Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 6, Episode 1 | Forensic Files

[music playing] DENNIS FARINA: Next on "Unsolved Mysteries"-- a five-month-old infant disappears, and her
parents become suspects. What really happened to baby Sabrina? A couple scrimps and saves for years
to build a log cabin home. And then a smooth-talking con artist shatters that dream.
Nancy Myer uses her psychic powers to help police track down killers. Her amazing success turns skeptics into believers.
And navy veterans claim they sunk a submarine near San Francisco in 1945. But why don't official records show it?
Perhaps it was an incident of friendly fire. Cunning, deceit, and lies. Can you figure out who's telling the truth?
I'm Dennis Farina, and this is "Unsolved Mysteries." [theme music] [theme music]
When you are working with individuals yourself in the field, I am sure-- because many
cops have said this to me-- DENNIS FARINA: Nancy Myer is a psychic who has been working with police around the country for decades.
Nancy says she's consulted on more than 300 criminal investigations and has turned up critical clues
more than 80% of the time. NANCY MYER: It's like the ultimate challenge, because most of my cases are murders.
Only two people knew what happened-- the victim and the killer. The only way to find out is telepathy.
When you find someone like her and, of course, you get her where she wants to become involved,
then you have yourself a tool. It's not going to solve your crimes in a lot of cases.
But it's going to give you that extra bit of information where your investigators have the opportunity of going
out and continuing the case. DENNIS FARINA: Wilmington, Delaware. This is the neighborhood where it all occurred.
NANCY: Ah, I see. DENNIS FARINA: Nancy's first major case came when a single-minded detective enlisted her help
in tracking down a rapist. LEROY H. LANDON: I didn't really have any faith at all in psychics or whatever.
We had never used one. I had never considered using one. But the women were hesitant about making
identifications, looking at pictures, and stuff like that. And we was just kind of stuck really.
Most people in the department were very skeptical of the psychic, as a matter of fact, to the point of it
was a joke. There goes poor Leroy Landon, my partner, off with his sidekick, and he must be getting old.
Do you remember what he looked like? Yes. DENNIS FARINA: The detectives gave Nancy no specific details
about the rapes. At the home of the first victim, she was able to improve upon the woman's
own sketch of the rapist. You know, you're right. Appreciate everything you've done for us.
We'll be in touch. NANCY MYER: When we were leaving, she reached out and grabbed my hand
and forearm with her hands. All this stuff came pouring into my head. And all of a sudden, I was getting much clearer pictures.
It's like trying to watch a car and get the license number when it's traveling at an excessive speed.
It's very hard to do that. And you have to let all the information flow through and then try to slow it down and rerun it.
And then I could see one image of him sleeping. So I could really study his features.
Interspersed was this uniform. And I could see a number, but it was faded. And I could see an emblem, but it was faded.
And it looked like a work suit, and it had these clodhoppery black shoes and white socks.
DENNIS FARINA: After the meeting, Nancy suddenly went into a trance-like state and took off down the street.
The same thing would happen after she met each rape victim. LEROY H. LANDON: When she would go into her little [inaudible]
or whatever you want to call it, we would be doing, like, a canvass but on foot.
And you would have to watch her, because she definitely didn't pay attention to what she was doing, because she'd
walk right out in the street or across the street or whatever. DENNIS FARINA: Nancy always ended up
at the same street corner in a residential area near downtown Wilmington. He's around here somewhere.
Which way? Left? Right? Up the street? Down the street? NANCY MYER: So then, you know, well, which house?
Give me the house number? You know? We don't want a little bit? We want more. Well, I gave you the street.
What do you want? The house number would be real nice. And I just refuse to go up the street,
and they really pestered me. But they both knew me well enough to know that I wasn't budging.
I sort of was afraid he might walk out the door of a house, and there I'd be nose to nose with him.
And I didn't want that to happen. DENNIS FARINA: Nancy went with one victim to the actual spot
where she said the rape had occurred. She instinctively focused on the telephone.
Did he use the phone when he was here? DENNIS FARINA: Nancy's hunch jogged the victim's memory.
