Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 7, Episode 5 | Forensic Files

DENNIS FARINA: Next on "Unsolved Mysteries," a rookie police officer in a small town is shot to death.
Was he murdered to cover up a police conspiracy with local drug dealers? In 1947, an object crashed near Roswell, New Mexico.
Witnesses claim that it was a UFO and that there were aliens on board. Two inmates break out of jail and set off on a brutal killing
spree that leaves four people dead, and three friends out for a joy ride drive straight into violence.
Five cases with strange clues, and bizarre twists, and secrets that you would never expect.
I'm Dennis Farina, and this is "Unsolved Mysteries." Mountainair, New Mexico-- Steve Sandlin was born to be a policeman.
His father was a career law enforcement officer, and Steve planned to follow in his footsteps.
TOM SANDLIN: Because I was a policeman, Stevie grew up seeing a uniform. He liked it.
He used to wear my helmet, wear my motorcycle boots. He'd go around the house all day dressed up like a cop.
Steve wanted to be a police officer, and nothing was going to do until he did it.
DENNIS FARINA: At the age of 21, Steve became one of only four officers in the Mountainair Police
Department. Mountainair 4. 10-8. DENNIS FARINA: But one evening, while he was working
alone in the police station, Steve's dream came to a violent end. DAVID CARSON: I can't recall the exact wording by the individual
that notified us, but when we arrived, he mentioned something about Steve upstairs, a gun, and blood.
And he didn't know if it was a joke, or real, or what. We had our weapons drawn.
We weren't sure what we were walking into. And I went to Steve-- Steven, hang on.
Get him rolling, Gary. DAVID CARSON: --and asked him what had happened. He was unresponsive.
He was breathing, but he never did say anything. We immediately called emergency services, ambulance personnel,
and they immediately started their lifesaving operation to try and save the officer's life.
He was still alive at that time. They were in the process of trying to start an IV,
and shortly thereafter, Officer Sandlin expired. He was pronounced dead by the doctor here at the scene.
DENNIS FARINA: Steve Sandlin had been on the force for only eight weeks. His gun was found by his side.
Police believe that the fatal bullet had been fired from his own weapon. Most concluded that Steve's death
was either accidental or a suicide, but others disagreed. Those of us who knew Steve know that there is no way
that it could have been a suicide, or even an accidental shooting. We believe Steve was murdered, and we believe there
was a conspiracy to do so. The cause of Steve Sandlin's death sparked a heated public debate.
The most disturbing allegation-- that the identity of Steve's killer was known, but had been deliberately covered up.
On the afternoon of Steve's death, he returned to an empty police station after arguing with Chief Carson over some traffic tickets
that Steve had written. DAVID CARSON: What I told Steve was, Steve, slow down some.
You can't catch everybody. That's not your role. Just take it easy. And he was-- he seemed a little down about that.
He wasn't chewed out. It was just a conversation. Hey, Chelle. How you doing? DENNIS FARINA: By 7 o'clock, Steve was alone at the station,
and talking with his girlfriend on the phone. That's great. She'll be so happy. We were making plans for the next day.
He said that Chief Carson yelled at him and told him to go back into the station.
So he was kind of mad about that, and he said, if they want him to be a security guard,
that he would sit up in the station and be a security guard. And while I was talking to him, I heard a lady's voice come in.
And he muffled the phone, and I couldn't hear what was said, but it sounded like he was getting loud,
and like she was yelling at him. And he said it was no big deal, and then he said he had to go.
Bye bye. DENNIS FARINA: At 7:45, Chief Carson learned that Steve had been shot. [GUNSHOT]
DAVID CARSON: I saw no evidence of any confrontation, no other shots fired, nothing.
