# 4 True Crime Mysteries That Baffle Experts

An episode of [Lazy Chill True Crime](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1815534472), 9 Dec 2025, 45 min.

Audio: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/APO9553492327.mp3

Join me for a discussion of 4 true crim mysteries that baffle experts. 👇 Youtube links: Lazy Chill True Crime Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8dVJtzeHcJgd_Z0bHrJTHQ Lazy Chill History Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LazyChillHistory Lazy Chill Zone Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LazyChillZone 👇 Support My Work: 🛍️ Merch: https://lazy-chill-zone-shop.fourthwall.com ❤️ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lazychillzone 👇Social Media Links: https://www.instagram.com/lazychillzone/ 👇 Podcast links: ⚡History Video Podcast on Spotify⚡: https://open.spotify.com/show/7km5pLWpYWEj1mrPpEfRUr?si=0FHYnZf-Qs2FY1GyLevfig ⚡True Crime Podcast on Spotify⚡: https://open.spotify.com/show/0klIz08pAr7wR4we0Ia4sk?si=68qZxCeAQkysXzMZrHE0Iw 🍏 True Crime Podcast on Apple 🍎: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lazy-chill-true-crime/id1815534472 true crime, cold cases, unsolved mysteries, missing persons, murder investigation, forensic evidence, serial killers, crime scene analysis, dark history, criminal psychology, real life horror, police investigations, DNA breakthroughs, forensic genealogy, crime documentaries, criminal profiling, mysterious disappearances, solved cases, justice system, law enforcement stories, cold case files, creepy mysteries, true crime storytelling, crime reconstruction, chilling cases, investigative reporting, modern forensics, victim advocacy, unidentified remains, crime scene forensics, disturbing cases, true crime analysis, hidden clues, infamous crimes, real crime stories

## Transcript

[0:00] Hey everyone, it's Jimmy here thanking you for listening and
[0:02] remember if you want the full experience you can check out my
[0:05] YouTube channels Lazy Chill Zone and Lazy Chill True Crime.
[0:10] Also don't forget to take a moment to rate my podcast and
[0:14] also click that follow button so you get notifications when I
[0:17] drop new content. On a quiet Sunday morning, 69
[0:21] year old doctor Emmett Velton invited a man he barely knew
[0:24] into his home. Hours later, Velton lay fatally
[0:29] injured in the hallway of his Phoenix, AZ condominium, and the
[0:33] stranger had vanished with his car.
[0:35] The entire encounter from their arrival to the suspect's exit,
[0:40] was captured on surveillance video, yet this vicious attack
[0:44] remains unsolved. It's a chilling case, likely of
[0:48] goodwill turn tragic, and it continues to baffle
[0:51] investigators and haunt the community.
[0:56] Emmett Velton was a respected psychologist known for his work
[0:59] in cognitive behavioral therapy and addiction recovery.
[1:03] Originally from Tennessee, he had made Phoenix his home for
[1:07] the last 11 years of his life. On April 24th, 2011, Easter
[1:13] Sunday morning, Velton crossed paths with a young homeless man
[1:17] in downtown Phoenix. Around 8:10 that morning,
[1:22] security cameras at Velton's high rise condo recorded him
[1:26] entering the building with the unknown young man by his side.
[1:31] The footage later retrieved by detectives showed Velton and the
[1:35] man walking together from the parking area where Velton's
[1:38] Toyota Rav 4 was parked into the lobby.
[1:43] Tragically, this encounter would soon turn very violent.
[1:47] Roughly 3 hours later, Belton was discovered collapsed in a
[1:51] hallway near the elevator, suffering from a severe head
[1:54] injury. It appeared he had been beaten
[1:57] and left for dead. By the time help arrived, the
[2:00] young man was gone, along with Belton's car, which had been
[2:04] driven away from the scene. Belton was rushed to the
[2:08] hospital and despite initially clinging to life long enough to
[2:12] speak to officers, he succumbed to his injuries on May 3rd,
[2:16] 2011. Phoenix police launched an
[2:22] intensive investigation into Doctor Velton's slaying.
[2:26] From the very start, they had more evidence than many other
[2:28] cases, giving hope that a quick arrest could be made.
[2:33] Within hours, detectives hit evidentiary pay dirt.
[2:37] A prime suspect was clearly visible on camera accompanying
[2:40] Velton on the morning of the crime.
[2:43] Investigators obtained multiple angles of surveillance footage
[2:46] capturing the suspect's face and build as he walked with Velton
[2:49] into the building. In addition, the crime scene
[2:53] yielded a critical forensic clue.
[2:56] The perpetrator had stepped in Velton's blood and left behind a
[3:00] clean, bloody footprint in the apartment.
[3:04] This bloody shoe print was carefully lifted by crime scene
[3:07] technicians preserved as key evidence.
[3:12] Velton himself provided A crucial lead Before losing
[3:15] consciousness, he described his attacker as a young white male
[3:19] and revealed that he had picked the man up from a homeless
[3:22] shelter downtown. Using that information and the
[3:26] video images, police circulated a description of the suspect to
[3:30] the public and local shelters. Unfortunately, the description
[3:35] wasn't overly specific, describing him as being of both
[3:39] average height and weight and weight.
