[music playing] Tonight on
"Unsolved Mysteries," an intriguing new story. On April 10, 1967,
Ralph Probst, a Cook County Illinois Sheriff's
officer had the night off. While watching
television with his wife, Ralph went into the kitchen
to make a phone call. [bang] Ralph never regained
consciousness. His killer is still at large. In tiny Lyons, Nebraska,
an intriguing love triangle left a woman
murdered and the police chief on the run. Also tonight, the story
of six Oklahoma children who were separated the day
after their mother's funeral. 30 years later, they are trying
to reunite to put the pain of the past behind them. For every mystery
there is someone somewhere who knows the truth. Perhaps it's you. [theme music] Lyons, Nebraska, a quiet
farming town of 1,200 people is located 60 miles from Omaha. In October of 1986, Anna Marie
Anton, a 34-year-old divorcee, moved to this small,
isolated community. She was a stranger to town. There was no rational reason
why she would move here. People don't move
to Lyons, Nebraska, unless they have
a job, or family, or they're returning
to a small home town. And she didn't
have any of those. ROBERT STACK: 10 years
before she settled in Lyons, Anna had severely injured
her leg in a car accident. Good morning. Good morning, Anna. How nice to see you. - Nice service.
- Thank you very much. God bless you.
Have a nice day now. Thank you. ROBERT STACK: Anna's neighbors
were happy to lend her a helping hand. And her fellow parishioners at
St. Joseph's would take turns driving her to and from church. SHIRLEY EDGECOMB: Anna appeared
to be a very religious person. She had very high morals
and did not drink. She went to church daily
if she could find a ride ROBERT STACK: Shirley Edgecomb
lived across the street from Anna and would often
take her grocery shopping. They became friends. And Anna began to
confide in Shirley. Want me to put
these away for you? That would be great, Shirley. SHIRLEY EDGECOMB: She told me
that her ex-husband had been involved in some
large drug ring, and that she had testified
against him and other members of this drug ring. And she was afraid that
he was going to harm her. Shirley, can I
show you something? SHIRLEY EDGECOMB: She
had moved to Lyons to get away from her ex-husband. If anything
should happen to me, I want you to open
this envelope and call the number that's in it. She did tell me
that she'd chosen that apartment
because the police chief lived right above her. And she thought if her
ex-husband ever did find her, that he would be
leery about bothering her because of the police
car parked out in front. ROBERT STACK: On
December 16, 1986, Shirley brought some groceries
over to Anna's apartment. She was surprised to find
the back door locked. Anna! ROBERT STACK: Shirley
knocked on Anna's windows and called out her name. There was no response. Anna! ROBERT STACK: That
evening, Shirley tried to deliver the
groceries several times, but still there was no answer. Anna seemed to have disappeared
as mysteriously as she arrived. I hope you don't
mind letting me in. I'm really worried about her. It's not like her
to just disappear. ROBERT STACK: Police chief
Greg Webb, who lived upstairs from Anna, agreed to help. SHIRLEY EDGECOMB: We
went in, thinking we'd probably find Anna had fallen. And there was no sign of her. Looks like she hasn't been
here for a couple of days. She was supposed to meet me. I can't imagine why
she didn't call. Let's check the bedroom. OK. SHIRLEY EDGECOMB (VOICEOVER):
There was an outfit of clothes that was laid out on the
bed, from shirt and jeans all the way down to underwear. Here's the shoes
she always wore. Where would she go without
these this time of year? SHIRLEY EDGECOMB
(VOICEOVER): And that seems strange because this
is in the winter time. And if you take your coat
and your purse and your cane, it seems only reasonable
you would take your shoes. Here it is. I'll call some of the
people in this book. Maybe they've seen her. Why don't you let me do that? It's my job. OK. A few hours later, he called
me, and said that he had called those numbers in
the book but she wasn't in any of those places. ROBERT STACK: 11 days
after Anna disappeared, her body was found
in a remote field. She had two 38 caliber
bullet wounds in her torso. Since the crime scene was
outside Lyon's jurisdiction, state criminal
investigator Gerry Krieger of the
Nebraska State Patrol was called in on the case. Upon observing the
