I'm sure this has been done before, but what the heck.

What were the scariest updates ever shown on UM??

I have a few:

***The update to the Judith Himes case. The one that aired with the segment, not the "Update" by itself (as it is usually aired). It wasn't what was updated, but how Robert Stack said "Update!" He said it really low and soft, not like he usually does. I guess this creeped me out because when I was a kid, I seriously used to have nightmares that I was watching UM and I KNEW a scary update was coming, so I tried to run and hide--but I couldn't, and it would scare me and wake me up. Pitiful? Yes, but true.

***The update to the kidnapping of an Asian girl named Elizabeth.--this one was on just last week--the entire segment ran, all the way to the end, where they described her and when she was last seen and then,

"UPDATE!!"--well, what made it scary was that Stack didn't say "update"....just some creepy music started playing. Apparantly they had found Elizabeth's purse, but I didn't really care because I was running out of the room in terror. Ok, not that bad, but still spooky.

***The update of the old man who killed his wife (a piano teacher) and buried her underneath his patio in his front yard. The update was that some hikers had found his skeleton in the woods behind his home...he had killed himself.

And by far, the scariest update in Unsolved Mysteries history.......

***The Baskin Children abduction. It's spoken of frequently here, but the update to the story was terrifying. Not only did it have the spooky "computer aged" photos of the kids, but it didn't have the normal "Update" music. Instead, it had an alternate version of it, beginning with two "shrieking" notes.....and the case STILL wasn't solved!! If you need any proof that UM was made to scare the crap out of people, watch that segment as proof.

Any others?

Yeah, try watching the updates in Surround. Especially the newer episodes with that shrieking update sound. That update where they'd found the purse was definitely scary. Too bad they haven't found anything more of her.

The special alerts were almost as scary as the updates. The cases seemed more serious and more recent at the time. They usually used the music from the kidnapped children update you described.

***The update of the old man who killed his wife (a piano teacher) and buried her underneath his patio in his front yard. The update was that some hikers had found his skeleton in the woods behind his home...he had killed himself.

Yeah, the music (my favourite update cue) was REALLY loud in that one! I haven't seen the other cases yet (I really want to see the Baskin one).

Another scary update - the elderly Texas man who was bludgeoned to death in his home and had his truck stolen. The case mentioned a couple of hitchhikers who were trying to get help because they thought (correctly) that the truck they were in, driven by the suspected killer, was stolen. The update was that the two guys called in the telecenter and gave a description of the suspect, and they showed a sketch.

I remember when the Dennis Depue update first aired one week after they broadcasted the original case. "What you are about to see is not a news broadcast..." I'm waiting for Robert to announce "Tonight on Unsolved Mysteries..." but instead it flashes to clips of Dennis pushing his wife down the stairs and Robert announcing Depue had killed himself after a high speed chase with police. That was such a shock and a relief...my heart still beats faster just thinking about it!!!

The Baskin update was also scary because they were spotted in Santa Clara, California, just a couple miles away from me. I still can't believe they haven't been found or even spotted again after all these years. :(

***The update of the old man who killed his wife (a piano teacher) and buried her underneath his patio in his front yard. The update was that some hikers had found his skeleton in the woods behind his home...he had killed himself.


Yea that was Joe Owens. His wife's photo was also shown but she was not frightening. The update is a killer. :eek: Owens is only scary because of those eyeballs and glaring glasses. There was another case featuring Dan Willains which one of Willains old friends named Alex(maybe some one can help me out with the last name) had those thick black top rimmed glasses like Vince Lombardi wore.

I remember when the Dennis Depue update first aired one week after they broadcasted the original case. "What you are about to see is not a news broadcast..." I'm waiting for Robert to announce "Tonight on Unsolved Mysteries..." but instead it flashes to clips of Dennis pushing his wife down the stairs and Robert announcing Depue had killed himself after a high speed chase with police. That was such a shock and a relief...my heart still beats faster just thinking about it!!!

Wow....that would have been quite a shock. That was the feeling I had watching the Stephen Marfeo case on Lifetime a year or so ago. They showed the entire segment (complete with interviews with Marfeo claiming he didn't kill his wife), then a text update flashed on the screen saying Marfeo had killed his girlfriend, droven to a seculded location and killed HIMSELF.

That came totally out of left field, and scared the crap out of me.

