(dramatic music) (phone rings) - [Sandra] Hi there, is this the Oregon State Hospital?
- [Woman] Yes it is.
- [Sandra] My brother is there and I was wondering if I could get in touch with his case worker.
- [Woman] Let me give you another number.
(phone rings) - [Sandra] My name is Sandra Luckow and my brother is in the hospital there and I was wondering if I could find out some information about him.
- [Man] I'm sorry, there are confidentially laws.
I can't tell you whether he's here or not.
- [Sandra] I definitely know he's there because the Multnomah County Police told me that they took him to the hospital.
I can at least provide info- - [Man] Yeah I couldn't do that without telling you he was here or not but you can do that in a letter phone.
Of course you can write a letter to anybody.
You can write attention to the doctor in charge of whoever the patient is you think may be here.
- [Duanne] Okay, hey everybody, can you see me?
I'm going to give you a little tour of this place.
This is Duanne.
I'm just gonna see if I'm in the frame, in the photo.
Okay?
So heres the room, I have a roommate.
This is where some of my clothes are.
I'll give you a view of my bedroom, my area.
The room, anyway.
I'm not supposed to be filming this.
I'm just showing you this nice little garden.
That's the only thing I have hope for that some day I'll get out of this place.
(tense ethereal music) (somber instrumental music) - [Sandra] I know I'm almost back home when I see the Cascade Mountains of the Pacific Northwest.
St. Helens, Rainier, Adams, and Hood.
My brother Duanne and I grew up on these mountains, with our mom and dad we built a cabin on St. Helens deep in the forest, near the glacier fed Spirit Lake.
(explosion booming) But on May 18th, 1980, our mountain erupted with a force 200 times that of the Hiroshima bomb.
37 years later, it still looks like a moonscape.
Sometimes I dream our cabin survived, despite the eruption.
Now, years later, our family faces another crisis.
This time with my brother Duanne.
He was involuntarily committed to the Oregon State Hospital.
Infamous from the novel and film, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."
Despite his involuntary commitment, the state hospital presented him with the bill for almost $118,000.
- [Sandra] Hello?
- [Doctor] Sandra?
- [Sandra] Yes.
- [Doctor] I'm calling from Oregon State Hospital.
I'm just calling to let you know that we got Duanne accepted into a transitional housing facility.
- [Sandra] That is great.
- [Doctor] It is.
I changed his diagnosis from paranoid schizophrenia to general delusional disorder.
- [Sandra] Can you do that?
- [Doctor] Yeah.
We want to make sure he's not on the streets.
- [Duanne] This is my room, 303.
(phone ringing) Let's see who this is.
Excuse me.
Hello?
Yes, Mr. Ken Man.
Working on being interviewed, my sister's interviewing me right now.
She just came into town.
I will tell her hi, Ken, bye.
- [Sandra] What do you think of this place?
- [Duanne] Well I'm not too keen about being downtown but it's better than sleeping on the streets.
(tense electronic music) in every city, there is a place where those who are down on their luck come to wile away the hours.
These men are the heart soul of Portland's historic district.
Giving it a character and odor of all its own.
- [Sandra] Duanne has filmed his surroundings his entire life.
- [Duanne] I'm here in Mexico and I'm having some tacos made by a named Chu Chu.
- [Sandra] I was inspired by Duanne's work and became a filmmaker, documenting my reality.
I came back to Portland to make my first film about a figure skater going to her first national competition.
Years later, when scandal broke, I produced a segment for "60 Minutes".
- [Steve Kroft] Who is Tonya Harding?
We found some answers in a student film made eight years ago by a friend who used to skate with her.
- [Sandra] Making a film together felt like a productive and natural way for us to look at what had happened to Duanne and how he would rebuild his life.
- [Duanne] Are you enjoying your documentary, building your documentary?
With me?
- [Sandra] I am, I mean its a great project for us to have, don't you think?
- [Duanne] Yeah.
Its kind of like we're coming up with this story.
That's something that I've, you know going through all this crap that I mean, it's something that we'll have on tape.
How you doing today?
You want a beef burrito or a bean and cheese?
For somebody that is labeled mentally ill, that's the part that bothers me.
It's like, when you put a label on somebody, is it forever or is it a temporary deal?
- [Sandra] I think you need to think of it like, you know, you get a cold.
Do you get a cold forever?
- [Both] No.
- [Sandra] Do you get colds more than once?
Possibly.
- [Duanne] Yeah.
- [Sandra] Right?
It doesn't, it doesn't define you if you don't let it, right?
- [Duanne] Mm-hmm.
I don't want to be labeled as mentally ill.
I want to be labeled as somebody that is a normal person.
And so let's try to prove to people that I am a normal person.
