Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina - Season 8, Episode 17 | Forensic Files

DENNIS FARINA: Next on "Unsolved Mysteries," when a woman falls to her death from a hotel balcony,
police must decide if it was an accident or murder. Lisa! DENNIS FARINA: A small town in New England
is shocked when a popular schoolteacher is murdered. Meet an eight-year-old boy who is preparing for college.
What determines who will be born a genius? And a young mother disappears before testifying in court.
Could these letters help find her? These are stories, believe me, you won't want to miss.
I'm Dennis Farina, and this is "Unsolved Mysteries." [THEME MUSIC] Agawam, Massachusetts-- a small town
near the western Connecticut border, at the Agawam middle school under a dogwood tree
in the courtyard is a memorial to one of the town's most beloved teachers. The tragic death of Lisa Ziegert changed Agawam forever.
DEE ZIEGERT: Lisa was a very special person. She was bubbly, outgoing, full of fun.
With the kids, she always had a special rapport. They knew that she really liked them.
I mean, and-- and that she treated them like people. Now, this happens to be a model of an apple blossom.
DENNIS FARINA: Lisa Ziegert had grown up in Agawam. After college, she returned home to teach special needs
students at the middle school. Petals would dry up, and this would become an apple.
DICK COWLES: I think of Lisa as a gifted teacher. The gifted teacher is the one into whose eyes
a child can look and see a reflection of value. And you can't fake it. You either have it, or you don't.
It's a gift. And I think Lisa had it. What are you guys supposed to read for biology?
Do you remember? BOTH: Chapter five. All right. DENNIS FARINA: On a typical Wednesday afternoon in April,
Lisa Left school and drove to the store where she worked from 5:00 to 9:00 PM. At 5:30, Lisa's sister dropped by.
Are you going to frame this one? LYNNE ZIEGERT: It was easy talk. It was sister talk.
It was a little after 6 o'clock when I left. And then I went home, and she was fine when I-- you know,
she was fine when I left. DENNIS FARINA: At 8:45 the next morning, Sophia Maynard arrived as usual to open up the store.
She was surprised to see that Lisa's car was parked out front. SOPHIA MAYNARD: I saw her car, and then I remembered that it
was Easter weekend coming up. And we had planned to stuff some balloons, and that's what she was doing there.
So I really didn't think much of anything until I walked inside the store, you know?
Lisa? Lisa? SOPHIA MAYNARD: I called her name a couple of times, and I figured she'd just pop her head out.
She didn't. I came behind the counter. All of her things were there-- her drawings, and
her pocketbook, her car keys. Lisa? SOPHIA MAYNARD: And then I just kind of freaked out.
I knew that something was wrong, so I ran out, ran across the street to a restaurant across the street,
and asked them to call the police. Watch your step in here. DENNIS FARINA: Police found signs
of a struggle in the back storeroom and a few scattered traces of blood. Immediately, the FBI and Massachusetts State Police
launched a massive search for Lisa Ziegert. You wait to hear something good, but at that point,
you start feeling that, you know, possibly it isn't going to be a good answer to what's going on.
I couldn't let myself believe that everything wasn't going to be OK-- that she would be found, and no matter what had
had happened, that we would be able to have her back. You might want to use that manhole cover.
DENNIS FARINA: On Easter Sunday, four days after Lisa disappeared, her body was found in a wooded area
on the edge of town. CAPT. ROBERT CAMPBELL: She had multiple knife wounds around her shoulders and throat, and a-- later on an examination
by the county medical examiner indicated that she had been sexually assaulted. DENNIS FARINA: The outpouring of love and shared grief
was overwhelming. At Lisa's wake, more than 1,000 people stood for five hours in the rain to pay her tribute.
GEORGE ZIEGERT: It was just beyond anything I've ever experienced. It just-- it showed us what kind of a person Lisa was.
We're not a political family or anything, so there would be no reason they would come out for us.
