Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 4, Episode 12 - 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 were about to see is not a news broadcast in 1949
Annie Curie lost custody of her two young boys in a bitter divorce case and vanished from their lives her son Jim
has never forgotten his mother even though he hasn't seen her for more than 40 years recently two inmates escaped
from an Oklahoma Jail and embarked on a vicious murder spree in which four people have lost their lives these
dangerous fugitives must be captured before they kill again a discussant her sprawling mansion ellen mclain berry was
a classic southern lady imperious well-bred and proud in 1978 an elegant mysterious visitor charm mrs. Barry we
did of her estate became her most trusted confidant and robbed her blind join me for another edition unsolved
mysteries [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] a September 19th 1991 two-time convicted
killer Michael st. Claire orchestrated a daring escape from Bryan County Jail in
Durant Oklahoma st. Claire released fellow inmate Denis Reese who is awaiting trial robbery and murder that
[Music] night Michael st. Clair and Dennis Reis ignited a murderous crime spree that has
stretched across eight states and left at least four dead in its wake authorities urgently need your help to
capture Michael Sinclair and Dennis Reis with each passing day the odds increase
that another innocent person will fall victim to their brutal rampage please watch carefully you may help save
someone's life less than three months ago Michael st. Clair was convicted on two counts of first degree murder and
was sentenced to three consecutive life prison terms the Michael st. Clair has been involved with various drug
trafficking organizations in southern Oklahoma as well as northern Texas his uncle was was moving in on his drug
operations and he felt that his profits were being threatened so he contracted out to have his uncle killed after his
uncle was killed he then assassinated the hitman two days after the fugitives escaped newspaper
reporter Tom Mullins received a chilling phone call from Michael st. Clair almost
20 months now I've been covering Michael st. Claire I've gotten to know him fairly well I've always tried to give
his side of the story in all fairness when he got out I was the obvious choice for him to get his message out that
message being that he wouldn't be taken alive and that when the time came if if any law enforcement came around his
quote was anyone wearing a badge I'll kill three weeks later near Elizabethtown Kentucky a state trooper pulled over a
pickup tree which was seen fleeing from a burning vehicle as the pickup truck came to a halt the man on the passenger
side who we now believe was st. Claire instantly got out of the out of the truck
the man fired at troopers parked two times trooper fortunately was not injured at
all within just a matter of minutes the maroon truck was actually found disabled
and abandoned along the interstate apparently had crossed the interstate and in doing so had blown both front
tires the truck belong to 56 year-old Francis Brady retired distillery worker and
father of three Brady had disappeared 12 hours earlier after cashing a check at a
convenience store Brady's body was found approximately 12 miles north of Elizabethtown Kentucky he
had been shot execution-style he'd been handcuffed and had been shot in the head what is remarkable about
this type of execution is that it's almost identical to the way st. Clare's uncle Ronnie st. Clair had been executed
a few years before the other truck the st. Clair and recent set fire to was registered to a Denver Colorado
paramedic named Tim Keeling like Francis Brady Keeling also vanished after patronizing a convenience store his body
was found on a roadside ditch outside of Clayton New Mexico five days after firing on the state
trooper Michaels st. Claire and Dennis Reese apparently struck again this time in Tennessee two men matching their
descriptions robbed a video store in Milan Tennessee they brutally executed the clerk a 20 year old mother of two 30
minutes later the same two men robbed another video store just eight miles away again the young female clerk was
gunned down in cold blood individuals who would kill for a hundred and 150 or 200 dollars are extremely desperate
individuals it indicates that they do not have any type of support apparatus going for them so these are people who
are constantly moving they're very concerned about staying in one location for any period of time they're very
paranoid they're very dangerous and will take any actions to prevent their apprehension these individuals seem to
be leaving no witnesses in their crimes that they're committing and so the public needs to be very much aware of
that and if they see them absolutely do not approach them because they are extremely violent
next a gothic tale of murder betrayal and greed set against the fading background the state of Tennessee like
much of the American South is dotted with majestic antebellum estates a type of aristocracy still thrives here and