- [Sandra] But was he a normal person?
I really didn't know my brother.
As adults we lived such different lives.
I lived on the east coast since college and only recently do we have regular conversations I thought we could move forward by looking back at some memories found in Pioneer Square.
- [Duanne] So we need to look for square nine.
This must be square nine.
Square nine.
- [Sandra] Tell me, Duanne, what are we looking for?
- [Duanne] We are looking for CHS Humanities 1982.
- [Sandra] Which is what?
- [Duanne] That is Clackamas High School Humanities.
Mr. Walker.
What was his first name?
- [Sandra] Pete.
- [Duanne] Pete, yeah.
Mr. Pete, the bald headed dude.
Here it is.
I found it.
(laughs) It's right here.
CHS Humanities, 1982.
- [Sandra] What kind of class was this, Duanne?
- [Duanne] What do you mean what kind of class was it?
- [Sandra] Well tell us, what did you learn, what did you learn in this class?
- [Duanne] Oh we learned how to read books, we learned how to, all kinds of, just about the American culture.
(upbeat pop rock music) - [Sandra] Duanne and I went to high school in the '80s, even though we were only 13 months apart, we were involved in very different activities and had our separate group of friends.
It was there he taught himself filmmaking.
But to me, he was also a typical teenager, running track, into cars, and girls.
But, he never dated in high school and it seemed he was only able to be near girls by taking pictures of them.
(camera shutter clicking) - [Duanne] That was a good one.
- [Sandra] After high school, Duanne continued filmmaking and photography with a passion for beautiful women.
- [Duanne] That's the shot I've been waiting for.
- [Sandra] Secret agents and impossible missions.
- [Recorder] Good morning, Mr. Phelps.
- [Sandra] Usually starring himself.
- [Duanne] My name is Bond, James Bond.
(dramatic orchestral music) - [Scott] Duanne wasn't afraid to get in front of the camera.
It wasn't Duanne in the movies he was making, he was taking on the character.
Forget, I'm not Duanne, I'm Bond.
- [Steve] Nice shot, James.
- [Sandra] His heroes were the clever, suave, sophisticated men working undercover.
The playboy with a license to kill, rooting out evil and corruption.
Even if all the odds were against him.
- [Duanne] Cinnamon, go to it.
- [Man] Are you ready to begin?
[Duanne] Sure am, sure am.
[Doug] Oh that looks good.
[Duanne] He'll be directly behind you, over there, okay?
- [Scott] When it came to directing, it just seemed to be kinda of a natural instinct.
He had the confidence to do it himself.
(tense electronic ethereal music) - [Duanne] Great, great, great.
Not too fast, we're filming 18.
- [Steve] He was very smart with whatever he was into and he would take it to the fullest extent.
- [Duanne] Okay you ready?
Go ahead.
- [Sandra] How'd you feel looking at some of your old filmmaking stuff.
Does it ever make you wish that you had gone on and done movies?
[Duanne] No, not really.
You can't get away with the things that we used to do.
Like, I mean, not today.
- [Man] I can put a safety on for you.
(gun firing) [Duanne] I mean I look at it now and I'm really happy with the path that I've led in my life.
Gone on to the car thing.
- [Sandra] So tell me about this car, [Duanne] This is a 1965 Turbocharged Convertible Corvair, I restored it in 1995.
I decided to do a total restoration and take it all down to bare metal and start over fresh.
(soft music) - [Sandra] Cars, particularly classic cars were a very big part of our family life.
As it had been for my father and our grandfather.
Duanne bought and restored his first car, a 1938 Dodge pickup at the age of 14.
He later sold it to a museum.
He was a master machinist with his own business.
- [Gerald] He's got machinery there where he can make parts.
He can make a fender if he can't buy one anymore.
- [Steve] Being able to grow up with your dad that was an artist with cars, can't find any finer and Duanne was following in his footsteps.
I mean his craftsmanship was just par none.
It was just right up there on top with the best restoration people there are.
Very few people in the world have restored a Duesenberg.
There were just for the most wealthiest people in the country and they were all custom built.
It was just phenomenal what he did with that car.
Duanne was kind of someone that I looked up to and almost worshiped because what he did and what he was accomplishing.
- [Ken] Duanne was detailed oriented.
He's the famous guy that wouldn't drill a hole, he always punched a hole, left a better edge.
He was passionate about what he did.
It wasn't like just a job.
(engine sputtering) [Duanne] I just don't think its getting enough gas.
- [Gerald] You think that choke's on, Duanne.
- [Duanne] I think so, Dad.
- [Sandra] Duanne surpassed our dad's capabilities.
- [Gerald] That's the throttle, I think.
- [Duanne] This is the choke.
- [Gerald] Oh.
