[ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ] im jamie colby in boston today, about to meet a family who have traveled up here from houston to put their strange and historic inheritance on the Auction Block. My names debbie wollebakdaily. My siblings and i grew up hearing fabulous tales about our grandpa, a texas lawman whose claim to fame is that he came this close to nabbing bonnie and clyde. Ladies, im jamie. Hey, jamie. So nice to meet you. This is my sister, debbie. I am so excited to be here in boston with you and your family for this upcoming auction. Diana and debbie show me photos of their grandpa, a largerthanlife texas lawman. In 1933, he led a posse that ambushed that infamous outlaw couple, Bonnie Parker and clyde barrow, and nearly caught them. As kids, diana, debbie, and their brother, steve, are fascinated by grandpas 8inchthick scrapbook, full of vivid crimescene photos. Wasnt that creepy . Very, very creepy. We thought it was the greatest thing ever. There are original mug shots of bonnie and clyde and news clippings about grandpa smoots failed ambush in sowers, texas. You think he regretted the fact that he didnt get them the first time . Im sure he was probably disappointed that attempt did not work out, but he was a legendary hero after that. So, who was this legendary lawman . Richard allen smoot schmid, born near garland, texas, in 1897, soon becomes the image of a long, tall texan. How did smoot get the name smoot . In high school, he was 64 and wore a 14size shoe. I dont know what smoot has to do with that. Smoot studies law in college but never goes on to practice. Instead, he opens a bike shop in dallas. He had some motorcycles, also, and he apparently was a daredevil on those. A regular evel knievel. Thats right maybe its smoots flamboyant antics that catch the eye of a dallas widow, named cookie wollebak. That was cookie, and we called smoot pa. 1931. Cookie has two boys, 5yearold david and 3yearold bob, debbie and dianas dad. Smoot raises the boys as his own. Then, out of the blue, smoot decides to run for Dallas County sheriff. Well, how do you go from that to being the lawman in town . There was some upheaval in the sheriffs department, and he was asked if he would like to run for sheriff. And he said, okay. Turns out voters in 1933 are charmed by big smoot. He takes office just as depressionera gangsters, like John Dillinger and Pretty Boy Floyd capture the countrys imagination. The most notorious of all dallas very own bonnie and clyde, whod met as teens. Clyde offered her a cup of hot chocolate, and it was love from then on. We get the scoop straight from the family. Buddy barrow is clyde barrows nephew, and rhea leen linder is Bonnie Parkers niece. She was wellknown as that cute, little blonde bonnie. But then she connected with clyde, and all of her ambitions seemed to just revolve around him. A few months into their courtship, clydes convicted of burglary and sentenced to 14 years hard labor. When hes granted early parole, whats the first thing he does . Hook up with bonnie, of course. Her choice was to go with clyde, and, unfortunately, they took the wrong road. The two set out on a vicious crime spree, first stealing a ford v8, then kidnapping an officer in carlsbad, new mexico, then come armed robberies and gunfights with Law Enforcement in texas, missouri, and iowa. Its one thing to be in love. Its another to crisscross the country on a crime spree. Buddy, what was up with these two . Once clyde had been accused of murder, he knew that he was gonna go to the chair. And he tried to get bonnie to leave many times, and she wouldnt do it. Along the way, its believed they kill more than a dozen people. Its like a soap opera. The general public had something to look forward to the next day. In november 1933, grandpa smoot receives two arrest warrants from the state of texas. Clyde barrow charged with the offense of murder. Right 14 times. Sheriff smoot schmid is on the hunt, which leads eventually to diana and debbies strange inheritance. And your dad had this, and he never told you . No. Heres a strange inheritance quiz question. Which texas beauty made her film debut as a standin for faye dunaway in the movie bonnie and clyde . The answer after the break. Ah come on lets hide in the attic. No. In the basement. Why cant we just get in the running car . Are you crazy . Lets hide behind the chainsaws. Smart. Yeah. Ok. If youre in a horror movie, you make poor decisions. Its what you do. This was a good idea. Shhhh. Im being quiet. Youre breathing on me if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. Its