Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 7, Episode 8 | Forensic Files

[music playing] DENNIS FARINA: Next, on Unsolved Mysteries, an army pilot vanishes without a trace.
His family believes he may have died going on a top secret mission for the CIA. Thieves tunnel into a bank vault in Hollywood,
and walk away with more than $2 million. At a local park, a young woman is killed
in a drive-by gang shooting. [gun shots] And police need your help to find her killer.
When a retired couple is brutally gunned down in their own home, police turn to a psychic
to help solve the case. Some hot case, some cold cases, and some cases that will even shock you.
I'm Dennis Farina. And this is Unsolved Mysteries. [theme music] Death Valley, California, August 17th, 1958,
42 miles from the nearest town, a fish and game warden finds a car abandoned in the desert.
The keys are still in the ignition. There is no sign of foul play. The car is registered to Lt. Paul
Whipkey of Ford Ord, California, almost 500 miles away. The Army reports that Whipkey has
been missing for five weeks. And in fact, he's wanted as a deserter. But there's a problem.
By all accounts, Paul Whipkey is the perfect soldier. No one who knows him believes that he could be a deserter.
I don't think Paul deserted. It was completely out of character for Paul to do such a thing.
He was a loyal American soldier devoted to his work. I think the Army knew exactly what happened to him.
I think it was part of a big smokescreen cover up. DENNIS FARINA: Paul Whipkey was an ROTC honor graduate.
After basic training, he won a spot in the Army aviation school. [explosion] In 1957, at Camp Desert Rock in Nevada,
Paul flew an observation plane during the testing of the atomic bomb. He was exposed to radioactive fallout.
And it wasn't long before unusual blotches appeared on his skin. Several months later, Paul, now stationed
at Fort Ord, California, had to have all his teeth removed. July 10th, 1958, late in the afternoon, Paul left Fort Ord.
He told friends that he was headed for the town of Monterey less than a mile away.
Paul never returned. The next morning, he was reported AWOL. 30 days later, he was declared a deserter.
The following week, his car was discovered in Death Valley. The Army says that on the day Paul left,
he apparently ended up at White's Motel in Mojave, California, some 350 miles from the base.
Paul had signed the motel's guest register. Army investigators say they found a gasoline
receipt in Paul's car. It showed that he had bought gas in Mojave. Paul's car then ended up in Death Valley 145 miles away.
On the very morning Paul turned up missing, two soldiers stripped his room at Fort Ord.
Everything was removed, including Paul's personal belongings. CARL WHIPKEY: Regulations state to the next of kin
or legal representative must be notified before packing belongings. And they didn't notify us at that time.
I was very suspicious of this action as soon as I discovered this had taken place.
DENNIS FARINA: Carl Whipkey's suspicions led him to investigate his brother's disappearance.
The discrepancies he found only increased his doubts about the official army story.
Four weeks after Paul was reported AWOL, a witness driving through Death Valley saw his car.
He said that it was driven by a man in a military uniform. However, when Paul left Fort Ord,
he was wearing civilian clothes. When the car was found, a pile of cigarette butts
was on the ground next to it. But Paul did not smoke. Also troubling to Paul's family was
the fact that the Army waited nine months, and only then, began looking for his body.
And it was only by accident that Carl Whipkey heard anything about the car at all.
CARL WHIPKEY: The only way that I learned about it was due to a unofficial call to an enlisted man
out at Fort Ord. A half an hour, he called back very excited. And he said, this is classified information.
Requested that I did not tell anyone where I had received this information. DENNIS FARINA: The investigation into Paul's disappearance also
troubled his commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Lewis. I found it almost unbelievable that he would
be classified as a deserter. And I was curious, what was the basis for it? And I was quickly and promptly advised
that, Charlie, forget this. The case has been closed. And I would recommend that you don't carry it any further.
And in essence, I was told to shut up, to dry up, and blow away. DENNIS FARINA: Charles Lewis and Paul Whipkey
were both stationed in Nevada during 1957. Lewis recalls the day he saw two men in plain clothes talking
to Paul. CHARLES LEWIS: I noticed that they had gone directly to the air field instead of reporting
to operations, which was required for a purpose of security. So I asked them for their identification.
Excuse me, gentlemen. Did you see that sign over there? Yes, sir. This is a restricted area.
