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Post by pakman on Mar 30, 2022 10:56:03 GMT -5
Today is a very special day for me personally when it comes to my love of America's Most Wanted. Exactly 20 years ago on this date, March 30, 2002, I became a regular viewer* of America's Most Wanted when I caught the Strange But True special edition on that fateful Saturday night. I didn't intend to become a regular viewer, but the following week when I saw a preview for the Bad Girls edition, I couldn't not miss that! Then the following week's preview talked about a guy people were worried would become the next Timothy McVeigh (Stephen Anderson). And then the week after that previewed a church-going couple by day, killers by night (capture of Brenda Andrew & James Pavatt). By then, AMW had reached their 700th capture (Michael Bliss) and I wasn't going to stop watching anytime soon!
I've remained an AMW fan since, eventually tuning in to Final Justice reruns on the Reality TV channel, reading John Walsh's three books, literally rearranging my Saturday nights so that I'd never miss AMW (one night Hillary Clinton came to my college campus on a campaign stop and it ended mere moments before AMW began - I literally ran from the gym to my dorm room with seconds to spare before I hit record on my VCR and started, just cutting off the 30 second intro).
While later on in AMW's FOX run I wasn't as strict with catching episodes (there's more than one episode in my collection that has commercials recorded, something I normally didn't do, because I had plans I'd rather not miss) and one episode I skipped altogether on purpose, something I'd never done (it was the rerun of the Dale Helmig episode, where AMW was trying to get him out of prison), I still loved the show. Even with moments that make me scratch my head, I've always loved AMW. I even watched every Lifetime episode and tuned in for the short-lived reboot in 2021.
Some of my friends ask me why I started watching AMW at such a young age (I had just turned 13 and a half when I started). I was thinking about this recently, and I think the reason is because I felt like, to paraphrase John Walsh, I could make a difference. At the time, I was not going through a good time; my grades were bad, I was being bullied, at times I felt like I had no friends, parents were upset because my principal had come out as transgender, and this was also going on in the aftermath of 9/11. There were times I felt so lonely and hopeless, but I think AMW gave me hope. It made me feel like that, maybe, I could do something. I started keeping an eye out for these fugitives, and I took several cases to heart (notably, I was the same age as Ashley Pond and Miranda Gaddis when they were abducted, and to me, it felt like something happened to two of my friends; I was heartbroken when their bodies were found). I even created my own Dirty Dozen list! Heck, I joined this forum just so I could talk about AMW with people who understood me.
Also, I don't mean to sound like a hipster, but I think all of us can say we were into true crime before it became the cool thing to talk about.
Over the next year, I'll be celebrating AMW on my blog - I may share the link a bit later - with commemorative posts, reflections, lists of fugitives, and maybe even a few videos (if YouTube cooperates, at least). But for today, I celebrate being an AMW fan for 20 years!
* - while I became a regular viewer of AMW on this date 20 years ago, the Strange But True edition was not the first episode of AMW I ever watched. I'd previously seen two episodes at random; the Dec. 29, 2001 show and the March 16, 2002 episode.
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Post by pakman on Feb 6, 2022 14:23:48 GMT -5
So, I was going to post this tomorrow, but I figured since I finished my analysis this morning, why wait? Here's my look at the AMW episodes from August 2005!
Episode #816 – Aug. 6, 2005 Unknown Indiana Bank Shooter (Full segment) – Ray Novak, a police officer in Anderson, Indiana, found himself in the middle of a bizarre robbery while off-duty in August 2003. When he went into a credit union to conduct business, an armed robber entered and began demanding money. Ray pulled out his gun and a shootout between him and the suspect ensued, which included the suspect getting hit, leaving his blood behind. When Ray left the bank to get more bullets, the suspect followed him and continued firing. Ray was able to call for help, but the suspect had already disappeared. The suspect getting shot ended up being his downfall; in 2011, the DNA from the suspect’s blood led to him being identified as Pascal Sylla, a local man who, ironically, was already behind bars in connection with a 2005 robbery.
(commercial break)
Gerald Estes (15 Seconds of Shame) – Accused of molesting two boys out of North Carolina and taking pictures of the crimes. In 2009, a serial killer confessed to police that he’d killed Estes within a week of him bonding out of jail. Police have closed the case, although Estes’ body has never been found.
Sucha Singh (15 Seconds of Shame) – Dallas police were looking for Singh for stabbing his wife to death after she asked for a divorce. He was indirectly captured in India in 2011.
Clansie Banner (15 Seconds of Shame) – Police say, after he got into a minor traffic accident with a man, he shot the man to death. After two more profiles, tips led to Banner’s arrest in April 2006, making him Capture #885.