Ellen McClung Berry is typical of that upper crust group by 1978 when she was 85 years old mrs. berry lived in
solitary splendor on a mountaintop outside the city of Knoxville which had been founded by her
great-great-grandfather gorgeous morning oh I think she would have been considered definitely one of the local
grande downs of the old school and probably there were not many that means that you can live on the mountain like
she did and have everybody come to you like Muhammad it's just that simple one of the people who came to the mountain
back in 1978 was Dan Honda bald a vaguely mysterious man who claimed to be from Denmark for more than 15 years yet
corresponded with mrs. berry but the true nature of their relationship was unclear sometimes mrs. Barry said Tunde
bald was her godson sometimes that he was a friend of her late son Hugh and how is your health
oh are you sure I'm sure drained emotionally but otherwise I'm fat look I had the strangest gut feeling that this
kid was bad news but he was making Ellen happy she was happy that he was there and if he was in fact a friend of her
late son Hugh for lots of reasons I was happy that she was happy and at least somebody was on the mountain with her at
night in case she fell or got sick and could get help [Music] he was taking the place of her son he
looked like her son apparently and I know that was the attraction mrs. Barry's attraction to Dan is that he was
playing that role mrs. Barry's only child Hugh had left a dark stain on the family tree in 1951 at the age of 18 you
berry flew into a rage over his inheritance turned a shotgun on his grandmother and killed her a judge ruled
who very mentally incompetent to stand trial rumor had it that Hugh is lobotomized and sent to live in Mexico a
New Year's Eve 1963 mr. and mrs. Barry received word that he would died of pneumonia later mrs. Barry hinted that
he had in fact committed suicide according to his friends whose body was never returned to the United States when
her husband died in February of 1978 Ellen Barry was left all alone almost too conveniently the mysterious stranger
from Denmark stepped in to fill the void in mrs. Barry's life dan Tom DeVoe moved
into her guest house and quickly took over the day-to-day operation of her estate very month before long he had
made himself indispensable to mrs. Barry not only was Tom Duvall running Barry mount he was running her I have some
checks for you to sign if you don't mind I'm so glad you're taking care of this for me I didn't know this place was in
such disrepair mrs. Barry signed anything Tom Duvall put in front of her she also
began to cater to his predilection for expensive show horses by 1983 dan tandava would owned a stable of seven
Tennessee walkers financed by mrs. Barry he named all the horses Barry mount heading only the numbers one through
seven to individualize them mrs. Barry seemed delighted to finance what was fast becoming a million dollar hobby
miss Barry words to me was mr. Thanh Davos hobby did not make a dent in my fortune that was a hobby I wanted him to
have yes I would look at you go ahead and close the deal on that stallion for $20,000 It was as if Dan turned of old
had cast a spell over mrs. Barry in April of 1982 she granted him power of attorney she was a willing pigeon so to
speak other people I think have tried to tell her that there was something wrong
that he just didn't make sense possibly was a con artist I don't know and she ignored it in 1984 Honda vole
talked mrs. Barry into taking a winter vacation in Charleston South Carolina before they left he composed a
classified ad for a chauffeur requesting men who were single and asking that applicants submit a photograph secretly
turned of old placed the ad in the Charleston papers at the end of the four months in
Charleston mrs. berry and Tonga both made plans to return home she and her hired companion would fly to
Tennessee Tandav old would drive the Mercedes back to berry mount Susan I thought we left lights out when we left
mrs. berry we did mrs. berry and her companion arrived at berry Mount on March 31st 1985 there was no sign of the
Mercedes or of dant honorable the telephone at berry much as well as all the utilities had been inexplicably cut
off the bank is going to foreclose on the house your checking accounts and saving accounts are completely depleted
mrs. Barry was virtually bankrupt tunned of old had even borrowed money against Barry mount to the tune of $85,000 for
the first time in her life mrs. Barry had a mortgage to pay for the first time in her life and she had no way to pay it
her money was gone her checking account was empty he just gooded her took away her wealth
and her pride and everything meanwhile damn countable turned up 100 miles south of Charleston an exclusive resort on
Fripp Island South Carolina unaware that his secret is out tante of old continued
to live in high style fine thank you I would like to speak to you about possibly upgrading my accommodations to
something more suitable Tandav old had been running up massive bills and mrs. Barry's credit cards but
now the jig was up all the cards were over their limit is substantial I'm going to have to request some sort of