I remember watching the case of a middle aged woman who disappeared after a fight with her drunken boyfriend. The woman's two sons (both college age) swore there was foul play involved but the boyfriend insisted he had nothing to do with her disappearance. I was expecting Robert Stack's usual "if you have any information that could help solve this case" speech when, wham, the creepy music started and the next picture we saw was of a murky body of water in a secluded wooded area. The woman's body had been found there and police wanted to talk to anyone who had seen her car being driven the days following her disappearance. I wasn't expecting such a grisley update and it really freaked me out.

I don't know about the "scariest" but the Wendy Long update is one for the list. The music they have for it then they show a grainy black and white picture of the suspect with his shaved head. Pretty creepy!

For me, the Maples/Baskin update wins hands down. When you think about it, the case and update themselves aren't scary. Some deranged people made up vicious lies about their own daughter and stole her kids, and an update later tells us they were seen in California, and they're still on the run. But then UM got involved and turned a sad, tragic case into the creepiest update ever.

Two other updates that creeped me out. The first was about a woman who killed her husband (?). An update lulls you into a false sense of security by telling you the woman was caught and is in prison in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Then, out of nowhere, another update on top of that with the blue screen and type says the woman escaped prison and is wanted again.

The other I haven't seen in more than 10 years, so I can't remember all the details. There was an elderly man whose home exploded, and they couldn't find the man. There was speculation in the segment that he could have blown up his own home. Then an update says that his remains were located in the blast area, and they were looking to see whether he was the victim of foul play. All the while there is that Update! music and a constant picture of the man with an American flag in the background. I don't know why, but that kept me up nights.

Wow....that would have been quite a shock. That was the feeling I had watching the Stephen Marfeo case on Lifetime a year or so ago. They showed the entire segment (complete with interviews with Marfeo claiming he didn't kill his wife), then a text update flashed on the screen saying Marfeo had killed his girlfriend, droven to a seculded location and killed HIMSELF.

That came totally out of left field, and scared the crap out of me.

They just showed this case on the Mystery Channel up here in Canada yesterday but didn't provide the update! That really sheds a new light on this case.

One that always freaked me out was how they portrayed the guy (Timothy Bindner) who was suspected of abducting Amber Swartz. He was just creepy how he drove around that van with her picture plastered all over it and how he'd call and leave messages on her mother's phone. The part that really was scary was when UM reenacted him talking to Amber's mother in the doorway of her home and he was all upset and almost crying and then a split second later he looked back at her with a really serious look on his face and started talking about leads the police were looking at. I need to watch the episode again. I think I have the names right. I just remember it being so disturbing.

I just realized after I posted that I've never seen an update to this case. Does anyone know if there has been one? And what ever happened to Timothy Bindner?

I agree about the Dennis DePue one... That case was weird from the start and the update held true to form. The pictures of his van after the suicide were too much...

I always thought the Annie Laurie Herron one was messed up because they arrested a guy for her kidnapping yet no trace of her was ever found, after she had written the letter saying she was being held. So sad.

I nominate Tim what's-his-name for most obvious update. He said he didn't kill his mom (last saw her at the casino) yet he found her purse on the side of the road and cancelled her credit cards before she was known to be missing. How that guy ever thought he was going to fool the masses is beyond me. :confused:

one of the scariest (and saddest) was the update about the guy who had his son kidnapped by the mother.

She ended up taking the child to france and then he finds out years later that his son had died of luekemania (sp?). that update was scary and sad, it was such a shock to me.

I wish I could remember what the names were...

I wish I could remember what the names were...

Bill Day and his son Christophe. The miserable excuse for a mother's name was Betty. Definitely the saddest update.

I agree with the poster who thought one of the creepiest updates was Joe Owens. They put that old creepy black and white picture up of him and say his remains had been found. :eek:

I was pretty freaked out by the UPDATE! to the segment that featured the poor elderly woman who went missing from her front lawn. There were some papers and a book found at the abduction scene with some pretty specific handwriting on them, assumedly belonging to the abductor. Some time later her body was found bound to a tree in some woods and she had been sexually assaulted and brutally murdered.

I remember the UPDATE! freaked me out so bad because the evil bastard that did looked so odd in his mugshot. He had these big eyes spread far apart and he had a goatee and mustache that made him resemble a psyochotic Lord Licorice (from CandyLand).

