Repeated Cases

[JohnMill]

Anyone tired of seeing the same cases profiled again and again?

The one that sticks out in my mind is the Patty Stallings case. For awhile (when UM first started airing on Lifetime in the mid 90s) this case was never shown but in the past few years (since the episodes have been "redone") they repeat this friggin' case over and over again. For those of you who don't know Stallings was wrongly accused of killing her son Ryan who actually died of a rare disease called MMA which sometimes can look to the uneducated eye as "death by poisoning". After the UM segment support billowed for the Stallings family and Patty was released. Beautiful, heartwarming story yadda yadda yadda

Trouble is today is like at least the 20th time I've seen this case (I'm am not a regular watcher either) - They should retire this one unless they like to show how UM helped crack an appeals cases. I will forever remember Patty's plea on how "she lost everything" etc. I dunno it just all grates on me now - how about some rarely seen "unsolved" cases - three examples follow

1) The rarely seen murder of a couple by a bunch of teenagers who afte murdering the couple threw a party and videotaped it

2) The case of Norman Ladner a young boy who was shot while out hunting. The police believe it was a suicide, his father believes Norman saw something he shouldn't had and was murdered

3) The death of a young man around the time of Coos County Fair in Oregon. He was staying with his father I believe while attending the fair and telephoned his mother that he would return after the weekend. He later turned up dead after a party at a duplex. The occupant of the duplex said no party had taken place there even though a pizza delivery boy said there was definatley a party going on that weekend, some believe that the youth was critically injured at the party and instead of calling for help they holed him up in the basement where he eventually died. Still others recall seeing other teens taking target practice at this same youth while he was swimming in a local lake.

* I could be mixing two different cases up on #3 not sure*

Lets have some new (or rarer) material.

Later.

[Composite Sketch]

I think you are mixing up two cases in #3. The boy who disappeared at the Coos County Fair in Oregon was Jeremy Bright, back in August 1986. According to his webpage at the Doe Network, he was not seen or heard from alive after the fair. I first heard about it on this very board. I haven't seen either case in #3, nor #1 and #2. I really want to though.

Other cases I wish they'd re-air as I've never seen them before:

-The kidnapped Polaroid kids case. This goes without saying.

-The girl who suffered brain damage after getting hit in the head while riding her boyfriend's motorcycle.

-The guy who disappered from an ATM in 1988.

-Ogopogo, as it's a BC case and I've never seen it before.

Cases that I have seen but wish they'd re-aired during the 2001-2002 run:

-The Boston shopping mall robber/rapist.

-Joyce McClain, murdered Maine teenager found in 1980 in a field.

-Michael Self, convicted of a double murder.

-Rachel Runyan, the Utah 3 year old who was kidnapped and murdered in 1982.

-The Ontario RV rest-stop double killing.

One definite overexposed case is the one about the Cokeville, Wyoming school hostage situation back in 1986. They played it over and over and over again in the 1996-1997 season, and I think twice in the newly run episodes (WHY??).

[JohnMill]

-The kidnapped Polaroid kids case. This goes without saying.

Tara Calico - pretty girl, such a sad case. They found out that the boy in the polaroid wasn't Michael Hennessey or Hutchance or whatever his name was. It was someone else but I don't remember. Investigators have some "hot leads" on this one currently and it bears re-airing as it could be close to being "solved".

-The girl who suffered brain damage after getting hit in the head while riding her boyfriend's motorcycle.

This one is another one I remember got KO'ed with a huge board by a rival of her boyfriend. No update

-Ogopogo, as it's a BC case and I've never seen it before.

Personally I hate these cases and feel they have no business on the broadcast - the only one mildly interesting was the "iceman" from the 1960s or whatever.

Rachel Runyan, the Utah 3 year old who was kidnapped and murdered in 1982

Actually its Rachael Runyan and I think it she was from Chicago. It was a pretty big case in its day, even spawned a missing child alert system called the "The Rachael Alert" (pre-dating "The Morgan Nick Alert" by over ten years) - What is odd about this case is that some believe that the sickos who killed her actually videotaped and sold it on the porn market. So maybe the tape exists and it can be traced back to the rat bastards who killed her. But over twenty years later the case is still pretty cold.

The Ontario RV rest-stop double killing.

This case I believe has been solved. Either they found out who the dude was or he was already in jail (or dead) due to other murders.