[3:42] The suspect was last seen on video calmly leaving the
[3:45] building and driving off in Velton's Toyota Rav 4,
[3:49] presumably right after the attack.
[3:52] Velton's vehicle was later found abandoned in another part of
[3:55] town soon after. Despite this abundance of
[4:00] evidence, identifying the perpetrator proved challenging.
[4:04] Investigators had no name to match the blurry face on the
[4:07] video, and initial efforts to recognize him were fruitless.
[4:12] Police showed the footage and description around the shelter
[4:15] and other local agencies, but no one could identify the young
[4:18] man, suggesting he might have just been passing through.
[4:22] Physical evidence, while helpful, didn't directly point
[4:26] to a known individual. The bloody shoe print revealed
[4:30] the tread pattern and likely shoe size, but without a suspect
[4:34] to compare, it remained just an intriguing clue.
[4:38] As mentioned, the cops recovered Velton's car and presumably
[4:42] fully processed it. It may have contained
[4:45] fingerprints or DNA, but if so, the details were never released
[4:49] publicly, which isn't unusual given this is an active and
[4:54] ongoing investigation. Several theories as to why this
[5:00] unknown attacker targeted Dr. Velton have emerged in this
[5:03] case, none of which have been verified.
[5:06] The leading theory is that Velton was the victim of a
[5:08] robbery gone wrong. Being generous and trusting, he
[5:12] gave a ride to a young man who then attacked him, possibly
[5:16] intending to steal valuables or the car.
[5:19] The fact that the suspect fled in the victim's vehicle and that
[5:23] Velton's wallet and other items were reportedly left untouched
[5:27] suggests the car may have been the primary target in this
[5:31] scenario. The slaying may not have been
[5:33] premeditated. It could have occurred because
[5:36] Velton resisted, or the assailant saw an opportunity and
[5:40] turned violent impulsively. Notably, Dr. Velton was known to
[5:46] the local homeless population as someone who was charitable and
[5:49] kind. It may be the case that this
[5:52] reputation worked its way to the wrong person, who saw Doctor
[5:56] Velton as an easy mark. Given the ease with which the
[6:00] attacker functioned after committing A horrific crime,
[6:03] some have speculated that this wasn't his first rodeo.
[6:09] Another theory, which has been discussed online but isn't
[6:12] substantiated with any actual evidence, is the theory that
[6:15] Doctor Velton may have tried to hook up with the homeless man.
[6:19] Doctor Velton was openly gay, which appears to have led to
[6:23] this theory gaining significant traction.
[6:26] However, despite the popularity of this theory, there's some
[6:29] major problems with it. Police canvassed the homeless
[6:33] population extensively, and there's no evidence that Doctor
[6:36] Velton had been engaged in such activities previously.
[6:42] It seems unlikely that a 69 year old man would wake up one day
[6:47] and decide to start cruising around the local homeless
[6:49] shelters. If this had been his thing, it
[6:53] seems likely that people would have mentioned it when the
[6:55] police came sniffing around. Further, Doctor Velton was able
[7:00] to give some evidence before he perished, and presumably he
[7:04] would have mentioned this to investigators.
[7:09] Further, the cops fully investigated Dr. Velton's
[7:12] history and interviewed his closest friends.
[7:15] According to news reports, They couldn't explicitly say that he
[7:18] never engaged in such behavior, but no one ever reported that he
[7:22] did. A number of theories exist about
[7:26] the assailant, too. Investigators believe the
[7:29] perpetrator may not have been a local Phoenix resident at all.
[7:33] Since no one at the shelter or in the local homeless community
[7:36] recognized him. It's theorized he was a
[7:39] transient drifter passing through the city.
[7:43] He might have arrived in Phoenix shortly before Easter 2011 and
[7:47] left immediately after the crime.
[7:51] Another theory suggests that he perhaps was known by people who
[7:54] attended local homeless shelters, but that his
[7:57] reputation forced people into silence.
[8:00] Given the extreme act he committed against Doctor Velton,
[8:03] this doesn't seem to be an inherently unreasonable idea.
[8:09] Another line of speculation is that the suspect could have been
[8:12] mentally unstable or under the influence of St.
[8:15] Pharmaceuticals, leading to a sudden violent outburst.
[8:19] Perhaps the attacker wasn't primarily motivated by theft,
[8:23] but by an imagined provocation. For instance, Dr. Velton may
[8:28] have said something that triggered the attacker, even if
[8:32] it was completely benign. However, given the suspect's
[8:37] apparent composure on video, calmly walking in and later
[8:41] driving away, many believe greed was the motive more than rage.
[8:46] The theft of the car indicates a clear intent to gain from the
[8:49] crime rather than an unplanned scuffle gone wrong.
[8:54] However, on the flip side, it appears that he simply abandoned
[8:57] the vehicle, so perhaps this was just his way of getting as far
[9:01] from the scene as fast as possible before the crime was
[9:04] discovered. That said, his rapid flight from
[9:08] the crime scene and his forethought to abandon the
[9:11] vehicle before an all points bulletin went out for it
[9:14] suggests this was a man who was thinking ahead.
[9:19] As of today, the case of Emmett Belton remains unsolved, with
[9:23] little to no progress having been made in the last decade and
[9:27] a half. Whether this case is ever solved
[9:30] or not will likely depend on whether the cops were able to
[9:33] get DNA evidence from the scene. If there was biological evidence
[9:38] found from the perpetrator, it seems to be only a matter of
[9:41] time before forensic science catches up with him.