- [Duanne] We have any of that starter fluid?
- [Gerald] Ah, let's see.
- [Sandra] But the bond created from these shared skills endured, despite my fathers advancing dementia.
- [Duanne] Well let's see.
Here's some.
I'll put a little in and it should take right off.
- [Sandra] Duanne's passions weren't unusual in the context of our family.
We identified and valued ourselves by what we did.
Even if it verged on obsession and delusion.
It was fun.
(energetic adventurous music) After seeing a James Bond movie, our father bought plans for a gyrocopter, built it out of car parts and flew it himself.
He never considered the danger and he never doubted that it would fly.
Our mother created perfectly scaled miniatures.
She filled the structures with characters, stories, and scandals based on the opulence of her wealthy Mexican childhood.
And then there was me.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are here today.
[Juanito] And gone tomorrow.
- [Sandra] Performing ventriloquism professionally starting at the age of 13.
[Juanito] Clothes!
- [Sandra] My dummy was a piece of wood filled with all of the characteristics I felt people wanted from me.
[Dolores] And he is more appreciative of the clothes than you are.
[Juanito] Yes exactly, that's exactly right.
I love clothes.
- [Steve] You better hurry, Duanne.
- [Sandra] Our eccentricity defined who we were.
- [Duanne] Let her go.
(cheers) - [Sandra] But where was the line between creativity and crazy?
(dramatic music) [Steve] He would do really bizarre things to try and attract girls.
He would take his teeth out with his teeth that got busted out in that motorcycle accident.
He did that a lot with different girls.
Why would you ever do something like that?
- [Scott] It was just like a personality switch at the end of the night.
He would just do stuff that would just be total opposite of what you'd want to do to get close to somebody.
- [Steve] I had people, throughout the years, that kind of almost made fun of him.
Just different things that he would do with the girls.
- [Duanne] Well I think it all started out at January of 2010.
That's when I fell in love with Jessica.
[Jessica] How many people is this happening to who feel alone?
You know, who can't share this?
Because they feel, you know, crazy, or they won't be understood and that's really sad and not fair.
You know, we have the right to share and express what is within us.
I'm not praying or wishing or hoping for peace and love anymore.
I've decided to become it.
- [Sandra] It made sense that he felt an intimacy, yet a protective distance with this new age spiritual guru of the internet.
But I became worried when I realized he thought she was speaking only to him.
- [Duanne] I wanted to go find out about her and my good friend Bill told me to go up and find out if she's real and that was my purpose.
So I went up there.
I went up there in such a hurry that I forgot credentials and things that I needed.
- [Sandra] Duanne arrived at the Canadian border, no money, drivers license, or any form of ID.
The border patrol asked him for an address and he said he didn't need one.
His psychic guides would safely deliver him.
Then, without permission, he hit the gas and charged through.
He was caught and detained for six hours.
I happened to call him as he was driving back.
He was agitated and confused, saying the guides in his head were brainwashing him.
I asked him to go to our parents house and I had my parents call the police.
- [Duanne] Hi, how are you doing?
- [Officer 1] Good.
- [Duanne] Good.
- [Officer 1] Looking for Duanne.
- [Duanne] Yes.
- [Officer 1] Are you Duanne?
- [Duanne] That depends on which Duanne you're looking for.
- [Officer 1] Duanne Luckow.
- [Duanne] Okay.
- [Officer 1] Is there a reason why you're filming me?
- [Duanne] Yes.
- [Officer 2] Take your hand out of your pocket just to make sure you don't have any weapons.
Thank you, sir.
- [Duanne] Yes, okay.
- [Officer 1] The reason why we're here is the Multnomah County Crisis line called, worried that you're delusional and that you were going to hurt yourself or somebody else.
- [Officer 2] Have you ever thought about seeing a mental health professional?
- [Duanne] No, I don't believe I need it.
I'm not on any kind of medications.
[Officer 2] Have you ever, I mean would you ever consider it?
- [Duanne] Yeah, I would consider it.
I have no reason not to.
- [Officer 2] Some of the behaviors your parents have seen are things that are concerning.
You're not acting yourself.
Today, I don't see that you're a danger to me, you're not a danger to yourself, I don't believe you're a danger to your parents.
They're a little concerned because you know, you have weapons in your house and if you do start acting differently people who have weapons.
- [Duanne] I have weapons in my house?
- [Officer 2] That's what I was told.
Is that true?
- [Duanne] Do I have a gun at my home?
Yes, I have a gun at my home.
- I just think it'd be worth you talking to a mental health professional.
- [Duanne] Here we are at Portland Adventist Hospital, about to be evaluated.
- Uh huh, sure.
Sir, I don't think you need, you should take a picture of this.
Is there a reason why that you're taking a picture?