surroundings around Anna, it was very apparent
that she did not succumb her death there,
that the body had been moved. How you doing, Mike? Hi. Yeah, it looks
like a gunshot wound. GERALD KRIEGER (VOICEOVER):
Somebody had left her out and was careful in reference
to not leaving anything behind. She was in an unclad condition. It appeared as though the
body had been cleaned. And it also appeared that it had
been there for quite some time. OK, we're going
to have to start getting out and
canvassing the area, and see if anybody heard
anything or saw anything. OK, I'll get right on it. ROBERT STACK:
Surprisingly, the autopsy revealed that Anna's
blood alcohol level was 0.22, extremely
high for a woman who purportedly did not drink. After they found the
body, Gerry Krieger came over to our place. He wanted to know
everything about Anna. This is the note
that Anna gave me. She told me to
open it if anything should ever happen to her. Shirley, do you know why
Anna would leave you a note? She told me she was
afraid of her ex-husband. GERALD KRIEGER
(VOICEOVER): Her feelings were that Anna's ex-husband
had caused her death. She had relayed to me that her
ex-husband had been involved in narcotics, that he
was a heavy drug dealer, and that she was very
fearful of her life. Within a short
period of time, we were able to determine
that Anna's ex-husband did have an alibi and he was not
involved in any drug activity. And I just couldn't
understand why Anna would fabricate this information. ROBERT STACK: The
police officers working on the case agreed to
meet in Lyons at the Highway Cafe to compare notes. Chief Webb is among them. Knowing that Anna lived in the
same building as the chief, Gerry Krieger quizzed
him about his neighbor. How long did you
know Anne Anton? 2, 2 and 1/2 months. Where did you meet her? Arnolds Park. Were you and she ever
intimately involved? No. Were you and she ever
intimately involved? Yes, on the
night she moved in. Officer Webb, could
you please excuse us-- GERALD KRIEGER (VOICEOVER): Due
to the fact that he had lied to me, being a police
officer especially, as chief of police during a
major investigation like this, and also thinking back
to the crime scene, my thoughts were thinking
strongly to the fact that, uh, Greg was a suspect. OK, let's go over here by the
chair, and work our way back. OK. ROBERT STACK: Two days
after Anna's body was found, Krieger and lab
technicians performed a test in Anna's apartment
to search for bloodstains. Throughout the test, Greg Webb
was upstairs in his apartment. GERALD KRIEGER
(VOICEOVER): There were times that we
would hear somebody walking or moving upstairs. It did sound as though he
might have been listening. ROBERT STACK: The police used
a special chemical called luminol, which makes
drops of blood hemoglobin glow in the dark, even if they
had been washed away or small and faded. GERALD KRIEGER (VOICEOVER):
We found traces of blood in the living room
and dining room area of Anna Anton's apartment. Oh, look at that. Look at that. GERALD KRIEGER
(VOICEOVER): The trail of blood just outside of Anna
Anton's door was quite heavy. The trail then led up the
stairs to Greg Webb's apartment. Right here, right here
at the top of the step. OK. My main concern, at
that particular time, was attempting to
obtain a search warrant for Greg Webb's apartment. ROBERT STACK: During the
police investigation, Greg Webb left his apartment. The next day he withdrew
$3,000 and then disappeared. Five days later,
armed with a warrant, Investigator Krieger searched
the chief's apartment. Lyle, won't you go ahead
and get the kitchen here? OK. GERALD KRIEGER (VOICEOVER): We
did find a mop that did have a trace of blood that
was later shown to be the same type as Anna Anton's. Gerry, you want to
take a look at this? ROBERT STACK: In
the bedroom closet, the police found a
military style coat with several spots of blood. These stains proved
to be the same blood type as Anna Anton's. Send it off to the lab. Package and label it. OK. Once I started checking
into Anna Anton's background, I had learned that he had
two separate lives, one life down here in
Lyons, Nebraska, where she was very religious. And then the other up in
Arnolds Park, where she would refer to as a bar floozy. Danny, Danny, hi, how are ya? Good, how you doing? Good, good. GERALD KRIEGER (VOICEOVER): She
would, uh, carry on with men. - Hi.
