Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 8, Episode 15 - Full Episode | Forensic Files

tonight on unsolved mysteries for more than 20 years meri clams has suffered from the debilitating effects of
multiple sclerosis then a violent summer storm swept over Mary's house and brought with it what can only be called
a miracle a powerful bolt of lightning that apparently released Mary from the shackles of a devastating disease July
1986 a young marine is nearly killed during a brutal hazing ritual called a Code Red
if it sounds like a movie plot is because the film a few good men starring Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson was based
on the incident tonight the disturbing untold story behind the movie most people know Reggie white as one of the
most feared players of the National Football League he's also an ordained minister last
January a tragic fire ravaged white's church in knoxville tennessee in the ruins investigators found the
unmistakable signs of arson the ugly taint of racism they call him a taunting bankrupt but
now his fine boy at criminal career has come to an end thanks to one of our viewers join me for these intriguing
cases much more perhaps you may be able to help solve a mystery [Music] almost everyone knows about the hit
movie a few good men starring Tom Cruise Jack Nicholson and to be more but not everybody knows that a few good men is
based on an actual event it tells a story of Marines on trial for attacking a squad member in a brutal hazing ritual
known as a Code Red amazingly that event still has repercussions today repercussions that
may have led to the mysterious death but one of the Marines who executed the Code
Red David Cox of Needham Massachusetts join the Marines straight out of high school being one of the proud and the
few was all he ever wanted in 1986 David was stationed in Guantanamo Bay Cuba a naval base the US had refused to
give up but Fidel Castro came to power in the 1950s political tensions kept the base on constant alert trouble filtered
down to David Cox when another platoon member PFC William Alvarado wrote to his senator about marine misconduct we
didn't actually decide to have a code read for alvarado on our own our platoon commander had given us an implied order
that if we were good Marines something should happen to Alvarado Saturday night we went into Alvarado's
room blindfolded him and gagged him and then dragged him off of his bed Dave starts shaving his head within five
minutes he had stopped struggling so we knew something was wrong with him something's wrong
David Koch's convinced his platoon mates to stop the hazing so we removed the gag
untied him and he still didn't come around he was still unconscious so at that point we started to panic everybody
else get to your rooms Alvarado was rushed to the hospital he recovered but his ten attackers were slept with
charges relax [ __ ] sir yes sir that's relaxing come on dawn mercury was appointed to
defend David Koch's they're gonna charge you with attempted murder they got a confession from you and they get a
pretty beat-up Marine doesn't look too good sir I was just following orders sir David claim the Code Red started with
implied orders from his superior officers they're prepared to offer you an administrative discharge it's less
than honorable but to be no court-martial proceeding and you wouldn't be looking at 20 years if you
were found guilty sir but I'm not guilty sir I told David that this was a defense
of medians two orders that had not been successful at Nuremberg had not been successful with lieutenant
Calley at My Lai and plus we had a Colonel denying he ever gave an order so he had the additional burning of now
saying he was following an implied order then it was a very difficult case to win
and I told David that all right [ __ ] we'll do it your way he decided he won to fight it because he believed in his
heart that he didn't do anything wrong Davis Gamble was a codified success he was convicted only of simple assault and
sentenced to time already served in the Brig he then completed his hitch received an
honorable discharge and returned to civilian life in his hometown in the Boston area six years later when a few
good men hit the theaters David felt the moviemakers had stolen his story for one
David's reaction was that he was stunned here he was he was watching his life in
front of him and he wasn't getting any of the credit fryer the anchor came a little bit later because he was this
movie company that was making tons millions of money off of his story and if it weren't for him the story never
would have existed to be in the first place David and some of the other Marines involved in the Code Red
filed suit against the movie production company thought it was pending David spoke out about his case on radio talk
shows by January of 1994 David and his girlfriend Elaine had set up housekeeping together
David was hoping a temporary job at united Parcel Service would become permanent I'm doing everything I should
do Dave was very enthusiastic about getting on board with them I think it was something where he felt that he
could have a full-time steady occupation David expected to hear about the UPS job
on January 5th 1994 because of a back problem he spent the night before on the couch I hope you PS calls