- [Duanne] Now did you see how she wrote my name?
She hand wrote my name, right?
Okay.
So that was done by a human being, that was not done by a machine.
We're being admitted for an emergency right now for being normal, we're normal people doing normal things.
- [Sandra] You went into the hospital the first time at Portland Adventist and you were released after three days because- [Duanne] Five days.
- [Sandra] Five day, sorry, because they couldn't do anything more for you, right?
[Duanne] Correct.
- [Sandra] Because you would not want to take the medication.
Why didn't you want to take the medication?
[Duanne] I didn't want to take the medication because I didn't believe I had a difficulty and I read a book called Murder by Injection by Eustace Mullen and that book clearly states that there's a medical conspiracy against America.
There's the water that I refuse to drink.
I just can't believe that there's something wrong.
I've gone all through my life without taking medications and now all of a sudden, at age 46, I'm required to take medications because of my beliefs.
- [Sandra] Because he refused medication, Duanne was released from the hospital and returned home.
- [Duanne] Here is my shop right here.
Several orders to do.
Heres the equipment and the machinery.
Which I make my drip rails.
I was not able to work as of around January 30th.
Went up into Canada February 4th to marry Jessica.
So this is the documentation that I have.
- [Steve] Duanne hadn't been working and he was getting financially in trouble and so he asked me a few different things he wanted to know if was interested in buying some of these tools.
- [Ken] We knew that Duanne was in big trouble.
He had a stack of pawn slips that high from stuff he'd sold.
- [Duanne] Well I've had a fire in the house.
I had a furnace fire, terrible.
- [Ken] And then when Duanne turned on the heat on, the heat exchanger cracked.
- [Sandra] It was not a fire but a back puff of smoke and soot through the vents.
- [Ken] Duanne was convinced that that was fire damage and his insurance should cover it.
- [Gerald] The furniture and stuff that was in that house all of his clothes and everything got smoked up and it got bad and so it had to be cleaned.
[Ken] He turned in what, 52 different insurance claims.
(dramatic music) - [Duanne] Let's go inside and begin work.
These are the documents that I'm going to get Farmer's Insurance with and the banks who have been working together to fraud me.
[Ken] Farmer's finally had to get a restraining order from him.
- [Cindy] When Duanne started emailing me on Facebook about making sure I was gonna be in prison, it alarmed me.
- [Duanne] So the time will soon tell what's gonna happen to these people.
Cindy A.
Rein, Joseph R. Sprando, they are the culprits in this mess.
Now, they're gonna have to pay for it.
[Cindy] I have no idea what he thought I was supposed to be doing.
[Ken] Duanne claimed he was being poisoned by the smoke damage in the house.
So he even moved into a tent in his own backyard.
- [Duanne] I'll show you where I've been staying for the last month.
Yeah, this is a tent that I bought, compliments of Farmer's Insurance, of course.
This is my little home from home down in here.
- [Steve] Got to the point where he moved out of his house and went and got a whole bunch of survival gear.
He did start slowly talking about you know, getting off the grid and researching a lot of government conspiracies.
- [Duanne] Heres the new meters that they just put in, probably cheating everybody.
Let's see if there's any chem trails.
Oh look at that.
They gave us a day with no chem trails, wonderful, wonderful.
[Steve] And how these chem trails in the sky was all to do with the government and what they were trying to do to us.
[PGE Man] Hi.
- [Duanne] Hi, there.
[PGE Man] Kept ringing the doorbell but no one answered.
- [Duanne] Okay.
[PGE Man] I'm here to collect some money on a past due account.
[Ken] Things escalated pretty quickly when I learned that he didn't believe he had to pay for his power.
[PGE Man] Are you Duanne?
- [Duanne] Yes.
[PGE Man] Last payment we got was in may 19th for $28.
- [Duanne] I don't think so.
I think I went down and paid.
Okay here he is, he's leaving.
Let's get the plate number.
He's taking off, he's turned my electricity off.
I have no power, I'm not able to work.
So let's cut this open and let's do what we need to do.
- [Ken] He would change his meter and cover it so they couldn't turn it off.
I mean this is the guy that was climbing up power poles hooking the electricity back as soon as the power guy would leave.
Power guy would come unhook it again.
As soon as they'd leave, he'd put another meter in there.
He had this new belief system that electricity was from nature so you shouldn't have to pay for it.
- [Duanne] Hello?
[PGE Man] Have your power hooked up?
- [Duanne] Yes.
- [PGE Man] Who put that meter on?
- [Duanne] I don't know.
Don't know who put it on.
Somebody put this note on here.
- [PGE Man] So what's you're saying is somebody's done this and posted these things on there?
- [Duanne] Yep.
- [Hey, hey, hey.
