Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 11, Episode 13 - Full Episode | Forensic Files

tonight on unsolved mysteries bizarre clues to a murderer left for the police a woman's skull and an anonymous note
was young Linda Sherman killed by her husband Hey or did her tragic fate lyin someone
else's hands from the moment you J began dating Erica Richardson it seemed like they were
destined to be together but Erica soon found out that few J was a ticking time bomb and the fuse was burning Donna
Tyson claims her digital clock suddenly began to blink the exact time of her son's fatal car crash
[Music] sharon troupe believes her deceased daughter appears to her in ghostly visions is it possible these mothers are
receiving messages from their dead children it seemed that she had the perfect life
but in truth Donna Mora was suffering silently in a troubled marriage six days before Christmas Donna mysteriously
disappeared leaving behind four children did she voluntarily walk away is keeping
her unhappy life I was Donna Morrow a victim of foul play join me to this fascinating edition of
unsolved mysteries [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Music] Bridgeton Missouri Picasso Gallardo's
Durrant to women having lunch notice something strange outside the window a shocking piece of evidence that would
turn an unsolved missing person case into a larger mystery there in the bushes was a human skull it's a very
well manicured area plants and gravel and what have you and the way it was situated it would give one the
impression that you know somebody put it there so you would see it the skull was
determined to be that of an adult female thorough examination revealed little else during that time period there was
the relocating of a cemetery that was in the area and a lot of bodies were being
exhumed graves were being moved so it gives you the impression now that this may be a prank
and there'd be no reason to suspect that there were any foul play the skull was cataloged stored in the
evidence room at the Bridgeton county morgue and forgotten one year later 25 miles away at the
Vinita park police station a mysterious letter arrived it stated that the Bridgeton police had el Sherman's skull
give me the Bridgeton Police Department dental records confirmed that the anonymous skull was a remains of Linda
Sherman a 26 year old wife and mother who was last seen April 22nd 1985 her disappearance is clouded with intrigue
involving an allegedly jealous husband and an unknown lover years later troubling questions still remain who
killed in de Sherman why was her skull left outside a local restaurant and where is the rest of her body as 16
Linda Sherman was a typical teenager she grew up in the st. Louis suburb of Anita
Park the youngest of four siblings more than ten years older she was sheltered quiet and reserved Linda was kind of a
shy girl I guess growing up she wanted to be more outgoing and more athletic I think but uh she was more at home type
of a girl I guess Linda was a junior when she fell for her high school sweetheart
17-year old Don Sherman and got married when their daughter Patti was born the young mother was determined to finish
school Linda's mom would watch the baby while she completed her senior year to support his new family Don took a job at
a local gas station it was hard but it was rewarding we're very happy together the relationship was rocky later on in
our marriage several times but not not in the early years working opposite shifts and money troubles strained their
relationship in their nine-year marriage Linda had taken Patti and moved out several times but the couple always
reconcile won't we be home hello come on Don according to Linda's older brother Dennis Donna was obsessed
with knowing windows every movement all right no she's not here Don was very possessive over she said when I get off
of work if I'm not home within five minutes he wants to know what's going on who you seeing what are you doing out
that late he's always he's always hitting her and things just weren't right Linda told her family that she
feared Dawn's violent temper once she even got a restraining order to keep him at a distance some family members
claimed by April of 1985 she had had enough Linda was making final plans to take Patty and leave she'd already made
a decision to move out she had filed for divorce and she had definitely made plans to start a new life she was going
to do it this time and she really meant it meant that she was going to leave Don
for good on April 22nd Linda left her night job at 2:16 in the morning she didn't come home from work until about 3
o'clock in the morning we got into an argument about the fact that she wouldn't tell me where she'd been and we
stayed up until at least four o'clock in the morning discussing that Linda was still on the sofa later that morning
when patty left for school she always took me to school but my dad took me to school that day and I remember her
laying on the couch with her face to the back of the couch and she didn't get up
she didn't get up to kiss me goodbye she didn't say anything to me she was just laying there
that would be the last time Patti saw her mother Don claims that when he returned to the
house that afternoon Linda was on edge like I came back home Linda was still there she should have been at work by
she was mad because she was running late Don says Linda drove off at about 6:00 p.m. but there are no witnesses that saw
her leave Linda never arrived at work and never came home when she didn't come back I assumed it was typical of the the
previous times that she had left and I thought that she took off with somebody although Linda's family suspected she
was having an affair they had reason to believe something terrible had happened to her we knew that if she left there's
no way she's leaving without the daughter and the daughter was still at home and so there was definitely foul
play I was coming according to the Millers at their insistence Don went to the Vinita park police station and filed
a missing-persons report that's that's the last time I seen her that was Monday meanwhile salmon Fran frantically
searched for Linda on a hunch they headed to the local airport as we pulled into the short-term parking
why there's lenders car something right there is it her car I know my sister's car I know and we could see inside the
car gonna see her schoolbooks and her hat and everything so we contacted the airport police and they come and the car
was locked but they tried the trunk and the trunk was open and when they opened the trunk were they'd say but we fully
expected Linda to be in there and she wasn't could it be possible that Linda had abandoned her daughter and run off
with another man Don claims he saw Linda with another man days after her disappearance
she drove past him in a van and quickly ducked out of sight Hey five years later when Linda's skull
appeared suspicion fell on Don in a bizarre coincidence her skull was found outside the Casa de Yoda restaurant one
of Don's favorite hangouts I was at the restaurant that evening after the skull had been found I had heard about it that
day when it happened but never any connection to it until later on no one connected until a year later when the
anonymous letter arrived at the Vinita park police station I was rather astounded it was obvious to
me that someone wanted us to know that we had obviously missed something in was trying to tell us that Linda remains had
been recovered it was scary you know somebody did put those remains there at the restaurant obviously knew me or you
know knew that I hung out there I mean it wasn't and we're not talking about a place that casually visited we're
talking about a place that I would visit two or three times a week did Don have reason to be frightened or did he have a
secret motivation for placing the skull there himself some speculate Don was making plans to remarry and needed proof
Linda was dead for Don the skull provided the perfect evidence of Linda's demise but for Patty the find was
devastating when the skull was found it's kinda last our hope in life they didn't know
that she was dead I guess there was always some hope that she just left sixteen years after the murder
lieutenant Webb still hopes to find Linda's killer the only suspect that I've been unable to eliminate is Don
Sherman at this point in time he has never been ruled out as a suspect in my heart I I think that he might have done
it you know I can't think of anybody else who would have I had nothing to do with Linda Sherman's disappearance nor
her death I still think that she left with someone and obviously met with foul play and died
I would really like to find the rest of her wherever it's at so that we can have
a proper burial for she can rest in peace and I'd like to know what happened to her and who did it then they should
serve the agony that we have for 15 years Linda Sherman a young mother's life tragically taken and shrouded with
uncertainty today police hope new technology and soil sampling or someday lead them to Linda's body and eventually
her killer [Applause] [Music] in a quiet neighborhood in Tampa Florida Ericka Richardson was excited and a bit
apprehensive about our first date with John few J's erica was shy and Dida infrequently fallujah had a reputation
as a ladies man or city but they hit it off right away and as a relationship develop they see more and more like the
perfect fit Erica's family found fuge a likable and charming when I first saw them together
they look nice and I thought that you know they would make a good a nice couple a couple as soon became
inseparable erica was literally swept off her feet by few J who held down a steady job as an electrical technician
erica was convinced John fuschia was mr. right apparently she was wrong dead wrong
family and friends first became concerned when Erica invited fou Jay to move in with her the decision seemed out
of character erica was a smart successful woman who held a degree in microbiology managed a large pharmacy
and valued her independence however despite a good job great friends on a close-knit family erica was missing
a special man in her life a boy she hoped jang huije would fill the trouble started not long after a few Jay moved
into the comfortable home Erica had recently purchased Dolby I could see that he was wearing a mask I discovered
