I never saw this segment while UM was on Lifetime and discovered it by total coincidence while watching an old VHS tape of my friend's she had recorded years ago from tv. Unfortunately, the tape cut off right at the part where they'd found a body in South Carolina (Tondevold, right?). I did some searching on the board and figured out the Fripp Island police identified a body as Tondevold's, but no one who actually knew Tondevold was ever brought in to identify him (correct?). Was there ever any resolution in the case, and has there been much news about it since then? I read that there's speculation that the body wasn't Tondevold at all and that he's maybe still alive, even though there's a Social Security death record on him.

A few unsettling things---

1. Definitely the dead dog found near the body. The segment mentioned nothing about Tondevold owning a pet and made it sound as though it was just a random dog (at least from what I saw). Why would anyone shoot a random dog while committing suicide? I mean, I suppose it's plausible, but I just think that's kind of weird.

2. There was a poster who mentioned that he/she had actually met Dan Tondevold in the early '80s. He/she mentioned that he/she had a friend from Aarhus, to which Tondevold replied he had "never heard of"---which would've been ludicrous if he'd actually been from Denmark. What I wonder is if Dan Tondevold is actually the man's given name, or if he assumed it, and if he continued on to do the same thing to different women under different aliases. And if so, has he ever been arrested without having anyone recognize him as Tondevold? (UM covered very similar stories, and I wonder if he could he have been featured on UM more than once and no one's been aware of it. Maybe it's kind of far-fetched, but an interesting notion regardless.)

3. Ellen McClung Berry was actually an art professor at my school sometime in the early '90s and has at least three scholarships/fellowships in her name in the art program. The McClungs are among Knoxville's "first" families and many buildings and monuments here (especially at school) are named after them. It's terrible what happened to her, but I have to admit I was pretty freaked out about the Hugh Berry story. I had heard a lot of stories about Knoxville "high life" and the scandals that have gone on, but never that one. I wonder whatever happened to him.

I never saw this segment while UM was on Lifetime and discovered it by total coincidence while watching an old VHS tape of my friend's she had recorded years ago from tv. Unfortunately, the tape cut off right at the part where they'd found a body in South Carolina (Tondevold, right?). I did some searching on the board and figured out the Fripp Island police identified a body as Tondevold's, but no one who actually knew Tondevold was ever brought in to identify him (correct?). Was there ever any resolution in the case, and has there been much news about it since then? I read that there's speculation that the body wasn't Tondevold at all and that he's maybe still alive, even though there's a Social Security death record on him.

A few unsettling things---

1. Definitely the dead dog found near the body. The segment mentioned nothing about Tondevold owning a pet and made it sound as though it was just a random dog (at least from what I saw). Why would anyone shoot a random dog while committing suicide? I mean, I suppose it's plausible, but I just think that's kind of weird.

2. There was a poster who mentioned that he/she had actually met Dan Tondevold in the early '80s. He/she mentioned that he/she had a friend from Aarhus, to which Tondevold replied he had "never heard of"---which would've been ludicrous if he'd actually been from Denmark. What I wonder is if Dan Tondevold is actually the man's given name, or if he assumed it, and if he continued on to do the same thing to different women under different aliases. And if so, has he ever been arrested without having anyone recognize him as Tondevold? (UM covered very similar stories, and I wonder if he could he have been featured on UM more than once and no one's been aware of it. Maybe it's kind of far-fetched, but an interesting notion regardless.)

3. Ellen McClung Berry was actually an art professor at my school sometime in the early '90s and has at least three scholarships/fellowships in her name in the art program. The McClungs are among Knoxville's "first" families and many buildings and monuments here (especially at school) are named after them. It's terrible what happened to her, but I have to admit I was pretty freaked out about the Hugh Berry story. I had heard a lot of stories about Knoxville "high life" and the scandals that have gone on, but never that one. I wonder whatever happened to him.

Old thread, BUT, I can answer a few questions, but I'm left with my own about the case.