And from an average person's point of view, it was apparently a suicide. DENNIS FARINA: Chief Carson also believed that,
if Steve's death wasn't suicide, then it was a tragic accident. DAVID CARSON: There was information
that came to us that he was prone to play with his gun. I can see the possibility that perhaps he
was playing with his gun, and I think that that probably is the strongest possibility
in Steve Sandlin's death. The possibility of it going off is tremendous. DENNIS FARINA: The results of Steve's autopsy
were inconclusive. Some believe that the gun may have been as much as two feet away from Steve's head when it was fired,
not typical of a self-inflicted wound. And there were only minor traces of gunpowder
found on Steve's hand, unusual if Steve had fired the fatal shot. Despite this evidence, the state attorney general
refused to rule out suicide. Frustrated with the finding, Steve's family began their own investigation.
TOM SANDLIN: Steve's death was a homicide. I think they killed him to keep him quiet of something
he may have known that was going on down in Mountainair. DENNIS FARINA: The family's investigation
uncovered a strong motive for Steve's murder. After only a few weeks on the job,
Steve had begun to go out on patrol alone, sometimes waiting outside a local bar for drunk drivers.
STEVE SANDLIN: Sir, I'm going to need to see your driver's license, please. Sir, you're going to have to step out of the car.
Put your left hand outside, and open the door from the outside. DENNIS FARINA: Just one month before his death,
Steve pulled over a driver and found more than liquor on his breath. Is this yours?
Sir, I'm placing you under arrest for possession of marijuana. Put your hands on the car.
DENNIS FARINA: The following day, the man's home was searched. Steve's hunch was correct.
Police seized 54 pounds of marijuana worth more than $100,000. OFFICER: Let's get this back to the station.
DENNIS FARINA: Within days of the arrest, Steve received death threats. Concerned, he refused to sleep at home.
DAVID CARSON: It wasn't possible to trace these threats, mysterious phone calls, these kind of things.
We were all familiar with these type of threats, especially after we started arresting drug dealers
and so forth. They became more amplified. DENNIS FARINA: At the time Steve was killed,
the Mountainair Police Department was being investigated for mishandling evidence.
TOM SANDLIN: The last time I spoke to Steven, Steven indicated that it was something
going on that he did not agree with down in Mountainair. He asked me what would I do in that situation,
and I basically told him to tell the truth. So how long have you been with the Mountainair PD?
DENNIS FARINA: Soon after talking to his father, Steve was questioned by the New Mexico
attorney general's office. It was the day before his death. I think someone killed Steve Sandlin intentionally.
I say that because there's no evidence that it was suicide. There's no evidence it was accidental,
and there's very strong persuasive evidence that he was murdered, and that his market was
planned. DENNIS FARINA: Shortly after his death, Steve's house was searched by police.
Three days later, his family arrived to pick up his belongings. EILEEN SANDLIN: Michelle and I were in the kitchen,
and she opened a drawer. MICHELLE STURTEVANT: Ed, come here. STEVE SANDLIN: What we found in the drawer were several bags
of marijuana, and Ed looked at us and said, they've already searched this house.
What's this stuff doing here? He says they couldn't possibly have missed this, and they couldn't have.
You just opened the drawer, and there it was. It wasn't hidden. It wasn't disguised in any way.
It was just there. DAVID CARSON: The only reason that I could think of of it being there was someone had made an attempt to make
Officer Sandlin look bad-- STEVE SANDLIN: Step back. I need to see your driver's license.
DAVID CARSON: Or possibly the police department look bad, but I'm convinced that that marijuana was planted there
after Steve Sandlin's death. DENNIS FARINA: Steve always recorded information about his traffic stops on a small tape recorder.
In her search, Steve's mother discovered that all of his taped cassettes were missing.
JAMES SCARANTINO: Several witnesses were found who stated that they saw Chief Carson parked
or outside the Mountainair police department between 7:15 and 7:25, or thereabouts.
We're not talking one or two, but several people place him there at that time. Anyone who would make the statement officially
that I was in the area or here at the police station anytime between 7:00 and 7:30 is a liar,
because I was in the company of 200 to 300 people at a public function at the Mountainair High School.
And there were a number of people that I was there with and spoke with that can place me there at that time.
DENNIS FARINA: There are many disturbing questions in this case. Steve, come on.
DENNIS FARINA: If Steve was murdered, who pulled the trigger? Was the marijuana placed in his house?