what you do. Lets go to the cemetery so, which texas beauty made her film debut as a standin for faye dunaway in the movie bonnie and clyde . Who was 16 at the time. Unfortunately, her footage ended up on the cuttingroom floor. We pick up this strange inheritance tale in 1933, when bonnie and clyde are wanted for multiple murders. These are death warrants for bonnie. Oh, my. And heres another death warrant that we found in the scrapbook for clyde. In november 33, our heirs grandpa, sheriff smoot schmid, gets a tip. Bonnie and clyde will be attending a barrow Family Gathering on the outskirts of dallas, in sowers, texas. Smoot schmid, his officers had found out about this from someone real close to his family the night before. A leak. Smoot and his posse stage an ambush on the road to the picnic site. Bonnie and clyde roll up in a stolen ford v8. The lawmen are lying in wait, hiding in a ditch. Clyde senses trouble, but before he can hit the gas, the lawmen open fire. Clyde and bonnie were both hit, shot in the legs and everything, and they were bleeding pretty good. They drove the car several miles on flat tires and wheels to get away. The officers had parked far enough away. They couldnt get to their cars very quick, so clyde had ample time to get as far as he could. A few miles away, clyde dumps the bulletridden ford and hijacks another getaway car. Pretty tough to outrun and outshoot bonnie and clyde. Yeah. He was probably the most elusive outlaw of all the depression outlaws. While smoot and his posse fail to nab the infamous couple, they discover a cache of bonnie and clydes personal effects inside the abandoned ford. These officers knew that somewhere down the line, these will be worth money. So, they keep them for themselves. Six months later, in may 1934, bonnie and clyde are ambushed by another group of lawmen on a rural road in louisiana. This time, they dont get away. Clyde barrow and Bonnie Parker. Smoot shares the news with dallas. Two of the souths worst killers. This was terminated in their apprehension day before yesterday in the state of louisiana. The couples funerals attract huge crowds in their hometown. The mug shots, arrest warrants, photos, and other artifacts, documenting sheriff smoots pursuit of the barrow gang, are pasted into a family scrapbook. Smoot serves as Dallas County sheriff until 1947. His stepson bob grows up and starts a family of his own, including children debbie, diana, and steve. Did dad show this material off to friends . Was he proud of it . He just never pulled it out. Grandpa smoot passes away in 1963. Half a century later, in 2013, when his son bob dies, bobs kids and their spouses are cleaning out the family home. They rediscover that old scrapbook. We all started, like, looking at it again and saying, wow, this is amazing stuff. And theres a lot more squirreled away in dads house, north of houston relics they hadnt even known existed. Theres grandpa smoots monogrammed cowboy boots, his service revolver, and this 4page letter, handwritten by bonnie and signed by clyde. Thats his signature . Thats his signature. Theres more. The siblings find a ledger, written by their father. In his handwriting, the contents of what was in the box. This is what we found that was so interesting Bonnie Parkers ring. Oh, my. In small print three silver snakes with tiny jewels. Bonnie parkers ring . We all went, oh, my god. Where is that . Heres another quiz question for you. The answer when we return. Ll sae sleep number 360 smart bed. You can adjust your comfort on both sides your sleep number setting. Can it help keep us asleep . Absolutely, it intelligently senses your movements and automatically adjusts to keep you both effortlessly comfortable. And snoring . No problem. And done. So you can really promise better sleep . Not promise, prove. And now, the queen sleep number 360 c4 smart bed is only 1,399, save 300. Plus 0 interest for 24 months on all smart beds. Only for a limited time. So, which nonactor did Warren Beatty consider for the role of clyde . The musician and composer who resembled the actual clyde barrow. The descendants of a Renowned Texas lawman are on the hunt for a very personal relic connected to the infamous outlaw lovers, bonnie and clyde. They have only one clue a note written by their father on an inventory list. Bonnie parker ring three silver snakes with tiny jewels. Thats the first we have ever seen or heard anything about the ring. Dad never mentioned it. We had to search for it. They spend hours rummaging through their dads house, near houston, looking for the ring that belonged to