Tommy James (15 Seconds of Shame) – Wanted out of Louisiana for sexually assaulting a teenage girl nearly four months ago. Within hours of this airing, a tip led to James’ arrest in Missouri as he was trying to board a bus to Tennessee. He was Capture #853.
Mark Wood (Full segment, but classified as breaking news) – Rick Segall reports on a tragic case involving a rookie police officer out of Michigan. On July 25, Officer Scot Beyerstedt with the Mattawan, Michigan, Police Department, got involved in a pursuit where the driver was going over 90 miles per hour. During the pursuit, Officer Beyerstedt lost control of the squad car and it spun out of control, killing him and severely injuring the other officer in the car. Officer Beyerstedt had only been with the department for 11 days. The suspect’s vehicle was found abandoned and police learned it belonged to career criminal Mark Wood, who had a failure to appear warrant on drug charges. Wood was indirectly captured two days after this profile.
(commercial break)
LaToyia Figueroa (Missing Person Alert, approx. 2 minutes) – The search for a missing Philadelphia woman who is five months pregnant continues. Police say LaToyia Figueroa was last reported seen by her boyfriend, who said they went to an obstetrician appointment then had lunch together before saying goodbye. There had been no activity on her credit cards or cell phone, both of which were highly unusual. Later in August, that same boyfriend, Stephen Poaches, would lead police to LaToyia’s body. He was eventually convicted of her murder.
Operation: Black Biscuit (Full segment) – Tom Morris reports on an unprecedented undercover operation; the infiltration of the Arizona Hell’s Angels by the ATF. Led by an ATF agent going by the codename “Scorpion,” the agents posed as members of a Mexican motorcycle gang and were successfully recruited as Hell’s Angels members. The investigation began after an April 2002 incident at the Harrah’s Casino in Laughlin, Nevada, where a massive fight between the Hell’s Angels and the Mongols broke out, leading to deaths and injuries. In 2003, the undercover operation ended with more than 50 Hell’s Angels being indicted on a variety of charges.
Paul Eischeid (Tacked-on profile) – The one Hell’s Angel who got away was Paul Eischeid, wanted for the brutal murder of a woman named Cynthia Garcia who attended a party at one of the clubhouses and was later found dead and mutilated in the desert. Eischeid was indirectly captured in Argentina in early 2011.
(commercial break)
William Lane (All Points Bulletin) – Texas fugitive wanted for molesting an eight-year-old relative whose family he’d been living with. Lane was no stranger to AMW; the show previously profiled him in 1991 after he pulled off a daring escape from a maximum-security prison in Puerto Rico. Two accomplices hijacked a helicopter and landed it in the prison’s basketball court. Fending off guards with guns, Lane and two others escaped, but was caught in 1992. Lane was indirectly nabbed just a few weeks after this profile.
Calvin Sinclair (All Points Bulletin) – Wanted out of New Orleans for killing his teenage girlfriend and her mother. Police say Sinclair shot his girlfriend because she owed him money and then shot her mother when she tried to intervene. Still at large.
Richard Sanchez Sr. (All Points Bulletin) – After his marriage fell apart, New Mexico cops say Sanchez violently raped his sister-in-law in front of her five-year-old son. Although Sanchez surrendered, he later disappeared while out on bail, taking his sons – Richard Jr., Daniel and Christopher – with him. In 2009, police in New Mexico found the bodies of all four inside of a submerged car. It’s believed Sanchez committed suicide and took his sons with him.
(commercial break)
LaToyia Figueroa (Break Four Tease) – In Philadelphia, a five-months pregnant woman has disappeared. A month after her disappearance, her remains were found and her boyfriend was charged with her murder.
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Inside the World of the Hitman (Full segment) – Ed Miller examines the seedy world of the hitman. Not only does he interview a convicted hitman, but he also speaks with a detective who spent years undercover as a hitman. The detective shares videos of some of the people who tried hiring him to kill people, showing exactly how people react when they want someone dead.
Unknown Mickey & Trudy Thompson Hitmen (Tacked-on profile) – Ed asks for help in identifying two suspects who gunned down race car legend Mickey Thompson and his wife Trudy over a decade ago. Police say it was a hit, and the man who allegedly ordered the hit, Mickey’s former business partner Michael Goodwin, is about to stand trial. The suspects are still unidentified and at large.
In the Line of Duty – Deputy John Sanford (Northumberland County Sheriff’s Office, Virginia)
(commercial break)
Carl Evans Update (Brief, approx. 45 seconds) – The narrator shares that last week, AMW aired suspected killer Carl Evans, accused of killing his stepdaughter and setting the house on fire. Tips came rolling in on the case. Viewers are encouraged to visit amw.com to see what investigators found out from those tips.