- [inaudible] You get better
looking every day. Well, thank you. GERALD KRIEGER (VOICEOVER):
This is where Anna Anton and Greg Webb had met. Hi. Let me introduce you
to a friend of mine. This is Greg Webb. He's chief of police
at Lyons, Nebraska. Hi. Nice to meet you. ROBERT STACK: Greg and
Anna became friends. When Anna told him she was
looking for a place to live, Webb suggested that she move
into an unoccupied apartment in his building. I think Anna Anton moved
here with the anticipation that, uh, her and Greg Webb, uh,
may have something in common, and possibly maybe
even eventually, uh, getting together,
and maybe marriage. You're on duty tomorrow? It's my day off. ROBERT STACK: Anna was
infatuated with Webb. But she soon learned that
he had another girlfriend. Anna seemed to be
preoccupied with the fact that Greg had this
girlfriend, and the fact that they were not married, but
evidently sleeping together. [laughter] She talked about
laying in bed at night and hearing them
upstairs, making love. And it bothered her. She would turn the stereo on. She felt that it was a sin to
the point that she would get holy water and sprinkle
it up and down the steps and on the doorknobs. Anna!
ACTOR AS ANNA ANTON: Go away! I don't want you in here! ROBERT STACK:
Investigator Krieger has learned that the night
of Anna's death, Greg Webb was intoxicated. GERALD KRIEGER (VOICEOVER):
I believe Anna Anton's death could have resulted from a
fight that might have occurred due to the fact
that Anna Anton had found out about this
other woman and confronted Greg Webb about this. [arguing] It was learned that
during the following day, in the early
morning hours, Greg Webb was seen carrying
something from his house out to the trunk of his car. And it was learned later
that what he was carrying was actually Anna Anton. ROBERT STACK: The
police believe Webb removed all of Anna's
clothes and carefully washed her body before she was
carried from the apartment. It is possible that
Anna's body was left in that particular
farmer's field because Webb knew
the land was part of an Indian reservation,
which would cause jurisdiction problems for the authorities. I feel that Greg Webb might
have thought that he had committed the perfect crime,
in the way he had disposed of the body, and also
due to the fact that, uh, he would have known about,
uh, Anna Anton's ex-husband. ROBERT STACK: On
January 6, 1987, a warrant was issued for Police
Chief Greg Webb's arrest. He was charged with
first degree murder. [music playing] Update, Greg Webb
is now in custody. When this story was rerun
in February of 1993, an alert viewer in
Orlando, Florida, recognized Webb as
a man he knew as Jim Webber, a construction worker. Well, when I-- when
I was watching it, and they showed Greg when
he came on, um, they-- they mentioned him as Greg Webb. And-- and he looked just
like the guy I knew as Jim. And, uh, again, they'd
said it was Greg-- and, uh, at least Greg Webb. And I knew him as
Gregory James Webber. And he went by Jim Webber. So I just put the two together. Like I say, it just
looked just like him. So it was quite a shock. Florida had faxed me, uh,
photographs of the driver's license that was issued
under Gregory James Webber. And once I did see
the photographs, I knew that that was
Gregory John Webb. The arrest went very well. We-- uh, there wasn't any
resistance whatsoever. We took him by surprise. And, um, he was arrested at
an offsite construction site. ROBERT STACK: Next, the
story of two brothers who had a heartwarming
reunion at a deserted gas station in rural
Oklahoma 25 years after they were separated. They are looking for
their lost siblings. Perhaps you can help find them. [theme music] Sadly one out of every
30 children in America suffers from child abuse. For these victims,
healing the wounds is a long, painful process. In our next story, five
brothers and their sister are put up for adoption
after a particularly brutal and violent
childhood, and for 23 years, never saw each other again. Now they want to purge the hate
and bitterness from their past. They are hoping that if
they can be reunited, they will be able to exorcise
those terrible memories that are still a part of their lives. Locust Grove, Oklahoma. In 1959, Edith Rogers,
her husband, Top Rogers, and their six
children, all lived in this remote rural community. Life was hard for
the Rogers family. There was little money, even
for the necessities of life. ROBERT PEARCE: As far
as clothing and food, we never had much clothing