Bonnie Parker. Days pass, and they still come up empty. Then, in the back of a closet, debbie comes across a plastic bag filled with old costume jewelry. We poured it out on the floor. There were three of us sitting around, going through this jewelry. Its like panning for gold. It was finally, diana spies a small black box. It was a little box. Opened it up. It was Bonnie Parkers ring. Wow along with the ring, there are other rare mementos, like original photos of the outlaws death car and signed letters from fbi director j. Edgar hoover. It was just like finding treasure after treasure. Debbie takes everything home and tucks it under a bed for safekeeping. In 2016, a few years after their father dies, they decide its time to sell their strange inheritance. We just thought, maybe we should do something with this collection. They learn that in 2015, as you may have seen on a previous episode of this show, rr auction, based in new hampshire, sold two guns attributed to the barrow gang for nearly 500,000. I pay a visit to the auctionhouse office here in boston. When i heard it was the famous sheriff smoot schmid, i got on the first plane to dallas. Whats the timeliness of selling bonnie and clyde memorabilia . They were very famous in 1934 because they left behind these incredible photographs of themselves. Then, in 1967, the movie with faye dunaway and Warren Beatty kept the legend of bonnie and clyde alive. We check out grandpa smoots old scrapbook. Im afraid to turn the page. Its pretty fragile. Turn it. But this page here when i saw this, jamie, i was so excited. These are the original arrest warrants for murder issued in november 1933 by the state of texas. And i wouldnt be surprised goes for 20,000. And whats this . Weve got his sheriffs badge. Its solid gold. Twinkling. Its got a real diamond in it. Only in texas. What do you think, bobby . It looks good on you. You should bid how much . I would think thats gonna go for 10,000. And more items for collectors to drool over, including that letter to a captured exgang member named ray hamilton, written by bonnie and signed by clyde. Thats a letter sent to a gang member they felt was a rat. So, theyre writing hamilton to send him a warning . Like, were on to you . Here he says, if i had found you, you wouldnt have had a chance to give up. Yikes clyde barrow furious enough that he was gonna kill raymond. That in itself is probably worth 40,000. And then, theres that threeheaded snake ring. If that ring was given to Bonnie Parker, then that ring is the closest thing there is to a wedding ring between bonnie and clyde. But i thought they werent married. Bonnie and clyde were never married. Bonnie parker was married to someone else when she was killed. In fact, was wearing her wedding ring. Wow so, the whole time bonnie and clyde were an item, she was still legally married to some other guy and wearing his ring . Then clyde, bobby believes, gives her this one. Why wasnt she wearing it . I dont know why bonnie wasnt wearing it when they had the shootout in sowers in november 1933 when smoot had the shootout. But i do know he lifted all these things out of the car. Could bobby be right . Clydes nephew buddy believes so. In fact, he thinks his uncle could have actually made the ring himself when he was in huntsville prison. Clyde made jewelry in huntsville, and ive got a belt buckle he made while he was incarcerated. Wow with a b . For barrow . For barrow. As for the strange ring, buddy totally can see clyde making it for bonnie. Clyde was sort of a mythical guy. The snake is a symbol of eternal love. It looked like something he could possibly design. Next step . Bring in a jewelry expert. David bellman wonders if the insignia inside bonnies ring is another clue pointing to clyde. Its hard to make out, but he says it might be a music note pierced with an arrow. Arrow, barrow get it . And thats not all. Come to find out that he was actually a selftaught musician. Taught himself how to play the saxophone. In fact, clyde was famously toting his sax in the car when he and bonnie were killed. Quite a tale. Do you buy it . Will the bidders, or is the auction house shooting too high . 6,000, now 6,500. Looking for 6,500. Whats your strange inheritance story . Wed love to tell it. Send me an email or go to our website, strangeinheritance. Com. 2,000 fence posts. 900 acres. 