payment well let me go back to my villa I shall get you a check and pay you immediately I'll be right back yes Thank
You mr. dan toned of old never returned the next day a hastily scroll suicide note and a
last will and testament were found in his suite two weeks later in a swampy deserted area of Fripp Island a man's
body was found he had apparently shot himself in the left temple an antique gun was a few inches away
it belonged to Helen Barrie a dog also shot through the head lay nearby the dead man carried no identification but
he did carry Ellen Berry's credit cards the security guard last body was partially decomposed nevertheless the
coroner brought in a resort security guard to identify it it's gonna be tough cause he's been dead for a while
according to what the security guard said he is a person who came to football and and said I am Dan thunderbolt it
looks like and the best I can tell sir that's mister Tonto who possibly may be considered more circumstantial than
anything else investigation revealed that he allegedly did not have a social security card nor driver's license and
had supposedly never had either of these the body was immediately cremated as Tunde volt had requested in his
handwritten will his death was ruled a suicide but not everyone believed the man found
in the swamp was Dan tons of old I'm not sure he's dead nobody that knew him identified him you know the coroner
found him a police officer Canada security guard said yeah that's him and he hadn't seen him but just driving by
and a little security Shane well you can't negate the possibility that he did indeed kill himself that's
possible I just don't believe it it doesn't make sense to me that somebody who went to all that trouble to get all
that money and to be as nefarious about the whole thing from beginning to end as
he was was out to kill himself a month after the cremation Pete Ballard found a copy of Tonto voles classified ad for a
chauffeur in the Barry Mount guest cottage now I would find it ridiculous that he would need to put an ad in the
Charleston paper for a chauffeur for Barry Mont you can get them in the area I'm sure just as easily and I suddenly
realized that maybe he was looking for a look-alike Ballard is convinced a ton of
old remain in South Carolina not to hire a chauffeur but to find a victim look-alike I feel would have been the
person he ultimately killed and then he just sort of scooted off to wherever he had planned to go
it was never reported that he was ever seen in the company of anybody male or female so there is no reason that for me
to believe that it was anybody but then Tunder fold I'm not going to say that that it's not a possibility but I
certainly do not believe it to be one the authorities remain convinced that downtown-2 volt had committed suicide
yet a shadow of doubt lingered giving rise to a piece about Regis gossip the idea is is that then Thunderbolt is in
fact mr. and mrs. Barry's son who was supposed to have died in Mexico a very easy way to bring somebody back under an
assumed name to get off the hook after having shot and killed his grandmother [Music]
adding fuel to the rumor that Tandav old and Hugh Barry with the same person was
a complete lack of any official record of Dan tandem old but finally Tandy Vols resume was found among his letters to
mrs. Barry which had been stored away the resume listed his hometown is Las Vegas Nevada a nun saw mr. E's
researcher turned up this 1951 yearbook from Las Vegas high school dan turned of
old was a member of the senior class and not surprisingly president of the thespian Club
many people in Knoxville considered tan Devils Danish accent an affectation perhaps it was simply bad acting in any
case the rumor that Dan town of old and Hugh Barry are the same person has finally been put to rest I think he was
her son's replacement and here is this lovely little old lady left left without any money I mean she is poor but also
left without any love I mean what does she have at this point nothing today Ellen McClung Barry is 97 years old has
lost much of her ability to communicate she lives in an apartment financed by the interest on an endowment she made to
the University of Tennessee no one knows exactly how much money mrs. Barry lost to Dan Tonto but estimates run into the
millions authorities believe he transferred mrs. Barry's funds to European accounts possibly in France or
Denmark [Music] on a recent broadcast we featured the compelling story of John Nellis a man
whose life has been torn apart by two wars during one conflict John lost his father an American GI and the other he
lost his son still wish you'd come with me when John was 5 years old his father Melvin Ellis was ordered back to the
United States miss duty and war ravaged China because his parents weren't legally married John and his mother uh
Vietnamese national were forced to stay behind John never saw his father again [Music]
27 years later John was among the last group of people to flee South Vietnam after the u.s. withdrew its troops
[Music] tragically amid the confusion and chaos John's five-year-old son Daniel was left
