Unseen - The Florida Boat Murders: The Disturbing Story of The Duperrault Family | UNSEEN

Episode Date: April 5, 2023

“There’s something evil about the captain” -- The Duperraults are a happy family from Wisconsin. Their father has a dream of bringing the family on a boat trip to the Bahamas and in November of 1961, the Duperraults rent a sailing boat called the Bluebelle along with a friend of the family and his wife. 4 days later, only two of them made it back. What happened on the BlueBelle ship? External footage from: Wolfson Archive, Partners in Motion Inc., "I Survived" (A&E, NHNZ) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

She collapsed from exhaustion and heart failure. Three days earlier, on November 13th, at 1235 p.m., a man was found aboard a dinghy, waving frantically to a nearby ship. He identified himself as Julian Harvey, captain of the Bluebell ship. He told authorities the ship had sunk after a violent storm, and he was the only survivor. Three days later, while Captain Harvey was being questioned by the Coast Guard, he overheard that Terry Joe Duprold had been rescued. The next morning, Julian Harvey was found a dead in his room. The events that sank the Bluebell ship would remain a mystery,

unless, by some miracle, doctors could save its remaining survivor. The 11-year-old girl the world has come to know as the sea orphan. Has she been conscious at all since? That I don't know. I couldn't say, sir. She unconscious when she was brought in. Yes, sir, she's out now, I believe. She was in full shot when she got here. What's her condition?

Serious, but I think she'd be all right. I think she'll live. Behind these windows of Mercy Hall, The hospital overlooking Biscayne Bay lies little Terry Joe Duperalt, still recovering from her ordeal aboard the catch Bluebell. Who were her first words? Her name? She said anything else?

She did. No way. Is there any indication that there might be somebody else out there? Well, there's always a possibility wherever there's hope, and we certainly have hope. The search is going to continue. The year is 1961. Eleven-year-old Terry Joe lives a happy life with her loving family, her father, Arthur, her mother, Jean, her brother Brian, and her baby sister, Renee. Arthur, a successful optometrist, always dreamed of taking his entire family

for a cruise across the world. He charters a 60-foot-long twin-masted sailing catch to make the trip from Fort Lauderdale to the Bahamas. While unable to navigate it himself, he hires a captain, a former World War II fighter pilot named Julian Harvey, who agrees to the trip as he can take his wife Mary Dean along with him. It's November 8, 1961, in the port of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the Duperald family sails out with Captain Harvey at the helm of the ship called the Bluebell. They spend several days exploring Caribbean islands, the children enjoying their share of snorkeling in the neighboring waters. November 12th, the family decides to make the trip back to Florida, at night, excited about this new experience.

In the early hours of the evening, Terry Joe makes her way down to the cabin she shares with her sister. The rest of the family stays upstairs, the children napping, the adults, enjoying the last moments of their vacation. It's November 13th, the following day. At approximately 1235 p.m., a crew member aboard the oil tanker called the Gulf Lion sees a man waving frantically from a dinghy. The man yells the words, help, I have a dead baby on board. As the ship crew pulls the man aboard, they notice the deceased body of a red-haired young girl, wearing a life jacket, laying on the floor of the dinghy. The man identifies himself as Julian Harvey. He explains that at approximately 8.30 p.m. the previous evening, the Bluebell ship was hit by a strong squall,

causing the ship to keel over and the main mass to snap. He was then separated from all other members on board and was forced to abandon the sinking ship. He was unable to save any of the members, including his wife, Mary Dean. His depiction of the events are thorough and leaves little room for doubt that this is what really happened. The problem is, Julian Harvey, is lying. For the next three days, rescue missions are sent across the sea to the area Harvey claims the ship has sunk, hoping to find other survivors, to no avail. On November 15th, Harvey is allowed to return to Miami for further questioning by the U.S. Coast Guard. It's November 17th, five days after the bluebell sank.

Midway through Julian Harvey's interrogation, a captain runs into the room and says, There's a survivor. When hearing the words, Captain Harvey yells out, Oh my God, before quickly calming himself to say, Isn't that wonderful? His behavior then changes drastically, as he asks to be excused from the interrogation, under the pretext of being tired

and wishing to speak with his deceased wife's family. After leaving the interrogation office, Harvey drives a short distance on Biscayne Boulevard before checking in to the Sandman Motel under a fake name. The next morning, a maid walks in to find him dead in his room. This is Euphoria Calvin Klein, The new elixir collection, featuring three perfume intense scents, inspired by a unique orchid accord, paired with vanilla, each with its own distinct attitude, each with its own universe, bold elixir, sensual, woody, addictive, magnetic elixir, sweet and romantic like a lingering touch. Solar elixir, a radiant expression of joy, ultra-concentrated for amplified impact and lasting power.

Find your euphoria. Discover the euphoria elixir collection by Calvin Klein. Can you think of any reason why he would do it or what he did? None other than it. I have known him for these many years, and I think that he had found the dream girl of his life, and since he's been back, and since I picked him up at the airport, I would say that he has been in a very deep state of shock. And I think that he was still in that condition and possibly had never come out of it until the time of his death.

In a hospital bed only seven miles away, Little Terry Joe Duperald is in a coma, recovering from her ordeal at sea, while her rescue makes the front page across the country. The sudden death of Julian Harvey raises more questions than answers about what could have happened on the night the Bluebell sank. Everyone awaits for Terry Joe to wake up and share her side of the story. It's November 20th, when finally the truth unravels. Terry Joe is awake and ready to talk.

Her story begins on the night of November 12th. awakened by my brother screaming, and it was the type of a scream that it set me on edge. I knew something terrible. It happened. She hears the words, help, daddy, help. Then, silence. Alone in her room, she finds courage to walk up to the main deck, but nothing can prepare her for what she's about to find. As I came out here in the kitchen, my brother and brother were lying there, and there was a big pool of blood. I think I went into shock because I didn't go and touch them and I think I knew they were dead.

Unable to look at her mother and brother any longer, she continues to walk toward the upper level, hoping to find her father, when she's met by a crazy-eyed Julian Harvey. She asks him what happened. But instead of answering, he shoves her down the ladder, yelling at her to get back down to her room. I was very trusting and I thought that something bad had happened and he didn't want me to see what it had happened. happened. Terrified of what she just saw, Terry Joe sits on her bed, waiting, when all of a sudden, she notices water coming into her cabin. Fear turns into panic as she becomes aware that the boat is sinking. Before she can have any sort of reaction, Harvey comes into her room, a rifle in his hands. He doesn't say a single word. He just looks at her with madness in his eyes. Then he walks away.

he didn't kill Terry Joe because he knew the boat was sinking. She was a goner. Terry Joe continues to wait in her room, while it is quickly filling up with water. She's afraid of what she might find if she dares go back up, but she might not have any other choice. I decided that I couldn't stay there any longer because the water was making my mattress float, so I waded through and I went on top the deck again. When she finally reaches the main deck,

she sees Captain Harvey setting the dinghy down into the water. She dares to ask him if the boat is sinking. Again, he doesn't answer. Harvey then dives into the pitch black sea and catches on to the dinghy that's floating away. Terry Joe is now alone, the bluebell nearly fully sunk, and the only living soul around has disappeared into the night. Terry Joe somehow had the presence of mine to remember that there was a life float lashed to the deck.

I knew the boat was going down and it was, do this or die. I scrambled over the sails to the top of the deck where I knew a cork raft was untied it, threw it over the side, and got in it. By the time Terry Joe makes it onto the cork raft, the boat is gone.

But the rope that tied the raft on board is still attached to the sunken ship, threatening to pull her under unless she can untie it in time. She scrambles in the darkness, unable to see anything. She does her best to find the knots with her fingers and pull at the wet stream.

with her nails, just as the rope begins to pull her raft under water. She succeeds, freeing herself from the bluebell. I huddled in this raft, and it was very dark, and I was motionless and silent, and I just stayed that way and stayed that way. It finally dawned on me that there was something evil about Captain Harvey, and I was very fearful that he would find me. Floating alone into darkness, she refrains from screaming out for help, worried of what Captain Harvey might do if he found her. So she sits and waits and waits, not making a sound,

waiting for morning to come. When the sun finally rises, she's relieved to find that she's all alone, and Harvey is nowhere in sight, but all she can see is water in every direction. November 13th, Terry Joe Duprold sits on her lifeloat, her legs dangling in the water. I was sitting in this cork raft, and the bottom was interlaced rope in the only position I I could be and was sitting. And the parrotfish started picking at me through the rope. Her feet are bleeding, but there's nothing she can do about it. As the hours pass, the sun quickly becomes a threat as well, burning her skin for hours

on end. With no water or food, she starts to think she might not last for very long. She focuses on trying to spot any ship or plane on the horizon. Hopefully someone is aware that ship has gone down, and by some miracle, they'll send help to save her. When the night comes, Terry Joe has to stay sitting. And though she tries to stay awake, she's exhausted, and her mind drifts in and out of consciousness.

I had a dream that I could see the blue lights of an airport, the landing strip, and I could see that my parents were waiting for me. At the end of the landing strip, I was going to meet them. I jumped out of the raft and jumping, out of the raft awakened me, and fortunately I hadn't let go, and I scrambled back in. She realizes that it's dangerous to sleep. If she loses the raft, she's as good as dead. November 14th, as the dawn breaks, she sees a small red plane circling overhead. She starts to get excited, convinced that she'll finally be rescued. But there's just one problem.