[9:46] On a late summer day in 1986, a farmer tending his cornfield in
[9:51] rural Illinois made a gruesome discovery.
[9:55] Amid the rustling stalks just outside the tiny village of
[9:58] Summerfield, he stumbled upon the body of a young woman.
[10:03] She had been strangled with a piece of her own clothing.
[10:06] And the brutality didn't end there.
[10:09] The perpetrator had savagely slashed and mutilated her pelvic
[10:12] area in what appeared to be a disturbed ritualistic attack.
[10:17] Small boot prints, the kind left by a relatively petite Western
[10:22] style boot, dotted the soil around the body as if the
[10:27] attacker had paced around after disposing of his victim.
[10:31] There were also odd personal items scattered nearby,
[10:35] including articles of clothing, a set of silverware, and even a
[10:39] salt and pepper shaker. This suggested that the perp had
[10:43] dumped out the contents of a travel bag.
[10:46] There were no obvious defensive wounds on the victim, suggesting
[10:50] she may have been taken by surprise or rendered helpless
[10:54] almost immediately. This was a crime of disturbing
[10:59] savagery, the kind that leaves even seasoned investigators
[11:02] shaken. And yet, in those first hours,
[11:06] this horrifying scene posed more questions than answers.
[11:11] Who was this young woman, and who could have done such a
[11:13] disturbing act? She carried no identification,
[11:19] and no one immediately came forward to claim her.
[11:22] With her name a mystery, police in Saint Clair County dubbed her
[11:27] the Summerfield Jane Doe, after the nearest town to the
[11:30] cornfield where she was found. An autopsy would later determine
[11:35] she was likely in her 20s and had been killed only a day or
[11:38] less before being found. In the days and weeks following
[11:44] the discovery, local newspapers circulated composite sketches of
[11:48] the unknown woman's face and descriptions of her distinctive
[11:52] features. She was small in stature with
[11:55] brown hair and a few unique scars, details that
[11:59] investigators painstakingly noted in case they matched any
[12:03] missing persons reports. Police canvassed the region and
[12:07] checked bulletins for missing young women, but the victim
[12:10] didn't fit neatly into any report.
[12:13] It was as if she had simply been travelling through and vanished
[12:16] without anyone knowing. With no identification, this
[12:20] brutal slaying case went cold far too quickly.
[12:25] In 2007 / 2 decades after the event, Saint Clair County
[12:30] authorities undertook the exhumation of the Summerfield
[12:33] Jane Doe's remains. The goal was twofold, to apply
[12:38] modern forensic techniques, including DNA analysis, and to
[12:42] capture new forensic anthropology data that might aid
[12:46] identification. During this process, a critical
[12:50] discovery was made, one that finally cracked the mystery of
[12:54] her identity. Investigators realized that a
[12:58] mistake had been made back in 1986 when the victim's
[13:02] fingerprints were originally cataloged using improved
[13:06] fingerprint databases, including the FB is Advanced National
[13:10] System. The team resubmitted her prints.
[13:13] This time, they got a hit. The Summerfield Jane Doe was
[13:17] actually Eulalia Chavez. The revelation of Chavez's
[13:24] identity in 2007 brought to light a poignant back story.
[13:29] Eulalia Chavez had lived a life that could easily place her in
[13:32] harm's way, which sadly may explain how she crossed paths
[13:36] with a disturbed individual. Born in 1959, Chavez spent her
[13:42] early years in Costa Rica before being adopted along with her
[13:46] brother by an American family in Palo Alto, CA.
[13:50] By her mid teens, she was struggling to adjust and began
[13:54] running away from home frequently.
[13:57] In 1975, around age 16, Eulalia left home for what would be the
[14:03] final time, effectively disappearing from her adoptive
[14:06] family's day-to-day life. Over the next decade, she lived
[14:11] a transient, free spirited lifestyle on the road.
[14:16] Family members later reported that she hitchhiked back and
[14:19] forth across the country, often following rock bands and chasing
[14:23] the next concert or adventure. In fact, investigators learned
[14:27] that around the time of her death, Chavez may have been in
[14:30] the Midwest to attend a music event in the Saint Louis area.
[14:35] There were even rumors that she was a Grateful Dead fan
[14:37] travelling from show to show this detail.
[14:40] That, if true, put her squarely in a subculture of Wanderers and
[14:45] hitchhikers in the 1980s, some of whom sadly fell victim to
[14:49] violence on the road. Chavez also had a young daughter
[14:53] during these years, a child she had entrusted to others care
[14:57] while she roamed. Tragically, by 1986, Eulalia's
[15:04] family had not seen her in years.
[15:07] That hope was extinguished with the cold certainty of the
[15:09] fingerprint match. In 2007, after 21 years of not
[15:14] knowing, Eulalia Chavez's loved ones learned her fate.
[15:19] She was the nameless woman brutally slain in that Illinois
[15:22] cornfield so long ago. Identifying Eulalia Chavez was a
[15:28] huge breakthrough for law enforcement.
[15:30] It not only gave the victim her dignity and name back, but it
[15:34] also breathed new life into the investigation to find the
[15:37] perpetrator. Investigators reopened the case
[15:41] with renewed determination. They now had a starting point.