It was for her. DENNIS FARINA: As the town mourned, authorities pursued their investigation.
Three critical phone tips came in that helped establish a time frame for the murder.
CAPT. ROBERT CAMPBELL: The first call was from a person who had been in the store at 8:20,
and had made a purchase, and actually had a timestamped receipt. CUSTOMER: Excuse me, do you know the price on this?
Oh, it should be marked. CAPT. ROBERT CAMPBELL: There was nothing that was unusual.
There was nothing that was out of line, nothing that perked their attention to say that they
should call the police. The second person was a customer of the store who had gone in at 9 o'clock.
Is anybody here? CAPT. ROBERT CAMPBELL: She found it open, lights on, but nobody was around.
Hello? CAPT. ROBERT CAMPBELL: This person told us that they did hear some noise in the back room.
She described it as a banging noise. She waited a minute, and nobody came out, so she left.
This suggested to us that Lisa was in the store around 9 o'clock and in the back room.
Further investigation revealed that she had been horizontal on the floor, and there were two kick marks from her shoes
on the bottom of the door. DENNIS FARINA: The third tip came from a witness who was on her way home from work at 9:15 PM.
This witness saw what police believe could have been the killer's car. She also said that a man and woman seemed to be
struggling in the back seat. The car pulled off the road, heading towards the area where
Lisa's body was later found. At the time, the woman thought it was just a car load of teenagers and drove on.
Today, the simple plaque in the courtyard preserves the memory of Lisa Ziegert for a new generation
of students. DEE ZIEGERT: I think children always feel that nothing can happen to them, and when something happens to someone
that so many of them knew, it brought it home that life isn't always fair and that you
have to be extra careful. And even sometimes when you're extra careful, it doesn't matter.
This cannot go unpunished. It can't be something where this person gets away, and the children have got to know this.
If it's important for us, it's even more important for them. DENNIS FARINA: Update-- there are
new developments in this case. Here's one of our staff with details. STAFF: Thanks to DNA testing, Gary Schara
was arrested for the murder of Lisa Ziegert after his ex-wife told police she believed he was a suspect.
Schara pled guilty and was sentenced to life in prison. DENNIS FARINA: Next, five people vanish, and all
the clues point to one man. Cedar springs, Michigan-- On a summer night, 18-year-old Rachel Timmerman
left a party with 43-year-old Marvin Gabrion and two other men. I want you out of the car.
DENNIS FARINA: Some considered Gabrion the town bully, but he was friendly with Rachel's family and well aware
that life had been tough for her. She had come from a broken home, and when she was just 17,
Rachel gave birth to a daughter. I said get out of the car. Hey, no way, man. I'm not getting out here.
It's the middle of nowhere. Get out of the car! Do it! Do it! Get! No, not you! - What?
MARVIN GABRION: No! - Guys? Guys? Guys? Marvin! DENNIS FARINA: Rachel later told police that Gabrion
beat her, then raped her. After a six month investigation, Gabrion was arrested and then released on bail two weeks later.
That rape was so brutal, and it took a long time at the hospital, and-- and the scarring I don't think
would've ever went away. It got to where she didn't really hardly trust anybody unless she already knew them, because she didn't
know who could hurt her again. DENNIS FARINA: Rachel took a job at a local restaurant
to support her 11-month-old daughter, Shannon. Nearly a year passed, but as the date for Gabrion's hearing
got closer, Rachel began to worry about testifying. TIM TIMMERMAN: She had told me that he'd
threatened her numerous times. She was a little scared to go to trial, but I had talked to her about it,
and I told her it's OK, honey. I'll go with you. I'll help you, and we'll do it.
She would have reoccurring nightmares. She was totally convinced that this man would kill her.
DENNIS FARINA: Two days before the rape hearing, Rachel took Shannon and went out for the evening.
It was some guy. Yeah, actually. TIM TIMMERMAN: She came out to see me and told me that she had a dinner date with some boy.
