WEBVTT 1 00:00:29.519 --> 00:00:33.439 Welcome back to the Path with Chili. I'm Robin, I'm Jules. 2 00:00:33.759 --> 00:00:37.119 And I'm Ashley. Let's dive right into this week's case. 3 00:00:38.719 --> 00:00:44.240 April twenty second, nineteen eighty five, Benita Park, Missouri, twenty 4 00:00:44.280 --> 00:00:47.039 seven year old wife and mother Linda Sherman does not 5 00:00:47.079 --> 00:00:50.159 show up for work, and her abandoned car is soon 6 00:00:50.200 --> 00:00:54.640 discovered in an airport parking garage. Since Linda had recently 7 00:00:54.640 --> 00:00:58.399 filed for divorce from her controlling husband, Don Sherman, he 8 00:00:58.479 --> 00:01:03.479 is suspected of being responsible for her disappearance. Five years later, 9 00:01:03.600 --> 00:01:07.000 a skull is found outside Don's favorite restaurant, and after 10 00:01:07.040 --> 00:01:10.359 it's kept in an evidence room for fourteen months, least 11 00:01:10.400 --> 00:01:14.280 receive an anonymous note confirming that the skull belongs to Linda. 12 00:01:15.200 --> 00:01:18.280 Don maintains his innocence and the rest of Linda's remains 13 00:01:18.280 --> 00:01:19.079 are never found. 14 00:01:20.680 --> 00:01:24.280 After that, the Path went Chile. So we've got a 15 00:01:24.319 --> 00:01:27.640 pretty bizarre case to cover today, the nineteen eighty five 16 00:01:27.680 --> 00:01:31.920 disappearance and death of Linda Sherman. This story was featured 17 00:01:31.959 --> 00:01:34.159 in one of the later seasons of Unsolved Mysteries, and 18 00:01:34.319 --> 00:01:37.439 needless to say, that show had no shortage of cases 19 00:01:37.480 --> 00:01:40.640 where a woman went missing under suspicious circumstances, and the 20 00:01:40.680 --> 00:01:44.359 finger was pointed directly at her spouse. In this particular case, 21 00:01:44.599 --> 00:01:47.879 Linda Sherman had been trapped in an unhappy, tumultuous marriage 22 00:01:47.879 --> 00:01:51.280 with her controlling husband, Don Sherman, so when Linda vanished 23 00:01:51.280 --> 00:01:54.120 without a trace shortly after she filed for divorce, it 24 00:01:54.200 --> 00:01:57.359 wasn't too surprising that Don became the subject of suspicion. 25 00:01:57.760 --> 00:01:59.959 But this story is a little different from the norm. 26 00:02:00.799 --> 00:02:03.840 Five years after Linda went missing, a skull was discovered 27 00:02:03.840 --> 00:02:07.359 outside of a strange husband's favorite restaurant and was eventually 28 00:02:07.400 --> 00:02:11.000 identified as belonging to her. To this day, the rest 29 00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:13.560 of Linda's remains have never been found, and no one 30 00:02:13.599 --> 00:02:16.159 knows who is responsible for placing her skull in a 31 00:02:16.159 --> 00:02:19.719 public place or why they did it. There is definitely 32 00:02:19.759 --> 00:02:22.520 good reason to be suspicious of Don Sherman, but if 33 00:02:22.560 --> 00:02:25.280 he was guilty, you have to wonder what would motivate 34 00:02:25.360 --> 00:02:27.560 him to take the huge risk of digging up his 35 00:02:27.599 --> 00:02:30.840 wife's skull five years after he murdered her and turning 36 00:02:30.840 --> 00:02:34.199 the case into such a public spectacle. This would mean 37 00:02:34.199 --> 00:02:37.879 that Don is either incredibly brazen or completely innocent, or 38 00:02:37.919 --> 00:02:40.360 perhaps there was someone else involved in this crime that 39 00:02:40.400 --> 00:02:43.240 we don't even know about, So we're going to explore 40 00:02:43.280 --> 00:02:46.080 all the different possible scenarios on today's episode. 41 00:02:47.039 --> 00:02:49.199 Okay, that is exactly what I was thinking when you 42 00:02:49.240 --> 00:02:52.319 guys started describing this case. You have a skull that 43 00:02:52.400 --> 00:02:56.159 turns up in front of the estranged husband's favorite restaurant. 