[15:45] Chavez's background and travels could yield clues about whom she
[15:49] was with or where she was. In early September 1986.
[15:57] One major theory that gained traction was that Eulalia Chavez
[16:01] had fallen victim to a serial predator prowling the Midwest in
[16:04] the 1980s. Many investigators eyes
[16:08] eventually fell squarely on Larry Hall, a man who combined
[16:12] his love of travelling for historical reenactments with a
[16:15] penchant of predation. Hall is an infamous figure, a
[16:20] convicted kidnapper and serial offender from Indiana who is
[16:25] strongly suspected of slaying numerous women across several
[16:29] states during the 1980s. By the time Chavez was
[16:33] identified in 2007, Hall was already behind bars, serving a
[16:38] life sentence in a federal prison for the 1993 slaying.
[16:42] His known crime involved luring a young victim into his vehicle
[16:46] and strangling her, dumping her body in a remote area, an MO not
[16:51] unlike what happened to Chavez. Over the years, Hall had also
[16:55] been linked to or confessed to dozens of other crimes, though
[16:59] he often later recanted those admissions.
[17:05] Astonishingly, in 2008, Hall wrote a letter to ATV Reporter
[17:09] in which he explicitly claimed responsibility for slaying
[17:12] Eulalia Chavez. In that letter, Hall allegedly
[17:16] described how he picked up a female hitchhiker in the exact
[17:20] area around the same time and ended her in brutal fashion.
[17:25] Such a confession, if true, would directly solve the case.
[17:30] However, Hall's credibility was dubious.
[17:33] He had a history of both confessing to crimes and then
[17:36] disavowing those statements. Later, detectives went to
[17:40] interview Hall in prison as part of a revamped investigation and
[17:44] even obtained ADNA sample directly from him.
[17:48] They hoped science might succeed where his slippery words did
[17:52] not. The forensic comparison was
[17:55] conducted between Hall's DNA and whatever genetic material could
[17:59] be recovered from Chavez's remains or clothing.
[18:02] The test didn't yield A definitive match due to the
[18:05] degraded nature of the biological material.
[18:08] This was not an exoneration of Hall, but it stopped short of
[18:12] the conclusive evidence investigators wanted.
[18:16] It's unclear at this point if this degraded DNA has been
[18:19] submitted for further analysis in light of significant updates
[18:23] in forensic DNA tech in the intervening period.
[18:29] Other well known perpetrators have also been considered, but
[18:32] as yet, no one else has attracted the same level of
[18:34] attention as Hall. Nearly 40 years have passed
[18:40] since Eulalia Chavez was slain and her case remains officially
[18:44] unsolved. However, it is anything but
[18:47] inactive and cold case detectives and FBI agents
[18:50] continue to collaborate in the search for definitive evidence
[18:54] that could close this case for good.
[18:57] Notably, in May 2025, the FBI released a special Vicap
[19:02] bulletin seeking information on the case.
[19:05] This indicates that the FBI likely has significant evidence
[19:08] to suggest that the individual who participated in the attack
[19:12] was a serial offender. On May 31st, 1995, at 10:45 in
[19:19] the evening, a young dark haired woman walked into the lobby of
[19:22] Oslo's prestigious Plaza Hotel. She checked in under the name
[19:26] Jennifer Fairgate, claiming to be 21 and from Belgium.
[19:31] The receptionist noted her confident, elegant demeanour and
[19:35] overlooked protocol by not requesting a passport or credit
[19:38] card. Jennifer was dressed in stylish
[19:41] black clothing and carried only a small travel bag.
[19:45] She mentioned a companion named Lois Fairgate, but this person
[19:49] never showed up. With no identification or
[19:52] payment on file, the woman proceeded to Room 28 O 5 and was
[19:57] effectively anonymous. The Plaza Hotel, one of the
[20:01] tallest and most luxurious in Norway, often catered to
[20:05] diplomats and other VIPs. In this grand yet impersonal
[20:10] setting, an unsettling mystery was about to unfold on the 28th
[20:15] floor. Jennifer Fairgate kept to
[20:18] herself. Staff recalled that she spoke
[20:21] English and German with no noticeable accent, but they
[20:24] reported that she seemed reclusive and they barely saw
[20:27] her. She ordered room service tipping
[20:31] generously in cash and otherwise hung a Do Not Disturb sign on
[20:35] her door. Over the next two days, she
[20:38] remained practically invisible to everyone around her.
[20:44] On the night of June 2nd, a room service attendant delivered
[20:48] dinner to the mystery Woman's room.
[20:50] Jennifer accepted her meal with a polite nod and left a generous
[20:53] tip. There was no hint that she was
[20:56] in any distress whatsoever. Little did the hotel staff know
[21:00] that this was the last time anyone would see this woman
[21:03] alive. By the evening of June 3rd, the
[21:07] hotel grew worried about the unpaid bill for the room.
[21:11] A staff member was sent to contact Jennifer but got no
[21:14] response and saw the Do Not Disturb sign still on the door.
[21:18] A security guard arrived around 7:50 PM and knocked firmly,
[21:23] announcing himself. He was met with a sudden,
[21:26] muffled shot from inside the room.