She was going to take Shannon with her and have dinner. She'd be home in a few hours.
Love ya. DENNIS FARINA: A few hours passed. Rachel and Shannon did not come home.
The next day, less than 24 hours after Rachel disappeared, her father received a letter.
TIM TIMMERMAN: This letter was from Rachel and basically said that she was going on vacation.
We didn't know what to make of it. We were worried that it was kind of a goofy thing to do,
that it just didn't make sense. Here you just got a job at the restaurant. You're earning money.
Why would you need to go on a vacation now? June 5 we had a pretrial hearing scheduled for Marvin
Gabrion on the rape charge against Rachel Timmerman, and on that date, Rachel failed to show
up for that pretrial hearing. DENNIS FARINA: Because rape cases without witnesses
are extremely difficult to prosecute, the charges against Marvin Gabrion were dropped.
11 days passed, then prosecutor Chrystal Roach received a letter signed by Rachel.
It was sent from Little Rock, Arkansas, more than 1,500 miles away. CHRYSTAL ROACH (VOICEOVER): Dear Chrystal Roach,
Marvin Gabrion did not rape me. When he wouldn't have intercourse with me, I decided to teach him a lesson.
A short time later, we made up, and I can't bear the thought of trying to lock up an innocent man.
Thank you, Rachel Timmerman. I didn't believe it. It didn't make sense to me, and--
and I-- I got angry, because she was very serious about pressing these charges. I was concerned that something had happened to her.
DENNIS FARINA: That same day, Rachel's father received another letter. It was also postmarked in Little Rock, Arkansas.
RACHEL TIMMERMAN (VOICEOVER): Dear dad, Shannon is doing great. She misses you guys, but she's adjusting
to life out here really well. I don't know for sure yet-- TIM TIMMERMAN: The letter that I received was reassuring.
It said she was OK, that her and Shannon were fine. They had a method of earning money,
and they were getting by OK, and that they would be in touch with me later. DENNIS FARINA: More than two weeks went by without any word
from Rachel. And then on the morning of July 5, the decomposed body of a young woman was found in Oxford Lake,
outside Cedar Springs. It was Rachel Timmerman. Underneath here, it's attached--
She had been wrapped in chains with cement cinder blocks padlocked to the chains, and duct tape
around the eyes and mouth, and then placed into the lake. The autopsy revealed that Rachel Timmerman did
die as a result of drowning. She had been placed in the lake alive. DENNIS FARINA: Police believe that Rachel Timmerman was
murdered soon after she disappeared, but what happened to her 11-month-old daughter Shannon.
She was still missing and had not been seen in a month. Investigators called in a team of divers to search the lake,
but they found no trace of Shannon. Though her fate was still a mystery, there was no doubt that Rachel had been murdered.
I am fine. DENNIS FARINA: Authorities developed a theory. Whoever killed Rachel forced her to write the letters almost
immediately after she was kidnapped, then mailed them after throwing her body into the lake.
One suspect immediately came to mind-- Marvin Gabrion. LT. CURT SCHRAM: We decided to go over
to Mr. Gabrion's residence. Mr. Gabrion was not there, but cinder blocks were noticed that appeared to be the same as what was found
with Rachel Timmerman when her body was recovered from Oxford Lake. DENNIS FARINA: But Gabrion had fled Cedar Springs,
and he wasn't the only one who couldn't be found. It seems to be anybody that knows Marvin, has
any information that could be damaging to Marv comes up as a missing person. DENNIS FARINA: Missing person number one, Wayne Davis.
He had been in the car the night that Rachel was raped and agreed to testify against Gabrion.
Davis was last seen days after Gabrion was released from jail. [KNOCKING] Missing person number two, John Weeks,
an acquaintance of Gabrion's. Weeks had asked Rachel out on a date a few weeks before her death.