Case recap – Unknown Indiana Bank Shooter, Gerald Estes, Sucha Singh, Clansie Banner, Tommy James, Paul Eischeid, LaToyia Figueroa, Mark Wood, William Lane, Calvin Sinclair, Hugo Lopez, Unknown Mickey & Trudy Thompson Hitmen
Episode notes: - This episode was filmed in the AMW Studio.
- Once again, outside of In the Line of Duty, Don LaFontaine does not narrate this episode.
- Recycled footage includes a portion of the Brad Bishop reenactment being used for Gerald Estes; Edward Santana’s reenactment being used for Sucha Singh; and a quick clip of Richard Vallee’s reenactment being used for Operation: Black Biscuit.
- When the Indiana Bank Shooter was first profiled in 2004, AMW mentioned that it may have been connected to a similar bank robbery in Muncie, Indiana, which included a similar MO (jumping over the counter, saying “You know what this is” when the robbery started). However, the Muncie robbery is not mentioned at all, although the case was on amw.com. To my knowledge, Pascal Sylla was never charged with the Muncie robbery, so that case is a mystery.
- According to a newspaper article, Ray Novak, the officer involved in the Indiana shootout, was the assistant chief of the Anderson Police Department at the time of the incident. His specific rank is never mentioned during the story.
- John Walsh introduces the Mark Wood case with a generic, “Now, we’ve got a late-breaking case we need your help on tonight.”
- At one point during Mark Wood’s case, generic police scanner audio can be heard. In fact, it’s the same bit of audio that played during the COPS closing credits.
- Although Operation: Black Biscuit started after April 2002, some of the footage shown has a time stamp of November 2001. This tells me this was confiscated footage and not actual undercover footage.
- “Scorpion,” the undercover ATF agent interviewed for Operation: Black Biscuit, later revealed his true identity, Jay Dobyns, and has since written a number of books about his experiences. He’s now retired from the ATF. I suggest looking him up, because he’s had a really fascinating career.
- During Richard Sanchez’s story, John Walsh mentions the first name of the fugitive's sister-in-law (the woman he was accused of raping) and oddly, the investigator refers to her by her full name.
- No, my notes on the Break Four Tease aren’t an error; LaToyia Figueroa was profiled twice on the same episode. The AMW Insider revealed that this was a mistake and that Hugo Lopez, who was featured during the case recap, was supposed to be profiled as the Break Four Tease instead. Something odd like this will happen again in 2006.
- The Hitman feature previously aired in August 2003, with minor alterations.
- The image of the National Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial during In the Line of Duty is fixed so that it’s not over-exposed. It’s still bright, but you can actually read the inscription now.
- Carl Evans was captured the day before this story aired, and because the update is so brief and doesn't really say anything, I don't know whether to classify it as a fugitive or a capture, which is why I'm calling it an update.
Episode #817 – Aug. 13, 2005 Jason Brown (Full segment) – Investigators in Phoenix, Arizona are looking for accused killer Jason Brown. He’s wanted for shooting and killing an armored car guard outside a movie theater as the guard was carrying receipts from the busy Thanksgiving weekend box office haul. Brown fled the scene on a bike, which gave police a fingerprint that they were able to use to identify him as the suspect. It turned out that Brown was a bit of a playboy and party animal who couldn’t afford his lifestyle anymore, which police believe is why he targeted the armored car guard. By the time police figured out where Brown was staying, he was already gone. In the latest developments, police say that Brown may be bisexual. Still at large
(commercial break)
Dino Smith Capture and Troy Smith (Full segment) – Rick Segall provides an update on two brothers wanted out of California for committing a $7 million jewelry heist. Dino and Troy Smith were known for their elaborate robbery schemes. In their latest heist, police say they broke into a restaurant next door to the jewelry store, then used tools to break down a between the two stores and steal the jewels. AMW got a number of tips after profiling the brothers in 2003, including several saying they believe they saw the jewelry on the “Antiques Roadshow.” It turned out that, while looking similar, it wasn’t the actual jewelry. Shortly after the brothers' last update in February 2004, Dino Smith was indirectly arrested in New York, but Troy Smith remained a fugitive. In 2006, Troy Smith surrendered to investigators, though it had nothing to do with his AMW profiles.
(commercial break)
Morgan Nick (Missing Child Alert, approx. 2 minutes) – It’s now been 10 years since Morgan Nick went missing from Alma, Arkansas. Morgan, who was 5 years old at the time, disappeared during a baseball game. Her mother, Colleen, says she won’t ever give up on Morgan, and says she’ll keep looking for her. A brand-new age-enhanced photo of Morgan is debuted, along with another airing of the sketch of the man police believe abducted her. Morgan is still missing.