I remember watching the case of a middle aged woman who disappeared after a fight with her drunken boyfriend. The woman's two sons (both college age) swore there was foul play involved but the boyfriend insisted he had nothing to do with her disappearance. I was expecting Robert Stack's usual "if you have any information that could help solve this case" speech when, wham, the creepy music started and the next picture we saw was of a murky body of water in a secluded wooded area. The woman's body had been found there and police wanted to talk to anyone who had seen her car being driven the days following her disappearance. I wasn't expecting such a grisley update and it really freaked me out.

That was Susan Harrison I believe. I don't remember actually seeing the body though. Anyway, it was the slow music, Robert's voice, and just how the update started. That's what had me scared. I wonder if her boyfriend (Jim?) is still alive or if there has been new evidence or updates.

I was pretty freaked out by the UPDATE! to the segment that featured the poor elderly woman who went missing from her front lawn. There were some papers and a book found at the abduction scene with some pretty specific handwriting on them, assumedly belonging to the abductor. Some time later her body was found bound to a tree in some woods and she had been sexually assaulted and brutally murdered.

I remember the UPDATE! freaked me out so bad because the evil bastard that did looked so odd in his mugshot. He had these big eyes spread far apart and he had a goatee and mustache that made him resemble a psyochotic Lord Licorice (from CandyLand).


I believe her name was Ethel Kidd. A friend of mine lives not too far from the area where she was found. Very scary update. Very scary case as a whole honestly.

I'm glad that someone mentioned the Elizabeth Campbell update as being one of the most creepy. I'm not sure why this one creeped me out so much, but it did... the Susan Harrison one is a close second.

Scary stuff!

Susan Harrison's husband was never charged with her murder though many feel he was involved. Her sister has written a book about the case called "Finding Susan" by Molly Hurley Moran.

I forgot the other thing that made the Dennis DePue update so scary...

After his suicide, Robert Stack re-read part of DePue's original letter that he wrote to family and friends about what his wife had done. He said, in part: "An eye for an eye; a tooth for a tooth; a lie for a lie; a life for a life."

Spooky! :eek:

Bill Day and his son Christophe. The miserable excuse for a mother's name was Betty. Definitely the saddest update.

I agree with the poster who thought one of the creepiest updates was Joe Owens. They put that old creepy black and white picture up of him and say his remains had been found. :eek:

Was this the preacher who had brush in his car that they found in the woods?

Was this the preacher who had brush in his car that they found in the woods?

No that was George Owens. Joe Owens was the elderly man who was digging this huge compost hole in his backyard and claimed his wife Gladys was out traveling with her 100 year old mother (he then told a relative she committed suicide). They eventually found Gladys' body in the compost hole but by then Joe had already taken off.

No that was George Owens. Joe Owens was the elderly man who was digging this huge compost hole in his backyard and claimed his wife Gladys was out traveling with her 100 year old mother (he then told a relative she committed suicide). They eventually found Gladys' body in the compost hole but by then Joe had already taken off.

Thanks. When I saw that one on lifetime last year, it was actually the first time I'd seen it.

The Day's. Definetely a sad update.

Scariest...probably the steamer trunk corpse off the top of my head! Eww! Did not even look like what the old man originally looked like!

I thought the Dan Wilson update was kinda creepy since they just had that eery Update tune and just plain text without any narration at all :eek:

I thought the Dan Wilson update was kinda creepy since they just had that eery Update tune and just plain text without any narration at all :eek:

You know, those "text only" ones were always a little more eerie than hearing Robert Stack's voice. The soft techno music with words had that kind of spooky air more than Bob laying it out there, at least for me.

I think the scariest updates are the ones, like the other poster said, where the music starts out with those 2 shrieking notes! They use this same music when they profile numerous fugitives at once. I believe Robert Stack said something like, "pay attention to these next fugitives wanted for robbery...." then that scary music comes on like "bam bam!" and if you don't expect it, you're like:o

I submit that the Oberholtzer/Schnee update was horrifying, in that the creepy red "UPDATE" upper-left scroll shows up with their photos, only for Stack to announce that the husband was no longer a suspect....and nothing else!

I submit that the Oberholtzer/Schnee update was horrifying, in that the creepy red "UPDATE" upper-left scroll shows up with their photos, only for Stack to announce that the husband was no longer a suspect....and nothing else!

I concur.


Although the Gail Delano update was incredibly sad, I thought it was pretty creepy. The way they zoom in on that one room with the ONLY open shade in the Mobile hotel she killed herself in....I halfway expected someone to be peering out of it.

