Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 7, Episode 6 | Forensic Files

DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Next on "Unsolved Mysteries", It seemed like a routine traffic stop,
but for the 18-year-old son of a civil rights activist it ended in death. An English professor joins a religious cult
and then vanishes. His family wants answers. Outside of Nevada casino a woman is found with two gunshots
to the head. Her son says that he has no idea what happened, and then he took a polygraph.
And one of the largest man-hunts in Northern California history fails to capture a wanted murderer.
Maybe you know where he is. I'm Dennis Farina and this is "Unsolved Mysteries." Join us.
[theme music] DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Lakehead, California. On a July day a young man in a Chevy Suburban speeds
southbound along Interstate 5 in Shasta County, California. On his tail is highway patrol officer Kevin Benson.
Southbound approaching Pollard Flat, Washington. Tom, x-ray Sam. 7:26. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Officer Benson
doesn't realize that he's following a very dangerous fugitive. Antonio Castro is a Mexican national with a long record
of violent crimes. Officer Benson kept Castro in his sights for about 10 miles. All right, got 52, 61.
Be advised he's exiting at Follard Flat. The exit led to a dead-end. Castro was trapped, or so it seemed.
Get your hands up. Got a problem, officer? OFFICER KEVIN BENSON: Get your hands up.
Get out of the car. Getting out, OK? Getting out. Keep your hands up. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Three days earlier
Antonio Castro allegedly attacked a man, stole his car, and torched it, 800 miles away in the state of Washington.
WILLIAM GOULART: He stabbed me multiple times, kicked me, and left me on the floor.
Went through my pockets for the car keys, took my car and left. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): A day earlier just down the road,
72-year-old Michael Fadeff had been murdered in his farm house. Mr. Fadeff was beaten badly, shot twice.
One day worst cases our pathologist has ever seen. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): The prime suspect
was Antonio Castro. - Keep your hands up. - Come on, officer. What did you pull me over for, huh?
I didn't do nothing, man. - Stop right there. Keep your hands up. ANTONIO CASTRO: OK. OK.
Hey, wait. They're up. They're up. OFFICER KEVIN BENSON: Don't move. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Castro
fled into the wilderness. Within an hour law enforcement agents began a manhunt on rugged terrain
at the Sacramento River Canyon. - Yet. CAPT. RON RICHARDSON: The whole situation
was dealt with as an emergency in progress. Tell me what you've got on this guy.
He's dangerous and he's smart. There was nothing that led us to believe that he wouldn't commit the same acts in his attempt
to flee the area. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): 40 police units were dispatched. The highway patrol put extra squad cars on the interstate.
Trackers combed the Sacramento River. SWAT teams checked the freight trains that ran through the canyon.
But there was no sign of Antonio Castro. Authorities guessed that the fugitive would stick to the river.
An hour later they were proven right. Got a print over here. Yeah, that's our guy.
Better call it in. He's going northbound. CAPT. RON RICHARDSON: There wasn't anything rational about him.
It was difficult to pinpoint what he would do next. This guy had no feelings towards taking a human life to just get
an automobile, just to provide himself transportation to kill another human being.
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): For reasons of his own Castro decided not to kill the lost motors
he passed while fleeing from authorities. Castro ran back into the woods and headed south.
CAPT. RON RICHARDSON: This is an extremely rugged canyon. We could have had an army of officers out there
and he still would have slipped by us, just because of the natural terrain and the concealment opportunities
he had made available to him. Castro is a survivalist. This man has the skills to survive in elements that
the average person wouldn't. Call in the teams. We'll just pick it up tomorrow. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): At nightfall captain
Richardson was forced to pull the trackers out of the canyon. CAPT. RON RICHARDSON: And our fear level
kept rising because we hadn't had any reports on the movement of the suspect. We hadn't been able to confirm whether he
was still in the area or not. And it became our concern that he had taken refuge in somebody's home holding them hostage
or doing them harm. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): As far as anyone knows Castro did not interact
with anyone that night. In the morning he showed up soaking wet in the small town of Lakehead, eight miles south
of where the chase had begun. - Excuse me? Can I help you with something? I'd like to buy your car if it runs good.
WOMAN: Yeah, it runs. I'd like to buy it for my wife. A few hundred bucks, right?
