What a bizarre case. I didn't believe she was living in Omaha, but wonder why someone would call, saying she was. They should have questioned the Hungarian abortion performer.

They've been showing some great older segments lately. Some of them were even new to me. It's amazing to catch cases occasionally that I haven't seen before, after tivoing it twice a day.

I don't know why, but everytime I watch this segment I go around for the next week saying over and over (in a weird accent), "Judy Hines is alive... and she lives in Omaha... Judy Hines is alive... and she lives in Omaha..."

I don't know why, but everytime I watch this segment I go around for the next week saying over and over (in a weird accent), "Judy Hines is alive... and she lives in Omaha... Judy Hines is alive... and she lives in Omaha..."

Many many many years back some buddies of mine were hanging out at this guys house and one of us got the bright idea to do a couple of "prank calls" or whatever. So when the time came for me to say something on the phone I just said the first thing that came to mind which was of course...

"Judy Hymes is alive... and she lives in Omaha" - Everybody looked at me weird but hell Todd thought you'd like to know you ain't alone man. That phrase is infectious

Later.

I've taught that phrase to my 4 year old daughter. How many toddlers do you know that know who Judy Himes is? Its nice to be raising another generation of UM fans. :lol:

I've taught that phrase to my 4 year old daughter. How many toddlers do you know that know who Judy Himes is? Its nice to be raising another generation of UM fans. :lol:

Gotta get 'em while they're young :crazy:

That case has always given me the creeps.... :eek:

does anyone know of any articles on the world wide web about this case?

thanks.
njf

wasnt she the women who was from florida or something and she had a suposed abortion and she called after she went missing and she was spoted somewhere or something i remeber them talking about a car and a lake or river or ocean or something am i confused with someone else she also wore glasses and had dark poffey hair

I think thats the one. She was pretty and wore a "flip" but no glasses. There were calls 25 years after her disappearance claiming she was alive and in Omaha (thus the classic phrase). After the original segment aired someone sent an anonymous letter saying she had died after an allergic reaction to something given to her during an illegal abortion. I believe they also said her body was thrown in the water. Police think the letter is credible.

a news article from a July, 1989 edition of the Miami Herald on Hymes which apparently goes into some detail regarding her case. If someone could dig it up they would probably get some more information on the case.

Later.

I think thats the one. She was pretty and wore a "flip" but no glasses. There were calls 25 years after her disappearance claiming she was alive and in Omaha (thus the classic phrase). After the original segment aired someone sent an anonymous letter saying she had died after an allergic reaction to something given to her during an illegal abortion. I believe they also said her body was thrown in the water. Police think the letter is credible.

The letter is probably from either the Hungarian doctor who was running the clinic and vanished, or someone helping him with that specific abortion.

The most likely scenerio in this case is that she died while having the abortion. (The letter also says she had a fatal reaction to some medicine that she was allergic to or something.) But how does that explain the blood found in her rental car? Maybe when her body was disposed of in the bay (if the letter is correct) that might have been when it happened.

Her rental car was then driven 100+ miles away by a man that I assume might have worked at the clinic. He was seen exiting her car but was never identified. I wonder why they chose that specific location - surely they had to know that the car would be found (it was parked on the lawn in a residential neighborhood for goodness sake).

By far, those famous mysterious phone calls are the most baffling in this case - (Judy Himes is alive, and she lives in Omaha. :eek: ) If they were indeed a prank, why would somebody wait a full 25 years after Judith vanished to make them? Could they possibly have come accross an old newspaper article that discussed the case and then they decided to try and screw with the police? If they were a prank, they most likely were not calling from Omaha but from the Florida area where Himes lived.

Strange case. I would also like very much to read some old articles on this mystery if they could ever be found.

I don't suppose there are any developments in this case?

I don't think the letter is legitimate. I think it is a deterent. I also believe Judith is alive and living in Omaha, but when they saw the story on UM, they sent the letter to quash any evidence of her being found. She probably went into hiding just in case people found out she had had the abortion.

As mentioned in the story, due to the fact that the statute of limitations has expired on this case, there would be no criminal charges laid.

Well if the statute of limitations had expired and whoever wrote the letter knew this, I don't think they'd intend for it to be a deterrent........

I think what happened was just a sad case of bad luck. Complications developed from the abortion which she was either unable to anticipate or unexperienced in dealing with. She died either in that squalid shack, or somewhere close by and the doctor panicked. He had someone dispose of her body in Biscayne Bay and then get rid of her car (the blood in the backseat could suggest that's where her body was sitting while in transit....)

Then at the first chance he got (after making bail), he bolted. Now why would he go and do that if Judith had survived the procedure?? Passing himself off as a doctor is bad enough.......but certainly not as bad as passing himself off as a doctor and causing the death of an innocent woman........

As far as I know, no attempt was made by the Omaha Police Department to investigate the phone calls or do any sort of investigation to dispell these rumors. *(Coincidentally, the Omaha Chief of Police at the time--James Skinner, later resigned to become the Police Chief in Coral Gables in 1997)

(Coincidentally, the Omaha Chief of Police at the time--James Skinner, later resigned to become the Police Chief in Coral Gables in 1997)

Now there's a twist I never would have guessed.

I don't get it, Coral Gables?? How is that a twist?? (I'm not disagreeing, I just don't understand what it's got to do with anything, excuse my slowness)

I don't get it, Coral Gables?? How is that a twist?? (I'm not disagreeing, I just don't understand what it's got to do with anything, excuse my slowness)

Coral Gables was where Judith Himes lived.

Shes totally dead. Blood in a rental car is never a good sign. She died during an abortion. Makes plenty sense to me

I remember an early UM case where a radio talk show host got a call from an anonymous source wanting to give him information on a cold case. The call came in on an unpublished line (not available to the general public) and the talk show host had no idea why someone would call him with the information. Was this part of the Judith Hines episode? If not, does it sound remotely familiar to anyone? I've been racking my brain the last few months trying to remember more details about it, but this is all I can come up with. Oh, I guess I should mention this is not the Beans Baxter episode...with the fake confession in Los Angeles.

I remember an early UM case where a radio talk show host got a call from an anonymous source wanting to give him information on a cold case. The call came in on an unpublished line (not available to the general public) and the talk show host had no idea why someone would call him with the information. Was this part of the Judith Hines episode? If not, does it sound remotely familiar to anyone? I've been racking my brain the last few months trying to remember more details about it, but this is all I can come up with. Oh, I guess I should mention this is not the Beans Baxter episode...with the fake confession in Los Angeles.

Hey! Well in the Tracy Kirkpatrick case a guy did call in on I believe a national "confess your crime" type program. I believe they also played the recording on a local radio station on the 1 year anniversary of her death to see if anyone recognized his voice. Is that the one you're thinking of?

Does anyone have an airdate for the Judith Himes case?

Does anyone have an airdate for the Judith Himes case?

There's a thread here where somebody lists the schedule from Lifetime Real Women.

Hope this helps.

There's a thread here where somebody lists the schedule from Lifetime Real Women.

Hope this helps.

Well, actually, I meant when did it originally air, on NBC? I'm pretty sure it aired during the 1990-1991 season or the 1991-1992 season.

But thanks for your help! :)

I remember an early UM case where a radio talk show host got a call from an anonymous source wanting to give him information on a cold case. The call came in on an unpublished line (not available to the general public) and the talk show host had no idea why someone would call him with the information. Was this part of the Judith Hines episode? If not, does it sound remotely familiar to anyone? I've been racking my brain the last few months trying to remember more details about it, but this is all I can come up with. Oh, I guess I should mention this is not the Beans Baxter episode...with the fake confession in Los Angeles.


Actually, I just watched the Judith Himes case and one of the first leads the Coral Gables cop got when he returned from Nebraska was a phone call from a radio station dj (in Omaha) who hosted a show and said that he recieved info from an annonymous caller who claimed to have info about Judith Himes. The cop in turn contacted the station but they had never heard of Judy Himes or Captain Scheer.

I'm really torn on what I believe happened to her, but it seems that because the dj story cannot be validated that it easily could have been a prank along w/ the creepy phonecall. You can't exactly validate the letter that the police got either, but they believe it is legit.

I agree that this is one of UM's creepier segments. When I was little, it scared the bejeezus out of me!

I also fall in the camp that believes the letter is legit. Given the time that Judith Himes disappeared, it's totally plausible that she died during a botched abortion and that her body was disposed of in the bay.

I would imagine that the phone call and the letter are legit. The case was decades old at that point, so whoever was behind it must have had some knowledge about the case.

It's unrealistic to think she would just run off and move towns and just not contact her friends or family after all this time.

She probably died as a result of a botched abortion, the doctor and maybe a nurse or other associate hired the rental car under Judith's name, put her body in the car (which explains the blood stains) and dumped her body in the bay.

Sad and probably true.

Also if the number which got traced back to Hadju's address in Budapest was correct why wasn't he extradited back to the US for quesitoning?

According to the Doe Network, that information regarding the phone number for the doctor came in 1989. There are a few reasons why this might not have been followed up.
-The statute of limitations was probably up.
-I'm not sure what the extradition treaties were in 1989, but the current ones weren't signed until 1994 and enacted in 1997.
-Hungary was a little busy dealing with changing their entire political climate and the subsequent economic ramifications.
-Unlikely as it may be, perhaps the doctor involved was a covert agent of some sort at some point in time either before or after the incident in question.

-Necco

I just watched this story recently. I believe the sequence of the phone calls was as follows...

1. The detective in Coral Gables (I believe his sirname was Sheer) received a phone call from a radio DJ who said a person had called his show claiming to have some information on the Himes case. Sheer was unfamiliar with the case and asked the DJ if he knew how to contact the caller. The DJ affirmed. Sheer told the DJ he was going to research the case and call back.
The DJ provided Sheer with his personal unlisted home phone number. When Sheer called the DJ back at his unlisted number, the DJ had no idea who Sheer was or what he was talking about. The DJ was actually interviewed on UM and he seemed genuinely confused by the whole thing. Obviously, someone had impersonated him and gave Sheer his unlisted number, but who?

2. Detective Sheer received an anonymous phone call from someone who only said "Judith Himes is alive and she lives in Omaha" - the famous line.

3. Sheer received a third phone call from a man who claimed he worked for the FBI in some capacity. The man said he had just come back from Hungary where he had spent some time talking with "Dr." Hadju. He provided Sheer with Hadju's phone number and it was traced and shown to belong to him.

The Lifetime version of this episode completely deletes mention of the first call, so that is where some of this confusion is coming from.

The third phone call initially struck me as very odd. If they had Hadju's number, surely they could have followed up and arrested him as he was a fugitive.

The only thing I can figure is that Hungary was/is one of those countries where we don't have an extradition treaty. I also recall that the statute of limitation had run out (for the illegal abortion I presume) so perhaps that is why the lead about Hadju was not pursued. UM did mention that the police believed that Hadju was NOT responsible for any of the phone calls.

A few weeks later, UM aired an update to the effect that they had received an anonymous letter indicating that Judith was dead and had died during the illegal abortion. The police believed the letter was legitimate.

So, is Judith Himes alive and living in Omaha? If the phone calls were some sort of a prank, it was very well executed and also very esoteric. Well executed because the pranksters somehow got the DJ's unlisted number and possibly Hadju's number. Esoteric because the people involved - the radio DJ and Detective Sheer were both unfamiliar with case, as the public at large probably would have been at that time. At the time Sheer began receiving the calls, he had just returned from Omaha where he had given a lecture. However, he didn't mention the Himes case or have any knowledge of it as it was closed and 25 years old.

Kind of like the letters from Flint, Michigan indicating that Kari Lynn Nixon was alive. Someone was very fixated on that case. Someone else seemed to have a similar fixation on the Himes case.

I just watched this story recently. I believe the sequence of the phone calls was as follows...

1. The detective in Coral Gables (I believe his sirname was Sheer) received a phone call from a radio DJ who said a person had called his show claiming to have some information on the Himes case. Sheer was unfamiliar with the case and asked the DJ if he knew how to contact the caller. The DJ affirmed. Sheer told the DJ he was going to research the case and call back.
The DJ provided Sheer with his personal unlisted home phone number. When Sheer called the DJ back at his unlisted number, the DJ had no idea who Sheer was or what he was talking about. The DJ was actually interviewed on UM and he seemed genuinely confused by the whole thing. Obviously, someone had impersonated him and gave Sheer his unlisted number, but who?

2. Detective Sheer received an anonymous phone call from someone who only said "Judith Himes is alive and she lives in Omaha" - the famous line.

3. Sheer received a third phone call from a man who claimed he worked for the FBI in some capacity. The man said he had just come back from Hungary where he had spent some time talking with "Dr." Hadju. He provided Sheer with Hadju's phone number and it was traced and shown to belong to him.

The Lifetime version of this episode completely deletes mention of the first call, so that is where some of this confusion is coming from.

The third phone call initially struck me as very odd. If they had Hadju's number, surely they could have followed up and arrested him as he was a fugitive.

The only thing I can figure is that Hungary was/is one of those countries where we don't have an extradition treaty. I also recall that the statute of limitation had run out (for the illegal abortion I presume) so perhaps that is why the lead about Hadju was not pursued. UM did mention that the police believed that Hadju was NOT responsible for any of the phone calls.