Howard “Skip” Godfrey Capture (Full segment) – A couple in Vermont played an indirect, but major role in getting their daughter’s murder solved. In 1991, 28-year-old Patricia Scoville was raped and murdered after she decided to spend a day going for a hike in the woods. The only clue was DNA, but in 1991, that didn’t mean very much. Patricia’s parents, over the years, became lobbyists for a DNA database, and with their efforts, a law was passed that meant all felons, upon their release from prison, had to give a DNA sample. And in March 2005, their efforts paid off when a DNA hit came back; Howard “Skip” Godfrey, a local handyman, had been linked to the crime. Godfrey had spent six years in prison for violently assaulting a woman in an attack eerily similar to the way Patricia was killed. Godfrey was convicted of Patricia’s murder in 2008, and in 2013 he died in prison.
(commercial break)
Hugo Lopez (Breaking news, approx. 1 minute, 30 seconds) – Police in Staten Island were urgently looking for a man wanted for a horrible crime. It’s alleged that Hugo Lopez burned his own son by submerging him in a sink filled with scalding hot water. The child had burns over two thirds of his body. Lopez was jailed, but demanded an interpreter, and when one couldn’t be found, a judge allowed him to bond out. Lopez vanished. Still at large.
John Walsh introduces the next segment by saying, while AMW can’t catch every fugitive they go after, they never stop trying. With that in mind, AMW has decided to go back through its archives and profile some cases that they haven’t aired in some time with the hope of bringing in more tips on these cold cases. The first one is a case that AMW first profiled during its third season in August 1990.
Teddy Ellis (Full segment) – Oklahoma police are seeking Teddy Ellis for a murder he committed when he was just a teenager. In 1982, the 17-year-old Ellis and two friends picked up a hitchhiker. While stopped to get gas, Ellis noticed the man had a wallet filled with money, and decided he wanted it. On the guise of going target practice shooting, Ellis had the man pull over on a bridge. But investigators said Ellis instead shot and killed the hitchhiker, took the man’s wallet and then dumped his body in the river. Ellis only found $20 in the man’s pocket. While serving time for killing the hitchhiker, Ellis escaped from prison. Still at large
(commercial break)
Alex Buckman (Break Four Tease) – An 18-year-old football player from Spartanburg, South Carolina, has gone missing. In November, his remains were found in a landfill and three people were charged with his murder.
(commercial break continues)
Joel Urena (Full segment) – California fugitive wanted for committing a violent home invasion. During the home invasion, a young man was shot. Though he survived, the victim’s parents were forced to see their son bleeding out on the floor. Urena is believed to be involved in more home invasions and is wanted for questioning in a murder in California. Still at large
In the Line of Duty – Officer Dwayne Reeves (Newark School District Police, New Jersey)
(commercial break)
Capture Update (Brief, approx. 30 seconds) – Don LaFontaine says recent viewer tips have been on a roll with captures lately, including Tommy James, who was captured within 24 hours of his profile on the previous week’s show. He tells viewers to visit amw.com to learn about how James went down, and to learn the details of other recent captures.
Case recap – Jason Brown, Troy Smith, Morgan Nick and Unknown Morgan Nick Abductor, Hugo Lopez, Teddy Ellis, Alex Buckman, Joel Urena
Episode notes: - This episode was filmed in the AMW Studio.
- This episode was a rerun of the April 9, 2005 show.
- After two weeks off, Don LaFontaine returns to narrating.
- Jason Brown’s profile is pretty much exactly the same as the one that aired on the April 2 episode. This includes the random card that comes up showing Keith Palomares’ photo and saying the year he was born and the date of his death. It’s more obvious here that it was used as a scene transition since John’s interview with witness Tracy Brookins is cut out.
- The investigator interviewed for the Morgan Nick update says they’ve developed a better sketch, but the sketch that is shown is exactly the same that has been featured ever since Morgan went missing. The sketch appears on a background reminiscent of AMW's episodes from 2001, when Morgan was last profiled, so I'm assuming this interview is an old one from around that time.
- While she was referred to as “Patricia Scoville” during the case’s 2002 profile, here John Walsh consistently refers to her as “Patty Scoville.”
- I love the way the Patricia Scoville case is told. It basically starts off at the time she was murdered, then jumps ahead to a specific point in the '90s or 2000s that shows what was going on in the Scoville's lives, as well as what was going on in Godfrey's life at the same time, plus speculation as to where Patricia might have been in her life.
