right to be put to rest finally and I'd like to do that if you have any information about
the death of Debbie Wolf please log on to our website at unsolved.com coming up a Vietnam vet tries to find
the Army Nurse who healed him both physically and emotionally only one week after Jim
Bowski got married to his high school sweet sweetheart he was shipped off to Vietnam we landed and we're all
scared it's the unknown didn't know what I was getting into had no idea in 1968 Jim was seriously injured
by enemy fire Jim Bowski had a experiences most of us can hardly imagine Jim did his
best to forget them but he did preserve one memory a nurse named Linda sharp who
gave him the will to live Captain sharp was the only good memory I had she had something about
her that made you feel comfortable warm want to live and go back home when you were
dying just two days before he was to be reunited with his new bride in Hawaii Jim platoon was attacked by a group of
North Vietnamese they blew us to Smither we didn't even have a chance there were 60 of us somewhere
between 250 and 300 and it wiped out my whole company at the time I was operating the radio for
lieutenant because we were two people side by side he was [Applause] dead and then the next thing I knew I
went flying through the air I landed 30 ft down the hill I picked up my leg that was blown
off and I crawled back up the hill coming through we got a patience coming through I don't know he he's
coming in and out I don't know looks bad my first conscious memory was looking up and
seeing this blonde lady in fatigues helping me you'll be fine Soldier you'll be fine Captain Linda
sharp I just woke up and M my eyes and she was looking over me we need a doctor back over here I heard people talking
and he ain't going to make it and all I saw was her looking down at me Tak care of she gave me the encouragement to live
because of extreme infection what was left of Jim's leg was amputated at the hip this was followed by frigid baths to
lower his body temperature hi Jim how you doing going for a little swim the lady
was phenomenal hey you know we need a hurry up but every time I open my eyes that lady's blue eyes would be looking
down at me looks like you're feeling better hey I promise if you get your down I can take you out and go get a
couple beers sounds good I promise that's what I'm going to do if you weren't cold
before with her help Jim regained his former spirit and his will to live want to go dancing when we get back
home oh you know it I'm dancing night away what are you doing you'll see be quiet late one night just two days
before Jim was scheduled to leave Captain sharp kept her word do I keep my promises
wow stars were out beautiful night my own and she brought two cans of beer popped them both sat on the edge of the
bed and smiled so you going to write your wife about your leg I don't know how you started with one word at a time
I just don't know what to say to her you were not allowed to leave the mash unit
until you wrote a letter to your wife I didn't have the courage to write it she forced me to do
it and then I didn't know she had sent a letter and a picture to my wife with it
telling my wife what to expect Dear Mrs Bowski it truly is not possible for me a
poor letter writer to tell you how very much Jim loves you there will be days when Jim will be discouraged but don't
you or any of your families ever feel sorry for him he needs understanding love and help not pity a missing limb
doesn't make Jim less of a person and it certainly doesn't lessen his love for you take care Jim God bless you both
sincerely Captain Linda [Music] sharp I just think about her I've thought about her since the day
I left Vietnam I don't think that I would have came back to my wife without Captain
[Music] sharp she just gave me all the encouragement and the strength and the motivation to
Live Jim was awarded two purple hearts for wounds sustained in combat and a silver star for his bravery Under
Fire but Jim's War raged on silently he didn't want people to know he was a Vietnam
veteran he would just assume people thought his leg was lost in a car accident or something for 20 years Jim
suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder but the memory of Captain Linda Sharp's kindness helped him to
heal he's ready to look for her now because now he's well enough mentally to look for and I think if he could meet
her it might help him to heal I would very much like to get in touch with Captain Linda sharp if it's
at all possible and thank her for what she did for me and all the other guys update Linda sharp saw Jim's story on
Unsolved Mysteries and she immediately called us two weeks later she and Jim were
reunited Hi how are you are you come here I believe it you look so good you really
do when I opened the door I was elated all I wanted to do is give her a great big hug and just hug her and thank her
and kiss her on the cheek and just uh just try to show my appreciation I feel very blessed to be here and to
actually see him and talk with him because sometimes nurses don't we don't realize that we have an impact on
patients lives and uh I certainly didn't realize the impact I had on his life at
all Jim Bowski remained in contact with Linda sharp Caldwell until his death 9 years after the
[Music] reunion coming up police hunt for a coldblooded killer of a frail elderly
man in wasburn Texas Bill Henderson says goodbye to his wife granddaughter and great granddaughter take care of you
until Saturday when I see you again okay I'll be fine I love you they were heading off to visit relatives several