[21:29] The guard was startled and hurried to fetch the head of
[21:31] security. During that time, he left the
[21:34] room unattended for about 15 minutes, a crucial period of
[21:38] time that will later factor into why this is such a bizarre
[21:41] mystery. When they managed to open the
[21:45] door, they found Jennifer Fairgate slumped on the bed with
[21:49] a single shot to her forehead. She held a warm weapon loosely
[21:54] in her hand, and the room's door had been double locked from the
[21:57] inside. It appeared at first that she
[22:00] had done it herself, but later forensic results would question
[22:04] whether this was actually the case.
[22:07] That said, by the time the room was unlocked, no other person
[22:11] was present and the scene was eerily quiet.
[22:17] Detectives scoured the room for evidence of the woman's identity
[22:20] and what had happened, but they found almost nothing.
[22:24] No passport, no wallet, no keys or personal papers were in the
[22:29] room. The woman had brought very few
[22:31] belongings, and those she did bring offered no clues.
[22:36] All the labels had been meticulously cut out of her
[22:38] clothes, denying police any hint of where her garments came from.
[22:43] The bathroom held no toiletries, not even a toothbrush, makeup or
[22:48] hair brush. The only items of note were the
[22:51] weapon and a black briefcase filled with ammo.
[22:54] Hotel phone records later showed she had attempted to dial 2
[22:58] international numbers, both in Belgium, during her stay, but
[23:02] those calls were to non existent lines.
[23:06] The weapon found in her hand had its serial number partially
[23:09] filed off, making it untraceable.
[23:13] Every sign pointed to a deliberate effort to erase any
[23:16] trail of who this supposed Jennifer Fairgate really was.
[23:22] Standard forensic tests turned up few meaningful leads.
[23:26] The woman's fingerprints and DNA were collected and circulated
[23:30] via Interpol, but no matches were found in any criminal or
[23:34] missing person database. It was confirmed that the name
[23:37] and address she provided were false.
[23:40] For example, the Belgian address she had given didn't exist.
[23:45] There was no evidence that any Lois or other companion had ever
[23:49] been in the room. Only her fingerprints were
[23:52] found. The autopsy revealed that the
[23:55] fatal blast was fired with the weapon pressed against her head.
[23:59] Curiously, lab tests found no gunshot residue on her hands, an
[24:04] unusual result if she had fired the weapon herself.
[24:08] No alcohol was detected in her blood, and while other
[24:12] toxicology screening was limited, there was no sign of
[24:15] common substances. In fact, the coroner noted that
[24:19] her stomach contents suggested she had died many hours before
[24:23] the security guard ever knocked, a baffling discrepancy in the
[24:27] timeline. She appeared to be in her mid
[24:30] 20s and stood around 5/2 with short dark hair and blue eyes.
[24:36] She had expensive dental work, indicating what was likely at
[24:39] least a middle class upbringing in a place with high quality
[24:42] dentistry. Given all the facts, the
[24:47] Norwegian authorities thought that she would be identified
[24:50] rapidly. Despite international alerts and
[24:53] widespread media coverage, no family or friend ever came
[24:57] forward to identify her. Norwegian newspapers dubbed her
[25:01] the Plaza Hotel Woman, the mysterious guest who died alone
[25:05] in a high rise hotel. After months of investigation,
[25:10] the police had no suspects and not even a real name for the
[25:14] victim. In 1996, authorities reluctantly
[25:19] ruled the death a probable self deletion and closed the case,
[25:25] though they publicly stated they couldn't be entirely sure due to
[25:29] the forensic oddities. In line with routine procedure
[25:33] for those sorts of cases in Norway, much of the physical
[25:36] evidence was eventually destroyed after the case closed,
[25:40] making future re examination impossible.
[25:43] The unknown woman was quietly buried in Oslo under a simple
[25:47] gravestone, her identity still a mystery.
[25:53] Over the years, several theories have been proposed to explain
[25:57] Jennifer Fairgate's fate and who she was in life.
[26:01] Some speculate that Jennifer might have gone to extreme
[26:03] lengths to die anonymously, traveling under an alias and
[26:08] removing personal traces so no loved ones would be notified.
[26:12] However, no note was found, and it's highly unusual for a young
[26:17] person planning such a thing to obtain an untraceable weapon,
[26:21] especially in Europe where this isn't so easy to do.
[26:25] Further, the lack of residue on her hands was viewed as very
[26:29] unusual by investigators. These oddities make the theory
[26:33] that she did it herself far from straightforward, even if it's
[26:37] the theory preferred by investigators.
[26:42] Another theory is that she was slain and the scene was staged.
[26:47] In this scenario, an unknown perpetrator, perhaps the
[26:51] mysterious Lois or someone she met, could have been let into
[26:54] the room, ended her, and then slipped out before security
[26:58] returned. The missing residue and the
[27:01] untraceable weapon lend credence to this idea.
[27:05] As the guard left to get help, the door was unwatched for about
[27:09] 15 minutes, a window in which the perpetrator might have
[27:13] escaped unseen. In this scenario, there were
[27:17] also no signs of forced entry, suggesting Jennifer likely
[27:21] opened the door for the individual.
[27:24] Notably, security cameras weren't ubiquitous at the time,
[27:28] making the hallway essentially unmonitored.
[27:31] Yet no clear evidence of any other person was ever found,
[27:35] making the theory difficult to prove.