A few weeks later, UM aired an update to the effect that they had received an anonymous letter indicating that Judith was dead and had died during the illegal abortion. The police believed the letter was legitimate.

So, is Judith Himes alive and living in Omaha? If the phone calls were some sort of a prank, it was very well executed and also very esoteric. Well executed because the pranksters somehow got the DJ's unlisted number and possibly Hadju's number. Esoteric because the people involved - the radio DJ and Detective Sheer were both unfamiliar with case, as the public at large probably would have been at that time. At the time Sheer began receiving the calls, he had just returned from Omaha where he had given a lecture. However, he didn't mention the Himes case or have any knowledge of it as it was closed and 25 years old.

Kind of like the letters from Flint, Michigan indicating that Kari Lynn Nixon was alive. Someone was very fixated on that case. Someone else seemed to have a similar fixation on the Himes case.

I'm 99.9% sure the letter is legitimate, but there's still a tiny speculative voice in me that doesn't let me go the other .1%. Judy signed herself in at the doctor's office where she was scheduled for a pregnancy test as "B. Kenney." I wonder if she was in fact living in Omaha under that name, or perhaps some other assumed one, and someone was aware of it. It might be something of a stretch, but it was something I immediately considered when watching the segment the first time.

I'm 99.9% sure the letter is legitimate, but there's still a tiny speculative voice in me that doesn't let me go the other .1%. Judy signed herself in at the doctor's office where she was scheduled for a pregnancy test as "B. Kenney." I wonder if she was in fact living in Omaha under that name, or perhaps some other assumed one, and someone was aware of it. It might be something of a stretch, but it was something I immediately considered when watching the segment the first time.

I tend to believe the scenario put forth in the letter. The fact that her car was found abandoned and that there was blood in it are not good signs.

I also wonder if someone who was involved in Judith's disappearance in '65 felt guilty years later. Not guilty enough to come forward and turn themselves in, but guilty enough to make phone calls to a random officer from Coral Gables in hopes of reopening the investigation or at least getting the police to arrest Hadju. I think the claim that "Judith Himes is alive" would generate more attention then a call to report "Judith Himes is dead" since the police probably assumed that anyway...

Just a thought.

I also wonder if someone who was involved in Judith's disappearance in '65 felt guilty years later. Not guilty enough to come forward and turn themselves in, but guilty enough to make phone calls to a random officer from Coral Gables in hopes of reopening the investigation or at least getting the police to arrest Hadju. I think the claim that "Judith Himes is alive" would generate more attention then a call to report "Judith Himes is dead" since the police probably assumed that anyway...

True. I always thought the letter could've been written by an associate or clerical worker at Hadju's office---someone who was close to the situation, but not necessarily the guilty party. Maybe even someone who helped dispose of the body.

(Speaking of which, it seems very plausible to me that Judy's rental car was probably used to transport her body to Biscayne Bay. It would explain the blood as well as the unidentified man seen walking away from it. But why leave it abandoned with blatant blood stains in the backseat, knowing that when it was impounded it would be traced back to a missing woman? That part I don't get.)

Yeah, if she was using an assumed name, why rent the car in her name and then just leave it to be found? :confused:

I just rewatched this case for the first time in probably 15 years. For some reason this is probably the segment that has stuck in my mind from UM more than any else. Judy Himes is alive and she is living in Omaha....gives me the creeps everytime. Such a sad way to go too

Does anyone remember the "one post wonder" who stated very matter of factly that the anonymous letter was written by a nurse who assisted in the abortion? This person was then asked how hey possessed this knowledge and they never responded. I have tried to find the post in all the Judith Hyams/Himes threads with no luck so far.

Does anyone remember the "one post wonder" who stated very matter of factly that the anonymous letter was written by a nurse who assisted in the abortion? This person was then asked how hey possessed this knowledge and they never responded.

This thread mentions that letter and the poster (still active here, I think) never answered the question regarding how her friend, the source of her info, knew for certain that the letter really was from a nurse who was present at Judith's appointment with Hadju.

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=246292&highlight=judith

if it was true it would certainly be interesting to find that out before the authorities lol

(Speaking of which, it seems very plausible to me that Judy's rental car was probably used to transport her body to Biscayne Bay. It would explain the blood as well as the unidentified man seen walking away from it. But why leave it abandoned with blatant blood stains in the backseat, knowing that when it was impounded it would be traced back to a missing woman? That part I don't get.)

I watched this on the forbidden site today and was asking the very same questions in regards to the car. Not just the fact that the man made no attempt to clean the blood in the back seat but the fact that he drove it 650 miles to a residential neighborhood in Atlanta.

My guess is that Hadju wanted the car to be found with the blood in hopes that people would think Judith met with foul play. Still, that's a long distance from Coral Gables to be found.

I watched this on the forbidden site today and was asking the very same questions in regards to the car. Not just the fact that the man made no attempt to clean the blood in the back seat but the fact that he drove it 650 miles to a residential neighborhood in Atlanta.

My guess is that Hadju wanted the car to be found with the blood in hopes that people would think Judith met with foul play. Still, that's a long distance from Coral Gables to be found.


Does anybody ever considered that Captain Sheer could be making things up?


Isnt it weird for him to be the only one to be receiving all these anonymous phone calls?


This case wouldnt have resurfaced if not for Captain Sheer.

No one can verify whether he did receive any weird calls regarding Judith Hymes or not.

And if he is indeed lying, God knows what his motives are.

Your guess is as good as mine.

Does anybody ever considered that Captain Sheer could be making things up?


Isnt it weird for him to be the only one to be receiving all these anonymous phone calls?


This case wouldnt have resurfaced if not for Captain Sheer.

No one can verify whether he did receive any weird calls regarding Judith Hymes or not.

And if he is indeed lying, God knows what his motives are.

Your guess is as good as mine.


I don't think Captain Sheer made it up. I always thought he seemed genuine and perplexed in his UM interview as to why someone would call him about the case seemingly out of the blue. Also, Sheer didn't have a vested interest in the outcome.

My gut feeling is that the phone calls were either a weird prank. Or, possibly someone with some legitimate info on the Hyams case was trying to get it reopened or get some new exposure. Since Sheer did get a call from someone who knew Hadju's actual phone number, I tend to think the latter.

I don't think Captain Sheer made it up. I always thought he seemed genuine and perplexed in his UM interview as to why someone would call him about the case seemingly out of the blue. Also, Sheer didn't have a vested interest in the outcome.

My gut feeling is that the phone calls were either a weird prank. Or, possibly someone with some legitimate info on the Hyams case was trying to get it reopened or get some new exposure. Since Sheer did get a call from someone who knew Hadju's actual phone number, I tend to think the latter.

Yeah strange that, if they did actually trace down Hadju why didn't that matter go any further?

Yeah strange that, if they did actually trace down Hadju why didn't that matter go any further?

Sheer said that the statute of limitations had expired, so I would imagine that they couldn't legally charge Hadju with anything. Also, I think Hadju was only a "person of interest" in Hyams' disappearance, but it was mentioned that he was living in Hungary(?). Probably not much they could do to get him to come back to the US, in any event.

Sheer said that the statute of limitations had expired, so I would imagine that they couldn't legally charge Hadju with anything. Also, I think Hadju was only a "person of interest" in Hyams' disappearance, but it was mentioned that he was living in Hungary(?). Probably not much they could do to get him to come back to the US, in any event.



"Statues of Limitations has expired" is such a lame thing to say. Total bureaucratic bullsh1t.

Why reopen a case when no one can be prosecuted at all? Whats the point in all that? What purpose does it serve?

If i know if shes dead, and i know who killed her, I'll be sure to keep my mouth shut since I know theres nothing u can do to arrest the guy who did it.

No one will be so stupid to tell on whoever that did it ! God knows what he'll do to me if I spill the beans on him.

"Statues of Limitations has expired" is such a lame thing to say. Total bureaucratic bullsh1t.

Why reopen a case when no one can be prosecuted at all? Whats the point in all that? What purpose does it serve?

If i know if shes dead, and i know who killed her, I'll be sure to keep my mouth shut since I know theres nothing u can do to arrest the guy who did it.

No one will be so stupid to tell on whoever that did it ! God knows what he'll do to me if I spill the beans on him.


If it was a murder, then I don't think the statute of limitations hasn't expired. If, however, the statements made in the anonymous letter about an accidental death from an allergic reaction during an abortion are true, then the statute of limitations may have, in fact, run out. The statement about the statute of limitations expiring was said in reference to the letter writer to get them to come forward. It may be possible that prosecution of Hadju is still a possibility as he was "posing" as a physician and subsequently caused Judy's death if the letter is genuine.

Off topic, why would you be afraid of what the person would do to you if you came forward? If the police can't prosecute him why should he come after you?

Also, there's the issue of extradition. The US signed their extradition with Hungary in 1994 and it took effect in 1997. So, at the time they received the information, they could do little with it.

But since the doctor jumped bail for the impersonating a physician charges, prosecution had begun, so, at least, by today's standards, the statute of limitations wouldn't apply.

While researching some other stuff, I was surprised to discover that the state of New Mexico used to have a 15 year statute of limitations on even (1st degree, I think) murder. This was in recent history, maybe the 70s, early 80s?

They have since changed it to no statute of limitations on murder, which seems to be the law in most/all states now.

States are also changing their statutes of limitations on sexual assaults to either have no statute, much longer than 5 or 6 years which used to be common, or the clock starts running after they identify a suspect through a DNA match.

I started looking for info on this site: http://www.theforensicnurse.com/Rape_And_Sexual_Assault_Statute_Of_Limitations_By_State.cfm and they got their stuff from The American Prosecutors Research Institute's National Center for the Prosecution of Violence Against Women, but the link provided on their site in 2006 is now bad.

The sexual assault laws are listed for each US state. From there, I looked up each state's compiled laws (websites vary by state) to find the info on statute on murders, etc.

I think the friend was in denial. Even with medical knowledge, you can't necessarily save yourself from a botched procedure, particularly if she did have an allergic reaction or something along those lines.

I think the letter is legitimate.

The phone calls, whoever, I'm not sure. It really is creepy about the radio host's unlisted number being given out and then not long after, Omaha calls, and the "FBI" call.

I've taught that phrase to my 4 year old daughter. How many toddlers do you know that know who Judy Himes is? Its nice to be raising another generation of UM fans. :lol:

LOL!

I think the friend was in denial. Even with medical knowledge, you can't necessarily save yourself from a botched procedure, particularly if she did have an allergic reaction or something along those lines.

I think the letter is legitimate.

The phone calls, whoever, I'm not sure. It really is creepy about the radio host's unlisted number being given out and then not long after, Omaha calls, and the "FBI" call.


Assuming the letter is legitimate, who could possibly have that knowledge of what happened to Judith Hymes?

How did he / she have come to know about this?

Unless the writer was once of those who worked in the Hadju's clinic or helped to dispose the body off the bay.

These are the only pple who could know the true fate of Judith Hymes. Who else is there?

Assuming the letter is legitimate, who could possibly have that knowledge of what happened to Judith Hymes?

How did he / she have come to know about this?

Unless the writer was once of those who worked in the Hadju's clinic or helped to dispose the body off the bay.

These are the only pple who could know the true fate of Judith Hymes. Who else is there?
I think it definitely has to be a person working at the clinic or a friend of someone who was.

I think the friend was in denial. Even with medical knowledge, you can't necessarily save yourself from a botched procedure, particularly if she did have an allergic reaction or something along those lines.

I think the letter is legitimate.

The phone calls, whoever, I'm not sure. It really is creepy about the radio host's unlisted number being given out and then not long after, Omaha calls, and the "FBI" call.


Agreed about the friend. Judith might have well known that she was in trouble, but if she was losing lots of blood, she probably would have been dependent on someone else to get her to a hospital. And well, this doctor probably wasn't in a hurry to implicate himself in performing illegal abortions.

I posted on a thread a long time ago, I don't know if any of you guys have seen it or remember it, but I actually contacted marilyn, judiths friend who was interviewed in the segment, years ago. She told me that the letter was legitimate; the nurse who was present that day for the abortion wrote it and talked to the police. The case is closed and she was declared legally dead.

I posted on a thread a long time ago, I don't know if any of you guys have seen it or remember it, but I actually contacted marilyn, judiths friend who was interviewed in the segment, years ago. She told me that the letter was legitimate; the nurse who was present that day for the abortion wrote it and talked to the police. The case is closed and she was declared legally dead.

Interesting. I didn't see that in the other thread. It's kind of moot now but I wish the nurse could have said who got rid of Judith's car and why did he abandon it 700 miles away in a Atlanta neighborhood.

I posted on a thread a long time ago, I don't know if any of you guys have seen it or remember it, but I actually contacted marilyn, judiths friend who was interviewed in the segment, years ago. She told me that the letter was legitimate; the nurse who was present that day for the abortion wrote it and talked to the police. The case is closed and she was declared legally dead.



Wow

I was re-watching this segment recently and I caught something that may be nothing. When the detective that received the mysterious phone calls is being interviewed, he says:

"Well now I'm confused. I don't know what to think. Why would a 25 year old case surface out of Omaha, NE, when in fact I had never been to Omaha before in my life prior to this time. I have no knowledge about this case. I never mentioned the case whatsoever the whole time we were out there for the simple fact that I didn't know anything about the case to give anybody any information or anything."