According to the SPIKE episode of this case they are still trying to find out if Dan is still alive, BUT they mentioned a viewer sent them a copy of a yearbook from a high school in Las Vegas that showed the real Tondevold as a teenager when he graduated in 1951. So, he was real.

I remember this episode when it was on NBC and Lifetime, and remember the bit about the dog. Strangely, SPIKE left out the part about the dog and cut out the scene with the dog near the body. The only mention of the dog was a brief moment when you see Tondevold shoot the gun.

I want to know if the coroner took fingerprints or if they just followed the will and cremated the body. Part of me wants to believe he killed himself in the swamp, but why would he go to all that effort just to kill himself and not enjoy the money he took? Also, can you not get the money back from the bank if it's stolen from you?

That's basically what Mrs. Berry's friend in the segment thought as well. And so do I.

I'm not even convinced the "young" Tondevold and the "older" Tondevold are the same person, but I cannot prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt even with the two pics compared.

There was no autopsy, authorities have followed the letter's request to cremate the body upon discovered. So I take that they didn't take the fingerprints either - possibly because the body was decomposed beyond recognition.

That's basically what Mrs. Berry's friend in the segment thought as well. And so do I.

I'm not even convinced the "young" Tondevold and the "older" Tondevold are the same person, but I cannot prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt even with the two pics compared.

There was no autopsy, authorities have followed the letter's request to cremate the body upon discovered. So I take that they didn't take the fingerprints either - possibly because the body was decomposed beyond recognition.

Looking at the pictures again, I'm not convinced it's the same person. But there is a huge difference in what people look like at 18 and 40, so I guess anything is possible. I just don't see him going to the trouble for nothing. Unless, he did kill himself and someone else has had access to the money he put in an offshore account. Otherwise I don't buy a guy leaving millions in an account to rot for eternity.

I watched this case again on Spike the other night too. I have mentioned on a few threads on here that the key to this case IMO is the dead dog. Did Tondevold own a dog? If he didn't, I firmly believe that the man found with the dead dog was not Tondevold. I would love to know the answer to the question as to whether Tondevold had a dog or not though.

Old thread, BUT, I can answer a few questions, but I'm left with my own about the case.

According to the SPIKE episode of this case they are still trying to find out if Dan is still alive, BUT they mentioned a viewer sent them a copy of a yearbook from a high school in Las Vegas that showed the real Tondevold as a teenager when he graduated in 1951. So, he was real.

I remember this episode when it was on NBC and Lifetime, and remember the bit about the dog. Strangely, SPIKE left out the part about the dog and cut out the scene with the dog near the body. The only mention of the dog was a brief moment when you see Tondevold shoot the gun.

I want to know if the coroner took fingerprints or if they just followed the will and cremated the body. Part of me wants to believe he killed himself in the swamp, but why would he go to all that effort just to kill himself and not enjoy the money he took? Also, can you not get the money back from the bank if it's stolen from you?

IIRC, she signed Power of Attorney over to him. They would have to prove some kind of fraud took place when she did that.

I watched this case again on Spike the other night too. I have mentioned on a few threads on here that the key to this case IMO is the dead dog. Did Tondevold own a dog? If he didn't, I firmly believe that the man found with the dead dog was not Tondevold. I would love to know the answer to the question as to whether Tondevold had a dog or not though.

For some reason when watching the case I assumed the guy he lured into the field owned the dog and that's the excuse for being there - to walk the dog. Why he had to shoot the dog too is a mystery to me, but I guess it completes the coverup.

For some reason when watching the case I assumed the guy he lured into the field owned the dog and that's the excuse for being there - to walk the dog. Why he had to shoot the dog too is a mystery to me, but I guess it completes the coverup.

That's generally what I think as well.


I don't see how Mrs. Berry signing over her power of attorney indicates fraud, though. You can sign over your power of attorney to anyone you wish, correct?

