13x23 - Drowning Sorrows

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Narrator: up next, a family

Vacation turns into a nightmare.

That's when I see the body of

A female lying facedown in the

Water.

Narrator: and possible clues

Provide more questions than

Answers.

Either it was an accident,

Someone caused her death, or she

k*lled herself.

Narrator: experts can't seem

To agree on exactly what

Happened.

There is not one single

Eyewitness to anything.

There are no confessions.

There are no fingerprints.

Narrator: until

Groundbreaking science discovers

The truth.

Method, opportunity, motive,

And last person to see them

Alive -- classic reasons for

Alive -- classic reasons for m*rder.

m*rder.

Narrator: every year, the

Unger family spent their

Vacation on the western shore of

Lake michigan, in a place called

Watervale.

It's almost a sanctuary for

Them -- to go somewhere else in

The state where they can just

Forget about the rest of the

World and reconnect with

Themselves and their families

And their loved ones.

Narrator: florence worked as

A bank loan officer.

Her husband, mark, a mortgage

Broker, was also a well-known

Radio personality.

Mark unger had a sports radio

Show that made him somewhat of a

Celebrity within his circle of

Friends.

Narrator: their vacation in

Was like most others.

The ungers checked in to their

Cabin, had dinner, and mark

Spent time with their two sons

While florence was outside for

Some fresh air.

Mark read a story to the

Boys, sang a song, put them to

Bed, kissed them goodnight, and

Came back out to the deck, and

Florence was not on the deck.

Narrator: mark assumed

Florence went next door to their

Friends' cabin, since their

Lights were on.

Not wanting to leave the

Children alone, mark went to

Bed.

When he awoke just after dawn,

Florence still wasn't there.

He called the resort owners

At approximately : in the

Morning, asking them if they had

Seen florence.

They said they had not.

Narrator: the resort owners

Went looking for her and found

Florence's body in the lake and

Florence's body in the lake and called .

Called .

When police arrived, they

Noticed florence's body was in

The lake next to a boat launch.

Feet above was the deck

Outside the ungers' cabin.

When I looked up, there was

A deck railing from the

Boathouse, and I noticed the

Deck railing was broke and

Fractured out.

Narrator: it looked as if

Florence had been sitting on the

Railing and it gave way.

Investigators measured the

Height of the railing and

Discovered that it was inches

Below the state building code.

When you at that railing,

It's low enough that you think

If somebody had been sitting on

It, they could lose their

Balance and fall over the edge.

I know that i, personally,

Didn't want to sit on it.

Narrator: the splintered

Railing led to suspicions it was

Structurally unsound.

They referred to it as a

"Deathtrap" and that it was an

Accident waiting to happen.

A person could reasonably piece

Together someone fell through a

Railing, hit the ground, and

Ended up, perhaps, in the lake

There.

Narrator: florence's body was

Transported to the medical

Examiner for an autopsy.

The medical examiner found no

dr*gs or alcohol in her system.

He didfind evidence of severe

Head trauma, but the cause of

Death wasn't the head trauma.

It was drowning.

There was plenty of fluid,

And that was the result of her

Active inhalation of the water

From the lake because she was

Submerged.

Narrator: but what caused

Florence to fall to her death?

Was it su1c1de, an accident, or

Something more sinister?

This is flo unger, and she

Was a student from to .

Narrator: the tragic death of

Florence unger, the mother of

Two young children, was a shock

To co-workers, friends, and

Family.

Unless you've lived through

It, it's very difficult to

Explain.

You feel like your head's gonna

Explode.

It's total and complete

Devastation.

There's nothing like it.

It's unimaginable.

Narrator: police at the scene

Had to consider every

Possibility.

What do you have?

You know, do you have a su1c1de,

Do you have an accident, or do

You have a homicide?

Narrator: florence's family

Ruled out su1c1de as a

Possibility.

There's no way that she could

Have contemplated su1c1de, for a

Number of reasons.

Number one, she would neverhave

Left her children parentless.

Narrator: an accident seemed

Like a distinct possibility.

The railing on the deck outside

The ungers' cabin was freshly

Broken.

It looked as if she was sitting

Or leaning on it and it gave

Way, causing her to fall to the

Boat launch below.

But how did the body get into

The water?

Mark unger hired a private,

Independent forensic firm to

Find out why.

They concluded that with

Florence falling feet from

The deck, the momentum of the

Fall carried her forward from

The point of impact.

They produced five different

Scenarios, computer animations

That showed different ways that

Florence could have possibly

Ended up in the water.

Narrator: the forensic firm

Concluded that florence's death

Was an accident.

But the medical examiner

Completely disagreed.

Bodies do not bounce --

That's number one.

She would have been rendered

Unconscious upon contact.

An unconscious person,

Unconscious individual, cannot

Just walk into the water.

Narrator: and dr. Dragovic

Noticed that the bloodstain on

The boat launch was nearly a

Foot in diameter.

For blood to go to that size,

To the diameter that we're

Talking on the cement platform,

The body would have had to have

Been there for a period of time.

