Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 10, Episode 3 - Full Episode | Forensic Files

tonight on unsolved mysteries married only three months I shall wither all died in this tragic fall her husband
said it was an accident her family believes she was murdered it was a whirlwind romance with a bitter ironic
twist the groom was a convicted killer serving life in prison until he convinced his new wife to help him
escape now her children would like to find her and the police say she is free to come
home without fear of punishment party time in Tijuana but for this college student the revelry proved fatal
was Jason artists hit by a car or did he anger the Tijuana police Carl McWilliams
is friendly and personable he is also a fugitive on the run from statutory rape charges police need your help
experience a world of mystery heartbreak and intrigue join me or unsolved mysteries
[Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] a cold winter night in a small town near
Pittsburgh Pennsylvania the broken body and Michelle wither all lay sprawled on the asphalt outside her apartment
Michelle was just 24 years old a newlywed she and her husband Jeremy had been living in Pittsburgh since her
marriage three months earlier they moved from their home in Denver expecting to build a new life now Michelle was in
critical condition bleeding heavily from severe head injuries Jeremy with her own
told police Michelle had fallen from their balcony three flights up he said he had been playing solitaire in the
living room of their apartment when he heard his sound he stepped outside looked over the railing and saw his
wife's body on the ground below paramedics rushed Michelle to the trauma unit at a Pittsburgh hospital it was
December 20th 1992 just five days before Christmas within hours Michelle's parents claimed
Jeremy's mother called them with the awful news and a second version of his story she told me that there had been a
terrible accident and that Michelle had been out on the balcony at their apartment and that she'd been putting up
Christmas lights and that the balcony had collapsed causing her to fall Michelle and Jeremy wither all had
planned to go home to Denver for the holidays instead Michelle's family flew to Pittsburgh on the first flight out
the left side of Michelle's head was fractured and she was in a coma in addition her jaw was broken but
strangely her nose and teeth were unharmed by the three-story fall at that very moment I think questions were
beginning to come in to our thoughts how did she get her I busted open and her jaw broken with no damage in between why
don't you sit down the mellah must believe Michelle knew they were with her and tried her best to let them know they
squeezed my hand hanging asleep we really think that her squeezing hebbs hand she was telling us
goodbye and then the doctor walked in from the back and said that I'm sorry but you're
gonna have to leave Michelle as has died it would seem only two people in the world knew how Michelle had been injured
one of them was now gone Michelle's parents claimed that moments later Jeremy whither all came up with another
version a third version of how she felt we just got home for dinner and I was playing a game of solitaire and Michelle
and I we weren't even talking and then she went out to the balcony for something and when I looked up there she
was she was hanging and I should have got her she was just barely hanging there I could have got
her Jeremy with her own declined to be interviewed however he claims he gave just one
version of Michelle's fall that he only discovered she had fallen when he saw her body on the ground below mallanna's
still insists they were given three different stories three stories or one who is right according to detectives the
whither roles were having trouble in their marriage they say Jeremy admitted arguing with Michel that evening while
driving back from a restaurant an argument that continued at home neighbors say Michelle and Jeremy had
been fighting frequently fights so loud one neighbor complained repeatedly to the building manager violence is what
she called it physically throwing each other around the apartment and somewhere in the area one to three weeks before
Michelle's death she came into my office and said in no uncertain terms she said
someone's gonna get killed out there and she was very frightened she was scared the members became more and more
suspicious they began questioning the police investigation that's the whole story
when the detectives would start out by saying well Jeremy says my thought was well you guys are homicide detectives
you were called into this evidently for a reason now if all you're telling us that's what jeremy says what's the point
if this man is a suspect in a homicide and by his own admission he he said he was the only one there then why would
you take his word the melon was found troubling inconsistencies in Jeremy's account one
Michelle's wrists were broken but her palms were completely unscratched if she fractured her wrist trying to break her
fall her palms should have been cut to one of Michelle's shoes were discovered 26 feet from her body