I think the young Tandevold in the yearbook and the Tandevold in the pictures with the elderly woman are the same man. I also think that Tandevold is not dead or at least was not the dead man in the field in South Carolina. The South Carolina police bungled that death so badly it is just incredible. I agree that if you can find whether or not Tandevold owned a dog, that would solve the case. As I recall, Tandevold was never seen in the area where he was staying in South Carolina, with a dog. Plus Tandevold putting an ad in the South Carolina newspapers asking for a driver. Truth be told, I think that Tandevold knew the crap was about to hit the fan, he planned this months ahead of time and he was looking for a lookalike knowing that chances are that days would go by and that the body would be decomposed by the time police found it, thus harder to identify. I think by killing the dog, Tandevold figured he would keep the dog from running away and being found, thus leading to possible questions there as to why the dog was running around unattended, as well as by killing the dog, it would lead the cops to think of suicide.

From what I have found and I am not sure this is a same woman, but she was born the same year an Ellen M. Berry born in 1893 and whose social security was issued in the state of Tennessee, died in 1992 in Dallas, Texas at the age of 99.

What did happen to Mrs Berry's son Hugh?

What did happen to Mrs Berry's son Hugh?

In the segment they said that he killed his grandmother when he was 18 and was legally declared insane. He out lived the rest of his short life in a Mexican prison.

One thing I always wondered about the yearbook with the picture of the real Dan Tondevold. I do not believe this is the man who ran the scam, but did anyone ever go through the yearbook looking for others in it who would match the description of a young fake Dan Tondevold. It may be a long shot, but what if he was using the identity of someone he knew or a name he had pulled from an old yearbook?

There was no autopsy, authorities have followed the letter's request to cremate the body upon discovered.

That's kind of ridiculous. It's a suspicious death; they should have done an autopsy no matter what the letter said.

I don't see how Mrs. Berry signing over her power of attorney indicates fraud, though. You can sign over your power of attorney to anyone you wish, correct?

Yes, you can. And unfortunately, Mrs. Berry probably wouldn't have gotten her money back if she willingly signed POA over to someone.

I think what the original poster meant was, in order to get the money back, they would have to be able to prove that some fraud was involved in the signing of the POA. Like if Dan Tondevold wasn't who he said he was and had misrepresented himself, then he could be prosecuted. But normally, if you give someone POA and they end up taking or squandering your money, you're kind of screwed. It's kind of like giving someone your credit card to use.

That's kind of ridiculous. It's a suspicious death; they should have done an autopsy no matter what the letter said.

I don't really see how this is a suspicious death. In the segment someone identified him and law enforcement ruled at the scene it was a suicide. If his will said he didn't want an autopsy, then no autopsy was done. The will also mentioned that he was to be cremated.

There were numerous witnessess at the country club who said they didn't see Toldevold with anybody else. Other witnessess said they never saw Toldevold in the company of anyone else around the time of his death.

there is more to this story. Dans middle name was Sterling...Daniel Sterling Tondevold. Ms Berrys son Hugh died in Mexico, and Dan supposedly died in SC. I know a missing link to this whole story and am slightly frightened by what i know. Because I was married to the missing link! I met Ms berry one time in like 1986? 1987? while dating the missing link.....she was an amazing woman!

there is more to this story. Dans middle name was Sterling...Daniel Sterling Tondevold. Ms Berrys son Hugh died in Mexico, and Dan supposedly died in SC. I know a missing link to this whole story and am slightly frightened by what i know. Because I was married to the missing link! I met Ms berry one time in like 1986? 1987? while dating the missing link.....she was an amazing woman!
?? Any updates on this case?

3. Ellen McClung Berry was actually an art professor at my school sometime in the early '90s and has at least three scholarships/fellowships in her name in the art program. The McClungs are among Knoxville's "first" families and many buildings and monuments here (especially at school) are named after them. It's terrible what happened to her, but I have to admit I was pretty freaked out about the Hugh Berry story. I had heard a lot of stories about Knoxville "high life" and the scandals that have gone on, but never that one. I wonder whatever happened to him.
Wow, she was teaching in the early 90s, after being duped by Tondevold? I'm glad she was in good enough health to do that.