He says he has ever been to Omaha before and never mentioned the case to anyone when he was down there. So which is it? Sure he went there after the calls but when he went there he DEFINITELY spoke about the case because that was the whole reason for him being there. His statement doesn't make sense.

I was re-watching this segment recently and I caught something that may be nothing. When the detective that received the mysterious phone calls is being interviewed, he says:

"Well now I'm confused. I don't know what to think. Why would a 25 year old case surface out of Omaha, NE, when in fact I had never been to Omaha before in my life prior to this time. I have no knowledge about this case. I never mentioned the case whatsoever the whole time we were out there for the simple fact that I didn't know anything about the case to give anybody any information or anything."

He says he has ever been to Omaha before and never mentioned the case to anyone when he was down there. So which is it? Sure he went there after the calls but when he went there he DEFINITELY spoke about the case because that was the whole reason for him being there. His statement doesn't make sense.

I think it was established that Captain Scherer had traveled to Omaha to deliver a lecture at a police academy shortly before the calls started. When he stated he'd never been to Omaha before "this time", he was referring to the lecture.

I'm sure it can't be a coincidence that Scherer started receiving those calls mentioning Ohama almost immediately after he returned from there, so whoever made them probably knew that he'd given that lecture. But it's still pretty random that such an obscure cold case would be brought to his attention like that after being forgotten for 25 years.

I think it was established that Captain Scherer had traveled to Omaha to deliver a lecture at a police academy shortly before the calls started. When he stated he'd never been to Omaha before "this time", he was referring to the lecture.

I'm sure it can't be a coincidence that Scherer started receiving those calls mentioning Ohama almost immediately after he returned from there, so whoever made them probably knew that he'd given that lecture. But it's still pretty random that such an obscure cold case would be brought to his attention like that after being forgotten for 25 years.

I think another poster (The Cars?) pointed out that either a newspaper or a magazine article had been written about cold missing persons cases (including Hyams) and been nationally distributed in the months prior to Scherer's lecture in Omaha. Thus, it's possible someone in Omaha who read the article called Scherer in Florida with the information because they knew he was connected to the same police department that investigated the Hyams case back in the 1960s.

As to the specific information relayed about Hyams being alive, the caller may have known someone in Omaha who was a ringer whom they legitimately suspected may have been Hyams, or the calls could have been an outright hoax/joke.

In any event, I think this theory is the most likely explanation for the calls.

I think it was established that Captain Scherer had traveled to Omaha to deliver a lecture at a police academy shortly before the calls started. When he stated he'd never been to Omaha before "this time", he was referring to the lecture.

I'm sure it can't be a coincidence that Scherer started receiving those calls mentioning Ohama almost immediately after he returned from there, so whoever made them probably knew that he'd given that lecture. But it's still pretty random that such an obscure cold case would be brought to his attention like that after being forgotten for 25 years.

I don't remember him saying that he had been to Omaha recently for a lecture. If that's the case, it clears up my questions.

I always thought it was funny (not funny haha) that Judy's friend discounted the possibility that she died during a botched abortion because she "had medical knowledge". That reasoning made no sense.

I think another poster (The Cars?) pointed out that either a newspaper or a magazine article had been written about cold missing persons cases (including Hyams) and been nationally distributed in the months prior to Scherer's lecture in Omaha. Thus, it's possible someone in Omaha who read the article called Scherer in Florida with the information because they knew he was connected to the same police department that investigated the Hyams case back in the 1960s.

Ah, if the Hyams case was featured in a missing persons article shortly before the phone calls, that would shed a lot of light on this situation. In the pre-Internet world of 1990, it normally would have been a hell of a lot more difficult for someone on Omaha to obtain information about an obscure 25-year old cold case from Florida.

Personally, I've always found the baffling element of this segment to be how the caller initially pretended to be an Omaha radio host and provided Captain Scherer with the host's unlisted home number. The host then claimed only a handful of people knew his number and didn't think any of them were the kind of people who impersonate him to phone the police. Bizarre :confused: !

Personally, I've always found the baffling element of this segment to be how the caller initially pretended to be an Omaha radio host and provided Captain Scherer with the host's unlisted home number. The host then claimed only a handful of people knew his number and didn't think any of them were the kind of people who impersonate him to phone the police. Bizarre :confused: !

Yeah, that was strange. The only thing I can figure is maybe the anonymous caller thought the information would carry more weight if it came from the radio show host as opposed to an anonymous Joe Schmoe. Go figure.

The more I think about this, the more I think the calls were a hoax. I mean, given what we know, it doesn't sound like any real information was disclosed to Schearer through the phone calls.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but call number one was basically someone calling Shearer pretending to be the DJ and saying that an anonymous person had disclosed some info to them on the Hyams case. The contact number given was the DJ's unpublished home number.

To me, that almost sounds like someone playing a joke on Shearer, the DJ or both. I would imagine that the subsequent conversation has to be extremely confusing for both men, and they said as much on the show.

The second calls were merely the "Judy Hyams is alive and lives in Omaha" messages. Again, no real information was relayed though. If this caller wanted to genuinely help an investigation, they could have provided Shearer with more information.

Yeah, that was strange. The only thing I can figure is maybe the anonymous caller thought the information would carry more weight if it came from the radio show host as opposed to an anonymous Joe Schmoe. Go figure.

That's exactly what I think happened. I think whoever the caller was, did so in an attempt to get the case re-examined. Maybe someone that wanted to see it worked with a fresh set of eyes since 25 years had passed.

The second calls were merely the "Judy Hyams is alive and lives in Omaha" messages. Again, no real information was relayed though. If this caller wanted to genuinely help an investigation, they could have provided Shearer with more information.

IIRC, there was also a third caller from someone claiming to be an FBI informant who provided an address for the wanted Dr. Hadju and even though Hadju wasn't there anymore, he apparently had lived at that address at some point. I believe this call happened after the case was publicized again, so it was probably an entirely different person than the original caller.

I also doubt the caller was the same person who sent in the anonymous letter about Judith's death since they could have just relayed that info over the phone. Even if the calls were a hoax and the caller was a playing a weird prank, they did manage (unintentionally or otherwise) to bring new information about the case into the spotlight for the first time in 25 years.

for whatever reason NOTHING in this world gives me goosebumps like this exchange. Even 25 years later and having heard it a million times. I am reciting it from memory so I may miss a few words...

"Captain Sherer"

"Judy Hymes is alive, and she lives in Omaha"

"Who is this?"

"Judy Hymes is alive, and she lives in Omaha."

"Can you tell me...."<click>

yyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh

I just don't get the hoax vibe from the phone calls. 2 of the 3 originated from Omaha shortly after Scherer left and went back to Coral Gables. The final one was the only one with credible information, and I doubt that that one was related to the other two.

I don't know any explanation for the first 2 calls other than someone truly thought Judith was alive and in Omaha, or they were inadvertently trying to draw Scherer's attention to the case. But that first phone call is too bizarre, IMO. Someone posed as the radio host, gave Scherer the unlisted number, only to have the radio host be completely baffled by everything. Had Scherer brought up the case during his stay in Omaha, I would be able to write them off as hoaxes, but because he wasn't even aware of Judith, someone had to have had some sort of knowledge about the case, and also knew that Scherer was in town from the Coral Gables PD to give a lecture. It's not like the fact that Scherer was there to give a lecture would have been public knowledge.

I just don't get the hoax vibe from the phone calls. 2 of the 3 originated from Omaha shortly after Scherer left and went back to Coral Gables. The final one was the only one with credible information, and I doubt that that one was related to the other two.

I don't know any explanation for the first 2 calls other than someone truly thought Judith was alive and in Omaha, or they were inadvertently trying to draw Scherer's attention to the case. But that first phone call is too bizarre, IMO. Someone posed as the radio host, gave Scherer the unlisted number, only to have the radio host be completely baffled by everything. Had Scherer brought up the case during his stay in Omaha, I would be able to write them off as hoaxes, but because he wasn't even aware of Judith, someone had to have had some sort of knowledge about the case, and also knew that Scherer was in town from the Coral Gables PD to give a lecture. It's not like the fact that Scherer was there to give a lecture would have been public knowledge.


Assuming this is all true, it narrows the potential suspect pool (in terms of the identity of the caller) considerably. We have to assume that the caller...

1. Had some connection to the DJ - how else would they get the unlisted number?

2. Either attended Scheerer's lecture, or had some knowledge about it.

Ergo, I think it's possible that someone who has the above two characteristics and possibly was an "armchair detective" / crackpot type who read the article about the cold missing persons cases, and thought they knew someone who might have been Judith Hyams, and phoned it in to Scheerer. That's the only thing that makes sense and explains all the unknown variables. I think its also possible that someone fitting this profile might attend a lecture given by a LEO, so that could fit too.

I tend to think the third call was legit and unrelated to the first two since it contained actual information and the content of the information relayed was totally different.

BTW, since we're on the subject, was it you who found that article?

This was more of a weird case than a scary one(not to make light of a young woman losing her life). But I always get chills when I watch this one during the part where the caller says
Judith Hines is alive in Omaha. Did it come out that she was murdered or was it possible she ran away or died from medical problems?

This was more of a weird case than a scary one(not to make light of a young woman losing her life). But I always get chills when I watch this one during the part where the caller says
Judith Hines is alive in Omaha. Did it come out that she was murdered or was it possible she ran away or died from medical problems?

I think the consensus is that she died during a botched illegal abortion and those who were with her at the time panicked and disposed of her remains.

This is kind of a unique enigma for UM in that the central mystery seems to have a pretty simple, logical solution, but the side story involving the phone calls is SO baffling. Searching though old newspaper articles about the case, it seems that even back in 1965, most people believed that Judith died during a botched abortion and that her body was disposed of. The case probably wouldn't be that mysterious without the phone calls, but they're so weird that the pieces don't quite fit together.

Assuming this is all true, it narrows the potential suspect pool (in terms of the identity of the caller) considerably. We have to assume that the caller...

1. Had some connection to the DJ - how else would they get the unlisted number?

2. Either attended Scheerer's lecture, or had some knowledge about it.

Ergo, I think it's possible that someone who has the above two characteristics and possibly was an "armchair detective" / crackpot type who read the article about the cold missing persons cases, and thought they knew someone who might have been Judith Hyams, and phoned it in to Scheerer. That's the only thing that makes sense and explains all the unknown variables. I think its also possible that someone fitting this profile might attend a lecture given by a LEO, so that could fit too.

I tend to think the third call was legit and unrelated to the first two since it contained actual information and the content of the information relayed was totally different.

BTW, since we're on the subject, was it you who found that article?

It was me that found the article. The only reason I remember it so well is that I had to buy it from the Herald (it was like maybe $5).

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showpost.php?p=4204451&postcount=35

The only thing that nags at me about your theory, justin (and PLEASE correct me; to say you're better educated in the area is a massive understatement), is an "armchair" type being anonymous about the matter--going so far as to pretending to be another, more well-known person, in fact. I was under the impression these sort of folks usually like to be very visible. Again, correct me, but I always thought these were the kind of people who tend to enjoy personal recognition from LE and the media.

Didn't the third phone call come after the article came out? The article does mention the original investigator coming across information from Interpol that Hadju was living in Europe, and that information doesn't seem to be too wildly different than what was provided in the third call according to Chuck Scherer. In other words, it seems as though someone could've pulled the majority of that information from the paper and then made the call to Scherer--with the exception of the caller specifically stating that Hadju was living in Budapest, Hungary.

I've kind of wondered whether someone that A) knew Scherer was going to be lecturing in Nebraska, B) might have the investigative skills necessary to dig up an unlisted phone number, and C) had information on someone named Hadju living in a particular city and country in Europe later confirmed by Interpol might not actually just be another member (retired or otherwise) of the Coral Gables Police Department.

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2206&dat=19660917&id=PT00AAAAIBAJ&sjid=aOsFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3354,324040&hl=en

This article mentions a woman named Donna Doohen. Her relationship to Hadju is unknown, but she was questioned around the same time Hadju was, along with a third male subject, in connection with the Hyams case (after being arrested in an unrelated abortion case). This Donna Doohen, at some point within the year after Hyams' disappearance, moved to Sioux City, IA. Sioux City is located right next to the Nebraska state line. It also roughly 90 miles away from Omaha.

1. Had some connection to the DJ - how else would they get the unlisted number?

I agree. It had to be someone the DJ was close to.

2. Either attended Scheerer's lecture, or had some knowledge about it.

Yep. Not too sure how public that information about Scherer coming to town and giving a lecture would have been.

Ergo, I think it's possible that someone who has the above two characteristics and possibly was an "armchair detective" / crackpot type who read the article about the cold missing persons cases, and thought they knew someone who might have been Judith Hyams, and phoned it in to Scheerer. That's the only thing that makes sense and explains all the unknown variables. I think its also possible that someone fitting this profile might attend a lecture given by a LEO, so that could fit too.

Yes. I was leaning towards someone who had attended the lecture who made the calls. Possibly someone who was in the Coral Gables area at the time of Judith's disappearance, who then in turn made the connection after Scherer gave the lecture.

I tend to think the third call was legit and unrelated to the first two since it contained actual information and the content of the information relayed was totally different.