And if so, why? And finally, are members of the mountain air police department hiding information
about Steve's death? I did agree to take a lie detector test with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
After that polygraph was given, his official statement was that the Federal Bureau of Investigation
has no reason to believe there was any attempt to deceive them on my part whatsoever.
EILEEN SANDLIN: I don't know if it's cronyism. I don't know if there's other people involved,
and no one's telling us. That's the main frustration-- is that there are things that we know
and can't understand why things are not being done about them. DENNIS FARINA: Update-- authorities
have learned that, five months before Steve Sandlin was killed, law enforcement received a tip
that a police officer was going to be shot by drug dealers. Lacking specifics, police were unable to take action.
Steve's death has been officially reclassified as a homicide. Recently his name was added to a memorial
honoring New Mexico police officers killed in the line of duty. The case remains unsolved.
If you have any information, please log on to our website at unsolved.com. Next, could there have been aliens on board the UFO that
crashed in Roswell, New Mexico? In 1947, this startling headline appeared in the Roswell,
New Mexico "Daily Record." The story that followed became the first chapter in the modern era of UFOs.
The events began with a violent storm on July 2, 1947. A few days later, a local rancher
led two military officers to a field where something had crashed during the storm.
Major Jesse Marcel Sr, an intelligence officer and combat pilot, was unable to identify the debris.
Jesse Marcel Jr. was 11 years old at the time and vividly remembers the night that his father brought
home pieces of the wreckage. What is it? I have no idea. DENNIS FARINA: He is one of the few people
who claim to have handled it. Marcel recalls that the most remarkable fragment was a short piece of I-beam covered with strange symbols
and markings. DR. JESS MARCEL: Years after this incident happened, we would talk privately among ourselves about what
the possibilities of this-- what this thing was. And I feel that we-- well, I know that we came to the conclusion
it was not of earthly origin. This writing could be described as like hieroglyphics,
Egyptian-type hieroglyphics, but not really. The symbols that were in the I-beams
were more of a geometric type configuration in various designs. It had a violet purple type color,
and it was actually an embossed part of the metal itself. DENNIS FARINA: Other witnesses have claimed that the Army not
only recovered the wreckage of a UFO, but also the bodies of its occupants. Captain Pappy Henderson was stationed at Roswell in 1947.
Two years before he died, he described what he saw to his wife. SAPPHO HENDERSON: My husband told me the bodies
were smaller than human bodies. The heads were larger, and the eyes were rather sunken and a little slanted.
Clothing was of material unlike anything he'd seen before. They were strange, not of this earth.
When my husband, who was a man of truth, trusted with 29 different Army aircraft
planes, first pilot, aircraft commander, tells me this story, I believed him. DENNIS FARINA: Shortly after the details of the crash
were made public, the army changed its story. They admitted to making a serious mistake,
and announced that the flying saucer wreckage was, in fact, debris from a downed weather balloon.
For almost 50 years, the events that took place at Roswell and the official explanation
fueled suspicion of a cover-up. The Air Force has always insisted that rumors of an alien contact were just that--
rumors. But new witnesses continue to come forward claiming that the Roswell story is true.
Of all of these reports, the account provided by a man named Glenn Dennis is just too compelling to be ignored.
In 1947, Glenn Dennis was 22 years old and just out of college. That summer, he was working at a funeral home in Roswell.
Two days before the UFO story broke, Glenn received a strange phone call from the Roswell air base.
He's not in, but this is Glenn Dennis. Can I help you? CAPTAIN MEISER (ON PHONE): Glenn, this is Captain Meiser.
I'm the mortician-- mortuary officer over at the base. Yes, sir. GLENN DENNIS: He was wanting to know what size hermetically
sealed baby caskets do we have. Did we have specifically 3 feet 6 inches, or did we have maybe no larger than a 4 foot hermetically
sealed casket. DENNIS FARINA: That afternoon, Glenn was called to transport an injured air
man to the Roswell base. When he arrived, he was surprised to find the base infirmary surrounded by MPs.