The rapist had used the phone and, more importantly, the yellow pages. LEROY H. LANDON: We took the phone book,
and that's when we sent it down to the FBI in Washington's laboratory. And we did get a couple fingerprints.
DENNIS FARINA: But without a suspect, the fingerprints were useless. As the investigation progressed, Nancy
found herself drawn back to the same street corner time after time. And now she knew that she had to go further.
A half a block down Shallcross Avenue, Nancy stopped dead in her tracks. This is it.
This is the house. He definitely comes and goes from here. LEROY H. LANDON: By that time, I wasn't so skeptic anymore.
Of course, my partner, he still thinks I'm nuts at that point for fooling with her.
But that's beside the point. So I had a little faith in her. So whatever she more or less said I would definitely
try to do something about and make something out of it, because I was a, I guess, a convert then.
I was a believer of her. Sorry about these. DENNIS FARINA: The detectives immediately questioned
the owner of the building. LEROY H. LANDON: He gave me the name of the applicants for the apartment
that was being refurbished. Derek Stevens-- I know that name. Why do I know that name?
LEROY H. LANDON: The man's name I recognized from another case previous. Can't be the same guy.
No way, because he'd still be in jail. So I called the jail. And I find out that he's on this work furlough release
program or something and that he's out every day looking for a job. DENNIS FARINA: The man's prison uniform
matched Nancy's vision-- a navy blue work shirt, a serial number patch on the breast pocket, black shoes,
and white socks. And most importantly, his fingerprints match the prints lifted from the yellow pages.
[music playing] In the end, the suspect was identified by six of his victims. That's him.
I'm positive. DENNIS FARINA: He was eventually convicted and sentenced to a total of 150 years in prison.
One of the detectives said, you don't really believe he did it, did you? I said, no, I don't.
And it was just incredible, because that one I was able to produce more result each time I worked.
We asked Nancy Myer to visit Brooksville, Florida, where the sheriff's department was investigating
a very difficult murder case. A little 12-year-old girl named Jennifer Odom had gotten off her school bus
just 200 yards from her home. And then she vanished. For nearly a week, hundreds of friends and neighbors
searched the woods. Finally, Jennifer's body was found six days after she disappeared.
She had been viciously murdered. 16 months later, Nancy Myer was brought in to work with local detectives.
The crime scene photographs in the case were classified, so Nancy was not allowed to see them.
I'm getting two individuals. DENNIS FARINA: What you are watching is real, not a re-enactment.
Even with the photographs turned face down on the table, Nancy was able to visualize not one but two killers in detail.
I want to say almost wiry-looking in the arms. His arms are not, like, powerful in the sense of muscle
building, but powerful in the sense of someone who works and lifts or has lifted heavy things.
Where did the friend say she was? Over there? DENNIS FARINA: The next day, Nancy
visited the scene of the abduction-- Jennifer's bus stop. And they pull in right behind.
Where that blue car is right now is where they stopped. Then one guy who came walking back
hailed her, started asking her directions. DENNIS FARINA: The detectives listened to everything
Nancy said but made no comment. NANCY MYER (VOICEOVER): It's like being in a movie
in my head, and I stand beside the victim. And I try to describe everything that I'm seeing as it unfolds.
--to holler, but there just wasn't time. NANCY MYER (VOICEOVER): A lot of times, that's really
helpful to the police officers. Because sometimes, they have odd pieces of evidence
at the scene they don't understand the significance of. And when I describe this sequence of events,
it sometimes makes sense out of odd little pieces that they couldn't make any sense out of.
DENNIS FARINA: The spot where Jennifer's body was found is marked by flowers and a cross.
This is where you found her? I don't think this is where she died. I'm sure you took this whole place apart.
Did you find some small metal, jewelry of hers up in this area? We did find some of her jewelry.
OK. There's a feeling of something there. CARLOS DOUGLAS: She was extremely accurate on some things that led us to look in other areas
that we hadn't thought of. So we obtained a lot of information from what she had to offer.
I was impressed with Nancy. Some things she said were so darn accurate, it's scary.
There should be more stuff back in there. And there should be some kind of a carry case or something.
And it would've been black with lettering in, like, bluish colors. It would've looked fairly new.