Elaine left about 8:30 shortly after noon she called home David didn't answer but there was a message for him on the
machine yes so I was really excited I was like oh the cold Dave's gonna get this job and he's gonna be so excited
and then I called back again at one o'clock to check the messages and that message was still there and the UPS guy
had called again - David at 5:30 Elaine returned home David when I came into the
house that night after work I realized right away that the doors to all the rooms were open and our rabbit who we
usually just kept in the kitchen was hopping all over the place David's truck was still in the driveway
the keys in the ignition David had left an uncashed paychecks on the dashboard and his 9-millimeter gun
in the glove box but David himself was gone I immediately had a feeling of dread because I know
David well enough David would not just disappear and right from the start I was very concerned as the days went on and
there was nothing there was no news from him I mean we checked his bank account his bank account list there was no
activity on his bank account you start to believe that you know maybe something did happen but why there would be no
answers until the spring thaw on April 2nd 1994 the body of David Koch's was discovered on the banks of the Charles
River at Medfield Massachusetts approximately five miles from his apartment he was shot according to the
Emmy four times once at the base of the rear of the neck and three times in the left side torso area David's wallet was
still in his back pocket cash and credit cards intact it seemed obvious that robbery was not the motive and police
have since ruled out a random attack they are convinced David left his home with someone he knew
[Music] it's our belief that he get in the car willingly that he knew who was coming to
pick him up and that he went to this area and walked into the woods with this person we really believe that David was
what we would call a scrapper if he knew there was some danger loitering ahead he
would do his best to get out of that [Music] I think that if was somebody that was
just holding a gun in him or something like that that they would do it within the first 30 or 40 yards into the woods
dave was found almost three-quarters to a mile walk into the woods [Music] I don't know why David was killed
I personally believe it had something to do with the military he was taken out of
his house without signs of struggle he was wearing his Marine Corps jacket which he never wore he was found between
two hunting ranges where gunshots would not be unusual and he was murdered execution-style now there is a movie
opening tonight called a few good men after the release of a few good men David had been highly vocal about his
story in the u.s. activities in Cuba David's family believes he may have talked too much to say the least we were
trying to provoke a war pretty much every day because of this Colonel yeah he would never say anything directly but
it was certainly implied absolutely okay now after I heard that interview on the
radio I spoke to him and I said I don't like what you're doing I think what you're doing is dangerous the colonel
had implied I think he felt far too too free to just speak his mind to his congressman saying that police checked
out the military angle to David's murder we realized that was something going wrong because he wasn't fighting back
after a while and there's nothing here that shows us that the military in any way shape or form are involved with
David's death but we're certainly open to anything that comes our way in regards to the military David's brother
suggested another possible scenario a UPS connection taking the good packages and taking them away from their regular
stealing a couple of months before Dave disappeared he had mentioned to me that he had come upon a supervisor and one of
the drivers involved in some type of activity what he believed to be was theft I interviewed a number of people
they were candid with me I felt certainly if there was anything there with ups I think as far as they were
concerned paramount was David's death and they would have certainly told me anything that UPS was involved with at
this point the investigation still open it remain open until we solve it again we'll follow any leads that came come
through vigorously and remain to do that until it is solved I'm angry what happened to my son I'm angry that
someone can do that and get away with it my life has been devastated by his murder
it really has a death would be bad enough a murder is just dreadful [Music] at this point police have only one hope
the someone saw David Cox leave his home between 8:30 and noon on January 5th 1994 perhaps someone saw the person who
picked him up or the vehicle they left in coming up for a disabled woman a harrowing brush with death apparently
culminates in the miraculous rebirth but first NFL superstar Reggie White asked for your help to find the arsonist
who burn down his church [Music] the capture of a criminal suspect always brings us great satisfaction tonight
another fugitive is in custody thanks to your cause Thomas Dixon is the working definition
of career criminal he was paroled in May of 1984 after serving 10 years of hard time for armed robbery
it hadn't reformed him one bit this is a hole to stay cool during the five months