Two ambulances parked at the curb immediately caught his attention. GLENN DENNIS: I looked into the ambulance,
and I saw quite a bit of wreckage of some type. It looked like stainless steel that had come in contact
a the high degree of heat. And it was a purplish, bluish color. I noticed one large piece of the wreckage.
It looked like there was some Egyptian hieroglyphics. MAN: All right, then, seal off that corridor.
GLENN DENNIS: The confusion at that day that I was out there was so great that I don't think anyone
really knew what the other man was doing, and I don't think they even knew each other.
I think they were brought in from different military bases or whatever. Sir? Can I help you?
I'm Glen Ennis with the Ballard Funeral Home, and we have a contract with the base.
There was a crash outside. Do you want me to go back and get ready or anything? When you get back to town, you didn't hear anything,
and you didn't see anything, because nothing happened here. Do you understand me? - That's not true.
I just saw a crash outside. Now you get this straight. Nothing happened. You can't tell me what to do.
I'm a civilian. GLENN DENNIS: And that's when he said, look, mister, somebody will be picking
your bones out of the sand if you go starting a lot of rumors. Sergeant, escort this man back to the funeral home.
GLENN DENNIS: Two MPs came up and said, sir, we have to escort you back to your mortuary.
There was a door open into one of the supply room, and the nurse that I knew personally was coming out.
You better get out of here. You're going to get in a lot of trouble. MAN: Get him out of here!
GLENN DENNIS: Something very drastically was wrong at the base. Naturally, I was curious and mad,
and I couldn't believe what was happening. So the first person I thought of was to contact the nurse
to see what she might know, and could she bring me up to date on what was going on?
You have to promise me that you will not mention my name. DENNIS FARINA: The next day, the nurse
agreed to talk to Glenn if he swore to never reveal her identity. I went into the supply room to pick up some bandages,
and there were two officers there who ordered me to take notes. GLENN DENNIS: She said that she saw that they
were doing a partial autopsy. And there were these two old hospital gurneys with these two
little crash bags on top. GLENN DENNIS: There was a crash bag that was open, and there was two very mutilated, very small bodies.
But They weren't children. I never seen anything like that. GLENN DENNIS: It's OK.
And then one of the officers-- here let me-- let me draw it for you. GLENN DENNIS: They turned a hand over that had been severed,
and then they were explaining that it was a very fragile hand, only four fingers.
Like little-- like little suction cups. GLENN DENNIS: The head was very large. The eyes were set back.
They didn't have the earlobes or anything. They were like two canals-- like two ear canals.
There was no teeth, and it was just like a piece of cartilage, maybe. Then they opened the next bag, and there was a whole creature
in there that wasn't mutilated. DENNIS FARINA: The nurse claimed to have seen three bodies.
None of them seemed to be earthly in origin. NURSE: It was just horrible. I've never seen anything like that in my life.
DENNIS FARINA: After Glenn left the nurse, he returned to his office. When he casually unfolded the newspaper on his desk,
it was the infamous edition of the "Roswell Daily Record." Glenn never saw the nurse again.
A few weeks later, rumors circulated that she had died in a plane crash after being transferred out of the country.
To this day, Glenn remains convinced that the details of her story are true. GLENN DENNIS: There had to be some type of a body present.
I don't think the nurse lied about it because I don't think she knew how to lie in the first place.
And I just think something happened very unusual, and it-- I don't-- I doubt very seriously if the world
will ever know what happened. DENNIS FARINA: Since our interview with Glenn Dennis,
other witnesses have come forward with testimony that backs up his story. At the same time, the Air Force has claimed
that the alien bodies were actually dummies that were part of a parachute test. Perhaps one day we will find conclusive evidence of UFOs.
Until that time, the events at Roswell, New Mexico remain one of the most compelling UFO mysteries
ever reported. Next, a 17-year-old girl is abducted by a motorcycle gang, and her mother embarks on a lifelong search to find her.
Coconut Grove, Florida-- Amy Billig was 17 years old. She was a musician and a singer, who also wrote poetry.
I just got home from school. DENNIS FARINA: One day in March, she came home from school
at around noon as usual. She planned to meet with friends downtown for lunch. All right.
