Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 3, Episode 11 - Full Episode | Forensic Files

this program is about unsolved mysteries whenever possible the actual family members and police officials have
participated in recreating the events what you are about to see is not a news broadcast April 1986 a raging house fire
set by an arsonist takes the life of a wealthy widow and Aurora Missouri five days later Johnny Lee Wilson a
young [ __ ] man confesses to the crime and is sent to prison two years later another claims to have been
present at the murder and insists that Wilson is innocent today the controversy has divided the
town is Johnny Lee Wilson a killer or a victim it had more North Dakota Kenneth ng and Curtis hack came to blows
over a woman in a bar fight the next day ng is found dead the police called it an
accident Kenneth Angie's family thinks otherwise they'll also introduce you to a most
unusual artist an English woman who seems to have the ability to create lifelike portraits of people she has
never seen in fact people who have been dead for years incredibly many witnesses swear to the
uncanny accuracy of her drawings join me for another edition unsolved [Music] I've got a young lad here who went to
spit it very suddenly I don't know good March 1990 two hundred people in Clarksville Indiana paid $15 apiece for
a demonstration by Carl pols a British artist with an unusual vision he doesn't actually tell me how he was killed for
years audiences from around the world have been mystified by Carl's work and often touched by the results of her
drawings are simple portraits nothing fancy but Carl subjects are otherworldly people who have been dead for years I
don't actually see these people I don't hear them and I honestly don't quite know how I do it I just sense them also
there is an element of what we call automatic control as if somebody takes over my hand and gives me a certain
amount of help in getting the drawings accurate with good results obviously it's not always good but when we do get
good results we get quite nice likenesses of people's relatives who have passed into the world of spirit
today Carl pores lives in a small town in England for the last 40 years she is possessed and been possessed by her
unusual ability the concept of life after death has fascinated mankind for centuries it is a fascination ripe for
exploitation by mediums and clairvoyance who claim the power to communicate with
a spirit world some are obvious charlatans but others display gifts which seem to defy
explanation during the past four decades Carl pols has drawn more than 100 thousand eerie portraits it could be
argued that she is nothing more than a keen observer of faces but her drawings of people she could never have known or
seen are uncannily accurate and have convinced some skeptics that her powers could be real
in 1984 photographer Peter Cook went to Carl polled his home in Surrey England Peter was on assignment for a national
newspaper I've always been a pretty open-minded kind of person and I was a bit skeptical I had heard about people
speaking with the dead and through the dead but when it came to drawing was a different matter do you have any
drawings that you've done Peter and Carl had never met before he had no idea he was about to become Coral subject and
Cole just simply asked me to sit down next to her and I did and she came up with some pretty astounding pictures now
I've got a little elderly lady here coming through she brings me the first of the pictures that she started draw
was my grandmother rounded cheeks as it took shape I could see that it was going
to be somebody that I recognized and my stomach was beginning to churn just a little because it was my first
experience of anybody talking about my grandmother or any other relation in that kind of manner a beautiful rosy
complexion in fact she might even be called rosy I'll keep getting the word rosy
but she's smiling very much would I call a country complete and what she's showing me now definitely
confirms that it's a little water back where she probably had to get her drinking water from according to Peter
his grandmother's name was many rose she did have rosy cheeks and her drinking water came from a rain barrel
it wasn't so much the picture that she threw that I recognized so much as the description she was giving and the names
and the people that were near her and they were pretty astonishing anybody who's a skeptic she really I mean they
better open their eyes cuz I thought he's it many Rose died in 1962 Peter Cook is positive that Carl had no way of
knowing what she looked like [Music] [Applause] in the same city in coral also drew
Peter cooks mother Emily who died in 1978 Carl certainly has a special gift I don't understand why and I have to say
that cholera sparked me off to investigating in in some depth as to the possibility of life after death coral
became aware of her gift just after World War two fools her mother suffered from severe arthritis nothing else could
ease her mother's pain Carl took her to a spiritualist I must admit I nearly died of fright on the spot because the
medium came to me and said do you know you're a psychic artist which I didn't I didn't even know what she meant and she
said well you are an artist which was true and she told me one day I'd be a very famous medium and I must admit I
thought she was completely barmy and so I began to sit to try and develop the gift and eventually within two or three
years was getting psychic drawings I gave up counting how many we'd ever done and when I got to 100,000 it just goes
on and I don't have time to keep records a lady almost held her head up so straight to join my art contest we were