Yeah, if you got the cash. I got cash. I'll get the key. [suspenseful music] It's a little wet.
I hope you don't mind. Just wait right there. I'll be right back. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Minutes later
Castro was back on the road, having alluded one of the largest manhunts in Northern California history.
The authorities feel very fortunate that no one was hurt during Castro's flight.
They fear however that the next time Castro is cornered he may lash out. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Antonio Magana Castro
is wanted for murder and attempted murder. He was born in 1967, is 5 feet 7 inches tall with a muscular
build. His right index finger is cut off at the knuckle, and his violent nature has earned
him the nickname "El Loco". He is known to have family in Orange County, California
and in Mexico. If you have any information about Antonio Castro please log onto our website at unsolved.com
Next, a woman is murdered on her son's wedding day. Incredibly, police suspect that he killed her.
In Reno, Nevada, 38-year-old Tim McClure lived with his mother, Terry, off and on throughout his 20's.
They were often seen together at slot machines or dining out. Even after Tim moved away they remained close.
She'd do anything for anybody. She'd give the shirt off her back, her last nickle to anybody.
She just was a real kind-hearted woman. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Terry was 62-years-old and living
alone when Tim called her to tell her that he was getting married in Lake Tahoe, Nevada.
The wedding party celebrated by doing a little gambling, and then around 10:00 p.m.
Tim walked his mother to her car. She planned to drive straight home to Reno, about an hour
away. The next evening when Tim and his new bride stopped to visit Terry they noticed signs
that she had not made it home. She didn't bring her paper in this morning. TIM MCCLURE: It just appeared as though she hadn't been home.
And it was at that point I just had the strangest feeling that something was wrong.
There I was on my honeymoon, up there to get married, and she had taken time off of work.
And to not find her at home, I just couldn't understand it. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): No friends or family
had seen or heard from Terry. Tim called the police. Yeah, I've got a missing person.
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Three days went by, then in the parking lot of a Carson
City, Nevada Casino, Terry McClure's car was found. It was a half hour's drive outside of Lake Tahoe.
The keys were in the ignition and the doors were locked. And Terry was sitting upright in the front seat.
She had been shot twice in the head. The day after Terry McClure's body was found Tim was questioned by police.
When asked if he wanted an attorney present Tim suddenly realized that he had become a suspect.
TIM MCCLURE: I started to feel like a victim. And I thought, why should I have an attorney?
And I mean, this is my mother's death. You should be investigating it on another level,
rather than thinking of me as doing it. Which I found out they were looking towards me.
I couldn't understand why. I started to feel like the victim. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Tim told police
that on the night of his wedding he walked his mother to her car and then returned to the casino.
He said that his wife was still gambling with her parents so he gambled alone for two hours.
He then rejoined her and they went out dancing until dark. They indicated that they partied from approximately
midnight until 6:00 a.m. The following morning, none of which we were able to substantiate one way or another.
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Tim also told police that two days before his mother's body
was discovered he searched the main highway between Lake Tahoe and Reno. The police became suspicious when he said that he
was looking for her purse. DET. SGT. SCOTT BURAU: We again found this odd that he would attempt to retrace his mother's steps
for the purpose of finding something that nobody knew was missing. On the 16gh nobody had any idea her purse was missing.
Oddly enough she was found with only her purse missing. She was fully clothed, had all her jewelry.
The only thing missing was her purse. They put together the fact that I said I was looking for some evidence of her purse
along the side of the highway. And the only reason I said that was because my older sister
had put the idea that maybe somebody had commandeered her vehicle and stolen her purse.
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Tim also said that he drove through the parking lots of the casinos
along his mother's route. He searched all the lots of every Casino, except one. TIM MCCLURE: Sometimes you get a gut feeling,
you could maybe think of the Holy Spirit, if you will, just kind of guiding you.
There was perhaps a feeling of "get me away from there" to save me from finding her.
I thank God I didn't find her. That would have destroyed me to find their. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): And that Casino parking
lot is where Terry's body was found, two days later on a Monday. Police estimated that she had been dead since Friday,
the night of Tim's wedding. Police were suspicious of a call that Tim made to cancel one
of his mother's credit cards. Tim claims that he made the call on Monday, the day
his mother's body was found. But the credit card company says that he called on Friday
before his mother disappeared. I had reported her credit cards missing. I called on Monday.