I'll see you soon. Bye. DENNIS FARINA: But Amy never showed up. SUSAN BILLIG: I started getting a little frantic when I hadn't
heard from Amy by dinner time, and I called the friend that she'd said she was going to be meeting.
And the girl was quite angry. She said, Amy never showed up. Mom? DENNIS FARINA: 12 days after Amy disappeared,
a woman phoned with shocking news. Hello? DENNIS FARINA: She said that she was a member of a motorcycle
gang known as the Outlaws, and told Susan that the gang had abducted Amy. Where?
DENNIS FARINA: Renegade biker gangs had a reputation for causing trouble in small towns
across the country. Susan learned that a chapter of the Outlaws had, in fact, roared through Coconut
Grove at about the same time that Amy disappeared. DET. MIKE GONZALEZ: We had to consider that maybe Amy was
abducted, kidnapped, taken away by the-- these bikers, but it was always controversial with the police,
because these leads concerning the bikers were always vague and usually ended up nowhere.
DENNIS FARINA: Amy's family was desperate, and the biker connection offered a ray of hope.
A family friend, who had done legal work for the Outlaws, arranged for Amy's parents to meet with two gang members.
Pleasure. SUSAN BILLIG: I was frightened, because I had never seen people like this before in my life.
And here they are in my living room. I got a feeling of revulsion, and hate, and love at the same time.
I wanted them to give me information about my child, and that was paramount. I didn't care what they looked like.
These are pictures of my daughter. She's missing. SUSAN BILLIG: They told me that these things do happen,
that the bankers will take girls and will sell them to one another for very little,
like a credit card. It takes very little to buy a girl. I was told that you would help me.
We'll take the picture, and if she's in the Outlaw nation, we'll let you know within two days.
DENNIS FARINA: Although the bikers promised to ask other gang members about Amy,
Susan never heard from them again. CAPT. CARL CARRUTHERS: Amy could have been abducted and then sold from one individual to another.
They put her out making the money, either topless dancing, hooking, ripping off credit cards, anything that she
can do to bring home the money. DENNIS FARINA: For Susan, the thought of her daughter
in the hands of a biker gang was unbearable, but that was where the leads pointed,
and that is where she would search. On Amy's 19th birthday, a biker called Susan after seeing
this picture in the paper. He told her that he had once actually owned Amy. He agreed to talk to Susan, but only
if he drove her to his house. SUSAN BILLIG: I thought I might never see my husband again
when I got on the back, but I put it in the back of my head, and I got on the bike, and I went.
Nobody better follow us back here, lady. SUSAN BILLIG: He was very nervous about it.
He kept looking out the window to see if I had been followed. Just look at this picture, and tell me if that's her.
Whoa. That's her. That's her. SUSAN BILLIG: He said she was quiet, and she didn't speak to anybody-- that she
was afraid of everybody. When I first bought her-- He said she was like mute, and the word
kept coming up in descriptions of her through everything. There was a scar down here.
SUSAN BILLIG: The most pertinent information that he gave me was that Amy had a scar,
and it was a scar that was hidden on her body, that I had never divulged to the police,
or the press, or anyone. You've got to help me find her. You're my last hope. All right.
DENNIS FARINA: Although the biker had agreed to help Susan find Amy, several weeks passed with no word.
Finally, he called and said that Amy was with the Outlaws in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Susan made plans to travel the 1,200 miles
and continue her search. DET. MIKE GONZALEZ: We were concerned about her safety.
We were concerned about the investigation, and we didn't think it was a good idea,
but it was impossible ever to try to discourage her from following up every lead, no matter
how dangerous. She didn't care. DENNIS FARINA: The biker told Susan to meet him in a bar
in the roughest part of town. He promised her that he would bring Amy with him. If Amy's in there, I want her to see me.
Look, I told you not to do nothing. SUSAN BILLIG: I was extremely excited. I called home, and I packed my bags at my hotel,
because I thought I'd have to run to the airport with her. And we went to this dark bar, where
they were just bikers and people drinking, drunk, and everything. And he sat me down somewhere, and--
Look, I'll be right back. I got to talk to some people. Hey, Duke, what the hell's happening?