44 00:02:56.520 --> 00:02:59.800 To me, that just says, look at me, right, I 45 00:03:00.120 --> 00:03:02.400 killed my wife and I put her skull in front 46 00:03:02.439 --> 00:03:06.319 of my favorite restaurant, which makes zero sense because it's 47 00:03:06.360 --> 00:03:09.199 calling attention to Don. In my mind, when you were 48 00:03:09.199 --> 00:03:11.439 describing the case, I went, who hates Don enough to 49 00:03:11.520 --> 00:03:13.759 frame him for this case? That's what really comes to 50 00:03:13.840 --> 00:03:14.960 mind when I think about it. 51 00:03:15.800 --> 00:03:18.000 Yeah, as we're going to talk about Don, Sherman is 52 00:03:18.039 --> 00:03:20.199 definitely not a good husband. It does not seem like 53 00:03:20.240 --> 00:03:22.800 a nice guy. So it isn't out of the ordinary 54 00:03:23.039 --> 00:03:26.039 and unbelievable to think that he probably murdered his wife. 55 00:03:26.080 --> 00:03:28.520 But you do have to wonder he had nothing to 56 00:03:28.560 --> 00:03:31.439 gain by digging up his wife's skull after it essentially 57 00:03:31.560 --> 00:03:33.879 gotten away with it and just leaving it out in 58 00:03:33.879 --> 00:03:36.919 a public place and turning this case like it back 59 00:03:36.960 --> 00:03:39.680 into the spot like five years after the fact, so 60 00:03:39.879 --> 00:03:42.240 as you can imagine, there's a lot more ambiguity in 61 00:03:42.280 --> 00:03:45.360 this case than your average story about missing spouses who 62 00:03:45.400 --> 00:03:49.280 were getting out of abusive relationships, because you have to wonder, 63 00:03:49.400 --> 00:03:51.759 even if Don is guilty, is there someone else who 64 00:03:51.840 --> 00:03:53.879 knew that he killed his wife and was just trying 65 00:03:53.919 --> 00:03:56.439 to toy with them. They are just so many possibilities. 66 00:03:56.719 --> 00:03:59.520 Or he's an extreme narcissist. I suppose that wanted the 67 00:03:59.560 --> 00:04:02.319 attention and wants to be in the limelight, or wants 68 00:04:02.360 --> 00:04:04.680 his wife's case to be in the limelight, and is 69 00:04:04.719 --> 00:04:06.759 really kind of cocky that he got away with it. 70 00:04:06.919 --> 00:04:10.039 And there's that potential too, but it just seems very bizarre. 71 00:04:10.840 --> 00:04:13.199 Maybe it's like a double bluff where he plants it 72 00:04:13.240 --> 00:04:15.000 there and he's like, well, then they're going to think 73 00:04:15.039 --> 00:04:17.560 that someone is framing me, because why would I be 74 00:04:17.600 --> 00:04:21.120 stupid enough to put the skull outside of my favorite restaurant? 75 00:04:21.120 --> 00:04:23.439 And then he becomes a victim and gets all the attention. 76 00:04:24.839 --> 00:04:29.000 Our story begins in nineteen eighty five in Benita Park, Missouri, 77 00:04:29.160 --> 00:04:32.399 a suburb of Saint Louis. Our central figure is twenty 78 00:04:32.439 --> 00:04:35.519 seven year old Linda Sherman, who's married to her husband, 79 00:04:35.560 --> 00:04:37.920 Don Sherman, and they have a nine year old daughter 80 00:04:38.000 --> 00:04:41.680 named Patty. The couple were high school sweethearts when Linda 81 00:04:41.720 --> 00:04:44.920 became pregnant, so they decided to get married in February 82 00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:47.959 of nineteen seventy five, when they were both only seventeen 83 00:04:48.040 --> 00:04:51.360 years old at the time, Linda was a junior and 84 00:04:51.439 --> 00:04:54.240 Don was a senior, and they moved into a rented 85 00:04:54.279 --> 00:04:58.040 house located next door to Linda's parents. Linda gave birth 86 00:04:58.079 --> 00:05:00.959 to Patty in August of that year, but was determined 87 00:05:01.000 --> 00:05:03.480 to complete her senior year of high school while her 88 00:05:03.480 --> 00:05:06.360 mother helped her take care of her newborn baby. By 89 00:05:06.399 --> 00:05:09.079 this point, Donn had graduated, so he took a job 90 00:05:09.120 --> 00:05:12.079 as an assistant manager at a gas station in order 91 00:05:12.120 --> 00:05:14.519 to support his new wife and child, but the marriage 92 00:05:14.519 --> 00:05:17.639 would be fraught with turmoil. The couple often had money 93 00:05:17.720 --> 00:05:20.639 problems and were usually forced to work opposite shifts of 94 00:05:20.720 --> 00:05:24.879 their jobs. Don eventually started working in a machine shop 95 00:05:24.959 --> 00:05:27.639 while Linda got a night job doing data entry at 96 00:05:27.680 --> 00:05:31.680 the US Government Record Center in Saint Louis. Don was 97 00:05:31.720 --> 00:05:34.839 known for being jealous and possessive and having a violent temper, 98 00:05:35.519 --> 00:05:38.040 and he would often get angry whenever he saw Linda 99 