It was used to restrain her. They threw something of hers. DENNIS FARINA: Nancy talked about a carrying
case with lettering on it. The sheriff's department has since revealed that Jennifer Odom had her cousin's clarinet case
with her when she was abducted. It had the letters L-O on it. Two years later, the case was found
along with Jennifer's books. The FBI lifted prints from the bag but have not been able to match them to a suspect.
Nancy believes there are two killers, both mechanics and both muscular, who work as a team.
One of the men may be a smoker with a bad cough. If you have any information about the murder
of Jennifer Odom, please log on to our website at unsolved.com. Next, a man charged with murder escapes
from jail while waiting for trial. On our previous program, we examined the case
of Joe Shepherd, wanted by the FBI and Tennessee police for the murders of 14-year-old Cathy Clowers and 16-year-old
Roxanne Woodson. Shepherd had brutally killed the girls and then buried their bodies in shallow graves.
Joe Shepherd was officially charged with the two murders. And while awaiting trial in jail,
he escaped with two other inmates. His accomplices were captured the following week,
but Shepherd remained at large. Update. London, Ontario, Canada. The 10-year search for Joe Shepherd has ended.
After the "Unsolved Mysteries" shown October the 5th, we received a phone call from a local resident
saying that he believed Shepherd was, in fact, living in London under the name Joseph Tripp.
And when we had identified him, to our satisfaction, as Shepherd, he was arrested.
DENNIS FARINA: Shepherd was living in a government housing project with his common-law
wife and their two children. JERRY ESTES: It seems apparent that Mr. Shepherd was
in London, Canada, just within a matter of days after his escape from Bradley County.
DENNIS FARINA: The DA petitioned Canada for Shepherd's return to the United States.
JERRY ESTES: Now, I can tell you that it is my intention to seek the death penalty on Mr. Shepherd
unless it would prevent his extradition to the state of Tennessee. DENNIS FARINA: Joe Shepherd was brought back to the United
States and convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Cathy Clowers and felony murder
in the death of Roxanne Woodson. He is serving a life sentence and won't be eligible for parole until 2017.
We have profiled any number of stories about abducted children. Typically, they vanish while playing or walking
in their own neighborhood. In this next case, a Florida couple claims that someone kidnapped their baby
girl from their own house. And then they themselves became the prime suspects in her disappearance.
Tampa, Florida, a warm autumn morning. Marlene Aisenberg says she got up that day shortly after 6:00
AM and went into her kitchen. MARLENE AISENBERG: I noticed the laundry room door to the garage
is opened. And I'm like, whoa, what's that doing open? And I just run to the first bedroom.
And I look in Sabrina's crab, and she was gone. And I was just like-- you know, I
was hysterical-- Steve, Sabrina's missing, Sabrina's gone. DENNIS FARINA: Steve and Marlene Aisenberg's
third child, five-month-old Sabrina, had vanished from her own crib. The Aisenberg home was instantly a crime scene.
This frightened a lot of people, terrified a lot of young parents. It was chilling for people who lived in that community.
It was a quiet, safe, out of the way place. And then a baby disappears. DENNIS FARINA: The Aisenbergs had left their garage
door open overnight. The interior door may also have been left unlocked. But there was no sign of an intruder.
We got some debris down here. Let's go ahead and enter that-- DENNIS FARINA: And then the investigation
took a sudden, unexpected turn. Marlene and her husband became prime suspects. No forced entry, no ransom note.
We think you had something to do with the disappearance of Sabrina. Why don't you just tell us where Sabrina is?
MARLENE AISENBERG: To me, it was the most unbelievable thing I could have ever heard.
And I was like, I have no idea where Sabrina is. I have no idea who took her. That's why you are here. Help.
You know? Find her. DENNIS FARINA: Deputies removed several items from the Aisenberg home, including
Sabrina's crib and bedding. They were sent to the FBI lab for analysis. As the search for baby Sabrina continued,
the Aisenbergs taped a public appeal pleading for her return. This morning, someone came into our home
and took our baby-- DENNIS FARINA: The plea may have inspired sympathy for Steve and Marlene, but their demeanor
made people suspicious. MARTY ROSEN: Some people felt that they were guilty of something.