following his release from prison Dixon in a series of accomplices locked off seven banks in North Carolina an FBI
raid brought down Thomas Dixon in October of 1984 and he spent another decade behind bars
he was paroled in 1994 as unrepentant as ever this is a hole Hoffman Dixon again
hit banks in the Carolinas five and a seven-week spree he showed up in one surveillance tape after another have you
FBI ever heard of Thomas Dixon but there was a disturbing new twist to Dixon's mo
now he taunted the FBI North advanced notice of his bank jobs when one of Dixon's getaway cars was
discovered federal investigators concluded that he had deliberately left it for them to
find inside were photos of Dickson's impressive arsenals in a note Dixon threatened future robberies and warned
of a bloody showdown if anyone tried to stop him Dixon was alerting us to the fact that
that he is heavily armed and he has every intention of using those arms in a confrontation with law enforcement one
week before our broadcast Thomas Dixon struck again this time in Pennsylvania here's Keely with a dramatic conclusion
to the case Bob thanks to one of our viewers Dixon's most recent heist will probably be his last after the robbery
Dixon fled Pennsylvania and eventually made his way to Clarksville Tennessee in Clarksville Dixon took a room in this
motel Pam petit a resident housekeeper first became wary of Dixon when she cleaned his room it's the way he acted
he was weird I mean he stood by the bay is in between the beds by the luggage he
wouldn't ever sit down it wants you to make the beds you know if stuff like that he's like he was on guard you know
his luggage he just was you know ready watching you when Dixon's story aired pound putit recognized him instantly
within minutes Pam had contacted both the unsolved mysteries phone center and the authorities in Tennessee by Sunrise
FBI agents had Dixon's hideaway staked out we knew he was armed and dangerous and he had not to be taken alive with
that information obviously you want to approach the subject with extreme caution but once we got him subdued he
was very cooperative all he said is you got me good basically that the way that you guys arrested me was the way you
needed to arrest me name was a lot better that way then quote throw bullets to each other
[Music] [Music] January 8 1996 fire ravages the inner city church in Knoxville Tennessee at
first it seemed an isolated tragedy but it would soon become linked to what may be a series of vicious hate crimes
targeting black churches this church however has a famous voice speaking out on its behalf
Reggie White the most feared defensive end in professional football but the man opponents see is a six foot five
300-pound brick wall with legs has another career God sent Moses away for about 40 years to get him ready to face
Pharaoh Reggie White is an ordained minister but he's not tackling quarterbacks he's back
in his home state of Tennessee saving souls in 1993 Reggie White and two longtime friends in Knoxville founded
the inner city church by merging two congregations into one their goal to create a church that would serve poor
people of all races their model together we can make a change it's very important in this very vital I
believe that our church is doing things in our communities that no other churches are doing you know the most
segregated hour it is in our country it's on Sunday 11:00 to 12:00 because black school the black churches white
goes to white churches we wanted to try to have a church to everybody would feel
weapon no matter what the color was it was a noble undertaking with aggressive community outreach and self-help
programs the church thrived then disaster I believe in my heart that it was an attack from the devil himself
that there were devil inspired people that he used to fireball my church we had a big snow on the ground is buried
David Upton is a church's senior pastor when I arrived there it was a sickening feeling in my stomach to see the things
we had fought for the things we had worked so hard to establish over the years or ministry just to see us go up
in flames within hours agents from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms began to investigate an
immediate visit to this location indicated to us that it was a very deliberate criminal act the sanctuary
portion of the building had been totally destroyed but there's another building that sets on the back side of the
property that had joins the rear of the sanctuary it's a building in which there
are classrooms and offices as the agents went through that portion of the structure they found multiple Molotov
cocktails they found that both floors of this structure had been saturated with gasoline and kerosene and they found
gasoline cans and kerosene cans scattered throughout this portion of the building agents also found racial
epithets scrawled on the walls leaving little doubt that the arson was a hate crime Reggie White was a pond that
turned to outrage when he learned that his church had not been the first but only reason that you hear about my
church is because of me but there have been 20 22 other churches as firebomb and that's a problem and this
problem needs to be rectified the statistics are alarming the count is now at least 24 black churches hit by arson
in the past three years the attacks have occurred throughout the south in Louisiana Tennessee Mississippi Alabama