the other shoe was never found and finally Jeremy wither all took the time to double lock his apartment before
allegedly racing to his wife's side unscathed palms a missing chute a locked door the Malolos wondered why according
to the police Jeremy wither all took not one but two polygraph tests they say he passed both
the Allegheny County Coroner officially labeled the cause of Michelle's death as
undetermined homicide accident or suicide the Malolos insist it couldn't have been suicide
Michelle had a high regard for life Michelle was a happy person Michelle had so many goals in life and when she had
made the statement to me about separating from Jeremy she had dealt with the situations in her marriage that
she was not pleased with and she had also made her plan on how to remedy those situations and that was to
separate and ask the Jeremy get professional help the members also believe the accident theory was unlikely
the balcony was 48 inches chest-high from Michelle the wall was too high for anybody to lose their balance it wasn't
a poorly constructed balcony it was very adequate in Heights to prevent something
like that from happening Michelle's parents sent her medical records to three board-certified
forensic pathologists their unanimous verdict Michelle was murdered but possibly not by a fall according to
forensic experts if Michelle had fallen three stories she should have had injuries on both sides of her brain the
head injuries of that Michelle weather all demonstrated at her autopsy were quite extensive but these were all left
sided these injuries are what we call qu direct impact injuries as from a blow what says Michelle's other injuries also
indicated an assault in addition what wasn't harmed as significant her pelvis was unbroken and her internal organs
were undamaged that is extremely inconsistent very atypical of the kinds of injuries that we would find in a fall
another red flag Michelle's body was allegedly foam more than nine feet from the building if I had to pick one single
physical factor in this case that leads me to the conclusion that it was not an accidental fall or a suicidal fall it
would be that somebody can dive in a suicidal attempt and leap several feet away from the building or you can be
thrown and wind up several feet from the building you do not accidentally fall and wind up nine feet the body doesn't
bounce finally the Allegheny County coroner's office opened the first official inquiry into the case
the verdict was quick and clear homicide we're thankful for the outcome of the hearing the coroner's ruling didn't
specify how Michel died but her parents feel certain they know I think that night she made the mistake of telling
Jeremy she was going to leave him we think she ran from the apartment fleeing for her life at that point and the
assault you know she was then found and assaulted outside of the apartment the melon was believed the balcony story was
a quickly improvised cover up a safe way for Jeremy with her old to explain Michelle's injuries while no one on
Jeremy's side was willing to be interviewed they emphasized the despite the melamed suspicions Jeremy did pass a
police polygraph twice we told Jeremy from the day Michelle died that we want to find out and we plan to find out
everything there is to find out about what happened to Michelle and we will pursue justice in this case no matter
where it takes us [Music] [Music] [Music] next he was a convicted murderer she was
a lonely Widow together they staged a daring Prison Break all right make a wish and blow those candles at Sherry
Nickerson's 50th birthday was hardly a joyous event she was living with her uncle's family and though they did their
best it was impossible to pretend anyone was happy I was numb I didn't I didn't feel anything I wasn't happy it was the
worst birthday in my life small wonder Sheree's party included a number of uninvited guests Oklahoma
State Troopers stationed inside the house and out they were there because of a crime involving Sherry's mother a
crime committed nine days earlier now let's go to lifers had escaped from a nearby Oklahoma prison
Sherry's mother Donna Moses Brown had driven the getaway car Sherry's mom has been on the run ever since
however she has never been charged with any crime because both her family and the authorities view her as a victim a
lonely Widow so desperate for love that she could be manipulated by a convicted killer Leigh Michael Wayne brown hi
Michael hi Ron eclis it was a good deed that introduced Donna to Brown's world her church group started writing letters
to convicts to help them find spiritual comfort but these pen pals quickly became more you know I don't know if I
can make it in this place if it wasn't for those letters that I get from you know you do I mean you do so much you're
always so supportive you know you write real sweet letters too I cannot get over
how beautiful you are oh she was lonely she hadn't had anybody for a very long time
and she needed that companionship you know someone someone you know to talk to her about things and show her love and