00:05:38.120 --> 00:05:42.720 talking to other guys, including her own brothers. Over the 100 00:05:42.759 --> 00:05:45.839 course of the next ten years, Linda would take Patty 101 00:05:45.920 --> 00:05:49.240 and move out multiple times, even going so far as 102 00:05:49.319 --> 00:05:52.199 to file for divorce from Dawn in nineteen seventy seven, 103 00:05:52.879 --> 00:05:55.480 but Linda never followed through with her divorce, and by 104 00:05:55.480 --> 00:05:58.920 the nineteen eighties she'd reconciled with Down and the family 105 00:05:58.959 --> 00:06:02.240 moved into a new home in Beanita Park. However, the 106 00:06:02.319 --> 00:06:05.600 marriage became even more troubled when Linda became pregnant for 107 00:06:05.639 --> 00:06:09.720 the second time and suffered in miscarriage. She also experienced 108 00:06:09.759 --> 00:06:13.160 some epileptic seizures, which ultimately made her decide not to 109 00:06:13.199 --> 00:06:17.040 have any more children. In nineteen eighty two, Linda and 110 00:06:17.079 --> 00:06:20.240 Patty moved out again and filed an order of protection 111 00:06:20.360 --> 00:06:23.439 against Don, claiming that he had tambered with her car 112 00:06:23.480 --> 00:06:26.560 and even threatened to murder suicide in which he would 113 00:06:26.639 --> 00:06:30.480 kill himself, his wife, and their daughter. Don did admit 114 00:06:30.519 --> 00:06:33.639 to having disabled Linda's car on one occasion in order 115 00:06:33.720 --> 00:06:36.839 to prevent it from being driven, but deny that he 116 00:06:36.879 --> 00:06:40.319 had any intention of harming her. While Linda's order of 117 00:06:40.319 --> 00:06:44.360 protection was granted, she eventually reconciled with Don again and 118 00:06:44.480 --> 00:06:45.480 moved back in with him. 119 00:06:46.519 --> 00:06:49.279 This is a really tough situation, and it's so difficult 120 00:06:49.279 --> 00:06:51.560 for people to wrap their minds around. If you're in 121 00:06:51.639 --> 00:06:55.720 a troubled abusive marriage, get out. That's just not how 122 00:06:55.759 --> 00:07:00.839 it works psychologically, financially, emotionally. They say it takes somebody 123 00:07:00.879 --> 00:07:04.040 seven or eight times to leave an abusive relationship and 124 00:07:04.079 --> 00:07:07.600 actually be successful in leaving. And even then, once you 125 00:07:07.639 --> 00:07:10.600 successfully leave, a lot of times people will eventually go 126 00:07:10.759 --> 00:07:13.879 back thinking that their spouse has changed or is you're 127 00:07:13.879 --> 00:07:15.959 going to be a better person. And I think that 128 00:07:16.079 --> 00:07:18.319 gets so complicated when you have a child at the 129 00:07:18.360 --> 00:07:20.399 center of it, because as much as you want to 130 00:07:20.399 --> 00:07:23.920 protect the child, you also, especially back in the seventies, 131 00:07:24.240 --> 00:07:27.879 we're told that you need the mom and dad together, 132 00:07:28.120 --> 00:07:31.279 that a complete home is healthier for a child than 133 00:07:31.279 --> 00:07:34.399 a broken home, And so there's just a lot of 134 00:07:34.439 --> 00:07:37.720 complicated issues that go in here. Both seem to be 135 00:07:37.759 --> 00:07:40.959 working really hard, but it seems like no matter how 136 00:07:40.959 --> 00:07:44.839 hard they're working to get, you know, financially stable, it's 137 00:07:44.959 --> 00:07:48.800 not good enough to get the emotional and psychological part 138 00:07:48.839 --> 00:07:51.319 of their marriage in a healthy place. I feel so 139 00:07:51.480 --> 00:07:55.079 bad for Linda and Patty. You know, Don clearly has 140 00:07:55.079 --> 00:07:58.199 his own issues and is a sick individual who needs help. 141 00:07:58.639 --> 00:08:00.480 But back in the seventies it was kind of like 142 00:08:00.800 --> 00:08:03.279 look away. In the eighties, right, look away. If there's 143 00:08:03.279 --> 00:08:06.519 domestic violence going on, that's a family issue, not a 144 00:08:06.560 --> 00:08:09.279 public issue that needs to be handled. And I wish 145 00:08:09.360 --> 00:08:12.720 it had been. I wish there was more access to resources. 