SUSAN BILLIG: A few minutes after he walked away from me is when all hell broke loose in that bar.
Hey, what the hell, man? What are you guys doing? SUSAN BILLIG: I was afraid that I was going to be killed.
DENNIS FARINA: Susan was hustled outside to a waiting taxi, as if it had all been planned ahead of time.
She never saw Amy in the bar, and she never saw the biker again. Her search had hit another dead end.
13 more years passed before Susan heard another word about Amy. This time it came from halfway around the world.
Tell me more. I want to hear about this. Did she play music? Yes. DENNIS FARINA: Virginia Snyder was
a private investigator who had been working on a different case in England. According to Snyder, a colleague was in a post office
when he was approached by an American biker. Hey, boss. Yes? You look like you could use a little companionship.
I'm afraid I don't quite understand you. Look, I got a girl for you. It won't cost you much.
What do you say? VIRGINIA SNYDER: The investigator, being a good investigator, engaged the man
in conversation, as far as I could gather, to get as much information as he could about the girl
that was being offered to him. Then, of course, he didn't buy her. He wasn't interested.
And then he passed the information on to me. American girl. Oh. Oyster baby. Oyster Bay, New York was where Amy Billig had been born.
What is her name? Mute. SUSAN BILLIG: The fact that they called her mute really affected
me, because here all these years of my search she had been mute, had not talked.
And here I was faced with the same situation, but in another country. Perhaps you have a photograph you could show me.
DENNIS FARINA: This strange encounter with the British investigator came to nothing.
It was just another clue, another painful near miss in a mother's endless search for her daughter.
Update-- in a deathbed confession, a former member of the biker gang that kidnapped Amy said that she had been drugged,
raped, and killed soon after being abducted. Police were able to verify some details of the biker's account.
Unfortunately, by the time he confessed, both of Amy's parents had died, and they never learned what
happened to their daughter. Next, the story of the brutal shotgun slaying of three men
on a back road in Tennessee. [GUNSHOT] Signal Mountain, Tennessee-- Earl Smock, Kenneth Griffith, and his father-in-law, Richard
Mason warmed up their engines before taking off for a ride on the local back roads.
MARTHA MASON: They got on their motors and rehabbed a map and they couldn't wait to get out they were ready to go,
because they knew they had a few hours of daylight time. DENNIS FARINA: At 6:00 PM, the three men left
Mason's home on their ATVs. By daybreak, the next morning, they had not returned.
MARTHA MASON: When I woke up, I realized that they weren't home. My feeling was maybe it was cloudy that night,
and they couldn't find their way back, but I knew deep down that wasn't what happened,
that something was wrong. DENNIS FARINA: All three men were skilled riders and knew the local trails.
Fearing foul play, friends and family began to search. A few hours later, on Roberts Mill Road,
about five miles from the Mason home, a local resident stopped to check his tire.
He spotted three ATVs covered with blood in a trash dump at the bottom of a bluff.
He called the police. DET. LARRY SNEED: The dispatcher requested for us to respond to that area.
They, at this time, informed us that three men from Signal Mountain had left a day earlier, going on a ride,
and had never returned home. DENNIS FARINA: When police arrived, a neighbor told them that he had heard gunshots the night
before, the same night that the men had disappeared. I heard three shots, might have been four.
SGT. MAJOR ROY PARHAM: And he was sure from his experience that they came from a particular place that he called the gate,
but we had never been back in this particular area. And of course, this was-- where we wanted to look
is where the shots were heard. DENNIS FARINA: When police searched the gate, they found ATV tire tracks.
Nothing else seemed out of the ordinary until they approached an area posted with no trespassing signs.
DET. LARRY SNEED: And as we came to that section, Roy had noticed a green fly had landed him.
SGT. MAJOR ROY PARHAM: There has to be something around here. DET. LARRY SNEED: There sure are.
And he made comment that this green flag is in this area. We need to look, because they're usually after decaying flesh.
DENNIS FARINA: A short distance away, just off the road, searchers discovered a spot of blood.