affection and that's what she got from him how are you doing I'm okay it's hard he spoke with her and I think that
that's pretty much all it mattered he he wrote her it was somebody new in her life and I think that it probably could
have been anybody to him but she was the victim that fell into the line of fire I
guess these are great Mike Wayne brown like lot of men are incarcerated for long periods of time they really don't
have any concern for other people's rights or more lives they've got all the time in the world to scam to scheme on
people and they get quite good at it they can sell you a chance on the desert she wrote him everyday she talked to him
on the phone every day it kind of started and went full force there was no slowing down I think Donna
Brown was under the misconception that Michael William Brown was just a misunderstood young man they were
through unfortunate circumstances was doing time but Michael Wayne Brown was hardly misunderstood everyone but Donna
knew what he was and what he was was a cold-blooded killer nine years earlier when Brown was only 18 he and another
teenager Dennis Woodward burglarized an insurance office in Broken Arrow Oklahoma
insurance investigator Richard Sullivan picked the wrong time to stop by for a file Brown was very very hyper
after that defendant he said I think I killed him I killed him almost bragging about it he looks over at Woodward and
he said if I had one more bullet I would have shot his eyes out and thereafter they went off to have breakfast at a
local restaurant while Brown was eating his bacon and eggs 41 year old Richard Sullivan bled to death on his office
floor he left behind a wife and a young daughter Michael Wayne Brown was put on death row
for murdering Richard Sullivan however that sentence was later commuted to life without parole
by the time Brown met Donna Moses in 1984 he has spent nine years in prison meanwhile Donna had served a different
kind of time she had been married twice and widowed twice both husbands had been
murdered raising two children on her own a constant struggle perhaps it was just
another ironic twist in Donna's hard-luck life that Sheena found herself in love with a murderer ten years her
junior it was consuming her too much you know she didn't have time for anything else but him I mean she could visit him
every weekend and it was like the whole week was preparing to see him this is your copy less than three months after
brown first met Donna he performed a brief transformation from shackled prisoner to Iger bridegroom yes sir
do you Michael Wayne brown take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife to love her to cherish her for as long as
you both might live I do do you Donna Moses take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband to love
and to cherish him from this day forward as long as you both shall live I love you
moments after the ceremony the honeymoon was over Brownback in shackles and prison orange was returned to his cell
Donna sent her children to stay with relatives and followed Brown as he was transferred from prison to prison
sometimes living out of her car between visiting days she wrote letters Michael Wayne Brown became Donna's whole
world in November of 1984 Brown was transferred to a minimum security prison it was a perfect opportunity
Brown wasted little time less than three weeks later Michael Wayne Brown and another inmate jumped a four-foot fence
and raced for freedom other time cars discovered them missing it was too late police have remained a step or two
behind Brown ever since a few days after the escape they tracked him to Paris Texas but missed him by a matter of
minutes since then Brown is known to have lived in Kentucky New Jersey Texas and Virginia for three years Donna's
family had no word from her no idea if she was alive or dead finally in 1987 Donna Braun made an
unexpected call to her daughter yeah hi it's me are you okay [Music] Michael and I broke up you know it was
just kind of a quick thing in that sauce told me she loved me and that was it though Donna had said she wanted to come
home she never did for years went by Donna called again asking if she had grandchildren at that time she didn't
since then however Donna's children sherry and David have each had a son both would like nothing more than to
introduce the boys to their long-lost grandmother I'm afraid that she's afraid that we don't want her back I'm afraid
that my mom feels like that she did something really bad and that she can't face us anymore how are we gonna act to
her and what I say to her is it's okay there is nothing to stop Donna Braun from rejoining her family except Donna
Brown she can come home at any time there's no arrest warrant either by issued by the state of Oklahoma or by
the federal government for her she's not wanted on any charges and in fact we would encourage her if she's no longer
with brown and we've in fact she is with brown to immediately contact the authorities
[Music] [Music] coming up a college student clashed with Tijuana police his family believes the
police retaliated do you wanna it's been one of Mexico's most popular border towns for decades