His name came up when we were attempting to identify the individual that might have picked Rachel up on June
3 from the Timmerman residence. In our efforts to locate him, we've come up against a stone wall and found out that he
also was a missing person. DENNIS FARINA: The FBI learned that Gabrion had been using an alias, Robert Allen.
Authorities discovered that the real Robert Allen had also disappeared. He was missing person number three.
Update-- Marvin Gabrion was eventually arrested by the FBI in upstate New York. He had been cashing pension checks payable to Robert Allen.
Gabrion was convicted of Rachel's murder and sentenced to death. Four months later, the body of Wayne Davis
was found in the same National Forest where Rachel's body had been discovered. Gabrion has not been charged in his death.
Rachel's child, Shannon, has never been found. Next, police in California pick up a young woman
who has no idea who she is. Port Hueneme, California. OK, a small airplane with the propeller in the front.
The propeller's in the front. DENNIS FARINA: This young woman was found wandering through the streets
of this small coastal town. She was unable to speak or hear and carried no identification.
This is the baby. Although social workers have been counseling her, they have been able to learn very little about her.
The story begins on an otherwise typical fall afternoon. A passing driver saw the young woman
acting strangely on the median strip of a busy street. You don't hear what I'm saying?
Do you live around here? DENNIS FARINA: The driver quickly determined that this woman could not hear or speak.
Fearing for her safety, he took her to the local police station. Hi. What's your name?
DENNIS FARINA: Although police tried to question the woman, they too were unable to communicate with her.
The only clue to her identity was a receipt from a bank in San Diego 200 miles away.
Police found no grounds to hold the young woman, and a short time later, she left.
[RADIO CHATTER] I'm 10-6 with the subject. I'll bring her into the station. DENNIS FARINA: The next day, a patrolman
came upon the same young woman, once again in the middle of a busy street. This time, she was sent to a homeless shelter
where she could receive help. It's OK. It's OK. MARTI RUBLE: When she first came to the shelter,
she had no means of formal communication with anyone. And so a lot of it was pantomiming,
and mimicking, and-- and what is known as home sign language. So this is a picture of you?
DENNIS FARINA: Chris Barrows tried to break through the wall of silence that surrounded
this unique Jane Doe. CHRIS BARROWS: One of the first things that we tried to do
was we wanted to get a name and an age so that we could find out if we were dealing with a juvenile,
or whether we were dealing with an adult. We sat down with paper and pen, and we tried communicating
with her that way. Let me try my name. All right. CHRIS BARROWS: We wrote our names,
Marti and I. I wrote my name, gestured to myself several times. Marti wrote her name, gestured to herself several times.
Who are you? You try. CHRIS BARROWS: And then we ask her to write her name if she could write.
Your name. MARTI RUBLE: This is me. CHRIS BARROWS: OK, I think she got it here. L?
L. DENNIS FARINA: In the end, the young woman was able to spell out her name using simple hand gestures.
CHRIS BARROWS: And when I copied it onto the paper, it was instant recognition. And in our field, instant recognition means
this has got to be the truth. DENNIS FARINA: The name she spelled out was Lucxi, which may be a Spanish first name.
CHRIS BARROWS: She got very excited when she found that someone finally had known her name
and had gotten it. We did the same thing with her age. How old are you? 10, 20, 2, 1.
23. 23? You're 23. You're 23. OK. DENNIS FARINA: It seemed easy to determine the woman's age.
It wasn't so easy to find a friend or relative. You draw the baby. DENNIS FARINA: These scenes were filmed with Lucxi
while she was at the shelter. Chris and Marti called her Lucy for short. CHRIS BARROWS: Inside the swaddling.
This is-- although the genuine concern is for her immediate safety and her immediate protection,
there are people out there who know Lucy, who have loved her in the past, who have taken care of her.
And she needs to be with those people. DENNIS FARINA: Soon after we aired this story,
Lucy left the homeless shelter, and she has not been seen since. Authorities have no idea what happened to her.