him to be a jealous mean controlling person he was just too possessive he wanted Eric all to himself
don't be so paranoid jealous I am NOT being jealous not only was he possessive he wanted to
isolate her not only from her family but from friends too over the next several months the relationship continued to
unravel according to police fuchsia was on a downward spiral a friend and lover turned abuser and stalker
[Music] Pharmacy girl John you cannot continue to call me here at work like this we
talked about this he exhibited wild mood swamp who repeatedly called Eric at the
pharmacy accusing her of being unfaithful and making unreasonable demands few J moved out of the house but
his erratic behavior persisted reportedly he began showing up at Erica's workplace unannounced harassing
her and threatening physical harm what are you doing here it's my question girl she's really afraid of John because of
the threats what he said he would do to her erica was forced to find a restraining order
still few J would show up at the house at all hours [Music] finally with a help of her father she
found the courage to call the police and have him arrested in trouble let's go undeterred by the threat of jail time
few J continued to pursue Erica a few weeks before Christmas she met her mother at a local mall to do some
shopping they bought some gifts and a comforter it was too big for us to carry so they said that we could pick it up in
the back when we came to the car we heard somebody say hey there don't worry I can handle it okay
what is it a mission you miss me and that's all Erica's mother heard little of the conversation but she says she
wasn't surprised when her daughter agreed to few Jay's request to meet I don't know well John was a type person
that he could sweet-talk a lady and he made promises that you know things were going to get better he was going to do
better and of course she took him at his word vue.js behavior followed long too familiar pattern
and the sight of him following Erica out of the parking lot was alarming to her mother
still imaging Richardson believe there was little she could do Sundy came and went
Imogene heard nothing from her daughter I didn't hardly sleep that night thinking about it Monday morning I
called Erika's house and I didn't get an answer so I called her job the conversation was short and chilling
Erika had not shown up at the pharmacy nor had she called in frightened Imogene went over to her daughter's home
Jon's pickup truck was in the driveway I went to the door and that's when I looked in the window and nothing seemed
to have been disturbed I started to my car and something told me to go back and I went back and I looked through another
window and that's what I saw a knife and blood and I knew then something it happened to
my daughter minutes later police confirmed Imogene's worst fears Erica had been stabbed repeatedly in the upper
body the shock and grief was overwhelming Eric was my daughter my friend she was
successful she was bright she was caring loving she was just a daughter that any
mother would love to have when I lost Erica I lost part of me tal Erica's Paris tried to make sense of a senseless
act police cordoned off the crime scene inside detectives and members of the CSI
unit went to work there were some articles that were strewn about the home which were indicative of a struggle
there were no items of value that were appeared to us at that point in time missing from the home indicating to us
that someone maybe she knew might have been in the home we found of course Erica Richardson's blood but we also
found the blood of a second party mixed in with her blood detectives suspected the but of the second party belong to
John few J but they couldn't prove it without a sample of his DNA few Jays fingerprints are all over the crime
scene but that didn't implicate him either since he had lived in the same house however there was one solid lead
to pursue an eyewitness reported seeing few J driving Erica's 1992 Honda a short
time after she had died we issued the warrant for his arrest based on those facts the vehicle was ultimately located
on December 23rd in Lafayette Louisiana where mr. Fouchet is from that's where he has a lot of family and friends
detectives questioned a few J's relatives who claimed they hadn't seen him in several weeks today jang huije is
still on the lam he is wanted for grand theft auto and unlawful flight to avoid prosecution qje remains the number-one
suspect in the murder of Erika Richardson the only way we feel John PJ would be able to stay hidden for this
amount of time would be to disappear to a new location not tell anyone of his whereabouts and start a new identity or
a new life from there due the fact that John PJ is a mechanic or mechanically inclined that he very well may be
employed on an oil rig or something of that nature off the coast of Louisiana or Texas meanwhile a loving family
continues to mourn the loss of their only daughter but maintaining hope that justice will be served before it's too
late there is some young lady I'm sure that he's involved with at this time who doesn't know what he has done and I just
pray that it doesn't happen again and I wish that someone would come forward and