that I can remember. We didn't ever wear shoes. And there was one time where
I can remember going out without food for several days. It was getting where I got
so weak that I was in bed. And it seemed like the people
of the town [inaudible] brought us some food out to eat. I think that's
one of those times that Mom and Dad ran off
on one of their drunks. Ain't nobody in this house-- ROBERT STACK: Top
Rogers' frequent drinking led to regular beatings
for his wife and children. [arguing] ROBERT PEARCE: One
night I grabbed a stick of wood out of the
stove box and run at him. And he hit me and knocked
me across the floor and threw a kitchen knife at me. And he finished beating
the tar out of Mom. Shut up and tell me
where the bottle is. I got memories of
him being a good man. But 90% of the time he
seemed like he was drunk. And that's when he was mean. ROBERT STACK: By
1960, the family had only a little happiness
and no real future. ROBERT PEARCE: Well, Mom came
in the house, gave us presents, and said this would
be the last chance she'd get to give it to us. She said that you kids are
you going to have to go away. ROBERT STACK: In
the spring of 1960, the court ruled that Edith
and Top were unfit parents. And in June, social
workers arrived at the Rogers' log cabin. The children were taken away to
the local Pryor Orphanage Home. ROBERT PEARCE: They said they
was going to take us away and we'd never get
to come back again. It didn't really hit us right
then what was happening. It was later on that it
really took effect, you know, that we lost our mom and dad. She didn't even
really have any family. It was just Dad and us kids. There was just nothing
else to live for, except more of the
same that she got from him, a few more beatings. She missed us so bad. I know how that must've
tore her heart out. ROBERT STACK: Six months
later, Edith Rogers committed suicide by swallowing poison. CELIA WANGLER: I
can't say that I would have done the same thing. I just wish she'd have been
strong enough to endure it. But we were all she had. When we were gone,
her life was over. She probably died
before she even died. ROBERT STACK: The children's
father, Top Rogers, had been arrested
in Arkansas, charged with killing a man in a fight. Handcuffed, he was
escorted back to Oklahoma to attend his wife's funeral. Here, for these few sad moments,
the Rogers children have reunited for the last time. We have gathered this
afternoon for the memorial service of Edith Rogers. It has been requested
that we close the service today with singing
the old hymn, "Silent Night." Would you please
join me, please. ALL: (SINGING) Silent
night, holy night. All is calm. ROBERT PEARCE: At the time, I
thought that was a strange song to be singing at a funeral. And it would get
me down every time I'd hear that song afterward. It wasn't a Christmas
carol to me. It was a death song. ALL: (SINGING) --so
tender and mild. Sleep in heavenly peace. Sleep in heavenly peace. Losing your mother
and all your brothers, you might as well have
shot me in the heart. It wouldn't have been
any more painful. ROBERT STACK: After the
service, the children were once again separated. They were subsequently
adopted into six different homes, where they grew
up isolated from each other. 23 years later, Ella Mae, who
is now called Celia Wangler, wrote a letter to the Oklahoma
Department of Human Services. At the same time, Johnny Lee,
whose name is now John Rieger, also contacted the
same authorities. On February 10, 1984, Celia
and John were reunited in a suburb of Oklahoma City. [music playing] Hello. Hi. I brought you something. Thank you. How are you? OK, how are you? CELIA WANGLER (VOICEOVER):
When I met him, it was just a neat feeling. You look good. JOHN RIEGER (VOICEOVER):
We were both lit up like a Christmas tree. CELIA WANGLER
(VOICEOVER): I felt like I'd known him all my life. And that was the strangest part. We sat and visited for hours. And within three weeks
of that, we found Robert. When they told me I'd never
see my brothers and sisters again, I know better than that. Because I knew I loved them
and they was my family. And I was going to find them. And that never left
my mind for 26 years. ROBERT STACK: Robert and John
agreed to meet on a Sunday morning in April
1984, at a gas station only 20 miles from their
childhood home in Locust Grove. ROBERT PEARCE: Well, when
he got out of his pickup, it just seemed like an
empty spot in my heart had been filled. Hello, big brother. Little brother, my foot. You're bigger than I am. - How are you?