Believe it or not, I also thought the Keri Lynn Nixon update with the supposed NKOTB concert sighting was very creepy at the end. I'm not sure what it was about it, but it always creeps me out big time when they freeze and highlight that grainy film. "If you can identify this girl..." It makes me uneasy and I have no idea why.

I concur.


Although the Gail Delano update was incredibly sad, I thought it was pretty creepy. The way they zoom in on that one room with the ONLY open shade in the Mobile hotel she killed herself in....I halfway expected someone to be peering out of it.



Back in college, I worked in the hotel where Gail killed herself. Back in 87 it was a Hilton but it's now a Marriott. One of the middle-aged guys I worked with supposedly worked there back in 87 as a front desk clerk and bellman, and told me he was the one that checked her in. He also said she asked for room 1313. I find that hard to believe because she wouldn't know that hotel had a room 1313. He was probably just BSing me.

If you watch the update where they show the room, it wasn't on the 13th floor. I'm not sure if the room they zoomed in on was the EXACT room but it's still pretty creepy. No one else in the hotel seemed to know about or remember the incident. Since I've been a big UM buff, I asked around when I worked there. Most of those employees have long been gone though.

Creepy!

The Gail Delano case is definitely one of the cases that haunt me the most. The update was so troubling, especially considering the complexity of Gail's plan to kill herself... *shudder* So sad.

I still maintain that Elizabeth Campbell's update is the one that really got to me. The Judith Hines one is also creepy..

Yes, the Gail (or Gayle?) Delano update has to be the spookiest. The Matthew Chase one is pretty freaky too. I went camping near the area where they found his remains above Pasadena.

What about the case of the couple getting gunned down in an isolated park with an assault rifle by the guy in a Honda CRX? I forget the names in that case, but the killer had a creepy face.

The Angelo Desidari murder.

Tom Keuter (the man that ran over his own head with his forklift) and the woman he's suspected of abducting's body turning up at the same worksite where he died.

The Baskins was very creepy because of the music.

What about the case of the couple getting gunned down in an isolated park with an assault rifle by the guy in a Honda CRX? I forget the names in that case, but the killer had a creepy face.

the killer's name was Andy Cook

it didn't have the normal "Update" music. Instead, it had an alternate version of it, beginning with two "shrieking" notes.....

I know exactly what you're talking about and those two notes make the update music even scarier!!!!!!!!!!

the scariest for me with Ethel Kidd, I do believe, OR ones about paranormal stuff.

The scariest thing to me was the music itself! I found it even more creepy than the theme music, for some reason. I can still remember it, even though I haven't seen the show in years, and I still don't like it.

Back in college, I worked in the hotel where Gail killed herself. Back in 87 it was a Hilton but it's now a Marriott. One of the middle-aged guys I worked with supposedly worked there back in 87 as a front desk clerk and bellman, and told me he was the one that checked her in. He also said she asked for room 1313. I find that hard to believe because she wouldn't know that hotel had a room 1313. He was probably just BSing me.

If you watch the update where they show the room, it wasn't on the 13th floor. I'm not sure if the room they zoomed in on was the EXACT room but it's still pretty creepy. No one else in the hotel seemed to know about or remember the incident. Since I've been a big UM buff, I asked around when I worked there. Most of those employees have long been gone though.

Not to speak ill of the dead, but if Gail tried that trick today, it would be a lot harder to conceal her fate. You can't just check into most hotels now w/ just cash & a fake name, plus since she flew, they can track her throught the flight manifest. It's still a sad case and the update really freaked me out.

I'm bad with recalling names, so bear with me....There was a woman who disappeared and left a note. Turns out the note was written on her husband's family member's typewriter. And her husband, whose name I alsdo can't remember, was the prime suspect, though there was no solid evidence that he harmed her. The update was one of the uber-scary ones with just the words. And it stated the husband shot and killed his new girlfriend, wounded the man she was with and then killed himself. That update creeped me the hell out!:eek:

Also, the Judy Himes note, stating she died from a botched abortion also got to me....:(

I'm bad with recalling names, so bear with me....There was a woman who disappeared and left a note. Turns out the note was written on her husband's family member's typewriter. And her husband, whose name I alsdo can't remember, was the prime suspect, though there was no solid evidence that he harmed her. The update was one of the uber-scary ones with just the words. And it stated the husband shot and killed his new girlfriend, wounded the man she was with and then killed himself. That update creeped me the hell out!:eek:


Ahhh yes, Steve and Doreen Marfeo.

