Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 11, Episode 7 - Full Episode | Forensic Files

tonight on unsolved mysteries in a peaceful suburb of Los Angeles a feud over a drug debt spirals out of control
an innocent teenage boy is taken hostage and a family is destroyed Jill Biermann
had a passion for cycling one morning she set off for a ride from Bloomington Indiana and inexplicably vanished was
she abducted or was she the victim of a tragic accident it began innocently enough a selfless good deed by Billy
Fisher convinced Nancy higher that they should become friends three weeks later Nancy sat down to
dinner with Billy and his father soon two would be dead and the third missing authorities need your help to bring a
killer to justice christen motor ferry came to San Francisco for a summer of adventure then
she vanished did she drown in the Pacific or was she lured into the arms of a murderer
join me for these stories of intrigue and deception prime ingredients run solve mysteries
[Applause] [Music] [Music] Nicke marker which celebrates his bar mitzvah with dozens of friends and loved
ones it would be the last joyous occasion before tragedy rips a Markowitz family apart the seeds of that tragedy
lie with Nick's older half-brother Ben for most of his life Ben has been in trouble and now young Nick is about to
be engulfed in Ben's world of deceit and betrayal Ben owes money to this man Jesse James Hollywood who has given his
notorious name at birth on August 6 2011 and collect what is owed him one way or
another according to reports Jesse and two of his friends cruised the quiet streets of
West Hills California looking for Ben they cannot find him but instead sputnik a fateful decision is made
hey hey hey guys witnesses say that they saw the van pull over and there was a physical confrontation and that young
Nick was forced into the van and the van left [Music] on that day he was simply a young man
who his only problem was he had an older brother who had provoked the wrath of Jesse James Hollywood the first glance
Jesse James Hollywood and his friends seemed like difficult suburban teenagers they grew up in loving middle-class
homes and were given every chance to succeed in life but somewhere along the way Jesse allegedly went off truck and
by chance Nicholas Markowitz crossed Jesse's path the result was catastrophic now one of them is dead and the other a
fugitive from justice as a child there was no hint that Jesse James's outlaw name might turn out to be prophetic
Jesse and his close-knit group of friends would spent countless summer days playing baseball while their
families watched with pride but police believe that Jesse the innocent little leaguer somehow transformed into a
big-time suburban drug dealer incredibly at the age of 19 Jesse reportedly amassed enough illicit profits to buy an
expensive home and the party began Jesse James Hollywood was driving expensive cars he was partying with his friends
nearly a daily basis and he was living a rather lavish lifestyle for a young man
without any legitimate means of employment less than two miles away but a world apart
fifteen-year-old Nick Markowitz lived with his parents Jeff and Susan a Nick was a typical teenager he's a likable
kid every loved Nick he had a great sense of humor he was always positive and fun to be around but Nick's 25 year
old half-brother Ben was an entirely different story according to police Ben was a friend of
Jesse Hollywood and often bought marijuana from him shortly before the kidnapping Ben and Jesse had a
falling-out after Ben refused to pay a $1,200 drug debt he's a real little guy very obnoxious just the type of guy
you'd want to take his stuff I didn't fear him he was like I just said he was just jesse was just a little
man and I was like $1,200 yesterday I'll get you later buddy what's going on Ben Jessie where have
you been Jesse James Hollywood reportedly confronted been on several occasions I
told you I will get your money alright welcome to my house like this come your house what are you smoking huh
this is your last chance you got that after numerous run-ins with Ben Jessie reportedly had had enough and on August
6th he went looking for his former friend Nick Markowitz just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time
I was making Nick breakfast and went upstairs to get him and he was not there i paged him and he did not return my
page I guess I must have paged him a hundred times I knew something is wrong police believe
that Nick could not return his mother's call because Jesse James had kidnapped him
Nick was purportedly taken to a home in Santa Barbara California and restrained there he would remain a hostage until
his brother Ben paid his debt on the following day witnesses report seeing Nick at the
Santa Barbara home jesse is not at the house Nick is no longer bound nor gagged in fact Nick's captors seemed to treat
him like a guest Nick was free to move around the residence young people that did come and go from the residence