[27:40] The most intriguing speculation is that Jennifer Fairgate was
[27:43] involved in espionage. Everything about her clandestine
[27:47] stay, the false identity, lack of personal items and choice of
[27:52] a hotel frequented by VIPs fits the profile of an intelligence
[27:57] operative. Some experts noted that her
[28:00] methods of maintaining anonymity resembled classic techniques
[28:04] taught to spies. Perhaps she was on a secret
[28:08] mission and was eliminated because of what she knew.
[28:12] Under this theory, her death could have been part of a covert
[28:15] operation. This would also potentially
[28:18] explain why she spoke English and German at a native level and
[28:22] without any discernible accent. It would also explain why no one
[28:26] ever claimed her body. If she was a spy, any agency she
[28:31] worked for would deny knowledge of her.
[28:34] Further, her family may have been informed that she had
[28:37] fallen in the line of duty and to not seek or respond to any
[28:41] further questioning on the matter.
[28:45] Decades later, the true identity of the woman known as Jennifer
[28:48] Fairgate, the Oslo Plaza woman, and the exact circumstances of
[28:53] her death remain unsolved. The case stayed mostly dormant
[28:57] until a Norwegian investigative journalist pushed for her body
[29:01] to be exhumed in 2016 for fresh forensic analysis.
[29:07] Isotope tests on her teeth and advanced DNA profiling suggested
[29:12] she likely spent her early life in Central Europe, possibly
[29:15] Germany, and was a few years older than the age she had
[29:19] given. Even so, her DNA hasn't matched
[29:23] any known individual in any international database.
[29:27] Like many cases such as this, the most obvious next step would
[29:31] be to conduct genetic genealogy testing and try to reconstruct
[29:35] her family tree. However, if the espionage theory
[29:39] is true, it may explain why this hasn't happened yet.
[29:47] In September 19, 8750, year old Dale Kerstetter vanished from
[29:51] his job during an overnight shift at the Corning Glass Works
[29:54] plant in Bradford, PA. On that very same night, more
[29:59] than a quarter $1,000,000 worth of platinum disappeared from the
[30:02] facility. And yes, if you're a long time
[30:05] viewer, you know that I have a keen interest in both heists and
[30:09] missing persons cases, so I couldn't pass this one up.
[30:13] Kerstetter was a veteran maintenance man and security
[30:16] guard with 27 years experience at the Corning plant.
[30:20] He was scheduled to work his usual night shift on Saturday,
[30:23] September 12th, 1987. By the next morning, he was gone
[30:28] without a trace, leaving behind personal belongings and a
[30:32] mystery that endures to this day.
[30:35] Investigators and family alike have grappled with the question,
[30:39] was Dale Kerstetter an unsuspecting victim of a robbery
[30:43] or a willing participant in an elaborate theft?
[30:48] Dale was a trusted employee, described as an ordinary well
[30:51] liked man devoted to his large family.
[30:55] Sometime during the night, approximately $250,000 worth of
[31:00] platinum pipe used in the glass manufacturing process went
[31:04] missing from the Plants furnace area, along with Kerstetter
[31:08] himself. When the next security guard,
[31:11] John Lindquist, showed up at 7:00 AM on Sunday to relieve
[31:14] Dale, he immediately sensed something was wrong.
[31:19] Kerstetter was nowhere to be found.
[31:20] At his post in the Plants cafeteria, Lindquist discovered
[31:25] Dale's lunch pail sitting on a table alongside his newspaper in
[31:29] Keys. This was an alarming sign, as it
[31:33] appeared Dale had left in the middle of his shift without even
[31:37] consuming the dinner he brought. Later that morning, security
[31:42] staff located Kerstetter's pickup truck still in the plant
[31:46] parking lot, yielding more puzzling clues.
[31:50] The truck's keys were still in the ignition, and inside the
[31:54] vehicle investigators found a full carton of cigarettes,
[31:58] Dale's food, and an empty holster for his weapon, which
[32:03] itself was missing. There were no indications of
[32:06] forced entry at the plant or signs of a struggle at the
[32:09] scene. These early clues suggested that
[32:13] whatever happened, it occurred suddenly and likely not at
[32:17] Kerstetter's own initiative. For example, Dale was a heavy
[32:22] smoker, so leaving behind an entire carton of cigarettes was
[32:26] highly unusual if he had intended to leave voluntarily.
[32:31] Plant procedures also called for the lone night guard to check in
[32:34] by phone with the company's headquarters every hour.
[32:38] However, it was later discovered that Dale never made any hourly
[32:41] check in calls after starting his shift.
[32:45] Unfortunately, a new employee in the remote monitoring office
[32:48] wasn't familiar with this protocol, so Kerstetter's missed
[32:52] check ins went unnoticed in real time.
[32:56] Once Kerstetter's disappearance was recognized, plant officials
[32:59] and authorities quickly launched a search of the sprawling
[33:02] facility and surrounding area. And when I say sprawling here,
[33:06] I'm not exaggerating. The facility itself is over
[33:10] 100,000 square feet, and the property it's on is even larger.
[33:16] Fearing that the missing guard might have been injured or
[33:19] fallen I'll on the job, AK 9 unit was brought in to track his
[33:24] scent through the building. The Bloodhounds traced Dale's
[33:28] trail along his normal patrol route at first, then LED
[33:31] officers to the second floor area housing the plants glass
[33:35] furnace where the valuable platinum was kept.