48 bales. All before lunch, which we caught last saturday. We earn our scars. We wear our work ethic. We work until the works done. And when it is, a few hours of shuteye to rest up for tomorrow, the day well finally get something done. but allstate actually helps you drive safely. With drivewise. It lets you know when you go too fast. And brake too hard. With feedback to help you drive safer. Giving you the power to actually lower your cost. Unfortunately, it cant do anything about that. Now that you know the truth. Are you in good hands . ddear humans, i stand here today not for myself, but, for every tail wager, sloppy kisser and curtain ninja. I stand here for each one of the thousands of dogs and cats killed in shelters each day, asking you to join our cause and help us make sure every best friend has a chance to meet one of their own. With best Friends Animal Society leading the charge and your help, we can save them all. Now back to strange inheritance. In boston, in june 2017, the heirs to legendary texas sheriff smoot schmid are ready to sell their strange inheritance. It includes souvenirs he kept after a shootout with bonnie and clyde. Auction exec bobby livingstons expecting quite a haul. Hes especially excited about Bonnie Parkers snakehead ring. That ring is the closest thing there is to a wedding ring between these two lovers. I wouldnt be surprised if that goes for well over 40,000, 50,000. Well see. Then, david bellman, bobbys jewelry expert, gets a new tip on that insignia in the band of bonnies ring. Tell me what you have discovered. It turned out that the hallmark inside that looked like a musical note was actually a shape of a u with an arrow that was a mark for a company out of rhode island that was actually manufacturing rings like this. I didnt get the slamdunk answer i was looking for. You do still believe it was bonnies. Yes. The great news is, it was found in the car in sowers and belonged to smoot schmid, and he attributed it to bonnie. Still, its now doubtful the ring will go for the 50k bobby had estimated. What about the other items . First up on the Auction Block. Sheriff smoot schmids service revolver. I have 3,250 bid. Make it 3,500. Yes, 3,500. Fair warning. Sold, 3,500. [ Cash Register dings ] next, smoots diamondstudded sheriffs badge. Number 2016. It starts with an absentee bid of 4,700 bucks and quickly soars. Now 5,000 here. And now would you give 5,500 . Yes. Okay. 6,000 here . And. I have 7,000. Make it 7,500. 7,500. Now, 8,000 with me . And this one is. Sold, 8,000. Whoo south of the 10k estimate, but the heirs are still happy. Now, those original bonnie and clyde arrest warrants. Estimated price . 20k. Starting bid 5,000. Looking for 5,500. 5,500 and now looking for 6,000. 6,000. Now 6,500. Looking for 6,500. And that is sold, 6,500. Bidders get an even bigger bargain on that angry letter written by bonnie and signed by clyde. Bobby guessed 40,000. Bonnie parker clyde barrow autographed letter, signed. It starts with a phone bid for 12,000. Now 13,000. 13,000 i have now. Make it 14,000. That is 13,000. [ Cash Register dings ] finally, Bonnie Parkers snakehead ring comes up, but with a disclaimer. This was found in the car. It belonged to Bonnie Parker. We no longer believe it was made by clyde barrow. But some bidders are still interested. And i have 14,000 bid. Make it 15,000. We have an absentee bid of 20,000 on this. Im looking now for 22,000. Gonna sell it at 20,000. Sold 20,000. The final tally on the famous texas lawmans collection . Just under 100,000, below bobbys estimate but still pretty good for a bunch of stuff found in grandpas closet. The familys not complaining. Very exciting. Rr did a great job. The barrow family, meantime, predicts there could be more valuable relics on their way to the Auction Block in the years to come. Among the items found in bonnie and clydes death car clydes treasured saxophone. It was returned to his mother and passed down in the family. Then, it went missing. Or, at least, no ones owning up to the fact that they might be hiding the old sax in a closet somewhere. Buddy barrow isnt saying he knows what happened to the sax but that he and other family members do have their own stash of clyde mementos that theyre thinking of selling one day. I reminded buddy, you cant take it with you. Im jamie colby. Thanks for watching strange inheritance. Lou good evening. The radical dimms are accelerating their efforts to unseat the president of the united states. Doing so without regard to convention, law, fair play, which is the american way. And Speaker Pelosi and her handpicked leader of the overthrow effort lack any respect for the will of the people. Instead lying about president trump, his record, and more. We have not spoken directly with the whistleblower. For him to have that dramatic interpretation of the phone call.