Let me explain what I mean. I'm sure, as die-hard fans of UM, we've heard some things out of the interviewees' mouths or in written statements to the show (if they refused to appear) that made us stop and say "Huh? Did they seriously just say that?".

Before I begin (and I only have three examples that come to mind right now), it's important to remember before we start posting quotes left and right, that some of the people who made said quotes may not have meant their particular statement to come across that way that we the viewers took it. These, for the most part, are everyday folks who suddenly have a camera shoved in their face and who are/were at a traumatic period of their lives. It's easy to see how they could have misspoken without knowing it. Also, what is seen on the show is often a tiny percentage of the whole entire interview, so some of the quote may have been broadcast out of context after it was edited to air.

Basically, I'm talking about people you think were (or appeared to be) fully aware and confident of what they were saying in their interview and who just left you rolling your eyes or scratching you head.

My choices are (I'm paraphrasing some of the quotes, but the overall gist is the same):

* Sharon Stajda, daughter of Pat Mealbach, who was thought to be John Dodge's daughter: "I was cheated out of a lifestyle, and my children in turn are cheated out of a lifestyle. It makes living a whole lot easier when you have that kind of money."
Okay, I'll grant her this - money helps a lot and there's no real disputing that. But she missed the whole point of what her mother was seeking, and what's more, seemed a bit indignant about not having the money. Pat said repeatedly that she had no interest in the Dodge fortune to which, if she was proven to be John Dodge's daughter, she actually would be entitled. She just wanted to know who her birth family was. Pat even went so far as to say that she never felt like she should have lived in the Dodge family mansion nor did she feel entitled to have the world at her feet because she was a Dodge, saying "I don't think they [the Dodge family] had the love I had growing up.". But her daughter Sharon's inner monologue seemed, from what was presented on the program, to be "Cha-ching!" and little else.

* Judy Groezinger saying that she didn't understand why people thought she could have killed her husband Mark in order to have her female "friend" move in with her shortly after his death, stating "What would we [meaning her and her female friend] we have gain by it [referring to Mark's murder]?"
Was she seriously that unself-aware and oblivious to what people were implying about her friendship with this other woman?

* Joe Cole's friend who was with him on the night he was murdered: Something about justice in America only "serving people of a certain skin color or of a certain socioeconomic status" and "Real justice is a pretty righteous thing, and I'd like to see it done."
Sir, your friend was assassinated right in front of you. No one is interested in what you believe about the American justice system, nor are such opinions really even relevant to the case. Seriously, did anyone else get the impression that this guy thought "What the hell? The cameras are rolling, so I may as well voice a few political opinions to feel important." when he said that? The weird thing is that the rest of his interview seemed rather normal.

I always thought Judith Himes' friends' argument against the botched abortion theory was odd. "I really find it hard to believe she could have died as the result of a botched abortion..."She then cites Judy's medical knowledge and says "Surely she was smart enough to go get help somewhere." But if an abortion is that badly botched, you wouldn't be able to GO anywhere. If it's bad enough to be fatal, how can you get off the table and go summon help? To be fair, though, this is her good friend we're talking about, and I'm sure it would be very hard to believe/accept it happened to someone you cared about.


Another case of denial but I did roll my eyes when Melody Woods' dad claimed "I don't think she would have left home without her hair dryer and hair curlers and makeup..." even though she had just helped her convict boyfriend escape prison. Of course, you would want to believe the best of your child, but I know many viewers besides me snorted a little at that one.

I always thought Judith Himes' friends' argument against the botched abortion theory was odd. "I really find it hard to believe she could have died as the result of a botched abortion..."She then cites Judy's medical knowledge and says "Surely she was smart enough to go get help somewhere." But if an abortion is that badly botched, you wouldn't be able to GO anywhere. If it's bad enough to be fatal, how can you get off the table and go summon help? To be fair, though, this is her good friend we're talking about, and I'm sure it would be very hard to believe/accept it happened to someone you cared about.

Exactly, nor does having a specific knowledge keep one from taking risks, or that the individual is necessarily unintelligent if they choose to take risks.

Those comments always seemed to me like they were made with good intent, however. Judy's friend seemed to be attempting to "protect" Judy's dignity and seemed to feel a strong need to do so probably for love of her, IMO. I agree with your assessment.