The life raft that she was able to get off of the blue bill was white. wave caps are white and it was just impossible to see this little white oval thing bouncing around on the ocean surrounded by these white waves there was a red search plane that came so close to me I could almost reach up and grab it I took my blouse off and I waved it thinking

and I was screaming and thinking that you know I'm here I'm here don't you see me The plane comes around and dives just above her head, close enough that she can see the details on the underside. She's convinced that the plane will come to her rescue. They flew off and was very disheartening. When she spots a ship on the horizon, she starts to paddle with her hands and feet, but it becomes clear to her that she could never reach it in time.

Her hope fades with every ship she sees. November 16th, Terry Joe has been holding on to life in her corkraft for four days and nights. She no longer hopes when she sees a boat or plane. She just sits, her mind drifting off. Her lips are swollen and dry. Her body aches all over. Her skin feels like it caught fire. She stares ahead, not paying much attention to the ships that, like all the others before, have come and went.

The truth is, she's losing consciousness. A Greek freighter was going through the Providence Channel in the Bahamas, and one of the men on deck, He was looking out across the sea that was covered of white caps, but he noticed in the distance one white cap that didn't seem to disappear. The man in the lookout spotted me with his binoculars and at first thought that I was a fisherman and then realized that a fisherman wouldn't be out in such a little boat. It must have seemed like something completely unreal

because she was almost in a coma at that point in time. I was almost dead from exposure and dehydration. My heart rate was irregular. My kidneys weren't working. So I was near death. Has she been conscious at all since? That I don't know. I couldn't say, sir.

She unconscious when she was drawn in. Yes, sir. She's out now, I believe. Behind these windows of Mercy Hospital overlooking Biscayne Bay lies little Terry Joe Duprook still recovering from her ordeal aboard the catch bluebell.

She was in full shot when she got here. Who were her first words? A name. Just her name? She said anything else? No way. Express any feeling? Any pain?

Micrating, no words. What's her condition? I'm serious. I think she'll be all right. I think she'll live. It's November 20th. Terry Joe Duprold has just delivered her testimony to the investigators from her hospital bed.

She confirmed that everything Captain Harvey said about the events has been a lie. It is concluded that the catch bluebell was intentionally sunk, scuttled, It is further concluded that Arthur Duperalt, Jean Duporalt, Brian Duporalt, and Mary Jordan Harvey lost their lives at the hands of Julian A. Harvey prior to the sinking of the vessel. The exact nature of the circumstances whereby these lives were lost, or the order in which they perish cannot be ascertained. It is further concluded that the motives for the acts of Julian A. Harvey cannot be ascertained. However, the fact that he was the sole beneficiary of his wife's insurance policy and that he was sorely in need of funds must be considered. When looking into Julian Harvey's past, it becomes plausible that he had done that before.

His record showed a history of insurance fraud, boat sunk or burned, of airplanes crashed, and, worst of all, his ex-wife being killed in an automobile accident. Although the details surrounding the deaths of the Duperal family remain unknown, the investment The investigation shows that it is likely Julian Harvey was in the process of killing his wife, when he was caught by either Arthur or Gene Duparalt. Harvey then decided to kill everyone on board and sink the ship to hide his crime. What he didn't take into account was for little 11-year-old Terry Joe to survive alone at sea and ruin his devious plan.

What was Terry Joe's attitude during the interview? She was very composed. I was surprised at the amount of fortitude and confidence. that she has shown throughout. We asked her several times if she was getting tired and wanted to stop, but she said no. She answered all questions in a very frank and forthright and honest manner. She is quite a young lady.

Terry Joe is safe, but the girl whom the world has come to know as the sea orphan has lost her entire family. Her aunt and uncle take her in, treating Terry Joe as if she was their own daughter. I loved my aunt and uncle dearly. And to this day, they're my parents. But at that time, I never wanted to let go of my mom and dad. And so growing up, it was very difficult.

I didn't believe my father was dead because I had not seen him. I would just pick up and leave on a whim. I would drive to, like, North Carolina Beach looking for me. my dad, I was always searching. I did that for many, many years until I was about 35 and I accepted it finally. All her adult life, Terry Joe has been attracted by the water, working to help regulation and zoning. Even after all her trauma, she still feels a strong bond between her and the sea. She says she wants to protect the ocean because the ocean saved her as a child. It's also her way of feeling connected with her family. It's a testimony to the strength of the human will

and the human spirit. It's a morality tale. It's a story of more than surviving. It's a story of the power of evil, but the refusal of the human spirit to be dominated by evil. If you're putting in a situation that is challenging, you have to adapt to whatever the circumstances are and go with the flow. And I think that anybody that does this can survive. I'm so fortunate that I had my family. I hope that I can just continue to be healthy and happy and, you know, have the wonderful love that I share with my family and friends. It took years for her to recover from her ordeal at sea, but today, Terry Joe has become a beacon of hope for survivors everywhere.

She is living proof that even after tragedy, there's a life worth living.