[33:39] This location wasn't part of Kerstetter's usual rounds,
[33:43] raising a red flag that something drew him there during
[33:46] the night. Upon inspecting the furnace,
[33:50] managers discovered that several pieces of platinum lining had
[33:53] been cut out and removed, confirming that a major theft
[33:57] had occurred. Despite an extensive search of
[34:00] the building, no sign of Cursed Etter was found inside, and a
[34:04] sweep of the surrounding woods and a nearby Creek also turned
[34:08] up nothing. By later that day, the McKean
[34:12] County Sheriff's Office and Pennsylvania State Police were
[34:14] treating the incident as both a missing person case and a high
[34:17] value burglary. A breakthrough in the early
[34:21] investigation came when officials reviewed the plant
[34:24] security camera footage about four days after the incident.
[34:29] Corning Personnel Manager Patrick Foley scrutinized
[34:32] recordings from three surveillance cameras that
[34:34] monitored the facility. Also, keep Foley's name in mind
[34:39] for later because he's going to come up again in a bit and
[34:42] depending on how you see this case, you'll either love or hate
[34:46] him. What Foley saw was startling and
[34:49] completely changed the nature of the case and the investigation.
[34:53] At approximately 10:40 PM, only minutes after Kierstetter
[34:58] started his shift, the footage showed a masked intruder walking
[35:02] through the back area of the plant.
[35:05] At around 10:45 PM, the cameras captured A brief encounter
[35:09] between Dale and this masked person in a corridor.
[35:13] Kerstetter could be seen walking up to the intruder and
[35:16] apparently engaging in a short conversation.
[35:19] The two then move together out of frame.
[35:22] Moments later, the intruder is seen walking through the plant
[35:25] alone, without Kerstetter. The next significant footage
[35:30] comes around midnight when the intruder appears on camera in
[35:34] the furnace area on the 2nd floor, precisely where the
[35:37] platinum was stored. The video shows the intruder in
[35:41] that area and later shows him Wheeling out a large, heavy bag
[35:45] through the building. Investigators speculated that
[35:49] the bag likely contained the stolen platinum, or possibly
[35:52] even Kerstetter himself. Notably, during the brief
[35:56] corridor encounter on the tape, as Kerstetter and the masked man
[36:00] we're leaving the 2nd floor area together.
[36:03] Dale glances up directly into one of the security cameras.
[36:07] This peculiar moment would become a focal point of debate.
[36:12] Was Dale subtly looking into the camera to signal for help?
[36:16] Or was he acknowledging the camera, Jim from The Office
[36:19] style because he knew what was about to happen?
[36:22] Authorities at the time couldn't determine if Kerstetter's
[36:25] behavior indicated duress or complicity.
[36:29] The surveillance evidence made one thing clear.
[36:32] The unidentified intruder was able to navigate the plant with
[36:36] confidence. The individual knew exactly
[36:39] where to find the platinum, how to access the furnace even in
[36:43] the dark, and where equipment like carts or bags were located.
[36:48] This strongly suggested that someone familiar with the
[36:51] facility, perhaps a current or former employee, was involved in
[36:55] the heist. Notably, while the authorities
[36:59] have been uncertain about whether Dale was involved, the
[37:02] company he worked for for 27 years of his life literally
[37:06] immediately threw him under the bus.
[37:09] Patrick Foley, the plant manager I mentioned previously, went on
[37:13] the record saying that Dale was a common thief taking their
[37:16] platinum. Also, as a complete aside, I
[37:20] hope Mr. Foley's words inspire someone to take this as a sign
[37:24] to follow their own dreams. By way of reminder, Dale gave 27
[37:29] years of service to Corning Glass Works, yet this was the
[37:33] thanks he got at the end of the day, where there was a
[37:35] significant likelihood that he was slain in the line of duty.
[37:39] Dale's family vehemently rejected the notion that Dale
[37:43] was a platinum thief. From the beginning, family
[37:46] members described Kerstetter as a devoted father of six who
[37:50] would never willingly abandoned his children and grandchildren
[37:53] without any word. In the months and years
[37:56] following the disappearance, the case remained A stubborn
[38:00] mystery. Law enforcement conducted
[38:03] numerous interviews and background checks.
[38:06] It came to light that Kerstetter had been under financial strain.
[38:10] He'd recently taken a pay cut of several $1000 and was reportedly
[38:14] $40,000 behind on various loan and bill payments.
[38:19] This information gave weight to a possible motive if he had
[38:22] engineered the theft. Investigators also noted that no
[38:26] trace of the missing Platinum or Dale himself surfaced in the
[38:29] aftermath. The platinum, a highly valuable
[38:33] commodity, could have been melted down or sold on a black
[38:36] market, making it hard to trace. Meanwhile, despite occasional
[38:41] tips, police never identified the masked culprit seen on the
[38:45] tape. The uncertainty of Kerstetter's
[38:47] fate created legal and personal dilemmas for his family.
[38:52] In 1993, years after he vanished, Dale's daughter Wendy
[38:56] petitioned the court to have her father declared legally dead.
[39:00] She was hoping to bring some closure and possibly claim life
[39:03] insurance and his pension benefits.
