Hey fellow fans,

This is the first UM case where I've been unable to find any trace of information/updates online.

THE CASE:
Rory Wigle had spent the day with his girlfriend in OC, California. He was actually planning to propose (I wonder if they did get married). After parting ways with her, he stopped by his parents place to pick up an extra set of speakers for her sister. He left the car running in the driveway.

As he was searching for the speakers in the garage, an unidentified (but likely) Hispanic man got into Rory's car and revved the engine. Rory came outside and yelled at the man to get out of his car. The man was yelling back in Spanish. The man did get out of the car, prompting Rory to yell at the man to "just...just get out of here, ok!". The man started yelling "wait! wait! wait!" before drawing a gun and shooting Rory in the leg and neck, paralyzing him from the waist down, and also partly paralyzing his hands/arms. The man jumped into a "dark GM car, possibly a montecarlo, a late 70s or early 80s model, with chrome wheels and a vinyl roof" driven by an accomplice and vanished into the night.

Rory's life was saved by two neighbors who heard the shots and had the medical training to keep him alive until paramedics arrived.

Robert Stack said in the broadcast that if the shooter wasn't arrested/charged within 10 weeks of the broadcast date that he could get away with it due to statute of limitations.



ANY UPDATES?
I checked the wiki, the forum and google. I found nothing on the guy or this case.

The UM wiki says it's unsolved. http://unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Rohrey_Wychgel

Rohrey Wychgel came here in 2010 and posted in the thread linked below twice starting on page 2 at post #16. He said the case had never been solved as far as he knew. There was also a 3 year statute of limitations on the crime, so IMO, it will probably never be solved:
http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=235935&highlight=rohrey

Rohrey Wychgel came here in 2010 and posted in the thread linked below twice starting on page 2 at post #16. He said the case had never been solved as far as he knew. There was also a 3 year statute of limitations on the crime, so IMO, it will probably never be solved:
http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=235935&highlight=rohrey

Interesting comments by Rohrey. It's sad to read that the original airing of the UM episode featuring his segment was preempted because of media coverage of the Laguna Beach Firestorm and his segment didn't actually make the air until the week before the statute of limitations expired.

Since the statute of limitations ran out 20 years ago, I actually find it surprising that they created a profile page for this case on the UM website. They have it filed away in the "Wanted" section, but neglect to mention that the shooter can no longer even be prosecuted!
http://www.unsolved.com/ajaxfiles/wan_carjacker_assault.htm

I do believe the segment did air on October 27, 1993. However, due to the situation in California, perhaps it was only pre-empted in that area? Perhaps the segment did air in other parts of the country? Can anyone confirm that?

Obviously, that would do little good to try to capture someone who more than likely still resides in California or near the west coast.


Interesting comments by Rohrey. It's sad to read that the original airing of the UM episode featuring his segment was preempted because of media coverage of the Laguna Beach Firestorm and his segment didn't actually make the air until the week before the statute of limitations expired.

Since the statute of limitations ran out 20 years ago, I actually find it surprising that they created a profile page for this case on the UM website. They have it filed away in the "Wanted" section, but neglect to mention that the shooter can no longer even be prosecuted!
http://www.unsolved.com/ajaxfiles/wan_carjacker_assault.htm

I do believe the segment did air on October 27, 1993. However, due to the situation in California, perhaps it was only pre-empted in that area? Perhaps the segment did air in other parts of the country? Can anyone confirm that?

Yes, I can vouch for that. The original broadcast of the segment was definitely in October of 1993. I saw the segment that month, so it was not pre-empted in my area (specifically, Massachusetts). The segment was shown again that December.

Ugh, I hate the statue of limitations, especially when the assailant(s) are unknown and/or in hiding. That's a law we need to do away with.

Ugh, I hate the statue of limitations, especially when the assailant(s) are unknown and/or in hiding. That's a law we need to do away with.

I agree. Short statutes of limitations are like a Get Out of Jail free card. If they lay low long enough, they get away with a horrible crime.

With DNA testing coming so far, I think many crimes need to have a longer statute of limitation or none at all. IIRC, some laws have changed regarding that.

I don't remember the specifics at the moment, but one victim in a rape case that happened in California found out that there was a 6 year statute. By the time her rape kit was processed and the guy was ID'd it was too late to prosecute. I think that particular victim helped get the law changed, not sure.

I also remember reading that fairly recently, within the last 20 years maybe, that one or two US states had a 15 year statute of limitations on murder. That was shocking to find out because I'd always assumed murder had not SOL in any state.

Okie dokie... I looked up the Statute of Limitations on murder that was concerning me.

It was Kaitlyn Arquette's case, where I learned about it. Here's a quote from a website that mentions it:

Kaitlyn, 18, was chased down in her car and shot to death. The Albuquerque Police Dept. dubbed the shooting a "random drive-by," despite extensive evidence that Kaitlyn was deliberately murdered because she was preparing to blow the whistle on an Asian crime ring whose activities were protected by certain police officers. Excerpt from the book, Who Killed My Daughter?, by Kaitlyn's mother, Lois Duncan.

At the time of Kait's death, in 1989, New Mexico had a 15 year Statute of Limitations on murder. In 1997, that provision was deleted, but law enforcement said the change was not retroactive. The Albuquerque Police Department cited that as a reason not to further investigate Kait's case. The Supreme Court of New Mexico ruled that the amendment applies to all capital felonies committed during the 15 year period BEFORE its effective date of July 1, 1997. In the event that Kait's killers are arrested and indicted, they WILL be able to be prosecuted!

http://www.realcrimes.com/

Well no wonder I couldn't find anything...I botched up the name about as much as any name could be botched lol. Thanks all :)

Well no wonder I couldn't find anything...I botched up the name about as much as any name could be botched lol. Thanks all :)

Yep, his name is definitely a hard one to remember how to spell. I had to look it up several times using different spellings. The only thing I had to go on was that I remembered his first name had a silent H in it, or else I probably never would have found the info.

Yeah def a sad case of someone hurt that was innocent and not doing anything wrong.