I get freaked out by the Hugh Berry story, too. Flying in a rage and shooting his grandmother over an inheritance is scary enough. But him possibly being lobotimized, then dying mysteriously in Mexico and never being brought back is disturbing, too. And lastly, he and Tondevold did look very much alike, with that similar smile. Even though it seems almost impossible that they are one and the same due to the evidence presented, that side-by-side photo comparison freaks me out!

One of the big mysteries besides who the body belonged to: How the heck did Tondevold work his way into Mrs. Berry's good graces so quickly? Did he just appear out of the blue?

Also: I know it seems far-fetched, but I've always suspected that Pete Ballard's theory about the lookalike may just be spot on.

Wow, she was teaching in the early 90s, after being duped by Tondevold? I'm glad she was in good enough health to do that.

I get freaked out by the Hugh Berry story, too. Flying in a rage and shooting his grandmother over an inheritance is scary enough. But him possibly being lobotimized, then dying mysteriously in Mexico and never being brought back is disturbing, too. And lastly, he and Tondevold did look very much alike, with that similar smile. Even though it seems almost impossible that they are one and the same due to the evidence presented, that side-by-side photo comparison freaks me out!

One of the big mysteries besides who the body belonged to: How the heck did Tondevold work his way into Mrs. Berry's good graces so quickly? Did he just appear out of the blue?

Also: I know it seems far-fetched, but I've always suspected that Pete Ballard's theory about the lookalike may just be spot on.


This is one of the more mysterious cases that UM presents. There are a lot of unanswered questions that we were left with. It does seem possible that fan tondevold could have been her son, but why would he con her like that when he could have just stayed and waited for his inheritance. I think it is more likely that tondevold planned this from day one and did hire a look alike to kill him to cover up his tracks. That is the more likely scenario. I wonder if authorities ever spoke to anyone that interviewed for that position or if it was researched. It appears law enforcement may have just closed the case after they identified the body as tondevold.

Here's another thread with some info about the Dan Tondevold/Hugh Berry questions, among other things:

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=240056&highlight=tondevold

Watching it now. I wonder if he somehow was a friend of her son or knew him from the looney bin...would make a great movie!

Anyone find it weird UM didn't mention that Hugh Berry shot a police officer after killing his grandmother? He also wounded his own father.

It's the same person, he's my great uncle. He's from Vegas.

It's the same person, he's my great uncle. He's from Vegas.

Who is your great uncle? Dan Tondevold?

well???

Who is your great uncle? Dan Tondevold?
Yes, Dan was/is my grandmas brother. The stories I heard about him from her were a lot different than this. It's crazy. My family has been in contact with the show. It was a shock to the family when we saw it. We thought he was just missing. Unfortunately my grandma passed away and never knew what happened to him.

Dezarae, Wow thanks for posting this, can I ask you a question were any of the missing antiques or anything ever found that he had that you know of? Like paintings or pictures etc?

It's the same person, he's my great uncle. He's from Vegas.

When did your family lose contact with him?

I want to know if the coroner took fingerprints or if they just followed the will and cremated the body. Part of me wants to believe he killed himself in the swamp, but why would he go to all that effort just to kill himself and not enjoy the money he took? Also, can you not get the money back from the bank if it's stolen from you?

I'm certain they did. I discussed this case a many years ago with some folks and one lady indicated to us that Tondevold had an arrest record which were requested following Tondevold's suicide. Of course years had passed and thought nothing of it until I watched the episode a few days ago which reminded me.

Sure enough, it appears a Dan Tondevold from Las Vegas was convicted of extortion in 1954.