- During Skip Godfrey’s capture report, at one point a police officer is shown taking a DNA sample from a man whose face is blurred out. The man is Edward Raifsnider, an indirect capture from 2004, and the clip is actually from his capture report where he offered to take a DNA test to rule him out as a suspect in the Ali Kemp murder.
- Richmond County District Attorney Dan Donovan, who was prominently featured in the Hugo Lopez story, would later be elected to Congress. He served from 2015-2019.
- The missing teen featured during the Break Four Tease is referred to by John Walsh as “Alex Buckman,” but according to his profile on the website, his family called him by his middle name, Davon Buckman. Interestingly, amw.com classified him as a missing adult, even though he was 17 when he went missing, and should have been a missing child (although he was less than three months away from his 18th birthday when he disappeared).
- In addition to Tommy James, during the capture update, photos of Crystal Vigil, Raymond Ross, John Lockhart and Robert Ellison also flash on screen.
Episode #818 – Aug. 20, 2005 Ismael Zambada-Garcia (Full segment) – Ed Miller reports on the hunt for the most prominent drug kingpin in Mexico. Ismael Zambada-Garcia worked his way up to the top of the ranks to become a multi-millionaire drug lord, bringing in millions of dollars of cocaine into the United States. He’s also reportedly linked to the 1985 kidnapping, torture and murder of DEA Agent Kiki Camarena. Investigators say he’s undergone plastic surgery to change his appearance, and the latest information is that he’s diabetic and may be seeking medical attention. Still at large
(commercial break)
Patrick Brown (15 Seconds of Shame) – Police in Boston say Brown stabbed a man to death with a hunting knife. Thanks to an AMW tipster, Brown was captured in Belize in early 2010, making him Capture #1,103.
Frederick Russell (15 Seconds of Shame) – Washington state police were seeking Russell for driving drunk and slamming into another car, killing three college students. Two months after this profile, Russell was indirectly captured in Ireland.
Saul Pena (15 Seconds of Shame) – When police in south Florida tried to pull him over, they say Saul Pena began driving erratically and ran a red light, crashing into a car and killing the driver. Still at large
Anthony Quick (15 Seconds of Shame) – Scam artist wanted for targeting elderly women in Florida. In 2007, an AMW tip led to Quick’s arrest, making him Capture #937.
Christopher Hampton Capture and Tamika Huston Discovery (Full segment) – Tom Morris returns to tell the final chapter in the case of Tamika Huston, the South Carolina woman who vanished under mysterious circumstances. A thorough investigation led to an apartment where Tamika’s blood was found. The tenant, Christopher Hampton, tried passing it off as both a ketchup stain and a Kool-Aid stain. Hampton also admitted he’d dated Tamika. On the day Hampton was to be released from prison on unrelated charges, investigators charged him with Tamika’s murder. Shortly thereafter, he led police to where he’d buried her in the woods. Afterward, Hampton gave an interview to a local reporter where he tried saying that Tamika’s death was an accident and happened after he threw an iron at her during an argument. Hamilton eventually pleaded guilty and is now serving life in prison.
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Tracey Gardner-Tetso (Full segment) – When a woman went missing while on her way to a Motley Crue concert, the band new they had to get involved. Tracey Gardner-Tetso was planning on going to the band’s concert in Washington, D.C. in March, but she never showed up and her car was found abandoned at a motel a short time later. Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee got personally involved in the case, offering a $10,000 reward and meeting with Tracey’s family the next time they came to the D.C. area. Nikki Sixx also said he made sure every press interview he did, he mentioned Tracey. While Tracey’s body has never been found, her husband, Dennis Tetso, was convicted of her murder.
(commercial break)
Marco Camacho (All Points Bulletin) – Wanted out of Napa, California for killing a man at his girlfriend’s Quinceanera. Police say the victim was trying to crash the party, and when he refused to leave, Camacho stabbed him. The man stumbled inside the party where despite the best efforts of witnesses, he died. Still at large
Richard Goldberg (All Points Bulletin) – Babysitter wanted out of Long Beach, California, for sexually assaulting six children who were in his care. Police say he was discovered when two girls discovered naked photos of their friends on his computer. Goldberg fled, but in 2007, he was indirectly captured in Canada after he admitted to someone he was a fugitive.
Rashawn Capers (All Points Bulletin) – Paterson, New Jersey investigators were looking for Capers for killing the son of a police officer. The victim was stabbed outside of a nightclub, and his father just happened to be the first officer on scene. The victim died at the hospital. To help catch Capers, AMW unveiled a billboard in northern New Jersey, where they believed he was hiding out. It may have helped; thanks to an AMW tip, Capers was captured just two months after this profile in New York, making him Capture #867.