Meter, meter, meter.
- [Duanne] Give me that, give me that.
That's not your meter.
What are you doing?
What are you guys doing?
What are you people doing?
[Duanne] No I'm not!
[PGE Man] Should you be?
[Ken] It was shocking.
(laughs) [Duanne÷} I'm smoking, my dear.
(laughing) Good to see ya.
Good morning, Jessica.
This is your to be husband.
That is the candle that is burning with the anticipation that would show up.
Had it all ready for you, sweetie.
Hope you get here soon.
[Ken] Obviously he went deeper and deeper into his own ideas of what reality was.
(low somber music) - [Sandra] You remember having gone up to Multnomah Falls?
- Yes, I clearly remember that.
This is December 8, 2010.
We are coming upon the hour of 10:49.
I want everyone to see, this is Multnomah Falls.
I'd gone up there to say, well, what's left?
Do I just throw all of the research over the bank and let it go or what?
Have no fear, God is watching me.
He's seen all that I have done against Farmer's Insurance Group for their continued unethical responses against Duanne Alan Luckow.
So I made a video statement and I tried to come up with some kind of answers but I didn't have any at that time.
I was very frustrated.
Very frustrated and pretty low emotionally.
I am a Scorpio, I come from the planet of Pluto.
I'm here to protect this planet and I'm here to bring justice about.
There is no justice.
This planet is entirely corrupt and my also, my twin flame that goes by the name of Jessica Schab.
Jess, I'm a perfectly balanced individual.
I've called out to Sam Jessy to bring her spaceship to come get me.
You better come here and rescue me, if you want me.
People have pushed me to the limits, I do not wish to participate any longer in these limits, I'm signing off.
- [Sandra] Later, from his tent, Duanne told me what had happened at the falls.
Again, I called the police.
A judge determined that Duanne was an imminent danger to self and committed him to the Oregon State Hospital for a maximum of six months.
We were told that it would be highly unlikely for him to spend more than two weeks there.
He spent the entire 180 days.
And now there was the hospitals bill on top of it all.
[Duanne] Everybody around is just telling me to let it go now 'cause I don't want to be recommitted.
That's a very difficult time to look back at.
(dramatic music) - [Sandra] What happened to Duanne and why didn't we see this coming?
He was so straight laced in his life, never cursing or smoking and it was only in his short films where he cut loose.
[Gerald] He got what they call, I guess it's dementia or something you know?
Whether it was because he was a bachelor or from what he was eating or what he wasn't eating or what he was doing and everything else and he just got, I call it sick.
You know?
And he don't think he sick.
(ethereal music) - [Sandra] You once told me this really great story that when you first saw Duanne, you said something to him, do you remember that?
[Dolores] Yeah, he was going to be the pride of his dad.
Yeah, I did.
- [Sandra] And you know what, mom, for many years, wasn't that the truth?
- Oh its even now.
I was trying for somebody to tell me that it wasn't my fault.
- [Sandra] So you do think that its your fault that Duanne is ill?
- In a way, I contributed to a lot to it and I still believe it and you can't change my mind on that.
He had his quirks, but we all do so I just let it go.
I didn't see the signs to help him because I think I love him too much.
[Gerald] He's close to 50 and he's been with us and worked with us.
He comes out and he helps me or I would go over and help him in the shop and we got along good for a long time and then all of a sudden, boom, you know this problem came up.
[Dolores] Okay this I have to show you where it goes.
It goes right in here.
- [Sandra] Duanne lived here with you guys until he was 33 years old.
[Dolores] He was being our renter and he was going to school here at Clackamas and he was also helping us.
It was a joy to have him the way that he was.
He had the freedom to be here but at the same time we didn't feel like he was gone.
That's the way it's done in Mexico.
- [Sandra] And then what happened?
[Dolores] And then Duanne wanted to buy a home.
- [Sandra] My parents made the down payment for Duanne on this house and then ended up taking over the mortgage with the idea that Duanne would pay them rent but in the last year, he had fallen behind on his payments and stopped paying rent all together.
Tell me about buying the house.
Did you talk about a payback schedule?
[Dolores] Yeah but I didn't want to take care of the financing.
- [Sandra] And how many principal payments did you guys get back.
[Dolores] None.
Money is not that important when you have the affection that we had.
- [Sandra] It's a beautiful car, Duanne.
How do you feel about having to sell it?
[Duanne] Well it's time.
It's time to move on.
I've had my fun with the car.
- [Sandra] You think?
[Duanne] Yeah.
Yeah let somebody else enjoy it.
- [Sandra] And what are you going to do with the money from it?
[Duanne] I'm gonna pay off the debts that I owe.
Hi, there.
How are you?
I just need some.
(indistinct) Great, thank you.