Some people felt that they were involved in some way in Sabrina's disappearance.
DENNIS FARINA: The day after Sabrina vanished, the media taped the Aisenbergs smiling
as they left their home. MARTY ROSEN: A lot of people in the community saw that clip
and saw Steve smile, and they saw Marlene with the quick flash of a smile, and they jumped to conclusions.
They said, why would these people be smiling? There must be something wrong here.
INTERVIEWER: Are you withholding any information-- DENNIS FARINA: Steve and Marlene voluntarily
took polygraph tests. INTERVIEWER: Did you help take your daughter from your home
that night? No. Do you have any knowledge of your daughter's current location? DENNIS FARINA: In Marlene's case,
the results were apparently a matter of debate. MARLENE AISENBERG: They told me it was inconclusive.
And they told me that they expected it to be that, because I was hysterical and, you know,
everything. And my baby's gone. And you know, they would expect that. Are you lying about your daughter's disappearance?
DENNIS FARINA: The sheriff's office wouldn't say whether she passed or failed. No, I'm not.
I don't give a damn about the Hillsborough County-- DENNIS FARINA: Shortly after Sabrina disappeared,
the Aisenbergs hired an attorney. To some, it was just another sign of their guilt.
But the Aisenbergs say that the police left them no choice. When the police sit across from you and say,
we believe you know where your daughter is, and we believe you know who has her,
there's a good reason to get an attorney. DENNIS FARINA: Months passed, and still there
was no sign of baby Sabrina. MARTY ROSEN: The police held several press conferences
fairly early on in the case and told the reporters that, in fact, they had evidence and that we should just
hang on, that they were processing the evidence and that it would be forthcoming, when I've not seen
any of that evidence today. GREG BROWN: Unfortunately, most of the leads bring us back to a dead end.
And that comes-- brings us back to this community. And we feel that the answers to this crime
are within this community. Our policy has always been that we don't list people as a suspect unless we
have enough to charge them. We have not ruled the Aisenbergs out. They have failed to assist us in some ways,
and it makes it more difficult to rule them out as having some involvement in the case.
MARLENE AISENBERG: I believe that somebody came into our home and just took her.
It had to be someone who wanted a baby so bad, and they couldn't have one themselves.
Or they needed money so bad that they would want to sell her. STEVE AISENBERG: It could be that somebody just watched
Marlene and I and saw our habits of occasionally leaving the garage open, knew we had a baby.
Or it could have been somebody that knew us casually and then, through others, knew our habits.
So, you know, anything is just pure speculation. DENNIS FARINA: This is a photo composite of what Sabrina
might look like at age 10. If you have any information about baby Sabrina, please log on to our website at unsolved.com.
Coming up, what is it that enables some dogs to actually predict epileptic seizures?
We're all used to hearing about the wonders of modern medicine. And yet, one thing doctors still cannot do is predict the onset
of an epileptic seizure. However, you are about to meet an individual who can. His name is Harley.
He has an amazing sixth sense, and he's a dog. Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2:00 AM. A drunk driver has just run a red light
and collided with a car driven by 19-year-old Victoria Doroshenko. Victoria is unconscious and suffering
from multiple head injuries. VICTORIA DOROSHENKO: Before the accident, I had a perfect life for a teenager.
After the accident, I lost everything. I couldn't go back to school. I lost my job.
I was in and out of the hospital. So many times that there was no way that I could even
function with a normal life. I felt really lost. I felt like somebody had taken away my life.
DENNIS FARINA: Victoria was plagued by headaches and periodic blackouts. She moved to Tacoma, Washington, hoping
to put the accident behind her. While hospitalized, she suffered a violent seizure.
The symptoms were clear. Victoria had epilepsy. Let's get her on her side. Oxygen.
NURSE: Oxygen. DENNIS FARINA: The car accident had damaged cells in Victoria's brain, disrupting normal activity
and causing seizures. When my seizures were at their worst, I was having up to 24
a day big ones. And in between the big ones, I was having about 10 little ones. The doctors didn't think that I was
going to live very much longer. DENNIS FARINA: The severity of Victoria's seizures
left her completely incapacitated. She fell often, reinjuring her head, which only induced more seizures.