(commercial break)
Amanda Jones (Break Four Tease) – In Missouri, police were urgently looking for a 26-year-old woman who disappeared while nine months pregnant. Still missing
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Unknown James Phillip Brooks Killer (Full segment) – Ray Farkas brings his camera to rural Wheeler County, Oregon, where for the past decade an unsolved murder has baffled everybody in town. In September 1994, James Phillip Brooks was found dead from a bullet wound in the middle of his chest, fired from a rifle about 400 feet away. Some people wonder if it was a murder or a horrible accident, and if it was an accident, why hasn't the person involved come forward? Featured people include the victim’s parents, investigators, a woman who served on the grand jury and a local man who has put up reward money. The case is still unsolved.
In the Line of Duty – Officer Wayne Morgan (Tennessee Department of Corrections)
(commercial break)
William Komlo (Brief, approx. 15 seconds) – Don LaFontaine asks what would you do if you spotted yourself on AMW? Former NFL quarterback William “Jeff” Komlo was so outraged he appeared on amw.com for failing to appear for sentencing, he called a reporter to complain about it. As Komlo's profile card appears on screen, Don invites viewers to visit amw.com to find out what he’s wanted for. In 2009, Komlo was killed in a car accident in Greece.
Case recap – Ismael Zambada-Garcia, Patrick Brown, Frederick Russell, Saul Pena, Anthony Quick, Tracey Gardner-Tetso, Richard Goldberg, Rashawn Capers, Marco Camacho, Unknown James Phillip Brooks Killer
Episode notes: - I honestly have no idea where this episode was filmed. John Walsh is outside standing near a large body of water, but it’s unclear as to where this is.
- Recycled reenactments include Dudley Forbes being used for Saul Pena and Russell Winstead being used for Anthony Quick.
- Not only is this the first time Ismael Zambada-Garcia is called “El Mayo,” but this is also the last time he was profiled on AMW. I wonder if AMW maybe thought he was uncatchable via viewer tips.
- Frederick Russell is said to be on the U.S. Marshals’ Most Wanted List, but they oddly don’t call it the 15 Most Wanted List.
- Tom Morris said the hotline received a tip about Christopher Hampton’s inconsistent story regarding the blood stains on his floor in June. However, June was when the case was updated and this tip was discussed. That tip would have had to come in from the March 2005 broadcast.
- John Walsh makes a statement after the Tamika Huston case saying that when it comes to profiling missing persons, AMW doesn’t consider race, sex or age and only cares about bringing people home. His comments reflect a discussion about Missing White Woman Syndrome that was going on in the media at the time, specifically in reference to LaToyia Figueroa and how she was barely getting any media attention. His comments imply that AMW was being called out, but I don’t ever recall that happening.
- Once again, John refers to Tracey Gardner-Tetso as Tracey Tetso, although her full name appears on her profile card and she’s referred to by her full name during the recap.
- Unlike the May 2005 profile, Tracey’s husband, Dennis Tetso, is not interviewed, and he’s not even mentioned. Given that he was eventually convicted of her murder, I think it’s safe to say the family had their suspicions about him even early on.
- James Phillip Brooks is referred to as Phillip Brooks throughout the story.
- The suspected killers of Officer Wayne Morgan, Jennifer and George Hyatte, were featured on amw.com, and had they not been caught, it’s likely they would have been profiled on the show. I know their story has also been told on other true crime shows, since I've seen this case on a show that aired on ID.
Episode #819 – Aug. 27, 2005 Unknown Gus Boulis Killers (Full segment) – John Turchin has an intriguing update in the murder investigation of a Florida businessman with possible connections to Washington, D.C. Gus Boulis, the multi-millionaire owner of the Miami Subs chain, was killed in February 2001 after two cars surrounded him and someone fired five shots into his vehicle. Detectives believed that Gus’ murder may have had something to do with the sale of the scandal-plagued SunCruz Casino line, which Gus had sold to Adam Kidan, a New York investor, and his partner, lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Over the past few weeks, Kidan and Abramoff were indicted by a federal grand jury on charges they lied to banks to get a loan for the SunCruz sale, and Abramoff was in the middle of a Congressional ethics investigation. Reportedly, Gus and Kidan had a tense relationship, and investigators wondered if he or Abramoff had something to do with Gus’ murder. Just a month after this update, three men – Anthony Moscatiello, James Fiorillo and Anthony Ferrari – were all charged with Gus’ murder.
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Patricia Yoshikawa (15 Seconds of Shame) – New Hampshire police alleged that Yoshikawa helped her boyfriend steal a car, then rob a bank. I can’t find corroborating documents, but I’m fairly certain the charges against her were dropped, since she was removed from amw.com not terribly long after this profile.