Appreciate it.
You, too.
- [Sandra] What is it?
[Duanne] It's a check for $1,500 for a piece of plastic.
A compass.
That I sold to a fan, a person in Australia who's got a right hand drive Corvair.
- [Sandra] What are you gonna do with the money?
[Duanne] I'm gonna take the money and I'm going to invest it in paying some taxes in Nigeria.
Then I will have 10.5 million dollars deposited into my key bank account within 24 hours.
(dramatic orchestral music) - [Sandra] Nigerians?
We knew he had received some emails before he was hospitalized but we had no idea he was communicating with them, much less sending money.
[Duanne] What time is it there in the morning?
- [Man] Over here it's three o'clock in the morning.
[Duanne] Well look at my email and get back to me on it, I have a proposal for us, okay?
- [Man] Okay.
- [Duanne] In August of 2010, I saw this email from Nigeria about getting an ATM card worth 10 million dollars.
It was something like 2,200 and some dollars to start out with.
So I went ahead and did that.
I've spent the last 16 months with this guy, talking to him, emailing him and he has not once lied to me or cheated to me or told me anything that wasn't true.
[Sanddra] That you know of.
[Duanne] That I know of.
[Sandra] That you know of.
[Duanne] That I know of.
[Sandra] That you know of.
[Duanne] That I know of.
[Sandra] Okay.
- [Sandra] We found out that he already sent $40,000 and he was asking us for 6,000 more.
[Duanne] The money was going to be transferred.
What happened was is the IRS got involved, they found out about it.
[Sandra] Okay now when you say IRS, that's the- [Duanne] The IRS in Nigeria.
They have an IRS in Nigeria.
[Sandra] And when you sent the money orders or the through Western Union, what is the address that you sent it to?
- [Duanne] It's just in Nigeria.
It's just to Nigeria and its in his secretary's name.
You don't need to have an address.
- [Sandra] The reason this is so hard for us is because this is not how normal people operate.
- [Duanne] I know that.
- [Sandra] Okay so that's- [Duanne] That's not how normal people operate.
Everybody is suspicious.
(dramatic music) He's telling the truth and its real that I have an inheritance of 10.5 million.
[Dolores] He has not proven to us.
- [Duanne] Why does he have to prove to you?
Why can't you take my word?
[Dolores] Because he's going to get our money.
[Duanne] You're not gonna lose any money at all.
This is a government operation that's going on right now.
I have complete faith in him more than anybody else.
More than my whole family right now.
- [Sandra] Why?
Why him over us?
[Duanne] Because I have dealt with him for 16 months and he has done everything he's told me he can do.
- [Dolores] And we have dealt with you for for 40 some years.
- [Duanne] Yes and I have ever done anything that hasn't worked out?
[Dolores] Yes.
- [Duanne] What?
[Dolores] Many things.
His word is not good enough for us.
Actions are good enough for us.
And I don't even know who is he and I think that he's just (beep) around with you.
[Duanne] You don't understand what it takes to be a business man.
I mean I don't know what else to do.
I told you this is the very last thing I'm going to do and I wanted our family to be a part of it.
- [Sandra] But Duanne, obviously they don't want to be part of it.
[Duanne] I understand that now, it's very clear.
I prayed for it, okay.
I prayed to the Lord God and I asked him what is the right thing to do and the right thing is to come here and to get the whole family involved and put it on tape.
- [Therapist] Sounds like there's just a big concern here that there's all this debt that's accumulating for you and you know your families kind of not having a good feeling about the Nigerian situation.
There's no way that I'm gonna change Duanne's mind as far as believing that this is a scam or not and the bigger picture of this is that Duanne believes that if he believes in something enough and sends out that positive energy that it will come back to him.
Duanne is allowed to believe whatever he wants to believe.
He's not going to be put back in the hospital for having beliefs that are different than ours.
What's going to put him back in the hospital is behaviors that scare other people in the community.
- [Duanne] What if this does happen?
What if I do this final transaction and it does work out?
Do I still continue taking the medications, if I do- - [Dolores] Because he doesn't believe he's sick.
[Duanne] No, I don't.
- [Therapist] What are your expectations for Duanne?
What would you like to see happen in the next six months?
[Dolores] For him to go and take his medicine because I know that I can't have the Duanne I had before but something similar.
[Therapist] What if this is Duanne now?
[Dolores] Part of the disease now, yeah.
- [Therapist] Duanne will continue to make his own decisions and the more that any of us tell him that his decisions are wrong or that he has to do something, the more he's gonna feel his power's being taken away.
So is there anything that you think you could say to your mom to comfort her?
[Duanne] I don't know.
Probably not.
I don't think there is anything I can say because she may not believe it.
I don't know.