just momento Rocco was another witness to Carlos powers Karl drew this portrait of arraigns
aunt who died when Lorraine was six [Music] I have photos that if they're exactly
the same it sir it's quite remarkable I have never met coal in my life it's the first time I've I've heard of her
nevermind meet her and I'm devastated shattered I just couldn't believe what I saw when people come to me for sittings
some come out of curiosity some come because they're desperate for evidence and I hope that I can prove to them that
there is a life after death it doesn't always work but we try his Carl pols truly gifted or is she merely a talented
artist with extraordinary powers of perception for those who believe Karl poaches
drawings provide comfort and reassurance that there may be life after death [Music]
well I don't find it mysterious at all I've come to a stage where to me it's so normal so ordinary and I find that life
becomes more beautiful one would not hasten going into the world of spirit but it's a beautiful thought that one
day we're all going to be reunited with those people we've loved and temporarily
been parted from in a moment an investigation of a firey murder of a wealthy 79 year old widow two different
men have confessed to the same crime [Music] every week hundreds of calls are received here in our telecenter bunny
with suggestions for stories several months ago one of our producers received a startling telephone call from a man in
prison from his cell he told us that before his imprisonment he'd been involved in a murder for which another
man had been convicted his call led us into the disquieting case of Johnny Lee Wilson a mildly [ __ ] young man
serving a life sentence for the murder of an elderly woman what makes this case so intriguing is that Wilson had
confessed to the crime a confession as proponents say was coerced and now the final appeal of Johnny Lee Wilson
Warren Missouri population 7,000 a typical Middle American small town everyone knows everyone else
and everyone in Aurora knew Johnny Wilson mildly [ __ ] 20 years older than IQ of 71 who according to
psychologists had the emotional development of a fourth grader Johnny was raised in Aurora by his mother and
grandmother I'm going down to Rama's for some pop okay Johnny was a quiet boy he
was a home boy he never did cause the same trouble but he had problems learning disability and we had to have
special education for him and a lot of the kids we thought at school didn't treat him you know so good but really
johnny has always been a happy boy even when we knew things maybe were kind of bad sometimes he was happy on school
days Johnny left his bicycle with mrs. Pauline Marx because his classmates would often vandalize you know it is
mrs. March was a close friend of Johnny's Granville see you then at 79 she was a last surviving member of the
wealthiest family in Aurora and owned the town's largest business April 13th 1986 they PME
fire and rescue squads rushed to the home of Holly months by the time they arrived house was engulfed in flames
[Music] when firemen were finally able to search the wreckage they found the charred body
of Pauline Mart's the official cause of death was smoke inhalation but the fire was not an
accident mrs. Mart's had been bound and gagged rope and duct tape investigators concluded the fire was deliberately set
started with gasoline there was an immediate public outcry Pauline marts had been one of Aurora's most beloved
citizens five days later anger turned to shock the police picked up Johnny Wilson for
questioning interrogated him for nearly four hours and finally arrested him after he'd confessed to the crime a
confession he would later recant I just I just made the mistake by confessing to
it when I didn't do it to this day I don't know why that I said I did it you know
it just it just happened I didn't want to happen but did I just it was just a mistake on my part you know saying that
I did it when I really didn't it was a mistake on my part for the past four years the Johnny Wilson case has divided
the small town of Aurora many believe johnny is innocent law enforcement officials disagree when
we requested interviews of the Lawrence County Sheriff's Department and the District Attorney's Office they insisted
they had put the right man behind bars and declined to participate in the broadcast the recreations of court
proceedings and Johnny Wilson's interrogation and confession have been filmed word-for-word from official
transcripts Sunday April 13th 1986 on the day of the fire Johnny spent the early afternoon at home taping records
with a friend later he mowed a neighbor's lawn when Johnny was finished his mother drove him home she and his
grandmother claimed he could not possibly have been at Pauline Marx's house when the fire was set they didn't
get home until about 5:00 o'clock and as soon as they got home the neighbor boy came back over again tape and he stayed
until nearly 7:00 and then when they left at 7:00 Johnny I put up nine posters in his bedroom and then when
that was done then we about twenty five to eight we left her with two letters and went up to Rama's got some things
and then when we came out that's when we heard the sirens we heard a siren so we went over by and
saw that this Pauline's house the back of the back of the house was engulfed in flames
hey Johnny how's it going not bad 18 year-old Gary wall was also mildly [ __ ] he and Johnny were both
enrolled in a special education program at the local high school basically I just said hi how are you you know by you
know and then I went back to the car and sit in the back seat that was it [Music]
the next morning Gary Wallace pressure arteries no he gave them a completely different version to this conversation