Yes, I agree. IIRC, the UM segment mentions that the third call came in after the case was featured in a local newspaper, so I agree that this third call had nothing to do with the first 2. It's just a strange coincidence that someone (at least two people) from the Omaha area were calling Scherer claiming to have information about Judith.

This is kind of a unique enigma for UM in that the central mystery seems to have a pretty simple, logical solution, but the side story involving the phone calls is SO baffling. Searching though old newspaper articles about the case, it seems that even back in 1965, most people believed that Judith died during a botched abortion and that her body was disposed of. The case probably wouldn't be that mysterious without the phone calls, but they're so weird that the pieces don't quite fit together.

This is exactly the same thing I was thinking.

All signs in this case point to Judith dying during a botched abortion. I think the general consensus on the board is that she is dead. But the even greater mystery are the phone calls. At least the first two phone calls.

Phone call #1 had someone impersonating the radio host claiming that someone had called him with information about Judith's disappearance. I would definitely write this one off as a hoax had it not been for the second phone call.

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2206&dat=19660917&id=PT00AAAAIBAJ&sjid=aOsFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3354,324040&hl=en

This article mentions a woman named Donna Doohen. Her relationship to Hadju is unknown, but she was questioned around the same time Hadju was, along with a third male subject, in connection with the Hyams case (after being arrested in an unrelated abortion case). This Donna Doohen, at some point within the year after Hyams' disappearance, moved to Sioux City, IA. Sioux City is located right next to the Nebraska state line. It also roughly 90 miles away from Omaha.

Good find!

I'd be willing to bet that this lady was the "Judith Hyams is alive and she's in Omaha" phone call if there was some sort of proof that Scherer's visit to the Omaha area being publicized somehow.

Good find!

I'd be willing to bet that this lady was the "Judith Hyams is alive and she's in Omaha" phone call if there was some sort of proof that Scherer's visit to the Omaha area being publicized somehow.



Yeah, I can't help but think the person who made those calls had knowledge of what really happened and felt that they had some moral (and possibly legal) culpability but wanted to somehow get the case looked at again. I think it was a very odd attempt to do the right thing and have the truth come out so Judith's family would finally know.

I don't know if this would affect the case any, but Steven Brown (the DJ in Omaha) has since died. He was the individual that someone impersonated when they called Captain Shear the first time. It always struck me as odd as to why a DJ was chosen as a pawn in this whole thing.

I don't know if this would affect the case any, but Steven Brown (the DJ in Omaha) has since died. He was the individual that someone impersonated when they called Captain Shear the first time. It always struck me as odd as to why a DJ was chosen as a pawn in this whole thing.

Very odd indeed.

I still think it was someone the DJ knew.

Great find on the article about this Donna person! Her location makes the most sense as far as being the possible female caller. And like a couple of other people said, she was probably trying to do the right thing, and it probably made the most sense for her not to come forward (in her mind) if she had already been in trouble for involvement in something similar.

Another possibility is that someone who used to know Judy (not excluding this Donna) actually thought they saw her somewhere. Not wanting to involve themselves they threw the DJ into the mix and made the anonymous phone calls.

As far as the knowledge of the DJ's personal phone number, that really could have happened in ANY way. Someone could have lost their address book with his number in it and a random person found it. Person A could have given it to person B and they gave it to person C, etc. Stretching it even further, the DJ could have been having an affair(s) and didn't want to come clean about who he had really given out his number to because his family would find out. Way too many variables as to why someone selected him or how they got the number.

Judy might not be alive but Steve Brown is, strange listening to him speak on YT he reminds me so much of Walter White.

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1607908947/Steve.png

This is kind of a unique enigma for UM in that the central mystery seems to have a pretty simple, logical solution, but the side story involving the phone calls is SO baffling. Searching though old newspaper articles about the case, it seems that even back in 1965, most people believed that Judith died during a botched abortion and that her body was disposed of. The case probably wouldn't be that mysterious without the phone calls, but they're so weird that the pieces don't quite fit together.

I don't know who made the calls, whether it was a hoax or not, but I join everyone in being baffled by it. Because if it's a hoax, it's a pretty damn bizarre one. Why would a hoaxer make phone calls and stir up attention for a case that had been cold for years and probably only a few cops in a specific area knew about? This was long before the Internet was everywhere, so can't say that it was done by a true crime buff who stumbled onto the case on a website or something.

I don't know who made the calls, whether it was a hoax or not, but I join everyone in being baffled by it. Because if it's a hoax, it's a pretty damn bizarre one. Why would a hoaxer make phone calls and stir up attention for a case that had been cold for years and probably only a few cops in a specific area knew about? This was long before the Internet was everywhere, so can't say that it was done by a true crime buff who stumbled onto the case on a website or something.

Exactly. A total of 25 years had passed since Judith's disappearance when all of those phone calls were made. The internet wouldn't arrive for another 3 years. The only people who would have known about Judith were the residents of the Coral Gables/Miami area in the 1960's.

The Nebraska connection is also baffling because of the calls coming on the heels of the officer's conference in Nebraska. The hoaxer would have to be a person who lived in Coral Gables in 1965 and just so happened to be at that Nebraska conference in 1990 (which seems HIGHLY unlikely) or a southern Florida resident who decided to mess with police and mentioned Nebraska as part of an unbelievable coincidence. Whatever the case, it's bizarre as hell.

Ultimately, I think the calls were probably from someone who assisted in the abortion who felt guilty, and that by claiming she was still alive, would bring attention to the case.

I re-watched this segment recently and I still think the whole episode with Steve Brown is the strangest part. I didn’t pick up on the fact that the caller who impersonated Brown provided Captain Scherer with TWO callback numbers: his own number and the number for a “source” who supposedly had information about Judith Hyams.

The first number turned out to be the radio station Brown worked at, which Scherer called when he got a hold of the real Steve Brown and learned Brown never actually phoned him. The second number for the “source” who supposedly had information about the Hyams case turned out to be Brown’s home number. Brown then claimed his home number was unlisted and that very few people knew it, and did not think any of the people who had access to his number would go to the trouble of impersonating him to call the Coral Gables police and inquire about a 25-year old cold case he had never heard of before. I'd be interested to know if the police officially ruled everybody out who had access to Brown's home number.

I totally think the whole thing being orchestrated by someone who was personally involved in the abortion, but the unwitting involvement of Steve Brown is just one of the most random things ever.

I re-watched this segment recently and I still think the whole episode with Steve Brown is the strangest part. I didn’t pick up on the fact that the caller who impersonated Brown provided Captain Scherer with TWO callback numbers: his own number and the number for a “source” who supposedly had information about Judith Hyams.

The first number turned out to be the radio station Brown worked at, which Scherer called when he got a hold of the real Steve Brown and learned Brown never actually phoned him. The second number for the “source” who supposedly had information about the Hyams case turned out to be Brown’s home number. Brown then claimed his home number was unlisted and that very few people knew it, and did not think any of the people who had access to his number would go to the trouble of impersonating him to call the Coral Gables police and inquire about a 25-year old cold case he had never heard of before. I'd be interested to know if the police officially ruled everybody out who had access to Brown's home number.

I totally think the whole thing being orchestrated by someone who was personally involved in the abortion, but the unwitting involvement of Steve Brown is just one of the most random things ever.

I had forgot about that part, and that there had to be at least 2 people involved. That had to be someone Brown knew, or someone who knew his number knew.

A few pages back I posted a link (which now appears to be broken) to a news article that reported a person of interest--someone personally associated with Hadju at the time of Himes' disappearance--who moved to Iowa about 90 miles away from Omaha, NE shortly after Judy went missing. I don't know if this person ever moved on to Nebraska, or if she was the person indeed responsible for the calls, or even if she was personally involved in or at least aware of the botched abortion, but I thought it was an intriguing find.

I guess if she were indeed responsible, I would wonder what compelled her to draw attention to the case at that particular time, and in that particular manner.

for whatever reason NOTHING in this world gives me goosebumps like this exchange. Even 25 years later and having heard it a million times. I am reciting it from memory so I may miss a few words...

"Captain Sherer"

"Judy Hymes is alive, and she lives in Omaha"

"Who is this?"

"Judy Hymes is alive, and she lives in Omaha."

"Can you tell me...."<click>

yyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh

For real, this segment is a top 5, easily, on the creepy list. The production of that exchange in particular is just willies-inducing, and the case itself and the whole business with the DJ and even the "resolution" which doesn't completely resolve, all of it is just as creepy as all holy hell.

She disappeared a day after my dad was born. Eerie. I too feel that Judith, not wanting to face humiliation from her family, went and had an illegal abortion, then dying as a result (blood loss, infection, etc). In today's world, Judith would have had more options, whether she would have wanted the baby or not. I feel bad for her and I wonder what her family ended up thinking after all this time?

A few pages back I posted a link (which now appears to be broken) to a news article that reported a person of interest--someone personally associated with Hadju at the time of Himes' disappearance--who moved to Iowa about 90 miles away from Omaha, NE shortly after Judy went missing. I don't know if this person ever moved on to Nebraska, or if she was the person indeed responsible for the calls, or even if she was personally involved in or at least aware of the botched abortion, but I thought it was an intriguing find.

I guess if she were indeed responsible, I would wonder what compelled her to draw attention to the case at that particular time, and in that particular manner.

When I read that link there was no doubt in my mind that she was the woman calling claiming that Judy was alive and in Omaha.

A few pages back I posted a link (which now appears to be broken) to a news article that reported a person of interest--someone personally associated with Hadju at the time of Himes' disappearance--who moved to Iowa about 90 miles away from Omaha, NE shortly after Judy went missing. I don't know if this person ever moved on to Nebraska, or if she was the person indeed responsible for the calls, or even if she was personally involved in or at least aware of the botched abortion, but I thought it was an intriguing find.

I guess if she were indeed responsible, I would wonder what compelled her to draw attention to the case at that particular time, and in that particular manner.

Interesting. I can totally believe this woman might have been responsible for the "Judith Hyams is alive" phone call. Yet another strange element about the calls is that there had to be at least two different people involved since there were separate calls from a man and a woman. But were both these people personally connected to the abortion, or did the woman somehow convince a male acquaintance to impersonate Steve Brown to make the first contact with police?

Another thing I hadn't thought of is that when the "Steve Brown" caller brought up Judith Hyams, Captain Scherer said he would have to go research the case first and get back to him, which is why the caller provided him with Brown's numbers. What would have happened if Scherer started questioning him about the case during the initial call?

If this was someone looking "to do the right thing," who was somehow involved with the case, it is arguable that the strange calls directly to the detective from a woman may have helped that. But as I recall, those calls came after, and were apparently prompted by, the initial calls to the detective impersonating the DJ. Those calls would seem to serve no earthly purpose, other than just to screw with that DJ, particularly if the intention was then to turn around and call the detective who investigated the calls from the supposed DJ and suggest to him the Judith Hymes was alive. Why bother with the intermediary step of impersonating the DJ? THe only semi-legitimate reason could be to get a detective's attention, but the thought process would have to be: "I know. I'll draw attention to this case by impersonating a Z-list celebrity from a place half a country away from where this thing happened." What a totally strange, strange thing to do. In any event, the almost-as-strange decision to call the detective who responded to the call about the impersonated DJ calls with mysterious whisperings that Judith Hymes is alive would, I would think, be odd enough in itself to have accomplished the same thing.

As there is no proof the two are linked... it really makes you wonder. I agree with those who pointed out that a case that old from a different state would be unlikely to be known to a perfect stranger halfway across the country in 1988 or whatever year it was. Hell, at that time, it was probably unlikely if you talked to any random detective at the Coral Gables police department that s/he would have known about it. The case was cold and forgotten, in all likelihood.

Finally, if the person(s) calling was involved with the abortion, and knew what had happened, why not send a letter confirming what had happened, anonymously, if the person(s) was itching to do the right thing? I suppose the answer might be the person(s) did, and whoever sent the letter after the UM broadcast was the same person responsible for the initial phone calls - but why change tactics so drastically, after the case had gained so much notoriety? If the letter-sender is NOT the person who was responsible for the phone call(s) - but WAS knowledgeable about the situation and was motivated by guilt to draw attention to the case by making the phone calls - why not corroborate the first anonymous letter with a second, similar account, also via anonymous letter?

The whole thing is too weird for words.

If this was someone looking "to do the right thing," who was somehow involved with the case, it is arguable that the strange calls directly to the detective from a woman may have helped that. But as I recall, those calls came after, and were apparently prompted by, the initial calls to the detective impersonating the DJ. Those calls would seem to serve no earthly purpose, other than just to screw with that DJ, particularly if the intention was then to turn around and call the detective who investigated the calls from the supposed DJ and suggest to him the Judith Hymes was alive. Why bother with the intermediary step of impersonating the DJ? THe only semi-legitimate reason could be to get a detective's attention, but the thought process would have to be: "I know. I'll draw attention to this case by impersonating a Z-list celebrity from a place half a country away from where this thing happened." What a totally strange, strange thing to do. In any event, the almost-as-strange decision to call the detective who responded to the call about the impersonated DJ calls with mysterious whisperings that Judith Hymes is alive would, I would think, be odd enough in itself to have accomplished the same thing.