Do you have any identification? Yes, we do. CHARLES LEWIS: They show their military identification cards.
And the picture did verify who the two were. It looks OK. Is everything all right here?
Yes, sir. Carry on. DENNIS FARINA: Over the next few weeks, Lewis often saw Paul talking to the same two men.
CHARLES LEWIS: When Lt. Whipkey would come in after they had departed, you could feel and sense
a rigidity in his personality traits and his mannerisms. Whipkey, is everything OK?
Everything's fine, sir. DENNIS FARINA: In hindsight, Lewis now believes that Paul may have met with the same two men
for one simple reason. CHARLES LEWIS: During that era, there was a tremendous amount of nationwide recruiting
conducted by the CIA. And with Paul's qualification-- Lt. Whipkey's qualifications, he would
have been an exceptional candidate for such an assignment. CARL WHIPKEY: January of the year disappeared, he told me
during a telephone conversation that he was going to be going on an assignment, that he was going
to make a name for himself. Before he could tell me what it was, he was interrupted by some officers moving
in the proximity of his desk. And he could no longer talk to me about that subject.
[music playing] I theorized that Paul was recruited into an army CIA joint program that was going on at that time.
I'm going into town. CARL WHIPKEY: When Paul left Fort Ord, he drove to the town of Mojave, California, and checked
into White's Motel. It's a possibility that he was met there by Army Intelligence
Agents or the CIA and transported to Southeast Asia, possibly from Edwards Air Force Base, which is nearby.
- Lieutenant. - Good morning, Mr. General. DENNIS FARINA: Carl now believes that his brother
was assigned to a secret mission and left his car with the Army. He thinks they kept it four weeks before driving it
into the desert. CARL WHIPKEY: I think the Army took his car to the desert to get rid of it.
Out of sight, out of mind. If they would just say, yes, he died on a secret assignment,
we could live with that. We're all loyal American citizens in our family. And we would buy that.
Until the Army tell us what happened, there will be no peace in our family. In 1982, the Army reviewed Paul Whipkey's case
and found no basis to support his status as a deserter. Two months later, his final status
was officially changed from deserter to died in the line of duty. His brother, Carl, hopes that someone watching
might be able to shed some light on Paul's mysterious disappearance. If you have information, please log on to our website
at unsolved.com. Next, thieves tunnel into a bank vault and walk away with $2 million.
The perfect crime? Almost. [music playing] Hollywood, California, [police radio chatter] 8:00 PM
Friday night, [beeping] the alarm goes off at First Interstate Bank. Police arrive to investigate, but find
no evidence of a break-in. [beeping] Good morning. Hi, [inaudible]. DENNIS FARINA: Monday morning, bank employees arrive for work.
It's business as usual until they open the vault. $2 million in cash, jewelry, and rare coins is gone,
safety deposit boxes opened like tin cans. A gaping hole in the floor leads to a tunnel that runs more
than 30 yards to a storm drain. These guys were not your run-of-the-mill bank burglars.
They were master criminals. SGT. DENNIS PEGANKOPP: My initial feelings that morning, when we first arrived at the scene,
was one of awe. I realized the fact that these suspects were excellent burglars.
They would be extremely difficult to catch. They'd gone to a lot of work. And it was awesome.
We view this burglary in the city as the crime of the century, as far as burglaries go.
The method of attack, and the fact they get $2 million plus, their ingenuity. I had never seen a burglary like this in 27 years.
Let's work this one about 100 yards out. DENNIS FARINA: The burglars used the storm
drain running under LA city streets to access the bank. From the drain, they tunneled 95 feet
to the vault, a remarkable feat of precision engineering. SGT. DENNIS PEGANKOPP: The experts
tell us that the type of tunnels they dug were very safe tunnels. The size of the tunnels, the shapes of the tunnels
were extremely expertly done. And the contour the tunnels were done as such to add extra strength and protection
to those digging. I don't see any dirt, yeah? DENNIS FARINA: Police searched storm drains
within a three mile radius of the bank looking for any signs of the burglars. SGT. DENNIS PEGANKOPP: When we concluded our investigation
at First Interstate Bank, basically we were left with no clues at all. There was no physical evidence left.
The suspects left us nothing to work with. And we were basically handcuffed. DENNIS FARINA: It appeared to be the perfect crime.
And then, 14 months later, the tunneling bandits struck again. This time they weren't so perfect.
Saturday morning, another alarm goes off, a Bank of America in West Los Angeles.
When police arrived, a bank manager opens the vault. [music playing] A gaping 18-inch hole perforates the steel-reinforced
concrete floor. The burglars have long since disappeared. DENNIS FARINA: When I got the phone call from the officer
at the bank, and he explained to me the hole in the floor, all I could think of was, they're back.
They've done it again. And how much money did they get this time? DENNIS FARINA: The thieves only got away with $90,000.
Tools and work clothes were left behind, indicating that the burglars fled before they were done.
Chisel? DENNIS FARINA: Also abandoned was this 18 inch drill bit, a diamond tip cutting tool used by construction crews
to bore through solid concrete. SGT. DENNIS PEGANKOPP: This was purchased in the San Francisco
Bay Area by a construction company using a fictitious name and address in San Diego.
And they paid cash. So basically, we knew that it was probably a white male that purchased
it, but no other information. There's a build up of dirt on this side. - Yeah. - See it?
DENNIS FARINA: When police searched the storm drains within a few miles of the bank,
they found something else. There's nothing on the walls. DENNIS FARINA: A small all-terrain vehicle
called a quad runner. Detectives believe that the tunnels were dug by just two men.
They used the quad runners to move their heavy equipment underground. The drill alone weighed more than 100 pounds.
SGT. DENNIS PEGANKOPP: We came to a conclusion that the suspects were very close friends, possibly army
buddies, able to work together for long periods of time in very confined areas, taking up three to six weeks,
probably, to dig that one tunnel. DENNIS FARINA: Police also believe that there must have been a third man working
outside the bank as a scout. MAN OVER RADIO: It's time to move. MAN IN ROOM: Cops?
I don't know. MAN IN ROOM: Got to go. DENNIS FARINA: Police found two pairs of footprints
in the tunnel, indicating that one burglar was barefoot, one in stocking feet. They abandoned one of the quads, and apparently escaped on foot.
But they left behind an important clue. The only fingerprint we developed was on the quad runner itself.
We got one latent print from that vehicle. That print has been run through and compared
with all arrestees. And it's our opinion that this individual has never been arrested.
Look at this. DENNIS FARINA: Police continued searching for more evidence. [knocking] - That's hollow.
DENNIS FARINA: About a mile and a half from the Bank of America, they found another tunnel
completely finished. This one was 102 feet long and ended beneath a Beverly Hills bank.
The mounting bolts for the drill were already in place under the vault. SGT. DENNIS PEGANKOPP: If they'd have been able to accomplish
both burglaries that weekend, it's told to me by the people in the banks in the banking industry
that they probably would have gotten away with between $10 and $20 million. DENNIS FARINA: Police learn the quad runner
was purchased by a man using the name David Spaulding. His only known address, a post office box in Hollywood.
Someone using this same name apparently bought five of the all-terrain vehicles.
Because the tunnels were so well constructed, authorities believe the suspects had worked as miners,
or may be in the building trades. So in order to stop others from digging their way to fortune,
police now patrol LA storm drains on a regular basis. Next, police in Houston need your help
to find two gunmen who [gun shots] brutally shot and killed an innocent young woman.
[music playing] Houston, Texas. You know, everyone knows that you're going to die sometime in your life.
But you expect to die when you're old, not when you're 19 years old. I think if Kristi would have died from sickness or in a car
wreck, it would just be a lot easier to accept than the fact that she was actually murdered.
Because it was just senseless. And there was no reason for it at all. DENNIS FARINA: Kristi Martin was a college
honor roll student and former high school cheerleader. On a Friday night, she had a friend
named Wendy Wright were hanging out with two brothers, Joe and Sal Barrera. Good question.
I got you a good present, though. DENNIS FARINA: They all knew each other from high school.
And winter break from college was the perfect time to reconnect. Just 15 miles, but worlds away, members
of a Houston street gang were cranking up their Friday night. Flaco. What's up, homes?
What's up, Flaco? Come on over here, man. DEP. MICHAEL SIMPSON: On the night of the homicide,
Jose Luis Rios, whose gang name is Flaco, and Jorge Mendez were out that night right around drinking
looking for some kind of problems to get into, looking to do something wild. Where's the party at?