hundred miles away over the next 3 days Bill stayed in touch and then a day went by with no
word from Bill every time I called it was just a busy signal so I didn't really know if the
phones were just off the hook or what happened we afraid that maybe it may have had a heart attack or some health
problem and was sick in the house and couldn't get to the telephone or maybe had been trying to call for help and dro
the telephone or something like that that's what we was afraid of Bill's son Gary and two other family members were
worried about Bill they immediately drove to his house his truck's not out front I don't know where he
is Dad when we arrived at my dad's house the phone in the kitchen was off the hook my brother-in-law Frank went over
and hung that phone up I was walking down the hall saw my dad's glasses broken glasses laying in
the floor there was a picture laying in the floor floor and that's when I saw my father
laying in the floor and the room all tore up Frank he was cold he'd been there for a
while and Frank told me that he didn't think my dad died of a heart attack that it looked like he was
murdered Bill Henderson had been strangled and beaten to death with an electric iron 8 to 10 hours before he
was found this was a extremely violent murder the man was beaten time and time again and it was extremely obvious to us
also that uh Mr Henderson had put up a fight for his life Bill's Truck and wallet were
missing and yet police weren't convinced that robbery could be the motivation for
such a brutal crime 5 days after the murder a man walking along an interstate highway some 50 mil
from wasburn came across Henderson's wallet and then more evidence turned up the next day Bill Henderson's pickup
truck was discovered just outside of Chicago more than a th000 miles from wasburn Texas police found no clues in
the pickup but they did learn about two important eyewitnesses who not only met the killer but actually spent the day
riding with him in Henderson's truck on the day of the murder 265 Mi east of wasburn three young men arrived
at a truck stop to the attendant it was soon obvious that something was wrong excuse
me you going to do something that guy stole a pickup truck what that guy they uh started telling him that the truck
they were brand that the man had sto truck out there the brown one you got to do something so
Zu 8861 Texas it's not reported stolen okay thanks sorry guys I said it's not stolen
it's got to be stolen I said no the problem we had was that uh when they ran the uh license plate number on the truck
we had yet to find Mr Henderson's body 15 minutes later the driver of the pickup truck left the hitch hackers
refused to go with them after the suspect drove off they were still so insistent on trying to get
this man picked up so scared of him that they went and dial 911 themselves trying
to get someone to stop the suspect in the truck yeah I'd like to report a stolen vehicle again sheriff's deputies
said that no such vehicle had been reported missing according to the attendant the
two hitchhikers then headed towards the highway they never gave authorities their names or their
addresses the suspect continued North he abandoned the pickup truck 24 hours later in Hazel Crest Illinois just south
of Chicago I think it's extremely important that we catch this man anybody that will attack an elderly man that is
nerly defenseless because of natural disease and illnesses will attack and kill [Music]
anybody it hurts to know what Bill had to go through the pain and suffering he had to go through out there
before he took his last breath and uh I would just like to see this person caught and tried
convicted and sentenced I don't feel like my Dad should have had to see something like that leaning over
him you know as the last thing he ever saw just one fire who murdered Bill Henderson Police
had only one clue that could provide an answer there was a palm print in blood inside the room it was on a uh art type
tablet if we can find the person that matches up to that Bloody palm print then we have our murder
suspect update as a result of our broadcast the two hitchhikers came forward under hypnosis they recall
details about the suspect including his hometown and his first name that information LED police to
Lawrence Tut who by that time was serving time in Ohio for an unrelated crime DNA evidence linked Tut to the
murder of Bill Henderson and Tut pleaded guilty he was sentenced to 45 years in a
Texas prison next te AG girls who spent time with Joe Shepard kept turning up dead
but before police could get a straight answer from him Joe Shepard was on the Run Telo planes
Tennessee in a park car 16-year-old roxand Woodson fights off the advances of a man named Joe Shephard two friends
watch from the back seat roxan escapes and runs off into the darkness Shepherd chases after her roxan Woodson doesn't
return that night or during the ensuing days we just fell on our knees and said oh God no oh God no not
her Roxanne's disappearance was traumatic not only for her family but also for investigators on on the case
they suspected that Joe Shepard the last person seen with roxan might be able to
explain how she vanished shortly after roxan was reported missing police went to the
house where Joe Shephard lived with his parents the officers waited while Shephard went into his bedroom to put on
his boots suddenly Shephard reached for a shotgun the officers wrestled the gun away from
Shephard and took him in for questioning when was the last time you saw roxan Woodson Joe's initial story