behind if my father and my son watching me right now I would like to tell him how much I missed them
and I loved him and I like to reunite it and see them again thanks to our broadcast
John Ellis learned that his father's now retired and living in Tokyo Japan incredibly just three weeks later John
search for his son Daniel also came to an end when they were reunited after more than 17 years or so many years I
miss him a thing of him all the time and I'm so happy to see this is a real dream
come true it's a miracle you're laughing and I saw my dad I was so excited and very happy
when I looked into his eyes and saw his family that I found happiness Daniels first day in America was overwhelming
not only did he reunite with his father he also met his stepmother and a half-sister for the first time now he's
with me I want to do my best you know give him a good chance in life and a better future for young make up for what
he has lost [Music] March 1949 Vancouver British Columbia Canada Annie curry an English war bride says
goodbye to her husband Donald and her two little boys [Music] after only five years of marriage and
Ian Donald had divorced he has received custody of both sons Darrell three years
old and Jim five they haven't seen their mother for more than 40 years I was never given the sense that I could say
how much I missed her that I could ask questions about where's my mom she's a big question mark and I would
like to hear her voice I would like to hear what she has to say about her life I'd like her to know me in most ways Jim
curry is no different from anybody else searching for a lost parent but there is
one odd twist of his story Jemma spent most of his life looking for other people's parents Jim curry is senior
investigator for a California public defender's office an advocate for defendants who may be facing the death
sentence I've had adopted defendants before and had to find their mothers and I've been very successful in doing that
it just is very ironic to me that I can find so much about these people's history then I can't complete my own
it's very frustrating [Music] gyms Paris met in 1943 during the darkest days of World War two Donnell
Currie was 23 a Canadian sergeant serving in England annie fry was a 19 year old country girl from wales the two
fell in love and were married that same year my mother was described to me as being an outgoing socially oriented kind
of upbeat person with a lot of vitality this is a young girl really in 1944 London was still being bombed by
the Nazis Annie was pregnant when the impact of one of the bombs knocked her to the
ground she miscarried Annie became pregnant again and Donald sent her to live with his parents in Vancouver on
December 20th 1944 Jim was born Annie's delight was tempered by the absence of Donald still stationed in
England [Music] she's in a foreign country she doesn't know anybody except for my dad's
immediate family she makes the best adjustment she can but it's a lonely kind of existence for things fraught
with a lot of fear you know that whether or not my dad was gonna make it home [Music]
in June of 1945 Penny's prayers were answered the war in Europe was finally over and after more than a year of
separation from his wife Donald Currie was home [Music] Donald was overjoyed to meet his son for
the first time but the happiness of his homecoming was short-lived the war had changed him forever it was a very
traumatic experience for my father he thought war was wrong he told me once that you'll never know how much it can
change you when you see your closest friends blown into a thousand pieces in front of your eyes and you can do
nothing about it I think he lost a lot of faith he closed down emotionally to protect himself
in 1945 a second son Darrell was born and Donald Curie found a position as a customs official his job took him out of
the house every night Annie was left alone and began spending time with one of her neighbors a much older married
man soon the relationship turned into a full-fledged affair a relative broke the
news to Donald and he sued Annie for divorce and for custody of the boys I believe the petitioner mr. curry
implicitly he's a clean wholesome individual with a fine war record I hereby grant a decree in his favor
against an Alan Curry and the custody of his two children my understanding of the
judgment against my mother was that my dad was to have sole custody of both children and she was to have no
visitation rights it would be up to my father whether or not she would be allowed to see the children
mr. curry you must realize that there is more good than evil in this girl so do not burn your bridges she has been a
clean and decent girl until she met the correspondent the judges decree doesn't indicate hostility toward her it
indicates that even there may be something worth salvaging that she was under the blandishments of an older more
sophisticated man in spite of all the negatives I've heard and on the surface at being a very nasty divorce there was
still something that came through for the judge this was basically a good person well you think you need to long