with Johnny mrs. Martin you know tied up well you sound like you know something about this you tell anybody and I'm
gonna beat you Gary Wong later took a total of six lie-detector tests he failed all but one
[Music] the morning after Johnny's arrest sheriff's deputies went to the Wilson home to search for evidence they can't
to search the house and said they had a warrant and searched for me I gave him permission to search because I didn't
think they'd find anything see and but they did I mean they thought they did they went to his room and just start
taking things out of drawers and cabinets and things that was in there the authorities believe that Johnny had
sexually assaulted mrs. marks deputies found women's underwear the bureau and Johnny's rule however the family said
the bureau and clothing belonged to Johnny's mother in Johnny's confession he admitted to stealing Julie the
deputies also took costume jewellery which Johnny's grandmother's had she used for sewing
finally they found a nearly empty gas can which investigators would later say is used to start the fire
[Music] Johnny Wilson was charged with first-degree murder because of his diminished mental
faculties Johnny was examined to determine if he was fit to stand trial what you like about high school I was
the manager for the football team they gave me a jacket and everything Jamboree friends in school when you're asked to
evaluate someone's fitness to stand trial you look at first whether they understand what the charges are against
them and the science are they able to reason and make their own decisions about whether to enter a plea are they
able to decide whether they want to testify in their own behalf at a trial are they able to help their attorney by
giving him a consistent account of what happened and in those particular range of skills
I did not think Johnny was cause of the stand trial I used to work at the hardware store Johnny when the police
arrested you did they ask you anything about Miranda rights yeah I think so do you know what Miranda rights are yeah
what are they what's the difference between right and wrong johnny was ultimately examined by two
psychiatrist and a psychologist and two of the three judge that he was incapable
of understanding the court proceedings however the third the court appointed psychiatrist determined that he was fit
to stand trial johnny told his court-appointed attorneys he was in assisting however
based upon his confession testimony of Gary wall and other evidence his attorneys advised him to plead
guilty to avoid the death penalty by pleading guilty Johnnie lost his right to a trial by jury because he had given
a confession his attorneys told him that it would be very likely that you would get convicted
if this went to trial and they also told him that this judge was very likely to give him the death penalty based on
prior cases that had gone before this judge and so what he understood was if he went to trial and he was found guilty
that he would die what is your understanding of why you're here this afternoon plead guilty why are you
pleading guilty Johnny I don't know pardon this recreation of Johnnie's hero has taken verbatim for the court
transcripts just a first-degree murder but that's what you're beating guilty - why are you wanting to enter such a plea
I don't know the so-called plea of guilty should have been stopped about 60 seconds after it started the judge asked
Johnny if he knew what he was doing and Johnny Wilson said no I don't understand
why I'm here I don't understand what's going on and the judge said do you want to plead guilty to this charge and
Johnny said no I don't want to plead guilty to it at that point the circuit judge sort of said gentlemen court's
adjourned this case will be set for trial in two weeks I expect everyone to be here and be ready for trial I'm not
going to take this plea of guilty but he didn't the judge went further continued
to cross-examine Johnny and finally accepted the plea of guilty was voluntarily entered and will accept your
plea and pronounced sentence upon your plea of guilty in this cause the court sentences you to life imprisonment in
the custody of the Missouri Department of Correction rooks Danziger Johnny Wilson was
immediately remanded to the Missouri State Penitentiary ten months later at a prison in Kansas
this man confessed that he knew who killed Wally Mart's and it wasn't Johnny Wilson and we
return we examine evidence which has led many to believe that Johnny Lee Wilson is innocent
in 1986 Johnny Lee Wilson mildly [ __ ] twenty-year-old confessed to the murder of Pauline Mart's was
sentenced to life imprisonment two years later in February 11th 1988 convicted felon Chris Brown fee confessed to
participating in the same crime Braun Field was and still is serving a life sentence in Kansas for accessory to
murder once I found out that they had a [ __ ] boy that they'd before spending confessing to the crime and stuff I just
kind of got feeling sorry for him and then I found out he was raised by his grandmother and mother you know and I
was raised by my grandmother's [ __ ] I had a lot of feelings toward probably what they felt and it was it was just
such a situation to me it was so cut and dried that they had the wrong man I just
stopped shouldn't be any problem you know to tell him I got the wrong man look at it and release the board
according to Chris Brown she/he and an unnamed accomplice at the tipped off of Pauline Mart's kept a great deal of
money in her home [Music] they broke into the house [Music] hey sonic just relax
come on just watch it Oh where's Ramona a lady huh according to brown they ransacked the house mrs.
