The Unforgotten – Season 5: Riding Shotgun

Episode 1: The Guys in the Bug

Date: March 23, 2026
Host: Michelle Pitcher (with Wes Ferguson)
Produced by: Free Range Productions in association with the Texas Observer

Episode Overview

Season 5 of “The Unforgotten” revisits the 1998 murder of Betty Black in Farmers Branch, Texas—a case that sent Charles Don Flores to death row. Despite his conviction, doubts linger about Flores’s guilt, with the prosecution anchored on a hypnotized witness, inconsistent testimony, and scant physical evidence. Episode 1, “The Guys in the Bug,” introduces the central mystery: Was Flores involved, or is Texas poised to execute an innocent man? The show unpacks witness accounts, the investigation’s focus on a psychedelic VW Beetle, and the local drug scene’s entanglement with the crime.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Memory and the Use of Hypnosis

• The episode opens with a 1998 hypnosis session of Jill Barganier, Betty Black’s neighbor, used to help recall details about suspects she witnessed on the morning of the murder (01:31-04:01).
  • Quote (about hypnosis):
    “This isn’t a stage performance...Jill is sitting in an office at the Farmer’s Branch police department...trying to get her to remember some new details...”
    — Michelle Pitcher (02:22)
  • Pitcher questions the reliability of hypnotically recovered memories:
    “Memory doesn’t actually work that way. Like a tape you can pause, rewind, and zoom in...” (03:04).
• Jill’s hypnotically refreshed account becomes pivotal in the case and is later repeated in court, affecting Flores’s fate.

2. The Crime and Initial Investigation

• On January 29, 1998, two men in a distinctively painted pink-and-purple VW Bug are seen approaching 2965 Bergen Lane, home of Bill and Betty Black (06:21-07:30).
  • Quote:
    “The bug looks like a float in a parade...It absolutely looks like a homemade paint job...It’s definitely eye catching and it’s definitely a young person’s.”
    — Michelle Pitcher (07:06)
• Betty Black, 64, is shot and killed along with her dog Santana. The house is ransacked, especially the bathrooms—possibly in search of drug money belonging to her incarcerated son, Gary Black (08:02-10:25).
• Police quickly suspect the murder is tied to the local methamphetamine scene and potential missing drug money (11:10-11:23).

3. The Drug Scene and Community Context

• Farmers Branch, a quiet northern Dallas suburb, is revealed to have strong, hidden connections to the broader Dallas drug trade (16:54-17:47).
  • Quote:
    “Behind the gleaming face of Dallas lies a war zone. Police spend half a billion dollars a year fighting drugs. But they’re losing the war.”
    — Jeff Aschebranner quoting from a TV documentary (17:10)
• Officers in the narcotics unit are brought in due to the Black family’s link to Gary, a well-known dealer (14:00-15:37).

4. The Search for the Suspects

• Multiple witnesses describe seeing the unique VW Bug and two suspicious men early that morning; their descriptions, however, are inconsistent (18:47-20:11).
  • Jill describes “two white guys with similar medium to long hair” but can only firmly identify the driver, later revealed as Rick (Richard) Childs.
• Police quickly identify the Bug’s owner: Richard “Rick” Childs, a known acquaintance of the victim’s family through his girlfriend, Jackie Roberts (Gary Black’s estranged wife) (20:46-21:08).
• Childs is surveilled, disguised, and arrested. But the mystery remains: who was the passenger? (21:08-22:18)

5. Witness Struggles and Hypnosis

• Despite hypnosis, Jill fails to identify the passenger—Charles Flores—prompting police to rely on testimonies from other suspects (22:51-23:53).
  • Quote:
    “[Jill] described the passenger to police as a white man with darker hair...She did another composite sketch...that honestly looked similar to Rick, but that didn’t lead anywhere.”
    — Michelle Pitcher (22:51)

6. Interrogation and the Emergence of ‘Fat Charlie’

• Both Rick and Jackie, under pressure and likely withdrawal/lack of sleep, eventually mention a third man: ‘Fat Charlie’—a nickname for Charles Flores (23:58-24:19).
  • Memorable Interrogation Moment:
    “You know this guy here? Reason I’m talking to you now is Charlie’s a pretty bad cat. All right? …I’m being honest with you man. I’m not bullshitting you, Ricky. You’re fucked.” — Officer interrogating Rick (26:01)
• Police quickly focus on Flores based on informant talk and a database hit, despite his physical appearance and ethnicity contradicting most witness accounts (25:07-26:01).

