1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,680 This program is about unsolved mysteries. 2 00:00:03,680 --> 00:00:06,520 Whenever possible, the actual family members and police 3 00:00:06,520 --> 00:00:09,400 officials have participated in recreating the events. 4 00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:12,280 What you are about to see is not a news broadcast. 5 00:00:16,880 --> 00:00:20,560 It began as a weekend of fun and fun at a seaside Mexican 6 00:00:20,560 --> 00:00:21,600 resort. 7 00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:24,200 But after a heated argument with his girlfriend, 8 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:26,320 Mario Amato found himself arrested 9 00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:28,360 for the crime of murdering a woman. 10 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:31,360 Mario Amato found himself arrested for disorderly conduct 11 00:00:31,360 --> 00:00:33,480 and tossed into jail. 12 00:00:33,480 --> 00:00:35,720 Less than 90 minutes later, Mario 13 00:00:35,720 --> 00:00:40,480 was dead under the most suspicious of circumstances. 14 00:00:40,480 --> 00:00:44,040 September 1978, Catoosa, Oklahoma. 15 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:46,800 Chief J.B. Hamby jumps into the middle of a robbery 16 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:49,120 attempt and a shootout erupts. 17 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:52,920 Moments later, Hamby dies as he recites the Lord's prayer. 18 00:00:52,920 --> 00:00:56,080 Perhaps you can help catch his killer. 19 00:00:56,080 --> 00:00:58,240 A decade ago, the Texas Oil Bowl made 20 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:00,040 at Baker a millionaire. 21 00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:02,600 But in 1988, Baker's burned-out car 22 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:04,720 was found in a remote rice field. 23 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:07,760 And police said the body inside was at Baker's. 24 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:11,320 Some believe it was suicide, but others are convinced it was 25 00:01:11,320 --> 00:01:13,880 murder. 26 00:01:13,880 --> 00:01:15,240 Join me tonight. 27 00:01:15,240 --> 00:01:17,640 You may be able to help solve a mystery. 28 00:01:56,080 --> 00:02:18,920 In Oklahoma, automobile license plates are distributed through 29 00:02:18,920 --> 00:02:22,600 privately owned franchises called tag agencies. 30 00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:25,400 These businesses keep little cash on hand. 31 00:02:25,440 --> 00:02:28,000 Nevertheless, they have become tantalizing targets 32 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:30,600 for thieves who traffic in stolen cars. 33 00:02:34,680 --> 00:02:38,360 Just after 8 AM on September 1, 1978, 34 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:41,600 two men pulled up in front of the tag agency in Catoosa, 35 00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:43,720 Oklahoma, a suburb of Tulsa. 36 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:49,680 This a robbery? 37 00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:50,920 Get down on the ground, lady. 38 00:02:50,920 --> 00:02:54,040 Don't look at me. 39 00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:54,940 Come on. 40 00:02:54,940 --> 00:02:55,940 I'm being robbed. 41 00:02:55,940 --> 00:02:56,940 Call the police. 42 00:02:56,940 --> 00:02:57,940 Come on. 43 00:02:57,940 --> 00:02:59,940 Move! 44 00:02:59,940 --> 00:03:00,940 Keep your head down. 45 00:03:00,940 --> 00:03:01,940 Don't look at me, lady. 46 00:03:01,940 --> 00:03:02,940 Do not look at me, lady. 47 00:03:02,940 --> 00:03:03,940 Don't hurt me. 48 00:03:03,940 --> 00:03:04,940 Please. 49 00:03:04,940 --> 00:03:05,940 Shut up. 50 00:03:05,940 --> 00:03:06,940 Don't look at me. 51 00:03:06,940 --> 00:03:09,940 Chief, there's a robbery in progress at the Catoosa Tag 52 00:03:09,940 --> 00:03:10,940 Agency. 53 00:03:10,940 --> 00:03:13,940 At least one employee inside, out. 54 00:03:13,940 --> 00:03:14,940 10-4. 55 00:03:14,940 --> 00:03:16,940 The only police officer in Catoosa was Chief J.B. 56 00:03:16,940 --> 00:03:19,940 Hamby, a 24-year veteran in law enforcement. 57 00:03:19,940 --> 00:03:23,940 His devotion to duty was well known. 58 00:03:23,940 --> 00:03:26,940 J.B. was on call all hours. 59 00:03:26,940 --> 00:03:32,940 No sleep, come in, shower, change clothes, right back out. 60 00:03:32,940 --> 00:03:35,940 For those people that was on the wrong side of the law, 61 00:03:35,940 --> 00:03:38,940 he could become probably their worst nightmare. 62 00:03:38,940 --> 00:03:39,940 He was relentless. 63 00:03:45,940 --> 00:03:46,940 Freeze! 64 00:03:46,940 --> 00:03:47,940 Get out of here! 65 00:03:54,940 --> 00:03:57,940 20 rounds ricocheted through the small store in a manner 66 00:03:57,940 --> 00:03:58,940 of seconds. 67 00:03:58,940 --> 00:04:01,940 One robber was killed, the other was hit twice, 68 00:04:01,940 --> 00:04:03,940 but somehow managed to escape. 69 00:04:03,940 --> 00:04:06,940 Miraculously, neither of the women in the tag agency 70 00:04:06,940 --> 00:04:07,940 had been hurt. 71 00:04:10,940 --> 00:04:12,940 Chief Hamby was not so lucky. 72 00:04:12,940 --> 00:04:17,940 He staggered from the agency, bleeding profusely. 73 00:04:17,940 --> 00:04:20,940 J.B. attempted to reload his gun. 74 00:04:20,940 --> 00:04:23,940 And at that point, he probably sensed that he was, you know, 75 00:04:23,940 --> 00:04:24,940 gravely injured. 76 00:04:24,940 --> 00:04:27,940 And from there, went right on in the laundry to get him help. 77 00:04:27,940 --> 00:04:28,940 He needed help. 78 00:04:28,940 --> 00:04:29,940 J.B. 79 00:04:29,940 --> 00:04:30,940 Fuck. 80 00:04:30,940 --> 00:04:31,940 It's all right. 81 00:04:31,940 --> 00:04:33,940 Call the ambulance. 82 00:04:33,940 --> 00:04:35,940 J.B., it's okay. 83 00:04:35,940 --> 00:04:36,940 It's all right. 84 00:04:36,940 --> 00:04:38,940 The ambulance is coming. 85 00:04:38,940 --> 00:04:40,940 Repeat after me, J.B., stay with me. 86 00:04:40,940 --> 00:04:41,940 Our father. 87 00:04:41,940 --> 00:04:42,940 Our father. 88 00:04:42,940 --> 00:04:43,940 Who are in heaven? 89 00:04:43,940 --> 00:04:44,940 Our father. 90 00:04:44,940 --> 00:04:46,940 How will be thy name? 91 00:04:46,940 --> 00:04:47,940 I'll be thy name. 92 00:04:47,940 --> 00:04:48,940 Thy kingdom come. 93 00:04:48,940 --> 00:04:49,940 Thy kingdom come. 94 00:04:49,940 --> 00:04:50,940 Thy kingdom come. 95 00:04:50,940 --> 00:04:52,940 I will be thy name. 96 00:04:52,940 --> 00:04:56,940 J.B. Hamby died, a four-year finished reciting the Lord's 97 00:04:56,940 --> 00:04:57,940 Prayer. 98 00:05:01,940 --> 00:05:03,940 One of the robbers was dead at the scene, 99 00:05:03,940 --> 00:05:06,940 shot through the head by his own ricocheting bullet. 100 00:05:06,940 --> 00:05:08,940 The second robber was apprehended two hours later, 101 00:05:08,940 --> 00:05:12,940 while being treated for gunshot wounds at a nearby hospital. 102 00:05:12,940 --> 00:05:15,940 He was 25-year-old David Gordon Smith, the son of a prominent 103 00:05:15,940 --> 00:05:17,940 couple from Stillwater, Oklahoma. 104 00:05:17,940 --> 00:05:20,940 At first, Smith thought he was being arrested only for armed 105 00:05:20,940 --> 00:05:21,940 robbery. 