Hey, come here. Look at this. DET. LARRY SNEED: At this time, we found a section that appeared
that something had been drug through the woods, through the grass. And we did find a pool of blood, and after finding this,
we roped the area off and advised at the command post that we think we had found the crime scene.
DENNIS FARINA: It wasn't long before police uncovered human tissue and bone fragments.
Although no bodies were found at the scene, they were certain that this was the spot where the three
missing men had been killed. The bodies of Kenneth Griffith, Earl Smock, and Richard Mason
were discovered two days later at another dump site 11 miles from the crime scene.
All three men had been killed with a shotgun. [GUNSHOT] Police tried to make sense of the evidence, which was now
scattered over a large area. The three men left from the Mason home, which is located near.
The murder site was here, three miles to the north. The ATVs were found here, near Roberts Mill Road.
The bodies were dumped here, 11 miles from the crime scene. Based on the physical evidence, police reconstructed the crime.
DET. LARRY SNEED: It appears that the three men were riding the dirt road. They came to the area of the fence.
At that time, they were surprised by someone. Hey, buddy. Hey. [CHATTER] [GUNSHOTS]
DET. LARRY SNEED: And it appeared that Kenneth Griffith was apparently the first one that was shot,
and he was shot in the left side of the head. That apparently killed him instantly.
Further indications are that Richard Mason was a second man that was shot. He had one shot to the chest area.
Earl Smock was shot directly into the right shoulder. It appeared that he got off of his three-wheeler
and attempted to get away. The second shot went into the side, through the heart,
and that was a fatal wound. 16 years in the business-- it is my opinion that this is one of the most brutal,
uncalled for murders ever. DENNIS FARINA: Police believe that, after shooting the three
men, the killer tried to cover up the evidence at the crime scene. Then, with the help of at least one accomplice,
he disposed of the bodies and the ATVs. One eye witness reported seeing two men in a pickup
truck on Roberts Mill Road the same night the victims disappeared. There were three ATVs in the back of the truck.
Another witness reported seeing a woman frantically trying to prevent drivers from going
down Roberts Mill Road. You can't get through. There's an accident down the road.
DENNIS FARINA: She was just a quarter mile from where the ATVs were dropped. Police speculated that, after the killer and his accomplice
dumped the ATVS, they then returned to the crime scene to retrieve the bodies. They then drove 11 miles to the Suck Creek Road dump site.
DET. LARRY SNEED: It's obvious that whoever put the bodies there wanted the bodies to be found sooner than what they
were in order to keep the actual crime scene from ever being found. And had they had been found on a Monday instead of on Wednesday,
then the actual crime scene at the fence would have never have been found. DENNIS FARINA: Police were convinced that the killer was
a local resident, because it appeared he had detailed knowledge of the back roads on Signal Mountain.
The people in the area are afraid to come forward. Not fear of it happening again in that area,
but fear that who was involved in it, if they say anything, will get them. DENNIS FARINA: Update-- after a tip from one of our viewers,
a local resident named Frank Casteel was arrested and charged with the three murders.
Casteel owned property in the area, and he was unhappy about ATV riders trespassing on his land.
He was eventually convicted of the three killings and sentenced to life in prison.
Frank Casteel will not be eligible for parole until 2029. Next, two escaped convicts go on a rampage
that stretches across eight states and kills four innocent people. Durant, Oklahoma.
Yeah, yeah, St. Clair, what do you want? DENNIS FARINA: Michael St. Clair has been convicted of murder twice, and now he's awaiting
trial on a third charge. What's the matter with you? Hey, hey, hey. Shut up. Shut up. I'll cut your heart out.
You understand? [CHATTER] DENNIS FARINA: St. Clair springs fellow inmate Dennis Reese, who is awaiting trial for robbery and murder.
The night they escape, St. Clair and Reese embark on a bloody crime spree that stretches across eight states and leaves
four innocent people dead. Before his escape, Michael St. Clair had been convicted on two counts of first degree murder
and sentenced to three consecutive life terms. BOB A. RICKS: Michael St. Clair has been involved
with various drug trafficking organizations in southern Oklahoma, as well as northern Texas.