The woman had written down that I called on Friday, which I couldn't understand.
The credit memo for that particular company is now in the possession of the Sheriff's office.
And it clearly shows, according to their file, that Tim called, he indicated to the recipient that his mother was dead
and to please cancel the account. TIM MCCLURE: Its just-- it's one of the strangest things I have ever heard of.
How she could have mixed up my words like that, saying she had been murdered. I had no idea she'd been murdered.
All I know she was missing. And that's what I told them. CAPT. RON RICHARDSON: Six months before Terry McClure
was murdered she took out a $10,000 insurance policy on her life. Tim and one of his sisters were named as co-beneficiaries.
TIM MCCLURE: I didn't think my mother would take out an insurance policy. It just wasn't like her.
I mean, they're thinking that I did this for a reason, which my share was only $5,000.
I mean that's ridiculous. Well, I can't say that that is the absolute motive in this case, but I'm here to tell you that people have
been killed for a lot less. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): One month after their wedding the Carson City police asked him
and his wife to take a polygraph test. TIM MCCLURE: I was completely cooperative.
I had nothing to hide, no reason not to take one. So, naturally I said, sure, I'll take a polygraph.
My wife agreed, too. And as they asked the question there was-- oh, it seemed like maybe a minute between each question
with my eyes closed. Just a number of things we're just going around through my mind at that point.
That's when I started thinking, well, jeez, what if they think I did. I'd never taken a polygraph before.
I didn't know how to react. And it was just a very awkward and uncomfortable situation
for me. DET. SGT. SCOTT BURAU: The results of those polygraph examinations would strongly suggest deception on both the part of Timothy
McClure and his wife. And in the interviews they had no response. They could not respond to why the machine was telling them
they were being deceptive. They had no answers. I don't know why, but I flunked the test.
And my wife had flunked only one question, which didn't make any sense. Do you know who murdered Terry McClure?
was the question she was asked, and it appeared to be a lie when she said no. So it looked like she was trying to cover up.
Which is unexplainable to me. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): All the circumstantial evidence was
submitted to the Nevada D.A. But he concluded it was not enough to arrest Tim McClure.
Police questioned family, friends, and acquaintances of Tim and Terry. They said that Tim was devoted to his mother
and that they believed he would never do anything to harm her. TIM MCCLURE: My mother was my best friend.
I mean, all I could think of was taking care of my mother for the rest of her life
after she had taken care of me all my life. That's the one thing I wanted to do was take care of my mother,
and now I can't. There has to be somebody out there that had seen something that happened to my mother.
You know, now would be a good time to come out with it. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): After our broadcast
Tim McClure was arrested for the murder of his mother. But the D.A. ultimately decided not to prosecute.
The case was dismissed with prejudice. If you have any information about the murder
of Terry McClure please log on to our website at unsolved.com DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Next, an 18-year-old
is arrested in Mississippi. The next night he is found dead in the jails shower stall.
Jackson, Mississippi. It started as an ordinary night out for 18-year-old Andre Jones
and his girlfriend, Tanisha. Then they approached the sobriety checkpoint near Jackson, Mississippi.
Andre was driving a friend's pickup truck. Half an hour later Andre's parents were awakened by a phone call.
His mother was president of a local NAACP branch, his stepfather, a minister for the Nation of Islam.
Hello. It's Tanisha. I'm sorry to call you, but Andre's been arrested. Arrested?
It's me. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): At 2:00 a.m. Andre called his parents from the police station.
I don't know what the charges are. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Two hours late Andre called again.
This time to say that he had been transferred to the Simpson county jail, 40 miles south of Jackson.
He still did not know what the charges were. ESTHER JONES QUINN: We were told that they could not
tell us anything at that time. And Simpson county just refused to even talk to us.
And they told us that we could not come to that jail. Have you heard anything? DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Andre's parents
spoke to him at least five different times on Saturday. How can they keep me in here an extra day and they
haven't even charged me? ESTHER JONES QUINN: We could not tell him anything. He was very much concerned about getting
out immediately so that he could attend school the very next day. About midnight that night I heard a knock on the door.