Mart's was bound and gagged Brown field and as a country's decided to burn down live so that no evidence
would be left of the sea Broadview says he was outside when as a couple started the fire
[Music] let's get on it let's go on back simply clear out brownfield claims he later
tried to go back inside to save mrs. Mart's it was too late two men at the sea [Applause]
alaa news of Priss brownfields confession was made public the town of Aurora was thrown into turmoil one group
of citizens banded together and erected this billboard shortly thereafter it was
firebombed by a Malone party the sheriff believed Chris brownfields confession was part of an elaborate
escape plan and discounted it Chris Brown feel is a cold-blooded murderer he has killed senior citizens
before using the exact mo in the same manner that mrs. Mart's was killed noted Missouri attorney D Wampler was hired to
represent Johnny and reopening a case Walter became convinced the Johnny's confession have been Coors it's the
first time the state of Missouri has ever put a third grader on trial for murder Johnny Lee Wilson was at a movie
theater on the night that he supposedly confessed and they tricked him into going with them to the police
headquarters he had lost a billfold several days earlier and they came and asked him to go to the police station
and he thought that he was going because they had found his billfold jari did you
lose a wallet yeah we found it we got it down at the police station if you come down and identify it you pick it up
taking it home okay his mother and grandmother were not told that they were going to question him that evening John
is there any possibility that you are involved in this no what if I told you I thought you was a police interrogation
weekend at 8:30 p.m. and was concluded just after midnight what if I told you you was seen at that fire before it
started all right say I wasn't the word spoken in his scenes are taken verbatim from transcripts of a police tape
recording what would you do if we brought in a witness in here in this chair and he said here and looked you
right in the eye and said John you was there before that fire started they are and that kept on saying
well we know you did it we know we got we got a witness saying that you told him you told him you did it and after
that you know I I just remained maintain my innocence I said I didn't I didn't I
didn't do it I don't know who did I didn't do it murders what you're in here for three
they startled us start yelling saying well we know you did it you don't tell us that you did it so we just get this
all wrapped up so when all go home didn't know she was tied up how'd that information get out there's a whole
bunch of people out there that night that came up with information that she was tied up the language use was so
aggressive I'm an ordinary individual might have done at that point what's the end the interviewer asked for their
attorney but being a fairly young young man who was limited intellectually and no prior experience with the criminal
justice system and the emotional stability of an eight or nine year old they're not gonna know to say get out of
my face stop talking to me you know I don't I didn't do it and you know I've already told you that I want to end this
he didn't think he had the permission in this he didn't know it get in the interrogation I wasn't fine model of
that how you know too much why'd Gary make up something like that on you he mad at you Dan of the jintan at the end
interrogation he he forced my head back and that's that's when I said okay okay I did it
but when I really didn't that's that's when I like what besides her rope was around her ankles the interrogation
contains the deputies pressed for details you know and I know just thank come on John thank you
well what are some of the things that could be used my handcuffs I think no no we're on gas Bureau a scared kid you
know sometimes you'd lie to get out of trouble and essentially when he gave his confession I think he may have been
lying to get out of trouble the immediate trouble at the moment which was a couple of angry detectives you
know questioning pretty vigorously they just simply said if you'll tell us what we want to know we can all go home and
he was just acting like a child that has a that has brain damage and he thought okay I'll tell them what they want to
know and then we'll all go home but Johnny did not go home but at the end of the confession they
they slapped the handcuffs on me and walked me out the door and drove me to Melbourne and locked me out that's
that's why that's why I bosses nine going home over over something that I think just run my life
I said I'd said to my jail cell you know just thank you I didn't do this you know
bottom line on I just wanna go home former sheriff's deputy Dustin told her began studying
the evidence on his own he came to Johnny's defense as I got into the reports I observed that what was being
said about Johnny Wilson by the Sheriff's Department and other investigative agencies and what was