although they were told that he had been in essence kidnapped by his demeanor there he was not acting as they might
expect someone that was had been kidnapped would be acting I personally feel that Nick had the expectation that
at some point in time he would be freed don't worry about him he's fine in the ensuing days there was no reported
effort by Jesse James Hollywood to exchange Nick for the money Ben Markowitz owed him according to
witnesses Jesse realized the situation was quickly spiraling out of control he telephoned
his lawyer for advice at long it can't be police believe that Jesse came to a disturbing realization if Nick
was released and told authorities about the spontaneous kidnapping Jesse could spend the rest of his life behind bars
we believe that as a result of that conversation Jesse came to the conclusion that he would be in a better
situation to kill Nick as opposed to trying to return him authorities theorize that Jesse then contacted this
man Ryan Hoyt a 21 year old acquaintance who also Oh Jesse $1,200 for drugs in this home video taken by Jesse James
Hollywood he can be heard demanding payment from Ryan [Music] Jesse allegedly offered Ryan a way to
pay off his debt hey Ryan its Jesse listen I got a little proposition for you on August 8th police believe that
Ryan Hoyt and two accomplices led Nick Markovitz to Lizards mouth a remote area in the Los Padres National Forest Jesse
James Hollywood was not there [Music] [Music] we were friends all of us we were friends and the way
that it went down I feel very responsible for it all I can really do is just over thinking in my
head and you know believing there's many nights where I couldn't sleep four days later the body of Nick
Markowitz was discovered an anonymous tip from a teenager who saw Nick at the Santa Barbara home quickly identified
several suspects and his kidnapping and murder within days police arrested Ryan Hoyt and three accomplices for the crime
all for a pleaded not guilty and remain in custody at the Santa Barbara County Jail
but Jesse James Hollywood was nowhere to be found authorities believe publicity about the
murder caused Hollywood to flee we don't know where he went we don't know where he is now but he did
leave the jurisdiction eventually and he returned to the San Fernando Valley area
but since that time his whereabouts have been unknown to us nightmares you wake up from this is worse than a nightmare
[Music] they've destroyed me they've gutted me I am soulless I am lost [Music] [Music]
[Music] every evening at dusk Eric and Marilyn Biermann perform a quiet ritual the candles flame represents the flicker
of hope that they will solve a perplexing mystery that has shattered their lives on May 31st mm the 19 year
old daughter Jill looked forward to another morning indulging her passion for fitness
she left their home in Bloomington Indiana at 9:00 a.m. her job did not begin until noon she had
plenty of time to first enjoy the sport she loved best Jill treated a bike ride like a workout she took it pretty
seriously and she wanted to ride hard and her friends have told me that going for a bike ride with Jill was not very
much fun because they couldn't keep up [Music] Jill had just completed her freshman
year as a business major at Indiana University her family and friends describer is the epitome of a fun-loving
all-american girl 12 hours later Eric and Marilyn became alarmed when Jill failed to return home
its way after dark it's very late it's cold outside and I was alternating between being sad or worried or maybe
even angry thinking why would she do this why would she go off and not tell us what she's up to
I mean just all those mixed emotions I don't know what to think it was then that we both were really I think
terrified as to just what might have happened to her Jill Biermann had vanished without a
trace Bloomington Police and the FBI received over 3,000 tips but what happened to
jill is still unknown authorities believe she might have been abducted although there was no evidence
to support that conclusion they also thought she may have been the victim of a hit and run accident but if that were
true where was her body the investigation yielded many clues but no answers news of Jill's disappearance
spread quickly throughout Bloomington two days after she vanished townspeople by the hundreds joined investigators in
an exhaustive search local cycling clubs trace the roots Jill may have taken they
had groups of people not only searching the roads but about a hundred and fifty feet or so off on each side of the road
in the woods and the ravines and the areas along several of the roads and places that we know that jail-like tried
despite the massive effort no trace of Jill was found but the same day the search began a vital clue surfaced a
resident of Bloomington step forward reporting that he had retrieved an abandoned bicycle two days earlier the
same day Jill had disappeared only later when news about Jill broke did he realizes significance the bicycle serial