146 00:08:13.160 --> 00:08:15.519 I wish there was more conversation at the time where 147 00:08:15.560 --> 00:08:18.959 Linda and Patty could have gotten some help, and maybe 148 00:08:19.000 --> 00:08:20.240 Don could have gotten help too. 149 00:08:21.120 --> 00:08:24.360 It's so complex given the time period, because there can 150 00:08:24.399 --> 00:08:27.000 be societal pressure to work it out. There could be 151 00:08:27.040 --> 00:08:31.199 people around her, around Linda that are saying, hey, you know, 152 00:08:31.480 --> 00:08:33.919 maybe he's changed, or work it out. You should for 153 00:08:33.960 --> 00:08:36.519 your family. You want Patty to have a present father. 154 00:08:37.000 --> 00:08:40.519 And it becomes such a difficult situation when your self 155 00:08:40.519 --> 00:08:43.120 confidence and your sense of self work can be so 156 00:08:43.279 --> 00:08:47.679 eroded when you're in an abusive relationship. So Linda found 157 00:08:47.679 --> 00:08:51.320 the wherewithal to leave, but then when she's on her own, 158 00:08:51.480 --> 00:08:55.480 it might have just been this idea that I don't know, 159 00:08:55.480 --> 00:08:58.039 if I can do this myself, it's easier to just 160 00:08:58.399 --> 00:09:01.600 go back together and maybe he was pressuring her, maybe 161 00:09:01.639 --> 00:09:06.039 he wasn't, but it's just so difficult, and it becomes 162 00:09:06.480 --> 00:09:09.000 a situation where so many people can simplify it when 163 00:09:09.000 --> 00:09:11.519 it's victims of abuse, saying well, why didn't they just leave? 164 00:09:11.559 --> 00:09:13.200 But there reasons are manyfold. 165 00:09:14.080 --> 00:09:16.440 Oh yeah, and it probably didn't help that Linda was 166 00:09:16.559 --> 00:09:19.559 married and pregnant by the time she was seventeen, and 167 00:09:19.600 --> 00:09:22.320 I'm not sure if she had any other serious boyfriends 168 00:09:22.360 --> 00:09:25.360 before she hooked up with Don, So this has pretty 169 00:09:25.399 --> 00:09:27.639 much been her whole life, being married to this guy 170 00:09:27.720 --> 00:09:30.120 and not being alone. So it was probably just a 171 00:09:30.159 --> 00:09:32.759 big adjustment trying to leave him and trying to ask 172 00:09:32.799 --> 00:09:36.000 for a divorce, and maybe she just decided that it 173 00:09:36.080 --> 00:09:37.720 was too much for her and she couldn't handle it 174 00:09:37.759 --> 00:09:40.559 and went back to down just hoping that things would 175 00:09:40.639 --> 00:09:44.320 change and work out, but unfortunately they never did. By 176 00:09:44.360 --> 00:09:46.919 the time nineteen eighty five rolled around, Linda told her 177 00:09:46.919 --> 00:09:49.080 family she had finally made the decision to end the 178 00:09:49.120 --> 00:09:52.480 marriage for good. She officially filed for divorce on April 179 00:09:52.480 --> 00:09:54.799 of the eleventh, and had all of her mail, including 180 00:09:54.799 --> 00:09:57.559 her paychecks, forwarded to the home of her sister and 181 00:09:57.679 --> 00:10:00.759 brother in law, Fran and Sam Miller. Since it would 182 00:10:00.759 --> 00:10:03.759 be weeks before Don was served with divorce papers, Linda 183 00:10:03.799 --> 00:10:06.159 decided to remain living in their house with him, but 184 00:10:06.200 --> 00:10:09.440 planned to take Patty and move out soon. At two 185 00:10:09.559 --> 00:10:13.159 sixteen am on Monday, April to twenty second, Linda signed 186 00:10:13.200 --> 00:10:15.679 out after her night shift ended at the US Government 187 00:10:15.720 --> 00:10:19.360 Record Center. According to Don, Linda did not arrive home 188 00:10:19.440 --> 00:10:22.000 until around three o'clock, and they proceeded to get into 189 00:10:22.039 --> 00:10:25.159 another argument as Don demanded to know where Linda had 190 00:10:25.159 --> 00:10:28.159 been and why she was late. Don would claim that 191 00:10:28.200 --> 00:10:30.559 Linda had developed a habit of not coming home from 192 00:10:30.600 --> 00:10:33.200 work on multiple occasions, and there were times when he 193 00:10:33.240 --> 00:10:35.679 would call the house from work and discover Linda was 194 00:10:35.720 --> 00:10:39.279 not there. At the time, Don suspected that Linda was 195 00:10:39.320 --> 00:10:41.840 having an affair with a male co worker, as one 196 00:10:41.879 --> 00:10:44.559 of the truck drivers from his workplace had recently seen 197 00:10:44.600 --> 00:10:48.000 them together. After the couple's argument came to an end, 198 00:10:48.240 --> 00:10:50.279 Don said that he finally went to bed at around 199 00:10:50.279 --> 00:10:52.679 four a m. While Linda fell asleep on the couch. 