Hopefully she has found her way home, where she is safe and well. In a startling experiment, Los Angeles County sheriffs toss
a dummy off a hotel balcony. Nine days earlier, a woman had fallen to her death from the same spot.
Investigators were trying to determine if her death was an accident, if she jumped,
or if she was murdered. The deceased was Sandra Orellana. She had arrived in California on a business
trip with this man, her, boss 33-year-old Robert Salazar. They both worked for Skillmaster,
a national employment agency based in Houston, Texas. Sandra, a claims specialist at the company,
was engaged to be married. Robert Salazar was the general manager of operations.
He had a wife and two children. On the morning of November 12, Sandra and Salazar
checked into adjacent rooms on the eighth floor of the Sheraton Hotel. At 6:30 the next morning, another hotel guest
spotted Sandra's crumpled body on the ground below. Police immediately questioned Salazar.
He told them that he had escorted Sandra to her room around midnight. He stayed for only a moment, and when he left,
Sandra was alive and well. When Mr. Salazar first told that story, it was a believable story.
It was only after the homicide detectives began looking inside the room and determined
that his underwear was in the room that we did not believe him. DENNIS FARINA: When police questioned Salazar again,
he told a very different story. LT. RAYMOND PEAVY: He said that he had, in fact, gone
into the room with Sandra, and that they had engaged in sex, and that, at one point, they were on the balcony.
Sandra had positioned herself on the railing of the balcony in such a way that she threw one of her legs
over the top of the balcony, and lost her balance, and had fallen. DENNIS FARINA: Sandra's family was outraged
by Salazar's allegations. MICHAEL SYDOW: The family believes that Sandra would never have engaged in any consensual relationship
with Robert Salazar. First, she was very devoted to her fiance. Secondly, she didn't believe in romantic relationships at work.
DENNIS FARINA: Salazar says that he and Sandra had not been romantically involved until that evening.
Several witnesses confirm that the couple was seen in the hotel bar drinking, holding hands, and kissing.
After that, Salazar told police they went up to Sandra's eighth floor room. A short time later, Sandra fell off the balcony.
Salazar told no one about the accident. Instead, he simply went back to his room.
The next morning, he was seen in the hotel lobby pretending to be waiting for Sandra.
He even left a message on her woman's voicemail asking where she was. Authorities used a dummy to test Salazar's
account of how and where Sandra went over the railing. LT. RAYMOND PEAVY: The dummy landed a number of feet
from where Sandra actually landed, close to 15 feet at one dropping. And another time, I believe it was 12 feet.
So it was never even close to where she actually landed. We tried it several times, and we actually ended up
trying to make it land where she landed, and we had to basically throw the dummy in that direction
to make it land there. DENNIS FARINA: Police also noted that Sandra was just 18 inches
taller than the railing. That made simply falling off the balcony very unlikely.
LT. RAYMOND PEAVY: I don't believe that it's possible that she could have fallen off the balcony.
I think that something else caused her to fall off the balcony that Mr. Salazar has not yet revealed.
We want to get to the truth so that we can explain away all the questions. Whether we ever will or not remains to be seen.
DENNIS FARINA: Update-- nearly five years after Sandra Orellana fell to her death, the Los Angeles
district attorney filed murder charges against Robert Salazar. At the trial's conclusion, the jury found
Salazar not guilty of murder. Jurors said the prosecution failed to make their case because no sign of a struggle
was found in the hotel room. Next, two infants are stolen by a nurse in Texas. 20 years later, they are still searching
for their birth parents. San Antonio, Texas-- these three infants were all born in San Antonio between 1959 and 1966,
but they all have something else in common. All three were kidnapped by a nurse named Ethel Nation, who
then provided the infants to unsuspecting adoptive parents for a fee. The shady business first came to light
when the mother of this infant began looking for her. Good grief. I don't-- DENNIS FARINA: In November 1959, 18-year-old
Dylene Zolikoff was alone, scared, and seven months pregnant. She was taken in by a nurse in San Antonio--
a nurse named Ethel Nation. Darlene gave birth to a healthy baby girl. While she was still in the hospital,
Ethel took the infant away. DYLENE ZOLIKOFF: Ethel stole my baby, and I searched.