I'm Officer Cole of Jackson police department. OK. I have a message here for Mrs. Esther Jones Quinn.
Charles, what is it? ESTHER JONES QUINN: He gave me the piece of paper which only had a phone number
for the Simpson county jail. There was not a note. There was not a message. It was only a number.
I was informed that Andre had committed suicide. I was casually informed that he had committed suicide.
As if they could have been talking to someone that didn't even know who he was. Andre's family insists that he never showed any tendency
whatsoever to commit suicide. They began looking into his death and uncovered glaring
inconsistencies. Beginning with the details of his arrest. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): That night
Andre and Tanisha stopped by the Quinn's house in Jackson around 11:45. They left, and drove east toward Brandon, where Tanisha lived.
Near the Brandon city limits they came upon the checkpoint. According to the police, Andre stopped
just short of the checkpoint and tossed something out of the window. Sir, did you throw something out of this vehicle?
No, officer. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Police identified the object as a 38 caliber hand gun.
Is that an open beer can? DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): The police also said that inside the truck there was an open can of beer.
And the truck, which Andre had borrowed and driven for more than a week, turned out to stolen.
I ain't know nothing about the truck. But I know there wasn't no beer in the truck.
And he did not throw a gun out the truck, because there was no gun in the truck.
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Tanisha's version of the events is very different from the police report.
What's your name? Andre Jones. Mr. Jones, pull over to-- DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Tanisha claims
that the moment the officers heard Andres name their attitude changed. TANISHA: After they asked him his mind
they all went to a little-- I'd say like a little huddle. You know, like a football huddle.
And they was-- I don't know what they was talking about, because they was talking low.
And after that, that's when they came to the truck and asked Andre again, did he have his license?
And he said, no, sir. I don't have my license. Step away. Hands on the roof of the vehicle.
Spread your legs for me. TANISHA: And they asked him to step out the truck, that's
when they handcuffed him. They shackled his feet, and they had him handcuffed at the same time.
I didn't understand what was going on. You have the right to remain silent. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): State Public
Safety Commissioner, Jim Ingram, disagrees with Tanisha's version of the incident that night.
JIM INGRAM: There was no confrontation whatsoever with young Andre Jones. In fact, the officers were very amazed how cooperative he was.
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Andre was charged with four counts, driving a truck whose vehicle identification number had been
altered, carrying a concealed weapon, possession of stolen license plate tags, and driving with an open container
of alcohol. Commissioner Ingram still insists that the arrest was not confrontational.
But Charles Quinn says that an inmate in Brandon claims that police used racial slurs to intimidate Andre.
CHARLES QUINN: One of the inmates who were transferred with Andre said that the officer said, do you
know what happened to niggers for stealing a white man's truck? And, of course, other statements were said to put fear in Andre.
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): The next day Andre was transferred to the Simpson county jail.
That night his body was found in a shower stall at the end of a dimly lit corridor.
One of the men walked back and said they found a young man hanging by a shoe lace and the shower's
still running. And that's when they called for the guards. And immediately they unlocked the cell and took him down.
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Authorities say Andre tied his own shoe lace to an iron grate
above the shower head. When Charles Quinn was allowed to visit the cell he estimated the grate was about eight feet above the floor.
CHARLES QUINN: He would need someone to have held him up to do that. And he would have needed some type of stew to stand on.
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): The state approved pathologists who performed Andre's autopsy said investigators had shown
that it was possible for Andre to have hanged himself without help. That position was easily reached
by a member of the Sheriff's office who was acting as the deceased. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Less than a week after Andre's death
his parents hired an independent pathologist to review the case. DR. JAMES BRYANT: I think it's highly
probable that he was strangled. Someone did this to him. In the usual case of a suicide by hanging
the ligature mark is along the side of the neck and doesn't go all the way around.
It's in this fashion. Whereas in the case of Andre Jones, the ligature marking went along the side
of the neck and all the way into the back and crisscrossed in this fashion. This suggests to me that someone had to come from behind
and wrap the ligature around his neck. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): The official autopsy report
listed no evidence of bruising on Andre's neck or anywhere else on his body. Dr. Bryant disagrees.
DR JAMES BRYANT: He had some bruising under one of his eyes, and also he had some bruising on the shoulder of the same side.