Georgia Virginia North and South Carolina the most recent arson fire occurred on
March 5th 1996 both the FBI and the ATF are looking to see if if there are any links we recognize that some weigh in in
Kansas for example might say let's burn black churches and associates in Tennessee and Alabama and Florida might
go out and do those things but they might use entirely different methods I don't believe it was anyone that would
be a what you would call a professional based on the way the field was in the building the way to set up four in the
building I think that they just thought if a little is good a whole lots better and that's what they tried to do he's
put enough fuel in there to do the job three days after the inner city church fire Flyers from two white supremacist
groups the BFI Brotherhood and skinheads for white justice turned up at a bank that had ties to the church however the
possibility remains that both the Flyers and the graffiti were planted as decoys
there was a deliberate act of arson the arsonist wants us to look in a different
direction away from from him so we have to consider the possibility that the racial graffiti was placed there to
divert us into a different direction so we have to consider the racial motivation as a possibility but we also
have to look at other motivations as well the inner city church did not have enough fire insurance to cover all the
damage but with hard work from the parishioners and donations from the community both black and white they hope
to rebuild but the problem is because racism has alienated itself so that you can't touch
it when it affects you in the meantime Reggie White and his fellow pastors keep the congregation spirit strong with
church services held at a local school auditorium that's why we shooting each other today that's why this just makes
me more determined and I know that all the way did you defeat the devil is that you have to do it as a group and that's
why I would say I would call whites and blacks to come again and find how to work together because what kills the
enemies attack --tx is if a bunch of people of all ethnic backgrounds start loving each other
[Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] when we return for many years Mary clams er struggled with a crippling effects of
multiple sclerosis though her faith never wavered Mary certainly didn't believe in miracles until a freak
accident changed her life [Music] the state of Oklahoma is a natural laboratory for studying the world's
worst weather here at the National Weather Service in Oklahoma City meteorologists track an average of one
severe thunderstorm every week sometimes the storms bring tornado force winds sometimes soft ball sized hail
not long ago one of those stars brought weather a gift from the heavens but one woman calls a modern day miracle
[Music] August 17th 1994 Barry clams are never thought of herself as a warrior but for
23 years she had fought a battle against multiple sclerosis the battle she was losing fast Mary had no idea that this
day an extraordinary event would erase four years of torment and give her back her freedom
in 1972 Mary was nineteen years old vibrantly healthy and recently engaged to Mary Ron clams earn six months before
the wedding she went to the hospital with what she thought was a bad case of flu I didn't know whether I had some
kind of intestinal bug or whatever and shortly after being admitted to the hospital a lot of neurological problems
started coming up that we weren't even aware of Barry and Ron were certain something was seriously wrong but the
doctors tried to shield them from the brutal facts can you move your legs at all can you feel this it was extremely
frustrating not knowing what was going on feeling so many different changes in my body the left leg was going out there
were bladder complications so many things were going wrong it was like I had no control over my own body the
final diagnosis was devastating Larry had multiple sclerosis Ron set out to learn exactly what that meant it's a
degenerative nerve disease it affects the impulses from the brain to the muscles so what stages marry him
they don't know I mean one good thing is that she's young Ron found out that M s
could attack Marian waves each episode lasting a few weeks between bouts Mary would appear to be disease-free
sometimes for months over the years however the attacks could get worse and more frequent they told me that I
probably would never walk again and if we did proceed to go ahead and get married I would not be well enough
to have children if I could have children at all and Ron came in shortly after that and we talked and I said to
him you deserve better you deserve a wife that can walk and a wife that can grow with you and and have
children with you and they are telling me I can't do any of this and I took off the engagement ring and said to him as
much as I loved him with all my heart the only way I could give it give love back to him was to let him go I just
gave it right back to her and I said no I mean we I just have faith that things will work out and you know when you get
married you get married for better or worse we're engaged to be married for better or worse to me it was the same
thing very spent the months before her wedding in the hospital two week to address the