help us get him brought to justice [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music]
the loss of a loved one is a traumatic experience especially in the case of a parent losing a child
Donna Tyson and Sharon trooper two mothers who believe they have received messages from their deceased children
can those who passed away communicate from beyond the grave or should the events you're about to see be considered
pure coincidence mothers are supposed to protect the children and this continues
even when they're adults it's worse that because you have no control over them when you as you do
when they're small a34 Michael Owen was a recovering alcoholic his mother Donna and family were
grateful that he was attending a a meetings and holding down a steady job as a boat mechanic but in late January
Michael gave in to temptation Michael had partied the night before with some friends he was two blocks from
his home going to Proxima sixty-five miles now when he hit a parked recycling truck
[Music] he basically died instantly it's like a part of you scone and it's like there's a big hole in your heart it
was just two months later in a gift shop the Donna believes she felt an emotional
connection to Michael in the middle was a huge rack of the little porcelain cups
that have your names on him from A to Z setting off to one side where two cups and once that I love you mom and the
other one said Michael and I felt like Michael was there with me and he was telling me it was okay
weeks later out in the market another unusual incident occurred Donna was surprised when she happened
upon an out of place book the seemed destined for her and I thought this strange this book why is it sitting here
and there was no writing on the cover and I opened it up what Donna found was a message she feels was meant
specifically for her I am ancient mariner who had a tail in his heart to be told to all to someone I am always
saying someday you must meet my mother it mentioned the Ancient Mariner and Michael was a boat mechanic and he often
used to refer to himself as the Ancient Mariner I started crying when I read it and I
thought I have to have this book Michael sending this to me Donna says the most convincing communications involve both
the time of Michael's accident 6:20 and his time of death 633 while working at her home office
Donna claims something happened to the digital clock Michaels clock was flashing 6:20 and it was not 6:20 I know
you're here don't have to do that that was the time of the accident at all the other digital clocks in the house were
fine he was just letting me know that he was there what happened next was very unsettling 14 months after his death
Donna says she heard Michaels voice on her answering machine the message was supposedly recorded at
6:33 the operator voice that is on your voicemail said Saturday 633 which is the
time that Michael died and I heard Michaels voice he only says two words he says follow me Saturday 6:30 3 p.m. end
of message and I was dumbfounded I had his friends come over and listen to it his sister's listened to it and it is
Michael it's voice Donna's convinced the messages from Michael are designed to bring her comfort but others have a
different explanation for encounters like these there is no greater loss than the loss of a child and that is exactly
what the explanation is is that emotionally driven people in a state of grief tend to see things in their
environment that connect them to their lost loved ones Donna's experience resonates with
thousands of other parents who believe their deceased children are in contact with them
Sharon troupe believes her daughter Wendy has appeared to her several times Wendy was a freshman in college when she
became a victim of a date rape shortly thereafter Wendy became depressed and tragically
committed suicide Wendy was only 19 years old Sharon Wendy's mother was devastated and
spent the days after her daughter's death in an emotional fog I was sitting there and I had been sobbing off and on
I was just a mess and I leaned my head back and I saw it's like a movie picture came on it was then that Sharon claims
Wendy came to her in a vision I was looking down a hallway and it was very bright and she looked at me as if to say
I am so sorry I made the hugest mistake and I can't take it back and she turned around and she walked
through the door and that was it it was gone and I just bawled because I wanted her
back and she was gone Sharon's second sighting came a few months later on Owen a friend of Wendy's
rented a movie to try and bolster Sharon and her husband Bill's spirits something
caught my eye looked over by the door and when he was standing there she was dressed in a real comfortable girl type
flannel shirt and she smiled at me and she looked over at Owen and then she was gone this time I didn't cry this time I
was like wow I know I saw her I mean I wasn't even thinking about her in that instant and she's there so I honestly
felt that she was letting me know that she was so pleased that Owen was spending time with us and we were
together so that we could help one another it was Christmas a year later when Sharon received what she calls
undeniable confirmation of Wendy's continued presence in her life I know sweetie we all do we all miss or