This case and the case of the man who saw a strange man walking around his town one night and then later saw the saw strango walking towards his house and later found out that this guy murdered his mother. Same era both equally creepy.

Later.

[justins5256]

Originally posted by JohnMill
1) The rarely seen murder of a couple by a bunch of teenagers who afte murdering the couple threw a party and videotaped it

John - do you have any additional information about this case? I am looking for a copy of this episode. I don't think it has ever been on Lifetime. It was certainy one of the more eerie UM episodes, and gave me the creeps when I first saw it (still does as I'm typing this).

Thanks,
Justin

[Composite Sketch]

>>Personally I hate these cases and feel they have no business on the broadcast - the only one mildly interesting was the "iceman" from the 1960s or whatever.<<

Oh, I agree. I just want to see it once. The Iceman one I have on tape and rarely watch. Those cases bore me and are part of the reason UM gets the occassional mocking.

>>Actually its Rachael Runyan and I think it she was from Chicago.<<

Thanks for the correct spelling, I was inwardly debating which one was the correct spelling and should have double-checked. However, she was definitely from Sunset, Utah.

http://www.utahchiefs.org/rachel_alert.htm

>>Tara Calico - pretty girl, such a sad case. They found out that the boy in the polaroid wasn't Michael Hennessey or Hutchance or whatever his name was. It was someone else but I don't remember. Investigators have some "hot leads" on this one currently and it bears re-airing as it could be close to being "solved".<<

How did they know that it wasn't Michael Henley? And yes it bears re-airing but I do want to see the original 1989 segment. The case itself is scary enough but with the fuzzy camera, slow fading in and out, and the creepy music, I know I'd never forget it. I wonder if they used the old marble background when showing the famous polaroid?

>>This case I believe has been solved. Either they found out who the dude was or he was already in jail (or dead) due to other murders.<<

Many of us here have done 'net research on this case, but the most we can find out is that there is a very good suspect for the murders, but he hasn't been charged for them yet.

>>the case of the man who saw a strange man walking around his town one night and then later saw the saw strango walking towards his house and later found out that this guy murdered his mother<<

The 1991 Dorothy Donovan murder. Are you nominating this one as an overexposed case? I had never seen it until the new episodes aired here. Creepy sketch. I now have it on tape.

One more addition to the 'ones I've seen but want to see again' list. Back in around 1993/4 they showed a Lost Love case that stuck in my mind, which is a wonder since Lost Love cases tend to bore the pants off me. It was about a young black woman who was looking for what I think was an old teacher of hers. She did all the good things teachers do, yadda yadda, then the young woman got into drugs and after a hospital stay and rehab, she temporarily lost part of her memory. The teacher later saw the girl in the street but at that time the girl couldn't remember her. Hopefully I got the facts about this right. Does anyone else remember this? Did they eventually reunite?

[justins5256]

Originally posted by Composite Sketch
>>How did they know that it wasn't Michael Henley? And yes it bears re-airing but I do want to see the original 1989 segment. The case itself is scary enough but with the fuzzy camera, slow fading in and out, and the creepy music, I know I'd never forget it. I wonder if they used the old marble background when showing the famous polaroid?

I believe Michael's body was found a few years later (1990?) not too far from where he disappeared. Todd posted a really great article last September on or shortly after the anniversary of Calico's disappearance. The article did mention the discovery of Henley's body, and the unlikelihood that he was the boy in the Polaroid.

I've watched the story numerous times. It was from 1989, and does have that misty foggy look shared by so many other stories from that era. And yes, the Polaroid was shown over the marble background. I believe they showed it side by side with school pictures of Calico and Henley.

Justin

[Mr. Roboto]

Originally posted by JohnMill
-Rachel Runyan, the Utah 3 year old who was kidnapped and murdered in 1982

Actually its Rachael Runyan and I think it she was from Chicago. It was a pretty big case in its day, even spawned a missing child alert system called the "The Rachael Alert" (pre-dating "The Morgan Nick Alert" by over ten years) - What is odd about this case is that some believe that the sickos who killed her actually videotaped and sold it on the porn market. So maybe the tape exists and it can be traced back to the rat bastards who killed her. But over twenty years later the case is still pretty cold.

This case has always intrigued me and left me puzzled. Where is the evidence that there might have been a porno film made with her? Also, why didn't the police consider the possiblity of the message written on the laundromat a way to lead them down the wrong path? I wish the UM segment went into much more detail, but unfortunatly it was only a Special Alert type case.