invitations herself just two weeks before the ceremony the disease relented giving Mary enough strength to walk down
the aisle the wedding day was only a brief respite the MS soon returned despite her illness Mary refused to give
up her dream of being not only a wife but a mother over the next 10 years Mary struggled through three difficult
pregnancies so she and Ron could have a family two sons had a daughter our children have grown up with a mom
that was in the hospital many times a mom that couldn't walk many times and it was incorporated into the family life
because even when I was ill my focus always was Ron and the children you know it wasn't something that was easy not
that I want to say she was a burden but you know we had a carrier to the car we had to take those scooter apart and put
the wheelchair in so it became a not a hassle but it was a lot of work after 23 years the cycles of Mary's
illness have become almost routine a few weeks perhaps a few months of disability
than another precious period of normalcy in the summer of 1992 that cycle abruptly changed this attack was
different because it went past a year and prior to that no attack had gone past six months so we began to wonder
when I went past a year how long it was gonna last I could not leave the bed literally and I would hear the children
arguing amongst themselves it was your turn to do this or that or Ron coming home from work very frustrated and I
remember one night feeling really kind of the only way to describe it was as if I had died but I was laying in the back
room listening to my family fall apart then came August 17th 1994 it could have been a metaphor for Mary's
life a beautiful day the suddenly turned dark and story Perry decided to take her bath while she
could as a tub filled the storm intensified I would have to say on that particular day was one of the worst
storms I've ever seen in the 12 years we've been in Oklahoma at that particular time I was the leg brace was
up against the porcelain part of the tub and when I went to turn the knob I saw the flash of lightning but I never heard
the Thunder [Music] at least 10,000 volts of electricity at course through Mary's body enough force
to launch her six feet across the room mom are you alright mom wake up Mary was alive a miracle by any standard
but there was an even greater one to come I remember feeling like my body was on fire
pins and needles shooting up and down my arms and being totally confused all of a
sudden I'm feeling my legs and I started to get really like he's agitated there's
like I feel you touching me why do I feel you touching me because you have to remember for 23 years I couldn't feel my
left leg and for two years in my right leg and now all of a sudden for no reason to my knowledge I feel both I
mean I was dumbfounded and shocked and I didn't know what to think neither did anyone else
medical literature includes accounts of lightening making blind B plus C and deaf people here but the doctor warned
wrong yet the effects are often temporary usually lasting no more than 30 days more often not the patient can
go back to her prior conditions could just be a temporary situation I ran it back up and down her she felt it I know
I came in the next two weeks I was in quite a bit of pain I mean I was miserable I didn't even get to enjoy
feeling my legs and every few hours Ron wouldn't even call me and say I know you're hurting but can you still feel
your legs I mean that was the $64 question you know it was like yes incredibly Mary could soon do more than
feel her legs two weeks after being struck by lightning she walked across her kitchen without a second thought she
didn't even realize what she had done until she found herself at the refrigerator a dozen feet from her
wheelchair I was at a part of the kitchen there to this day I can't tell you how I got there and I thought oh I
can't handle this anymore because now I'm doing things I don't even know how I did oh you want you want to try it again
okay hold on I took some real robotic toddler type kind of walk and I mean it was like three or four steps and went
into his arms it was like I just did that didn't I and he's like yeah mom you did very improved rapidly a few days
later when Ron's senior arrived home from work Mary was waiting with a big surprise she had walked out the front
door and down the sidewalk completely under her own power no leg brace no support the clampers were thrilled but
not yet ready to call the cure permanent in the beginning we did worry about well the 30 days you know what if they
were wrong and it was 60 days and then I started thinking I'm not gonna worry about it because whatever amount of time
that's the time I had we never thought I would have it's almost like a second honeymoon I mean it's almost like year
one starts over again today almost two years later Mary exercises regularly and lives a
completely normal life I mean we can dance again we can go out together and walk again but shopping together there's
just so many things that were missing that we have back and it's just it's just like a rebirth
[Music] when we return a tragic accident claims a life of a young woman now her daughter
needs your help to uncover the secrets of her family's past [Music] recently we received an unusual request