Thanks, Justins5256! ;)

Yeah the Judith Himes update always give me the chills. Especially with the way Robert Stack said UPDATE, it was creepy.

The Angelo Desidari update was spooky but was good because they had solved so much of it.

The music at the end of the Michael Rosenblum case that leads into the added update is creepy too. I used to like getting creeped out when UM was on at 11 pm with those cases.

The scary update music (such as when the Baskins were spotted) seriously freaks me out. I believe they also play it in the Son of Sam segment when he comes out of nowhere and shoots two women talking on a porch. That music, when I recall it and am alone, seriously unerves me. It's the two "shrieking" notes everyone is talking about. I can't think of any music that has been freakier on UM.

The Elizabeth Campbell update that happens so quickly with a close-up of her purse. The first time I was afraid they were saying they'd found a body or something.

The David Harry Fisher update is creepy because EVERYTHING about that man is creepy. His pursuit of a 13 year old girl to victimize and murder, his 16 year old wife, and the thought that he had more children later in life that could have been victims as well. Add to that the creepy mug shot, and I'm freaked out.

The David Harry Fisher update is creepy because EVERYTHING about that man is creepy. His pursuit of a 13 year old girl to victimize and murder, his 16 year old wife, and the thought that he had more children later in life that could have been victims as well. Add to that the creepy mug shot, and I'm freaked out.

I just watched that segment and completely agree. It made me sick to my stomach this wife said he was a loving and wonderful father after everything he did. Not to mention him being a suspect in so many other cases. I'm so glad they caught him. The reenactment that showed him watching girls at a park (with a twisted look on his face) was quite unsettling.

The update right after Barbara Jean (the little girl).

The supposed murderer just freaked me out.

I guess I'm alone on this site, but I like the updates...at least it helps brings closure most of the time.

Two other updates that creeped me out. The first was about a woman who killed her husband (?). An update lulls you into a false sense of security by telling you the woman was caught and is in prison in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Then, out of nowhere, another update on top of that with the blue screen and type says the woman escaped prison and is wanted again.

.

This. There are many scary updates, but this one absolutely terrified me! Surprised more people didn't mention it in this thread

The "Update" in the Beverly McGowan case is pretty scary, as it tells us that Elaine Parent killed herself just as authorities were closing in on her home.

I've seen someone mention the text "Update" in the missing persons case of Dan Wilson and that they had found him dead. I think that might have been scary because I think that was the first time there was an "Update" with no Robert Stack voice-over, just that text scrolling across the screen and that late '90's UM music playing in the background.

And don't forget the "Update" when they show a photo of the man (I forget his name) who chased down and killed Los Angeles DJ Lee Selwyn in his truck while Selwyn was on a motorcycle. As one of Lee's friends noted in the segment, that guy really was crazy-looking, especially his eyes.

The scariest one to me is the update on the Charles Morgan case, which was an update that was actually a whole new segment: the Doug Johnston/Don Devereaux case. Throughout the whole segment I kept thinking someone was going to get me just for watching it. It just had a creepy, eerie feel to it.

Two other updates that creeped me out. The first was about a woman who killed her husband (?). An update lulls you into a false sense of security by telling you the woman was caught and is in prison in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Then, out of nowhere, another update on top of that with the blue screen and type says the woman escaped prison and is wanted again.




One more thing to this...what is the name of this story exactly/the people in it? Although I vividly remember the Update, I don't remember very much else about it

The "texts" updates were quite scary with that music. :eek:

The "Update" in the Beverly McGowan case is pretty scary, as it tells us that Elaine Parent killed herself just as authorities were closing in on her home.

I've seen someone mention the text "Update" in the missing persons case of Dan Wilson and that they had found him dead. I think that might have been scary because I think that was the first time there was an "Update" with no Robert Stack voice-over, just that text scrolling across the screen and that late '90's UM music playing in the background.