was that he had attempted to seduce roxan and she had gotten mad at him at his persistent efforts and had jumped
from the car and run into the woods that he went running after her and finally Joe came back telling the two boys that
he'd tried to get her back and that he didn't know where she'd gone Joe Shepard was booked for
assaulting a police officer but he made bond and was released for several days following Rox
San's disappearance over 60 people searched the woods looking for her Shephard voluntarily joined them the
police brought in dogs to follow roxan scent into the woods they tracked her only a few yards and then the trail
abruptly stopped Roan's family feared the worst there's no relief because you haven't got her she's
gone you don't know what's happened to her and she's out there and you can't reach her and you can't help
her after a few frustrating days the search was called off but an unexpected Discovery would
soon bring authorities back to Joe Shepard's house Joe's mother was standing at the
window in the kitchen looking out and she noticed the dogs were digging and going on at one specific location
there and she walked up on what proved to be two hands sticking out of the ground she notified the authorities at
that time and uh they came to the shepher home and did remove the body of roxan Woodson from Joe Shephard's mother
and father's yard roxan had been buried in a shallow grave some of her clothes were missing
and her pants had been wrapped around her head at that point the monal county sheriff's deputy took out a warrant
charging the suspect Joe shepherd with first deegree murder look here Joe found her barri in your front yard look at him
Joe we found her barri in your yard during Shephard's second interrogation his story began to change tell us the
truth what happened to her [Music] I come up on her and she'd hit her head or something I tried to revive her I
thought maybe she was just knocked out you know something could happen to her have there animal or something so I
thought I'll bury her that's what I'll do so I did I took her uh I took her back the house
bu according to Joe Shepard not knowing what to do with in his previous encounters with the law he was afraid to
contact any law enforcements so then he decided to bury her he never did actually admit to being
responsible for her death I find prob Shephard's explanation was not convincing he was arraigned on a
charge of murder authorities believed that they were on track to close the Woodson
murder then they received an anonymous phone call blinking shepher to yet another
disappearance Kathy Clowers a local 14-year-old girl had vanished 2 years earlier
I need you to take us and show us where she is now can you do that yeah I can take you
there Shephard LED investigators to the body of Kathy Clowers just as he had promised we went into the woods uh
probably a couple hundred yards off the highway Joe had designate a spot where we ought to
dig I'll never forget Joe Shephard was hunkered down beside the hole we were digging and he looked up with this cold
smile on his face and said see I told you so he was proud I think of of the fact that he had produced a body for us
and and showed no emotion at all a pants leg had been wrapped around her head very similar to the manner in
which the Woodson child had been buried there had been pants leg wrapped around on her head Joe Shepard was formerly
indicted for the murder of Kathy Clowers while he awaited trial one of the jailers was summoned to a cell near
Shepherds what's matter with you boy the Jailer was lured into the cell by a prisoner pretending to be sick what's
your problem I don't know I'm sick after locking up the Jailer the two men went to Shepherd's cell they
released him and the three fled the prison go let go come on the other two escapes were recaptured
the following week but Shephard remained at [Music] large update London Ontario Canada thanks to a
viewer tip a 10year search for Joe Shepard has ended after the Unsolved Mystery Show October the 5th we received
a phone call from a local resid president saying that he believed the guy called Shephard was in fact living
in London under the name Joseph trip we began an investigation and when we had identified
him to our satisfaction as shepher he was arrested Shephard was later extradited
and convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Kathy Clowers and felony murder and the death
of roxan Woodson Joe Shepard was sentenced to life in prison for the murders next can a deceased love one
communicate from Beyond the Grave Portsmith Virginia it was 3 months after the birth
of Michelle om Al's son Benjamin that evening Michelle had a haunting dream about a conversation with her
deceased [Music] grandfather he appeared with a message for his son Greg Michelle's
father Michelle tell Greg to get a pil of water and meet me at the railroad track at first I thought it was just one
of those things where I must have had him on my mind and you know thinking it was just a a dream and I asked my dad I
said what did he mean by this and I was just stunned I didn't say anything she says does that make any
sense I says it makes perfect sense now Greg one of the one things we got to watch out for and I remembered back when
I was a child he had asked me on Labor Day to go fishing with him let's take a look at this and I remember taking the
pale and caught an eel yes we got another one great fantastic and my job was to carry it back in the pale and it
was kind of a scary scary thought I mean this thing squirming around in this pale