The bruising could have been right at the time that he died, or it could have been sometime during the day.
but? Apparently he had suffered some kind of blunt trauma sometime during the time he was in the jail.
We were informed by one of the inmates that Andre was taken off that cell block and out of that jail.
And when he was brought back in he was brought back in a wheel chair. And that he was laid on the shower floor
and the hanging scene was staged. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): A year after Andre's death, Mississippi named a new medical examiner.
She reviewed Andre's autopsy report, as well as the autopsies of several other men
who had died by hanging in Mississippi jails. I think it's extremely unlikely that any of these deaths
are anything other than suicide. All of the deaths have been investigated by not just one agency, but one or two, or sometimes three.
I would never believe that Andre committed suicide. I know my son was murdered. And the fact that his life was taken so cruelly and so
abruptly, makes me even more determined to see that he is vindicated. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): So far vindication
has eluded the Quinn's. They filed two lawsuits, one against the state of Mississippi and the other against the federal government.
Both were dismissed. An investigation by the US Justice Department cited Mississippi's jail system for what they called
gross deficiencies, including unsanitary conditions and untrained employees. But the report failed to find evidence
that the Mississippi hanging's were anything other than suicides. Next, his client's think of him as an investment genius,
until he sails off with $6 million of their money. Police. I'm police. Anybody on board?
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): A Summer evening on Lake Michigan, a drifting yacht is sighted just offshore.
Its occupant apparently in trouble. Officer Wayne Brooks responds to the call. OFFICER WAYNE BROOKS: When I initially got
there I heard the engines running. As I was approaching closer the engines died.
The boat was then just drifting. I was able to pull myself up over the side. I was looking for a victim of a possible heart attack.
Police. I'm police. Anyone on board? OFFICER WAYNE BROOKS: I searched the boat, cabin area down below, found nobody on the boat.
Police department. When I arrived, the way the engines were running, if someone had fallen off
that boat it's my opinion they could not have gotten back onto the boat. It would have been moving away from them too quickly.
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): The owner of the yacht was 42-year-old investment counselor, Woody Kelly.
No sign of Kelly or his body has ever been found. 10 Years earlier, Kelly and his family
moved into a modest neighborhood in the small Illinois town of Antioch. After Kelly began an investment business
the family's fortune began to change. They moved to a mansion near a local lake and Kelly became one of the town's most respected citizens.
ROBERT WILTON: Wood, I feel, was considered by a lot of people as a pillar of the community.
Hi there. Hello, Woody. He belonged to two very active community organizations, participated a great deal
in those organizations. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Kelly also invited his new friends and neighbors
to his luxurious home. Many became his clients. LETA WILTON: He became your friend.
He'd actually make you want to invest money. God, I wish I had some money I could give him.
DR. NORMAN OSGOOD: He seemed very professional. He had a very substantial office, office staff.
Carol, I'd like you to meet Brendan. DR. NORMAN OSGOOD: His reports were very exacting.
He just had all the instruments that promoted confidence. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Kelly was
able to promise and deliver an amazing 60% to 90% interest on his investments. Woody was enthusiastic about what he was doing.
He did not come on hard sell. He was fairly laid back. He assured me that this was a good investment,
that I really should consider it, and he would welcome my business. Are they insured?
I mean, is this safe? Definitely. To me, I think they're just a very, very good situation for you to be in.
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): As Kelly's business flourished so did his lifestyle. He owned four luxury cars, two airplanes, three
different homes, and six boats. As a hobby he even started a yacht charter service.
One early June day Kelly showed up at a yacht dealership to check on a new boat that he had just purchased.
DAVID KELLY: He told me he was going take the boat out, so I asked him if he wanted me to go with him for a test ride.
Our company policy is that nobody will go for a lake test alone. This is my boat, I'm taking it out.
DAVID KELLY: He was very adamant about it. He said, no, I have people waiting for me at the dock.
He said, I want to go out alone. So I helped him cast off, and that was the last we seen of him.
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Kelly headed south towards Waukegan, Illinois, about 20 miles away.
He told his family that he would be home by six o'clock. He never returned. The Coast Guard retraced Kelly's route.
When they found his sunglasses on board they assumed that he had accidentally fallen overboard.
But his body was never found. After Woody Kelly's disappearance the town of Antioch was in shock.