Roberto Ramirez (15 Seconds of Shame) – Wanted out of Chicago for killing a woman who lived in his apartment building. He was indirectly captured in January 2006.
Frantz Dieudonne (15 Seconds of Shame) – Police say he met a 15-year-old girl on line, traveled across the country to sexually assault her, then tried taking her home with him. Still at large
Robert Walker (15 Seconds of Shame) – Accused of being part of a Miami drug ring that brought more than 100 kilos of cocaine into the U.S. Still at large
Fabian Urrea (Full segment) – Ed Miller reports from California on a soldier who lost his life in his own backyard. Jorge Estrada was a California National Guard member serving in Iraq while his wife, National Guard Reservist Diana Estrada, was pregnant. While the baby’s father was her ex-boyfriend, Fabian Urrea, Jorge vowed to raise the child as his own. Jorge returned home on leave to see his daughter’s birth, but Urrea demanded to see the child. When Jorge and Diana went to see Urrea, he allegedly pulled out a gun and shot Jorge in the parking lot of his apartment, then nearly ran over his body as he pulled out. Jorge died before help arrived. After more than a year on the run, Urrea was indirectly captured in January 2007.
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John Walsh says the summer is winding down and hopes viewers got a chance to get away on vacation. Some recent fugitives tried getting away but thanks to tips, they weren’t able to.
Mark Wood (Capture Roundup) – In Mattawan, Michigan, a police officer who had only been on the job 11 days died during a high-speed chase with Mark Wood. The officer lost control of his vehicle and spun out, causing fatal injuries. Tips that came in the night of Wood’s profile didn’t lead right to him, but the investigator wasn’t giving up. Right after he landed in Michigan, a tip came in giving Wood’s specific location. Cops immediately followed up and took Wood into custody.
Tommy James (Capture Roundup) – Accused child rapist Tommy James’ life on the run ended thanks to an AMW tipster. When AMW aired his profile, one of his friends was so disgusted, they immediately gave up James’ travel plans; boarding a bus in Joplin, Missouri headed for Tennessee. Police sprang into action and nabbed James before he could even get on the bus. James was arrested within hours of his profile, making him Capture #853.
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John Gentry (Full segment) – Heading back into the show’s archives, AMW takes another look at the case of John Gentry. While serving time in an Ohio prison for assault, Gentry met a prison worker named Barbara Gerber and the two formed a relationship once he was released. However, what she didn’t realize is that Gentry was also in a relationship with William Veith, who lived across the state line in Michigan. Police aren’t entirely sure why, but in April 1983 Gentry stabbed Barbara to death, then beat William to death with a hatchet, then disappeared. Still at large
(commercial break)
Tony Luzio (Break Four Tease) – Missing man who disappeared from Columbus, Ohio. In 2014, police found his body in a retention pond.
(commercial break continues)
Allen & Linda Andrews (Brief, approx. 30 seconds) – Don LaFontaine says Allen and Linda Andrews have been fugitives for seven years, but their time on the run may be coming to an end. Their suspicious behavior led tipsters to visit amw.com and discover who they really were. Thanks to those tipsters, AMW has new photos of the couple as well as their aliases. Don encourages a visit to amw.com to find out more information. The Andrews were indirectly captured in 2012, shortly after they were profiled on the Couples on the Run special on Lifetime.
The Safety Chick’s Home Improvement Makeover (Full segment) – Kathleen Beatty returns to help out a homeowner in need. When a Southern California woman became a victim of multiple home invasion robberies and a peeping tom, The Safety Chick decided to take action. She hired a landscape architect to improve the woman’s home exterior, eliminating overgrown branches, adding motion sensor lights, and putting in gravel and shrubs designed to keep people away.
In the Line of Duty – Officer Timothy Webster (Crystal Springs Police Department, Mississippi)
(commercial break)
Call to Action (Full segment) – A Maine pharmacist went above and beyond to catch an armed robber. When it was noticed a serial pharmacy robber only hit on a specific day each month, one pharmacist in Unity, Maine came up with a plan. He packed fake medicine into bottles, and when the robber struck that very day, they were ready. After handing the robber the fake medicine, the pharmacist then followed the robber, locked the pharmacy, and pursued the suspect, all while on the phone with OnStar. Eventually he lost the suspect but thanks to his detailed description of the suspect and vehicle, cops caught up with him just moments later.
Case recap – Unknown Gus Boulis Killers, Patricia Yoshikawa, Roberto Ramirez, Frantz Dieudonne, Robert Walker, Fabian Urrea, John Gentry, Tony Luzio
Episode notes: - Once again, the filming location for this episode is unclear, but I can tell you it’s the same place last week’s show was filmed.