200 00:10:53.519 --> 00:10:56.279 A few hours later, Patty woke up, and even though 201 00:10:56.279 --> 00:10:58.799 her mother was the one who generally drove her to school, 202 00:10:59.120 --> 00:11:02.679 Don would do so On this particular morning, Patty claimed 203 00:11:02.679 --> 00:11:04.840 that as she was leading the house, she saw Linda 204 00:11:04.919 --> 00:11:07.879 lying on the couch with her back turned. Patty did 205 00:11:07.879 --> 00:11:10.639 not recall seeing any movements from Linda, who did not 206 00:11:10.720 --> 00:11:13.879 even get up to say goodbye to her, which seemed uncharacteristic, 207 00:11:14.480 --> 00:11:16.639 and when Patty left the house, this would turn out 208 00:11:16.679 --> 00:11:18.759 to be the last time she ever saw her mother. 209 00:11:19.159 --> 00:11:21.440 Poor baby, and she was nine years old at the time. 210 00:11:22.240 --> 00:11:22.960 Yeah, that's correct. 211 00:11:23.159 --> 00:11:26.440 Yeah, so she's mature enough to know, like, wait, the routine, 212 00:11:26.480 --> 00:11:29.080 no matter, Like right now, I'm not sleeping, So sometimes 213 00:11:29.120 --> 00:11:30.759 I'll go and I'll sleep on the couch or fall 214 00:11:30.799 --> 00:11:33.240 asleep on the couch. But if they're in there making 215 00:11:33.279 --> 00:11:36.559 breakfast or making their lunch for school or whatever, I'm like, 216 00:11:36.639 --> 00:11:39.440 good morning. You know, I love you guys. So that's 217 00:11:39.440 --> 00:11:43.399 probably what Patty's referring to is that usually my mom 218 00:11:43.399 --> 00:11:45.360 would at least acknowledge me and loved on me for 219 00:11:45.399 --> 00:11:48.519 a second, or hugging goodbye for school, or tell me 220 00:11:48.559 --> 00:11:50.559 to have a good day. In fact, mom was the 221 00:11:50.559 --> 00:11:53.240 one that traditionally took her to school. That don wasn't 222 00:11:53.320 --> 00:11:57.559 doing that, So for Patty, she recognized that's quite odd, 223 00:11:57.799 --> 00:12:00.159 but at nine, just said, well, I guess mom, you 224 00:12:00.320 --> 00:12:02.759 asleep on the couch and she goes to school and 225 00:12:02.799 --> 00:12:05.799 that's the last time she even sees her mom. It's 226 00:12:05.960 --> 00:12:10.080 eerie to wonder was she already deceased and just lying 227 00:12:10.120 --> 00:12:12.720 there and turned a certain way so that Patty couldn't 228 00:12:12.759 --> 00:12:13.399 see her face. 229 00:12:14.559 --> 00:12:16.639 Yeah, Patty never thought that at the time, but as 230 00:12:16.639 --> 00:12:18.600 we're going to talk about, when she got older, she 231 00:12:18.679 --> 00:12:21.200 started thinking that her mom might have already been dead 232 00:12:21.240 --> 00:12:24.679 at that point, and that Don was frantically getting out 233 00:12:24.679 --> 00:12:26.679 of the house just so to get her to school 234 00:12:26.679 --> 00:12:28.440 so that he could dispose of her body at a 235 00:12:28.519 --> 00:12:31.240 later time. We're still not one hundred percent sure if 236 00:12:31.240 --> 00:12:34.200 that's exactly what happened. It does seem pretty brazen for 237 00:12:34.279 --> 00:12:36.879 Don to leave his wife's body on the couch. Well, 238 00:12:36.919 --> 00:12:39.600 his daughter is still at home, but who knows. Maybe 239 00:12:40.159 --> 00:12:42.519 he had to think in a panic or something and 240 00:12:42.600 --> 00:12:45.120 was trying to formulate a plan. But if she was 241 00:12:45.120 --> 00:12:47.120 already dead at that point, that is pretty eerie that 242 00:12:47.200 --> 00:12:49.120 a nine year old would be subjected to that. 243 00:12:50.440 --> 00:12:53.000 Don would claim that he returned home at six pm 244 00:12:53.080 --> 00:12:55.960 that night and was surprised to discover that Linda was 245 00:12:56.000 --> 00:12:58.720 still there, He said that she was in a frantic 246 00:12:58.840 --> 00:13:01.360 mood because she was running late for work, and quickly 247 00:13:01.440 --> 00:13:04.879 drove away. However, Linda never showed up for her shift, 248 00:13:05.320 --> 00:13:07.279 did not call her employer to let them know that 249 00:13:07.320 --> 00:13:10.039 she wasn't going to