- [Dolores] Its very hard because at my age I never thought this would happen.
Have this big problems all at once.
I have lost all my support here except for her.
(somber instrumental music) - [Sandra] We were losing Duanne.
He didn't even look or sound the same to me anymore.
I realized how vulnerable Mom and Dad were.
Overwhelmed and incapable of dealing with the reality of my brother's illness and their financial entanglements with him.
I had to do something.
- Heres our dilemma.
If the Oregon State Hospital comes after the house, its really my parents as well as my brother.
[Lawyer] Right, problem is they're gonna assume that mom and dad were just giving him money to make the down payment.
The house is something that department of human services is going to consider available to satisfy their claim even if the commitment was involuntary.
In order to get someone with authority to resolve that, someone needs to be appointed as his conservator and a conservator is simply someone the court appoints to manage someone else's money because the only other option here would be a professional fiduciary.
The problem in this case is big claim, not a lot of assets to start with so its going to be difficult to even get a fiduciary to sign on and then there's the problem of Duanne himself.
So you know unless there's another family member or friend locally that's willing to serve, you would need to step up.
- [Sandra] I had no choice but to become Duanne's conservator.
Even though I lived across the country.
I was ordered by the court to prepare the house for sale.
(camera shutter clicking) Once sold, we could stop the hospital from seizing the money and then set up a trust for Duanne and pay back my parents.
Duanne did not like this idea at all.
- [Duanne] Its my money, I earned it.
I'm the one that's in control of it, supposed to be.
[Sandra] And unfortunately, you have been deemed incompetent to take care of it.
That's what the court document says.
My job as the conservator is to protect you financially since I do not believe that you will get your 10.5 million dollars.
- [Duanne] That's the whole problem, you don't believe in what I'm doing.
[Sandra] I believe in you, I don't believe in this particular business deal and I don't know if you're capable of being able to see the difference between the two.
- [Duanne] I don't.
[Sandra] I know, I know that.
Why do you think I'm selling your house?
- [Duanne] I don't know why.
I've worked there, I've been there every single day and gained the equity in that home and to lose it all because you people won't believe in me.
So you're not helping me, you're taking me down, you're trying to take me down.
Yeah, hello.
Sandra, are you there?
Broke into my house that belongs to me.
I have the title deed to the house.
That is clearly in my name.
So you have broken the law and you shall be punished for it.
(tense music) - [Sandra] We are on our way to my attorney's office where we're going to discuss the proceedings for tomorrow.
The court proceeding is supposed to be very simple.
Its a petition to get permission to sell his house.
My brother, conversely, feels that it is about removing me as a limited conservator proving to the court that I have stolen his funds and lied to him and that I am headed to federal prison.
[Lawyer] We're going to be in court tomorrow talking about what your authority is over his real estate, which you were given permission by the judge to deal with and he's got a stack of papers that he's gonna try to have the judge to look at to say why he thinks the conservatorship should end.
The house is the focus sometimes and now its turning into an attack on you.
[Sanddra] Right.
[Lawyer] Tomorrows not gonna be fun, its gonna be negative input.
[Sandra] There's no manual for this and I have had no prior experience to this.
I know I made mistakes.
My big mistake has been trying to circumvent the suffering.
(soft ethereal music) [Dolores] Better?
[Sandra] You know which ones I like, Mom.
You should wear the ones that you want to wear.
[Dolores] They're too short.
[Sandra] What do you mean they're too short?
[Dolores] The heel is really short.
[Sandra] Well I think the brown ones look better than those.
You cannot wear the moccasins.
How are you gonna feel about seeing Duanne, dad?
- [Gerald] I don't know.
It depends on how he acts.
- [Sandra] He's going to be very nice to you, I'm sure.
[Gerald] You think so, huh?
- [Dolores] In the first five minutes.
[Sandra] So how are you feeling about going?
[Dolores] I don't know.
[Sandra] You don't know?
[Dolores] I don't know.
[Sandra] I think its gonna be- [Dolores] I'm shaking, but that's okay.
[Sandra] I think its gonna be relatively straight forward.
You are there simply to look at the interest of your half of his property.
You're not doing anything.
If anybody is doing anything it's me as his conservatory and all I'm doing is- [Dolores] Yeah but I'm gonna see him.
- [Sandra] Right, but in terms of feeling like a traitor because all I'm doing is requesting permission to be able to sell the property and for him to get his stuff off the property.
- [Dolores] Yeah.
[Sandra] Does that make sense?
I mean this isn't a commitment hearing you know and you're not gonna have to speak.
[Dolores] That's right.
Yeah, okay.
There she is.
[Lawyer] How'd you do, Mrs. Luckow.
Hi Gerald, how are you?
You folks go on in.
