I noticed several cases featuring people whose lives have taken a turn for the worse.

Heath Marksch of the Vess lost loves segment. In 1999 he got arrested for drugs and the rap sheet only got worse.

Steve Newton the security guard in the motorcycle accident saved by a young woman. They reunited but in 1999 (geez what is it with that year) he was convicted of sexually abusing a minor and is now a registered sex offender.

There's a woman in a lost loves segment I can't remember the name but she was in desperate need of a kidney and she found her sister but they were unfortunately not a match and she ended up dying. Very sad.

And of course Jonathan Ortiz beating the **** out of Gilbert.....

Do you know of any other cases?

Nyleen Kay Marshall’s mother, Nancy, was raped and murdered in Mexico back in 1995.

Wayne Hecker was stricken with a very aggressive form of cancer and succumbed to it in 2015 after battling it for more than half a decade.

Jim Boumgarden died roughly a year after his segment aired, and he never got to find his twin.

I came here solely to mention Gilbert Ortiz. Horrible.

Paula Pasciak’s mother ended up homeless didn’t she? I remember hearing Stack mention it (that the trauma of losing her daughter was too much and she wasn’t able to hold a job & soon after lost her home)

I came here solely to mention Gilbert Ortiz. Horrible.

Indeed. And just to add another layer of suck to an already depressing situation, Elizabeth might have been released from prison.

Elizabeth was given a life sentence plus six years for child abduction and bodily harm. She attempted to appeal her conviction in 2004, but was refused. She was denied parole in 2010 and 2014. Surprisingly, she has since been released from prison.

That is from the UM wiki page. But I can't find any other source that says she was released.

Wayne Hecker was stricken with a very aggressive form of cancer and succumbed to it in 2015 after battling it for more than half a decade.

I didn't know that Wayne Hecker died until I read your post. Since the 1992 disappearance of Tara Breckenridge remains unsolved to this day, I imagine that he was still under a cloud of suspicion at the time of his death, having never been either implicated or cleared in the case.

Jay Durham, who survived a hit and run incident in 1992, died in 2014. The trucker who nearly killed him has never been identified. :(

During UM's first season, they showed a lost love story about a man named Carl Dentai and his daughter, Bridgette, who were looking for a kind-hearted GI named "Phillippe" whom they met in Europe at the height of World War II. As a result of the broadcast, "Phillippe" was identified as Phillippe Pelletier and he was reunited with the Dentai family. The reunion was shown on UM and this may have been the first lost love case the show ever solved.

In 1995, Pelletier was arrested for patronizing a prostitute.

Carl Dentai and his daughter have since passed away, and Pelletier has as well. It's kinda surreal to think that NONE of the key players in this segment are alive anymore, yet it still gets repeated and is on Amazon Prime.

Indeed. And just to add another layer of suck to an already depressing situation, Elizabeth might have been released from prison.



That is from the UM wiki page. But I can't find any other source that says she was released.

I got them from the update on Amazon Prime. It's very upsetting that she spent barely a decade in prison for trying to kill Gilbert.


Another case with a bad ending was Gale Samuels. She had a rare blood disorder and needed a tranfusion from a blood relative. However, she was adopted and didn't know anything about her birth family. Even worse, she learned that her adoption was handled by a baby broker who put fake names and addresses on birth and adoption records. Sadly, Gale passed away without ever finding her family.

During UM's first season, they showed a lost love story about a man named Carl Dentai and his daughter, Bridgette, who were looking for a kind-hearted GI named "Phillippe" whom they met in Europe at the height of World War II. As a result of the broadcast, "Phillippe" was identified as Phillippe Pelletier and he was reunited with the Dentai family. The reunion was shown on UM and this may have been the first lost love case the show ever solved.

In 1995, Pelletier was arrested for patronizing a prostitute.

Carl Dentai and his daughter have since passed away, and Pelletier has as well. It's kinda surreal to think that NONE of the key players in this segment are alive anymore, yet it still gets repeated and is on Amazon Prime.

Was Bridgette young when she passed away? I imagine IF she survived, she’d in her 70s more less right?

There's a woman in a lost loves segment I can't remember the name but she was in desperate need of a kidney and she found her sister but they were unfortunately not a match and she ended up dying. Very sad.