DEP. MICHAEL SIMPSON: I've dealt with Flaco before. He's told people in the past that it
was the ultimate rush, the ultimate high, to shoot somebody. DENNIS FARINA: Kristi and her friends
finished dinner, and then drove to River Terrace Park, a popular hang out. When we were kids, we fished there, crabbed there.
We picnicked there. You never had to worry about anybody bothering you for any reason.
It was just a nice place to take your family. That might be why one of the reasons the kids went there.
They felt safe there. Man, I'm cold. I'm going to get inside. Want to go inside? - Yeah.
Kris, do you want to go for a walk? I'll go for a walk, yeah. DENNIS FARINA: But the park was no longer neutral territory.
Flaco's gang liked to believe that it belonged to them. [inaudible]. I don't know.
Let's go check it out. You want to? Yeah. Let's go. [speaking spanish] Hurry. Let's--
[inaudible]. SAL BARRERA: We were just sitting there talking. When that truck drove up, I couldn't see it because my back
was towards them. I thought it was just somebody else was going to park next to us, you know, so they could
do whatever they wanted to do. Come here! Oh, great. Who are these guys? Hey, my homie wants to hook up with you.
We probably go, OK? - No, look, just ignore them. - Can we just go? - They're probably drunk. - Come on!
Come on! Let's go. [men yelling] OK, I got it. I got it. I got it. [gun shots] [kristi screaming]
SAL BARRERA: I crawled as fast as I could to the front of my car. By the time I got to the front, they took off.
I just see Kristi, you know, on the floor just laying there. I just ran right over there towards her.
And I was talking to her, yelling, please don't go. Don't leave us. Oh, god. Kris-- Kristi!
JOE BARRERA: She's just there and breathing slowly and just staring at you. You knew she was already going to die.
I mean, she had the glare in her eye like she's trying to look at you, but looking past you,
you know? DENNIS FARINA: Wendy Wright and the Barrera brothers escaped without serious injury.
But Kristi Martin took a direct hit from the assault rifle and died at the scene.
[sirens blaring] [police radio chatter] JUDY MARTIN: When Kristi didn't come home,
my concern was maybe she had a car accident. I never dreamed in a million years it would be something such as a drive-by shooting.
Because I guess I just assumed that only happened to other people, that it didn't happen to somebody that
was a good person, and that wasn't involved in gangs in any way at all. DENNIS FARINA: Within six days, the shooter, Jose Rios,
alias Flaco, and the driver, Jorge Mendez, were formerly charged with Kristi's murder.
They both had long records of gang-related crimes. Four weeks before the attack, Mendez
had legally purchased the assault rifle used by Flaco in the killing. It's hard to swallow that these kids are able to get out
there and buy assault-type weapons, and then to come back and just fire them at will at anybody they want.
What type of gun that this man bought-- I won't even call him a man. This animal bought-- is sold to kill people.
[gun shots] He bragged to some of his gang members that he was going kill somebody.
He bought this gun to kill somebody with. Just so happened it was our daughter. [tires screech]
DENNIS FARINA: Jose Rios has been linked to a second killing. An uncle of Jorge Mendez was gunned down in an intersection.
And Rios is a suspect. The uncle had told Jorge, along with Flaco, that if they didn't turn themselves in that he would
call the police on him himself. And within two days of that reported meeting between them,
he ends up being shot. The information we're picking up off the street is that Jose Luis Rios, Flaco, is also taking
credit for that homicide. DENNIS FARINA: While Rios and Mendez run free, Brian and Judy Martin dread every Christmas.
It's the anniversary of their daughter's funeral. JUDY MARTIN: Christmas will be really hard from now on.
It just will never be the same. So it's really a sad time. And I know Christmas should be a happy time.
But I can't imagine it being any sadder than Christmas Eve will be this year without Kristi.
Losing your mother or brother, I mean, that's rough. I've lost them both. My dad, both my parents have died.
My brother has died. All I have left is my family, my immediate family. And, uh, when you lose a child, it takes
a big hunk out of your heart. DENNIS FARINA: Update, Jorge Mendez fled to Mexico, where he was arrested on unrelated charges
some five years later. American authorities had requested that he be brought back to stand trial for the murder of Kristi
Martin. Jose Rios remains at large. Rios is 5 feet 7, and weighs 140 pounds. He has numerous tattoos, including a skull and dagger
on his right forearm, two tear drops below his left eye, and on his neck, the cartoon character
Casper the Friendly Ghost. Next, police turn to a psychic to help them solve a brutal double homicide.