number enabled police to confirm that it was Jill's investigators search the area
surrounding where the bike was found but they found nothing the location raised their suspicions
Jill was last seen south of her home riding in a southerly direction her bike was ten miles northwest of that site
that's not a route that she would have been on that day that's about ten miles away it's through town it's through a
great deal of traffic and Jill hated riding in any kind of traffic she just she wouldn't ride in the traffic she's
not with the bike and the bike is somewhere she would not have ridden and this isn't making any sense this is even
more mysterious and more scary now because now I don't know what to think three days after Jill vanished the
mystery deepened a digital radio was found neatly placed in the parking lot of a Bloomington Church it was the same
model in color as one that Jill usually took with her when she cycled at the moment the radio was found a
churchgoer in the parking lot witnessed a pickup truck that investigators viewed
with suspicion there's no indication that that pickup truck was related to the Walkman however we've attempted to
try and find the not only the pickup truck but certainly that the individual driving and we've been unsuccessful in
doing that ten days later a young woman Jill's age was involved in an attempted abduction just three miles from where
Jill's bike was found [Music] we certainly believe that dude there could be a correlation between the event
and Aliceville and Joe's disappearance is it possible that the same assailant who is still unidentified also targeted
June we've had any number of theories in this and certainly one of those theories
is that Joe was targeted and that they placed the bicycle in an area different from where she was last seen in an
effort to try and at least lead us away from the area in which she was in fact abducted the possibility that Jill was
abducted seemed more plausible when news broke a year later about another female
cyclist in Kentucky a motorist struck her and tried to drag her into his car before he was chased away by a witness a
police artist made this sketch of the suspect but whether this man also attempted to abduct Jill is unknown
the only other theory investigators consider possible is that Jill was a victim of a hit and run accident we
believe that it was certainly possible that that Jill was struck by a group of people who were high on drugs alcohol
involved that these folks panicked and instead of leaving her or trying to get help for her
they put her and the bike in a vehicle and and took her the hit and run theory however is flawed
by one perplexing detail the damage that Jill's bicycle was minimal still investigators say it is possible that
Jill was not struck while riding but after she dismounted to rest or make repairs ultimately however what happened
to Jill remains unknown it's one of the hardest things about this whole situation is the not knowing
without knowing whether she's alive without knowing where she is I missed that smile I miss her laugh
it's a nightmare that just keeps going on every night we light the candle on the
front doorstep and it stays lit all night until the next morning it kind of a beacon of hope and just as a reminder
that Jill is still missing and every day we pray that that's going to be the day that we find you
[Music] [Music] so did we just pick up the phrase in the park 21 year old Nancy hire a 19 year
old Billy Fisher met by chance in 1986 Billy first saw Nancy on a train heading it in New York City she had become lost
and was on the verge of tears Billy stepped forward and volunteered to escort Nancy back home to Hicksville
Long Island the two began a close friendship Nancy thought Billy was a really nice guy she did say to me you
starting to look at me like a girlfriend kind of thing and I don't like him that
way but she didn't want to hurt his feelings because he was so nice on a stormy night three weeks later Nancy
received a call from Billy alrighty I'll talk to you later febre wonder if I'll actually be able to
follow those directions she told her sister Debra that Billy had asked for a ride home from his father's house in
Southampton despite the weather Nancy decided to repay Billy's earlier act of kindness I don't really think you
should be going out was whether Nancy and I said I can't believe you're gonna drive in this weather you don't even
like to drive at night and she says well he's done so much for me that I'm gonna
just go alrighty I'm all ready to go you look great thank you Nancy's mother Joan was also concerned
about her daughter driving during a storm as I saw my daughter drive away I was a little fearful myself worry just
mother's worry that's enough Lancey higher set off into the downpour for the hour and a half drive to
southampton her friendship with Billy Fisher would soon lead to tragedy an unsuspecting Nancy hire was heading