Victoria was confined to a wheelchair, and she required around-the-clock care. Because her lungs filled with fluid
during and after the seizures, death was a constant threat. VICTORIA DOROSHENKO: I couldn't do anything.
I couldn't leave the house. When I didn't leave the house, I had to have enough people around me that could pick me
up or carry me if need be or whatever if I was having a seizure. I had to be strapped in to somewhere,
because the seizures were so violent that I would throw myself around and injure myself.
I wasn't awake most of the time. When I was awake, I was really depressed. I didn't want to-- I didn't really want to live.
DENNIS FARINA: Victoria finally found help in a very unlikely place-- a woman's prison near Tacoma.
In a unique program, inmates train dogs from the pound as companions for the handicapped.
The dogs learn to open and close doors, pull wheelchairs, and retrieve things like clothing and hair brushes.
Victoria heard about the program and went to the prison. - [inaudible] - Hi, Vicky.
Oh. This is Jane. VICTORIA DOROSHENKO: I was hoping for a dog that could help me in my daily living skills.
And I was real lonely. I didn't have a life. I didn't have a social life. So I thought maybe that a dog would help.
DENNIS FARINA: When Victoria arrived, inmate trainers with working with two dogs, both Golden Retrievers.
One had already been chosen for Victoria. VICTORIA DOROSHENKO: That day, when I was out at the program,
I ended up having a major seizure. Gary! VICTORIA DOROSHENKO: And the dog that they
were originally training for me just walked away from me and didn't care. DENNIS FARINA: The second dog in the room, whose name
was Harley, disobeyed his trainer's commands and went straight to Victoria. SUE MILLER: When Vicki started seizuring and Harley went
to her and laid down with her, everybody in the room was astounded. You know, the dog was doing what we'd
hoped he could learn to do before we ever hoped he could learn to do it. He somehow knew.
VICTORIA DOROSHENKO: When I woke up from my seizure, his head was laying on me. And he was looking at me, like, all sad.
And he knew something was wrong. As soon as I started petting him, I think he realized that everything was OK.
He started wagging his tail. And it was from there on, I knew that that was my dog.
And I knew it was going to work. He was my partner from then on. DENNIS FARINA: Once Harley became Victoria's
full-time companion, she was less anxious and had fewer seizures. Victoria was able to resume classes
at a local community college. VICTORIA DOROSHENKO: I was walking across campus. And he all of a sudden started acting real funny.
He didn't want to cooperate. He didn't want to-- he didn't want to listen to me.
[barking] What is it, boy? [barking] What is it, boy? Calm down. Excuse me, can I sit down here?
Yes. Oh, Thank you. I'm not feeling so well. DENNIS FARINA: Harley calmed down once Victoria
was safely inside a classroom. Five minutes later, she had a major seizure. It appeared that Harley somehow knew Victoria
was going to have a seizure. His barking and strange behavior had been a signal for her to go to a safe place.
VICTORIA DOROSHENKO: When I realized Harley could predict my seizures ahead of time,
I was so thrilled. I knew that I was saved. It changed my life completely. DENNIS FARINA: After his first prediction,
Harley always warned Victoria when a seizure was about to strike. He usually gave her 15 to 45 minutes' notice.
VICTORIA DOROSHENKO: So after that, the bond and the trust and the love and the dependency grew and grew
and grew until there was no comparing it. We were each other. We became like one, a shadow.
DENNIS FARINA: For the first time since her accident, Victoria enjoyed the comfort and security of a normal life.
REINA BERNER: Modern technology and physicians doctors-- none of us can predict when a seizure will occur
or how many seizures a person will have. These dogs can. They can tell beforehand when a seizure will occur.
They can warn the person, which is an incredible phenomena, so that the person can feel safe.
They can be safe. They can have the comfort of having a dog with them at all times.
'Cause the anxiety of having a seizure is with someone all the time. I can never, never repay him or show
the devotion I have for him from what he's done for me. DENNIS FARINA: Harley looked after Victoria for three years,
and then he became ill. The vet could do nothing to save him. Victoria lost her faithful companion.