106 00:05:21,940 --> 00:05:25,940 Instead, David Gordon Smith was booked on charges of first-degree 107 00:05:25,940 --> 00:05:26,940 murder. 108 00:05:32,940 --> 00:05:36,940 On June 15, 1979, Smith began serving a life sentence in the 109 00:05:36,940 --> 00:05:38,940 Oklahoma prison system. 110 00:05:38,940 --> 00:05:41,940 Ballistics tests had proved that the bullet which killed Chief 111 00:05:41,940 --> 00:05:44,940 Hamby had been fired from Smith's gun. 112 00:05:45,940 --> 00:05:47,940 Open 43. 113 00:05:48,940 --> 00:05:52,940 It was so conclusive, I mean, beyond the shout of a doubt. 114 00:05:52,940 --> 00:05:54,940 They had everybody accounted for. 115 00:05:54,940 --> 00:05:56,940 They knew who's gun had come from. 116 00:05:56,940 --> 00:05:59,940 They knew where that person was at because of the line of 117 00:05:59,940 --> 00:06:00,940 trajectory. 118 00:06:00,940 --> 00:06:04,940 They had everybody placed in that office and who had what gun. 119 00:06:04,940 --> 00:06:09,940 David Gordon Smith was a classic good boy gong bad, the son of a 120 00:06:09,940 --> 00:06:11,940 respected university professor. 121 00:06:11,940 --> 00:06:15,940 This had been his first and only brush with the law, and he set 122 00:06:15,940 --> 00:06:17,940 out to become a model prisoner. 123 00:06:18,940 --> 00:06:20,940 Smith was a good prisoner. 124 00:06:20,940 --> 00:06:24,940 He was well-liked by the staff that had to deal with him. 125 00:06:24,940 --> 00:06:28,940 He was also well-liked by the other inmates. 126 00:06:28,940 --> 00:06:32,940 And as he served his time and as his years grew and his behavior 127 00:06:32,940 --> 00:06:39,940 was excellent, he was, according to Oklahoma law, classified to 128 00:06:39,940 --> 00:06:41,940 a trustee status. 129 00:06:41,940 --> 00:06:47,940 And his job at the time was to monitor equipment at our lake. 130 00:06:50,940 --> 00:06:54,940 Smith was assigned to live and work all alone at a small 131 00:06:54,940 --> 00:06:56,940 water pumping station. 132 00:06:56,940 --> 00:06:59,940 He was checked every hour by a prison guard. 133 00:06:59,940 --> 00:07:02,940 On three separate occasions, Smith was granted unsupervised 134 00:07:02,940 --> 00:07:05,940 furloughs for doctors' appointments. 135 00:07:05,940 --> 00:07:09,940 On June 26, 1982, with the permission of prison authorities, 136 00:07:09,940 --> 00:07:11,940 he got married. 137 00:07:13,940 --> 00:07:16,940 I don't think there's any way by any stretch of the imagination 138 00:07:16,940 --> 00:07:19,940 that he deserved any sort of lenient treatment. 139 00:07:19,940 --> 00:07:21,940 I think it's unheard of. 140 00:07:21,940 --> 00:07:24,940 You know, I think he should have got the death penalty. 141 00:07:24,940 --> 00:07:27,940 I think he should have got maximum, you know, hard time. 142 00:07:27,940 --> 00:07:29,940 I could have lived with that. 143 00:07:30,940 --> 00:07:34,940 David Gordon Smith, you're serving a life sentence for murder of a police 144 00:07:34,940 --> 00:07:35,940 officer. 145 00:07:35,940 --> 00:07:39,940 In 1984, a full ten years ahead of schedule, David Gordon Smith 146 00:07:39,940 --> 00:07:41,940 was granted a parole hearing. 147 00:07:41,940 --> 00:07:45,940 What have you done while in prison to make yourself fit for society once again? 148 00:07:45,940 --> 00:07:49,940 I've got a job since I've been in prison with a clean conduct record. 149 00:07:49,940 --> 00:07:51,940 I've married. 150 00:07:51,940 --> 00:07:54,940 And should I be paroled, my wife would be a support for me. 151 00:07:54,940 --> 00:07:56,940 I've been going to church and I have a strong faith in God. 152 00:07:56,940 --> 00:08:00,940 I began to think how he would attempt to sell somebody that, you know, 153 00:08:00,940 --> 00:08:03,940 he was Joe's clean citizen, you know. 154 00:08:03,940 --> 00:08:07,940 I think he was seeing that there was such an outcry from the public 155 00:08:07,940 --> 00:08:14,940 and friends and law enforcement that he was fighting an uphill battle. 156 00:08:14,940 --> 00:08:20,940 I have recorded four name votes in the parole recommendation of David Gordon Smith. 157 00:08:20,940 --> 00:08:23,940 Smith failed in his parole attempt. 158 00:08:23,940 --> 00:08:27,940 However, he retained trustee status and continued his job at the lake. 159 00:08:27,940 --> 00:08:29,940 Next inmate, please. 160 00:08:30,940 --> 00:08:34,940 For more than a year, Smith remained a model prisoner. 161 00:08:34,940 --> 00:08:39,940 But then on October 28th, 1985, a prison guard stopped for his regular 162 00:08:39,940 --> 00:08:42,940 1 a.m. check of Smith's sleeping quarters. 163 00:08:49,940 --> 00:08:56,940 The model prisoner, David Gordon Smith, had made a clean getaway. 164 00:08:56,940 --> 00:09:03,940 He probably walked from the room at the lake out to the nearest highway, 165 00:09:03,940 --> 00:09:09,940 a mile or so away, where Joe Beth, his wife, picked him up. 166 00:09:09,940 --> 00:09:14,940 They went into McAllister, which is a mile or so from the prison, 167 00:09:14,940 --> 00:09:17,940 and may owe two letters. We know that. 168 00:09:18,940 --> 00:09:21,940 Authorities learned that one week before the escape, 169 00:09:21,940 --> 00:09:25,940 Smith's wife had closed out her bank account, sold her furniture, 170 00:09:25,940 --> 00:09:27,940 and borrowed $1,000 from friends. 171 00:09:27,940 --> 00:09:30,940 She told a travel agent she was going to Mexico. 172 00:09:30,940 --> 00:09:33,940 She never mentioned her husband. 173 00:09:34,940 --> 00:09:37,940 Then four months later, in February of 1986, 174 00:09:37,940 --> 00:09:41,940 David Gordon Smith was cited with a female companion in Arkansas, 175 00:09:41,940 --> 00:09:45,940 just 90 miles from the prison where he had been incarcerated. 176 00:09:45,940 --> 00:09:50,940 The authorities were notified, but by the time they arrived, Smith had vanished. 177 00:09:51,940 --> 00:09:56,940 I believe that David Gordon Smith is still dangerous today. 178 00:09:56,940 --> 00:10:00,940 He will do whatever is necessary to try to escape, again, 179 00:10:00,940 --> 00:10:04,940 if confronted by either law enforcement or by a private citizen. 180 00:10:04,940 --> 00:10:09,940 That's why I would recommend that no private citizen try to apprehend him, 181 00:10:09,940 --> 00:10:12,940 because I believe that he probably is armed. 182 00:10:14,940 --> 00:10:18,940 I want to see David Gordon Smith serve his time. 183 00:10:18,940 --> 00:10:22,940 I just think it's one of the most unjust things that could ever happen. 184 00:10:24,940 --> 00:10:28,940 J.B. lived his job as a police officer 24 hours a day, 185 00:10:28,940 --> 00:10:33,940 a very intense person that took his job extremely serious. 186 00:10:35,940 --> 00:10:39,940 For a man that stood up for so many things, for so many people, 187 00:10:39,940 --> 00:10:43,940 on the right side of the law, that loss can never be filled, 188 00:10:43,940 --> 00:10:45,940 and I just don't think it's fair. 189 00:10:46,940 --> 00:10:50,940 When we first aired this story last October, we received more than 75 leads, 190 00:10:50,940 --> 00:10:52,940 but none of them panned out. 191 00:10:52,940 --> 00:10:56,940 However, one thing we have learned on unsolved mysteries over the years 192 00:10:56,940 --> 00:10:58,940 is never to give up. 193 00:10:58,940 --> 00:11:02,940 The story aired again in March, and this time in a small South Dakota town 194 00:11:02,940 --> 00:11:04,940 the right viewer was watching. 