something that a holiday party across the street from their home Sharon and Bill were visiting with friends they
hadn't seen in over a year when Sharon became upset and went home I wasn't home about 10 minutes
and Bill called me from across the street and he said I have something to tell you and it's really important and I
want you to stay up when Bill returned home he told Sharon that Pam a friend of their neighbors claimed to have had an
unusual experience involving Wendy just weeks after she died she saw Wendy she just saw her face and there weren't any
words but she was absolutely positive that it was Wendy and the way she described it was exactly the same way
that you've told me it was probably about a month after Wendy had died I went to bed I think before everyone else
that night I saw a girl and it was kind of just a head shot it just kind of zoomed in on me
and I felt this tremendous energy but kind of like if you've ever been shocked by electrical fence you know the little
warm surge of current that you feel through your body but I could just sense that she wanted to tell her parents that
she was okay now and she was finally at peace and it happened that quickly and then it was gone
it seemed obvious to me you know who it was and and what the purpose of that visit was she saw I think it was a gift
from God so to let her come back for us to see because somebody could tell you that you wouldn't believe him
seeing something is totally different the real question here I think that touches us deeply is is there actually
an afterlife that people who died go to and that they're actually not God and if
we're going to look at this question objectively and scientifically and not emotionally then we have to answer
nobody knows Sharon and Donna will continue to find solace in the messages they believe are left for them by their
children I believe that there is something more out there they don't just go away some people say to me do you
believe in the afterlife do you believe that there's something beyond yes I do if you choose not to believe that that
is your privilege me I'm gonna believe it [Music] [Applause] [Music] with only five days left to Christmas 37
year old Donna Morrow had just finished her last minute shopping she looked forward to spending the holidays with
her four young children but her relationship with her husband Joe was rapidly disintegrating we interviewed
several of Donna's friends who asked not to be identified by name she had told me
that Joe was very controlling and she didn't indicate to me that he was physically abusive but I I got the
impression that she was afraid of him it hadn't always been this way when Donna first met Joe he seemed the ideal
partner charming wealthy and kind Donna's family however had a different impression he was arrogant and he
thought he was better than everybody else and he was condescending he was just basically a jerk was money within
months of meeting the couple married and began the large family both had always wanted they moved into a luxurious home
in upscale Menlo Park California and Donna settled in to be a full-time mom for 13 years Donna appeared happy with
her life that one Thanksgiving Donna revealed the truth about her seemingly perfect marriage what's the matter
she told me that she did not love Joe anymore that she wanted a divorce I just and she said but mom until after the
holidays I won't do anything because I don't want to ruin Christmas for the children that Christmas Donna's mother
and her relatives gathered in White Plains Missouri to celebrate Donna could not make it so a stepfather called
California to wish her a happy holiday hello hey Frank merry Christmas to you too
she walked out and I haven't heard from her since Joe didn't bother to give us any kind of a story just that she was
gone what's happening he says she's not there it's like the whole atmosphere over Christmas just died right there
it was terrible because we were so far away and there was nothing that we could do
Joe Mauro maintains that his wife Donna voluntarily left him and their children to start life anew but Donna's friends
and family are convinced she fell victim to foul play there's no compelling physical evidence to support either
conclusion no body has ever been found there's also no sign that Donna Mauro is still alive without your help
Donna's fate may never be known what happened the night your wife disappeared in an interview with Menlo Park police
shortly after Donna's disappears Joe Mauro stated that he last saw his wife on December 19th at approximately 10:00
p.m. well we had somewhat of a heated argument and she got very upset following an argument donna stormed out
the front door taking her person keys did she take her car no she didn't take her car we asked him if he had any
explanation as to why she had not taken the car he didn't have an explanation other than that she is known to go out
for walks from time to time I thought that she was seeing another man Mauro also suggests that his wife
was having an affair further police investigation established that Donna had indeed formed a close friendship with
another man I think he was kind and understanding and was giving her a shoulder to cry on so to speak but due