But as time passed shock turned to anger. Not only was Kelly missing, but so was
most of his investors' money. Now we're going to grab all the business records, all right?
I don't want to [inaudible] anything left. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): The same week
that Kelly disappeared a client filed a civil suit accusing him of improper business practices.
The Lake County Sheriff's Department started an investigation. We have a search warrant for Kelly's business and offices.
DET. DAN COLIN: When the office staff began looking at the records they realized that there was no money in the bank accounts.
This is where they kept his private files? Right. DET. DAN COLIN: The money was just being spent.
Every time an investor would put money in it was going right back out. So basically, immediately looking at the checkbooks you
knew that it was a fraud. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Kelly's records show that most of the investors' money
had gone straight into his pockets, almost $6 million was missing. I gave Woody Kelly $110,000 to invest for me.
I have never recovered one cent. My husband I invested our money with Woody after we sold our home.
And we invested I estimate about $30,000. My investment with Woody Kelly was in excess of $400,000
and the entire sum was eventually lost. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Seven years after Kelly disappeared,
his wife tried to have him declared legally dead. At the hearing two acquaintances testified that they had
seen him after he disappeared. Not only was Woody Kelly not declared dead, but a federal grand jury indicted
him on 18 counts of mail fraud and two counts of IRS fraud. There's a warrant out for his arrest.
Woody Kelly was born in 1943. He is 5 feet 11 and weighs 200 pounds. His eyes are blue, and at the time of his disappearance
his hair was brown, but now may be gray. These are home movies taken of Kelly the same year
he disappeared. If you have any information about Woody Kelly and his missing millions please log on
to our website at unsolved.com Next, a man joins a French religious 1 and then disappears.
His parents are asking for your help to find him. DON: By you've-- I'm sure you've heard of my death,
and I'm sorry to have to put you through this this way. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): In this haunting message
to his family, 50-year-old Don Hoffman reveals that he has terminal cancer, a diagnosis he says was confirmed
by three different doctors. They found that I had terminal non-operable cancer. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Just hours after making this video
Don took his own life. But an autopsy found no trace of cancer. His children have never learned that names
of the three doctors, or even if they really existed. The heir to Don Hoffman's estate was his second wife, Terry,
founder of a spiritual movement known as Conscious Development of body, mind, and soul.
Terry Hoffman is at the center of what some might call a circle of death. The victims include Mary Levinson, drug overdose, David
and Glenda Goodman, shot to death, probable double suicide, Jill Bounds, beaten to death,
Sandy Cleaver, drove over a cliff in broad daylight, Sandy's 14-year-old daughter, Deveraux, drowned.
Some say that one more person should be added to that list, a popular teacher named Charles Southern Jr. Is missing,
he too was a disciple of Terry Hoffman when he disappeared without a trace. TERRY HOFFMAN: CALL upon your master, his eyes.
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Peace, harmony, and enlightenment, Hoffman offered all this and more
to Charles Southern and the others who joined her group, Conscious Development. Guide you at this time.
Part of the belief system Terry taught us was that death was really just another state of consciousness.
And it wasn't a bad thing. It wasn't anything to fear. Was created for you. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Peter Muth belonged to Hoffman's
group for more than a decade. PETER MUTH: The other thing we learned was that the dark forces out there in universe had a name.
They were the black lords, black overlords. They worked for Satan. Fight those dark Lord in eye.
PETER MUTH: The group we worked with where The White Brotherhood, of good benevolent characters.
They were on God's side, good guys. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): In Chicago, Charles joined a local branch of Conscious Development.
Charles was assistant chairman of the English department at a local junior college.
He was also a seeker of spiritual truth, a search that had taken him to India and Africa.
Charles was very interested in eastern religions, and various religions. In fact, he studied all the different religions
that he could. That was his curiosity. I think it got him into trouble. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Charles rose quickly
in Hoffman's organization. He was soon teaching classes and leading meditation sessions.
At your own pace. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Eventually he was invited to Terry Hoffman's home in Dallas.