And don't forget the "Update" when they show a photo of the man (I forget his name) who chased down and killed Los Angeles DJ Lee Selwyn in his truck while Selwyn was on a motorcycle. As one of Lee's friends noted in the segment, that guy really was crazy-looking, especially his eyes.
You hit it right on the head! The updates that just came right out of nowhere. The "Update!" in a pink scroll on the top left corner, with the foggyish green/blue screen from the 1995-1997 seasons. Plus the eerie music with the screeching intro tone and add the scrolling text with no narration/voiceover
gave me goosebumps and especially
watching it in the dark. It was either Dan Wilson or Jonathan Kerr that started that version and it was used from 1997-2001.
William John Wood, Richard Relf, Stephen Marfeo, Adolina Gonzalez, Karen Pelletiere, Trenchcoat Robbers, Elizabeth Ortiz, and Philip Taylor Kramer. The Baskins/Maples was the scariest and creepiest I remember being like 10 years old and hiding under my bed after seeing it. Unsolved Mysteries indeed gives you goosebumps!

The update to the Kay Hall segment--in which it was revealed that her husband Bob had entered a guilty plea to masterminding her bizarre death--was subtly creepy and off-putting for two reasons: (1.) it featured neither background music nor Robert Stack's intoning of "UPDATE," and (2.) the segment featured a lengthy interview with an innocence-proclaiming Bob Hall. I'm not saying he's innocent (he was an ex-con and he did plead guilty, after all), but to this day I still can't wrap my brain around how he managed to pull that one off.

One more thing to this...what is the name of this story exactly/the people in it? Although I vividly remember the Update, I don't remember very much else about it

I think that was the Astarte Davis Rice segment. She was the one who liked to commit insurance fraud as a team with her son Noble (sp?); there was a story about the two allegedly setting a boat on fire to collect the payout. After the fire, her husband Jim decided to separate from her, and she was sent to prison for a year for document forgery or the like. Anyway, she and Jim reconciled, and after Jim failed to show up to the U.S. (he lived in St. Croix) for a scheduled operation, Jim's daughter grew suspicious and learned Astarte had sold all of Jim's belongings in a yard sale very shortly after he disappeared. Astarte was never charged with Jim's murder, but she was indicted for bank fraud in 1988 or 1989. She skipped bail and disappeared for a while, but was caught and put in prison again. She escaped that prison in 1998 and was eventually caught again in 2002 where I suppose she still is if she hasn't passed away since.

Not so much scary as very unsettling, but the story on the two KROQ DJ's who did the "Confess Your Crime" show and a guy called in saying he may have killed his girlfriend that turned out to be a hoax---just the way the update easily segued in after the segment with Robert Stack flatly saying the two DJ's lied. The first time I watched this live, it really caught me off guard. If there was an update, I would have expected the scary music and Stack yelling UPDATE! Since that didn't happen, it was pretty eerie. :D

I thought I was the only one who was EXTREMELY creeped out by the update music. (The older one, not the new one with the skreikey notes) It was so bad when I was a teenager I had to sleep with my T.V on because I heard the stupid update music every time I would close my eyes. :eek: It didn't matter if I had watched U.M in the last week or not, I still always heard it.

I thought I was the only one who was EXTREMELY creeped out by the update music. (The older one, not the new one with the skreikey notes) It was so bad when I was a teenager I had to sleep with my T.V on because I heard the stupid update music every time I would close my eyes. :eek: It didn't matter if I had watched U.M in the last week or not, I still always heard it.
I recently moved to a foreign country and live alone in an apartment in Japan. So I've been catching up with Unsolved Mysteries while in bed with a cold, not used to watching while living alone. :eek: :eek: The ''duh duh'' update music made me check my locks again even though I live in one of the safest countries, in a safe area, right behind a police station :lol:

I recently moved to a foreign country and live alone in an apartment in Japan. So I've been catching up with Unsolved Mysteries while in bed with a cold, not used to watching while living alone. :eek: :eek: The ''duh duh'' update music made me check my locks again even though I live in one of the safest countries, in a safe area, right behind a police station :lol:


Hahaha. I actually JUST had something similar happen like 10 minutes ago. I'm sitting at my parents house, alone, watching U.M, the phone rings, and no one answers. Needless to say I hung that phone up REAL quick and had to turn off the U.M and put something happy on to distract me...I'm beginning to think I'm developing some kind of a complex...

Here's one.

Wow....that would have been quite a shock. That was the feeling I had watching the Stephen Marfeo case on Lifetime a year or so ago. They showed the entire segment (complete with interviews with Marfeo claiming he didn't kill his wife), then a text update flashed on the screen saying Marfeo had killed his girlfriend, droven to a seculded location and killed HIMSELF.

That came totally out of left field, and scared the crap out of me.This was probably the first update that made my skin crawl, especially when he was just professing his innocence mere seconds before the update popped up.