His uncle was moving in on his drug operations, and he felt that his profits were being threatened,
so he contracted out to have his uncle killed. After his uncle was killed, he then assassinated the hit man.
DENNIS FARINA: Two days after they escaped, a newspaper reporter named Tom Mullins received a phone
call from Michael St. Clair. Just a minute, man. Let me get my tape recorder hooked up.
For almost 20 months now, I've been covering Michael St. Clair. I've gotten to know him fairly well.
When he got out, I was the obvious choice for him to get his message out, that message
being that he wouldn't be taken alive, and that, when the time came, anyone wearing a badge,
I'll kill. And he will go down pulling the trigger. DENNIS FARINA: Three weeks later, near Elizabethtown,
Kentucky, a state trooper pulled over a pickup truck, which was seen fleeing from a burning vehicle.
As the pickup truck came to a halt, the man on the passenger side, who we now believe was St. Clair, instantly got out of the truck.
The man fired at the trooper's car two times. The trooper fortunately was not injured at all.
Within just a matter of minutes, the maroon truck was actually found disabled and abandoned along the interstate.
Apparently it had crossed the interstate, and in doing so had blown both front tires.
DENNIS FARINA: The truck belonged to 56-year-old Francis Brady, a retired father of three.
Brady had disappeared 12 hours earlier after cashing a check at a gas station. BOB A. RICKS: Brady's body was found
approximately 12 miles north of Elizabethtown, Kentucky. He had been shot execution style.
He'd been handcuffed and had been shot in the head. What is remarkable about this type of execution
is that it's almost identical to the way St. Claire's uncle, Ronnie St. Clair, had been executed a few years before.
DENNIS FARINA: The burned out vehicle was registered to a Denver, Colorado paramedic
named Tim Keeling. Like Francis Brady, Keeling also vanished after patronizing a convenience store.
His body was found in a ditch outside of Clayton, New Mexico. BOB A. RICKS: Tim Keeling had been shot in the head.
It appeared that his body had been dropped along the roadside there in New Mexico.
DENNIS FARINA: Five days later, St. Clair and Reese struck again-- this time in Milan, Tennessee.
They shot a store clerk execution style. Soon after, the young female clerk of another video store
eight miles away was also gunned down in cold blood. BOB A. RICKS: Individuals who would kill for $150 or $200
are extremely desperate individuals. It indicates that they do not have any type of support
apparatus going for them. They're very concerned about staying in one location for any period of time.
They're very paranoid. They're very dangerous and will take any actions to prevent their apprehension.
DENNIS FARINA: Update-- there are new developments in this case. Here's one of our staff with details.
MAN: Dennis Reese and Michael St. Clair have both been arrested again. Reese had received the life sentence
for murder and kidnapping. Now he's back where he belongs in prison. Michael St. Clair, who had been on death row,
was convicted of murder, served his time, and has been released. [MUSIC PLAYING]

Brief Summary

This episode covers Officer Sandlin's murder, the Roswell UFO incident, Amy Billig's abduction, a triple murder in Tennessee, and a violent crime spree by escaped convicts.

Key points

The Mysterious Death of Steve Sandlin. Steve Sandlin, a rookie police officer, was found dead just eight weeks into his career. Was it suicide, an accident, or murder?
UFO Crash in Roswell. In 1947, an object crashed in Roswell, New Mexico, leading to claims of a UFO and alien bodies. The story remains a mystery.
Amy Billig's Abduction. 17-year-old Amy Billig was abducted by a motorcycle gang, leading her mother on a lifelong search for her.
Susan Meets Biker Gang Members. Desperate for information about her missing daughter, Susan meets with gang members.
A Chilling Revelation. A former gang member's confession reveals Amy's tragic fate.
The Brutal Murders of Three Men. Three men are found murdered after a day of riding ATVs.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I think they killed him to keep him quiet of something he may have known.

Tom Sandlin's suspicion about Steve's murder.

6:31WatchMar 9, 2017

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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