I got the impression that she was only really interested in finding her sister because it was a shot at saving her life. There appeared from the segment to be some silly jealousy from her towards the sister in their younger years, neither of them were really interested in the other & until her situation became desperate she showed no real interest in finding her. She could have hired a private detective at any time or just kept in touch with her in the first place.

During UM's first season, they showed a lost love story about a man named Carl Dentai and his daughter, Bridgette, who were looking for a kind-hearted GI named "Phillippe" whom they met in Europe at the height of World War II. As a result of the broadcast, "Phillippe" was identified as Phillippe Pelletier and he was reunited with the Dentai family. The reunion was shown on UM and this may have been the first lost love case the show ever solved.

In 1995, Pelletier was arrested for patronizing a prostitute.

Carl Dentai and his daughter have since passed away, and Pelletier has as well. It's kinda surreal to think that NONE of the key players in this segment are alive anymore, yet it still gets repeated and is on Amazon Prime.

He must have been in his seventies at the time-really his life got better.

Jack Quinn's wife apparently lost their home and went on welfare after his disappearance according to a few articles I read.

Was Bridgette young when she passed away? I imagine IF she survived, she’d in her 70s more less right?

I just searched the "Deaths of UM people" thread

According to some posts there

Carl Dentai (Brigitta's father) died in 2000 at the age of 81

Pelletier died in 2001 at about the age of 75 (may have been 74 or 76)

Brigitta Dentai-Laramie died in 2004 at the age of 65

the boyfriend in the tom johnson cased died in a car accident in Africa in 1997 no?

Nyleen Kay Marshall’s mother, Nancy, was raped and murdered in Mexico back in 1995.

This is something I still struggle to think about.

That poor family. I can't imagine how hard it must have been to go on after two tragedies this huge. :(

I got the impression that she was only really interested in finding her sister because it was a shot at saving her life. There appeared from the segment to be some silly jealousy from her towards the sister in their younger years, neither of them were really interested in the other & until her situation became desperate she showed no real interest in finding her. She could have hired a private detective at any time or just kept in touch with her in the first place.

Now that I’m thinking about the segment, you’re right. She didn’t seem to have missed her sister much until her life depended on it. Her sister did seem happier than she did

Ladonna Morrow (now Ladonna Chew), mother of Jared who was kidnapped by grandmother Pat Farmer, has had some scrapes with the law. I believe it was drugs. Too tired to google search her, but I remember seeing her mugshot online.

Good ole Bonnie Wilder finally did some time in jail for identity theft, I believe. However she was never charged in any of the store robberies as the insurance companies had paid out the stores and therefore the stores weren't interested in pursuing the matter.

Paul Arthur Beale, who might or might not have been amnesiac, allegedly had a rough go, as per these unsubstantiated claims (http://sitcomsonline.com/boards/search.php?searchid=3211314).

I remember reading that Rick McCue was arrested for rape as well as some type of scamming a person with their home remodel. He was the guy that was released from prison after being supposedly wrongly convicted of murdering Lulu Courchesne.

Tony Lombardi's parents later were involved in a lawsuit and had to file for bankruptcy. Tony was their only son. His dad has since died but his mom is still living.

As for Kurt Sova and Jack Davis Jr., both of them had brothers who later died early deaths.

the boyfriend in the tom johnson cased died in a car accident in Africa in 1997 no?

Jeremy did yes. Such a sad case.

Dave that took a shotgun to the stomach from Jim Burnside got arrested at home depot in Florida. Kevin Arnold got killed by police. Michael Lloyd Self died of cancer in 2002 at 53. Kay Beeman died of cancer that same year at 57. Kasey Kasem developed alzheimers and passed in 2014. John Burns died before he went to trial

I'd say Steven Marfeo's life got worse, but I'm not totally sure that qualifies for the purposes of this thread.

The Stallings. Patty was released from prison once the MMA diagnosis was confirmed.. They got several million in a settlement with the hospital, but later divorced and their son DJ passed in 2013 at 23.

Paul Polis's life has went down the crapper. He's been in and out of jail ever since Charlotte Nagi disappeared. Bad checks, drugs... it's mean to say, but he's my favorite person to check up on via Google because there's always a new arrest or probation violation to read about...