195 00:11:04,940 --> 00:11:09,940 He called the local authorities, and they immediately contacted the FBI. 196 00:11:10,940 --> 00:11:15,940 One day following the airing of the David Gordon Smith case on unsolved mysteries, 197 00:11:15,940 --> 00:11:20,940 an anonymous tip was received giving us his location. 198 00:11:21,940 --> 00:11:28,940 He was working as a service manager in an automobile dealership in Spearfish, South Dakota. 199 00:11:28,940 --> 00:11:35,940 Agents of the FBI, local authorities in South Dakota went to his place of employment. 200 00:11:35,940 --> 00:11:41,940 He was arrested without incident, and he readily admitted his identity and went questioning. 201 00:11:44,940 --> 00:11:51,940 When David Gordon Smith is brought back to Oklahoma, he'll go immediately into our system. 202 00:11:51,940 --> 00:11:58,940 He'll be classified as a maximum security inmate, and because of his escape, 203 00:11:58,940 --> 00:12:04,940 he will be in our maximum security prison for a long time. 204 00:12:06,940 --> 00:12:08,940 There's a tremendous amount of relief. 205 00:12:08,940 --> 00:12:16,940 It was equivalent to a long-term, gigantic debt being paid off. 206 00:12:35,940 --> 00:12:46,940 For thousands of American tourists, the breathtaking sunsets of Mexico 207 00:12:46,940 --> 00:12:50,940 have always been an invitation for romance, fantasy and adventure. 208 00:12:50,940 --> 00:12:57,940 In June of 1992, Joe Amato and his younger brother Mario left Los Angeles with their girlfriends. 209 00:12:57,940 --> 00:13:04,940 They were headed to Rosarita Beach, Mexico, a popular seaside resort 35 miles south of San Diego. 210 00:13:04,940 --> 00:13:09,940 But their weekend in the sun would soon disintegrate into a nightmare. 211 00:13:09,940 --> 00:13:14,940 The next day, Mario Amato was arrested after a fight with his girlfriend. 212 00:13:14,940 --> 00:13:16,940 He had a father here. 213 00:13:16,940 --> 00:13:20,940 90 minutes later, he was dead. 214 00:13:20,940 --> 00:13:25,940 The local authorities claimed that Mario had committed suicide. 215 00:13:25,940 --> 00:13:28,940 I say it was murder. 216 00:13:28,940 --> 00:13:29,940 Plain murder. 217 00:13:29,940 --> 00:13:34,940 And I knew that from the beginning, because I know my brother very well. 218 00:13:34,940 --> 00:13:37,940 I mean, they stole his life away from him. 219 00:13:37,940 --> 00:13:40,940 And we're going to get to the bottom of this. 220 00:13:42,940 --> 00:13:46,940 Mario Amato is not the first American tourist to die in a foreign jail. 221 00:13:46,940 --> 00:13:51,940 His family is not the first to be haunted by the vague details of an official investigation. 222 00:13:51,940 --> 00:13:55,940 In such cases, facts or few and clues are hard to come by. 223 00:13:55,940 --> 00:14:01,940 However, Mario's brother is determined to learn exactly what happened to him during his brief captivity. 224 00:14:01,940 --> 00:14:08,940 As a result of Joe Amato's efforts, this potentially explosive case has sparked the interest of high-level government officials, 225 00:14:08,940 --> 00:14:12,940 including an American congressman and the president of Mexico. 226 00:14:17,940 --> 00:14:23,940 The Amato brothers arrived in Rosarita Beach just after 1 a.m. on June 6, 1992. 227 00:14:23,940 --> 00:14:29,940 They were staying at a condo owned by a relative of Mario's girlfriend, whom we will call Paula. 228 00:14:29,940 --> 00:14:34,940 Joe and his girlfriend Debbie eagerly accepted an invitation to come along. 229 00:14:34,940 --> 00:14:38,940 The two couples immediately broke out at Tequila. 230 00:14:38,940 --> 00:14:41,940 I said, well, what are we here for? 231 00:14:41,940 --> 00:14:43,940 To party. 232 00:14:43,940 --> 00:14:44,940 Let's have a good time. 233 00:14:44,940 --> 00:14:48,940 Everybody sat around and we started having our drinks. 234 00:14:48,940 --> 00:14:54,940 And I guess it was later on about 3.34 o'clock. 235 00:14:54,940 --> 00:14:59,940 And I was getting kind of tired and told Debbie it's time to go to bed. 236 00:14:59,940 --> 00:15:01,940 Kidding, stop it! 237 00:15:01,940 --> 00:15:07,940 About 7 o'clock we woke up and they were still up and they were bickering. 238 00:15:09,940 --> 00:15:11,940 I want to leave now. 239 00:15:11,940 --> 00:15:13,940 I want to go home. She's driving me crazy. 240 00:15:13,940 --> 00:15:15,940 Oh, Mario. 241 00:15:15,940 --> 00:15:19,940 Go to bed. Go to sleep, huh? 242 00:15:19,940 --> 00:15:32,940 I felt very disturbed because I know Mario liked this girl very much and he wouldn't have wanted to leave if it wasn't something serious that he felt that he just didn't want to stay. 243 00:15:32,940 --> 00:15:35,940 Hit the bar, have a couple drinks. 244 00:15:35,940 --> 00:15:41,940 By late the next morning, Mario and Paula had apparently patched up their differences. 245 00:15:41,940 --> 00:15:43,940 That was the last time I saw him alive. 246 00:15:43,940 --> 00:15:45,940 Hey Mario, leave the key underneath the mat. 247 00:15:45,940 --> 00:15:51,940 But I can still remember like expression on his face. He seemed very happy, like nothing was wrong. 248 00:15:54,940 --> 00:15:59,940 That afternoon, Joe and Debbie took a romantic drive along the coast of Baja, California. 249 00:15:59,940 --> 00:16:04,940 They assumed that Mario and Paula were getting along fine. 250 00:16:04,940 --> 00:16:07,940 I want you and your brother out of here. I never want to see you again. 251 00:16:07,940 --> 00:16:10,940 I can't believe it. This is your idea of a fun time out here. 252 00:16:10,940 --> 00:16:12,940 What are you talking about? 253 00:16:12,940 --> 00:16:15,940 I can't believe this. 254 00:16:15,940 --> 00:16:18,940 Hey, can I have some clothes, please? 255 00:16:21,940 --> 00:16:23,940 Yes, I want my clothes. 256 00:16:23,940 --> 00:16:25,940 Thank you. 257 00:16:34,940 --> 00:16:36,940 What's going on here, kid? 258 00:16:36,940 --> 00:16:37,940 What's your name? 259 00:16:37,940 --> 00:16:39,940 My name is Mario Amado. 260 00:16:39,940 --> 00:16:40,940 I'm out again. 261 00:16:40,940 --> 00:16:42,940 No, no, no. I don't speak Spanish, officer. 262 00:16:42,940 --> 00:16:44,940 Well, somebody gets called and they even got some problems. 263 00:16:44,940 --> 00:16:45,940 I'm stuck here. 264 00:16:45,940 --> 00:16:47,940 Fine, but look, did you make a call? 265 00:16:47,940 --> 00:16:53,940 Mario was arrested for public drunkenness and disorderly conduct and taken to the police station. 266 00:16:58,940 --> 00:17:02,940 Mario was placed in a holding cell but never formally charged with a crime. 267 00:17:03,940 --> 00:17:05,940 Look at me, yummy. 268 00:17:05,940 --> 00:17:07,940 Mario? 269 00:17:07,940 --> 00:17:08,940 Mario? 270 00:17:08,940 --> 00:17:12,940 At around 6.30 p.m., Joe and Debbie returned to the beach house. 271 00:17:12,940 --> 00:17:16,940 They were surprised to find a vacant and the key under the mat missing. 272 00:17:16,940 --> 00:17:19,940 Listen, there was some trouble here before the police came. 273 00:17:19,940 --> 00:17:25,940 A man from the condominium complex explained that there had been problems there a few hours earlier. 274 00:17:25,940 --> 00:17:27,940 The police came? 275 00:17:28,940 --> 00:17:31,940 Debbie crawled through a window to get inside. 