Pleads Guilty To Extortion LAS VEGAS. Dan Tondevold, 20-year-old Las Vegas high school graduate, will appear before Judge A. S. Henderson Jan. 21 for sentencing after he entered a plea of guilty to a charge of attempting to extort $1200 from a local businessman. Tondevold admitted his guilt as he appeared in district court Tuesday. His intended victim, Roy Quenzer, a master baker had told police that he didn't even know the youth. Court attaches said that Tondevold may be committed to a special hospital for mental treatment as a condition of probation

Article from Reno Gazette Journal (https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/149246153/)

Every man in this episode is gay or codes gay.

Every man in this episode is gay or codes gay.

And your point to how this observation solves the mystery is?

As a gay man, I like to point these things out. I appreciate your being on my side, though!

Likely deceased now, but the advert describing a lookalike for him makes it hard to believe he didn't murder an innocent man to pass off as himself when the decomposed body was found & escaped overseas on a fake passport. I am guessing he never went to a dentist, or they couldn't track down the one he visited so they had no dental records to compare the corpse with.

As a gay man, I like to point these things out. I appreciate your being on my side, though!

Happy to be on your side.

I recently saw the full, unedited segment, which included comments from Tondevold's assistant, which was always cut out from Lifetime reruns.

If the graphic was correct, he spelled his name "TonDeVold". How pretentious can one be?

The lookalike theory may be the truth, but the thing with that is he'd have to gamble on finding someone with no family or friends that would look for him afterwards. Same with Clarence Roberts in Tennessee 15 years earlier.

Who knows how credible it is, but there's a comment about Tondevold here (http:////unsolved.com/gallery/daniel-tondevold/#comment-7791):

I worked in a hotel he frequented in Charleston. He would stay several times a year and spend money like crazy, always bringing expensive gifts from the Polo store or Neiman-Marcus for the hotel staff and taking his local acquaintances out nightly to the most expensive restaurants and clubs. He would drive through town in the large beautiful brown mid-1960s Mercedes sedan, with the dog in the passenger seat hanging his head out the window. He just seemed like a charming, eccentric, wealthy man. He brought Ms. Berry and her companion to town and she was a nice old lady, but just before they left he cashed a couple large checks with us that bounced, and that was the last we heard until we found out about the alleged suicide while trying to contact someone in Tennessee about the checks.


The lookalike theory may be the truth, but the thing with that is he'd have to gamble on finding someone with no family or friends that would look for him afterwards. Same with Clarence Roberts in Tennessee 15 years earlier.

It was possible; no one has ever determined the identity of Roberts' victim and the Copelands got away with murdering transients for years. I'm not entirely convinced that he carried out the lookalike plan. His relationship with Mrs. Berry seemed more complicated than just a con artist grifting off of a wealthy widow; he enjoyed the role of being a playboy "son" to Mrs. Berry and, realizing that there was going to be both a financial and social reckoning coming soon (Mrs. Berry and everyone else discovering the extent of his manipulations) possibly killed himself.

more new info on this case here.

https://mytruecrime.com/2018/11/03/the-redemption-of-dan-tondevold-part-2/

Yeah, I'm not buying into that overly sympathetic write up.

Yeah, I'm not buying into that overly sympathetic write up.

Agreed. I'm on board w/the theory posted back in another thread (post #59)

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=198682&highlight=Dan+Tondevold&page=4

Agreed. I'm on board w/the theory posted back in another thread (post #59)

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=198682&highlight=Dan+Tondevold&page=4

Same, more or less.

I think there'll always be some level of doubt for me due to the lookalike ad but at the same time given the passage of time could he really have made it this far if he were alive? If he's alive he's living the high life, not hiding out under some rock. Could he travel, own expensive property, indulge in expensive hobbies like he was noted for in a post-9/11 world? I dunno. I'm 85% he killed himself in that field.

But this article being like "did she even have money to steal? are we sure he stole the money. poor rejected guy. etc" .... no. Just stop. He's a scumbag.

Every man in this episode is gay or codes gay.

Rewatching this episode recently, I thought that the guy they interviewed who was Mrs. Berry's (spelling?) friend had it in for Dan Tondevold partly because he seemed to have fallen out of favor and Tondevold seemed to become the new Best Gay Friend for her in his place.