straight into another family's conflict one that was about to turn violent Billy
Fisher had cystic fibrosis a degenerative respiratory disease and was overwhelmed with medical bills he was
seeking money from his estranged father who'd abandoned the family 15 years earlier what followed next was a chain
reaction of ill-fated events ultimately put Nancy higher in the wrong place at the wrong time
[Music] at the time Billy Fisher met Nancy he was swamped in debt and increasingly ill
hi may I speak to William Fisher please he decided to ask his father William for
help even though the two hadn't spoken in over a year he was employed by a well-to-do car dealership in Manhattan
Lynn City New York was making a very high salary the investigation determined that he began and had been using cocaine
extensively to the point that it affected his performance at his place of employment Billy's father invited his
son to visit for the weekend and discussed the money situation Billy how you doing okay come on I'm not gonna
bite you nobody knows how Billy got to South Hampton but a day after arriving he called Nancy
hire to take him home [Music] that night Joan higher waited anxiously for Nancy to return I was pacing the
living room constantly at the front door looking out the window the clock was going 12 o'clock 1 o'clock 2 o'clock I
kind of figured she's a responsible girl she might have had to stay over cuz of the weather or the time of night but
then I still kept hesitant because I said she would never not call me yes well I know she's 21 but could you
please the next morning still no call Joan began to panic the police could not help
Nancy had not been gone long enough to be declared missing okay mom I know she left directions and a phone number
around her somewhere I don't know where she left it running out of options Joan and Nancy's sister Debra rummage
through her bedroom wait here it is Fisher ah yes hello this is Nancy hires mother
Joan mr. Fisher yes I'd like to know if my daughter came out there last evening yeah she was here I cooked the roast we
had some drinks and dinner and for you young lady he said we had dinner he said and I gave them something to drink
nice to see his son and they went out after that well listen you both take care and drive safely
he said oh they probably just went somewhere he says or Billy somewhere and Nancy somewhere else
if I hear anything I'll give you a call he seemed very forthcoming that he was concerned about his own son we were
thinking at that point that young Billy had taken her somewhere and done something
another day passed with no sign of Nancy and Joan filed a missing-persons report
but with no proof of foul play that was little the police could do so June turned back to the last person who saw
her daughter she repeatedly called William Fisher who became increasingly confrontational mr. Fisher could you go
over step by step exactly what happened that evening look like I told you before
they came over he would fly off the handle and tell me let the police handle this I have no idea where these kids
went and he was getting very very hostile over the phone goodbye so I kept getting more suspicious of mr.
Fisher ten days after Nancy's disappearance in a parking lot two miles from William
Fisher's house police responded to a report of an abandoned car giver Nancy higher Czar's it comes back to that
missing girl Nancy hire see if he could pop the trunk oh my god sorry get back here oh my god they're
located in the trunk of the car was a young Billy Fisher a second body was located on anything and that was young
Nancy the autopsy reported that Billy had been shot 18 times the vast majority of those rounds were in the head at
close range Nancy's autopsy revealed that she had been stabbed twice with a very long a
sharp instrument at that same time neighbors report a strange activity at the Fisher home apparently William was
remodeling his master bedroom at 3:00 a.m. in the morning well you can see it's been freshly painted police secured
a search warrant for the Fisher residence slight indentations were observed in a
section of the wall and it was removed so we fine here - 22 caliber bullets were recovered a single strand of hair
was fused to one of the bullets it was identified as Billy Fisher's that established that this was the crime
scene additional testing established that there was a large amount of blood splattered all about the halls of the
hallway consistent with an individual Nancy being stabbed in that area immediately outside to miss the bedroom
well what does that mean that means the evidence clearly implicated William Fisher but the sheer
brutality of the killings obscured his motive well everybody works to pay the bills so
watch it's not enough what could have caused Fisher's even a man with plenty to loot enough to shoot his son 18 times
on the murder a complete stranger afford to live here if I don't work why don't you help me could an argument have