Paul Polis's life has went down the crapper. He's been in and out of jail ever since Charlotte Nagi disappeared. Bad checks, drugs... it's mean to say, but he's my favorite person to check up on via Google because there's always a new arrest or probation violation to read about...

Good, he is a total lowlife. Sad he & his parents got away with murder.

Good, he is a total lowlife. Sad he & his parents got away with murder.

I completely agree with you, although I think there's an interesting counterargument to be made about how perhaps Paul's life has taken a downturn because he's been wrongly accused of Charlotte's murder.

But I'm not buying the counterargument. #WhatsInTheShedPaul

Dennis Depue

#WhatsInTheShedPaul

Waiting for this hashtag to go viral...

Waiting for this hashtag to go viral...


:rotflmao::rotflmao::rotflmao::rotflmao:

Dennis Depue

*Hank Queen

Richard Garrett, the detective that Robert Stack was shown onscreen having a face-to-face interview with regarding Kevin Ives and Don Henry, ended up about 10 years later getting on the wrong side of the law for something. I don't remember what exactly, though I think it was something drug and/or theft related.

Richard Garrett, the detective that Robert Stack was shown onscreen having a face-to-face interview with regarding Kevin Ives and Don Henry, ended up about 10 years later getting on the wrong side of the law for something. I don't remember what exactly, though I think it was something drug and/or theft related.

You're thinking of Dan Harmon, who was the prosecuting attorney in Saline County. Richard Garrett was one of his deputy prosecutors. He is still an active attorney today.

Wayne Hecker, Gilbert Ortiz, Nancy Marshall and Jeremy Rolfs all came to mind when I saw this thread.

Another one who came to mind was Andy Wyrick, the father of Heidi, the little Georgia girl who would see spirits of dead people in her house. So sad to hear that he had passed at only 45, but I remember watching their A Haunting episode in 2005 (I think) and being shocked at how much weight he had gained from the time of their UM segment in 1994. I guess his health was deteriorating by then.

You're thinking of Dan Harmon, who was the prosecuting attorney in Saline County. Richard Garrett was one of his deputy prosecutors. He is still an active attorney today.

Sorry about that.

No mention of Tina Resch, the poltergeist teenager? I am disappointed. I'd say receiving 20-to-life after an Alford plea for being responsible of the death of her three-year old daughter would be the epitomy of "post-show downward spiral".

Then again, she was in jail and awaiting trial for that when the episode premiered, so this one might be a case of "pre post-show downward spiral".

Last I know, she is still in prison.

No mention of Tina Resch, the poltergeist teenager? I am disappointed. I'd say receiving 20-to-life after an Alford plea for being responsible of the death of her three-year old daughter would be the epitomy of "post-show downward spiral".

Then again, she was in jail and awaiting trial for that when the episode premiered, so this one might be a case of "pre post-show downward spiral".

Last I know, she is still in prison.

In reality her life was terrible from day one-she was abandoned at a hospital by her birth mother, she was placed with the Resches who made her sleep in a basement-often locking her in. neglected her emotionally & beat her, her best friend died in a car accident when she was 13, she was sexually molested by her foster brother, she was bullied at school, was forced to take Ritalin etc. It is no wonder she created this stuff & predictably the foster parents exploited her for publicity & financial gain.

They kicked her out of the house in 1986-at which point she had the choice of going to a juvenile home or live with a guy who ended up beating her, he also stole money she had been left & she ended up divorcing him. She became pregnant by an unknown male &ended up living with another guy who also beat her. She never stood a chance in life.

I found some info on Nancy Marshall. ..she was found hanged with a mans belt in a hotel room in Mexico. Her husband was going to be transferred there for work.
The Mexican authorities ruled it suicide and wouldn't let the family intervene.

I found some info on Nancy Marshall. ..she was found hanged with a mans belt in a hotel room in Mexico. Her husband was going to be transferred there for work.
The Mexican authorities ruled it suicide and wouldn't let the family intervene.

Wasn't this already known?

Wasn't this already known?

It was known that she was raped and murdered in Mexico yes. Not sure the specific details were entirely known