As there is no proof the two are linked... it really makes you wonder. I agree with those who pointed out that a case that old from a different state would be unlikely to be known to a perfect stranger halfway across the country in 1988 or whatever year it was. Hell, at that time, it was probably unlikely if you talked to any random detective at the Coral Gables police department that s/he would have known about it. The case was cold and forgotten, in all likelihood.

Finally, if the person(s) calling was involved with the abortion, and knew what had happened, why not send a letter confirming what had happened, anonymously, if the person(s) was itching to do the right thing? I suppose the answer might be the person(s) did, and whoever sent the letter after the UM broadcast was the same person responsible for the initial phone calls - but why change tactics so drastically, after the case had gained so much notoriety? If the letter-sender is NOT the person who was responsible for the phone call(s) - but WAS knowledgeable about the situation and was motivated by guilt to draw attention to the case by making the phone calls - why not corroborate the first anonymous letter with a second, similar account, also via anonymous letter?

The whole thing is too weird for words.

Yes, completely bizarre.

I agree with a few others, the calls were from this Debbie person (connected to Hadju) - noted in the above comments, per the article cited. But what was the motive? :confused:

There are lots of great posts in this thread, but I got confused because I hadn't seen the segment in so long. Here is a summary of Judy Hyams' case for others who might not remember the sequence of events. My comments follow.

Disapearance

1965 - Judy Hyams was 22 years old, recently divorced and working as a medical technician in Coral Gables, FL. She had just received a $25,000 divorce settlement. Judy was rumored to be dating several men, including a local dentist. (1) (2) (3)

August of 1965 - Judy found out she was pregnant. (1)

September 14, 1965 - Judy withdrew $300 from her account and went to an appointment with Dr. George Hadju. She was allegedly scheduled for an illegal abortion. Judy was not seen or heard from after this date. (1)

October 1965 - A rental car registered in Judy's name was found in Atlanta, GA. There is blood in the back seat. An unidentified man in his 30s was seen parking the car. (1)

January 1966 - Dr. George Hadju was arrested for not being an accredited physician. He jumps bail and leaves the country. (1)

1966 - A woman named Donna Doohen, who was questioned along with Dr. Hadju, relocated to Sioux City, IA, a city near the NE state line (5)

Phone Calls

Fall 1989 - Article about missing persons was published. Judy Hyams was mentioned. (3)

Mid March 1990 - Capt. Scherer gave a narcotics lecture in Grand Island, NE (188 miles from Omaha). He gave his business cards to numerous law enforcement officers. At that time he has no real knowledge of Judy Hyams' case. (1) (2)

March 20, 1990 - Capt. Scherer received the first strange phone call. A man introduced himself as Steve Brown, a radio talk show host in Omaha, NE. The man said someone called his show to say Judy Hyams was alive and living in Nebraska.

The police captain was not familiar with the case, so he took Mr. Brown's phone numbers and promises to call him back after looking up the details. Mr. Brown gave Capt. Scherer two numbers, one of which was his unlisted home number. When the captain called the numbers (either later that day or the next morning), he did speak to Steve Brown, the Omaha radio host. But Steve Brown had no idea what Capt. Scherer was talking about. He did not previously call the Captain with information about Judy Hyams. He was shocked that someone had his unlisted home number, saying only about 50 people knew that number. (1) (2)

March 21 or 22, 1999 - Capt. Scherer received the second strange phone call. A woman said Judy Hyams is alive and living in Omaha. The caller refused to identify herself and hung up. (1)

March 24, 1990 - The Miami Herald published an article about the first two phone calls, Case Reopens After Mysterious Calls (1) (2)

1990 - Capt. Scherer received the third strange phone call. A person claiming to be an FBI informant said he had just spent the last few weeks with George Hadju in Budapest, Hungary. The caller provided a telephone number for the house in Budapest. Capt. Scherer contacted Interpol and they were able to confirm the phone number was registered to George Hadju. (For whatever reason police couldn't locate Hadju to arrest him.) (1)

January 2, 1991 - Unsolved Mysteries aired Judy's segment. (4)

January 6, 1991 - The Coral Gables Police Dept. received an anonymous letter claiming Judy had died due to complications during an illegal abortion and her body was disposed of in Biscayne Bay, FL. (1)

1997 - Omaha Chief of Police, James Skinner resigned to take a job as Coral Gables Chief of Police. (6)

Comments

I think the FBI informant who placed the third phone call is not connected to the person(s) who placed the first two calls.

The first two phone calls protect Dr. Hadju, by claiming Judy is in Omaha. The third phone call provides police a way to locate Dr. Hadju.

The FBI informant likely read the article about the first two phone calls Capt. Scherer received which directed attention away from Dr. Hadju. The informant may have known Hadju was involved in Judy's disappearance and didn't want people thinking Judy left of her own accord. Or the FBI informant may have wanted to expose Hadju's location to police for other reasons.

I don't know what the Nebraska/Florida connection is though.

Excluding my comments, all info came from these sources:

(1)The Unsolved Mysteries segment
(2)http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showpost.php?p=4204451&postcount=35
(3)http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showpost.php?p=4933495&postcount=42
(4)http://unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Judy_Hymes
(5)http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showpost.php?p=5008239&postcount=71
(6)http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showpost.php?p=3441185&postcount=14

There are lots of great posts in this thread, but I got confused because I hadn't seen the segment in so long. Here is a summary of Judy Hyams' case for others who might not remember the sequence of events. My comments follow.

Disapearance

1965 - Judy Hyams was 22 years old, recently divorced and working as a medical technician in Coral Gables, FL. She had just received a $25,000 divorce settlement. Judy was rumored to be dating several men, including a local dentist. (1) (2) (3)

August of 1965 - Judy found out she was pregnant. (1)

September 14, 1965 - Judy withdrew $300 from her account and went to an appointment with Dr. George Hadju. She was allegedly scheduled for an illegal abortion. Judy was not seen or heard from after this date. (1)

October 1965 - A rental car registered in Judy's name is found in Atlanta, GA. There is blood in the back seat. An unidentified man in his 30s was seen parking the car. (1)

January 1966 - Dr. George Hadju is arrested for not being an accredited physician. He jumps bail and leaves the country. (1)

1966 - A woman named Donna Doohen, who was questioned along with Dr. Hadju, relocates to Sioux City, IA, a city near the NE state line (5)

Phone Calls

Fall 1989 - Article about missing persons is published. Judy Hyams is mentioned. (3)

Mid March 1990 - Capt. Scherer gives a narcotics lecture in Grand Island, NE (188 miles from Omaha). He gives his business cards to numerous law enforcement officers. At this time he has no real knowledge of Judy Hyams' case. (1) (2)

March 20, 1990 - Capt. Scherer receives the first strange phone call. A man introduces himself as Steve Brown, a radio talk show host in Omaha, NE. The man says someone called his show to say Judy Hyams was alive and living in Nebraska.

The police captain is not familiar with the case, so he takes Mr. Brown's phone numbers and promises to call him back after looking up the details. Mr. Brown gives Capt. Scherer two numbers, one of which is his unlisted home number. When the captain calls the numbers (either later that day or the next morning), he does speak to Steve Brown, the Omaha radio host. But Steve Brown has no idea what Capt. Scherer is talking about. He did not previously call the Captain with information about Judy Hyams. He is shocked that someone had his unlisted home number, saying only about 50 people knew that number. (1) (2)

March 21 or 22, 1999 - Capt. Scherer receives the second strange phone call. A woman says Judy Hyams is alive and living in Omaha. The caller refuses to identify herself and hangs up. (1)

March 24, 1990 - The Miami Herald publishes an article about the first two phone calls, Case Reopens After Mysterious Calls (1) (2)

1990 - Capt. Scherer receives the third strange phone call. A person claiming to be an FBI informant says he has just spent the last few weeks with George Hadju in Budapest, Hungary. The caller provides a telephone number for the house in Budapest. Capt. Scherer contacts Interpol and they are able to confirm the phone number is registered to George Hadju. (For whatever reason police can't locate Hadju to arrest him.) (1)

January 2, 1991 - Unsolved Mysteries airs Judy's segment. (4)

January 6, 1991 - The Coral Gables Police Dept. receives an anonymous letter claiming Judy had died due to complications during an illegal abortion and her body was disposed of in Biscayne Bay, FL. (1)

1997 - Omaha Chief of Police, Tom resigns to take a job as Coral Gables Chief of Police. (6)

Comments

I think the FBI informant who placed the third phone call is not connected to the person(s) who placed the first two calls.

The first two phone calls protect Dr. Hadju, by claiming Judy is in Omaha. The third phone call provides police a way to locate Dr. Hadju.

The FBI informant likely read the article about the first two phone calls Capt. Scherer received which directed attention away from Dr. Hadju. The informant may have known Hadju was involved in Judy's disappearance and didn't want people thinking Judy left of her own accord. Or the FBI informant may have wanted to expose Hadju's location to police for other reasons.

I don't know what the Nebraska/Florida connection is though.

Excluding my comments, all info came from these sources:

(1)The Unsolved Mysteries segment
(2)http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showpost.php?p=4204451&postcount=35
(3)http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showpost.php?p=4933495&postcount=42
(4)http://unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Judy_Hymes
(5)http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showpost.php?p=5008239&postcount=71
(6)http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showpost.php?p=3441185&postcount=14

Thank you for this thorough breakdown, Ava.

1997 - Omaha Chief of Police, Tom resigns to take a job as Coral Gables Chief of Police.

STRANGE! :confused: :eek:

It is a strange case because of the phone calls, but otherwise it seems simple in that we have a pregnant woman who, as her friend said in the segment, would not have kept a kid. It was 1965. She was young. No doubt she died as a result of an illegal abortion and the anonymous letter convinces me of this. It was written straight and to the point, worded by someone who obviously was there (a nurse working for the dr. maybe?) and who still lived in the area, wanted to set the record straight and admitted what really happened. They got rid of her car. It was a sloppy job because there were witnesses in broad daylight. Judith Hyames (Himes or however it's spelled) took a gamble and lost.

What I find strange other than the phone calls is the fact that there seems to be little about her on the net. I found one newspaper interview done with her mother a few months after Judy disappeared. Other than that, I have seen no family or friends asking her whereabouts. I think her surviving family and friends know she is gone and understand how it happened.

The phone calls....still cannot figure those out. But I think we know of her fate.

Thank you for the excellent investigation!

I never felt that Judith didn't want a child, but was terrified of that label of being an unwed, single mother who was pregnant and would cause shame to her community. Has anyone wondered if maybe she had been impregnated by means of rape and maybe that caused her so much grief that she had this illegal abortion and unfortunately died as a result?

The reason why she decided to undergo the abortion ultimately doesn't matter. Doesn't make her any less gone.

I never felt that Judith didn't want a child, but was terrified of that label of being an unwed, single mother who was pregnant and would cause shame to her community. Has anyone wondered if maybe she had been impregnated by means of rape and maybe that caused her so much grief that she had this illegal abortion and unfortunately died as a result?

Who knows, that could be another theory. Stranger things have happened.

The reason why she decided to undergo the abortion ultimately doesn't matter. Doesn't make her any less gone.

Oh I know, and sadly, nothing can ever bring her back, but I was just throwing that out there. I often wonder if she got caught up with a married man (supposedly like Rhonda Hinson did) and was impregnated by said man, then was pressured into aborting the child or did so by her own volition. I also wonder if Judith really knew all the options she had back then (giving the child up for adoption being high on the list), being in her situation, or felt like abortion was the definitive option to solve the whole problem.

What also scares me is if Judith, being a nurse, knew what she was really getting into. Judith never struck me as being naive, just young and scared, and I often wonder if maybe she found out this was a bogus deal and was actually murdered to keep quiet about illegal abortion activity, rather than just having a medical mishap and dying as a result. I would hate to think she went through with it and when it went awry, knew she was dying, and then just died, because that's terrifying to think about, I mean, how do you handle knowing that you're laying there dying? I hate looking at photos of Judith Himes and knowing that smiley young Florida woman with a promising future has long been dead because of her fears in that time period and the ordeal she faced at the end of her life. I hope she is in a better place.

A few pages back I posted a link (which now appears to be broken) to a news article that reported a person of interest--someone personally associated with Hadju at the time of Himes' disappearance--who moved to Iowa about 90 miles away from Omaha, NE shortly after Judy went missing. I don't know if this person ever moved on to Nebraska, or if she was the person indeed responsible for the calls, or even if she was personally involved in or at least aware of the botched abortion, but I thought it was an intriguing find.

I guess if she were indeed responsible, I would wonder what compelled her to draw attention to the case at that particular time, and in that particular manner.

Via a quick internet search, it looks like Donna Doohen still lives in Sioux City. Age 70, which would translate to 19 in 1965. Only a few years younger than Judy. Logical to be a friend -- the one who recommended the clinic? -- or perhaps an employee at the clinic itself. I found a link indicating Donna Doohen once held a cosmetology license in Florida. Could be legit but I was wondering about the listed professions of those workers at illegal clinics. They had to be listed if not licensed as something else, something legal. Cosmetology doesn't sound like much of a reach.

Doohen's listed address from that cosmetology license was in North Miami. Not close -- maybe a half hour -- to where Judy worked at Jackson Memorial Hospital, or the apparent abortion clinic in Coral Gables, which is even further south. I'm not sure where Judy's family lived, or whether the Doohen address was supposed to be her home address or work address. Regardless, I thought I might find a logically close geographical connection but did not. I was born in Miami, live there now, and know the area.