I searched. I tried everything. I talked to a lawyer. Ethel wouldn't help me. I just couldn't find my baby.
DENNIS FARINA: Ethel denied she had anything to do with the abduction of Dylene's baby,
but in 1968, Dylene found a photograph of her daughter in Ethel's house. It took another 15 years of searching
before Dylene and her daughter were reunited on national television. She's so beautiful.
Isn't she beautiful? WOMAN: She is. DYLENE ZOLIKOFF: When I first saw my daughter,
she smiled, and I was just overjoyed to finally, after all these years-- we finally-- I finally found her.
DENNIS FARINA: While the story of Dylene and her daughter has a happy ending, the stories of two
other young people who were sold by Ethel Nation are far from over. Scott Merz was born in San Antonio in 1965.
His adoptive parents were unable to have children, and paid Ethel Nation a fee of $1,200 for Scott.
Scott grew up knowing that he had been adopted, but when he was 10, he began to have a strange recurring dream.
It seemed to be about the mother he never knew and just maybe the place where he was born.
SCOTT MERZ: I remember walking through the main doorway feeling very cold. I felt like very, very horrible things went on there.
Beside this table, there was a man in a green robe and a lady dressed in white. I don't know what they were doing there.
When I woke up, I woke up almost screaming. I mean, I was really, really scared.
DENNIS FARINA: When Scott was 18, he and his adoptive mother, Mary, began to search for his birth mother.
They started with a visit to Ethel Nation. SCOTT MERZ: She seemed really nice. It seemed like she wanted to help.
Then, as the times grew on, it got worse, and worse, and worse. Ms. Nation, I just need to ask you a few more questions.
DENNIS FARINA: Scott and Mary met with Ethel six times. With each new visit, she changed her story.
At various times, she told Scott that he had been born in three different hospitals, but none of them
had his birth records. They have no record of my being born there. Who said anything about Santa Rosa?
You did. DENNIS FARINA: On the final visit, Ethel lost her temper and revealed what she said was the bitter truth
about Scott's mother. Your mother didn't want you. SCOTT MERZ: She told me that I was a bastard child, that all
my mother was was a slut, a whore, and that I should have no right to even look for her.
So for me to go home, and for me to stop looking for her. DENNIS FARINA: Scott and Mary wouldn't give up.
They visited the Woodlawn Clinic, another place where Ethel said Scott had been born.
SCOTT MERZ: The very minute that we walked in, I was completely stunned. I couldn't even talk.
This is it. SCOTT MERZ: The feelings that I got from this were just incredible. I mean, it was a morbid type feeling,
but yet I felt like I had been there before. And everything in this dream that I had back when I was 10--
it was coming true before my eyes. I was so happy that it made sense with the dream
that I had from many years ago. DENNIS FARINA: But that was all he got. Although Scott didn't find his birth mother,
he did meet a young woman who had a remarkably similar experience with Ethel Nation.
Dawnette Barker was adopted in July of 1966 by a childless couple from San Antonio.
They approached Ethel after years of trying to adopt through state agencies. ETHEL NATION: We have these two little boys here
that are twins, and this little girl over here. DAWNETTE BARKER-LUSSIER: Because my parents didn't expect
that things would happen so quickly, they just thought they were going to go to see the baby,
but at that point, Mrs. Nations told my parents that they could go ahead and take me home that night.
We can? ETHEL NATION: Yes, absolutely. Honey? Is there a problem? DENNIS FARINA: Thinking that they were only
going to see the baby, Dawnette's parents hadn't brought the $1,700 in cash that Ethel Nation demanded as payment.