from woman named LaDonna alfano Madonna was just a little girl when her mother died in a terrible accident 35
years later Madonna has no memories of her mother and only scant details about her mother's family tonight she hopes
that will change December 29th 1961 in the early afternoon a train left Dallas Texas
heading west [Music] the loot would take it through the heart of downtown Abilene Texas around the
same time two army wives in Abilene Darlene Alfama when pinky Johnson gathered up their children for a trip
into town [Music] McBride's also they're having a teleconference at around 2:00 pinkie and
Darlene were heading north on Shelton Street towards the center of town [Music] no one knows how or why it happened but
the car ended up right in the middle of the tracks [Music] [Music] the car was literally torn to shreds its
roof sheared completely off the human toll was incalculable two of the children died almost immediately a third
would die in the hospital as would one of the mothers Darlene alfano her husband Fred was by
her side I was sitting with her talking to her and I was holding her hand she took a very deep breath held it for a
few seconds and very slowly let it out and I knew she had expired Fred Alfaro found myself almost
completely alone he had lost his wife and two of his children his other child LaDonna had survived but was barely
hanging on they never gave me any hope for any of them surviving they were all almost universally sure that LaDonna
would not survive because of facial damage extended all the way down to the base of her brain LaDonna had suffered
catastrophic injuries to her face and head but against all the odds she began to recover see two weeks passed before
Fred could bring himself to tell LaDonna about her mother and sisters they're in heaven and then in a
playground so they can play together mommy's an angel angel daddy she sure is when my father told me that
my mother and my sisters had died I thought oh the Angels had come down and gotten them I was happy that there were
angels everybody would talk to her in the hospital than she would first things she would tell him was that my mommy and
my sisters are angels in heaven I've got three angels watching me I knew she would be fine I felt if she had taken
that attitude she would be fine why I used to think why did I live why was I the one that survived
I believe that when I was a child that I lived for my father that my father wouldn't have survived it I think
her strength gave me strength and my only direction in life then was to take care of LaDonna make sure she survived
and had a normal childhood over the years LaDonna underwent a series of reconstructive surgeries on
her face but there was one thing the operations could not correct the loss of her mother Darlene I have no memories of
my mother at all I look at pictures of her and I try to remember something it's like looking at a magazine article of a
woman I have recollections of my twin and my father and my little sister my father
has told me stories about us as children with my mom and it doesn't bring back any memories whatsoever none whatsoever
compounding Madonna's heartbreak was the fact that her father had only met her mother's family a few times eventually
what little contact they did have ceased altogether after the accident happened which is probably too painful to keep in
touch with them and now I've just decided I needed to get in touch with them I'm trying to you know get some
connection with my past and try to remember something so it will fill in the holes of missing my mother
[Music] one of the only clues LaDonna has is a letter she received from a maternal
grandfather when she was 13 it contained a photograph of her mother's sister but
Donna's aunt Patricia and hints my own pet is the only survivor of my mother that I know of I think finding my aunt
Pat will definitely fill my emptiness just being able to touch her and knowing that she was a part of my mother is the
only thing that I have of my mother and it was just knowing her and meeting her and hugging her it would be really even
enough for me right now [Music] join me again this Friday at our regular time run all new edition unsolved
mysteries [Music] [Music]

Brief Summary

Mary Clams recovers from MS after a lightning strike, David Cox's hazing incident leads to a mysterious death, and Reggie White's church is burned in a hate crime.

Key points

The Code Red Incident. A brutal hazing ritual leads to a Marine's near-death experience and a controversial trial.
The Mysterious Death of David Cox. The unexplained murder of a Marine raises questions about military involvement and personal safety.
Reggie White's Church Arson. NFL superstar Reggie White's church is burned down, linked to a series of hate crimes.
Mary's Battle with MS. For 23 years, Mary fought against multiple sclerosis, facing devastating challenges and uncertainty.
A Lightning Strike Miracle. On August 17, 1994, Mary was struck by lightning, leading to an unexpected recovery.
Rebirth After Tragedy. Almost two years later, Mary lives a normal life, celebrating her regained abilities.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I don’t know why David was killed.

Speculation surrounding the mysterious death of David Cox.

10:57WatchMay 23, 2019

Tension

65/ 100Some tension

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