276 00:17:31,940 --> 00:17:36,940 Almost immediately, four police officers showed up, asking for Paula by name. 277 00:17:36,940 --> 00:17:38,940 What's wrong? What's going on? 278 00:17:38,940 --> 00:17:39,940 She's looking for Paula. 279 00:17:39,940 --> 00:17:40,940 She's not here. 280 00:17:40,940 --> 00:17:42,940 Do you know what she might be? 281 00:17:42,940 --> 00:17:43,940 Is there something wrong? 282 00:17:43,940 --> 00:17:45,940 No, no. We would just like to ask her a couple of questions. 283 00:17:45,940 --> 00:17:47,940 Did you try the bar down the street? 284 00:17:47,940 --> 00:17:48,940 No, sir, no, we did not. 285 00:17:48,940 --> 00:17:49,940 Do you continue, yeah? 286 00:17:49,940 --> 00:17:51,940 Yeah, right next to her. 287 00:17:51,940 --> 00:17:52,940 Gracias. 288 00:17:52,940 --> 00:17:58,940 And that's when Debbie really started getting suspicious right about that time. 289 00:17:58,940 --> 00:18:00,940 She followed him down to the bar. 290 00:18:00,940 --> 00:18:05,940 She got in, put her clothes on and got ready and went right down to the bar 291 00:18:05,940 --> 00:18:08,940 and they were looking for her frantically. 292 00:18:08,940 --> 00:18:11,940 A little later, Mario's girlfriend does come. 293 00:18:11,940 --> 00:18:17,940 Just waltzing in the house and like nothing was wrong. 294 00:18:17,940 --> 00:18:21,940 And we asked her where's Mario and she said she didn't know. 295 00:18:21,940 --> 00:18:23,940 He's probably in some gutter somewhere. 296 00:18:23,940 --> 00:18:25,940 Oh, some gutter. Real cute. Real cute. 297 00:18:25,940 --> 00:18:26,940 Paula. 298 00:18:26,940 --> 00:18:29,940 Two hours after Paula returned, a group of detectives arrived. 299 00:18:29,940 --> 00:18:36,940 Joe still had no idea that his brother had been arrested. 300 00:18:36,940 --> 00:18:39,940 I am looking for the brother of Vicente Amador. 301 00:18:39,940 --> 00:18:43,940 I'm sorry, but we don't know Vicente Amador. 302 00:18:43,940 --> 00:18:45,940 You don't know Vicente Amador? 303 00:18:45,940 --> 00:18:49,940 My brother's name Mario Vicente Amador. 304 00:18:49,940 --> 00:18:51,940 Yes, that's him. 305 00:18:51,940 --> 00:18:54,940 I'm Sergeant Tinoco. I have some bad news. 306 00:18:54,940 --> 00:18:56,940 Your brother is dead. 307 00:19:00,940 --> 00:19:02,940 Sorry. 308 00:19:03,940 --> 00:19:05,940 What happened to my brother? 309 00:19:05,940 --> 00:19:07,940 It's better if you come with us. 310 00:19:07,940 --> 00:19:09,940 We should talk about it in my office. 311 00:19:09,940 --> 00:19:13,940 The first thing that went through my mind is they made a mistake. 312 00:19:14,940 --> 00:19:16,940 Maybe they didn't make a mistake, 313 00:19:16,940 --> 00:19:18,940 but I was hoping they had made a mistake 314 00:19:18,940 --> 00:19:21,940 and I was just in disbelief that this could be happening. 315 00:19:21,940 --> 00:19:23,940 It's like a nightmare. 316 00:19:23,940 --> 00:19:27,940 Please sit down. I need you to identify some pictures here. 317 00:19:29,940 --> 00:19:33,940 Now, is this your brother? 318 00:19:38,940 --> 00:19:41,940 The first thing I see is Marilane on the concrete. 319 00:19:41,940 --> 00:19:45,940 His eyes closed, no shirt, just his pants. 320 00:19:45,940 --> 00:19:49,940 And the jail door, and then at that time he says, 321 00:19:49,940 --> 00:19:52,940 well, how could this happen? I asked him. 322 00:19:52,940 --> 00:19:55,940 Why isn't he wearing a sweater? 323 00:19:55,940 --> 00:19:57,940 That's how he killed himself. 324 00:19:57,940 --> 00:19:58,940 What? 325 00:19:58,940 --> 00:20:00,940 He tied her around his neck 326 00:20:00,940 --> 00:20:03,940 and then he tied it around the crossbar and hung. 327 00:20:03,940 --> 00:20:06,940 Where was this crossbar? 328 00:20:06,940 --> 00:20:08,940 About three feet off the ground. 329 00:20:08,940 --> 00:20:10,940 Three feet? 330 00:20:10,940 --> 00:20:13,940 It was very drunk and very heavy. 331 00:20:13,940 --> 00:20:16,940 Oh, come on. How do you hang yourself from three feet? 332 00:20:16,940 --> 00:20:18,940 So I asked if I was in anybody in the jail. 333 00:20:18,940 --> 00:20:20,940 I would have stopped him from doing this. 334 00:20:20,940 --> 00:20:22,940 He says, oh, no, they're all sleeping. 335 00:20:22,940 --> 00:20:27,940 He says, four guys sleeping at 5.30 in the afternoon. 336 00:20:27,940 --> 00:20:29,940 I was just couldn't believe that. 337 00:20:29,940 --> 00:20:32,940 Right away, I knew there was something wrong. 338 00:20:32,940 --> 00:20:34,940 And I said, well, how did he kill himself? 339 00:20:34,940 --> 00:20:37,940 Oh, with his sweater. And I'm going, no, no, no, no. 340 00:20:38,940 --> 00:20:41,940 You can't kill yourself with a sweater. 341 00:20:41,940 --> 00:20:43,940 From where? 342 00:20:43,940 --> 00:20:45,940 Oh, from the cell door. 343 00:20:45,940 --> 00:20:48,940 And I go, no, no, right away. 344 00:20:48,940 --> 00:20:51,940 I mean, everything wasn't right. 345 00:20:51,940 --> 00:20:56,940 Mario Amado died three months short of his 30th birthday. 346 00:20:56,940 --> 00:20:59,940 Joe Amado was forced to return to the United States 347 00:20:59,940 --> 00:21:01,940 without his brother. 348 00:21:01,940 --> 00:21:04,940 The Mexican authorities refused to release the body 349 00:21:04,940 --> 00:21:06,940 until after they had completed their autopsy 350 00:21:06,940 --> 00:21:11,940 and they would not tell Joe when that would happen. 351 00:21:11,940 --> 00:21:14,940 Within a week, the Mexican autopsy was completed. 352 00:21:14,940 --> 00:21:18,940 It listed the cause of death as a loss of oxygen to the brain, 353 00:21:18,940 --> 00:21:21,940 the result of Mario hanging himself. 354 00:21:21,940 --> 00:21:24,940 Joe Amado believed that was preposterous 355 00:21:24,940 --> 00:21:27,940 and contacted his congressman. 356 00:21:27,940 --> 00:21:32,940 The Mexican autopsy confirmed the report of the jailers in Tijuana 357 00:21:32,940 --> 00:21:36,940 that Mario Amado had hung himself with his own sweater. 358 00:21:36,940 --> 00:21:40,940 When you take the notion of a report from a local 359 00:21:40,940 --> 00:21:43,940 foreign authority that a prisoner killed himself, 360 00:21:43,940 --> 00:21:47,940 it always makes sense to view that kind of report 361 00:21:47,940 --> 00:21:49,940 with some suspicion. 362 00:21:49,940 --> 00:21:53,940 This is the oldest excuse for a jail murder 363 00:21:53,940 --> 00:21:57,940 that's ever given as that the prisoner hung himself. 364 00:21:58,940 --> 00:22:02,940 As soon as his brother's body was returned to the United States, 365 00:22:02,940 --> 00:22:05,940 Joe Amado hired an independent pathologist 366 00:22:05,940 --> 00:22:07,940 to conduct a second autopsy. 367 00:22:07,940 --> 00:22:11,940 The autopsy concluded that internal injuries to Mario's liver 368 00:22:11,940 --> 00:22:15,940 were strong evidence that he had been punched in the upper abdomen. 369 00:22:15,940 --> 00:22:18,940 The report stated that in light of such injuries, 370 00:22:18,940 --> 00:22:23,940 quote, the victim would not likely have been able to hang himself. 371 00:22:24,940 --> 00:22:28,940 Mario Amado was undoubtedly and most likely hung at that time 372 00:22:28,940 --> 00:22:31,940 with an instrument, not his sweater, 373 00:22:31,940 --> 00:22:36,940 but some other instrument to use as the pretext 374 00:22:36,940 --> 00:22:41,940 for the obvious abuse and finally the murder that took place. 