walking back with it Michelle had no way of knowing that I became a Believer at that point one of
the most fascinating evidences of life after death contained in direct contacts is the fact that the loved ones who have
passed on will often through particularly vivid dreams tell us little bits of information tell us things that
we could not possibly know oh Michelle I'm so happy you named him Benjamin over time Michelle's dreams began to feel
more and more real Michelle actually appeared in some dreams herself talking with her
grandfather Michelle ask Greg if he knows where your uncle's purple heart is what Purple Heart Grandpa when I asked
my father about the Purple Heart my dad was like no Michelle you know none of my uncles
not that I know of had a purple heart and one day I happened to be speaking to my mother and I asked her about it and
she says oh yeah she says your uncle had gotten a purple heart and she had it come on the dreams began to take
Michelle to places she had never been before places where her grandfather had spent some of the happiest days of his
life Grandpa Grandpa we're late for the track would you would you go through I'm sorry honey you have
to go back now go on home but tell Greg I got his lucky pencil I thought now I'm
really losing it this did not make sense whatsoever so I called Dad when I told him about the lucky pencil dad just sat
there again on the phone and he was real quiet and he told me that um when he was
a little boy they used to all go the racetrack lucky pads get your lucky pencils my mom had a box of pencils
little stubs and full length ones and I took that down off the shelf and I stood
at the Gate of the racetrack and sold lucky pencils lucky pencils get your lucky pencils I can buy lucky pencil I
couldn't imagine how she was picking these things up uh cuz we had never talked about it and there would be no
way for her to know these things Michelle had named her baby Benjamin after her grandfather I believe that's the reason
Grandpa came back to her it was a way of of affirming that he's there it was a way also of saying thank you hey that's
nice just the way if somebody here on Earth named a child after you'd say well thank you how flattering he's such a
good baby he said he will always watch over me and Benjamin so in a way I look at as
a guardian angel more than 100 dreams later michalow mie still looks forward to each
encounter with her grandfather I just kind of look at it as a blessing a gift one thing he did tell me was that I
was going to help a lot of people with my story and I don't know how I'll know that but I believe him because when
Grandpa speaks I listen Michelle is not alone many people say they've had some form of
communication with a dead often through dreams it's the kind of experience that is unbelievable
until it happens to you previously on our show we profiled the case of Elmer dor an oil company
Courier who was murdered execution style the two key suspects were Jerry Strickland and his 16-year-old
girlfriend Missy Monday police believ the couple kidnapped Elmer robbed him of 10,000
,000 and then took him to a deserted area and murdered him Jerry and Missy disappeared after
the murder update within minutes of our broadcast 20 viewers in the small community of
Moses Lake Washington called police to say that they recognized Jerry Strickland and Missy Monday police later
arrested The Fugitive couple at a friend's house they had watched the broadcast and were waiting for the
police all all he say is I'm the guy you're looking for uh and he was just real calm and collect uh no
violence at all I figured the time was about 7 hours and 15 minutes from the time the Unsolved Mysteries aired and he
was in custody I this felt super about it Strickland insisted that he and Missy Monday we're innocent they got Circle
Stan of evidence all hearsay it's people talking but no Witnesses I mean okay that's why you
know I say they're going to learn that we didn't do this we have enough evidence circumstantial evidence and
physical evidence uh that we feel he's guilty all they want is a conviction and they don't
care if they burn me or not Jerry Strickland was convicted of kidnapping and murder his sentence was two life
terms without the possibility of parole Strickland's girlfriend Missy Mundy testified against Strickland and was
released after 7 months in juvenile detention [Music] [Music]

Brief Summary

Debbie Wolf's drowning is ruled accidental, but evidence suggests murder; Jim Bowski searches for his life-saving nurse; Bill Henderson's brutal murder is investigated.

Key points

The Mysterious Disappearance of Debbie Wolf. Debbie Wolf goes missing after work, leading to a frantic search by her family.
Jim Bowski's Journey to Find His Nurse. A Vietnam veteran seeks out the nurse who saved his life after a traumatic injury.
The Violent Murder of Bill Henderson. Bill Henderson is found murdered in his home, leading to a tense investigation.
Roxanne Woodson's Disappearance. 16-year-old Roxanne Woodson goes missing after a night out with Joe Shepard.
Discovery of Roxanne's Body. Authorities find Roxanne's body buried in Joe Shepard's yard, leading to his arrest.
Joe Shepard's Confession. During interrogation, Joe's story changes, revealing more about Roxanne's death.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

She never missed work.

Debbie's reliability is highlighted by her family's concern.

1:50WatchMar 9, 2017

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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