Narrator: to find out how

Long florence would have laid

There bleeding, dr. Dragovic

Examined slides of her brain

Tissue.

He focused on the neurons, a

Cellular communication system

That controls movement, memory,

And emotion.

Dr. Dragovic discovered repair

Proteins in florence's brain

That were released afterher

Head injury.

This showed that florence's

Brain was struggling to survive

Long after she hit her head and

Before she drowned.

These neurons are suffering

From lack of oxygen.

They are damaged, and some of

Them are already dead, but some

Of them are trying to repair

Themselves.

It was a long period of time she

Was alive -- unconscious, but

Alive, still alive, still

Breathing.

Narrator: dr. Dragovic

Estimated that florence was

Lying on the cement for at least

Minutes, possibly for as long

As two hours before she was in

The water.

And there was other conflicting

Evidence.

The bloodstain on the boat

Launch and the broken railing

Above did not line up.

The trajectory of where she

Wound up on the deck was not in

Line with where the break in the

Railing occurred.

Narrator: to see whether the

Deck railing was structurally

Unsound, analysts tested an

Unbroken section of the deck

Railing using what's called a

Load cell.

The load cell is more or less

A scale.

It's a series of springs and

Sensors, and it measures

Compression and tension.

Narrator: florence weighed

Pounds.

To simulate her sitting on the

Railing, analysts attached a

Bicycle seat to one end of the

Load cell.

To the other end, they attached

A t-bar, to which they applied

Pounds of pressure.

The railing didn't buckle or

Break.

Somebody from the lab made

The comment, "wow.

Pounds."

So we knew right then and there

That any plan to paint the rail

As rotting and dilapidated

Weren't gonna work.

Narrator: it was beginning to

Look like the scene had been

Staged to look like an accident.

It was a charge florence's

Husband, mark, adamantly denied.

People that knew mark said

Mark was not a k*ller...

Mark would not do that...

That he loved flo, that he loved

His family, that he would not do

Anything like that.

Narrator: mark had no

Criminal history, and his

Children said they heard nothing

Suspicious on the night of the

Incident -- no argument or fight

Between their mother and father.

Mark continued to maintain his

Wife's death was a tragic

Accident.

He told the police she had

Been a little depressed, but he

Later went on to tell the police

Flo would have never committed

su1c1de.

He was adamant about that.

Narrator: but florence's

Family believed this was m*rder

And that mark was her k*ller.

Method, opportunity, motive,

No alibi, and last person to see

Them alive -- classic reasons

For m*rder.

He had them all.

Narrator: mark and

Florence unger appeared to have

An ideal marriage.

On the surface, they would

Appear to be the perfect couple

Living in an affluent community

With two beautiful children, a

Beautiful house, but to those

Who were in their inner circle,

They knew that there were many,

Many problems.

Narrator: mark unger's issues

With dr*gs and gambling had cost

Him his job.

He was a pathological

Gambler.

Mark was an alcoholic.

He was a drug addict, and this

Was affecting his personality.

Narrator: he spent as much as

Six months at a time in rehab.

Florence actually said at one

Point it almost seemed like

Rehabilitation had become his

Job.

Narrator: police also learned

That florence had filed for

Divorce two months before her

Death and had moved on to

Another relationship.

There was evidence of a

Relationship that flo had become

Involved in, and this individual

Was a close friend of mark's, as

Well, so it was a, um...

A difficult circumstance at

Best.

Narrator: investigators

Discovered that florence had

Seen this man just a few days

Before her death and that mark

Might have known about it.

I believe on that deck that

It's a very real possibility

That something about florence's

Relationship came out.

Narrator: and now yet another

Potential motive emerged.

Florence had two life-insurance

Policies with a combined value

Of three-quarters of a million

Dollars, and mark was the sole

Beneficiary.

There's no question that flo

Was worth more dead to mark than

She was alive.

Narrator: even stranger, just

Five days before his wife's

Death, mark had a run of bad

Luck at a local casino.

We understand that he lost

About $, shortly before the

Fateful trip...

And I mean within days of that

Fateful trip.

Narrator: and friends told

Investigators florence didn't

Want to take the trip to the

Lake.

In fact, she was afraid to go.

Flo's friends were all

Apprehensive.

Several of her friends asked

Her, "why are you doing this?

Why are you going up there?"

She did notwant to go, but

She was afraid to go, and she

Admitted that to a neighbor.

Narrator: and if that weren't

Enough, the resort owner gave

Police even more evidence, also

Circumstantial.

He said when he told mark he had

Found florence's body, mark

Didn't ask him where it was.

The resort owner absolutely,

Positively testified that he did

Not tell mark where flo was,

Florence was.

Narrator: but mark appeared

To know exactlywhere to go.

Mark ran right to florence's

Body lying in the water without

Being told where she was at and

Without being able to observe

Her from his vantage point.

Narrator: to prove this,

Investigators placed a mannequin

In the water exactly where

Florence's body was found.

Then an investigator with a

Video camera stood at the exact

Spot where the resort owner told

Mark his wife was dead.

