What is the signature Unsolved Mysteries case? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

BuffaloBill · 03-20-2013, 01:49 PM

I would have to go with the Clark Rockefeller/Chichester/Crowe or whatever name he went by. This whole adventure was first reported nationally on unsolved mysteries in 1994, years later it spawned into another national case were "A Rockefeller " kidnaps kid and we get Lifetime movie about him, and tied into that leads to the eventual charges of a possible 28 year old double murder in California.
There has been no other case that originated from U M thats its origins can be connected to an old U M broadcast that grew to this proportion that eveyone first learned through U M.
My runner -up case is the Circleville Letter Writer, another epic case.

Spark Of Spirit · 03-20-2013, 07:17 PM

I tend to think of Cindy James when I think of UM. It's just such a bizarre case and there's not lot of information about it out there.

MegtheEgg86 · 03-20-2013, 09:53 PM

I thought there were at least two books on Cindy James, one by Neal Hall (the investigative reporter interviewed in the segment) and the other by her sister. There are other posters who know a lot better than I do on this one, though.

DarkDante · 03-20-2013, 11:36 PM

Well the case of Richard Mintz and Barbara Petrosky at the time of it's filming was the case that the show invested the most time production wise and I'm not sure if they ever surpassed it. It also drew in quite the audience as I remember so even though it isn't as discussed as much as other cases on the forum, you could make a case for it being the signature case in the history of the show.

dynoguy88 · 03-20-2013, 11:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MegtheEgg86

I thought there were at least two books on Cindy James, one by Neal Hall (the investigative reporter interviewed in the segment) and the other by her sister. There are other posters who know a lot better than I do on this one, though.

"The deaths of Cindy James," by Neal Hall and "Who killed Cindy James?" by Ian Mulgrew.

Even though many here didn't like Neal Hall in the segment, his book is the better of the two. He never gives his opinion, he simply states the facts of every incident and the opinions of everyone who was a part of Cindy's life those several years. He's very objective and his book is well written. Ian Mulgrew's book, on the other hand, writes her off as a crack right away. His book also tends to jump back and forth through Cindy's life making the order of events confusing. He also tends to focus too much on Cindy's life growing up to justify his opinion of what caused her mental illness.

It's been about a year since I talked to Cindy's sister Melanie over emails about her book. She did send me a friend invite on Facebook, though. She mentioned that there was so much info she wanted to include that she decided to split it into two books. But then her father died and she had to put her mother into a nursing home and I felt guilty bugging her about the latest developments with her book. I hope it gets published soon.

Spark Of Spirit · 03-20-2013, 11:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dynoguy88

"The deaths of Cindy James," by Neal Hall and "Who killed Cindy James?" by Ian Mulgrew.

Even though many here didn't like Neal Hall in the segment, his book is the better of the two. He never gives his opinion, he simply states the facts of every incident and the opinions of everyone who was a part of Cindy's life those several years. He's very objective and his book is well written. Ian Mulgrew's book, on the other hand, writes her off as a crack right away. His book also tends to jump back and forth through Cindy's life making the order of events confusing. He also tends to focus too much on Cindy's life growing up to justify his opinion of what caused her mental illness.

It's been about a year since I talked to Cindy's sister Melanie over emails about her book. She did send me a friend invite on Facebook, though. She mentioned that there was so much info she wanted to include that she decided to split it into two books. But then her father died and she had to put her mother into a nursing home and I felt guilty bugging her about the latest developments with her book. I hope it gets published soon.

Thank you for the update! I would definitely like to read Neal Hall's book and her sister's if it ever comes to fruition. I'm not the biggest true crime reader but there are certain cases that I would go out of my way to attempt to learn more about.

dynoguy88 · 03-21-2013, 12:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spark Of Spirit

Thank you for the update! I would definitely like to read Neal Hall's book and her sister's if it ever comes to fruition. I'm not the biggest true crime reader but there are certain cases that I would go out of my way to attempt to learn more about.

I bought Neal Hall's book 12 years ago off of Amazon for $2.00. There are a dozen copies available on Amazon right now....

http://www.amazon.com/Deaths-Cindy-J...of+cindy+james

MegtheEgg86 · 03-21-2013, 01:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkDante

Well the case of Richard Mintz and Barbara Petrosky at the time of it's filming was the case that the show invested the most time production wise and I'm not sure if they ever surpassed it. It also drew in quite the audience as I remember so even though it isn't as discussed as much as other cases on the forum, you could make a case for it being the signature case in the history of the show.

I love that segment--not for what happened, of course, but because of how it showcased what character Barbara Petrofsky had. Utterly amazing woman.

gluserty · 03-21-2013, 03:44 AM

Yeah, it was a shame that Richard Mintz wasn't a U.S. citizen, and he ended up not paying a dime in the civil case.

wiseguy182 · 03-21-2013, 05:19 AM

With UM having so many cases and being such an important program, I don't know that we can narrow it down to just one case.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BuffaloBill

There has been no other case that originated from U M thats its origins can be connected to an old U M broadcast that grew to this proportion that eveyone first learned through U M.