It-- it's all right. We'll work something out. DENNIS FARINA: In the end, Ethel accepted a 14 foot ski
boat in exchange for the baby. You can go ahead and take your baby home. DENNIS FARINA: When she turned 18,
Dawnette began to search for her birth parents. She found that her mother's name was listed as Gloria Cantu.
The adoption papers had been notarized by Ethel Nation. Dawnette Barker's birthday is listed as July 21, 1966,
but she may have been born weeks earlier. Her mother, Gloria Cantu, may have been 23 years
old when Dawnette was born. You know, maybe it's something she's never told anyone,
or who she's currently married to, if she's married, but I don't want anything. No strings attached.
I just want to know what happened and how it happened. I would never in any way want to hurt her.
DENNIS FARINA: Scott Merz was born on August 5, 1965 in San Antonio, Texas. His mother's name was listed as Joyce Koehier.
She may have been 22 years old. Scott's adoptive mother, Mary, met her once, and recalls that she was thin with dark hair
and an olive complexion. Is Ethel Nation here? No. SCOTT MERZ: It's important for me to find her,
because there's a certain gap, a certain hole that's inside me that I want to fill.
And finding my birth mother will do that. DENNIS FARINA: Update-- on the night this story first aired,
several viewers called on behalf of Dawnette's birth mother, Gloria Cantu Martinez.
A short time later, Dawnette spoke to her mother for the very first time. She learned that Gloria had never wanted to give her up
for adoption and that Ethel Nation had tricked her into signing the papers. So Dawnette and Gloria made plans
for a long overdue reunion. Within a few days, Gloria flew to see her daughter in Washington DC.
Their meeting ended 26 years of separation. DAWNETTE BARKER-LUSSIER: When I was waiting
for her to come out, a million things were going through my mind. Just relief that it was over and that I
was finally where I wanted to be after a long time of looking. GLORIA CANTU MARTINEZ: I just couldn't believe it.
I've always wanted to find her and wondered what she was like, if she was married, if she
had any children. DENNIS FARINA: The reunion was made even more special when Gloria met her four grandchildren
for the first time. Hi, baby. DENNIS FARINA: Dawnette's dream of having her entire family
together had finally come true. Hi, baby. DAWNETTE BARKER-LUSSIER: This is Michael.
How are you? DAWNETTE BARKER-LUSSIER: This is Tyler. Tyler. DENNIS FARINA: If you have any information that you might help
Scott Merz find his birth mother, or if you know someone who had a similar experience
with Ethel Nation, please log on to our website at unsolved.com. Next, meet Phillip Pauli an eight-year-old genius.
His amazing intelligence makes for a fascinating mystery. Denver, Colorado-- home to Philip Pauli.
He may look like an average 8-year-old, but Philip is quite literally 1 in 10 million.
Philip is a genius. In fact, he is so smart that he's too smart for school. If you need any help, let me know, OK?
Thanks. You're welcome. Philip's mother teaches him at home, because even programs for gifted students
can't keep up with his insatiable demand for knowledge. PHILIP PAULI: Well, I'm studying algebra,
and geometry, and the Middle Ages, and cellular biology. And in the Middle Ages, I'm working on the--
the castle defenses. It's not that Philip-- Philip's dad or I are dumb, but we do--
we-- neither of us have the IQs to match Phil. So to me, it was a gift to have a son like Philip.
DENNIS FARINA: From the very beginning, it was clear that Philip was brighter and more alert
than most babies. At six months, he started to talk and had enough manual dexterity to remove
the bolts from his crib. At nine months, Philip displayed a highly mature emotional sensibility.
At 18 months, Philip could already read. For his second birthday, he asked for a violin.
Within days, he was playing simple tunes that he had composed himself. At the age of three, Philip was studying astronomy.
His hero was astronaut Buzz Aldrin. Hey mom, let's go over here. There's more stuff. - OK.