375 00:22:44,940 --> 00:22:46,940 Ultimately, the Los Angeles County Coroner 376 00:22:46,940 --> 00:22:49,940 reviewed both the American and Mexican autopsy reports. 377 00:22:49,940 --> 00:22:54,940 He determined that Mario Amado had probably been murdered. 378 00:22:54,940 --> 00:22:57,940 There is one other disturbing element in this case, 379 00:22:57,940 --> 00:23:01,940 the fact that Mexican authorities violated international agreements 380 00:23:01,940 --> 00:23:04,940 by not contacting the U.S. consulate 381 00:23:04,940 --> 00:23:08,940 as quickly as possible following Mario's death. 382 00:23:08,940 --> 00:23:12,940 You start to see a picture of a cover-up starting to take place. 383 00:23:12,940 --> 00:23:16,940 The people involved in this incident did not want authorities 384 00:23:16,940 --> 00:23:20,940 coming quickly to the scene of the crime 385 00:23:20,940 --> 00:23:23,940 and they wanted the period of time to elapse. 386 00:23:23,940 --> 00:23:25,940 They hoped that Joe Amado would forget about it. 387 00:23:25,940 --> 00:23:27,940 His brother was dead. 388 00:23:27,940 --> 00:23:31,940 He'd go back to the United States and drop the whole issue. 389 00:23:31,940 --> 00:23:35,940 They usually do it a very speedy way 390 00:23:35,940 --> 00:23:42,940 when there is no relative or friend when a foreign person dies. 391 00:23:42,940 --> 00:23:45,940 But when the family is there, the friends are there. 392 00:23:45,940 --> 00:23:50,940 I mean, they just do it by letter, days after, you know. 393 00:23:53,940 --> 00:23:56,940 Eventually, Congressman Berman contacted the President of Mexico, 394 00:23:56,940 --> 00:23:59,940 Carlos Salinas de Gortari. 395 00:23:59,940 --> 00:24:02,940 The President promised to reopen the investigation 396 00:24:02,940 --> 00:24:04,940 and in January of 1993, 397 00:24:04,940 --> 00:24:09,940 the body of Mario Amado was exhumed for yet another autopsy. 398 00:24:09,940 --> 00:24:13,940 The truth is going to come out of the full investigation 399 00:24:13,940 --> 00:24:17,940 that we are making with the American government, 400 00:24:17,940 --> 00:24:20,940 that we asked them to cooperate in the reason that witnesses 401 00:24:20,940 --> 00:24:23,940 and the evidence were here in the States. 402 00:24:23,940 --> 00:24:25,940 The truth will come out. 403 00:24:25,940 --> 00:24:31,940 I'd like to see the people that committed the crime suffer for it 404 00:24:31,940 --> 00:24:34,940 because we're suffering and somebody's got to suffer also. 405 00:24:34,940 --> 00:24:37,940 You know, they're just not going to go away. 406 00:24:37,940 --> 00:24:40,940 It's just something that's going to be there 407 00:24:40,940 --> 00:24:43,940 and I'm going to ruin their lives just like they've ruined mine 408 00:24:43,940 --> 00:24:45,940 and our family, you know. 409 00:24:45,940 --> 00:24:47,940 Somebody's got to pay, you know. 410 00:25:10,940 --> 00:25:15,940 When we return, the mysterious final days of the Texas Oil Millionaire. 411 00:25:28,940 --> 00:25:31,940 November 8th, 1985, 412 00:25:31,940 --> 00:25:34,940 in a remote rice field 20 miles outside Houston, Texas, 413 00:25:34,940 --> 00:25:38,940 flames ravaged an expensive Jaguar sedan. 414 00:25:41,940 --> 00:25:45,940 Inside Sheriff's deputies found a charred human body 415 00:25:45,940 --> 00:25:48,940 so disfigured that even the gender was not apparent, 416 00:25:48,940 --> 00:25:53,940 so completely burned that his weight was reduced to 32 pounds. 417 00:25:53,940 --> 00:25:57,940 The car was registered to a millionaire oil well promoter from Houston, 418 00:25:57,940 --> 00:25:59,940 Edward Gerald Baker. 419 00:25:59,940 --> 00:26:03,940 Eventually forensic tests indicated with near certainty 420 00:26:03,940 --> 00:26:06,940 that the body was indeed Ed Bakers. 421 00:26:07,940 --> 00:26:12,940 Ed Baker personified Texas in the 1980s, powerful, bold and rich. 422 00:26:12,940 --> 00:26:15,940 A one-time shoe salesman and insurance agent, 423 00:26:15,940 --> 00:26:19,940 he built a multimillion dollar oil investment business seemingly overnight. 424 00:26:19,940 --> 00:26:23,940 Then in 1985, Baker's world came to a fiery end. 425 00:26:23,940 --> 00:26:27,940 However, even now, the exact circumstances of his death are disputed. 426 00:26:27,940 --> 00:26:29,940 Some believe he took his own life. 427 00:26:29,940 --> 00:26:31,940 Others have certainly was murdered. 428 00:26:31,940 --> 00:26:34,940 Incredibly, a few people have been killed. 429 00:26:34,940 --> 00:26:39,940 Incredibly, a few people even think Ed Baker may still be alive. 430 00:26:41,940 --> 00:26:46,940 Ed Baker seemed an unlikely person to be at the center of such a deadly puzzle. 431 00:26:46,940 --> 00:26:49,940 His company Vanguard Groups International 432 00:26:49,940 --> 00:26:53,940 was one of the fastest growing businesses in the United States. 433 00:26:54,940 --> 00:26:58,940 I watched him build that company from the ground up, 434 00:26:58,940 --> 00:27:05,940 and I think that he always knew he had the potential to have a very successful business. 435 00:27:05,940 --> 00:27:10,940 And I think he tried his best to manage that business, honestly, 436 00:27:10,940 --> 00:27:12,940 and with a great deal of integrity. 437 00:27:13,940 --> 00:27:17,940 Ed Baker started promoting oil well exploration in 1980. 438 00:27:17,940 --> 00:27:19,940 His timing was perfect. 439 00:27:22,940 --> 00:27:24,940 Houston was booming. 440 00:27:24,940 --> 00:27:26,940 After his first oil wells came in, 441 00:27:26,940 --> 00:27:31,940 Baker had no trouble selling his clever tax shelters to wealthy investors. 442 00:27:31,940 --> 00:27:33,940 Okay, but here's the kicker. Here's the kicker, Frank. 443 00:27:33,940 --> 00:27:36,940 I'm going to guarantee eight to ten wells per package. 444 00:27:36,940 --> 00:27:39,940 The income from those wells is going to pay off that promissory note. 445 00:27:39,940 --> 00:27:41,940 People tended to trust him. 446 00:27:41,940 --> 00:27:46,940 He was acknowledged as a pretty brilliant strategist 447 00:27:46,940 --> 00:27:53,940 when it came to developing these little tax shelter programs at that time. 448 00:27:53,940 --> 00:27:57,940 Now, the laws have changed since then, but at that time it was brilliant. 449 00:27:58,940 --> 00:28:00,940 When Ed Baker founded Vanguard, 450 00:28:00,940 --> 00:28:03,940 his wife Mary was one of only three employees, 451 00:28:03,940 --> 00:28:06,940 and cardboard boxes served as their file cabinets. 452 00:28:06,940 --> 00:28:12,940 Four years later, Vanguard sales its skyrocketed to $19 million. 453 00:28:16,940 --> 00:28:20,940 The flood of wealth prompted drastic changes in Ed Baker's life. 454 00:28:21,940 --> 00:28:25,940 In March of 1984, he divorced Mary, his wife of ten years. 455 00:28:27,940 --> 00:28:31,940 Soon after, he began to indulge a taste for high-stakes gambling. 456 00:28:32,940 --> 00:28:34,940 Baker also underwent two facelifts, 457 00:28:34,940 --> 00:28:38,940 took disco lessons, and purchased a flashy new Jaguar. 458 00:28:39,940 --> 00:28:42,940 In September of 1984, Baker remarried, 459 00:28:42,940 --> 00:28:44,940 only to file for divorce five months later. 460 00:28:44,940 --> 00:28:47,940 Just four days after the dissolution was final, 461 00:28:47,940 --> 00:28:50,940 he married Sandy Hoff, one of his employees at Vanguard. 462 00:28:51,940 --> 00:28:55,940 All the while, Baker's financial empire was disintegrating. 