Any lingering thoughts I had about his innocence flew away at that moment. What a tragic case.

Surprised no one mentioned this one, but one update that really creeped me out was the Ann Sigmin segment. For starters, you thought things may have been all good when her boyfriend Gary Goff was captured, and was one of the few fugitives profiled on the show, who was actually interviewed. Yet, Ann was still at large as it turned out, and that rough, childish like sketch of her they showed sure gave me the creeps the first few times I saw it, to say the least! The California arsonist update was pretty scary as well I'll admit That in a way, may have been the case, as they couldn't profile/identify the perpetrator, due to him being underage at the time he committed the heinous crime.

Surprised no one mentioned this one, but one update that really creeped me out was the Ann Sigmin segment. For starters, you thought things may have been all good when her boyfriend Gary Goff was captured, and was one of the few fugitives profiled on the show, who was actually interviewed. Yet, Ann was still at large as it turned out, and that rough, childish like sketch of her they showed sure gave me the creeps the first few times I saw it, to say the least!

I thought that was a creepy update, too. What's even creepier is that she's apparently never been found.

That sudden update to the John Vogel segment was pretty unsettling. Apparently, Vogel had been shown on a UM promo the week before his segment was supposed to air, and ended up getting in a high-speed chase with authorities (after robbing yet another bank, IIRC). He eventually ran off into a ditch and turned his firearm on himself before he could be arrested. :eek:

I've also always been really freaked out by the Scott Rossiter segment update, where the individual suspected of murdering Rossiter was himself murdered--and buried in a field fifty miles away from Ingersoll, Ontario. I remember RS said something to the effect of "police doubt they will ever know who or why (suspect) was killed...", which was, as others have pointed out before, a nice way of saying police probably aren't going to concern themselves too deeply with solving the murder of a cop killer. No matter what way you slice it, the whole thing was disturbing.

That too, and was surprised she never was captured after all these years either. Can only wonder what she must still be up to these days now, and has somehow eluded capture.

That too, and was surprised she never was captured after all these years either. Can only wonder what she must still be up to these days now, and has somehow eluded capture.

I think somebody recently bumped an Ann Sigmin thread and pasted a link to a Topix forum in which someone claiming to be Goff posted that he knew her whereabouts. Post #134:

http://www.topix.com/forum/city/ridgely-tn/TVNNUABJESVPT8K6S/p7

Don't think I buy it myself but the individual did spell Goff's first name correctly.

The update of Elizabeth Campbell where they show that her purse was turned in at a police station is one. Another is the update for Judith Himes where a letter is sent about her not being alive. I just remember even Robert Stack saying the word UPDATE really slowly in that case.

I think the scariest update for me was the Gainesville Killers, when it was revealed that they killed people because they were bored.

The update of Elizabeth Campbell where they show that her purse was turned in at a police station is one. Another is the update for Judith Himes where a letter is sent about her not being alive. I just remember even Robert Stack saying the word UPDATE really slowly in that case.

^ this.

The segment cutting directly to the picture of the dirty purse was horrifying. I guess the feeling of hopelessness sets in where not only has she not been found, but her purse had been found tossed out.

I think it's a close tie between Judy Hyams and Elizabeth Campbell for top slot on this thread. Can you imagine being the person receiving mail at the Coral Gables Police Department and opening up that letter?!

I also concur with the Susan Harrison update. That music was really scary, and it came REALLY suddenly. Also Angelo Desidari. I remember this one kind of being a longer update. The parts that really freaked me out were the shallow grave under a tree in the middle of nowhere, California in which Desidari was buried, and the fact that Joe Calo and James Majors gave the tools they used to bury him to a random couple who lived nearby. The update appealed to the couple to reach out to authorities if they happened to be watching. :eek:

Speaking of Elizabeth Campbell, I think one of the creepiest things about the update was the fact that the police had had that purse in evidence for years before it was eventually linked to her case.

Speaking of Elizabeth Campbell, I think one of the creepiest things about the update was the fact that the police had had that purse in evidence for years before it was eventually linked to her case.

Also the abrupt transition to an update and zoom-in of her purse. The first time, I was terrified they were about to show a body or something!