be there, and never returned home. 250 00:13:10.879 --> 00:13:13.480 At first, Don was not fearful of Linda's safety, as 251 00:13:13.480 --> 00:13:16.399 he suspected that she was having an affair and figured 252 00:13:16.440 --> 00:13:19.200 she may have run off with another man. Don would 253 00:13:19.279 --> 00:13:21.919 later say that he believed an overnight bag and some 254 00:13:21.960 --> 00:13:26.360 of Linda's personal items appeared to be missing from their house. However, 255 00:13:26.399 --> 00:13:29.240 when Fred and Sam Miller were unable to reach Linda 256 00:13:29.639 --> 00:13:31.519 and learned that she had not shown up for work, 257 00:13:31.840 --> 00:13:36.240 they immediately became concerned. They did not believe Don's story 258 00:13:36.320 --> 00:13:39.200 about Linda running off with another man because they could 259 00:13:39.279 --> 00:13:43.759 not imagine Linda abandoning her daughter. In the past, whenever 260 00:13:43.840 --> 00:13:47.159 Linda separated from Don and moved out, she always took 261 00:13:47.200 --> 00:13:50.759 Patty with her. The Millers demanded that Don go into 262 00:13:50.799 --> 00:13:53.840 the police and file a missing person's report, and he 263 00:13:53.960 --> 00:13:57.279 finally did so on April twenty fourth, two days after 264 00:13:57.360 --> 00:14:00.919 she was last seen. Fred and Sam again performing their 265 00:14:01.000 --> 00:14:04.240 own search for Linda, and on a hunch, they decided 266 00:14:04.279 --> 00:14:07.879 to check out Saint Louis Lambert International Airport on April 267 00:14:07.919 --> 00:14:12.159 twenty sixth. After pulling into the short term parking garage, 268 00:14:12.200 --> 00:14:16.120 they were surprised to discover Linda's yellow nineteen seventy one 269 00:14:16.200 --> 00:14:20.120 Volkswagen in one of the spaces. The car was locked, 270 00:14:20.120 --> 00:14:23.039 but some of Linda's possessions, including her hat and her 271 00:14:23.080 --> 00:14:25.840 school books from a computer class she was taking, could 272 00:14:25.879 --> 00:14:30.759 be seen inside. The Miller's immediately contacted the airport police, 273 00:14:31.200 --> 00:14:33.960 who noticed that the car's trunk was unlocked and decided 274 00:14:33.960 --> 00:14:37.600 to open it. While Friend and Sam experienced a brief 275 00:14:37.639 --> 00:14:40.320 moment of fear that Linda's body might be inside the trunk, 276 00:14:40.720 --> 00:14:43.840 it turned out to be empty. The airport kept track 277 00:14:43.919 --> 00:14:45.799 of all the cars which were parked in the short 278 00:14:45.879 --> 00:14:49.679 term garage longer than twenty four hours, and since Linda's 279 00:14:49.720 --> 00:14:53.360 Volkswagen was first noted on April twenty fourth, that meant 280 00:14:53.360 --> 00:14:55.879 it was likely left in the garage sometime on the 281 00:14:55.919 --> 00:14:59.240 twenty third or earlier. However, there was no listing for 282 00:14:59.240 --> 00:15:01.440 a Linda's Sherman, not any of the flights which a 283 00:15:01.559 --> 00:15:05.000 part of the airport during this time period. Once again, 284 00:15:05.120 --> 00:15:07.600 Linda's family did not believe that she would have flown 285 00:15:07.639 --> 00:15:10.919 off somewhere and abandoned Patty, so they suspected that her 286 00:15:10.960 --> 00:15:12.639 car was planted in the garage. 287 00:15:13.679 --> 00:15:15.919 I think when you look at this case, and you 288 00:15:16.039 --> 00:15:19.960 have Linda who's being abused by Down and kind of 289 00:15:20.200 --> 00:15:23.799 questioned by him all the time, she's being controlled by him. 290 00:15:23.919 --> 00:15:27.159 She's being scrutinized everywhere she is, for every minute she's 291 00:15:27.200 --> 00:15:30.320 not at the house, and you do see that pattern 292 00:15:30.360 --> 00:15:32.440 where she says, I'm done, I'm going to take my 293 00:15:32.559 --> 00:15:35.159 daughter and have a better life. Could there be a 294 00:15:35.159 --> 00:15:37.039 situation where she said, I'm going to just try it 295 00:15:37.120 --> 00:15:38.879 on my own and see if I can get somewhere 296 00:15:38.879 --> 00:15:42.320 and be stable and then go get Patty. It's possible, 297 00:15:42.480 --> 00:15:46.120 but I don't see it being likely given herm And 298 00:15:46.240 --> 00:15:49.120 you've got to remember that