especially for college students hundreds hit nightclubs every weekend hunting big
phone at bargain rates but a good time doesn't always come cheap it can cost you your life
1:30 a.m. Tijuana time Steven Thomas was looking for his brother Jason in the crowds
parting on avenida revolucion they'd become separated while heading back to their car I looked to the right of me I
turn around my brother wasn't there I mean it was like they're an hour and a half after Jason disappeared the Tijuana
police officer discovered his battered body in the road Jason was drinking and he was loud and
obnoxious and maybe out of control that night I believe that Jason was murdered by the Tijuana police 20 year-old Jason
artis had moved from Virginia to Los Angeles one year earlier to go to college a week before his death he
brought his younger brother Steven out for a visit they spent a week during a top tourist
spots in Los Angeles then Jason decided he couldn't let Steven go back home without showing him a good time south of
the border Saturday night August 1st 1998 Tijuana's main drag avenida revolucion
was packed with party people the feel of Fiesta was part of the draw but for many
the loose drinking laws were the biggest attraction that night Jason Steve and their friend Michael Justin has started
bar hopping about nine mostly hitting places that offered all you could drink for less than five dollars
Jason was usually friendly and easygoing but he had a reputation as a rowdy drinker by the time he ran into a
tequila where he was already a little drunk he didn't realize a tequila cost extra six dollars a shot Jason didn't
won't give up the money so I chasing come on just just give me the money and let's get out of here you know I'm
saying this ain't the spot we need to be it Jason is Steven left Michael at the bar
and went back out on the strip mash geysers just to hurry up and find the car so we can go sit down we're kind of
drunk no Sam walking around Tijuana walking on Street man that's me with my brother accidentally bumped into a
female officer according to Steven another Tijuana police officer had tried to shake them down earlier that evening
demanding cash or Julie Jason was still angry but I was kind of frustrated at my
brother for the simple fact of being that drunk my fellas was just I'm ready to go home I'm ready to get back to Van
Nuys I told him walk behind me come on let's hurry up and try to find his car he's like three or four yards behind me
at first that's when I walked up some more to another block he walked up I look to the right I look behind me and
my brother wasn't there my first reaction was probably that he's sitting down on a curb somewhere I was sitting
up against the bed and anything like that you know I'm saying because we work on I intoxicated soon after Steven lost
sight of Jason Michael Justin claims he spotted him in the back of a police car look I see what is he doing in the back
of a police car there were the last people I saw Jason when I saw Jason with my own eyes in the back of a police car
like I know my hand Michael and Steven never saw Jason again two days later the American consulate
set word that Jason was dead his aunt Tina Martin Smith went to Tijuana to identify the body
I remember thinking this is not Jason there Jason is somewhere in the jail in Tijuana and
someone has robbed him and they've taken his ID and this person is in the morgue
and I looked down and it was Jason it was tips [Music] Tijuana authorities told Jason's family
he must have gotten lost trying to make his way back to the border the authorities called it a tragic hit and
run accident but there were a number of unanswered questions I believe that they
had something to do with the police I feel that for a fact I thought Michael told me that he see my brother in the
back of a police car it's gotta be something out there do you want a police deny that allegation they
say they never had Jason artists in custody we check and double-check almost a whole month of agus and there is no
attention with that name sometimes it happens that they miss write the name in our computer so we're on it with the
three names we found nothing Jason's family got a copy of the autopsy report through the American consulate and had
it translated into English nothing was adding up first of all they stated that Jason was hit by a car and we had these
conflicting things we had the photos of him with no injuries to his lower extremities with these unexplained
five-inch marks all over his body and chest area and in his face but the requests of unsolved mysteries three
forensic pathologists reviewed the autopsy report one said Jason's death did indeed appear to be the result of a
simple hit and run to others however agreed that the inconsistencies were puzzling I would be very skeptical of
one the autopsy findings and the assertion that this was simply a hit-and-run accident
what has to apply hide the view skepticism for the entire autopsy my view for instance the Tijuana corner
claimed the car had hit Jason on the chest hard enough to rupture his heart Nora from blunt blow but to get through