Of course the most intriguing thing is that on any of the websites with her case, none of them mention the alleged porno film nor the bathroom message...

[JohnMill]

to justin:

No although I did see it at some stage in the game and I think its still unsolved. Someone on this bbs taped that episode and has it in his collection - I emailed him for a copy with little success (ie: no response)

to Mr. Roboto

Yeah that stuff about the film bothered me too, I sincerley do believe though that if a film like that was out there somewhere with the extensive search the Runyan case got in the 80s, the authorities would have located a copy by now. For a while it was though that Runyan's killer was this mass serial murderer in that area at that time (forget his name) but he was later found not to have any involvement in the Runyan case and I believe got life imprisonment for his other "murders". I dunno, sicko is the one word that comes to mind when I think of that case, whoever wrote that message on the lavatory had to be a real sicko.

speaking of weird films - anyone remember the case of the grandmother who brainwashed her grandson by making him watch satanic videotapes - that was on UM too and I think was a early episode.

Later.

[justins5256]

Originally posted by JohnMill
speaking of weird films - anyone remember the case of the grandmother who brainwashed her grandson by making him watch satanic videotapes - that was on UM too and I think was a early episode. [/B]

Yeah, it was an older one that I've seen once (maybe twice at most) on Lifetime years ago before they started the "new" shows. The original episode featured the Larry Race case which has been discussed on here before.

I think the plot revolved around the grandparents trying to brainwash the kid, and they later abducted him. I seem to remember them saying that the grandparents molested the kid too. I believe the case was resolved.

The same episode also featured a special alert about the murder of a baby. Apparently a hunter in the woods spotted a woman give birth, and her male companion kill the baby. I don't believe this was solved at that time I saw the story.

Justin

[crystals]

It annoys me that the same unsolved and especially the solved episodes keep re-airing. I'd be curious to see the segment of the Crystal Spencer case, but haven't seen it yet. I watched Unsolved Mysteries awhile back for months on Prime and didn't see that case. And, I'm pretty sure there's other unsolved cases that I haven't seen aired that I might like to see the episodes of.

[Tendervittles]

Composite, are you referring to the ATM case involving the guy and his girlfriend who return late home one night and he realizes he forgot to deposit his check?
If that's the one, I remember, his picture got captured by the ATM security camera, and also caught a man next to him, a little fuzzier, but everyone agreed that he's standing too close to be just another customer waiting in line.

I remember for awhile they thought he might have been seen in and around some homeless shelters, and the speculation was that he was robbed, hit on the head and had amnesia.

The case I remember did have an update, they found his body about a year later in an overgrown field, and they figured out he'd likely been killed right after he was robbed at the ATM, so that wasn't him at the shelters, but it may have been the robber.

[SitcomsAreTheWay]

You know, I wish they'd show more of the late 80's and early 90's cases. I remember when the disclaimer was always shown before the show would start, I wonder why they had stopped showing it.

Is it possible that Lifetime doesn't have the rights to any of the older (and I mean MUCH older) episodes?

[canadianmysterygrl]

amen. oh for god sakes lifetime STOP AIRING SOLVED CASES AND STOP WITH THE DATED UFO AND 20 YEAR OLD CRAP.
i am a UM fan but i barely watch anymore because 7/10 are solved cases and 2/10 are STUPID LOST LOVES AND UFO AND PARANORMAL CRAP AND DATED JUNK.....i get thrilled when i finally see something that interests me anymore. sad but UM repeats have JUMPED MY SHARK!

[JohnMill]

Actually the most interesting cases in my opinion came from the original black and pink era of the show (pre aqua blue background) - it seems around the time they got the aqua blue makeover - they started doing more ghost stories and paranormal.

Some of the UFO stories are decent but a lot of them are crap - the ones with the military are a lot more interesting as are the abductions ones. But the one with Bettie (whatever her name) was and the old lady and the little boy has got to stop airing - the lady has passed away from cancer (possibly due to the UFO) let her and this segment rest in peace.

Later.

[Fletch]

Originally posted by JohnMill
But the one with Bettie (whatever her name) was and the old lady and the little boy has got to stop airing - the lady has passed away from cancer (possibly due to the UFO) let her and this segment rest in peace.

Later.

I agree 100%