Patty's nine years old, so 299 00:15:49.159 --> 00:15:51.039 it's not like this little infant that she's like, I 300 00:15:51.080 --> 00:15:52.600 can go back and get her and she won't remember 301 00:15:52.679 --> 00:15:55.360 or anything like that. I just don't see Linda leaving 302 00:15:55.440 --> 00:15:58.679 Patty with a man she knows is abusive, with a 303 00:15:58.720 --> 00:16:02.759 man she's claimed threatened a murder suicide against she and 304 00:16:02.799 --> 00:16:05.879 her daughter and himself. It doesn't make a whole lot 305 00:16:05.919 --> 00:16:09.879 of sense, and especially not for an affair, right. I 306 00:16:09.919 --> 00:16:13.360 could see if she was desperate and scared for her life, 307 00:16:13.879 --> 00:16:16.120 and that she had expressed I've got to try and 308 00:16:16.240 --> 00:16:19.000 run and then I'll get Patty later. But he's claiming 309 00:16:19.039 --> 00:16:22.200 it's all after a man. I don't see her prioritizing 310 00:16:22.200 --> 00:16:23.200 a man over Patty. 311 00:16:24.240 --> 00:16:26.440 And not to mention, she has just recently filed for 312 00:16:26.519 --> 00:16:28.720 divorce and is waiting for the papers to be served 313 00:16:28.720 --> 00:16:31.759 to Don. And if she just made a spontaneous decision 314 00:16:31.799 --> 00:16:33.559 to just take off on her own, go off with 315 00:16:33.639 --> 00:16:36.759 a man without telling her husband or her children or 316 00:16:36.799 --> 00:16:39.039 her family where she was going, that's going to look 317 00:16:39.039 --> 00:16:42.480 really bad in the divorce proceedings and the child custody battle. 318 00:16:42.600 --> 00:16:45.159 So of course, it just seems very very unlikely that 319 00:16:45.200 --> 00:16:47.600 she would choose this particular time in order to just 320 00:16:47.639 --> 00:16:50.720 take off for a while. Of course, suspicion immediately turned 321 00:16:50.759 --> 00:16:53.559 towards down, as there were no other witnesses to verify 322 00:16:53.600 --> 00:16:55.879 his claim that Linda had left her house at six 323 00:16:56.000 --> 00:16:59.480 pm on April to twenty second. Other than Don. The 324 00:16:59.559 --> 00:17:02.279 last firm sighting of Linda was when Patty had seen 325 00:17:02.320 --> 00:17:04.359 her lying on the couch when she left for school, 326 00:17:04.720 --> 00:17:07.160 but since she never saw her mother make any movements, 327 00:17:07.400 --> 00:17:09.799 there was genuine fear that Linda may have already been 328 00:17:09.839 --> 00:17:13.119 dead by that point, but Don would soon tell police 329 00:17:13.119 --> 00:17:15.160 that he saw Linda in the passenger seat of a 330 00:17:15.240 --> 00:17:18.559 van being driven by an unidentified mail a few days 331 00:17:18.599 --> 00:17:21.440 after she originally went missing. Don claimed that as the 332 00:17:21.519 --> 00:17:24.039 van was driving past him, he called out to them, 333 00:17:24.039 --> 00:17:27.039 prompting Linda to dug out of sight. Don said he 334 00:17:27.039 --> 00:17:29.559 made an attempt to follow the van, but quickly lost 335 00:17:29.599 --> 00:17:32.720 it and was unable to get the license number. Investigators 336 00:17:32.759 --> 00:17:35.599 did check into the male coworker whom DoD had alleged 337 00:17:35.680 --> 00:17:37.920 was having an affair with Linda, but he had a 338 00:17:37.960 --> 00:17:41.240 solid alibi and was ruled out as a suspect. Don 339 00:17:41.279 --> 00:17:44.200 eventually filed a cross petition for a divorce on the 340 00:17:44.200 --> 00:17:46.440 grounds that Linda had a band in both him and 341 00:17:46.480 --> 00:17:49.440 their daughter, but since she could not be found, a 342 00:17:49.519 --> 00:17:53.559 judge dismissed Don's divorce filing in June of nineteen eighty nine. 343 00:17:53.680 --> 00:17:57.000 The investigation remained at a complete standstill until the case 344 00:17:57.039 --> 00:18:00.720 took a very unexpected turn one year later. So to me, 345 00:18:00.839 --> 00:18:01.319 when you. 346 00:18:01.279 --> 00:18:03.720 Look at this, you're right, Robin, you just said this 347 00:18:03.880 --> 00:18:06.000 that if she was going to leave and try to 348 00:18:06.039 --> 00:18:08.480 get a better life, this was not the time to 349 00:18:08.519 --> 00:18:10.960 do it. She had already filed for divorce, she was 350 