Dale Kerstetter's son Al with his "he can come back after 7 years and they can't touch him" comment struck some people as odd but it might've also been out of not wanting to believe his father was/is dead.

well I think the thread I started "UM's biggest what the..." moments could also work.

I agree that Henry Rollins comes off as a pretty angry dude. Anyone see him in the Night Visions series? He seemed downright pissed off on that show. Basically, it was a poor man's Twilight Zone and Rollins would appear at the end of the segment with some bitter comment about justice supposedly being served, but it just always came off as snarky. Come to think of it, he was perfect for that show.

I think Dale Kerstetter's son was just prepared for the worst because the police and plant management were all going with the "inside job" agenda with Dale as the informant; I feel bad for him because he seems gullible in this scenario. But he wanted to believe his father was still alive and would come home.

I know I've probably mentioned this before, but Wayne Hecker's "I don't answer to anybody but the Lord" is one of the only times on UM where they had to leave in the audio of the interviewer asking the question. That's probably because the quote would make no sense whatsoever unless you heard the interviewer ask: "How do you answer to those people who think you're responsible for Tara's disappearance?". I've never actually thought the guy was guilty, but that statement certainly made him look very strange.

And I'd definitely throw in a nod to Al Henderson using his fiancee's disappearance to randomly mention: "I think that my net worth has gone down from around two-and-a-half million to one million. If I could get her back, I'd give the whole one million". What exactly does your net worth have to do with anything?

the case where the repariman was found in a ditch, murdered and w his pants down...his wife claimed that she'd heard of things like that happening bc the perp wanted to degrade the victim and embarass the family... (or something to that extent).

I think this is one case where things were exactly as they appear...I think he went and got roses for a woman he was seeing (per the grocery store sighting and purchase),went back and parked w her on the side of the road..and was literally 'caught with his pants down' by this woman's bf or husband,which prompted his murder.I thought the wife was in complete denial about the whole thing,and her comment was so off base,it revealed that.jmo.
I haven't ever heard of any updates on this case,but I hope the perp has been caught by now.If they could figure out whom the victim was with,I would think it might have been pretty easy from there.
One thing that shows he was parking (IMO) with a woman is not just the fact his pants were down...it was also the fact they said his watch was placed on the gear shift.That shows he took it off w intent (likely at the same time he took his pants off),and also that it wasn't a robbery.
I can understand how his wife would be in denial though...it would be hard enough to deal w her husb's death,much less the revelation that he was caught fooling around on her at the time.

well I think the thread I started "UM's biggest what the..." moments could also work.

Sorry. I totally forgot about that thread when I made this one.

* Joe Cole's friend who was with him on the night he was murdered: Something about justice in America only "serving people of a certain skin color or of a certain socioeconomic status" and "Real justice is a pretty righteous thing, and I'd like to see it done."
Sir, your friend was assassinated right in front of you. No one is interested in what you believe about the American justice system, nor are such opinions really even relevant to the case. Seriously, did anyone else get the impression that this guy thought "What the hell? The cameras are rolling, so I may as well voice a few political opinions to feel important." when he said that? The weird thing is that the rest of his interview seemed rather normal.

It's Henry Rollins. What do you expect?

And I don't think his comment was wrong anyway.

Of course the one line that will always and forever stick with me is…

“Just by coincidence.. sure it was.. sure it was.. and I’m Michael Jordan too. I used play for the Chicago Bulls”

Pretty much any line in that Sammy Wheeler segment such as…

“Well to be honest with you, I knew what I had and I was thankful to pass it on”

“Go talk to the people that know me and ask them if I was really upset if Pat was leaving. The answer to that is.. No”


~ I was able to download this segment to my phone before the forbidden site took all the videos down and whenever I need a good laugh, I watch it lol.

Gabby: I didn't do that guy! and then he proclaims he just couldn't be sure when or where he bought the footlocker
I don't think Gabby is guilty, but I think he knows exactly where he got the footlocker. And his demeanor was a little odd, considering LE didn't think he was guilty because of how long ago the murder occured. Wouldn't you show a little compassion instead of referring to a murder victim as some ''guy''. His reaction to the finding of the bones was also off.

Then again, the guy who opened the box had an odd reaction too: He was going to bury the body without informing LE! Good thing his wife had the sense to insist on calling the police.

The guy in the Dale Kerstetter case who automatically assumed him looking up into the camera was a mocking taunt. Seriously, this guy had no concern for Kerstetter whatsoever and seemed to care way more about the platinum. He came off as a real jerk.

I always thought the whole knocking down Wanda Mays' door at 5 am when she didn't immediately respond was weird. Automatic assumption would be that she overslept, not that something was yet wrong. Of course that's an action, not a statement.

Dale Kerstetter's son Al with his "he can come back after 7 years and they can't touch him" comment struck some people as odd but it might've also been out of not wanting to believe his father was/is dead.
Turns out he was only 16 when he was interviewed. I think he was just in denial and/or just wanted to believe that his dad was still alive. I would totally much rather believe my dad stole than that he was harmed.

Gabby: I didn't do that guy! and then he proclaims he just couldn't be sure when or where he bought the footlocker
I don't think Gabby is guilty, but I think he knows exactly where he got the footlocker. And his demeanor was a little odd, considering LE didn't think he was guilty because of how long ago the murder occured. Wouldn't you show a little compassion instead of referring to a murder victim as some ''guy''. His reaction to the finding of the bones was also off.


Gabby also says at one point "I didn't shoot this dude."

Okay, not that this quote makes him suspicious or anything, but I thought Pamela June Ray's husband said a rather odd thing about her disappearance: "I think that Pamela's alive. She's just too good a person to have left us before her time".

The guy was likely having trouble coming to terms with the fact that his wife was likely dead and was still holding out hope, but that quote almost contradicts itself. Maybe he meant to say that Pamela was probably dead because she's too good a person to have taken off on her own and abandoned her children. Being a good person doesn't mean that some random sicko won't decide to murder you.

Everything Michael Fagan's wife reportedly said was pretty odd to me too:

"Most women are jealous of other women, but I'm jealous of that baby."

"Your life has been good; mine has not been so good, so I've taken your son."

I really hope she received the mental healthcare it very much seemed like she needed.

Bo Tanner's wife

Bo Tanner's wife

I thought Debbie Tanner was one of the most balanced people ever interviewed on UM. I know plenty of people balk at her not wanting to press charges against Bo and let him know she loved him. But that doesn't mean she was weak or a fool. She even expressly stated that there stood a possibility that they could never be together again, and she actually divorced him shortly after she discovered his whereabouts.

It was stated that Debbie was a very religious woman. Isn't one of the basic tenets of Christianity to love others as well as forgiveness? I always thought she was simply being true to her faith.

Her response was certainly a world apart from say, Mario Amado's brother, who wished to "ruin the life" of whomever was responsible for allegedly covering up his brother's death by calling it a suicide.

I thought Debbie Tanner was one of the most balanced people ever interviewed on UM.

Personally I felt she came across as crazy.

I mean, finding out that your husband was married to maybe 5 other women and yet she still wants him back to try and work things out?

Personally I felt she came across as crazy.

I mean, finding out that your husband was married to maybe 5 other women and yet she still wants him back to try and work things out?

There are a lot of women who get beat by their husbands or their husbands cheat on them and they still stick around. I guess she was just a naïve/insecure woman who got too comfortable with him and even though he put her through all that she still wanted to be with him.

Personally I felt she came across as crazy.

I mean, finding out that your husband was married to maybe 5 other women and yet she still wants him back to try and work things out?

She never said that. That's an inference.

She did say, specifically, that she wanted to help him through "whatever he was going through". That indicates to me she acknowledged the man had a problem and she wished to offer assistance. Again, not only did she flat-out state that they probably couldn't be together again, she divorced him once she confirmed his whereabouts.

I don't think that's crazy. I think it's strong and kind. It's not necessary for one to morph into a vitriolic heifer upon finding out someone hasn't kept the terms of a relationship. It's ok to choose to end a relationship if it's harmful. It's ok to feel pity for a person that hurt you, and even to feel like you want to help them. It's not ok to let bitterness and anger overcome you and turn you into someone nasty. THAT'S crazy.