broken out of her abilities financial problems just the same as always it's always about money isn't it it's you you
you constantly Nancy who's only in the house because of an act of kindness was now a witness to murder I can't imagine
a parent killing their own child and then taking someone else's child that they don't even know anything about
I just can't still today believe that anything could happen like this police sought a warrant for murder against
William Fisher but before could be issued Fisher disappeared his car was found abandoned at JFK Airport
police later discovered he had taken a second mortgage out on his house in excess of $100,000 William Fisher has
evaded arrest on murder charges for nearly two decades William Peter Fisher is 57 years old 5
feet 11 inches tall and 185 to 200 pounds these Asian hands photos depict what Fisher may look like today
he wears expensive clothing drinks heavily and may have fled the country [Music]
San Francisco California eighteen-year-old Kristen Mota ferry enjoys a summer of adventure account
each honor student she is 3,000 miles from her home in North Carolina the extended visit is a dream come true for
a young woman eager to explore life on her own Monday June 23rd begins like any other day
a 7:00 a.m. she arrives at the upscale Crocker Galleria she has taken a job at a coffee shop to pay for a photography
course at UC Berkeley as always she's eager to explore the city at the end of her shift according to the new friends
she had met perhaps too eager she wanted to come to the big city and find some excitement but it seemed to be coupled
with a naivete maybe are not a real understanding of how the big city works [Music]
at three o'clock Kristen leaves a coffee shop then disappears without a trace Kristen Morrow fairies dream summer in
San Francisco lasted only three weeks the police would be frustrated by tantalizing leads that went nowhere a
mysterious blonde woman seen with Kristen Page is inexplicably torn from a diary and an anonymous phone call
directing them to a shadowy figure who may know what happened the mystery is a nightmare not only for the police but
also for Kristen's parents Bob and Debby Mota Ferry wasted no time after they learned Kristen had vanished the
following day they flew the 3,000 miles from North Carolina when we found out that she had disappeared we were just
shocked we couldn't eat we barely spoke we just were just even having trouble breathing when you are faced with a
situation like this you really don't know how strong you can be you can either crawl in a hole and die and give
up or you can fight and I think we there was no choice for us we were going to fight for our daughter
but finding Kristin would be a formidable task like many missing-persons cases it was
difficult even knowing where to start you don't have a crime scene you have no witnesses you can't even establish that
a crime has occurred and you just kind of build on little pieces of information hunches whatever you can come up with
and see if you can put the puzzle together one of the first pieces of the puzzle it was a sighting of Kristen by
one of her co-workers 45 minutes after her shift ended she was seen in the Crocker Galleria with a blonde woman she
thought that was kind of strange because she never really stuck around work as soon as she checked out she was
gone and they were very close together like they were hanging out together talking together definitely with each
other and so we've made a lot of effort to try to get the blonde woman to come forward identify herself and we appealed
a number of times through the media but never got a response to all our and peels to the blonde woman to come
forward with few leads the police took an unusual step a bloodhound attempted to retrace Kristin's path from the
coffee shop the day she vanished when we were downtown I could tell he was on a trail he knew exactly where he was going
every turn was perfect the police could not be certain however that this was a path Kristin took the
day she disappeared that could have been Arad Kristin had previously traveled without incident he then led us up to
Geary Street heading out towards lands and beach Kristin's co-workers had told police that on the day she vanished she
talked to visiting lens and beach we then got down to the beach area and came to a point where the trail seemed to
have stopped a chilling possibility revealed itself that's a very treacherous part of the San Francisco
water line numerous people each year are washed off the rocks and are never seen again so that was a
distinct possibility that she had in fact fallen into the ocean we really don't believe that's what happened to
Kristen it's a very tourist oriented area there's always people around if she had fallen into the water somebody would
have seen something if Kristin did not suffer a tragic accident what became of her ABC 7 a startling twist to the
mystery occurred 17 days after she vanished an anonymous male telephone and a San