[music playing] We are in the LAPD Evidence Warehouse. An actual murder investigation is in progress.
But you will find this procedure in any textbook. Relax. Breathe. Take a breath.
He hurt me. [sniffling] In the argument he hurt you? [coughing] Earlier. Noreen Renier is a psychic from Orlando, Florida
who works with the police. He hit me. Did he use his hand? Yes. his fist. DENNIS FARINA: Among the psychics that we have profiled,
she is unique, a true unsolved mystery. This is earlier. DENNIS FARINA: Noreen Renier has worked with the police
on nearly 400 different crimes. In one of her most remarkable cases, she provided crucial information that
helped solve the double homicide of Jake and Dora Cohn. Colonie, New York, a suburb of Albany.
Well, I'm glad to hear that. DENNIS FARINA: Dora Cohn is chatting with her daughter,
who we'll call Julie. In an instant, tragedy strikes. Yeah, well, any time's fine.
How about-- Jake! Mom? DENNIS FARINA: Dora screams out her husband's name twice.
Mom, have you dropped the phone? DENNIS FARINA: Julie immediately calls 9-1-1. And then Julie calls her son, James Mariani,
and rushes to meet him at her parents' home. - Mom. - James, what's going on? They're not telling anything.
And they're not letting me in. Mom! - Ma'am. Ma'am, I'm sorry, you can't-- What's going on in there?
What's going on? [panting] My-- my parents are in there. - Ma'am, listen to me. - Something's wrong.
Listen to me! I hate to tell you this, but they've been killed. [gasping] I'm sorry.
I'm very sorry. LT. RAY KROKLAK: The elderly female was just lying on the floor with the phone still in her hand.
It appeared that she had fallen over while on the telephone. The male victim was on the floor of the hallway.
He appeared to be shot in the nose. The only evidence that we found was the entrance
way door had been kicked in. And part of the door stopper was laying on the kitchen floor.
And there was two empty shells also laying on the floor. DENNIS FARINA: When James Mariani knew at a glance
that the shells were 25 caliber, he instantly became a suspect in his grandparents' murder.
The police asked him to take a lie detector test, even though they knew that he had been at his house
when the murders occurred. Did you shoot Jake and Dora? No. DENNIS FARINA: The results were inconclusive.
But police remained suspicious. Mariani had a criminal record. And he had friends with criminal records.
Couple friends, Larry-- Police interviewed two men that Mariani had done jail time with, Keith Snare and Robert Skinner.
Both had alibis. No. I was with my girlfriend. What's her name? Sandy. DENNIS FARINA: Two years went by with no leads.
And then Jake and Dora's daughter heard about Noreen Renier and asked police to contact her.
Noreen, I sent you some articles that were present at the crime scene. DENNIS FARINA: Noreen worked the case long distance by phone.
She knew nothing except the names and ages of the victims. I'm going to start with the glasses.
I'm gong to start with Dora. I'm going to try to tune in and see what she saw just before she was killed.
[breaths deeply] Well, Jake doesn't have to bowl that night. We'd love to come. LT. RAY KROKLAK: When she was Dora,
she described how she was on the telephone with a female. She hears a crashing sound.
I think it's a recipe for-- [crash] Oh, Jake! Jake! Shooting me. I'm being shot.
DENNIS FARINA: Noreen called out Jake's name twice, just as Dora had done before she was shot.
LT. RAY KROKLAK: Now as she's Jake, she describes how she gets up off the couch,
goes down a narrow hallway, and she's confronted with someone with a gun. I know you.
What the hell are you doing here? DENNIS FARINA: Noreen remembers that she felt pain in the center of her face, exactly
where Jake had been shot. My face. I'm shot in my face. LT. RAY KROKLAK: She had given a pretty accurate description
of both Jake and Dora, and a fairly accurate description of the crime scene. This made me take notice, and feel that she was
credible in what she was doing. I'm going to count from five to zero. As I count, your eyes will become heavier and heavier--
DENNIS FARINA: The police started to feel that Noreen might be able to help them crack the case.
They asked her to work with a hypnotist. HYPNOTIST: One and zero. Now going back.
Dora, tell me about the intruder. We knew him. He was a younger man. DORA: What are you doing?
