Postmarked For Murder

48 Hours Mystery: A Son Learns His Dad's 'Suicide' Was Murder

(CBS)  So 48 Hours decided to pursue its own investigation in Mulhall, and find out who would sign for an overnight letter it sent to "M. Smith, c/o of the U.S. Post Office."

Bennett signed for the letter, and Dow approached her. "Did you open the letter that you just signed," he asked.

Bennett said she did: "I represent the U.S. Postal Office.

But according to the U.S. Postal Service, Bennett had no authority to open the letter.

When Dow asked Bennett if she knew a Mark Smith, or an M. Smith, she said no. But six denials, and a half hour later, Bennett changed her mind: "I do know a Mark Smith. Well, not personally ... He lives in Marshall. He's a welder. He's a young man. I think he was born and raised in Hennessey."

For not knowing someone personally, Bennett seemed to know quite a bit about Mark Smith. Could she somehow be involved in helping get the reward money to M. Smith?

"You can tell us nothing about the death of Harold Buddy Vest back in 1946?" asked Dow.

"No," said Bennett.

Needless to say, Herb's investigators aren't done with the Mulhall Post Office yet. But now, there's a new lead: the name of one of the men who may have killed Buddy Vest.

Herb's search for his father's killers has always been about redemption, not retribution. And a condition of Herb's forgiveness is that the people involved reveal their identities.

"If Smith and the other perpetrators do not come forth, I will recommend to the D.A., 'Prosecute them to the full extent of the law,'" said Herb. "Any civil action that I can personally take against them, I will."

Herb's investigators are now focusing their investigation on identifying the three men who were said to be there the night of Buddy's murder. They believe at least one man is a cop: Smith's married boyfriend who is referred to as "Jim" in her letter.

And there's the name of a Gainesville cop that has also been brought to the attention of all involved in the case: Jack Garrett.

"I would say he was one of the meanest men in Gainesville," says Dotty Troop, Garrett's sister-in-law.

And, according to newspaper accounts, and his own children, Garrett had actually been involved in two shootings, one while on the police force, and one as a civilian. Garrett killed the civilian but claimed self-defense and was exonerated.

"I know that Jack Garrett is the kind of man that would do that, and it wouldn't even bother him," said Troop. "He'd go home and sleep like a baby. He's cold."

Today, Herb's investigators are speculating that Garrett could be Smith's boyfriend, Jim. But they acknowledge some problems with Smith's timeline.

In fact, when Buddy died, Garrett wasn't a cop, but the Gainesville city attorney. Herb's investigators think Smith may have made subtle changes in her letter to protect the true identities of those involved.

Still, there is no proof that Garrett is involved, and one of his children has told 48 Hours that Garrett had nothing to do with Buddy's death.

The answer may have perished with Garrett, who died more than 30 years ago. But with a dozen police officers on the force in 1946, the search for suspects continues.

And still, there are more clues to be uncovered. Herb and his mother are having additional DNA testing performed on the envelope containing Smith's letter. The first tests found an unknown male's DNA on the flap.

Herb's mission is far from over, but it has brought him closer to his father, the man he never knew. "Before, I always talked about my father, but now he's 'Dad' to me," said Herb.

But now, Herb knows the truth: that his father was a victim.

"I feel like he'd be proud of his little boy that went on and got to the bottom of it, albeit 60 years later," said Herb.

This week, Herb Vest increased the reward to $100,000 for information about his father's murder. Herb also says he will pay for the defense of anyone charged in the murder, if they come forward voluntarily.