08x31 - Past Lives

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: a wealthy american executive was found dead in his

Car in mexico.

It looked like an accident, until a forensic anthropologist

Found evidence of a chilling tale of fraud and deceit.

Narrator: -year-old madison rutherford had

Everything.

He was ambitious, successful, happily married, and rich.

He worked as a financial advisor in connecticut, with an uncanny

Ability to make money for his clients.

He also managed money for his friends, like brigitte beck.

I thought, since I am alone in this country, I thought it

Might be wise, if anything would happen to me, I thought I should

Have him as my executor.

Narrator: by all accounts, madison rutherford and his wife

Rhynie, lived lavishly, and had expensive tastes.

So it wasn't unusual for madison to travel outside the

United states pursuing his various interests.

Madison rutherford and his wife had a penchant for various

Types of animals, including dogs.

And part of the reason for, supposedly, going to mexico was

To obtain another exotic dog.

Narrator: but a few days later, mexican police found

Rutherford's car in a ravine near monterrey.

It appeared that the car had swerved off the road and caught

Fire.

When they got there the car was burnt beyond recognition.

Everything was gone.

And he opened up the driver door, and found some bone

Fragments on the driver side.

Narrator: inside, investigators found a medic

Alert pendant and a wristwatch.

On the back of the watch, barely legible, was the inscription,

"To madison, love, rhynie."

Also inside the car, the charred remains of a human.

All that was left were some bones and teeth.

The cause of death was listed as total carbonization, meaning

That it just disintegrated from the heat.

Narrator: when rutherford's wife, rhynie, got the news, she

Was devastated.

As I came into the house, everybody was very -- long

Faces and sad, and I said, "my goodness, what happened?"

And this one person tells me that there was something

Terrible happened last night.

Madison had an automobile accident and he got k*lled.

[ Gasps ] I thought this was just awful.

I thought, "my goodness, how terrible."

Narrator: fortuitously, rhynie said she could help

Investigators with the identification of her husband.

She proceeds to tell the insurance carriers that she has

One of rutherford's teeth that was left over from some type of

Dental work.

Narrator: the tooth was extremely helpful, since its

Hard, enamel shell often protects its inner core in a

Fire.

That core contains an individual's dna.

But one of the forensic scientists in mexico was

Suspicious, particularly when he examined the items recovered

From the car.

The clasp of the medic alert bracelet was found in the open

Position.

He thought that very odd.

If somebody had died and that bracelet was on them, it would

Have been in the clasped position.

Narrator: investigators wondered whether the open clasp

Was a clue, or simply an unimportant detail.

Narrator: although there were some inconsistencies in the

Accident scene...

The mexican authorities ruled that madison rutherford had

Burned to death in a car accident.

Mexico wasn't pursuing this.

There was no complaining.

They had a body, and a tragic death, and they've closed their

Case.

Narrator: as a financial planner, madison rutherford had

Planned for his family's future in the event of his death.

He had purchased an ample amount of life insurance.

Rutherford had two separate policies, with two separate

Companies.

He's doubly insured.

He's insured for $ million.

$ Million from one company, and $ million from another company.

Narrator: as a routine matter, insurance companies like

To make sure that a person who dies in a fire is in fact their

Client.

The tooth given to them by rutherford's wife could be used

For dna comparison.

But it wasn't enough.

So they sent the charred remains from the accident to one of the

Most respected forensic anthropologists in the world,

Dr. William bass.

The best bone evidence was a small skull fragment, and four

Teeth.

Dr. Bass found something highly unusual about the skull

Fragment.

The top outside of the skull wasn't burned.

Now, I got a lot of problems with it.

If you're sitting in your car and it's on fire, the top of

Your skull is gonna burn.

It's gonna burn up into little pieces the size of a quarter.

Now here's a situation in which this doesn't happen.

Narrator: dr. Bass concluded there was only one way this

Could have happened.

The victim's head had to be on the floor of the car at the time

Of the fire.

This tells me then that this is a staged scene.

That this is not what happened in the normal crash of a car.

That this is a body that has been placed in there in a

Position that it was not in before.

Narrator: the skull fragment also provided clues about the

Victim's age.

The human skull has different plate-like bones.

These bones come together in a process called fusion.

Where they meet often looks like the stitching on clothes.

As a person grows older that stitching, or fusion, tends to

Disappear.

In this case it was almost nonexistent.