- Recycled reenactments for this episode include Angel Tello being used for Patricia Yoshikawa.
- While Adam Kidan and Jack Abramoff were never charged in connection with Gus Boulis’ murder, Kidan had hired Anthony Moscatiello as a business adviser and in 2006 told authorities that Moscatiello and Anthony Ferrari once told him details about the murder.
- It’s not mentioned during her 15 Seconds of Shame profile, but Patricia Yoshikawa’s boyfriend, who used a police car to commit an armed robbery, was a former cop.
- Robert Walker’s real name is Ralph Newman, and I know I’ve seen wanted posters for him under that name.
- Jorge Estrada’s first name is pronounced “George.”
- It’s really, really hard to watch the Fabian Urrea case knowing what happened after this profile. Diana Estrada, the wife of victim Jorge Estrada and the mother of the baby, is currently serving 14 years to life for torturing that same little girl. She was convicted of putting the child’s legs in scalding water as punishment for a toilet training accident. And apparently, not long after this profile, she was convicted of abusing her older daughter, but never served time for it. Knowing this, I think I know why AMW never profiled Urrea again after 2005, even though John was clearly angered by the crime and Urrea wasn’t caught until 2007.
- The capture roundup contains two captures, which is pretty unusual, as most of them feature three.
- When Tommy James was profiled, it was said his victim was 13. Here, John Walsh says she was 11. If you look into the case, the victim reported the crime when she was 13 and said the abuse started when she was 11, so technically, both are right.
- John Gentry’s full profile from 1992 is on YouTube, and this airing is noticeably shorter than his 1992 profile.
- John Gentry was the last official Cold Case fugitive AMW profiled. While there’d be other cold cases the show would continue to feature (in fact, one will be profiled next week) none of them were referred to as being part of this feature. If I were to guess, I’d say maybe the show discontinued the feature because they weren’t happy with the tips they were getting. But it’s also clear AMW didn’t put forth much effort into the segment, given that we were promised new interviews and none of the cases featured them.
- The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children created Gentry’s age-enhanced photo. While fairly common today (probably most notably with Lester Eubanks) at the time this was pretty uncommon.
- AMW calls the missing man profiled during the Break Four Tease "Anthony Luzio," despite the fact his amw.com profile calls him "Tony," and his 2006 Break Four Tease profile will also call him "Tony."
- Okay, THIS I promise is the last Safety Chick segment, and you can actually kind of tell. It’s significantly shorter than the previous segments, and instead of doing something like breaking into someone’s house or stalking someone, someone actually sought out Kathleen’s help and she teamed up with someone to make it happen. I actually really like this segment, and it shows that there are other ways of getting your message across than borderline committing a crime.
- I probably don’t need to say this but Kathleen Beatty’s name is once again misspelled as “Kathleen Baty.” Although part of me wonders if she did this on purpose given that she’d been a stalking victim and maybe was taking a precaution to throw him off in case he tried to come back. Either way, she goes by a different name now so it’s kind of a moot point.
- The Crystal Springs Police Department patch is missing from In the Line of Duty.
- During the recap, 1-800-CRIME-TV is missing when the Gus Boulis killer’s sketch appears on screen.
Next month on AMW: AMW heads into the fall with a full month of episodes and cases ready to be solved, including:
Sept. 3, 2005 – This rerun of the April 16, 2005 episode continues the hunt for accused killers Kenneth Cofer, David & Ruben Lopez, as well as the unsolved murder case of man who wanted to be a reporter for ESPN.
Sept. 10, 2005 – It’s a bittersweet day for AMW, because while it’s the 19th Season Premiere, John Walsh and the crew are on the ground in New Orleans after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Not only is the show looking to reunite families and grab possible scammers, but the hunt is also on for a convicted killer who was let go from prison due to a paperwork error.
Sept. 17, 2005 – Two years ago, the city of Erie, Pennsylvania made national headlines when a man with a bomb strapped to his chest robbed a bank. The bomb detonated before police could get answers, killing the man. Now, AMW takes an in-depth look into the case to try and get answers in the mystery of the Collar Bomber.
Sept. 24, 2005 – AMW asks viewers for their help in solving two unrelated, but tragic, New York murders. One involves a young man whose dismembered body parts were found in the New York City subway, and the other involves a woman who was killed the day before her son’s wedding in what police believe was a robbery gone wrong.
Oct. 1, 2005 – It’s AMW’s last show before baseball playoffs lead to its annual hiatus, and the final fugitives until November are getting their air time. In addition to a mystery man who lived a real-life fantasy while also allegedly abusing children, the case of a Miami businessman gunned down four years ago has a shocking update.
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