You hit it right on the head! The updates that just came right out of nowhere. The "Update!" in a pink scroll on the top left corner, with the foggyish green/blue screen from the 1995-1997 seasons. Plus the eerie music with the screeching intro tone and add the scrolling text with no narration/voiceover
gave me goosebumps and especially
watching it in the dark. It was either Dan Wilson or Jonathan Kerr that started that version and it was used from 1997-2001.
William John Wood, Richard Relf, Stephen Marfeo, Adolina Gonzalez, Karen Pelletiere, Trenchcoat Robbers, Elizabeth Ortiz, and Philip Taylor Kramer. The Baskins/Maples was the scariest and creepiest I remember being like 10 years old and hiding under my bed after seeing it. Unsolved Mysteries indeed gives you goosebumps!

I think the text update went all the way up too Late 2002 with the Bill Rundle segment, his and Traci remains where found in the pond in July 2002 and sometime shortly later the text update was added to Lifetime reruns. It was uploaded online before the great takedown of 2013 and have never able to find it ever since.

All those segments with Lifetime text updates(blue smoke background,text typed out,creepy theme music playing) are such a gem now since they were edited out of the Filmrise release. So we depend on people who recorded and amateur media archivist to come across and upload across the web

I think the text update went all the way up too Late 2002 with the Bill Rundle segment, his and Traci remains where found in the pond in July 2002 and sometime shortly later the text update was added to Lifetime reruns. It was uploaded online before the great takedown of 2013 and have never able to find it ever since.

All those segments with Lifetime text updates(blue smoke background,text typed out,creepy theme music playing) are such a gem now since they were edited out of the Filmrise release. So we depend on people who recorded and amateur media archivist to come across and upload across the web

yeah filmrise went back to the original update music for that segment. No update, but the sal guardado segment on filmrise has the similar era base guitar thumping "wanted" theme when they end that segment. it has the text graphics as well. I'm surprised that sal guardado was never caught.

Susan Harrison's husband was never charged with her murder though many feel he was involved. Her sister has written a book about the case called "Finding Susan" by Molly Hurley Moran.
Elizabeth Campbell's update was so creepy because "they found the purse." That's it? I got a chill. I feel so badly for this girl and her parents.

My creepiest update other than Dennis DePue and Elizabeth Campbell was the first time they updated the Beverly McGowan story. They identified Elaine Parent as "Alice"...great...but then they still showed the "Sam" composite! I have to wonder...at that point, did they suspect that Elaine might have been "Sam" in disguise and, per UM practice, were holding back that detail?

The "Update" in the Beverly McGowan case is pretty scary, as it tells us that Elaine Parent killed herself just as authorities were closing in on her home..

That was scary and disgusting...Beverly's family never got closure.

That was the second update, though. The first update, as I posted in this thread, identified her as "Alice" and then showed the "Sam" composite.

My creepiest update other than Dennis DePue and Elizabeth Campbell was the first time they updated the Beverly McGowan story. They identified Elaine Parent as "Alice"...great...but then they still showed the "Sam" composite! I have to wonder...at that point, did they suspect that Elaine might have been "Sam" in disguise and, per UM practice, were holding back that detail?

either that or they thought that she had an accomplice? I think now a lot of us believe that it was Elaine changing her disguise and using another alias to confuse people. she was the main manipulator at the end of the day and I wouldn't put it past her to dress like a man to throw off investigators and to also sensationalize the case. I never followed this segment closely enough to know the details.

I'm probably too dismissive of the Dennis DePue update. that is arguably the most epic update sequence that UM ever did. In its day it was very dark and scary to think that someone could be that off the rails.

either that or they thought that she had an accomplice? I think now a lot of us believe that it was Elaine changing her disguise and using another alias to confuse people. she was the main manipulator at the end of the day and I wouldn't put it past her to dress like a man to throw off investigators and to also sensationalize the case. I never followed this segment closely enough to know the details.

I'm probably too dismissive of the Dennis DePue update. that is arguably the most epic update sequence that UM ever did. In its day it was very dark and scary to think that someone could be that off the rails.

Dennis DePue...ugh. One of the most twisted people on UM. Yes, that update was bizarre.

As for Elaine Parent, yes, everyone agrees she was a master manipulator. When she suicided, they found men's clothing and wigs in the home IIRC. I have no problem believing she dressed as "Sam" to throw off police, and had "Sam" try to look like Beverly as well. She was a first-class troll--she sent a postcard with a drawing of herself to police signed "The Chameleon." She clearly loved attention. You're right, they might not have ruled out her having an accomplice while she was still a fugitive. She was a completely evil person and good riddance.