It tells me that this is not a -year-old individual.

That this is an individual...maybe twice that.

Certainly -plus.

Because you don't normally...get that much fusion in a

-Year-old white male.

Narrator: the teeth also told a story.

Sometimes different races have different-shaped teeth.

The ones recovered from the car had shovel-shaped incisors, not

Something associated with a white or caucasian person.

These teeth had characteristics that are very

Specific to mongoloid -- this is japanese, chinese or american

Indian -- characteristics.

These are what are called mongoloid characteristics.

Narrator: in addition, the teeth had large, unfilled

Cavities...inconsistent with a wealthy man with access to the

Best in dental care.

Dr. Bass informed the insurance companies of his findings.

I was told that the individual in this car was a

-Year-old white male.

When I get through the analysis of the skeletal remains that's

Not what I see.

What is in that car is a -to--plus-year-old mexican

Peasant, who has -- from a lower socioeconomic level --

Obviously, it would be a peasant -- but had done manual

Labor.

Narrator: there were even more reasons to be skeptical.

And more evidence that the scene might have been staged.

Insurance investigators looked more closely at the medic alert

Pendant and the watch found in the ashes.

If the body had burned almost to ashes, why did these items

Remain relatively intact?

And witnesses said they saw a bicycle on the back of

Rutherford's car earlier in the day.

But no bicycle was found at the accident site.

If it wasn't madison rutherford in the car, who was it?

And where was madison rutherford?

Narrator: forensic scientists were certain that

Madison rutherford was not the man k*lled in the car expl*si*n

In mexico.

The focus switched not so much from, "we need more proof

Of death -- we actually think he's alive."

And now we want to find out where.

Narrator: the authorities weren't the only ones concerned.

His neighbor, brigitte beck, had entrusted madison rutherford

With her entire life savings, about half a million dollars.

And she wanted to know where it was.

I was uncomfortable about the whole thing.

I said, "how's this going to play out?"

When will I get my money?

When do I have a clear picture of this whole thing?

Narrator: brigitte went to the rutherfords' home, and asked

Rhynie for answers.

She, you know, said, "I need to speak with you, and just

Don't make a sound.

Please don't make a sound.

Don't say anything."

And I said, "what's happening?" So she leaned over and

Whispered, "madison is not dead."

I said, "what?!

What happened?

Where is he?" And she said, "he's in hiding."

I just lost it.

I just thought this was too much.

I just walked away after a few moments, and I just cried.

I just broke down -- this was too much.

Narrator: for brigitte things soon got even stranger,

When madison rutherford showed up alive and well at her house.

This was all very bizarre.

And how could he do that?

And wouldn't he be afraid that he might get picked up?

That somebody might have watched the house.

Narrator: rutherford told brigitte that his death had been

Staged for him by none other than the fbi.

He said that organized crime members were after him because

He had refused to launder drug money.

He assured brigitte that her money was safe,

But instructed her to tell no one he was alive.

He asked me, "would you mind if I could spend a couple of

Weeks with you?

Until I know what I need to do next."

I said, "of course."

Poor guy, had to be hiding from the mob.

Why wouldn't I help somebody?

Narrator: without warning madison left brigitte's home,

And she never heard from him again.

A few weeks later, brigitte got another visit, this time from

The fbi.

Their investigation into madison rutherford's financial

Dealings revealed he had withdrawn brigitte's entire life

Savings.

She was penniless.

The agent said, "there is no money."

And I thought maybe they made a mistake.

This cannot be.

Then I realized I had nothing left.

He had dismantled everything, little by little.

And I said, "my god, what do I have in my pocket?"

[ Sobbing ] excuse me.

I had exactly $ in my checking account.

That's what i...

[ Crying ] narrator: investigators had

Rutherford's home under surveillance.

Madison never appeared, but they finally got a break.

A check of motor vehicles revealed that madison owned a

Car that was being driven by a businessman in massachusetts.

His name was thomas bay hamilton.

He works as a controller for a technology company.

It's a fairly small company in downtown boston.

Narrator: as investigators were about to question

Thomas bay hamilton, they got a call from mexican authorities.

They said they found a bag full of bloody clothes.

And dna tests concluded the blood was madison rutherford's.

Narrator: one year after madison rutherford's

Disappearance, mexican police found a bag full of bloody

Clothing near the site of his car fire.

The clothing showed numerous knife holes all over the chest

Area.

Dna tests of that blood confirmed it belonged to

Madison rutherford.

But this time, investigators didn't believe it.

They were convinced the man they were following in boston,

Thomas bay hamilton, was in fact, madison rutherford.

Stu robinson, the agent who arrested him in boston, has

These fingerprints with him.

When thomas hamilton is arrested and we roll his fingerprints,

They're the same prints.

This is our man, this is madison rutherford.

Narrator: the fbi searched his apartment and found books on

How to change your identity, and travel brochures on mexico.

And they found one item that appeared to tie up the case once

And for all.

In the boston apartment we find an actual to-do list.

It says, "goals for the year -."

And the very top thing is, "collect $ million," from the

Insurance company.

So that was a pretty good clue.

[ Laughs ] we kind of tied them together

With just that one piece of paper.

Narrator: right after he was arrested, rutherford called his

Wife from prison.

This call may be recorded or monitored.

This call may be recorded or monitored.

Narrator: rhynie originally denied she had anything to do

With the attempted fraud.

But when investigators showed her evidence that her husband

Was dating other women while living in boston, rhynie changed

Her mind.

She was not happy.

She went through a range of emotions in a short period of

Time...

Ending with anger.

Narrator: with rhynie's help, prosecutors learned that they

Had been planning this crime for months.

While madison was in mexico, he drove to a desolate graveyard in

The mexican countryside, and removed a body.

Apparently he'd found a cemetery in mexico near to where

The crash site was, went in to an above-ground tomb, took off

The top of a casket, and took the corpse out of the casket.

Narrator: prosecutors believe he positioned his car with the

Body inside at the bottom of the ravine...

Doused it with gasoline...

And started the fire.

When the flames subsided, he threw in his medic alert

Bracelet and watch, so they would survive the blaze and help

Identify the corpse.

He then took off on his bicycle.

Rutherford returned to the united states and gave his wife

The tooth he removed from the body, so it could be used for

Possible dna testing.

According to his wife, he walks in, I believe, with these

Things in a bag, and says to her, "here's my $ million

Tooth."

Narrator: to this day no one knows whose bones were inside

The car.

Later, when rutherford learned investigators were on to him, he

Was forced to change his plans.

According to rhynie, her husband got into the bathtub fully

Clothed, and cut himself...

To make it appear that he had been stabbed.

Then he returned to mexico to plant the evidence.

Rutherford never realized that forensic anthropology would

Uncover the true position of the body in the car, and that the

Bones would reveal the man's race and age.

Madison rutherford thought of every detail, but he never

Thought of the bone doctor.

Narrator: investigators, looking for a motive, soon

Discovered that rutherford had gambled heavily in stocks...

And lost.

He saw himself as a financial guru.

And he tried to play the stock market as a day trader.

He lost a considerable amount of money in the - period,

And I think he saw that faking his death and getting insurance

Proceeds was a way of recouping losses, and providing himself

With a nest egg for future investments.

Narrator: investigators learned that rutherford used a

Number of aliases in the past.

All were presidential-sounding names -- madison, rutherford,

And now hamilton.

His real name was john sankey.

I thought it was ironic and quite humorous that he was

Arrested on election day, on november , .

So this man with all these presidential-sounding names

Didn't get a chance to vote for the next president.

People think that the fbi doesn't have a sense of humor,

But I think this proves that we do.

Narrator: when faced with the evidence against him,

Madison rutherford pleaded guilty to fraud.

Federal sentencing guidelines limit his sentence to five

Years.

His wife rhynie was sentenced to months in prison for her part

In the attempted fraud.

Since rutherford had withdrawn half a million dollars from

Brigitte beck's accounts, she has nothing left.

She confronted him during a telephone conversation, while he

Was in prison.

He ruined my life.

He ruined my security.

He couldn't care less.

My wonderful friend turned into a monster...

To me.

And I hope that anybody that would find themselves in a

Similar situation, be careful with your so-called friends.

Narrator: no criminal charges could be brought against

Rutherford for embezzlement, since brigitte had given him

Power of attorney.

For investigators, rutherford was clever...

But clearly no match for forensic science.

This is one of the better cases that we have been able to

Solve from the use of science.

And were able to show that the actual events do not fit the

Story that we were told.

There's an old adage that goes something like, "you're only as

Smart as you are educated."

And clearly madison rutherford, as well educated as he might

Have been, was not educated in the area of forensics.