VICTORIA DOROSHENKO: There's no words to describe how I felt about Harley. He gave me a life, and that's-- a life is more than
you could ever give anybody. [birds chirping] DENNIS FARINA: Can dogs really predict seizures?
Some scientists believe dogs detect subtle behavior changes or that their keen sense of smell
predicts an oncoming attack. But for the rest of us, it still remains an unsolved mystery.
Next, World War II veterans swear that they sank a submarine off California. But why does the Navy deny it?
The 840-mile coastline of California. Long stretches of beach and fabulous rock formations
make this a paradise for deep sea divers. And rumor has it that divers between Santa
Barbara and San Francisco have sighted something very unusual. Now, listen, I got real good visibility, maybe 30, 40 feet.
Really? And sitting off the point there at the bottom around the reef is what I think a World War II submarine,
a U-boat. - A submarine? - Yeah. - Out here? Yes. DENNIS FARINA: During World War II,
America's east and west coast were at risk of attack by enemy subs. A German U-boat was sighted off of New England in May of 1945.
Later that same year, a Japanese submarine fired on an oil rig near Santa Barbara.
In fact, a few American sailors do remember attacking a submarine in 1945 just off the coast of northern California.
At the time, they assumed that it was the enemy. But now, they're afraid they sunk an American sub instead
and made a horrifying mistake that has been covered up by military officials. During 1944 and 1945, the USS Willard Keith
was in a fleet of Navy destroyers patrolling the Pacific coast. For the most part, life on board was
all practice and drill with the K-guns, better known as depth charges. [boom] Then came March 21, 1945.
The Willard Keith was cruising south of San Francisco, when a general quarters alarm sounded.
This one was for real. An enemy sub was below. Chet Gardner was a 19-year-old seaman on the Willard Keith.
His job was to set the depth of the explosive charges. CHET GARDNER: Well, I can see it just plain to day
as I could the day that it happened. Starboard K-gun ready to fight, sir. CHET GARDNER: It's something I'll never forget,
because I was pretty excited about it. [boom] [boom] Boy, the water flew everywhere.
I thought, my gosh, we've made a mistake. Looked to me like we were going to blow
the ship right out of the water that was so shallow. But as we watched then, word came down from the bridge
that they had got a hit. Something's coming up. There's [inaudible]. It was a tremendous explosion, you know, and--
DENNIS FARINA: Eugene Sheridan, then 24 years old, manned a K-gun on the Willard Keith.
All greenish looking, oil-ish looking stuff coming through the top of the water.
And it's not seawater. You're in there all the time. You can tell the difference of color of it.
And we made three or four passes around and back and forth and crisscrossed and everything else,
and we never did pick it up again. BILL ANDERSON: They couldn't pick it up on the sonar
anymore. There was no more sound. We assumed it was just waiting on the bottom there someplace.
DENNIS FARINA: Bill Anderson, who was stationed on the main deck, was just 18 years old.
Bill began to wonder whether the sunken submarine really did belong to the enemy.
He felt strongly enough that he questioned a junior officer. Sir, how do we know we're not firing
on one of our own submarines? 'Cause we're too close to shore, Anderson. But sir--
If it was an American submarine, it'd be on the surface, not below it. BILL ANDERSON: It was kind of a sobering thought, you know?
I mean, you had maybe 50, 60 men dying below you at that time. Or we thought this was the case.
DENNIS FARINA: Bill Anderson has never been able to shake that haunting image and the nagging suspicion
that the dying men were his own comrades. He petitioned the Navy and received the deck log and war
diary of the Willard Keith but found no record of the submarine hit. BILL ANDERSON: The war diary we got doesn't mention
any enemy contact, doesn't mention this depth charge run whatsoever. There didn't seem to be any information in Washington
on a submarine being sunk off the coast of California. DENNIS FARINA: So Bill decided to look for the sub.
He and a partner pooled the resources and bought a boat equipped with radar, underwater sonar,
and diving equipment. Just make a circle on that, Wayne. BILL ANDERSON: We think the odds are good enough
that we've spent most of our money on this project to find it. It became an obsession with us to find the sub.