- Just fine. How are you? I'm good. I've waited all my life. So have I. ROBERT PEARCE (VOICEOVER):
There was a great love there. They could have sent 10
people to replace John, and I don't think
I'd have felt it. I think I'd have
seen through it. And I can't explain it. That's just the way it was. ROBERT STACK: In
the spring of 1984, a third brother,
Vernon, was found. In April, John and Celia agreed
to meet Robert in Locust Grove where they had all been
born, and try to exorcise the ghosts of their past. It would be the first
time in 24 years that they would be going home. All three had mixed
feelings about the trip. They worry that
seeing the log cabin again would awaken
long buried memories of truly unhappy childhood. CELIA WANGLER: I came to find
answers to the questions of who I am and my past, my roots. JOHN RIEGER: Parents
teach their children to love when they're little,
or they teach them to hate. He taught me to hate. CELIA WANGLER: You pull
up there, you know, like to the log cabin,
and it's like you finally found your roots. And it's like going
home, you know. Ready? Yeah. It doesn't look like
it's been lived in a while. It was something. Well, this is where you
lived when you was a baby. Well, kids, what do you
think of this place? JOHN RIEGER: It's home. It's where we used to live. ROBERT PEARCE: Check it out. You know, when Mom and
Dad adopted me, Dad, he-- he told me that I had,
like, scars on my back and on my legs, and way
more scars than what most normal kids my age should have. We all got a lot of whippings. And they was usually
severe beatings. I didn't have
any physical scars. But they were mental. You know, myself,
I feel we were way better off getting adopted out. I-- I imagine both of y'all
feel the same way, don't you? Yeah. ROBERT PEARCE: Right. ROBERT STACK: Later that day
they went to the cemetery to find their mother's grave. They discovered their father had
also died eight years before. Here it is. I found it over here. [music playing] ROBERT PEARCE: I hated
my father very much. I hated him for at
least 18 solid years. That's what lived in my mind. Some of the things that he
done to me when I was a child, I had full intentions of
going back when I got older, and giving him a
chance to do it again. And the day that I got
to my father's grave, the hate kind of left me. It died. And I wished then that
he was still alive so I could say I was sorry
and maybe he would tell me he was sorry. As much alike as
the three of us are, I tend to believe that the
other two are a lot similar and probably have the same needs
and pains that we went through. And I think finding
the other two brothers, when that day comes, it will be
the climax of the whole story for us, you know. ROBERT STACK: Of the remaining
two untraced brothers, Billie is the youngest
of the six children and was born in 1959. Billie would now
be 30 years old. Joey was born in
1957, and is a brother between Robert and John. He would probably
remember his brothers, and would currently
be 32 years old. The happy ending
to this story to me is when I get a phone call
from my other brothers. That-- that would be the
truly happy ending to have found them. Thanks to our
broadcast, John Rieger's dream of a happy ending
became a reality. The morning after
the story aired, John contacted his
brothers, Joey and Billie, for the first time
in almost 30 years. The Rogers children
immediately made arrangements for a reunion. Joey was five and
Billie just a year old when the family
was separated. On the morning of October
27, 34-year-old Joey, whose adopted name is Rusty
Dunavant, arrived at his sister Celia's home in Oklahoma City. Been waiting a
long time, buddy. ROBERT STACK:
Rusty lives only 36 miles from his brother, John. Amazingly, they
have mutual friends and have even met socially
on a number of occasions. RUSTY DUNAVANT: We've braced
shoulder several times. We've been in several places. We were within speaking
distance of each other. And I've seen him eye to eye. And I-- I never would have
known he is my brother. ROBERT STACK: Later that day,
the youngest of the Rogers children, Billie, whose
name is now Chuck Young, arrived at the airport
and was greeted by his brothers and sister. How are you? ROBERT STACK: Chuck,
who lives in Tennessee, watched our broadcast
and was shocked when he realized that he was
one of the missing brothers. CHUCK YOUNG: At the
end of the show, they put the family
picture together. Well, I-- I seen
me sitting there. And I just got up out
the chair, and I said, that's me, that's me. You know, they're
looking for me. ROBERT STACK: For
the Rogers family, this reunion marks the
beginning of a new chapter in their lives. CELIA WANGLER: I
think what we were all looking for was the
part of our hearts that was torn out years ago. And now, you know, I don't-- I don't hurt anymore because
that part of my heart has been replaced. It-- it's back again. And it feels good. This is a toast to us. And I want you all to