johns yeah Donnell curry elected to send his younger son Darrel to live with a couple
he knew in Vancouver any powerless tried to put on a brave face you want your favorite shirt yes I think so and do I
want you to know just because I'm not there doesn't mean I don't love you [Music]
just after the divorce was final Donald curry broke his family apart darrel would eventually be adopted Jim
would see his mother one final time [Music] several months after the divorce Donald curry decided to move to Los
Angeles with Jim just before the departure Donald led any tell Jim goodbye he needs
his mother I don't think so he needs his brother he meets me look at him I don't have to I
know what he feels despite Inez please Donald remained unmoved there was a sense in me at the
time that it was the last time I would see her I don't remember any hugging I don't remember any arguing but I do
remember it being sad I remember my feeling sad and confused and sort of like just not very powerful in this
situation whatever was happening was out of my control in Los Angeles Donald curry married twice both stepmothers
were kind to Jim still he yearned for the mother he barely remembered [Music] my dad was always very reticent to talk
about his early life and my mother in particular anything that would lead my dad to believe that I wanted to find her
was very upsetting to him Donald Curie died in 1989 after his father's death Jim curry began to search for his mother
in earnest although Jim is on earth no new clues to aunty Curry's whereabouts he has found his brother Darryl is
married and still living in Vancouver he and Jim have been reunited but Darryl's
loyalty is to his adoptive mother and father he has no memory of Annie or Donald
despite Darryl's reaction Jim is more committed than ever to finding his mother there's an unconditional love
that a mother has for her son and I feel like I was pulled away from me I don't think I'd have to say a word to her for
four hours I don't think I'd have to say anything [Music] Annie Ellen curry married again in 1951
but that marriage too ended in divorce she may be using the last name from her second marriage MacDonald or her maiden
name Frey Jim Boley she could be living in the United States Canada or England [Music]
the 1930s the Great Depression breadlines hobos and shanty towns were an all too visible part of the American
landscape millions lost their jobs their homes their savings and finally their pride
many times a destitute relied upon strangers to help them in their time of need one such stranger was an ordinary farmer
named Charlie best Charlie lived with his wife Alma and three children Zella Mae Carl and vermin in rolling
hills of eastern Tennessee they managed to stave off the hardships of the depression by growing watermelons and
tobacco [Music] as darkness fell on a warm spring evening in 1939 an unknown traveler and
two young girls sought refuge at Charlie's farmhouse Charlie's daughters Ella Mae then a teenager remembers that
evening vividly actually I was trying to find a place where the girls could pass
the night under a roof for a change Hades come up the porch and asked daddy if he would give the two little girls
the bed to sleep in and said he would sleep in the barn and they don't know that they could stay and he could stand
you know house - where's home I'll be honest we tea we don't have one moving on the move for so long when we come
down from Knoxville Tom under him was a man who had fallen upon hard times his daughter's Madol of nine and eight is
seven had travelled the backroads of them for months as he searched in vain for work their mother had died years
before they spent the night I cook breakfast for him and well up in the morning I
probably said Marie de pau he they have to walk them with the little girl's game
Tom told Charlie that he was taking the two girls to live with friends in another part of Tennessee while he
continued his search for a job I wish they could've stayed with us I'll be alright thanks they left I said daddy
why didn't we just keep those full girls I just didn't figure I would ever see him anymore
[Music] but a few days later Tom and the girls passed through the area again by pure
coincidence Salameh best happened upon well my kinfolk couldn't take care of the girls
so you come stay with us oh can we have please I don't know Ellie I don't think that's a good idea why
don't you please come talk to him please [Music] I just sharted Tom would later agree to
leave the girls in Charlie's care until he could get back on his feet again times were hard and it was hard for us
to survive but he was willing to take them and and give my home and give him what we had to eat it might not been
everything but we never did go hungry Madeline and ADA were immediately accepted as part of the family
Charlie treated them as if they were his own children the two girls shared in everything was
Ella Mae Berlin and Carl we went school together we went to church together we worked in the field
they went the field with us and we had mules and we had cows and we'd have shucked corn feed them twice today full