NOREEN: With brown hair. So And he came to our house for dinner. [gun shot] He did some work for my husband.
JAKE: I know you. What are you doing in here? I'm not playing, old man! Where's the money?
JAKE: What do you want? Where's the money? JAKE: What are you talking about? Where is the money?
HYPNOTIST: I want you to tell me his name. Focus. Perhaps we'll take a letter at a time.
Do you see a letter? S. HYPNOTIST: Do you see another letter? Following the hypnosis session,
we presented Noreen with a series of 10 photographs. We had put three of them in there who we felt
were the suspects at this time. So, I'd like to show you these-- I don't want to see them.
Why don't you just lay them face down and let me pick up the energies from them?
OK. Noreen took the photographs-- as a matter of fact, her eyes were closed-- and shuffled through the photographs,
held them for a while, held each one, and then kept placing one, two, three photographs down.
I feel the strongest energy from these three photographs. And this one in particular, he might have been the one
that killed Jake and Dora. DENNIS FARINA: The man in the first photo had nothing to do with this case.
But the second photo was Robert Skinner, a friend of Jake and Dora's grandson, James Mariani.
A third photo was Mariani himself. The police also noted that Robert Skinner's last name began with an S, the one letter Noreen
had visualized. This is my girlfriend. - What's her name? - Sandy. DENNIS FARINA: When police double checked Robert
Skinner's alibi, it fell apart. In the end, James Mariani, Robert Skinner, and Keith Snare
were charged and convicted for the murders of Jake and Dora Cohn. Mariani will not be eligible for parole until 2029.
Snare will serve time until at least 2031. And Skinner will likely die in prison,
serving 87 years to life. So what psychic power did Noreen draw upon to help solve this case?
NOREEN: When the skeptics ask me, how does it work? My answer usually is, you've been
using your logical, rational mind for many years. Explain to me how it works. How does your memory?
How do you learn math? How does the brain work when you spell? You don't know. And neither do I. But you can use your mind, and so can I.
DENNIS FARINA: Next, a man needs your help to find the truth about his father's mysterious past.
[music playing] For any child, the death of a parent is traumatic. For a boy named Bob Coleman, it became
a time to reflect on everything he had ever known about his father-- or at least, everything his father had wanted him to know.
Washington, DC, everyone said Richard Coleman was an ordinary man who lived a fairly uneventful life.
He worked as a vending machine mechanic. He had served in the military and married in 1947.
His son, Bob, was born two years later. Today, Bob's strongest memory of childhood
is the love of baseball that he shared with his father. BOB COLEMAN: He had a passion to play ball.
And we'd go out to the yard, to the side yard and the front yard. And he'd pitch the ball to me.
And I'd hit it. And it was something that I enjoyed a awful lot. And I loved being outside with him,
and playing ball whenever we could. DENNIS FARINA: Richard died in 1961. A short time later, Bob stumbled on the first hint
that his father had been a man with many secrets. Bob was drawn to an old trunk that belonged to his father.
Inside, he found a collection of souvenirs from his father's military service. What are you doing, Bobby?
Just looking at dad's old stuff. Was dad in the Army? Yes, he was, but-- BOB COLEMAN: I remember on many, many times
to asking my mom about my dad, and specifically, honing in on the items in the foot locker.
And she didn't have too many explanations, other than that she believed that my dad had done something
he wasn't real proud of, and that his words were, it's over and done with. DENNIS FARINA: 14 years later, Bob's own military service drew
him back to his father's trunk. Once again, he held this father's uniform. BOB COLEMAN: It had the silver bars of a First Lieutenant
still on it. It had the insignia, interestingly enough, of a Medical Corps, a plain caduceus, which would indicate
that the person who wore that uniform was a medical doctor in the Army. DENNIS FARINA: Was it possible that Richard
Coleman, the vending machine mechanic, had been a doctor in the Army? For Bob, it was a possibility that triggered
a vivid childhood memory. Ow, ooh! Oh, my god. I'm bleeding! Richard! Richard! Oh!
BOB COLEMAN: My mom had cut her hand open very, very badly. And there was a lot of blood.
She was bleeding profusely. Bobby, Sharon, come in here please. BOB COLEMAN: And I remember my dad
taking control of the situation, sizing up the emergency. Everything will be OK, honey, don't worry.