00:18:11.039 --> 00:18:15.000 already on the way to getting freedom from Dawn, and 351 00:18:15.480 --> 00:18:19.799 right there, Don used her disappearance against her, saying she 352 00:18:19.880 --> 00:18:23.720 abandoned her baby and that was her priority. That's probably 353 00:18:23.759 --> 00:18:25.720 one of the only reasons she had the strength to 354 00:18:25.759 --> 00:18:28.799 fight to try to get away from him. It's also 355 00:18:28.880 --> 00:18:31.720 really interesting when you think about could she have been 356 00:18:31.799 --> 00:18:36.319 dead on the couch that morning Patty was nine, Like, 357 00:18:36.839 --> 00:18:39.319 I feel that Reagan would come over and kiss me 358 00:18:39.640 --> 00:18:42.720 or say love you mom, or by mom, you know, 359 00:18:42.799 --> 00:18:45.000 if she was going to school and it was kind 360 00:18:45.039 --> 00:18:48.720 of I wasn't driving her. It's not like she's three 361 00:18:49.319 --> 00:18:51.079 and dad can just kind of like pick her up 362 00:18:51.119 --> 00:18:53.079 and move her around and say, oh, mommy sleeping, leave 363 00:18:53.079 --> 00:18:55.799 her alone. I just feel like Reagan independently would have 364 00:18:55.799 --> 00:18:59.119 come up and kissed me goodbye or something. And if 365 00:18:59.160 --> 00:19:02.720 she was deceased at that time, thank god Patty didn't 366 00:19:02.720 --> 00:19:04.640 go up to her. But don't you think that Don 367 00:19:04.640 --> 00:19:07.599 would be taking quite the risks that he really can't 368 00:19:07.680 --> 00:19:09.839 control a nine year old the whole time she's getting 369 00:19:09.839 --> 00:19:12.720 ready for school, and if she touched her mom and 370 00:19:12.799 --> 00:19:15.279 she was cold or blue or something like that, it 371 00:19:15.279 --> 00:19:16.920 would have foiled the whole thing. 372 00:19:17.440 --> 00:19:20.319 I guess it depends on the dynamic of the relationship 373 00:19:20.440 --> 00:19:24.200 if he's going to like physically block her from kissing 374 00:19:24.240 --> 00:19:26.480 her mom or say, you know, you've got to leave 375 00:19:26.519 --> 00:19:29.920 her alone, if he's that type of controlling father. We 376 00:19:30.079 --> 00:19:33.640 know that he was a very very awful husband in 377 00:19:33.640 --> 00:19:38.279 the sense that she left multiple times and unfortunately had returned, 378 00:19:38.680 --> 00:19:41.279 but he was abusive, so we don't really know what 379 00:19:41.359 --> 00:19:43.480 he was like with Patty. There could have been a 380 00:19:43.559 --> 00:19:47.160 lot of fear there and what he said went and 381 00:19:47.200 --> 00:19:49.000 it was like, you don't go close to your mother. 382 00:19:49.119 --> 00:19:52.720 Then maybe she just listened or cowered out of fear, 383 00:19:52.920 --> 00:19:55.960 and that was the type of dynamic in that household. 384 00:19:56.039 --> 00:19:59.440 But I do agree it's a huge risk to have 385 00:19:59.519 --> 00:20:02.440 her body be there and to trust that her daughter, 386 00:20:02.799 --> 00:20:05.920 Patty isn't going to discover that her mother is deceased. 387 00:20:06.079 --> 00:20:08.880 But maybe he was emboldened by the fact that he 388 00:20:08.920 --> 00:20:10.519 felt that he could control her. 389 00:20:11.559 --> 00:20:14.519 That's true, that's super true. If dad said do not 390 00:20:14.720 --> 00:20:17.680 go over to your mother and he was abusive, she'd go, 391 00:20:17.799 --> 00:20:19.480 I can't go over to mom, or I'm gonna get 392 00:20:19.480 --> 00:20:20.759 in big trouble before school. 393 00:20:21.759 --> 00:20:23.920 I think that might be a possibility, because I haven't 394 00:20:23.920 --> 00:20:27.720 read anything about Don being physically abusive towards Patty. But 395 00:20:27.920 --> 00:20:30.519 we've seen a lot of these cases involving missing spouses 396 00:20:30.559 --> 00:20:33.119 where the mother will go missing and the children are 397 00:20:33.160 --> 00:20:36.000 so young at the time that they will stick with 398 00:20:36.039 --> 00:20:38.759 their father no matter what, even if there is overwhelming 399 00:20:38.799 --> 00:20:42.119 evidence to suggest itrre responsible because it's a difficult situation 400 00:20:42.240 --> 00:20:45.400 because if you turn against your father, you're technically losing 401 00:20:45.440 --> 00:20:48.680