Plus, Moug had a great idea. FLORENCE, SC (WBTW) - Thursday marks 20 years since Wanda Evans and Paul Coats were both found dead, and the case remains unsolved. Tom Morgan: When I got that letter, I called him that day. Morrison: What were the questions?Tom Morgan: Were you there when Jennifer Morgans trailer caught fire. Pat speculates that Tom lingered at his parents house in Myrtle Beach for several days after a family reunion ended, and then - on his drive home to Charlotte, stopped off to kill his sister. Jennifer, it read, I hope that you will be able to forgive me. (emotional)Morrison: You didnt really wanna come and do this today, did you?Tom Morgan: No. Where is she? Now, family members are finally opening up about the gruesome crime with hope the case will finally be solved. Episode 1; . After months of examining what remained of Morgans home, Boone developed a theory about Morgans murder. Some people down in South Carolina have suggested this is all payback because Tom dropped Pat from the movie project. Tom is now happily married and father to three members of the new generation. Murder Info. Fifteen international film festivals asked to screen Among Brothers and in the end, the little independent made with the directors second mortgage got a distribution deal. And I just sat there and I just said dad what are you talking about? And one of its founders on Marion Campusnumber 26 here on the roster of memberswas Chris Woodson. But Pat would not be directing. His name is David Deitz. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Pat Moug: Im on your side, but theres people out there that are telling me stuff. And waited until the next morning to make the four-hour drive to his parents home in Myrtle Beach. How often do you get updates? Kenny Boone and his investigators swooped hopefully into the newspaper office and discovered the ad had been placed by a local DJ hoping to save his own romance with a different Jennifer altogether. Tom Morgan: I said some not so flattering things in the past in the media about the case. Tom Morgan: Thats not evidence, apparently. And yet authorities simply sent the watch to Jennifers mother. Tom Morgan: Then were sitting and waiting for funding. Days after the murder, Hiral Gopaldas was arrested for murder. There were approximately 17,721 homicides in South Carolina between 1980 and 2019, according to the Project: Cold Case website for unsolved homicide statistics. What is she doing? Working on it. Tom Morgan: No, I wasnt.Pat Moug: Tom, listen. Tom Morgan: One of the first questions to them was whyd you pick this whyd you pick this case now? Pat Moug: He does not use the wording that this was the weather in Charlotte or this was the weather in Michigan or that he was told that this was the weather like that day.. Morrison: You hope it does what to him?Tom Morgan: I hope he looks and thinks to himself, Man this guy is not givin up.. Tom Morgan: Heres a guy that I think potentially did it and what would that conversation be like? Hooked me all up.Morrison: That day?Tom Morgan: Right then.Morrison: What does that feel like?Tom Morgan: I felt ok, good check me off the list. For Pat, this was the way to justice a film crammed with insinuation, accusation and an angry challenge to the sheriff of Florence county. A great guy. Anyone who may have information on this case should call 1-888-CRIME-SC. Sheriff Boone: We were trying to base it on timeline, if he had the opportunity to be able to do something like this. I just remember how excited she was that weekend, and I just remember my little sister, and I miss her. Tom had no idea the whole thing was a ruse. With technology and stuff like it is today, you never know. Somebody had left a bracelet, and a fraternity ring at the headstone. Among Brothers was set in a college fraternity. The only way youre gonna find out if theyre innocent, if you clear Tom Morgan as a suspecthes a suspect right now. With his tapes. And the Ethan character is left tortured by what hes done, but unwilling to turn himself in. Morrison: So, what do you think happened?Pat Moug: He had an unhealthy relationship with his sister. All rights reserved. We have worked so hard (emotional) to try and keep this in the forefront of peoples minds. In the small town of Florence, Montana, a nail and hair salon stood alone off the side of Highway 93. . Chris told Boone he argued with Jennifer about their relationship and left her trailer about 10:30 the night before her death. Pat Moug: Tom, I know you were at your sisters accidentJens accident.Tom Morgan: No, I wasnt.Pat Moug: Tom, I know you were. Tom Morgan left state