BOB COLEMAN: He applied the pressure to the cut, and actually knew about pressure points,
and did something-- that I don't remember because I was small-- but he did something that he actually was able to stop
the bleeding pretty quickly. And he took control of the situation in a way that would lead me to believe that he
knew more about the medical field than somebody who was not trained. Atta boy. You see, everything is fine.
DENNIS FARINA: Why would Richard Coleman abandon his career in medicine? For Bob, it meant that his father was not the man
that he thought he knew. His father's trunk provided Bob with other clues that raised even more questions.
Although his father's uniform was from World War II, Bob found several medals from World War I. Discharge papers
from World War I raised still more questions. BOB COLEMAN: It was a World War I certificate.
And as I looked at it, I remember noticing the items had been written over. Someone had gone back after it was issued and put my father's
name, Richard Coleman. And a service number and other information were written over the original inscriptions.
DENNIS FARINA: It appeared that the document had been forged. When Bob checked with the VA, his suspicions were confirmed.
The discharge papers had been issued to another soldier. Finally, Bob found no record of a Richard
Coleman ever serving in the Army Medical Corps in either world war. Room right there.
DENNIS FARINA: These strange revelations about his father brought back another painful memory.
Has anybody came and visit you? No, you're the first one. What about your brothers, and sisters, and your family?
Sh, sh, sh. We're daddy's family, honey. You sure are. BOB COLEMAN: I remember asking several times,
well, my dad's sick. He's probably going to pass away. Where is his family? And why isn't anyone up here to see how he
is, or, you know, to visit him? What a beautiful dress you have. BOB COLEMAN: And my mom really wouldn't answer it.
She didn't have an answer, I guess. And I never, never got any satisfactory explanation
for that. DENNIS FARINA: The trunk held one final clue, a membership roster from the New
York City gun club. Richard Coleman was listed as a member in 1944. When Bob researched his father's address,
he uncovered another surprising detail. BOB COLEMAN: My father may have lived with an Alice Coleman.
And I don't know what her maiden name was. But voting records indicate that they were married,
and that she was a housewife, and that she lived with Richard Coleman. I've never been able to confirm their marriage,
because there's no record that I can find. And indeed, I don't know where Alice Coleman went to.
Because after 1967, she does not appear in the Manhattan phone books. DENNIS FARINA: Did Richard Coleman change his identity
to hide something in his past? Why did he keep his apparent marriage to Alice Coleman secret?
And despite a trunk full of war mementos, why did the military show no record of his service
in either world war? Bob Coleman remains determined to find the answers. BOB COLEMAN: I'm not trying to judge my father.
I'm trying to learn about him. And I'm perfectly aware that there may be something that he did 50, 60 years ago
that was pretty bad, perhaps. And it would have prompted him to change his identity,
and to obscure his past. But it's also something that's very important to me, because it's my father.
And it may be the only way that I, ultimately, end up really knowing who he was and what he did.
And I'm very passionate, and very committed to doing that. DENNIS FARINA: Update, Bob Coleman
has found the real identity of his father, Coleman Joe DeKorte. Bob discovered that his father had been previously married,
but abandoned his family. Armed with his dad's real name and real birth date, Bob and his sister were welcomed by a new-found family.
[music playing]

This, Episode includes: G.I. Guinea Pig, Bank Tunnel, Murder in the Park, Noreen Renier and Unknown Dad.

Brief Summary

This episode covers Lt. Paul Whipkey's disappearance, a Hollywood bank heist, Kristi Martin's murder, and a psychic's role in solving a double homicide.

Key points

The Mysterious Disappearance of Lt. Paul Whipkey. Lt. Paul Whipkey vanishes under suspicious circumstances, leading his family to believe in a cover-up.
The Perfect Crime: Bank Heist. Thieves tunnel into a bank vault, stealing $2 million in cash and valuables, but leave clues behind.
Tragic Murder of Kristi Martin. 19-year-old Kristi Martin is murdered in a drive-by shooting, leaving her family devastated.
The Psychic's Insight. Noreen Renier, a psychic, provides crucial information that helps solve a double homicide.
Uncovering Family Secrets. Bob Coleman discovers his father's hidden past, revealing secrets that change everything he knew.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I think the Army knew exactly what happened to him.

Carl Whipkey suspects a cover-up regarding his brother's disappearance.

2:34WatchMar 9, 2017

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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