know I love all of you. I love y'all too. Glad to be here today. [theme music] 2/3 of the fugitives profiled
on "Unsolved Mysteries" have been captured because
of vital information received from our viewers. One of those fugitives was John
Mooney, who, eight years ago, escaped from a Georgia
prison, where he was serving a life sentence for murder. In the early morning
hours of August 30, 1977, an Athens, Georgia,
restaurant owner named TK Harty was murdered
while reading in his study at home. The prime suspect in the
case was John Mooney, a rival restaurant owner who had
a long running feud with Harty. Four weeks later, police got
their first break in the case, a local restaurant manager told
him that an Atlanta electrician named Elmo Florence had
bragged that he killed TK Harty and that John Mooney
had paid him to do it. On June 20, 1978, Elmo
Florence was convicted of first degree murder. John Mooney was also convicted
of first degree murder and was sentenced to life in
a maximum security prison. But three months later,
he was transferred to a minimum security facility. On March 16, 1980, he escaped. [music playing] Update, Scottsdale,
Arizona, within minutes of our broadcast, two
viewers called our telecenter to report that John Mooney
was living in this house under the assumed
name, Robert J. Kelly. On August 8, John Mooney,
alias Robert Kelly, was arrested at his
home by the Mesa police. Mooney had been living
in Arizona since 1982. He was enrolled at
Arizona State University. For the past several
years, he had been working as an accountant
for various companies in the Scottsdale area. Mooney married six years ago
and has a one-year-old child. On September 16, 1989, over
nine years after he escaped, John Mooney was
returned to Georgia. [theme music] REPORTER: Outside
the Academy Theater, the atmosphere is electric. Even though I have attended
15 other ceremonies, I never-- ROBERT STACK: April 10, 1967,
the night of the Oscars. Like millions of Americans,
Ralph Probst and his wife, Marlene, settled down in
front of the television to watch the ceremony. Well, we were
watching the Academy Awards on TV that night. And I must have dozed off. And the next thing I knew
there was this loud explosion that woke me up. [bang] I saw this cloud of smoke from
behind the television set. When I went in the
kitchen, Ralph was laying on the kitchen floor. ROBERT STACK: Ralph
Probst had been shot once in the back of the head. By the time Marlene was
able to summon help, her husband was dead. He never regained consciousness. Ralph Probst was a
30-year-old Cook County Illinois Sheriff's officer. In addition to
Marlene, Ralph left behind three small children and
a series of baffling questions that over 23 years
later remain unanswered. Four days after his
murder, Officer Probst was laid to rest. Among the mourners was a
fellow officer, Bob Borowski. On that afternoon, he
made a silent pledge. As I stood beside the casket
and looked down at Ralph, I made a vow to him that
I would find his killer and I would not rest
until I get him. I figured it would
be solved quickly. But it didn't turn out that way. ROBERT STACK: Bob
Borowski is still trying to keep his promise. It is said that there is no
such thing as the perfect crime. But for more than two decades,
the murder of Ralph Probst has come uncomfortably close. Evidence left at the scene
pointed to a carefully planned and premeditated crime. But to date, no motive
has been established. Today, 23 years later, Bob
Borowski carries on the search for his partner's killer. Bob Borowski and Ralph Probst
met for the first time in 1964, shortly after Ralph graduated
from the police academy. OK, gentlemen, let's shape
up your inspection time. ROBERT STACK: The two men were
both assigned to an elite unit called the Tactical Squad. Excellent. ROBERT STACK: Ralph
had originally been a chemical engineer,
but then decided to pursue a career in law enforcement. Looking good. Probst and Borowski, you've
got Stickney township tonight. We had a lot of problems
out there last night. BOB BOROWSKI: Everybody
else in our department looked up to the Tac Unit. We were a very elite unit. We were all spit and polished. And we were a very proud bunch. Ralph was not only a partner,
but he was also a friend. And it was that
sort of relationship you can depend on him, and
he could depend on you. Who's driving again? ROBERT STACK: Ralph soon earned
the reputation as a man who played strictly by the rules. This inflexibility earned him
at least one bitter enemy. A few months before his
death, Ralph and Bob were two of the
officers assigned to guard duty of a notorious
mobster, Sam DeStefano. DeStefano had been
convicted and sentenced on charges of conspiracy,
but had been transferred from prison to a local
hospital after complaining of stomach trouble. We're here to guard you. You two lackeys are
going to guard me? Sam, you can't have
any visitors here. You folks are going to
have to go, come on. - What are you, my doctor?