police headquarters in a daze. He took some footage on her college campus. Working on it. From my conversations with Punam, [2011] was a very difficult year for her, said Bhav Patel, cousin of Gopaldas and nephew of Vinaben Patel. Pat Moug: If you knew information about a murder and no one wanted to help you, you should get up on a podium in Central ParkMorrison: Should go to the local police department and say I have info which could help you resolve this crime?Pat Moug: And then what do you do when they wont listen to you? At this very moment in fact he is sitting in prison for a breaking and sex crime which, according to Sheriff Boone, followed a similar pattern to the attack on Jennifer Morgan. Days after the murder, a tantalizing lead in the classified section of a local newspaper. Years went by, and Tom Morgan and his family heard less and less from investigators, growing more and more pessimistic that anybody would ever be charged. Well, there was no arrest. The family court judge put a gag order on the case -- leaving the family, and they say some investigators, at a standstill with the criminal case. Toms screenplay was shot in a fast and furious 24 days. A whole list of suspicions for one thing, his obsessive phone calls, almost like a stalker, they felt. So if thats the way that evidence, potential evidence was treated, Im sure theres not much. Copyright 2014 WMBF News. In his fictional movie script, Tom had put himself at his sisters home just before the murder bringing ice cream. But, it turned out, there was an alibi, said Boone, and a pretty solid one. The murders of teen sweethearts Lloyd Duane Bogle and Patricia Kalitzke had gone unsolved for more than 60 years. Is he? But I think youve got a patrolman with a rookie attitude wanting to make a name for himself. The thing that made the story suspicious, said the Morgans, was that when Chris told it, just one day after Jennifers death - no one knew she was dead before the fire. And his story. But early on it didnt look like that precaution would be needed. Use at your own risk. It happened on makeshift sound stages around Charlotte, N.C. The watch, Boone discovered, had been a gift from Scott Snowden. Kenny Boone: There was no soot, no carbon monoxide in her lungs. as if he was actually right there when it happened. Because, says Pat, of something he saw in Toms fictional movie script. But he was a fellow officer. And yet, there is not much doubt: these are friends, and theyre hugely supportive. Higher means more crime, U.S. average is 254.8. She started seeing other guys, I started seeing other girls. Do you think thats a coincidence? And soon they had their answer: Tau Kappa Epsilon, a new and small fraternity then at Francis Marion. And though his days as a suspect are apparently over, Tom Morgan still worries that a cop might someday come knocking at his door. Tom Morgan: I had to see that trailer burned. He indicated to me that he did not remember telling Tom Morgan any of these facts. Another time, investigators thought someone named Barney had acknowledging his guilt in an ad placed in The Sun News newspaper in Myrtle Beach. There was no forced entry and nothing was taken, Patel told WMBF News. When he said, No youve got it all wrong. I could smell it then.. As for the business of not yet being fully eliminated as a suspect, Chris is reported to have told a friend "Im tough, I can take it. My aunt fell down quite easily, [Vinaben] was stabbed 4 times and died quickly we were told, but Punam put up a fight, she suffered.. And when he brought the young man in for questioning, his suspicions only intensified. Or maybe that youve done the same thing with them.Tom Morgan:He had so many opportunities to sit down with us and say, Hey, Im gonna make this little documentary or whatever. And that movie idea? Boone worked as an investigator on the. Boone was a young investigator with the sheriffs office at the time and soon learned there was much more to this call than fire. Then there was Pats suspicion that Tom knew too much about the murder if he wasnt around to witness it. The Monster of Florence (Italian: Il Mostro di Firenze) is the name commonly used by the Italian media for an unidentified serial killer active within the Province of Florence between 1968 and 1985. And when they were finished he sat waiting, somewhat impatiently, to be dismissed. And he regularly reviews the evidence and case file, hoping to find some new angle or develop a new lead. He called it Bold as a Lion. But it certainly wasnt to raise money, as his fake undercover alibi had suggested. And guess what? Map Browse By State. Tom Morgan: It kept me awake at night, just thinking about it and thinking about it. FILE - Sandy Smith holds a photo of her late son, 19-year-old Stephen Smith, on June 24, 2021, in Hampton, S.C. A second autopsy was completed on the exhumed body of . For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Its one of my only unsolved homicides. I told a lot of peopleI moved to Michigan after my sister passed away. Whoever set that fire was trying to hide a murder. He has bee on the force for 18 years. And then came, quite suddenly, another one of those moments. That part is true; it came right from Chris Woodsons statement to police. Pat showed his tapes to some of his fellow cops in Livonia, Michigan. Tom Morgan: How dare Ihow dare I insinuate theyre not working on this case. Youre boyfriend is he your family? David showed how he tucked the ring into the ground beside the headstone. They've been in contact with SLED and say witnesses are being re-interviewed. Jennifer: Im Jennifer. On August 6, 2000, Wanda Evans was found dead in her home. I just didnt want to feel like that anymore. South Carolina Crime Stoppers View Source Square with arrow pointing upper right. She was not a small girl. Pat Moug: I felt that being a police officer, someone that was a detective in sex crimes, that I thought Id be able to bring something to Jennifers story that other filmmakers might not be able to do. It was the only evidence he offered to imply an incestuous relationship between Tom and Jennifer. But, when Scott and Jennifer enrolled in different colleges many miles apart, their romance was put on hold. Tom Morgan: Yeah, yeah. Boone said Moag called him wanting information and falsely told him he was an FBI agent. Get Alerts Map; Browse By State; Submit a Crime Tip Square with arrow pointing upper right. Im just telling you thatMorrison: You dont know.Pat Moug: It might a been perceived in his mind. South Carolina Crime Stoppers View Source Square with arrow pointing upper right. Did the wanna-be boyfriend, Chris, plant the watch in her hand just to make boyfriend Scott look guilty? Cold cases and unsolved crimes in Florence, SC. For one thing, that odd story of the way Toms dad told him about Jennifers death. In 2007, NBCs Dateline profiled the case, but the broadcast didnt generate any new leads. Tom Morgan: Finally when I did talk to him his response was, its not illegal to put a ring under a headstone. Im not goingIm not going to go away. Sheriff Kenny Boone: I can remember it just like it was yesterday. Where we can interview you. He said, You know, no matter what happens even if you solve it Tom, even if you find somebody who can solve this case doesnt bring her back.Morrison: Then why dont you just drop it?Tom Morgan: And thats when I looked at him and I said, But somethin just wont let me let go of it. He was no longer the brother campaigning for justice, the nagging critic of the police investigation. Is anybody saying anything? Morgans murder has never been solved, and even two decades later, now the top law man in Florence County, Boone still thinks about the case. Difficult, because [Punam] was finally trying to end her arranged marriage to Hiral Gopaldas - a man she claimed abused her. Discuss Florence, South Carolina (SC) on our hugely popular South Carolina forum. Morrison: To clear it up.Tom Morgan: Let me just clear this up. Maybe theyll get interested in your project.he went along with the idea. Well, as it turns out, they were both wrong. Dateline found another of Jennifers college buddies. Before long Investigator Boone had heard about Chris Woodson, too. The victims' family entered into a drawn out custody battle for time with Jai. This person who was so in love with her would come and instead of shedding one tear or even saying Im so sorry. Boone worked as an investigator on the original case 20 years ago. So the project languished for a couple of years until, again, a happy accident. It wasnt payback. Morrison: Youre pretty angry about this.Kerry Morgan: Angry that my son will be hurt, yeah. He waited for the polygrapher, and an awful feeling washed over him. Now, in his film, Pat offered a whole new set of locations, and timelines. Unsolved Mysteries Wiki. Maybe. 