7. Contradictory Narratives

• Rick and Jackie’s Story: Flores becomes their main suspect, accused of arming himself, breaking into the Black house with Rick, and pulling the trigger (27:37-29:53).
  • Quote:
    “Rick said Charles was the main actor...that Charles is the one who broke into the house...who shot Mrs. Black.”
    — Michelle Pitcher (29:26)
• Flores’s Version: He admits to being present in the preceding drug deal but says he stayed home after sending Rick and Jackie away. He claims to be the victim of a setup (30:28-30:45).
  • Quote:
    “My overwhelming feeling was that it was a setup from the beginning, man.”
    — Charles Flores (30:28)

8. Issues with Evidence and ID

• No physical evidence (DNA, fingerprints, fibers, ballistics) connects Flores to the murder (04:38-04:57).
  • Defense attorney Gretchen Swenegan:
    “They have no DNA. They have no fingerprints, they have no ballistics, they have no fibers. They have nothing that you would think of as objective evidence connecting Charles to this crime scene.” (04:45)
• Witness lineups fail to ID Flores; only co-defendant testimony implicates him (33:13-33:45).
  • Swenegan:
    “After narcotics officers got a hold of Charles mugshot, they put it in a lineup and showed it to Jill…Jill looked at the line of mugshots and did not pick out Charles. She didn’t pick anyone.” (33:13)

9. A Case Built on Questionable Testimony

• Police proceed with a capital murder charge regardless of the flaws, shaped by a hypnotized, indecisive witness and two co-defendants seeking leniency (33:13-34:23).
• Flores becomes the prime suspect despite his physical differences from the composite and descriptions (32:33-32:47).

Notable Quotes and Moments

• On Flores’s fear of police:
  “I remember thinking in my mind like, man, the cops are going to kill my ass. When they catch me, they’re going to shoot me. So I was really afraid, right? And it’s crazy because I’m right. Look where I’m at. Look where I’ve been. You know what I’m saying? I’m on death row.”
  — Charles Flores (34:23)

• Tension between police testimony and evidence:
  “It seems like one picture was emerging from the neighbors on Bergen Lane and another from the people in the local drug scene.”
  — Michelle Pitcher (25:32)

Timestamps of Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |-----------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:31 | Jill Barganier’s hypnosis session begins | | 03:04 | Host discusses problems with using hypnosis as evidence | | 06:21 | Crime morning reconstructed; VW Bug arrives outside Betty Black’s house | | 08:02 | Victim background and discovery of crime scene | | 11:23 | Drug money/motive for the crime surfaces | | 15:08 | Gary Black’s (victim’s son) history and police involvement | | 17:10 | Reference to Dallas drug war and city’s crime context | | 18:47 | Witnesses’ varying descriptions of suspects; car becomes focus | | 20:46 | Police identify Rick Childs as VW Bug driver | | 21:08 | Rick Childs arrested after attempting to evade police | | 22:51 | Jill fails to ID passenger; hypnosis/procedural issues | | 23:53 | Rick and Jackie implicate “Fat Charlie” (Charles Flores) | | 25:07 | Flores is identified and becomes main suspect | | 29:10 | Rick and Jackie’s detailed account implicating Flores | | 30:00 | Flores offers counter-narrative, claims set up | | 32:33 | Defense raises concerns over witness descriptions; first interview notes lost | | 33:13 | Lineup fails to identify Flores; reliance on co-defendant stories | | 34:23 | Flores on his fear and hopelessness regarding the justice system |

Tone and Style

• The tone is investigative with a deep undercurrent of skepticism about the police methods and the reliability of evidence.
• Speakers are direct and plainspoken, often infusing the narrative with personal memories and frustration at the case’s contradictions.

Summary Notes for New Listeners

This episode serves as a gripping true-crime investigation, critiquing the intersection of flawed eyewitness procedures, drug-fueled desperation, and systemic judicial issues. It lays foundational questions about memory, guilt, the pressure to close a case, and whether justice has truly been served—for Betty Black, her family, and Charles Flores. As the season unfolds, expect deeper scrutiny of the evidence, legal proceedings, and the lives upended or ended by this “unforgotten” crime.