463 00:29:02,940 --> 00:29:05,940 At the time, Lord Boosie was Ed Baker's personal attorney. 464 00:29:06,940 --> 00:29:09,940 In 1985, when the oil industry heard a lot of people in Houston, 465 00:29:09,940 --> 00:29:12,940 people stopped investing in deals that Ed was selling. 466 00:29:12,940 --> 00:29:16,940 And as it turns out, he was borrowing from a lot of his investors. 467 00:29:17,940 --> 00:29:20,940 To sustain his lifestyle, always, I believe, assuming 468 00:29:20,940 --> 00:29:23,940 that he was going to be able to repay the people that he borrowed from, 469 00:29:23,940 --> 00:29:25,940 from the next group of folks. 470 00:29:25,940 --> 00:29:28,940 Sooner or later, there was not a next group of folks. 471 00:29:29,940 --> 00:29:32,940 He was looking at some serious charges from a lot of his investors. 472 00:29:32,940 --> 00:29:36,940 He was looking at, turns out, serious tax problems. 473 00:29:36,940 --> 00:29:40,940 It may have been very true that he was about to go to jail. 474 00:29:41,940 --> 00:29:45,940 By October of 1985, Baker's investors were clamoring for money, 475 00:29:45,940 --> 00:29:48,940 but Vanguard was on the edge of bankruptcy. 476 00:29:48,940 --> 00:29:51,940 Baker allegedly arranged a desperately needed cash bailout 477 00:29:51,940 --> 00:29:53,940 from a highly suspect source. 478 00:29:53,940 --> 00:29:55,940 Bob, Ed, we need to talk. 479 00:29:55,940 --> 00:29:57,940 Not on the phone, OK? 480 00:29:57,940 --> 00:30:00,940 Then he brought in his private investigator. 481 00:30:00,940 --> 00:30:04,940 I got a new impression from Ed, he was talking big money, such as millions. 482 00:30:04,940 --> 00:30:06,940 Let me get back with you, OK? 483 00:30:06,940 --> 00:30:09,940 And he thought maybe we'd have to do a little background 484 00:30:09,940 --> 00:30:14,940 on these individuals that he was preparing to have some money. 485 00:30:15,940 --> 00:30:19,940 I'm not sure what he was doing, but he was doing some financial 486 00:30:19,940 --> 00:30:24,940 dealings with in Florida, because he'd heard that they, or, 487 00:30:24,940 --> 00:30:28,940 yes, he had heard that they had some sort of mafia connections. 488 00:30:28,940 --> 00:30:30,940 What took you so long? 489 00:30:30,940 --> 00:30:32,940 I took the back roads. 490 00:30:32,940 --> 00:30:35,940 Ed Baker seemed unable to reverse his downward spiral. 491 00:30:35,940 --> 00:30:38,940 On November 6th, at around 7.30 p.m., 492 00:30:38,940 --> 00:30:40,940 he showed up at his ex-wife, Mary's house, 493 00:30:40,940 --> 00:30:43,940 in a state of emotional disarray. 494 00:30:43,940 --> 00:30:47,940 He was afraid he was being followed, 495 00:30:47,940 --> 00:30:51,940 and this was very unusual for him to behave this way. 496 00:30:51,940 --> 00:30:55,940 It didn't fit what I normally knew. 497 00:30:55,940 --> 00:30:59,940 Now, tell me what this is all about. 498 00:30:59,940 --> 00:31:03,940 I really didn't want to get you involved with this, Mary. 499 00:31:03,940 --> 00:31:08,940 He told me that he had received death threat letters at work 500 00:31:08,940 --> 00:31:10,940 within the past two weeks, 501 00:31:10,940 --> 00:31:15,940 and that that day he had received two telephone calls 502 00:31:15,940 --> 00:31:18,940 at his unlisted home number, telling him, 503 00:31:18,940 --> 00:31:20,940 this is your day to die. 504 00:31:20,940 --> 00:31:21,940 Who was it? 505 00:31:21,940 --> 00:31:22,940 I don't know. 506 00:31:22,940 --> 00:31:26,940 He was taking it seriously, that he was really threatened 507 00:31:26,940 --> 00:31:28,940 at that point. 508 00:31:28,940 --> 00:31:30,940 Why don't you call the police? 509 00:31:30,940 --> 00:31:31,940 I can't do that, Mary. 510 00:31:31,940 --> 00:31:33,940 The police won't do anything until something happens. 511 00:31:33,940 --> 00:31:34,940 Well, don't go home. 512 00:31:34,940 --> 00:31:36,940 We're in a hotel room. 513 00:31:36,940 --> 00:31:37,940 Stay with me. 514 00:31:37,940 --> 00:31:38,940 I can't do that, Mary. 515 00:31:38,940 --> 00:31:40,940 I have to be home tonight to take a call from Sandy. 516 00:31:40,940 --> 00:31:42,940 She'd be worried if I wasn't there. 517 00:31:42,940 --> 00:31:45,940 And he got in his car and drove away, 518 00:31:45,940 --> 00:31:48,940 and that was the last time I saw him. 519 00:31:48,940 --> 00:31:51,940 According to Sandy, her husband had sent her to Austin 520 00:31:51,940 --> 00:31:53,940 out of range of the threats. 521 00:31:57,940 --> 00:32:00,940 Sandy says she spoke to Baker around 1 a.m. 522 00:32:00,940 --> 00:32:03,940 He was holed up in their bedroom and told her he had received 523 00:32:03,940 --> 00:32:06,940 yet another life-threatening call. 524 00:32:06,940 --> 00:32:17,940 Hello? 525 00:32:17,940 --> 00:32:20,940 Baker, it's time to die. 526 00:32:20,940 --> 00:32:22,940 Who is this? 527 00:32:22,940 --> 00:32:23,940 Who is this? 528 00:32:23,940 --> 00:32:37,440 Two days later, on November 8, sheriffs 529 00:32:37,440 --> 00:32:40,200 were notified of the burned out Jaguar. 530 00:32:40,200 --> 00:32:42,840 In the passenger seat were the charred remains later 531 00:32:42,840 --> 00:32:46,040 identified as Ed Bakers. 532 00:32:46,040 --> 00:32:47,160 From the evidence on the scene, it 533 00:32:47,160 --> 00:32:50,320 appeared that the subject in the car had been shot. 534 00:32:50,320 --> 00:32:52,760 There was a burnt 32 caliber revolver 535 00:32:52,760 --> 00:32:54,160 in the right front floorboard, which 536 00:32:54,160 --> 00:32:57,120 would have been at the passengers feet. 537 00:32:57,120 --> 00:33:00,320 When we opened and examined the 32 pistol, 538 00:33:00,320 --> 00:33:02,060 the cartridge underneath the firing pin 539 00:33:02,060 --> 00:33:05,040 had an indentation in it, like it had been fired. 540 00:33:05,040 --> 00:33:07,200 The other five shells looked like they had been exploded 541 00:33:07,200 --> 00:33:08,680 by heat. 542 00:33:08,680 --> 00:33:13,680 Somebody obviously was trying to burn the car. 543 00:33:13,680 --> 00:33:16,360 It appeared at the time that was rather crude effort. 544 00:33:16,360 --> 00:33:19,520 We found three gallon cans gasoline inside that vehicle 545 00:33:19,520 --> 00:33:22,080 and around that vehicle more than enough 546 00:33:22,080 --> 00:33:25,640 to sufficiently burn it up. 547 00:33:25,640 --> 00:33:27,720 As they were leaving the scene, investigators 548 00:33:27,720 --> 00:33:30,200 made another troubling discovery. 549 00:33:30,200 --> 00:33:33,680 About 1,500 feet from the car was a second body. 550 00:33:33,680 --> 00:33:37,040 A young man in his early 20s had been handcuffed and beaten 551 00:33:37,040 --> 00:33:41,000 to death, apparently just hours earlier. 552 00:33:41,000 --> 00:33:42,200 We thought to start with, it might 553 00:33:42,200 --> 00:33:44,120 have been a person that killed Mr. Bakers and somebody killed 554 00:33:44,120 --> 00:33:45,640 him and shut him up. 555 00:33:45,640 --> 00:33:47,960 Our final determination, we found out it wasn't connected. 556 00:33:47,960 --> 00:33:50,520 We found out the boy that we found, the second body we found 557 00:33:50,520 --> 00:33:54,760 was killed in a dope deal and just was dumped in that area. 558 00:33:54,760 --> 00:33:58,120 It happened to be a dumping area. 559 00:33:58,120 --> 00:34:01,800 That same day, the case took another surprising twist. 560 00:34:01,800 --> 00:34:04,920 A letter from Baker arrived at the office of his attorney, 561 00:34:04,920 --> 00:34:06,880 Ward Boosie. 