- Hang up the phone. Come on.
- Call the doctor. Take this with you. Don't steal my apples, copper. Ma'am, you're going
to have to go too. Get your hands off of her. Call my lawyer. What are you doing? You're going to have to eat
the regular hospital food, just like everyone
else in the hospital. Do you know who I am? As a matter of fact, I do. That's why you're here. Now, uh, lie down on the bed. Hey, what are you doing? BOB BOROWSKI: When,
uh, Ralph handcuffed DeStefano to the bed,
he became very irate and threatened to kill him. You better grow eyes
in the back of your head. If you need us,
we'll be outside. Get out! Get out of here! BOB BOROWSKI: We really
didn't take it very serious. We felt that he was
just a big bag of wind, and, uh, just brushed it off. I don't think that the risk
ever entered Ralph's mind. I really don't. I think, to him, it was a job. He enjoyed it. And I don't think
he was ever afraid. I imagine in the back
of anyone's mind, something could happen. But I don't think
he dwelled on it. ROBERT STACK: On the
night of Ralph's death, police were confronted
by an unusual pattern of circumstantial evidence. It appeared as if
Ralph had been shot through the kitchen window. OK, now secure the house. Make sure nobody gets
in who doesn't belong. I don't care who it is. ROBERT STACK: Police
canvassed the neighborhood looking for witnesses. Though the killer was allegedly
standing outside the house, nobody saw the gunman. But a few people
did hear a shot. We want a good, clear
shot of this ricochet mark. ROBERT STACK: The
bullet that killed Ralph had ricocheted
off a kitchen cabinet and then fallen onto the stove. This bullet had been
fired from a rare 41 caliber Magnum, a
gun that had only recently been manufactured. Keep your eyes and
ears working as what's going out on the street. See if there's any talk. Contact all your informants. ROBERT STACK: Though
there were only 2,000 of these guns in
the United States, police were unable to
locate the murder weapon. And in spite of a huge
manhunt, there were no suspects and no other leads. OK, we don't have a
motive on this one yet. It could be some nut who just
doesn't like police officers. So when you're out
there, be very careful. ROBERT STACK: One likely
suspect, Sam DeStefano, was immediately cleared of
complicity in the murder. There were no other suspects,
save one, Ralph's wife, Marlene. I know from the beginning
of the investigation, I think what puzzled
everybody is how I had seen smoke inside the house. But if the gunman
had been outside, there wouldn't have
been smoke inside. And yet when I woke up,
that's the first thing I saw, was this
small cloud of smoke coming up from, like in the
back of my television set. ROBERT STACK: This telltale
puff of smoke led police to suspect that
the shot had been fired from inside the house. In addition, glass
was found in the yard, not on the kitchen floor. When you have a
murder investigation, one of the first places you
start with is with the family. And it's just normal, unless you
have immediate evidence to lead you away from the family. Are you set inside? Yeah. ROBERT STACK: The
investigators conducted an experiment to see if
Marlene was telling the truth. First, they fired
from 15 feet away. There was no smoke and
the glass fell inside. But then they fired 2
inches away from the window. JERRY HARMON: There it was, the
puff of smoke inside the house. That was back all over me. I never seen anything like that. JERRY HARMON: We found the glass
came out back onto the shooter and fell to the ground. And we had a puff of
smoke inside the house. From that point on, we knew that
Marlene was telling the truth. We determined that
the shooter would have to have been 5 foot
11 or taller in order for that projectile
to follow the path to where it struck Ralph. To strike the center
of the back of the head where the entry point was,
took one terrific shot. He could have been a
professional hit man. And he could always have been
a law enforcement person. ROBERT STACK: There was another
baffling facet to this case. How was the killer able to
know that Ralph would be standing by the kitchen window? MARLENE PROBST: If anyone