In this videotape, it's clear

The body can't be seen until the

Viewer is virtually on top of

It.

He knew exactly where the

Body was at.

Narrator: but none of this

Proved m*rder.

In fact, investigators had no

Direct evidence linking mark to

Florence's death...

That is, until they looked at

Mark unger's shoes and found a

White smear.

The state police crime lab

Found a white speck of what they

Believe was paint.

Narrator: investigators sent

Mark's shoe, along with six

Different paint samples

Collected from the resort, to

Forensic scientist keith lamont.

I received several known

Samples from various

Locations -- from the vacation

Home and boathouse area.

Narrator: he bombarded the

Sample with infrared light,

Which identifies the chemical

Makeup of the samples in ways

That can then be measured.

Paint's composition

Basically consists of a solvent,

Which is the liquid, a pigment,

Which is the color, and a

Binder.

And the binder you can think of

As glue.

Narrator: lamont found that

The paint on mark unger's shoe

Was virtually identical to the

Paint on the railing and the

Post holding the railing.

The question paint sample

From mr. Unger's shoe was

Consistent chemically with the

Known paint from the rail.

[ Grunts ]

Narrator: to investigators,

This pointed to only one logical

Conclusion.

We believe mark kicked that

Railing, and the paint scuff on

The shoe certainly would suggest

That.

Narrator: but was this enough

To get a conviction?

Narrator: investigators knew

Two important details about the

Death of florence unger.

First, tests showed a -pound

Woman sitting or leaning against

The deck railing could nothave

Caused it to splinter.

Second, forensic tests

Identified repair proteins in

Florence's brain -- scientific

Proof that she laid bleeding on

The cement boat launch for about

Minutes before she drowned in

The lake.

This made forensic history -- it

Was the first time

Immunohistochemistry was used in

A criminal case.

It's an advantage of being a

Forensic pathologist, at the

Same time a neuropathologist,

And being a general pathologist

That I started with in the first

Place.

The best advice in police work

Is "consider every death scene

As a homicide scene."

Narrator: seven months after

Florence's death, mark unger was

Charged with first-degree

m*rder.

There's no question, if you

Look at the evidence in its

Totality, that mark unger made a

Calculated decision to take

Another person's life.

Narrator: his lawyer said

There was no case against him.

There is not one single

Eyewitness to anything.

There are no confessions.

There are no fingerprints.

Narrator: prosecutors believe

Mark hoped to salvage their

Marriage, but they think

Florence said no.

Mark became violent and pushed

Her over the railing.

She hit her head on the boat

Launch feet below.

The evidence indicates she lay

There bleeding for at least

Minutes.

Mark went back to their cabin

And put the boys to bed.

When he returned to the boat

Launch, he was probably

Surprised to learn that florence

Was still alive.

So he pushed her into the lake,

Where she drowned.

But he didn't realize the size

Of the bloodstain on the boat

Launch and the repair neurons in

Florence's brain.

Both told a story.

In an attempt to make it look

Like an accident, mark kicked

The railing with his right foot,

Transferring paint to the tip of

His shoe.

And where he kicked the railing

Was inconsistent with the

Location of the body.

Mark either found out about

The relationship that florence

Was having with another man, or

Else he, if not found out, she

Made it clear to him that that's

Only one of the things going on,

But this marriage is finished.

What mark did is he went out

There and he put her in the

Water while she was still alive.

He had every opportunity to call

For help.

He never did.

He let her lay there, and after

Thinking about what to do after

Some time, he premeditated it,

Went back, and put her in the

Water and let her drown.

Narrator: three years after

Florence's death, mark unger was

Convicted of first-degree m*rder

And sentenced to life without

Parole.

His head snapped back when

The verdict was read.

He was shocked at the verdict.

He anticipated going home that

Day.

I was wrongfully convicted of

This crime.

I am innocent.

Narrator: florence's parents

Say her death should never have

Happened.

While my daughter's death was

A tragic and unnecessary event,

I think there's a lesson to be

Learned from it.

And that is that a woman who is

Going through a divorce should

Avoid contact with her estranged

Husband unless it's absolutely

Necessary, and then with

Witnesses present, and even

Though it might be contrary to

The advice of her lawyer and

Even if there is no history of

Mental or physical abuse.

Divorce is a very volatile

Situation, and it is better to

Err on the side of caution

Because even casual contact

Could result in a dangerous or

Life-threatening event.

Narrator: florence's parents

Are raising her children and

Keep a small garden in her

Memory, although the grief is

Permanent.

I miss her every single

Minute of every single day.

And I hope he thinks about what

He's done, for the rest of his

Miserablelife.

Narrator: mark unger almost

Got away with m*rder.

Only scientific analysis of

Brain tissue and his shoes

Insured he didn't.

How he could think that he

Was gonna get away with it, I

Can't imagine.

Being able to establish that

Florence was alive for an

Extended period of time before

She was placed in the water was

Crucial, very important.

It was a great, you know,

Reminder that, you know, things

Aren't always what they seem,

They're not always what people