The internet search seemed to reveal that Doohen's family is from Sioux City. Not children but brothers, sisters and others from Donna's generation. That's probably the basic connection to Omaha. Once Doohen had some involvement or knowledge of the Judith Hines situation and/or Hadju's illegal clinic, she felt understandably uncomfortable after being questioned by authorities, and either decided to return home or was encouraged to do so by family members.

Decades later Donna may have held guilt or misgivings about the death, and Hadju's involvement. She either made the phone calls -- likely -- or prompted a relative/friend to do so. I've always suspected the phone calls were designed to target Hadju and hint to authorities to round him up and punish him, more than they had anything to do with Judith Hines. That name was merely the vehicle.

Plenty of that is guesswork. It's plausible, just like those segments I despise during each Perfect Murder episode. They pause and allow the detectives to offer their most likely scenario, given available info at that stage of the investigation. Naturally it always turns out to be wrong. And that's the entire point. Unfortunately the plausible version is often played out in courtrooms, when the state is confident they have the correct perpetrator. The best and most flowing plausible storyline is presented, in high decibel dramatic fashion. They pretend, for example, that they know exactly which swipe was in which order, and what blood trail it produced, along with who and how many were there. Laughable. But that's where we are, early 21st Century. Countless authors have taken advantage in recent decades, knowing darn well that gullible readers and jurors lap up that type of fixation on minutiae. It doesn't have to be accurate or even sensible. Just pick a path, be relentless and loud, flooded with so-called specifics, and suddenly the plausible version is undeniably exactly what happened.

Anyway, I suppose somebody could call Donna Doohen. I doubt she would offer anything but it's greater opportunity than seemingly anything else. I'm not going to do it. The case doesn't intrigue me that much. The basics seem obvious, if sad. I did make several calls years ago in the Richard Floyd McCoy/DB Cooper matter, primarily because it's hilarious that the FBI doesn't differentiate that bizarre case, with hour after hour of suspect risk in a public setting, from run of the mill darkness crimes in which virtually anybody could have pulled it off.

They got rid of her car. It was a sloppy job because there were witnesses in broad daylight.

The car was driven 650 miles before it was abandoned in a random residential neighborhood. The man (and the people from Hadju's clinic) made NO attempt to clean the blood in the backseat. Leaving the car in a place like that would make it seem they wanted it to be found.

Maybe their intention was to make it look like Judith had met with possible foul play in Georgia to direct attention away from the abortion in Florida. But...I can't figure out why the man would let himself be seen in the middle of the day.

Via a quick internet search, it looks like Donna Doohen still lives in Sioux City. Age 70, which would translate to 19 in 1965. Only a few years younger than Judy. Logical to be a friend -- the one who recommended the clinic? -- or perhaps an employee at the clinic itself. I found a link indicating Donna Doohen once held a cosmetology license in Florida. Could be legit but I was wondering about the listed professions of those workers at illegal clinics. They had to be listed if not licensed as something else, something legal. Cosmetology doesn't sound like much of a reach.

Doohen's listed address from that cosmetology license was in North Miami. Not close -- maybe a half hour -- to where Judy worked at Jackson Memorial Hospital, or the apparent abortion clinic in Coral Gables, which is even further south. I'm not sure where Judy's family lived, or whether the Doohen address was supposed to be her home address or work address. Regardless, I thought I might find a logically close geographical connection but did not. I was born in Miami, live there now, and know the area.

The internet search seemed to reveal that Doohen's family is from Sioux City. Not children but brothers, sisters and others from Donna's generation. That's probably the basic connection to Omaha. Once Doohen had some involvement or knowledge of the Judith Hines situation and/or Hadju's illegal clinic, she felt understandably uncomfortable after being questioned by authorities, and either decided to return home or was encouraged to do so by family members.

Decades later Donna may have held guilt or misgivings about the death, and Hadju's involvement. She either made the phone calls -- likely -- or prompted a relative/friend to do so. I've always suspected the phone calls were designed to target Hadju and hint to authorities to round him up and punish him, more than they had anything to do with Judith Hines. That name was merely the vehicle.

Plenty of that is guesswork. It's plausible, just like those segments I despise during each Perfect Murder episode. They pause and allow the detectives to offer their most likely scenario, given available info at that stage of the investigation. Naturally it always turns out to be wrong. And that's the entire point. Unfortunately the plausible version is often played out in courtrooms, when the state is confident they have the correct perpetrator. The best and most flowing plausible storyline is presented, in high decibel dramatic fashion. They pretend, for example, that they know exactly which swipe was in which order, and what blood trail it produced, along with who and how many were there. Laughable. But that's where we are, early 21st Century. Countless authors have taken advantage in recent decades, knowing darn well that gullible readers and jurors lap up that type of fixation on minutiae. It doesn't have to be accurate or even sensible. Just pick a path, be relentless and loud, flooded with so-called specifics, and suddenly the plausible version is undeniably exactly what happened.

Anyway, I suppose somebody could call Donna Doohen. I doubt she would offer anything but it's greater opportunity than seemingly anything else. I'm not going to do it. The case doesn't intrigue me that much. The basics seem obvious, if sad. I did make several calls years ago in the Richard Floyd McCoy/DB Cooper matter, primarily because it's hilarious that the FBI doesn't differentiate that bizarre case, with hour after hour of suspect risk in a public setting, from run of the mill darkness crimes in which virtually anybody could have pulled it off.

Bravo for the excellent breakdown, Awsi! Per the bolded, I think you've pretty much hit the nail on the head. Good job with the researching and deductive reasoning. I feel the same way - the case is tragic, especially because Judith's probable botched abortion death (as well as countless others') was so unnecessary. And yes, I definitely think Ms. Doohan had something to do with the calls. I wouldn't contact her. I'm pretty sure she has lived a lifetime of full of guilt.

BTW, Awsi, LOVE Miami. It's my second home. ;)

[QUOTE BTW, Awsi, LOVE Miami. It's my second home. ;)[/QUOTE]

OT: I can't tell if you are being serious or not NYSleuth, but I love Miami too! Really! While there, I spend most of my time across the Julia Tuttle at a hotel somewhere along Collins Avenue in Miami Beach. Been there three times since 2004 and it never gets boring!

OT: I can't tell if you are being serious or not NYSleuth, but I love Miami too! Really! While there, I spend most of my time across the Julia Tuttle at a hotel somewhere along Collins Avenue in Miami Beach. Been there three times since 2004 and it never gets boring!

I'm totally serious! Born & raised in NYC, but lived in Miami (South Beach) for a few years. I have a place there, mid Miami Beach, near Collins. I call it my escape route for when I need a break. On Collins, I like the Delano, Setai, Dream. It never gets boring. I wont ever live there again full time because you can get into too much trouble in SOBE. ;)

I wonder what Coral Gables (which is where Judy lived) was like during the 1960's. It must have been super conservative. Things were way different in Miami back then...

Oh I know, and sadly, nothing can ever bring her back, but I was just throwing that out there. I often wonder if she got caught up with a married man (supposedly like Rhonda Hinson did) and was impregnated by said man, then was pressured into aborting the child or did so by her own volition. I also wonder if Judith really knew all the options she had back then (giving the child up for adoption being high on the list), being in her situation, or felt like abortion was the definitive option to solve the whole problem.

What also scares me is if Judith, being a nurse, knew what she was really getting into. Judith never struck me as being naive, just young and scared, and I often wonder if maybe she found out this was a bogus deal and was actually murdered to keep quiet about illegal abortion activity, rather than just having a medical mishap and dying as a result. I would hate to think she went through with it and when it went awry, knew she was dying, and then just died, because that's terrifying to think about, I mean, how do you handle knowing that you're laying there dying? I hate looking at photos of Judith Himes and knowing that smiley young Florida woman with a promising future has long been dead because of her fears in that time period and the ordeal she faced at the end of her life. I hope she is in a better place.

In the segment, her friend mentioned that having a child out of wedlock was unheard of in her circle of friends at that time. I don't think adoption was an option for her, unless she left town during and after the pregnancy to do so. I think Judy probably saw an abortion as her best option at the time, hoping no one would ever even find out she had become pregnant. It is super sad and tragic, such an unnecessary loss of life.

BTW, Awsi, LOVE Miami. It's my second home. ;)

My best friend got married in Key Biscayne two years ago. My hotel was in downtown Miami and I was very, VERY impressed. I loved it.

The night before the wedding, the rehearsal dinner took place at a steakhouse in Coral Gables. As we were driving to the restaurant, my inner UM nerd came out and I began thinking, "this is where Judith Hyams lived."

Sometimes I felt like I was in a foreign land, though. It seemed almost every restaurant we went to (and our tour through the Florida Everglades) my friends and I were consistently the only people who spoke English.

My best friend got married in Key Biscayne two years ago. My hotel was in downtown Miami and I was very, VERY impressed. I loved it.

The night before the wedding, the rehearsal dinner took place at a steakhouse in Coral Gables. As we were driving to the restaurant, my inner UM nerd came out and I began thinking, "this is where Judith Hyams lived."

Sometimes I felt like I was in a foreign land, though. It seemed almost every restaurant we went to (and our tour through the Florida Everglades) my friends and I were consistently the only people who spoke English.

Coral Gables is a decent, mainly Cuban American neighborhood with some very upscale areas, great restaurants and shopping. I have been there only a few times, so don't know much about it other than that. That is why I would love to know what it was like in the 1960s.

In my opinion, Key Biscayne is the most beautiful town in Miami. Did you do some biking while there? Yes, Miami and a lot of South FL (E. Coast) is a place where you need to know at least a little bit of Spanish to feel comfortable. I took about 7 years of Spanish in school (jr. high, high school and college), and knew practically nothing of the language. My few years living in Miami made me pretty much fluent.

Funny, I never think of Judy Hyams when I'm in Miami. It's a very happy place for me, and her case really saddens me (and creeps me out).

It's funny how our minds do that from time to time.

Slightly off topic... A friend of mine was in Florida a few weeks ago. Out of the blue he sent me a beautiful picture of the beach and said, "All I can think of is the Oba Chandler case." (There's a way to ruin a beautiful Tampa Bay beach scene if I've ever seen one...)

In case anyone wonders, or doesn't know, her full name with the correct spelling is Judith Carole Himes, and not "Hines" or "Hyams".

The UM profile page lists it as "Hyams", as do a couple of old articles found in Google News:
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1356&dat=19650923&id=xnVPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7wQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3705,1191961&hl=en

I've always been pretty certain "Hyams" is the correct spelling. As far as I know, the only major source to spell it as "Himes" is the Charley Project, which might be where the confusion came from.

The UM profile page lists it as "Hyams", as do a couple of old articles found in Google News:
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1356&dat=19650923&id=xnVPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7wQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3705,1191961&hl=en

I've always been pretty certain "Hyams" is the correct spelling. As far as I know, the only major source to spell it as "Himes" is the Charley Project, which might be where the confusion came from.

Not sure why there's a debate. I thought y'all had heard that she was alive and living in Omaha. ;)

It's funny how our minds do that from time to time.

Slightly off topic... A friend of mine was in Florida a few weeks ago. Out of the blue he sent me a beautiful picture of the beach and said, "All I can think of is the Oba Chandler case." (There's a way to ruin a beautiful Tampa Bay beach scene if I've ever seen one...)


Oba in his younger days looked like someone who was getting ready to double cross Crockett and Tubbs, you know? A real scumbag.

Not sure why there's a debate. I thought y'all had heard that she was alive and living in Omaha. ;)

THAT'S why no one could find her! They were going through the Omaha phone books trying to find her but had the incorrect spelling. Mystery solved ;)

I guess it is "Judith Carole Hyams" after all. My mistake. I wasn't debating it, I just wish her name was easier to remember how to spell, so that people don't misspell it and cause confusion.

I do have a question though: Is her case in an open or closed status?

It's funny how our minds do that from time to time.

Slightly off topic... A friend of mine was in Florida a few weeks ago. Out of the blue he sent me a beautiful picture of the beach and said, "All I can think of is the Oba Chandler case." (There's a way to ruin a beautiful Tampa Bay beach scene if I've ever seen one...)

I tend to do that with basically any U.S. city that was the location of a UM case. That's why I refer it to my inner UM nerdness.

We talked about this in another thread. Florida was always a bizarre "MVP" for UM cases. If you had a map of Florida and threw a dart at it, chances are pretty high that the dart would land on a city where some horrible crime happened that was featured on the show. It was THAT frequent in the sunshine state.

I tend to do that with basically any U.S. city that was the location of a UM case. That's why I refer it to my inner UM nerdness.

We talked about this in another thread. Florida was always a bizarre "MVP" for UM cases. If you had a map of Florida and threw a dart at it, chances are pretty high that the dart would land on a city where some horrible crime happened that was featured on the show. It was THAT frequent in the sunshine state.

So true, FL is full of UM cases.

Was thinking about this case today and read this entire thread again when I got home. I'd never actually read the letter to Coral Gables PD in full, in which it states the cause of death was an "immediate allergic reaction to an anesthetic".