Come again?

1990 UM fan · 03-21-2013, 07:27 AM

Angela Hammond. They re-ran that case so much. I hope her case is solved someday, it's been almost 22 years since she was abducted.

dynoguy88 · 03-21-2013, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1990 UM fan

Angela Hammond. They re-ran that case so much. I hope her case is solved someday, it's been almost 22 years since she was abducted.

No cases were rerun as much as Edward Harold Bell and Resurrection Mary, but Angela Hammond is certainly up there as a "signature" case. It's impossible for me to narrow it down to one, though.

UMFaninMD · 03-21-2013, 08:01 PM

The Wackers. Not only is it one of the most remembered and one of the most unsettling segments, people are still debating to this day as to whether the couple were really targets of an unknown stalker or if they were behind it.

1990 UM fan · 03-22-2013, 04:10 AM

I also forgot to mention that the Sharon Kinne case is one of the top cases. The longevity of it and the many times it was aired makes my top 10. Beverly McGowan's murder is also up there.

Spark Of Spirit · 03-23-2013, 12:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dynoguy88

I bought Neal Hall's book 12 years ago off of Amazon for $2.00. There are a dozen copies available on Amazon right now....

http://www.amazon.com/Deaths-Cindy-J...of+cindy+james

Alright, thanks. I'll definitely grab a copy ASAP.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1990 UM fan

I also forgot to mention that the Sharon Kinne case is one of the top cases. The longevity of it and the many times it was aired makes my top 10. Beverly McGowan's murder is also up there.

Your current avatar is one, too.

Seriously, that picture might be one of the creepiest shots to come from the show.

03-20-2013, 01:49 PM	#1
BuffaloBill Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Mar 07, 2004 Location: Cheektowaga(Buffalo),NY Posts: 428	What is the signature Unsolved Mysteries case? I would have to go with the Clark Rockefeller/Chichester/Crowe or whatever name he went by. This whole adventure was first reported nationally on unsolved mysteries in 1994, years later it spawned into another national case were "A Rockefeller " kidnaps kid and we get Lifetime movie about him, and tied into that leads to the eventual charges of a possible 28 year old double murder in California. There has been no other case that originated from U M thats its origins can be connected to an old U M broadcast that grew to this proportion that eveyone first learned through U M. My runner -up case is the Circleville Letter Writer, another epic case.

03-20-2013, 07:17 PM	#2
Spark Of Spirit Member Forum Regular Join Date: Nov 20, 2012 Location: Canada Posts: 563	I tend to think of Cindy James when I think of UM. It's just such a bizarre case and there's not lot of information about it out there.
	__________________ “A thing may be too sad to be believed or too wicked to be believed or too good to be believed; but it cannot be too absurd to be believed in this planet of frogs and elephants, of crocodiles and cuttle-fish.” ― G.K. Chesterton

03-20-2013, 09:53 PM	#3
MegtheEgg86 Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Jun 19, 2008 Location: The Volunteer State Posts: 5,156	I thought there were at least two books on Cindy James, one by Neal Hall (the investigative reporter interviewed in the segment) and the other by her sister. There are other posters who know a lot better than I do on this one, though.
	__________________ "Why is she lying?, it makes me wonder. What is she hiding?, it makes me wonder." Go Vols!

03-21-2013, 07:27 AM	#11
1990 UM fan Unsolved Mysteries fanatic Senior Member Join Date: Jul 14, 2011 Location: United States Posts: 2,510	Angela Hammond. They re-ran that case so much. I hope her case is solved someday, it's been almost 22 years since she was abducted.
	__________________ Join my Unsolved Mysteries page (Facebook): http://www.facebook.com/pages/Unsolv...899616?sk=wall

03-20-2013, 11:36 PM	#4
DarkDante Member Senior Member Join Date: Jul 27, 2002 Posts: 1,569	Well the case of Richard Mintz and Barbara Petrosky at the time of it's filming was the case that the show invested the most time production wise and I'm not sure if they ever surpassed it. It also drew in quite the audience as I remember so even though it isn't as discussed as much as other cases on the forum, you could make a case for it being the signature case in the history of the show.

03-21-2013, 03:44 AM	#9
gluserty Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Nov 21, 2011 Location: Angola, NY Posts: 76	Yeah, it was a shame that Richard Mintz wasn't a U.S. citizen, and he ended up not paying a dime in the civil case.

03-21-2013, 08:01 PM	#13
UMFaninMD I love a mystery Senior Member Join Date: Apr 19, 2011 Location: Maryland Posts: 1,287	The Wackers. Not only is it one of the most remembered and one of the most unsettling segments, people are still debating to this day as to whether the couple were really targets of an unknown stalker or if they were behind it.

03-22-2013, 04:10 AM	#14
1990 UM fan Unsolved Mysteries fanatic Senior Member Join Date: Jul 14, 2011 Location: United States Posts: 2,510	I also forgot to mention that the Sharon Kinne case is one of the top cases. The longevity of it and the many times it was aired makes my top 10. Beverly McGowan's murder is also up there.