[39:07] Corning Glass Works fought this petition, contending that Dale
[39:11] could still be alive and may have been a participant in the
[39:13] crime. During the hearing, the
[39:16] company's lawyer argued there was no conclusive evidence that
[39:19] Kerstetter had met with foul play.
[39:22] The Pennsylvania Superior Court agreed that the evidence of
[39:25] Dale's demise was too vague and denied the petition in December
[39:30] 1990. As a result, Kerstetter remained
[39:34] legally a missing person, and Corning withheld his pension and
[39:37] insurance payouts from his family.
[39:40] Over the years, several theories have emerged to explain what
[39:44] might have happened to Dale Kerstetter.
[39:47] The core question is whether Kerstetter was an unwilling
[39:50] victim of foul play or whether he was a willing participant in
[39:54] the theft who disappeared by choice.
[39:57] Within these broad possibilities are variations, including the
[40:02] idea that he could have been involved in the crime but
[40:05] ultimately double crossed and harmed by accomplices.
[40:09] Each theory has its own evidence and arguments, with strengths
[40:13] and weaknesses supported by the known facts.
[40:16] One prominent theory is that Dale Kerstetter was the victim
[40:20] of foul play. Meaning he encountered intruders
[40:24] during a robbery and was forcibly taken and slain.
[40:29] In this scenario, criminals, possibly one or more people,
[40:33] broke into the plant to steal the platinum and neutralize the
[40:37] security guard as an obstacle. Supporting evidence for this
[40:41] theory centers on indications that Kirstetter didn't leave on
[40:45] his own terms. The scene left behind at the
[40:48] plant strongly suggests an abrupt interruption.
[40:52] Investigators found no signs of a struggle at the guard station,
[40:57] but it's possible that the confrontation was quick,
[41:00] explaining the lack of obvious violence on the premises.
[41:04] After all, the thieves would have had strong motivation to be
[41:08] as silent as possible. The fact that his weapon was
[41:11] missing from its holster implies he might have armed himself when
[41:15] facing a threat or that the intruder took his weapon from
[41:19] him on the security tape. Kerstetter's behavior could be
[41:23] interpreted as that of a man under duress.
[41:27] The other main line of speculation is that Kerstetter
[41:30] was involved in the crime. In this view, the incident was
[41:34] an inside job and the masked intruder could have been an
[41:38] accomplice or Co conspirator rather than an unknown
[41:41] assailant. Proponents of this theory
[41:44] emphasized Kerstetter's possible motive and the inside knowledge
[41:48] required to carry out the theft. Investigators uncovered that
[41:52] Dale was under significant financial pressure, including
[41:56] 10s of thousands of dollars in debt and a recent pay cut at
[42:00] work. Some have suggested that this
[42:03] pay cut after 27 years alongside his mounting debt could have
[42:08] forced a good loyal worker to turn bad.
[42:12] While the inside job theory is plausible, there are significant
[42:16] challenges and counter arguments that cast doubt on Kerstetter's
[42:19] willing complicity. The most major point is Dale's
[42:24] abrupt and total disappearance. Even if he initially escaped,
[42:29] can we believe that for decades he never contacted any of his
[42:32] loved ones or resurfaced? However, supporters of the
[42:36] theory that he was in on it speculate that Dale was double
[42:40] crossed by his Co conspirator. In assessing the competing
[42:44] theories, it's important to note that none of them have been
[42:47] proven. Simply put, this is a case with
[42:50] an abundance of strange evidence but little definitive proof.
[42:54] Personally, I have significant difficulty believing that a
[42:57] family man who worked for a company for 27 years would throw
[43:01] it all away for a platinum heist.
[43:04] I wasn't able to find the value of his pension in my research.
[43:08] That said, I suspect that the value of his pension after 27
[43:12] years work was likely worth more than the platinum he allegedly
[43:16] stole. However, to put things in
[43:19] perspective, the company fought tooth and nail to deny his heirs
[43:23] any rights to the pension, and last I checked, lawyers aren't
[43:27] free. This is doubly true considering
[43:30] he would have at least had to split it 5050 with his
[43:32] accomplice, assuming there was only one.
[43:36] Further yet, I suspect Dale Kerstetter may not have had
[43:41] ready access to a fence. Given that he clearly wasn't
[43:44] living a life of crime, he would have had to have taken a massive
[43:48] hit on the exchange of the illicit platinum.
[43:51] In my view, the numbers just don't really add up, and I'd
[43:55] like to propose a theory I haven't run into so far.
[43:59] Dale was known to be the only person who worked security at
[44:02] the plant where the platinum was kept.
[44:05] It would have been extremely easy for a perpetrator to follow
[44:08] him back to his house, snap a few pictures and then confront
[44:12] him at a different location. At this point, he would have
[44:16] been given an offer he couldn't refuse.
[44:19] And we know from his family that he was a loving family man with
[44:23] six kids plus grandkids. I think he could have been
[44:28] forced to do the whole thing. And that last look at the
[44:30] security camera was a knowing goodbye.
[44:34] I admit this is purely speculation, but in my view it
[44:38] fits better with the evidence than him willingly throwing away
[44:41] significant pension based wealth for this heist.
[44:45] Anyway, I've gone on way too long about Dale Kerstetter's
[44:48] case, but I find his case endlessly fascinating.

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