True allergic reactions to anesthetic gases are relatively rare, and further, they are rarely "immediate". But back in 1965, more primitive volatile anesthetics like halothane were heavily utilized. In an untrained or poorly trained person providing this drug, it can be easy to overdose the patient, especially if there is inadequate monitoring and resuscitation equipment available. Additionally, these kinds of anesthetic gases are well-known for triggering malignant hyperthermia in susceptible individuals, and if left untreated, this condition will kill the patient. It stretches the imagination to think that an illegal abortion clinic in 1965 would have the drugs on hand necessary to treat MH, and I'm not even really sure it was standard of care to have those procedures and drugs ready to treat the condition during surgery back in the mid-60s. Although grossly overdosing a patient on halothane might bring about some immediate symptoms such as depressed breathing rate and depth, the first signs of MH are noticeable mainly on anesthesia monitoring equipment in an intubated patient (such as end-tidal CO2). The late signs would not require this kind of equipment and could be plainly observed.

All of this to say that I think this response to the CGPD drives home the state of the clinic Hadju was running. I don't think Judy died from an allergic reaction nor from complications of the actual surgical procedure--I think she died because she was administered anesthesia drugs by untrained or poorly trained personnel without proper equipment. I also strongly feel the person who wrote the letter was present during that procedure because he or she felt it necessary to include words to the effect of "everything that could have been done was done". This, combined with the rationalization that it must have been an allergy of Judy's, rather than incompetent care, that caused her death seems to indicate somebody trying to alleviate his or her conscience. Just a feeling I had.

I also strongly feel the person who wrote the letter was present during that procedure because he or she felt it necessary to include words to the effect of "everything that could have been done was done". This, combined with the rationalization that it must have been an allergy of Judy's, rather than incompetent care, that caused her death seems to indicate somebody trying to alleviate his or her conscience. Just a feeling I had.

Do you think the person who wrote the letter was also linked to the phone calls?

Via a quick internet search, it looks like Donna Doohen still lives in Sioux City. Age 70, which would translate to 19 in 1965. Only a few years younger than Judy. Logical to be a friend -- the one who recommended the clinic? -- or perhaps an employee at the clinic itself. I found a link indicating Donna Doohen once held a cosmetology license in Florida. Could be legit but I was wondering about the listed professions of those workers at illegal clinics. They had to be listed if not licensed as something else, something legal. Cosmetology doesn't sound like much of a reach.

Doohen's listed address from that cosmetology license was in North Miami. Not close -- maybe a half hour -- to where Judy worked at Jackson Memorial Hospital, or the apparent abortion clinic in Coral Gables, which is even further south. I'm not sure where Judy's family lived, or whether the Doohen address was supposed to be her home address or work address. Regardless, I thought I might find a logically close geographical connection but did not. I was born in Miami, live there now, and know the area.

The internet search seemed to reveal that Doohen's family is from Sioux City. Not children but brothers, sisters and others from Donna's generation. That's probably the basic connection to Omaha. Once Doohen had some involvement or knowledge of the Judith Hines situation and/or Hadju's illegal clinic, she felt understandably uncomfortable after being questioned by authorities, and either decided to return home or was encouraged to do so by family members.

Decades later Donna may have held guilt or misgivings about the death, and Hadju's involvement. She either made the phone calls -- likely -- or prompted a relative/friend to do so. I've always suspected the phone calls were designed to target Hadju and hint to authorities to round him up and punish him, more than they had anything to do with Judith Hines. That name was merely the vehicle.

Plenty of that is guesswork. It's plausible, just like those segments I despise during each Perfect Murder episode. They pause and allow the detectives to offer their most likely scenario, given available info at that stage of the investigation. Naturally it always turns out to be wrong. And that's the entire point. Unfortunately the plausible version is often played out in courtrooms, when the state is confident they have the correct perpetrator. The best and most flowing plausible storyline is presented, in high decibel dramatic fashion. They pretend, for example, that they know exactly which swipe was in which order, and what blood trail it produced, along with who and how many were there. Laughable. But that's where we are, early 21st Century. Countless authors have taken advantage in recent decades, knowing darn well that gullible readers and jurors lap up that type of fixation on minutiae. It doesn't have to be accurate or even sensible. Just pick a path, be relentless and loud, flooded with so-called specifics, and suddenly the plausible version is undeniably exactly what happened.

Anyway, I suppose somebody could call Donna Doohen. I doubt she would offer anything but it's greater opportunity than seemingly anything else. I'm not going to do it. The case doesn't intrigue me that much. The basics seem obvious, if sad. I did make several calls years ago in the Richard Floyd McCoy/DB Cooper matter, primarily because it's hilarious that the FBI doesn't differentiate that bizarre case, with hour after hour of suspect risk in a public setting, from run of the mill darkness crimes in which virtually anybody could have pulled it off.

I never paid much attention to this case, because I thought it was pretty open and shut -- there was an abortion that somehow went wrong, a lady died as a result, her body was thrown into Biscayne Bay and the Doctor responsible fled the country.

Randomly coming back to this thread though, I had no idea of the local connection (Sioux City incidentally, is where Annette Schnee--one of the "Orange Sock" victims--is from).

I'd go along with what Meg said too - Judy most likely died due to the careless/improper administration of an anesthetic.

I also think that Donna Doohen wrote the letter. I'd go even further and say she was the one who did the phone calls (why would someone who isn't from the area, make some random phone calls and mention a town that's barely a blip on anyone's radar, if that??), but what others have already mentioned seems to indicate otherwise.

Do you think the person who wrote the letter was also linked to the phone calls?

I tend to think not, just based on how different the letter is from the calls.

At this point, I surmise one person was responsible for the Steve Brown and "Judy Hyams is alive" calls, a second for the Hadju call, and a third for the letter. I think whomever wrote the letter was almost certainly present for the procedure and may have even assisted, and that the person responsible for the first phone calls was somebody close to the clinic--perhaps this Donna Doohen. The Hadju caller could've been anybody who had contact with Hadju and learned about the 1989 Herald article about the Hyams case, as it was published between the second and third calls.

At this point, I surmise one person was responsible for the Steve Brown and "Judy Hyams is alive" calls, a second for the Hadju call, and a third for the letter. I think whomever wrote the letter was almost certainly present for the procedure and may have even assisted, and that the person responsible for the first phone calls was somebody close to the clinic--perhaps this Donna Doohen. The Hadju caller could've been anybody who had contact with Hadju and learned about the 1989 Herald article about the Hyams case, as it was published between the second and third calls.

I too have always thought the 3rd call was unrelated to the first 2. Your theory makes perfect sense. I still don't know why the "she's alive" phone calls planned on accomplishing though. That still baffles me.

ETA: I just thought of something. What if someone known to Donna Doohen was the one making the calls? On the surface, it seems like someone is trying to gain attention to the case as if they want to clear their conscience. But that doesn't make sense to claim she was still alive and in Omaha. I wonder if Doohen told someone over the years what happened, and this person knew or heard of Scherer being in the area so they started the phone calls as a way to gain interest in the area of Omaha with the hopes of finally reaching a resolution? Maybe this person felt guilty for being told this secret and wanted to clear their conscience this way without totally throwing Doohen under the bus?

TheCars, great theory with Donna Doohen. I agree that could be possible.

I was thinking of another theory involving Donna. What if someone known to Donna, who also knew Donna was working with Hadju, asked her what happened, and Donna's response was "Nothing happened to Judy, she ran off to Omaha years ago". This person, who might have doubted Donna's story, then decided to make the phone calls in order to reignited the investigation...and also just to see if there was any truth to Judith being alive in Omaha. Just another theory.

TheCars, great theory with Donna Doohen. I agree that could be possible.

I was thinking of another theory involving Donna. What if someone known to Donna, who also knew Donna was working with Hadju, asked her what happened, and Donna's response was "Nothing happened to Judy, she ran off to Omaha years ago". This person, who might have doubted Donna's story, then decided to make the phone calls in order to reignited the investigation...and also just to see if there was any truth to Judith being alive in Omaha. Just another theory.

That is also a good and plausible theory.

I just watched this one last night and a bunch of things stood out to me, which makes the phone calls even more bizarre. The mystery about what happened to Judith is open and shut, IMO. She died during a botched abortion, her body was dumped in the Biscayne Bay, and then Hadju paid someone to dump her car in the Atlanta area. Hadju was responsible for Judith's death. However, the mystery about the phone calls still remains and I cannot come up with a plausible Occam's Razor like explanation for them.

-Chuck Scherer was giving a lecture in Nebraska about narcotics, so it's highly unlikely that he would have mentioned anything about missing persons.

-Scherer gave the lecture 200 miles west from Omaha, at a police academy near Kearney, NE in 1990.

-Two days after his lecture, Scherer received a long distance phone call at his office back in Coral Gables. This caller (a male), identifying himself as local radio legend Steve Brown, said that an anonymous caller had called him about the disappearance of Judith. Scherer, unfamiliar with Judith's case, told the caller that he would have to look into it and then would get back in touch with the caller, and Scherer asked the caller for a number he could contact him at, and if the caller had the number of the anonymous person who had information about Judith. The caller gave Scherer both the radio station's telephone number where Steve Brown worked, and then Steve Brown's personal, unlisted number as the contact for the anonymous person with information about Judith.

-Steve Brown denied ever making the calls and did not have any idea of someone who would have made the calls. Steve Brown was local to Nebraska for his entire life, so it's unlikely that he would have had any connection whatsoever to Judith or to Coral Gables.

-Three days after speaking with Steve Brown, Scherer received another phone call from a female caller. This is the infamous, "Judith Hyams is alive and she's in Omaha" call. The segment doesn't specify as to whether or not this was a long distance phone call.

-The segment then jumps back in time to the fall of 1989 when an article was written about Judith's case in a local Coral Gables newspaper. The segment says that, "Captain Scherer then received yet another anonymous phone call." This is the phone call which gave Scherer information pertaining to the whereabouts of Hadju, and claimed to be an informant for the FBI. This caller, a male, provided the only credible information to Scherer.

Now what's baffling to me is that the segment makes it seem like these phone calls all happened in succession of one another after Scherer gave his lecture in 1990. But then it says that shortly after the 1989 article was written about Judith's case was when Scherer received the call from the FBI informant with information about Hadju. Now either UM got the dates mixed up, the newspaper article had no bearing on the phone calls, or Scherer did in fact know about Judith's case prior to the lecture in 1990. Because if the FBI informant call came in in 1989, then he would have already had known about Judith's case prior to the 1990 lecture.

I believe that Steve Brown did not make the phone calls and had nothing to do with the case. But how would someone, 200 miles west of Omaha, know of Steve Brown's unlisted telephone number? The only thing I can come up with is that someone involved with Judith's case felt guilt for either being present for or helping cover up her death lived in the Omaha area, knew Steve Brown, and in just an eerie coincidence called Scherer just a few days after lecturing in Nebraska. But why would this person want to draw attention to the Omaha area if they knew that Judith was long since dead? The only other plausible scenario I can picture is that the first two callers were trying to draw attention to the Omaha area because someone known to them was involved in Judith's disappearance and death, and they didn't want to outright rat them out, so they were trying to draw Scherer's attention back to the Omaha area. The only problem is that the police did re-investigate the Omaha area and came up with nothing.

Of course there's also the possibility that the 1989 article spooked someone in the Coral Gables area that caused them to fake the first two calls in an attempt to shift the investigation to an area with no known connection to Judith. I still can't come up with an explanation as to how Steve Brown's number would have been obtained and why these callers chose to involve him at all.

I believe that Steve Brown did not make the phone calls and had nothing to do with the case. But how would someone, 200 miles west of Omaha, know of Steve Brown's unlisted telephone number? The only thing I can come up with is that someone involved with Judith's case felt guilt for either being present for or helping cover up her death lived in the Omaha area, knew Steve Brown, and in just an eerie coincidence called Scherer just a few days after lecturing in Nebraska. But why would this person want to draw attention to the Omaha area if they knew that Judith was long since dead? The only other plausible scenario I can picture is that the first two callers were trying to draw attention to the Omaha area because someone known to them was involved in Judith's disappearance and death, and they didn't want to outright rat them out, so they were trying to draw Scherer's attention back to the Omaha area. The only problem is that the police did re-investigate the Omaha area and came up with nothing.

Of course there's also the possibility that the 1989 article spooked someone in the Coral Gables area that caused them to fake the first two calls in an attempt to shift the investigation to an area with no known connection to Judith. I still can't come up with an explanation as to how Steve Brown's number would have been obtained and why these callers chose to involve him at all.


Occam's Razor (if that could even be applied here) would have there being someone else besides Donna Doohen present during the procedure, another person with a guilty conscience as per the theory posited by MegTheEgg86

At this point, I surmise one person was responsible for the Steve Brown and "Judy Hyams is alive" calls, a second for the Hadju call, and a third for the letter. I think whomever wrote the letter was almost certainly present for the procedure and may have even assisted, and that the person responsible for the first phone calls was somebody close to the clinic--perhaps this Donna Doohen. The Hadju caller could've been anybody who had contact with Hadju and learned about the 1989 Herald article about the Hyams case, as it was published between the second and third calls.