562 00:34:06,880 --> 00:34:09,680 It said, dear Ward, if you are reading this letter, 563 00:34:09,680 --> 00:34:11,320 it means that I am dead. 564 00:34:11,320 --> 00:34:13,280 I've had some threats on my life. 565 00:34:13,280 --> 00:34:14,600 You've been a good friend to me. 566 00:34:14,600 --> 00:34:16,080 Please take care of Sandy and the kids 567 00:34:16,080 --> 00:34:18,160 and do what you can for them. 568 00:34:18,160 --> 00:34:19,760 And enclosed is another letter that I 569 00:34:19,760 --> 00:34:24,920 would like you to take out to Sandy and give to her for me. 570 00:34:24,920 --> 00:34:27,480 In the weeks had followed, the fate of Ed Baker 571 00:34:27,480 --> 00:34:31,360 became the subject of intense speculation. 572 00:34:31,360 --> 00:34:33,880 His wife, Sandy, who today lives in Europe, 573 00:34:33,880 --> 00:34:38,920 was convinced that he was the victim of a mafia hit. 574 00:34:38,920 --> 00:34:41,920 An eyewitness told police that he saw a blue Chevy pickup 575 00:34:41,920 --> 00:34:45,000 truck with chrome rails and mag wheels speeding away 576 00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:48,920 from the field where Baker's car was found. 577 00:34:48,920 --> 00:34:52,040 The truck and whoever was in it had never been located. 578 00:34:56,520 --> 00:34:58,400 Although Baker told a number of friends 579 00:34:58,400 --> 00:35:01,960 about the threats to his life, law enforcement investigators 580 00:35:01,960 --> 00:35:04,480 believe he committed suicide. 581 00:35:04,480 --> 00:35:06,720 They learned that in the days prior to his death, 582 00:35:06,720 --> 00:35:09,400 Baker called his life insurance agents. 583 00:35:09,400 --> 00:35:11,360 He specifically asked if his policies 584 00:35:11,360 --> 00:35:14,080 would pay in the event of his suicide. 585 00:35:14,080 --> 00:35:18,880 One valued at $500,000 would not. 586 00:35:18,880 --> 00:35:21,400 I believe it's a possibility that Mr. Baker shot 587 00:35:21,400 --> 00:35:23,560 himself committed suicide. 588 00:35:23,560 --> 00:35:25,760 And he had an accomplice that set the car on fire 589 00:35:25,760 --> 00:35:28,280 to make it look like a homicide so that all of the insurance 590 00:35:28,280 --> 00:35:30,400 policies would pay off. 591 00:35:30,400 --> 00:35:32,600 We'll have a lot of people we find in a car commit 592 00:35:32,600 --> 00:35:34,240 suicide with pistols. 593 00:35:34,240 --> 00:35:36,040 And the pistols is always at their feet. 594 00:35:36,040 --> 00:35:37,400 And the pistol we would have covered 595 00:35:37,400 --> 00:35:38,560 would have been at Mr. Baker's feet 596 00:35:38,560 --> 00:35:41,520 on the passenger side of the vehicle. 597 00:35:41,520 --> 00:35:43,880 Sandy Baker refused to accept the idea 598 00:35:43,880 --> 00:35:46,600 that her husband had taken his own life. 599 00:35:46,640 --> 00:35:49,960 She hired an independent private investigator. 600 00:35:49,960 --> 00:35:53,000 I think somebody was paid to kill Ed Baker. 601 00:35:53,000 --> 00:35:56,360 If you're a related professional like a mafia 602 00:35:56,360 --> 00:35:59,640 or syndication type thing, I don't think so. 603 00:35:59,640 --> 00:36:02,360 I don't know why they would burn the car. 604 00:36:02,360 --> 00:36:06,720 This seems to be just somebody was paid to kill Ed Baker. 605 00:36:06,720 --> 00:36:08,480 And that's exactly what they did. 606 00:36:08,480 --> 00:36:11,240 Ed Baker did not commit suicide. 607 00:36:11,240 --> 00:36:15,240 Baker's attorney, Ward Boosie, disagrees. 608 00:36:15,280 --> 00:36:18,680 The letter I got said, if you're reading this, I am dead. 609 00:36:18,680 --> 00:36:20,480 How did he know he was going to die that night 610 00:36:20,480 --> 00:36:23,360 unless he planned on going out and killing himself? 611 00:36:23,360 --> 00:36:29,160 I think Ed decided that he was about to probably go to jail 612 00:36:29,160 --> 00:36:31,120 and decided to get Sandy out of town 613 00:36:31,120 --> 00:36:34,560 so that she wouldn't be implicated. 614 00:36:34,560 --> 00:36:37,480 Said goodbye to everybody that he loved, 615 00:36:37,480 --> 00:36:39,560 went out to this field that he knew about, 616 00:36:39,560 --> 00:36:41,840 set his car on fire, and shot himself. 617 00:36:41,840 --> 00:36:46,440 From what I know about fire, I spent over 20 years 618 00:36:46,440 --> 00:36:47,960 in the business. 619 00:36:47,960 --> 00:36:52,040 I don't believe an individual can pour gasoline on themselves, 620 00:36:52,040 --> 00:36:56,480 ignite it, and be able to stay calm and still enough 621 00:36:56,480 --> 00:37:00,280 to reach down and put a gun to their head and pull the trigger. 622 00:37:00,280 --> 00:37:02,360 Homicide is a possibility. 623 00:37:02,360 --> 00:37:04,960 But also, I feel the possibility that Ed 624 00:37:04,960 --> 00:37:07,600 could arrange something like this with a different body 625 00:37:07,600 --> 00:37:09,840 in that vehicle. 626 00:37:09,840 --> 00:37:11,440 Ed was a very intelligent man. 627 00:37:11,440 --> 00:37:14,360 A man that took in, as he told me himself, 628 00:37:14,360 --> 00:37:18,960 $66 million last year that he was in business. 629 00:37:18,960 --> 00:37:23,000 And a man capable of doing that is capable of faking his own death. 630 00:37:25,640 --> 00:37:28,640 Bob Gale and others believe that despite conclusive evidence 631 00:37:28,640 --> 00:37:31,880 to the contrary, Ed Baker faked his own suicide. 632 00:37:31,880 --> 00:37:38,280 They are convinced that Baker fled to an unknown location, 633 00:37:38,280 --> 00:37:41,640 perhaps a Caribbean, to live in luxury on funds 634 00:37:41,640 --> 00:37:43,080 embezzled from his investors. 635 00:37:46,840 --> 00:37:49,480 Today, the fate of Ed Baker's become something of a myth 636 00:37:49,480 --> 00:37:51,480 in parts of Texas. 637 00:37:51,480 --> 00:37:53,680 It seems unlikely that Baker is still alive. 638 00:37:53,680 --> 00:37:55,280 Yet one of his insurance carriers 639 00:37:55,280 --> 00:37:58,000 refused to pay death benefits without conclusive proof 640 00:37:58,000 --> 00:37:59,000 of his death. 641 00:37:59,120 --> 00:38:02,000 But if it was Ed Baker in the front seat of the Jaguar, 642 00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:05,000 did he commit suicide or was he murdered? 643 00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:07,000 And if so, by whom? 644 00:38:17,000 --> 00:38:19,000 What is this? 645 00:38:19,000 --> 00:38:23,000 In 1957, 13-year-old Sue Scribner 646 00:38:23,000 --> 00:38:25,000 learned of a secret that her mother Kalissa 647 00:38:25,000 --> 00:38:28,000 had been carrying for more than 15 years. 648 00:38:28,000 --> 00:38:30,000 Yeah, honey, just a little. 649 00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:33,000 When I asked her why she had been crying, 650 00:38:33,000 --> 00:38:37,000 she told me about having a boy and a girl twin 651 00:38:37,000 --> 00:38:38,000 that had been adopted. 652 00:38:38,000 --> 00:38:40,000 It's time I told you. 653 00:38:40,000 --> 00:38:41,000 Told me what? 654 00:38:41,000 --> 00:38:45,000 I was really surprised because I was 13. 655 00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:49,000 And it's a shock to find out that you have a brother and sister 656 00:38:49,000 --> 00:38:50,000 that you didn't know about. 