EUGENE SHERIDAN: I say that we either sunk it right there, or we crippled it badly, crawled off someplace else.
Maybe-- maybe got away or maybe-- who knows, you know? But I definitely do know that-- that we dropped
the depth charges on it. [boom] The Navy denies that it happened, but it did happen.
[boom] Why they say it didn't happen, I don't know, unless they're covering it up, you know,
unless it is one of our subs and they don't want it known. [boom] DENNIS FARINA: It's a big ocean.
Bill Anderson did not find the sub that he was looking for. But still, the question remains.
Did the US Navy cover up an incident of friendly fire in the waning days of World War II?
Decades later, crewmen of the Willard Keith are still hoping for an answer. Next, a couple can finally afford
to build their dream home. But then a contractor robs them of their money and their dream.
It's hard to imagine a more beautiful setting for a home than this meadow in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
Don't you think we ought to build a log house right here and big picture window?
DENNIS FARINA: It was here on 6 acres of land that Earl and Donna Chotvacs planned
to build their dream home. For years, they had saved their money until they finally
had enough to begin construction on a modern-day log cabin similar to this one. But the Chatvacs' hopes were soon destroyed thanks
to a sophisticated con artist who called himself Mark Mitchell. Earl and Donna met Mark Mitchell through a newspaper ad.
Mitchell was the owner of Colorado log homes, and he had a foolproof plan. The Chotvacs would invest $25,000
in his thriving business. In return, he would give them a large discount on the construction of their log cabin.
Later, the $25,000 investment would be returned with interest. But it didn't quite turn out that way.
Well, you know, Earl, we're kind of a young business. But we do have a couple of clients
up there in Breckenridge. I could-- EARL CHOTVACS: He mentioned that there was banks that he could
get his financing through. We would be in our house by Christmas at the very latest
of this year. And so that's when we really became interested. It seemed like just a great deal.
If you're ready to go with this, Earl, I have a contract with me right here. Well, you know--
DENNIS FARINA: Earl and Donna handed over a $25,000 deposit to Mitchell's salesman.
All right, now, this is my copy. That's your home. That's mine. Heh. Come on. I'll buy you lunch. - All right.
DONNA CHOTVACS: It seemed like we'd been waiting for such a long time. And it was all coming through.
I mean, they said it was real. And we believed them. DENNIS FARINA: The log yard at Mitchell's Denver headquarters
looked legitimate. Workers processed hundreds of logs, and the shells of cabins were carefully pre-assembled.
Supposedly, each shell would later be taken apart, trucked to a building site, and reassembled on a concrete foundation.
But after eight weeks, there was absolutely no progress at Earl and Donna's property.
The Chotvacs again made the four-hour drive to Mitchell's log yard in Denver. - There you go. - Isn't this pretty?
- Into your new home. - All right. Temporarily. Look at the logs. DENNIS FARINA: In spite of their doubts,
Mark Mitchell was able to reassure them. DONNA CHOTVACS: They had started our shell,
and it seemed to have all the basic things that were in our plans. And Earl measured it, and the kids, you know,
we took pictures of ourselves inside of it. And just seemed real exciting, you know?
It seemed like it was really happening again. And so, of course, then we were back up.
DONNA: This looks great. Yeah, this is nice. DENNIS FARINA: But more time passed without any construction
at the property. It took a siege of phone calls from Earl and Donna to convince Mitchell to dispatch a work crew.
DONNA CHOTVACS: They sent an excavator up, and we pounded in the nails and measured where
the corners of the house were and stood in the spot where the living room was going to be and imagined our view.
This is the foundation. So where you'll be-- the first floor will be up here, but the windows will be here.
We were starting to think, well, it's not going to be done by Christmas. But it might be done by March.
We still really didn't believe that it wasn't going to happen. Earl, Donna, I'm sorry I had to keep you waiting.
Please come in and have a seat. DENNIS FARINA: Their optimism didn't last long. When Earl and Donna applied to their local bank
for a construction loan, they were stunned that the request was denied. Well, I'm afraid the news isn't good.
It has nothing to do with you two. The problem is with the builder. It appears this man is in some serious trouble.