of us the shuck often but don't often feed them they've worked hard me in Berlin did you know they'd ship corn
just like we did in his name they just didn't seem like no strangers it's like I'd always knew him I always wanted a
sister and I knew I never would have one so that they took the place all the system
Madeline became especially close to her surrogate mother Charlie's wife Alma Elvis suffered from a rare nerve
disorder which left her unable to care for herself [Music] but I think daddy was as happy as the
girls was and I think the girls was happiest anymore they would skip and har if you know and he'd hold her hands
maybe they were just happy you know there's never nothing said about you know them being a stranger or anything
like that they just sort of like one of us and we really enjoyed you know and being with us Zella may remembers a time
underwood visited his girls at least twice then after Madeline and ADA had been with the best for 26 months Tom
returned to the farmhouse for the final time yeah Zella may I come for the children could you wait till that guitar
I really can't tell a man it's coming on nightfall and need to be on the road for
dark if you'll just pack some things for me and you'll never see the girls either
said that his health was bad and that he had married and he warns the children to
be with the children the girls got everything okay [Music] let's go come on I think it it reason he
wouldn't wait till daddy come in he was afraid that daddy would buck on him that
day might say hey you you're not going to take the children told you pay me some money now it's what I thought that
was that's true I don't know that's why I felt dear mr. and mrs. best three months later Charlie received a curious
letter from Madeline Anita where daddy left us their father had placed them in an orphanage in Nashville Charlie
immediately contacted the orphanage and asked if he could adopt the girls but by
the time the letter arrived Tom Underwood had once again retrieved his children it was a last time the best
family heard from Madeline and ADA [Music] today more than 50 years later Charlie
and Salome still lived within 10 miles of the Old Farmer's Zell ma is 66 Charlie is 91 years old
[Music] well if daddy could see her again it would make him make him cry and of course I know he tell her he loved her
he calls him the little girls now he don't comb he don't look at him as being women he calls him two little girls the
other day he said have you heard any more about the little girls and I said no daddy but there are common they're up
common the night this story aired ADA Underwood now 59 years old was watching our broadcast at her home in Indiana ADA
was shocked to see herself and her older sister Madeleine profiled sadly Madeleine passed away several years ago
but for ADA Charlie and Zell amaze stories their distant childhood memories ten days after our broadcast ADA under
traveled Madisonville Tennessee for a very special reunion charlie best and his two children Salome and a car well I
was anxious to see her it was exciting to know she was coming where you feel like you say
[Music] welcome idiot today I have been waiting for her up ready for 51 years how was
your father well getting that Gotti old I was very excited when I heard that they were looking for me because
somebody cared enough about me to hunt for me that long although only eight years old when she
last saw Charlie payda never forgot the warmth and kindness he and his family brought into her life this year's ADA
that is you remember Charlie had to be very good to him my sister and I for him to take us in and take care of us when
we had a buddy else to take care of us so I think he was had to be a really great man you breathe thank you it nice
meant a lot to Daddy and I feel this in his own mind dream has come true [Music]
sadly eight weeks after we filmed this update charlie best passed away according to his family the reunion with
Ada brought Charlie great comfort in his final days join me next time for an all
new edition unsolved mystery [Music] you [Music]

Brief Summary

This episode features a mother's disappearance, a violent crime spree, a con artist's betrayal, and a family's emotional reunion.

Key points

The Vanishing of Annie Curie. Annie Curie lost custody of her sons and vanished from their lives for over 40 years.
A Murderous Crime Spree. Michael St. Clair and Dennis Reis escape from jail, leading to a violent rampage.
The Mysterious Dan Honda. Ellen McClung Barry's life is turned upside down by a mysterious visitor.
John Ellis's Heartbreaking Journey. John Ellis reunites with his father and son after decades apart.
Donald Currie's Homecoming. After a year of war, Donald Currie returns home, but the trauma lingers.
A Shocking Divorce. Donald Currie discovers his wife's affair, leading to a bitter divorce and custody battle.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

She is poor but also left without any love.

Reflection on Ellen McClung Barry's situation.

19:53WatchMay 22, 2019

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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