657 00:38:51,000 --> 00:38:55,000 In 1942, Kalissa Scribner had given birth to twins, 658 00:38:55,000 --> 00:38:57,000 a boy and a girl. 659 00:38:57,000 --> 00:39:00,000 The infants were born with congenital heart defects, 660 00:39:00,000 --> 00:39:03,000 and Kalissa felt she would be unable to provide them 661 00:39:03,000 --> 00:39:04,000 with the care they needed. 662 00:39:08,000 --> 00:39:11,000 Three weeks after they were born, the twins were adopted. 663 00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:15,000 Kalissa never saw them again. 664 00:39:15,000 --> 00:39:17,000 The twins were born with a baby. 665 00:39:17,000 --> 00:39:20,000 Kalissa never saw them again. 666 00:39:20,000 --> 00:39:24,000 The twins being adopted, it just stayed with her forever. 667 00:39:24,000 --> 00:39:25,000 She never got over it. 668 00:39:28,000 --> 00:39:32,000 For 10 frustrating years, Sue Scribner searched for the twins. 669 00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:36,000 Finally in 1990, Sue wrote a poignant open letter 670 00:39:36,000 --> 00:39:40,000 to the brother and sister she had never met. 671 00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:44,000 And so elusive twins, I still search. 672 00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:46,000 Yet should my efforts end in emptiness, 673 00:39:46,000 --> 00:39:50,000 I have not failed so completely, for I've already found you once. 674 00:39:50,000 --> 00:39:54,000 Years ago, chasmed in that deep indelible well, 675 00:39:54,000 --> 00:39:57,000 that safe place, our mother's heart. 676 00:40:00,000 --> 00:40:02,000 10 days after we featured this story, 677 00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:05,000 Sue Scribner received an anonymous call from one of our viewers 678 00:40:05,000 --> 00:40:09,000 who told her that the twins were living in Orlando, Florida. 679 00:40:09,000 --> 00:40:12,000 Sue immediately contacted her brother and sister, 680 00:40:12,000 --> 00:40:14,000 whose names are Bruce and Barbara. 681 00:40:14,000 --> 00:40:17,000 The twins had no idea that they had been adopted 682 00:40:17,000 --> 00:40:19,000 and were shocked to learn about a side of their family 683 00:40:19,000 --> 00:40:21,000 they never knew existed. 684 00:40:24,000 --> 00:40:29,000 On March 15, 1992, Sue Scribner met her brother and sister 685 00:40:29,000 --> 00:40:31,000 for the first time in her life. 686 00:40:35,000 --> 00:40:39,000 The joyous reunion brought together six of the Scribner children 687 00:40:39,000 --> 00:40:41,000 and their families. 688 00:40:42,000 --> 00:40:46,000 The very first time I met them, I think all of our knees were shaking. 689 00:40:46,000 --> 00:40:52,000 It is emotional, but I think we've all cried enough tears 690 00:40:52,000 --> 00:40:54,000 and we didn't need a lot today. 691 00:40:54,000 --> 00:40:57,000 I think that my newfound family is wonderful. 692 00:40:57,000 --> 00:40:59,000 I think they're absolutely adorable. 693 00:40:59,000 --> 00:41:02,000 It's like we've known each other all of our lives, 694 00:41:02,000 --> 00:41:06,000 even though we haven't been around each other more than five hours. 695 00:41:06,000 --> 00:41:09,000 You can lose me for another 50 years. 696 00:41:12,000 --> 00:41:15,000 I can't wait to get to know them. 697 00:41:15,000 --> 00:41:18,000 I'm really very excited about it. 698 00:41:18,000 --> 00:41:21,000 You have all these questions in your mind. 699 00:41:21,000 --> 00:41:24,000 Gee, what did I miss out on all these years? 700 00:41:24,000 --> 00:41:26,000 What they really like as kids. 701 00:41:26,000 --> 00:41:28,000 She used to be small. 702 00:41:30,000 --> 00:41:32,000 I think everybody's going to get to know each other 703 00:41:32,000 --> 00:41:34,000 on both sides of the family. 704 00:41:34,000 --> 00:41:38,000 And for country bumpings like we are, it's like a blessing. 705 00:41:39,000 --> 00:41:44,000 It doesn't really matter now what kind of life any of us had 706 00:41:44,000 --> 00:41:47,000 because it's what's left that counts. 707 00:41:47,000 --> 00:41:50,000 We know where all of the children are now. 708 00:41:58,000 --> 00:42:01,000 Tonight, the FBI has requested our cooperation 709 00:42:01,000 --> 00:42:03,000 in a matter of extreme importance. 710 00:42:03,000 --> 00:42:06,000 They hope that someone watching has vital information 711 00:42:06,000 --> 00:42:08,000 about a man suspected of taking part 712 00:42:08,000 --> 00:42:10,000 in the bombing of the World Trade Center. 713 00:42:10,000 --> 00:42:14,000 He is a newest addition to the FBI's 10 most wanted list. 714 00:42:14,000 --> 00:42:17,000 Please watch closely. 715 00:42:19,000 --> 00:42:21,000 By now, we are all familiar with the graphic images 716 00:42:21,000 --> 00:42:23,000 and horrifying details. 717 00:42:23,000 --> 00:42:28,000 On February 26, 1993, the explosion beneath New York's 718 00:42:28,000 --> 00:42:33,000 Trade Center complex killed six people and injured more than a thousand. 719 00:42:34,000 --> 00:42:37,000 Thus far, four men have been arrested and indicted 720 00:42:37,000 --> 00:42:39,000 in connection with the bombing. 721 00:42:39,000 --> 00:42:42,000 And a fifth has been charged with obstruction of justice. 722 00:42:42,000 --> 00:42:45,000 But another suspect thought to be a major participant 723 00:42:45,000 --> 00:42:48,000 has so far eluded capture. 724 00:42:48,000 --> 00:42:51,000 He is 25-year-old Ramzi Ahmed Yosef, 725 00:42:51,000 --> 00:42:54,000 who used an Iraq passport to enter the US 726 00:42:54,000 --> 00:42:58,000 in September of 1992 seeking political asylum. 727 00:42:58,000 --> 00:43:01,000 Authorities believe Yosef may have been the roommate 728 00:43:01,000 --> 00:43:05,000 of the first suspect arrested, Mohammed Salome. 729 00:43:05,000 --> 00:43:09,000 Ramzi Ahmed Yosef was added to the top 10 list 730 00:43:09,000 --> 00:43:12,000 because he's been charged by a New York grand jury 731 00:43:12,000 --> 00:43:15,000 with participating in the bombing of the World Trade Center 732 00:43:15,000 --> 00:43:18,000 on February 26 of this year. 733 00:43:18,000 --> 00:43:23,000 He's six feet tall, 180 pounds, brown hair, brown eyes, 734 00:43:23,000 --> 00:43:25,000 sometimes known to wear a beard. 735 00:43:25,000 --> 00:43:27,000 Wherever he is located, he should be considered armed 736 00:43:27,000 --> 00:43:29,000 and extremely dangerous. 737 00:43:29,000 --> 00:43:32,000 It's really critical to bring him to justice 738 00:43:32,000 --> 00:43:35,000 for his participation in this crime for two reasons. 739 00:43:35,000 --> 00:43:37,000 One, terrible nature of the crime, 740 00:43:37,000 --> 00:43:40,000 what it represents to American society, 741 00:43:40,000 --> 00:43:43,000 the first major terrorist offensive here in this country 742 00:43:43,000 --> 00:43:45,000 in many, many years. 743 00:43:45,000 --> 00:43:49,000 And secondly, because he is a key part of this conspiracy, 744 00:43:49,000 --> 00:43:53,000 and we would like to bring all the co-conspirators to justice. 745 00:43:59,000 --> 00:44:19,000 Music 746 00:44:19,000 --> 00:44:21,000 Thank you for joining us, and please join us next time 747 00:44:21,000 --> 00:44:24,000 for another edition of Unsolved Mysteries. 748 00:44:24,000 --> 00:44:34,000 Music 749 00:44:34,000 --> 00:44:44,000 Music 750 00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:54,000 Music 751 00:44:54,000 --> 00:45:04,000 Music 752 00:45:04,000 --> 00:45:12,000 Music 753 00:45:12,000 --> 00:45:16,000 Music