DENNIS FARINA: By the time Philip was four, the Denver Museum of Natural History
was his favorite playground. On one visit, Philip asked a curator why a dinosaur skeleton was missing several vertebrae
in its tail section. PEPPERANNE PAULI: And the curator explained at the time that the dinosaur was too large for the area
that they had designated for it, but with the new exhibit they were going to get it correct
and not to worry about it. But he was flabbergasted. He said it's-- you're the only person that's noticed.
DENNIS FARINA: Research indicates that, along with heightened mental abilities, child geniuses often show acute sensitivity
to humanitarian issues. PEPPERANNE PAULI: He carries the weight of the world. He's worried about the economy within the United States
and the government's structure, as well as what's going on around the world and how it affects--
how what we do affects other nations. There's times that he gets so consumed with these worries
that he'll stop eating. He-- he bites his nails. He loses sleep. I mean, these are things that we have
to talk about what he can actually do on a personal level to help mankind. DENNIS FARINA: So where would you expect a child like Philip
to play? On a basketball court? Not on your life. Try an archaeological dig. OK.
There you go. I think Philip working at the site here has fun. He knows it's important.
He understands the value of what he's doing. It's intellectually stimulating, but he's digging in the dirt.
DENNIS FARINA: Philip enjoys a variety of subjects, and tackles each one with passion.
When we asked what he wants to be, he had a tough time picking just one job. Paleontologist, an archaeologist,
a conservationist, and hopefully I'll be the commander to the mission to Mars, and if--
and the chief curator of the Denver Museum of Natural History. Artifact number 23.
DENNIS FARINA: But what makes a genius? Is it nature or nurture? Scientists truly don't know, but some people
believe that geniuses may possess knowledge and skills acquired in other lifetimes.
PEPPERANNE PAULI: He told me one time that heaven had opened, and he had looked down, and he had
chose me as his mom, because I would be the right one for him. It's clear to me that many, many gifted children come
in knowing more than it would be explainable by scientific standards. Where they get that knowledge from, I don't know,
but I would not discount any possibility, including reincarnation, that they are visiting
us from more evolved cultures. Anything is possible. - Push me. - Push? No. DENNIS FARINA: Philip doesn't have
much time left for childhood. In two years, he'll be old enough to take the college entrance exams.
He plans to enroll at the University of Denver. After that, the sky's the limit.
So what are we going to go see today? The hall of life, science of sports, and--
DENNIS FARINA: Exceptional intelligence like Philip's is a rare and special gift.
The danger is that the talents of these remarkable kids often go unrecognized. Since this story aired, Philip Pauli has continued
his remarkable journey. At the age of 11, he completed a three year internship at the Denver Museum of Natural History.
At the age of 19, he became the youngest person to ever attend the Federal Law Enforcement Training Academy.
Currently, Philip is studying theology and philosophy at England's prestigious Oxford University.
[THEME MUSIC]

Brief Summary

The episode covers Lisa Ziegert's murder, Rachel Timmerman's disappearance, an unidentified woman in California, and child genius Philip Pauli's story.

Key points

The Tragic Death of Lisa Ziegert. A beloved teacher's murder shocked a small town, leading to an extensive investigation.
Rachel Timmerman's Mysterious Disappearance. After a brutal assault, Rachel vanishes just before testifying against her attacker.
The Shocking Letters from Rachel. Rachel sends letters claiming she is safe, but her fate remains a mystery.
The Mysterious Fall. Witnesses confirm Robert Salazar and Sandra were affectionate before her tragic fall.
Murder Charges Filed. Nearly five years after Sandra's death, murder charges are filed against Salazar.
Dylene's Heartfelt Reunion. After years of searching, Dylene Zolikoff finally reunites with her daughter on national television.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

It was just beyond anything I’ve ever experienced.

5:20WatchMar 9, 2017

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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