There are some Unsolved Mystery cases that you like even more now that they're solved, and maybe because of it. We may even watch them dozens of times though they've been updated to the fullest. You like them because of the satisfaction of a complete story being told: a beginning, middle, and end. Or maybe, you're happy to see such an awful criminal get justice. Or maybe you couldn't rest until your curiosity was fufilled!

One of my absolute favorite ones is about Elzabeth Carmichael, the man in drag who bilked investors out of millions with the promise of a three-wheel, low energy producing car. I have it on tape, and like to watch how her two former employees SWOON over her like she was some gorgeous genius who could do no wrong, and how they would always accept her as a female. Then an update revealed her after ten+ years, and she looked a little worse for wear. A LOT. It's so funny to think how those loyal, smitten men's jaws probably dropped when they saw that update and how her face and triple-D implants hadn't stood the test of time.

Then there many cases we DON'T want solved (it may be hard to admit). Like some buffs don't want Jack the Ripper to ever be positively identified, some like watcihng cases over and over because they're just good mysteries. Honestly, I was disappointed when UM revealed beyond a shadow of a doubt that Anna Anderson wasn't really Anastasia Romanov. That was a mystery for the ages, but alas, no more. :(

My favorite is Frank Casteel, the guy who brutally shotgunned those 3 ATV riders to death. That segment scared the hell out of me and I wanted it solved so bad. I couldn't believe it when it was finally updated and I found an arrest had been made. I really didn't think it ever would have been solved.

He's since been convicted, but he's appealing his case.

A close second was the arrest of Oba Chandler, profiled during the special show on the Psychopathic Mind. He killed the mother and 2 daughters in Tampa Bay.

Thanks. That ATV case always disturbed me deeply and I still find it troubling. There was no motive whatsoever, the victims were local guys, and the murderer didn't even take five dollars from them. Maybe he's just a psycho-sadist. He had to have had accomplices, too.

You like lost love cases, and I like Fraud cases. I started a tape on them exclusively and have just about every one Um has ever featured. Most of them are nonviolent and 90% of them get updated. Maybe watching them makes me feel less.... dumb?

I did a lot of reading on the ATV murders through the Chattanoga newspapers on Lexis-Nexis. The murderer was the property owner. He had incidents in the past of people trespassing on his land. He had posted signs and stuff. The story of what actually happened that day has never come out. It's not clear if Casteel just blasted the guys (as shown in the UM segment) or if there was some type of altercation.

The reason Casteel got caught was that he apparently bragged about it to a girlfriend. He was cheating on his wife at the time, I believe. He had always been a suspect but cops had no evidence to link him to the crime. He denies his involvement to this day. No accomplices have ever been named.

I wouldn't say I love the Lost Love cases. I really prefer the unsolved criminal cases, they could do the entire show on that I would be very happy. I do like the fraud cases too. In many instances I hope the people never get caught (not the ones who rip off or threaten ordinary people, the ones who get the banks or armored car companies). But the sweetheart swindlers give an interesting lesson about trust.

With all those fraud cases on your tape you must have a favorite?

OH MY GOSH!!! The murderer of the ATV riders that was shown on the update on Unsolved Mysteries looked so FREAKY!!!! What evil eyes!

Or So It Seems, you said you read about the case alot. Did any articles mention who the woman was on Roberts Mill Road that was singling cars to go away from the area where the ATV's were thrown??? She was probably a friend or girl friend of the killer.

As far as I can remember Casteel was the one and only suspect ever charged with the murders. He claimed innocence so he never ratted anyone else out. He had a girlfriend at the time, but he only told her about it, she didn't participate. So no, nobody else has ever been brought to justice for aiding in the cover up of the crime.

The Elizabeth Carmicheal one is probably my favorite fraud case, but I honestly like them all. There's the investment scams, the pigeon drops, the sweetheart swindlers, the psychic surgeons, and the fortune-stealing fortune tellers. I know I sound just awful for liking these segments.

Thanks for the info on the ATV arrest. It's always a good idea to research the cases independently, because UM's updates are usually not detailed.

My favorite parts of the Elizabeth Carmichael segment are when the investor says if she asked him again tomorrow to invest in building the Dale he would, even after he found out it was a scam. I also thought it was funny how the car was built on a wood frame and the gas pedal was just laying on the floor.

Honestly, I was disappointed when UM revealed beyond a shadow of a doubt that Anna Anderson wasn't really Anastasia Romanov.
I agree. That's such a long segment, too, that the update is a complete letdown. I'd be interested in knowing more about Anna, though. What were her motives?

My favorite solved case . . . that's a bit tricky. I have so many! The ATV one. Trisha Autry, perhaps because it's local. Oh, there are too many good ones!

This probably isn't my "favorite" solved case, but I am posting it here because it literally scared the $^#%!&*$ out of me.

It was a Special Alert segment (those are usually very short) shown at the very end an episode of UM from the early 90s. It was about a missing elderly woman who suffered from diabetes. Her name was Martha Doe Roberts. After showing a few pictures of her and listing a description, the UPDATE music abruptly started, the red "update" lable appeared, and Robert Stack described how Martha's neighbor had been charged with her rape and murder. The neighbor lead police to his driveway where he had buried her. And that was it. The segment was over.

I don't know why, but that "update" was so creepy. I'm freaked out right now just typing about it...

-Allie

I remember that special alert case Allierain. I think the always freaky background music that this show has makes the stories seem scarier.

But that case was just plain sad. The elderly woman was raped, murdered and buried at the end of a driveway next door while her husband wonders where the heck she was.

I hope that neighbor gets punished BADLY for what he has done.

Good grief...shame on me. I didn't even look at it that way until you mentioned it. You're right. :-( Nobody deserves to be treated that way.

Of course, not all cases actually NEED the freaky background music to be scary. ;)

I'm sorry, I'm not laughing because the case scared the wits out of you, but because you so described how UM does things...

"After showing a few pictures of her and listing a description, the UPDATE music abruptly started, the red "update" lable appeared, and Robert Stack described..."

Sometimes I literally jump when the music seems to leap out of nowhere and I shiver when they gradually build a close-up of a victim's photograph. I know with the brand new episodes I jump sometimes because of how the bluish "update" screen just pops up without warning and that creepy sort of magical sound accompanies it. Can anyone else relate? At least during the old epsiodes Mr. Stack warned us that an update was coming, lol. :lol:

I'm sorry, I'm not laughing because the case scared the wits out of you, but because you so described how UM does things...

"After showing a few pictures of her and listing a description, the UPDATE music abruptly started, the red "update" lable appeared, and Robert Stack described..."

Sometimes I literally jump when the music seems to leap out of nowhere and I shiver when they gradually build a close-up of a victim's photograph. I know with the brand new episodes I jump sometimes because of how the bluish "update" screen just pops up without warning and that creepy sort of magical sound accompanies it. Can anyone else relate? At least during the old epsiodes Mr. Stack warned us that an update was coming, lol. :lol:

Oops.

:blush: