By Catherine Crier

This is fascinating.Video

The 1946 hanging death of Texas cabinetmaker Buddy Vest was officially ruled a suicide, but his family always found it hard to believe. Well, new information recently led authorities to exhume the body and reopen the investigation. Buddy Vest's son Herb joins us now with Danny Williams, the private investigator he hired to work on the case. Herb, this is a fascinating, fascinating story, but you were a little boy. How did you decide to pursue this and find a way to convince authorities you might be right?

Mr. HERB VEST (Son of Buddy Vest): Well, I-- I just didn't know exactly what happened. It was reported as a suicide. And last year I commissioned Danny Williams, my friend here, to go to Gainesville, Texas, and to look into the inquest record there. There he found that it-- it didn't take much to convince anybody from the inquest record that it was not a suicide. And he told me that, and we investigated it further. We got a three-page letter, an anonymous letter from somebody that was there at the scene, and it was murder.


CRIER : All right. Well, what possessed you, though, to hire Danny to go back and investigate this other than, you know, possibly a son who didn't want to accept the fact that-- that his father could have been a suicide?

Mr. VEST : I guess that-- suicide-- people-- survivors of suicide victims are-- it's very difficult. (sic) I believe that anyone that has been in that situation, there's some guilt that they feel deep down, and I've always worried about my mother feeling that guilt. She's never verbalized it, but I've always felt-- felt that. After my stepfather died and my-- I was able to sell my business, I was able to pursue this. And I am very glad I did.

CRIER: Well what were some of the things, Danny, that you found? Because Herb put out a reward. This letter shows up, the mystery letter. And then there were inconsistencies in the coroner's report, possibly a forged death certificate. It sounds like things that people should have noticed a long time ago.

Mr. DANNY WILLIAMS (Private Investigator): Well, we have a cover-up. There's no question that we do have a cover-up. We do have a forged death certificate. The JP's inquest is not signed. As a matter of fact, it's even torn off in half. And very, very many inconsistencies in this entire case.

CRIER : What about the-- yeah. What about the mystery letter? Where-- where has that trail led? Mr.

WILLIAMS: Well, so far it-- it-- I mean, everything keeps going back to Gainesville, Texas. But we don't know who the-- we don't know who the writer is. We have many suspicions right now, and we're working on those.

CRIER : All right. When you talk about the writer, it was from some woman who basically, as I understand the story-- correct me if I'm wrong-- said she was there flirting with Herb's father. Her boyfriend got jealous, and he and his buddy killed Herb's-- killed Herb's father as well as sexually abused her at the time. Then you haven't heard from her again about this? Mr.

WILLIAMS: No, we have not, which leads us to believe that the letter is a valid letter and it's not something-- it's not a hoax. It's not someone who was trying to collect the reward.

CRIER : All right. What about the real catch in that letter? And that was that her boyfriend may have been involved in law enforcement, may have been a police officer? Mr.

WILLIAMS: That's correct.

CRIER : All right. Back in 1946 you can probably, in Gainesville, begin to reduce the universe of possible suspects. Have you done that? Mr.

WILLIAMS: We have done that. There were approximately, I think, 12-- 11 or 12 police officers back then. Everyone, of course, now is deceased. It makes it a very difficult investigation, but we have narrowed it down to some suspects, but we could not prove that right now in a court of law.

CRIER: Yeah, I understand. Well, Herb, you've actually gotten, though, a lot of cooperation, contrary to some investigations that turn up this kind of very uncomfortable linkage. Law enforcement, right now, is supporting you, aren't they?

Mr. VEST : The justice of the peace over there has been extremely cooperative, as has the DA. They've bent over backwards to help us in this investigation. They gave us authority to exhume the body, which was a very big help. And we certainly appreciate everything that they've done.

CRIER: All right. What-- what would you say to the woman, or the individual who wrote that letter if you could reach out to her right now? What do you want to say to her?

Mr. VEST : What I would like to say is that I-- all I want to know is the truth. I just want to know what happened to my father. I want to know for sure. I want to know the names of the individuals involved. I have no revenge motive. I will not pursue prosecution. I just want to know the facts, and I don't wish to publicize those facts. If she wanted to remain anonymous, that would be fine. But I-- but I will pursue this until I find her, if that takes another 40 years.

CRIER: All right. Well, 1946, Buddy Vest, Gainesville, Texas. An extraordinary story. And, Herb, the very best of luck with your quest. Thank you and Danny Williams, both. Much appreciated.?