The darkness of the Lord comes and he is bright in his evil. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Hoffman
began to claim that she was under attack by these so-called black lords. She asked her trusted inner circle to form
a psychic shield around her. The shield is strong but it must be stronger. Our inner core group, who we're fighting the battles,
lived in a kind of constant state of fear, because we're always under attack from black magician
who supposedly could kill us, who could drive us insane. And as the years went by you saw people in your group
actually start to show signs of the strain, shows signs of mental and emotional problems.
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Charles apparently collapsed under the pressure. DR. CHERYLE SOUTHERN: We found Charles
wandering on the street, carried a newspaper, stated, I lived for art. We got him in the car and took him to Michael
Reese Hospital for examination. Stating that he might be suicidal, and he also seemed to be reciting
something in a strange language over and over and over again. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): While Charles was recovering
his mother visited every day. And so did two members of Hoffman's group. I'm feeling much better. Much better.
Good. Glad to hear it. DR. CHERYLE SOUTHERN: Later I was to find out from my mother,
who stayed with my brother during the whole five days, that whenever she was there at the hospital
and they came she was asked to leave the room and stay out. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): After his release
Charles stayed active in the group, but eventually became disillusioned with Hoffman.
As Christmas neared he made plans for a trip to India. In the days before he was supposed to leave
his mother got a feeling that something was very wrong. INGERBORD D. SOUTHERN: I told him that I was disturbed.
And I felt that I should come to Chicago. And he said, no. He said, you don't need to come to Chicago because I'm
perfectly all right. And I will be leaving for India in three days. So he assured me that everything was all right
and with that insurance I didn't go. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): That was the last time
she spoke to her son. Two weeks passed. We, of course, wondered why we didn't hear from him.
But he had traveled so much and so often to so many parts of the world I wasn't overly concerned
until he was over-due. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Charles parents drove 300 miles from Cincinnati.
They broke into their son's house and their concern turned to fear. Charles passport showed no entry stamps from India.
Placed on a ceremonial stool from Africa where Charles winter dress hat and his coat,
neatly folded inside out. Only later would his family learn that this was a Nigerian tribal symbol of death.
Charles parents also found a vial containing a powerful drug, similar to the lethal
South-American poison, curare. DR. CHERYLE SOUTHERN: We don't know why my brother had
this vial, which was later identified to be a ganglionic blocker, which is a medicine used in anesthesia, which
causes total muscle paralysis. It has to be injected, too. Not eaten. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Charles parents
also discovered two scribbled notes, barely legible. This is Charles handwriting, but it doesn't make sense.
DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Apparently, Charles last will and testament. One said in part, I come under a bad influence
and I was trying to fight it myself. Terry Hoffman was mentioned twice and named
executor of his estate. There was just a lot of death and unhappiness around this woman.
Charles disappearance simply fits into that pattern. DENNIS FARINA (VOICEOVER): Over a 12 year period,
two of Hoffman's four husbands, her only son, six followers, and two people related to or employed by a follower,
came to an unnatural end. Causes of death, one murder, four fatal accidents, and six suicides.
In over half the deaths, Terry Hoffman was named heir or beneficiary, designated to receive over half
a million dollars in cash, plus hundreds of thousands more in real estate, fine arts, and jewelry.
But authorities have not directly linked her to any of the deaths. Charles Southern is still missing.
He is six feet two inches tall and weighs 180 pounds. He may have a full beard. If you had any information about Charles Southern
please log onto our website at unsolved.com [music playing]

Brief Summary

Four mysterious cases involving murder, disappearance, and unanswered questions are examined in this episode of "Unsolved Mysteries".

Key points

A Fatal Traffic Stop. An 18-year-old son of a civil rights activist dies during a routine traffic stop.
The Manhunt for Antonio Castro. A dangerous fugitive eludes one of the largest manhunts in Northern California history.
The Mysterious Death of Terry McClure. Tim McClure's mother is found murdered on his wedding day, and he becomes a suspect.
Tim's Alibi. Tim McClure's timeline raises suspicion after his mother is found dead.
Andre's Mysterious Death. Authorities claim Andre hanged himself, but an independent pathologist disagrees, suggesting foul play.
Woody Kelly's Disappearance. Investment counselor Woody Kelly vanishes after taking millions from clients, leaving behind a mystery.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

He was dangerous and smart.

Authorities describe the fugitive Antonio Castro.

3:42WatchMar 9, 2017

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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