the sternum and then rupture the heart it would have to virtually crush the chest and it's quite evident from the
autopsy if that chest is not is not badly mashed there are no bruises on it there are no big hematomas so that
becomes incredible I mean the autopsy report becomes incredible another point Jason's injuries included head wounds
that might easily have been the result of a beating certainly the lesions are around the
head in the skull which was severe I certainly consistent with the butt of a rifle or any other sharp or even blunt
object that that could be used on an individual I believe that he was beaten and after he was beaten perhaps in an
attempt to to destroy the evidence that they perhaps ran over and or drugged and
I believe that when he was run over that he was already dead though Tijuana authorities say the case
is still under investigation they also believe Jason's family may be overreacting we have had responses from
the families in conflict with the sane of the hop Topsy and the statement from our department even then sometimes where
there they are witnesses of an accident and there is a driver responsible for the accident there have been some
families a stating that then they are accepting that was an accident maybe should have gone to jail for the
night but he didn't nobody nobody deserves to die that way next Tara Roy was losing her battle with
cancer until she touched the headstone of a little girl who died over three decades earlier Lourdes France Fatima
Portugal and magic oriya in the former Yugoslavia [Music] every year they come by the millions the
dying the disabled the sick at heart [Music] they come in the hope of being miraculously healed in the hope of being
touched by God now many are making a pilgrimage to a new Mecca for miracles the tomb of a young girl buried in a
small graveyard in a tiny town in rural Louisiana her name was Charlene Richard many
people say that even from the grave she has the power to heal one of those was Nicole price when Nicole was two years
old she was diagnosed with a lethal cancer she was expected to die within months perhaps less she and her family
prayed for Charlene's help they believe that thanks to Charlene Richard Nicole if not just a few months but nine more
years I feel that Charlene's intervention in Nicole's life gave us the nine extra years we had with her
that feels somehow God reached out through Charlene and touched Nicole Donna Ledger also believes in Charlene's
healing power in 1979 Donald a sergeant in the United States Army had an accidental fall that injured his feet
shattering both heels doctors doubted he would ever walk again Donald started praying to Charlene to everyone's
surprise he didn't just walk he even started running without the intercession of Charlene I feel that I would not be
able to walk I truly believe this I believe in miracles I do but who was Charlene Richard it was 1959
Charlene had leukemia and was suffering great pain yet when father Brennan found
the courage to tell her she was dying it was she who comforted him father Brennan
when I see the Blessed Mother I'll tell her that you said hello during her last days Charlene thought
often of others she believed in the Catholic idea that one person suffering can save another though she was dying
she sulla si offered her pain as redemption for other patients in the hospital when the sickness came and the
pain came she grew in crisis she became great charlene prayed for others every day for two weeks even as
her own time was running out I will be gone tomorrow I want to say goodbye I will be praying
for you [Music] the next day Charlene died I felt a presence in that room of the
divine there was a hour of peace in that room Charlie's death deeply touched her small
community over the years word spread of her courage and saintly ways people started praying to her asking her to
intercede for them with God now thousands gather each year for a memorial Mass more and more say they've
experienced Charlene's power to heal firsthand in 1994 21 year old Tara Roy developed colon cancer she was diagnosed
with a Dukes Class C stage 3 carcinoma and I've done enough research and reading about it to
where I know that you don't come back from those terror started heavy doses of chemotherapy
despite his debilitating side effects she was determined not to give in to the disease I didn't want this to interfere
with my life but I didn't want it to like totally take over you know and dictate what I would do and how I would
do it I just wanted to be a college student and go to class and do my job but Tara's determination wasn't enough
to make her better every day she felt worse she soon felt she needed more than medicine
Tara and her parents started making frequent trips to Charlie's grave on their last trip however Tara was so sick
they thought she might die within weeks with the cumulative chemotherapy in real
strong we almost didn't we almost turned around and came home I didn't want to go
I felt terrible it's probably one of those days I just didn't want to do anything laying in bed was challenged
deep down I wanted to go to the grave that day I just didn't physically feel up to it at all