to her marital status it was not going beyond that other than seeking friendship police discovered that Donna
called this man on the night she disappeared at 7:30 p.m. so we knew that she was
alive and well at that point Donna had wanted to get together with them and he declined the invitation Donna's friend
provided authorities with an alibi and passed a lie-detector test he has been ruled out as a suspect
police then found a witness who could tell them what happened next Donna and Joe's own eight-year-old
daughter she told it Texas of at 9:30 p.m. she awoke to her parents screaming at each other according to the daughter
the yelling got quieter and quieter and then stopped altogether and shortly thereafter she ended up hearing one set
of footsteps leading to the front door area she didn't see whether it was her father or her mom who was walking to the
front doorstep she just heard him was this the sound of Donna Mora leaving the house just as Jill Morel claimed Donna's
daughter seemed to confirm that scenario with what she next told investigators [Music]
a few hours later she went into her parents bedroom only Joel Mora was there asleep did Donna Morel trapped in an
allegedly abusive marriage simply walk out the front door to start a new life Donna would never just walk out she
lived for her children she would never just go and leave him with the man that she planned to leave in a couple of
weeks but there was no compelling evidence to contradict Donna leaving voluntarily then police discovered the
first potential clue on the side of a bucket a small splatter of blood they said soon to come take a look at this we
don't have Donna's blood to compare it to but we were able to exclude the children and Joe as being the donors of
that blood the fact that Donna is not here the question remains could it be done us but without a body a crime scene
or any compelling forensic evidence the police investigation ground to a halt [Music]
three weeks later in a motel room 95 miles from the Morrow's home sir are you okay Joel Mora was sprawled in
the bed semi-conscious he had taken an overdose of barbiturates the other thing that was odd was that they found a large
number of suicide notes to various people none addressed to his allegedly missing wife and she was not mentioned
in any of those letters Joel Mora recovered from the suicide attempt and continued to deny any
involvement in Donna's disappearance but two years later Mora was sued in civil court for wrongful death by Donna's
parents on behalf of her children at the same time Mora pled guilty to an unrelated fraud charge it was scheduled
to surrender on June 24th he never showed up I think that Jo Moro was shrewd enough that he knew if he could
stagger around us for as long as he did that he could build an exit strategy and
that's what they did after Jo's disappearance is a stay settle the wrongful death suit and agreed to pay
two million dollars guardianship of his four children was given to his brother and sister-in-law ultimately an arrest
warrant citing probable cause was issued for Joseph Morrel for the murder of his
wife family friends and the police are not convinced that he killed her my impression is that perhaps Joe found out
about this other person this young man and in a fit of rage just threw Donna down or she hit her head or something I
just feel like it was a crime of passion I think that she probably left the residents dead and was dragged to the
garage where she was placed in a vehicle the location of where the blood was found on the bucket speaks for itself
that it was probably during a cleanup process in the garage I would like to see Joe put behind bars or put to death
it wouldn't bother me and I want my daughter found I want to at least know what he did with her so I can put her to
rest [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] join me next time for four more intriguing stories cases where you may
have that one vital clue that can help solve a mystery [Music] [Music] [Applause]
[Music] [Applause] [Music]

Brief Summary

The episode investigates unsolved murders and disappearances, focusing on Linda Sherman, Erica Richardson, and Donna Morrow.

Key points

The Mystery of Linda Sherman. Linda Sherman disappeared in 1985, and her skull was found years later, raising questions about her fate.
Erica Richardson's Tragic End. Erica was found murdered after a tumultuous relationship with John Fouché, who remains a suspect.
Messages from Beyond. Two mothers believe they have received messages from their deceased children, raising questions about life after death.
Sharon's Vision of Wendy. Sharon claims to have seen her daughter Wendy in a vision after her death.
The Disappearance of Donna Mauro. Donna's friends and family believe she fell victim to foul play after she vanished.
The Search for Closure. A family member expresses the desperate need to know what happened to Donna.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

It's like a part of you is gone.

Donna describes the pain of losing her son.

25:30WatchMay 23, 2019

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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