substantiated by evidence were not the same thing Toder discovered that the costume
jewelry taken by investigators from the Wilson home belonged to Johnny's grandmother the underwear they found
belonged to Johnny's mother and there was another gas can found at the crime scene which was never entered into
evidence the more I observed the less evidence I could find there just I never did find anything that could tie Johnny
Wilson to the case one surprising piece of evidence which was discovered at the crime scene was a battery-operated stun
gun in his confession Kris brownfield mentioned losing a stun gun during the robbery and a weapon which he described
was identical to the one found at the scene it had never been publicized that a stun gun had been used in this crime
Chris Brown filled in his confession was the first one who ever mentioned the stun gun
he described the stun gun and drew a picture of it that was identical to the stun gun that was eventually found at
the crime scene Johnny Lee Wilson didn't even know what a stun gun was he was asked about it he thought a stun gun was
an electric razor [Music] on may 8th 1989 Dee Wofford presented a motion in Circuit Court requesting the
Johnny Wilson be given a jury trial the motion was denied the judge ruled that Johnny was competent when he pled guilty
the Chris Brown field was not a credible witness brown field had refused to testify in person at the yield how would
the state of Missouri suffer from giving this poor little boy a trial that probably would only take two or three
days I couldn't see that there's any harm or damage in it and he should have been given a trial in my opinion today
Johnny Wilson is still serving his life sentence he has been placed in protective custody because prison
officials believe he would not be able to protect himself or the general prison population
Johnny will be eligible for parole when he is 70 years old justice has been very
difficult to find in the Johnny Wilson case it's one of those cases perhaps there's only one in a thousand where an
innocent man is doing time in the penitentiary and Johnny Lee Wilson is innocent and if he had a trial he would
probably be acquitted I don't think the jury would deliberate more than an hour before they acquitted him and it's a
shame that he never got a chance to prove his innocence all I want somebody to believe me you know you know just
that I didn't do this in September of 1990 an appeal was heard before the Missouri appellate court
Johnny's appeal for a trial who was denied once again [Music] when we return a man is found dead in
his garage the morning after a barroom brawl accident foul play [Music] October 4th 1988 3:30 p.m. what did you
find when you first came police led more North the court all again an investigation into the death of
a local auto apparently an hour earlier the body of 27 year old Kenneth Enki had
been discovered in his own garage by his uncle the cause of death massive carbon
monoxide poisoning initial indications pointed to a probable suicide Kenny had too much going for him to be committing
suicide you know that was way too far you know he didn't have any trouble so it would bother him that much almost
immediately bits of evidence began to cast doubt on the suicide Theory a fully loaded 22 caliber rifle was lying six
feet from angee there was a small pool of blood on the floor but no marks on the body and no sign of
a struggle even more puzzling the fuel tank of the truck in the garage was nearly full and the ignition had been
turned off if Kenneth ink he had in fact committed suicide by an ailing carbon monoxide then who turned off the trucks
engine the investigation into Kenneth's Angie's death was stymied his family vehement Lee insisted that suicide was
out of the question but if there was foul play involved who could have had a motive and the opportunity to commit the
crime within 12 hours of police found a potential suspect who had both motive and opportunity
- am huncles bar on the main street of ed more bike losing time only two customers remain Kenneth Angie and
Curtis heck another auto repair man I'm taking you home tonight are you going away Curtis do you really are a [ __ ]
Barney I want to talk to you go home with me your head and thought me neither one of us are mama dolly I mean I was
rolling around on the floor or a sling and a bunch of dumb stuff there was some punches thrown back and forth but nobody
really got hurt and uh at one point I got him down on the floor and I and I held him down there and I told him I'm
gonna let you up and I said when I let you up I want you to just walk out the door and I let him up and then he did go
out the door [Music] moments later Kenneth's inky retaliated I heard the crash out front and I and I
knew what it was as soon as I heard it I seen my pickup out there it had been broadsided I thought about just
forgetting the whole thing but more I thought about it I thought me and Kenny were both body men and he had just