423-8616 or the state Crime Stoppers hotline at (888) CRIME SC (274-6372). Cold cases and unsolved crimes in Darlington County, SC. Tom Morgan: Knowing that this is what it was like that day eight years ago. And then, two days after her death, Kenny Boone called, and they tried to absorb more news: Jennifers death was not an accident after all. Ethan: (faintly) okay. The "Monster of Florence" began killing on Aug. 21, 1968, when he gunned down 29-year-old Antonio Lo Bianco and his 32-year-old sister-in-law, Barbara Locci, with a .22 handgun in the town of Signa. As the interview continued, Pat heard other suspicious statements. A man and a woman (who have come to be known by Jacques and Jane) were shot three times each. It's obviously someone they know and knows the area very well.. Inside the burned mobile home in Country Squire Mobile Home Park lay the body of Jennifer Morgan, a 23-year-old FMU student from Horry County who shared the mobile home with a roommate. A mother has been trying to phone her daughter, her daughter Jennifer, at the mobile home park which was her off-campus. The premise was destroyed. This Category is reserved for Unsolved Mysteries cases that occurred on South Carolina. And that is how Tom Morgan found himself attached to the state police poligraphy machine. Snowden: It was awfully odd for her to leave campus in the middle of the day like that during her classes to come home. A fictional tale to point an accusing finger toward truth. Most of his victims in the 1970s were buried in shallow graves in southern Florence County. And they believed Jennifer must have been attacked by someone she knew. Keith Morrison, Dateline correspondent:This is really hard and it comes through in your eyes. Fifty Thousand Dollars to share. Keith Morrison, Dateline correspondent: Still suspicious but not enough to take him in?Sheriff Boone: Right. Morrison: Hes fictionally writing about him being there with ice cream.Pat Moug: And you think its a coincidence that he shows up in his script that he places himself at the murder scene minutes before his sisters murder and hes bringing a substance that after fire could be melted down and be a milky white substance. And I would have said, Pat, listen. Pat Moug:I spoke with the Florence County coroner and discussed these items. Like, why was she at home that morning? And so, here it was, on a winter-frigid night in Livonia, Michigan, in a donated theater in a giant suburban multiplexthe premiere of Pat Mougs Bold as a Lion.. But what about a motive? Pat Moug: And all of a sudden in the middle of the script I get to the murder scene. I immediately got those results right back.Morrison: Whatd they say?Boone: Positive for gasoline. But only an idiot would miss the obvious message. Over what, Im not exactly sure. Morrison: Did you watch him?Tom Morgan: Chris reaction was very stoic, really expressionless, and as I would speak to my relatives he would walk over to where we were all standing and get close to where we were almost trying to overhear conversation. The documentary ended with what Pat intended as the climactic interview. It was a shoestring budget. Thats about the point Pats theories took a turn toward something way out there, something no one else had ever even imagined some sort of sexual dysfunction between Tom and his sister. He sat there with a fraternity brother and described what probably happened that day. All that mattered was Jai, for Punam and my sister, that's all they cared about, said Ramesh Patel, brother of Vinaben Patel and uncle of Punam Gopaldas. Sheriff Boone: You know somebody can sit in Michiganand armchair quarterback this thing. I figured that there would absolutely be no resolve.Morrison: So that the investigation was what?Jim Morgan: It was botched. I wish I had that chance again.Morrison: You never get those chances again do you?Tom Morgan: Nope you dont. Keith Morrison, Dateline correspondent: How would you describe the way theyre treating you?Tom Morgan: From where I grew up you would call it being slapped around.Morrison: Bullied.Tom Morgan: yeahMorrison: What motivation would they have to bully you except to find the truth?Tom Morgan: Maybe this is where the rubber meets the road and they think you know what? And we had - for years - been asking some, well, difficult questions. (It was a Fossil watch.). Boone was so suspicious, he put a polygrapher on standby, then started his interrogation. He said they had sex the day before she died at his apartment here on campus and he did her laundry for her too. Those apparent contradictions for example, about where he was when his sister was killed. There You Have It - The Places With The Most Murders In South Carolina For 2021. It was two nights before she died. Pat Moug says he got the story from Florence County Sheriff Kenny Boone, who said he learned about it from the forensic pathologist. Tom Morgan: That last weekend that I saw her, the phone rang at least 10 times. No. We dont want anything tainted by you telling people because everybody still thought it was an accident. Of course, things dont always work out the way wed like them to. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). This, it seemed to Pat, justified his suspicions. But Pat offers no evidence that this actually happenedno receipts, or eyewitnesses along the way that can place Tom anywhere on this route. The murders of John Timmons, 56, Tion Gore, 37, and Shannon Gainey, 25, on Cromer Lane in Florence County on August 16, 2010, still remain unsolved.Florence County deputies were called to the home on Cromer Lane around 5 p.m. that evening after neighbors f Youve got it all wrong. Besides, all Tom knew about making movies is that he didnt know anything about making movies. He didnt seem thrilled to be in front of our camera again. Still, if you knew him it wasnt hard to see that the Ethan character was based on him. Everything in this documentary is Tom saying it and Im just putting it together. Fraternity brothers help him cover up the crime by setting fire to the sceneagain, the circumstances of the firesomething Tom imagined. I said promise me you that you know I love you. As for Kenny Boone, he says hes determined still that someone will be charged with the murder of Jennifer Morgan. How do I not feel like this? Pat Moug: Were you already back in Michigan? Unsolved Morgan murder still haunts Florence County sheriff 20 years later. And didnt Florence County Sheriff Kenny Boone appreciate all of Pat Mougs suggestions about what happened on that warm November day back in 1994? And then those others, those would-be Sherlocks, chasing the riddle down their strange, opposing paths. But the ad wasnt what investigators were looking for. FLORENCE, S.C. (WBTW) - Nine people have been charged in federal court in connection to drug trafficking and firearm offenses in Florence, according to an announcement Thursday from U.S.. Whats interesting about his interview is that wed all had conversation, and Pat as a police officer says, Well what do you think about this? I mean, theres still a possibility. Snowden: We knew the distance would be a strain on the relationship. And I dont think they can give me one. Pat Moug: I knew the road I was about to go down. But I take great offense to it. Tom Morgan: No.Morrison: --your sister? You know why? And so the killer Kenny Boone: Used the fire to cover up any additional evidence that might have been there. Tom Morgan was inconsolable, but found some comfort in believing that his sisters killer would be found. But remember, one of Pats insinuations went way beyond all the others. Finally I had gotten someones attention. Mahendrabhai Omar Patel Age. Their baby, the last of their four children, was dead. Odd that after that long a period of time that someone would come and obviously felt this tremendous remorse, or whatever their feelings were, would have to come back to the gravesite and put this under their headstone. I moved down here after she died, guess what I didnt, I moved down here in f in October. But if Pat wasnt a exactly trained psychologist, he wasand isan experienced policeman. It was August 9, 1976, on a deserted road in Sumter County, SC, when a trucker happened upon the scene of the murders. Three of them, actually. Back then, Snowden was Jennifers special boyfriend. Summoned to the scene was a young detective named Kenny Boone. I want you to know that I do care in case anything ever happens. An autopsy revealed there was no soot or carbon monoxide in Morgans lungs, meaning she was dead before the fire. I think partly because its based on a true story and partly because its a pretty good film. And both the guys were there on Monday night. Jim Morgan: It just takes time for it to really sink in and say yea you know it really is true and you know youre never gonna see her again. And at the glacial pace the investigation has moved, the new generation of the Morgan family may be in college themselves before Tom can finally let it go. One more thing. And then, said Tom, he virtually collapsed, went numb, cried. He didnt want it to seem like his beloved sister had a steady stream of men visiting her trailer. Morrison: You set up a high tech sting operationPat Moug: Yes I did. That was histhat was his background.Morrison: The acting detective?Tom Morgan: Yeah, he worked on the SWAT team. Shed of fought back. He was crying and he was, his emotions and stuff thy way he was acting, you know, it kinda led me to believe that you this could be our man. Tom Morgan: I remember that day. Tom Morgan: I just want the story to be told, told over and over again until maybe somebody says hey I know something about that.