Francisco TV news Ruiz he said Kristen had been murdered he went into a very long description of who he said killed
her and he told me that there were two women and he named them and he said that Kristen had been killed as a result of a
lesbian love affair that went wrong detectives tracked down the two women named by the caller but determined they
did not know Kristen and had nothing to do with her disappearance we then asked these people who has a grudge against
you who would want to see you go through this and each person separate and independent gave the name of John
alright so I made the phone call so what John who asked us not to use his last name told police that two women were his
girlfriend's employers he claimed they were harassing her at work to get back at them he said he phoned in the false
tip he said he got the idea when he saw TV news coverage about Kristen and he knew nothing about the case beyond what
he saw on television Megan still the police suspected there was more to John's story they investigated his
background and discovered disturbing allegations of previously abusing women the next step was to determine whether
he had any connection to Kristen police say that John met women largely through personal ads come on there it is right
here I bet you this one did check it out previously they had found an ad and Kristen's apartment they think she might
have placed if you read it sounds like it could be Kristen it'sit's all the kind of things she was interested in it
was his photography walking the city music art it was all the kind of things that Kristen was there to do if the ad
had brought Kristen and John together a baffling piece of the puzzle could now be seen in a new light
John we were told used other women to lure women to himself so we felt that perhaps this blonde woman could have
been a plant to draw Kristin to this John the police uncovered more troubling pieces of information from the women
John allegedly abused one of them claimed he made an alarming reference to Kristin now you even know what I did to
Kristin it's what makes me do it to you I never made a statement like that John agreed to do an interview with us on
condition that we not reveal his face and alter his voice the reason she made that statement she was angry that I was
leaving San Francisco I was leaving her and I wonder anymore she's very angry very bitter one more
troubling coincidence was discovered at the home of John's girlfriend her diary was missing several pages pages covering
the same time period Kristen had been in San Francisco we asked her why is this the way it is and she told us that John
had torn the pages out and said that some of the stuff that was in there could come back to hurt him despite such
disturbing pieces of information police say they have no clear evidence that John had any involvement in Kristin's
disappearance also John says he has taken and passed a polygraph examination conducted by a reputable expert at the
very least this John made a stupid stupid mistake by making this phone call to the TV station but if he is more
involved then we still need to find out those answers and we still need to keep after him until we find out whether or
not he's guilty I never met Kristen I never saw her there's absolutely no connection to Kristen and I in any way
wanted it was wrong I wish had never made that call but I did and I just want to tell the parents of sorry am I really
really sorry for what I did Kristin moto ferry had come to San Francisco embracing a future full of
promise what shattered that future remains a mystery for her parents the search for answers continues we owe this
to her we owe this to ourselves and we owe this to her sisters someone stole Kristin's dreams and
that's not fair [Music] join us for our next edition of unsolved mysteries [Music]
[Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause]

Brief Summary

Nick Markowitz is kidnapped over a drug debt, Jill Biermann vanishes during a bike ride, and Nancy Hayer and Billy Fisher meet a tragic end.

Key points

The Tragic Fate of Nick Markowitz. Nick Markowitz was kidnapped due to his brother's drug debt, leading to a tragic outcome.
The Disappearance of Jill Biermann. Jill Biermann vanished during a bike ride, leaving her family in despair.
Nancy Hires' Mysterious Disappearance. Nancy Hires went missing after a stormy night, leading to a frantic search.
The Brutality of the Killings. The evidence clearly implicated William Fisher, but the brutality obscured his motive.
Kristen Mota Ferry Disappears. Eighteen-year-old Kristen Mota Ferry vanishes without a trace during her summer in San Francisco.
A Shocking Anonymous Call. Seventeen days after Kristen's disappearance, an anonymous caller claims she was murdered.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I am soulless. I am lost.

A parent expressing the depth of their grief.

11:56WatchMay 23, 2019

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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