He has been taking deposit money, just as he did yours, and then has not started
construction on the homes. Matter of fact, Mark Mitchell is not even his real name.
It's Wade Mitchell Parker. I'm awfully sorry. I wish there was something more that I could do.
DONNA CHOTVACS: At that point, I felt nauseous. I just suddenly just was sick, feeling as though we
were going to lose all the money that we had given to Mark Mitchell. Sit down and cool off a little,
make a couple of phone calls. We'll get your money out here to you. We'll get it all done. Let's--
Do you have our money? - No, no, I don't. - You don't have our money? No, I don't. I know, but let's--
DENNIS FARINA: Earl and Donna confronted Wade Parker and demanded a refund of their deposit.
He gave them a promissory note, essentially a $25,000 IOU. And sign it. Ellen, you want to witness this, please?
DONNA CHOTVACS: We were still trying to be nice about it. But I think deep down inside, we really
both knew that probably we weren't ever going to see our money. OK. 30 days, folks, we'll get this all wrapped up,
and that'll be the end of it. DONNA CHOTVACS: We finished up the meeting, and we left.
And that's the last time we ever saw him. I spoke to him maybe three or four times after that
on the telephone, but we never saw him again. DENNIS FARINA: That same month, Wade Mitchell Parker declared
bankruptcy and disappeared. The Chotvacs lost their entire investment and soon discovered they were not the only people
taken in by Parker. They joined other victims at a meeting organized by Colorado authorities.
Together, they'd lost more than $1 million. Boy, this guy's-- MAN: We should've gotten together
a long time ago, [inaudible]. Yeah, he's really slick, isn't he? What did he tell you about the land in Bennett?
DONNA CHOTVACS: When we finally came to terms with the fact that we lost the money, we felt stupid.
When we realized that lots of big-time people, not just the naive young couple with two small children, a lot
of big-time people lost a lot of money, too, we didn't feel quite so stupid. A number of people have asked us
whether we think that Wade Michelle Parker was just a bad businessman or whether we think he was a con person
from the very beginning. - --the price of your home-- - Mm-hmm. --and turn around and give you--
DENNIS HALL: Some of the transactions he made are just plain crooked. There's no other explanation for what he did.
Also, we haven't been able to find the money. We think it's got to be out there somewhere.
The fact that we haven't been able to find it and that Parker fled during the bankruptcy proceedings
is a real indication to us that this was a con from the beginning. DENNIS FARINA: Update.
Parker avoided arrest for nearly three years. Then just after this story was rebroadcast,
he was arrested in Cobb County, Georgia. There, Parker was using two new aliases, Ronald
Anderson and Larry Wheeler. But his time in custody was short. After Parker posted bail, he failed
to show up for a hearing. And after years on the run, since we broadcast this case,
Wade Mitchell Parker, alias Ronald Anderson, alias Larry Wheeler, alias Mark Mitchell, has been captured.
He served his time and has been released. [theme music] [music playing] [theme music]

This, Episode includes: Silent Witness, Update: Two Strikes, Missing Florida Baby, Epilepsy Pooches, Phantom Sub and Log Cabin Fraud.

Brief Summary

This episode covers the Aisenberg baby case, psychic investigations, and a WWII submarine incident involving a con artist contractor.

Key points

The Disappearance of Baby Sabrina. A five-month-old infant vanishes from her crib, leading to shocking suspicions against her parents.
Nancy Myer's Psychic Abilities. Psychic Nancy Myer claims to have solved over 300 criminal cases, turning skeptics into believers.
The Aisenbergs Become Suspects. After their baby disappears, the Aisenbergs find themselves under suspicion with no signs of an intruder.
Victoria's Struggles with Seizures. Victoria Doroshenko faced debilitating seizures that left her feeling helpless and depressed.
The Unlikely Companion. Victoria found hope in an unexpected place—a prison program training service dogs.
Harley's Life-Changing Bond. Harley, a service dog, transformed Victoria's life by predicting her seizures.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

What really happened to baby Sabrina?

0:13WatchMar 9, 2017

Tension

65/ 100Some tension

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