Tara knelt by Shirley's grave as usual then some impulse inspired her to do something she had never done before with
her fingers she traced the letters of Charlene's name and in about 20 seconds she turned around and she was
transformed and I saw her I was stunned I felt like yes a lot had been lifted right then like just like a weight off
my shoulder was lifted right then pop I'm gonna be okay I just felt that I definitely would be healthy again and I
would I would beat this Terra did beat it both the cancer and the effects of the chemotherapy she is now back to
being a healthy and happy young woman she finished college would all to get a masters degree in social work and is
engaged to be married I saw the hand of God I saw what I needed to say that day we saw a miracle no doubt does a spirit
of Charlene Richard reach out from her grave to help those who send her their prayers skeptics aren't convinced yet
for the thousands who visit Charlene's grave the answer isn't unwavering yes next help authorities catch Carl
McWilliams wanted by State College police for child molestation [Applause] [Music]
recently authorities in Pennsylvania contacted us with a request to profile a fugitive consider to be very
manipulative and dangerous please watch closely you may be able to help put this individual behind bars
State College Pennsylvania a young mother struggling to raise her three young children alone met Carl McWilliams
in the fall of 1992 he lived only a few doors away and they were both students at Pennsylvania State University the two
became friends and eventually Carl McWilliams became like family for the sake of her children their mother who we
will call Sarah asked that we not reveal her identity Carl was a very personable
man he was friendly he got along beautifully with my children they adored him he was to me like the perfect a
father figure for my children the fact was Carl McWilliams was a convicted child molester he had spent six years in
prison for molesting his 8 year old daughter one day Sarah came home from work early to find Carl McWilliams had
become her worst nightmare he was allegedly locked in a bedroom with her young daughter he opened the door and he
was as pale as a ghost and he had broken out into a real cold sweat and even till
this day it's something so vile that I could never even put a handle on it I couldn't imagine someone doing that to
a five-year-old child Sarah and her children moved away from the area and for seven years she anguished about
whether to report the incident to police I felt that if I expose them to the police and agencies that it would be
worse for the girls and I felt it was better for me as their mother to try to handle it
finally Sarah realized the police needed to know about McWilliams behavior authorities found Carl McWilliams living
with another woman and her children just two miles from the neighborhood Sarah and her children had fled Carl
McWilliams was ordered to leave the house and relocated to a nearby motel while police investigated the
allegations against him he stayed there one night and checked out the next morning and that's the last indication
of any specific location that that we knew he possibly could have been Carl McWilliams has been charged with rape
statutory rape aggravated indecent assault and indecent assault he is most likely working in the logging industry
in the United States or Canada Carl has on occasion changed his appearance he's changed his hairstyle he's changed his
glasses style or maybe lost a little weight gained a little weight it wouldn't surprise me right now if he is
somewhere living with another woman who has little girls because that's what he does
I think it's important that he's caught so that he doesn't have the opportunity to do this to other children no one has
that right to violate a child like that [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] join me for the next fascinating edition
of unsolved mysteries [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music]

Brief Summary

Three cases of suspicious deaths and escapes highlight mystery and manipulation.

Key points

The Mysterious Death of Michelle Whitherall. Michelle Whitherall's fall raises suspicions of foul play rather than an accident.
Donna Moses: A Widow's Descent. Donna Moses Brown's relationship with a convicted killer leads to a daring escape.
Tragic Night in Tijuana. Jason Artis's night out ends in tragedy, raising questions about police involvement.
The Mysterious Death of Jason. Jason's death raises questions about police involvement and the autopsy findings.
Charlene Richard's Healing Powers. Many believe that Charlene Richard's spirit helps heal the sick, including Tara Roy.
The Search for Carl McWilliams. Carl McWilliams, a convicted child molester, is on the run after new allegations arise.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

She was a happy person. Michelle had so many goals in life.

Michelle's parents defend her character against the suicide theory.

8:16WatchMay 23, 2019

Tension

65/ 100Some tension

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