annihilated my pickup so I thought if I'm gonna have to fix my vehicle then he's gonna have to fix his
[Music] approximately one hour later heck in the barmaid a ride a 10 G's home Angie's
truck was parked in the driveway [Music] I heard a noise coming from the garage it's a groaning sound so I went around
to the back door and I opened up the door and I went in and only told my crap don't you
[Music] I should have realized you know that there was something wrong with him but I
didn't I was mad at him anyway any other time if I'd have seen somebody on the floor morning and groaning I certainly
wouldn't have left him there but you know the guy just smashed my pick up all the pieces and I had I figured he was
sick from drinking so I figured go ahead and spend the night on the garage floor
according to the official police report this is the last time Kenneth Anger was seen alive
I believe that Kenneth engi when he was in the garage and it became cool started
the vehicle sat there and waited for Curtis heck to come to the garage for the confrontation that was bound to
happen realizing that something is happening to him at this point I believe he turned
the vehicle off that was in the garage a pickup started to head for the door and
didn't quite make it to the door before he collapsed time passed and he died waiting for Curtis hang
Angus uncle Richard Nygard disagrees with the police I think Kenny was a little bit smarter than that just start
a vehicle up and leave it running in the garage while he was still in there he might have started it up just so he
could move it and probably run his own vehicle in and run that one Holland my god believes that ng heard her
kicking his truck [Music] he feels that the two men had another confrontation inside the garage
he fell the Honan probably was knocked unconscious Curtis shut the door and walked away and then realized
the truck was running and come back and went in and shut it off with a sealed garage that was still
enough carbon monoxide fumes in there did still do so via the autopsy does not indicate that there
was any assault on that body and I don't believe there was it doesn't make me very happy to know that I was the last
person to see him alive and walked out the door left him there but I had absolutely no reason to to think that
there was any carbon monoxide involved because there was a vehicle in his garage there was a friend of his pickup
in the garage but it wasn't running and I don't remember seeing any smoke in the
garage I don't remember I think I would have noticed that several puzzling questions continue to loom over this
case did Kenna think he started the truck to keep warm until the inevitable arrival of Curtis heck eggy was a
trained mechanic and certainly knew the lethal possibilities of running an engine in a small enclosed space unless
alcohol had completely impaired his judgment but if a drunken angee did start the truck and was overcome by
fuels how could he have had the clarity of mine to cut the ignition but be unable to reach the door just 15 feet
away and finally if it was not engi who turned off the ignition and who did and left him on the floor to die we believe
that the death occurred from a lethal dose of carbon monoxide and that there was no criminal foul play involved the
family wants to continue the investigation as to theories which they're certainly entitled to but law
enforcement has officially closed this case it just doesn't seem to be a clear-cut answer to it and there's been
a lot of stories and rumors and and it's it's been and just it's been hell on everybody is what it's been and I'd like
to see an answer to it someplace I don't think they'll ever have a you know the final that says this is exactly what
happened I don't think they ever will you know there's just there's too many loose ends
on our next unsolved mysteries few people of Warwickshire England mourned the demise of Dorothea Allen an
eccentric recluse and corset manufacturer who mysteriously destroyed all traces of her past Dorothea left no
will and her four million dollar estate will simply pass on to the government unless her heirs can be found join me
next week for another edition unsolved mystery [Music] [Applause] [Music]

Brief Summary

Johnny Lee Wilson's murder conviction is questioned, Kenneth Angi's death raises foul play suspicions, and psychic artist Carl Pols showcases her unique talent.

Key points

The Controversial Case of Johnny Lee Wilson. Johnny Lee Wilson, a mildly intellectually disabled man, confessed to a murder he claims he didn't commit. The case has divided the town of Aurora, with many believing in his innocence.
The Stun Gun Revelation. A stun gun found at the crime scene was never publicized, raising questions about the investigation.
Johnny Wilson's Innocence. Johnny Wilson maintains his innocence despite being convicted and serving life in prison.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Is Johnny Lee Wilson a killer or a victim?

0:41WatchMay 22, 2019

Tension

65/ 100Some tension

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