had been watching the house, they wouldn't have been able
to know even what room we were sitting in unless
they were standing by that kitchen window. There was no other
window in our house that they could have seen
through but the kitchen window. Every other window was covered. My-- my theory on Ralph's
murder is that somebody knew Ralph was
going to be in that position at that certain time. There was too much
light in the driveway. And that person
did not stay there and wait for hours for Ralph to
get in that certain position. Whoever did it, knew Ralph was
going to be there at that time. And that person was
there at that time. It wasn't somebody that
was laying for him. Ralph was set up to
be in that position. I believe that possibly he was
going to receive a phone call or he was going to
make a phone call. We have information that prior
to, uh, coming home and-- and watching TV with his
wife, that Ralph went to a gas station and made a phone call. That could have been where
he received information that he was going to
receive a phone call or to make a phone call. Therefore, put him in that
position by the window at that certain time. Hi, it's Ralph. The biggest question,
I think, in my mind is why he was killed. Who did it and why? I can remember a
conversation with Ralph where, uh, he made a statement
that, I'm working on something, and, uh, when I solve it they're
going to make me a sergeant. You're going to be sergeant? I'm telling you I'm
going to make sergeant. BOB BOROWSKI: And of course
my reaction was, yeah, sure, Ralph, OK, you know, and they're
going to make me the president of the United States. And it was just laughed off. And he said no more on it. And apparently he was serious. You're going to
be sergeant, huh? ROBERT STACK: Borowski believes
that Ralph may have been working on his own,
secretly, in order to bring down a vice ring. Support for this theory
came when it was discovered that several days
before his death, Ralph had been seen at the home
of ex-convict, Frank Calvise. Ralph had spoken with
Calvise's wife, and then left. Come on in.
I'll show you around. I think you'll like it. ROBERT STACK: One week before
the murder, a man closely resembling Calvise, paid a
visit to a house for sale across the street
from Ralph's home. As they toured the
house, the visitor asked if the floor plan
was similar to the Probst residence. It was. And we just put
in new cabinets. Mm-hmm. Hey, I just was wondering, uh,
do all the houses on his block have the same floor plan? Most of the
houses in this area were built about
the same time, yeah. Mm-hmm. ROBERT STACK: However
after identifying Calvise in a police lineup,
the neighbor changed his story. Some believe he was frightened
into retracting his testimony. Not bad. Not bad. I'll be in touch. He stated to one
of the investigators, you realize that if they shot
Ralph Probst across the street, they wouldn't hesitate
to kill me too. So that left a set of a
dead end on Frank Calvise. That house over there, is
that the same, uh, as yours? ROBERT STACK: Frank
Calvise died in 1974. No charges were ever filed in
connection with Ralph's death. BOB BOROWSKI: Ralph
had information on something,
whether it be vice, pornography, fencing operation. And whoever killed
him, knew that he was going to talk about it. And they killed him
before he could. ROBERT STACK: Immediately
after Ralph Probst's murder, 30 officers were assigned
to the investigation. Today, only two Cook County
officers are on the case. Bob Borowski works on his own. BOB BOROWSKI: At this
time, I am unofficially still working on the case. And whoever did it, I've been
making them awful nervous because he knows that I'm
not giving up, that somehow, some way, somebody is
going to say something and he's going to get caught. So somewhere somebody
is awful nervous. And I'm going to
keep him that way. [theme music] Next week on
"Unsolved Mysteries." For over 100 years, the
inhabitants of Marfa, Texas, have seen bizarre lights
hovering over the desert sands. Science can offer
little explanation as to what they might be. But local legend has given
them the name, ghost lights. Join me next week
for another edition of "Unsolved Mysteries." [theme music]