I too think that the letter writer/one of the callers had a connection to/was involved with the procedure and lived in/around Omaha at the time, possibly hoping to get the authorities to connect the dots and discover them, so they could allay their conscience finally (though that doesn't square with the fact the police never found any link to the Omaha area)

If it was a calculated misdirection by someone from Coral Gables, then it was quite the elaborate setup (by someone with the knowledge/resources to find the unlisted number of a local radio host)

Occam's Razor (if that could even be applied here) would have there being someone else besides Donna Doohen present during the procedure, another person with a guilty conscience as per the theory posited by MegTheEgg86

To me, if the person had a guilty conscience for being present when Judith died, why say she was alive and in Omaha? Why not do what the letter writer did and just admit the truth anonymously?

To me, if the person had a guilty conscience for being present when Judith died, why say she was alive and in Omaha? Why not do what the letter writer did and just admit the truth anonymously?

The only thing I could think of is that whoever it was might not have felt that the police would follow up and/or take it seriously.

That Omaha connection bugs the hell out of me though - why someone would want to connect a random city like that (that, in the pre-internet age, was the very definition of 'flyover country') to an obscure case like this--purposely or not--is beyond me

The only thing I could think of is that whoever it was might not have felt that the police would follow up and/or take it seriously.

That Omaha connection bugs the hell out of me though - why someone would want to connect a random city like that (that, in the pre-internet age, was the very definition of 'flyover country') to an obscure case like this--purposely or not--is beyond me

I'm with you. I've even thought that maybe the calls were just pranks or a hoax. But even if it was some sort of prank pulled on Steve Brown, how the hell did this person know about the Judith Hyams case in Florida?

I am also bothered by the fact that the purported father of the baby, Dr. Lucien Gordon, who was the one who accompanied Judith on her first visit with Hadju (but wasn't present at the abortion), never bothered to report Judith missing, or try to point the finger at Hadju until 2 years after Judith had been missing. He also never left the Miami area, and died last year.

This is definitely one of the more baffling cases. And UM messing up the dates didn't help make it any less confusing. Unless I'm mistaken, 1989 came before 1990, yet UM stated that Captain Scherer started receiving phone calls again in 1989. They had to have screwed up there. UM probably meant the fall of 1990, and that Captain Scherer's trip to Nebraska happened earlier in 1990. Captain Scherer passed away in 2014. And of course, Steve Brown died years earlier. I wonder if there is anyone currently active in law enforcement in Coral Gables who is aware of this case.

This is definitely one of the more baffling cases. And UM messing up the dates didn't help make it any less confusing. Unless I'm mistaken, 1989 came before 1990, yet UM stated that Captain Scherer started receiving phone calls again in 1989. They had to have screwed up there. UM probably meant the fall of 1990, and that Captain Scherer's trip to Nebraska happened earlier in 1990. Captain Scherer passed away in 2014. And of course, Steve Brown died years earlier. I wonder if there is anyone currently active in law enforcement in Coral Gables who is aware of this case.

I believe I've read where the police believed the letter written shortly after the UM segment aired to be legit, and they closed the case shortly thereafter. Which is a shame, because Hadju (or possibly Lucien Gordon) were never brought to justice for what happened to Judith.

Judith Hines looked old as hell for her real age. She looked 40 easy.

Judith Hines looked old as hell for her real age. She looked 40 easy.

I was thinking the same thing! She was the oldest looking 22 year old I've ever seen. Shoot, she looked older at 22 then I do now in my late 40's LOL

I believe I've read where the police believed the letter written shortly after the UM segment aired to be legit, and they closed the case shortly thereafter. Which is a shame, because Hadju (or possibly Lucien Gordon) were never brought to justice for what happened to Judith.

I read somewhere that the unidentified man seen removing a duffle bag from her car was later identified, probably years after the segment first aired on UM. But, for some reason, despite it being confirmed that he was alive and well (at the time) he was never contacted for questioning, never considered a person of interest, or anything. I think he was hired by Hadju as a "clean up" guy.

I was thinking the same thing! She was the oldest looking 22 year old I've ever seen. Shoot, she looked older at 22 then I do now in my late 40's LOL

It was a rather unflattering photo of her that they used. I'm sure there were other, better photos of her they could have shown but this was the one they chose for some reason.

I thought she bore a strong resemblance to Mary Tyler Moore in the photo UM used.

Here is the link to my writeup on Judy's case.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/631752367223887/permalink/1204463406619444/

Judy might not be alive but Steve Brown is, strange listening to him speak on YT he reminds me so much of Walter White.

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1607908947/Steve.png

I think you have the wrong Steve Brown. The Steve Brown from this case died in 2008. Captain Charles Scherer passed away in 2014.

It’s just MHO that the hair styles and make up back then made young ladies and teens look older than they were, and not in a flattering way.

Hi. I do not know if this has been brought up before.

Was the possibility ever considered that the police chief and radio host worked together and made up the story of the calls that claimed Judy is alive? (Kind of like the KROQ disc jockeys teamed up with another disc jockey in Phoenix for that horrible ratings ploy.)

I know it is a very far-fetched idea, but just wondering if it was ever considered and hey, stranger things have happened in the UM universe.

Hi. I do not know if this has been brought up before.

Was the possibility ever considered that the police chief and radio host worked together and made up the story of the calls that claimed Judy is alive? (Kind of like the KROQ disc jockeys teamed up with another disc jockey in Phoenix for that horrible ratings ploy.)

I know it is a very far-fetched idea, but just wondering if it was ever considered and hey, stranger things have happened in the UM universe.

If that was their intent, I would have to wonder what their end game was.

The KROQ disc jockeys' motive was simple. Team up with their friend to make up a scenario for a publicity stunt to put their show on the map and further their careers. They were immediately busted but ended up getting what they wanted anyway, sickening enough.

But what do Steve Brown and Captain Scherer have to gain by making up this phone call? Would Brown's listeners in Nebraska even care about a disappearance of a woman who went missing over 2,000 miles away and 25 years earlier? And many residents of Coral Gables by this time wouldn't have much memory of this happening unless you lived through it. In 1990, you're not going to have access to much information unless you go to the library and look through microfiche.

Every once in awhile I come back to this case and think about those creepy phone calls, which seemingly have no logical explanation. UM didn't help with their inaccurate way in which they present the story. Towards the end of the segment, Stack says, "in the fall of 1989, an article on the Hyams case appeared in a local newspaper", but the actual article they show has a date of March 24, 1990. This article was transcribed by MegtheEgg86 and posted here (https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showpost.php?p=4204451&postcount=35). This article says that on March 20th, 1990 Captain Scherer got the infamous Steve Brown phone call. But it also says that the caller says that, "someone called into his show and asked about Hyams. The caller said he knew that Hyams was alive and living in Omaha." When Scherer called back to the radio station where Brown worked (later that same day on the 20th), Brown was baffled and had no idea what Scherer was talking about. Scherer also provided Brown with his unlisted telephone number as given to him by whoever called him earlier that day. On March 21st, Scherer received the infamous "alive and in Omaha" phone call from a woman. The third phone call came after this article was written and it actually contained information that turned out to be correct (I think the third phone call is obviously unrelated to the first two and was the result of the article in the Miami Herald being published).

Occam's razor is that the woman who called Scherer on the 21st ("alive and in Omaha" call), called Steve Brown (or someone else who worked at the radio station) and gave a cursory statement of Judith being from Coral Gables, she went missing, but she was still alive and in Omaha. This person (possibly Steve Brown) calls the Coral Gables police department and tells Scherer about this bizarre phone call. Scherer has no idea about Judith's case, so he tells this person he'll call back. When Scherer calls back, either Steve Brown legitimately did not make the original call and was baffled about everything or he got cold feet when he found out the case was actually real and did involve a real missing woman who may be in the Omaha area backed off and pretended he did not make the original call. I tend to lean towards someone working at the station receiving the phone call (possibly during Steve Brown's show) and passing the information along using Steve Brown's contact information.

I still cannot come up with a logical motivation for this woman to be making these phone calls outside of learning that Captain Scherer was in Nebraska a few weeks before the phone calls (the Miami Herald article mentions Scherer gave his business card out at the lecture) and that this woman had knowledge or was present during the botched abortion and got spooked and wanted to shift focus and attention to the Omaha area.

Every once in awhile I come back to this case and think about those creepy phone calls, which seemingly have no logical explanation. UM didn't help with their inaccurate way in which they present the story. Towards the end of the segment, Stack says, "in the fall of 1989, an article on the Hyams case appeared in a local newspaper", but the actual article they show has a date of March 24, 1990. This article was transcribed by MegtheEgg86 and posted here (https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showpost.php?p=4204451&postcount=35). This article says that on March 20th, 1990 Captain Scherer got the infamous Steve Brown phone call. But it also says that the caller says that, "someone called into his show and asked about Hyams. The caller said he knew that Hyams was alive and living in Omaha." When Scherer called back to the radio station where Brown worked (later that same day on the 20th), Brown was baffled and had no idea what Scherer was talking about. Scherer also provided Brown with his unlisted telephone number as given to him by whoever called him earlier that day. On March 21st, Scherer received the infamous "alive and in Omaha" phone call from a woman. The third phone call came after this article was written and it actually contained information that turned out to be correct (I think the third phone call is obviously unrelated to the first two and was the result of the article in the Miami Herald being published).

Occam's razor is that the woman who called Scherer on the 21st ("alive and in Omaha" call), called Steve Brown (or someone else who worked at the radio station) and gave a cursory statement of Judith being from Coral Gables, she went missing, but she was still alive and in Omaha. This person (possibly Steve Brown) calls the Coral Gables police department and tells Scherer about this bizarre phone call. Scherer has no idea about Judith's case, so he tells this person he'll call back. When Scherer calls back, either Steve Brown legitimately did not make the original call and was baffled about everything or he got cold feet when he found out the case was actually real and did involve a real missing woman who may be in the Omaha area backed off and pretended he did not make the original call. I tend to lean towards someone working at the station receiving the phone call (possibly during Steve Brown's show) and passing the information along using Steve Brown's contact information.

I still cannot come up with a logical motivation for this woman to be making these phone calls outside of learning that Captain Scherer was in Nebraska a few weeks before the phone calls (the Miami Herald article mentions Scherer gave his business card out at the lecture) and that this woman had knowledge or was present during the botched abortion and got spooked and wanted to shift focus and attention to the Omaha area.

Could it have been a case of mistaken identity? Maybe someone saw someone who looked like her in the Omaha area but it wasn't really her?

Could it have been a case of mistaken identity? Maybe someone saw someone who looked like her in the Omaha area but it wasn't really her?

It's possible--how many times have we seen this on UM where it's potentially a case of mistaken identity?

Could it have been a case of mistaken identity? Maybe someone saw someone who looked like her in the Omaha area but it wasn't really her?

For this to be true, this woman (caller) would have to have been a resident of the Coral Gables area in 1965 who just so happened to visit or live in Omaha, Nebraska in 1989. Judith's disappearance would only have been known to the people of that area of Florida as it wasn't a national story.

So this woman who lived 2,000 miles away over two decades earlier possibly sees someone who might be Judith and her call to the police only says, "Judy Hyams is alive and she lives in Omaha." Why immediately hang up and not give any more information? It's not like she had identified a serial killer and was worried about her life being in danger. It's just *maybe* a missing woman who's name had faded from public view long ago.

Not impossible but highly, HIGHLY unlikely.

Every time I run into this case I’m intrigued by that letter that showed up to the Coral Gables PD after the UM segment aired. I’m always bothered by the words “she came in.” I figured anyone from the outside world would say “she went in.” In this case I believe it had to be from someone who was in that so-called clinic the same time Judy was. Probably a nurse or the front desk lady if there really was one. He or she saw what happened and knew the aftermath.

I think what happened to Judy is pretty simple. She went for an abortion, died as a result, and was disposed of. I doubt she was the first. Or last. As for the mysterious phone calls, I don’t have a clue. But we know that as much as we adore UM, sometimes their stories are missing so many details of cases (I.e. Rhonda Hinson). I wish someone from Judy’s past would step up and press for another investigation but it seemed no family or friends (other than the one interviewed on UM) stepped forward. The captain got a call from the FBI informant about the abortion doctor, did they not ever track that guy down? It just seemed the case was forgotten quick. Maybe she was judged by authorities as just another slut and they put it away. I do not listen to podcasts usually, did anyone ever take an in-depth look at this case?

Every time I run into this case I’m intrigued by that letter that showed up to the Coral Gables PD after the UM segment aired. I’m always bothered by the words “she came in.” I figured anyone from the outside world would say “she went in.” In this case I believe it had to be from someone who was in that so-called clinic the same time Judy was.

Great catch, never noticed that before.

I don't remember who mentioned her (maybe MegtheEgg86), but a few pages back someone brought up the woman named in one of the articles that mentioned the investigation into Judith's disappearance, and how that woman had relocated to Sioux Falls, IA. There are a handful of AM radio stations that Sioux Falls gets that originiate from Omaha. I wonder if this woman was a listener of Steve Brown's radio show, had somehow learned about Captain Scherer's lecture in Nebraska a few days earlier (newspaper article or radio maybe?), and called in with a guilty conscience over her involvement in Judith's death. It's seemingly farfetched, but it's the only thing that makes a lick of sense IMO.

Great catch, never noticed that before.

Thanks. It just bothers me when it comes to this case. “She came in.” I don’t think a faker would have used those words. Just my opinion.