- [Sandra] Excellent.
[Lawyer] I'll see you in a moment.
- [Sandra] Okay, thanks.
[Lawyer] Your honor, I'm Cynthia Barrett, the attorney for Sandra Luckow, the conservator.
Here in the courtroom is Duanne Luckow and I also have the parents of Mr. Luckow.
I filed the petition to permit sale of a home and placement of funds that have restricted account and Mr. Luckow has the one half interest in that home.
The home is prepared for sale, my clients just simply trying to get permission to sell.
[Duanne] My name is Duanne Alan Luckow, I want to revoke the conservatorship.
She wanted to have control over me.
I'm a businessman and I should have my own dealings.
The whole purpose of this was to protect my home and not to sell it.
So why are you trying to go back and fix up the house for sale?
[Sandra] It was my understanding that my job as the limited conservator is to restore the property for the purpose of sale.
[Lawyer] Would you attempt to interfere with a sale if you saw a realtor there showing it to somebody?
[Duanne] Yes, I would.
[Lawyer] You asked your sister to speak to Jessica Mystic.
Who is that?
[Duanne] Jessica Mystic is my twin flame that I have researched and found out about.
[Lawyer] And Jessica Mystic, have you ever met her personally?
[Duanne] I have not met her personally.
[Lawyer] This is a very unusual case, it doesn't fit any rules.
The sister should be allowed to continue to try to protect this one little asset that she has put together.
[Duanne] I just want to put an end to it, revoke this conservatorship and get back to my life.
That's my purpose of this.
I think anybody would go crazy.
(dramatic music) - [Sandra] After closing arguments, the judge does not even deliberate.
I was to remain as conservator with permission to sell the house.
Duanne was barred from the property and he was to remain living at the Bridgeview.
This is the good thing that's gonna come out of this.
[Bonnie] And help somebody else.
[Sandra] It might help somebody else.
People can see, maybe someday Duanne can even see the type of (indistinct) that this is handled.
Okay?
[Dolores] My Duanne is gone.
[Sandra] It will be okay.
- [Ken] Duanne was not thinking logically.
Everybody in the courtroom could sense that this guy, you know, was mentally in, basically mentally incompetent.
I think there was one person in there who thought he wasn't.
That would be Rita.
- [Sandra] Rita, a disgruntled ex-employee of Farmer's Insurance sought Duanne out when he was filing his insurance claims and she became his staunchest ally.
It turns out that while Duanne was living at the Bridgeview, he rented the house to Rita with an option to buy.
- [Ken] They walked right from the courthouse over to the document place and bought the papers and he told me, he says we threw a monkey wrench into the deal and he did.
- [Sandra] And because Rita had already been in the house for seven consecutive days she had, according to Oregon state law, established residency.
- [Sandra] Why are you on this property?
[Rita] I bought this property.
- [Sandra] From who?
[Rita] Matter of fact you are violating my rights.
- [Sandra] Who did you buy this property from?
[Rita] I already got it confirmed with the city.
Duanne has a document.
The city allowed it to happen and it's done.
- [Sandra] Okay.
- [Rita] All your manipulation needs to stop.
You suck as conservator and you have violated all the conservator rights.
- [Sandra] Okay and how do you know that?
[Rita] I know for a fact.
I've been looking at it.
I've been watching you.
I've been there the whole time.
- [Sandra] You probably will be receiving an eviction notice.
[Rita] Right, right.
- [Sandra] Okay you know that right?
[Rita] Right.
- [Sandra] Okay.
[Rita] It's not gonna be a valid eviction notice.
- [Sandra] I'm gonna leave right now and I just want to have permission to be able to show this to my parents and use this doc- [Rita] Show it to your mom.
I mean she's an elderly woman, you want to take advantage of her, too?
Take advantage of the disabled and elderly.
- [Sandra] What's in it for Rita?
Why is Rita hanging on?
[Rita] Because she's crazy.
Because she really believes that we're doing Duanne something wrong and because she thinks that she can take something out of Duanne and I think she has done very well by getting the house and getting all of his equipment sold for nothing.
- [Lawyer] You're in a tight spot because you, Sandra, conservator for Duanne need to have a landlord tenet relationship with the squatter and you don't, so my understanding is an eviction process won't work for you and you're gonna need to go see an ejectment attorney who can force her out.
It can take months and months, maybe years, up to a couple years and depending on the complexity of it it can be 10, $12,000 or more.
- [Sandra] While Rita was living on the property, Duanne was visiting frequently.
- [Phone] Sandra, this Tammy with Nighthawk alarm services, we monitor the house on Foster Road.
Duanne had just come in here demanding access to the house.
I need to find out what's going on.
If you could give me a call back, please as soon as possible.
- [Sandra] Dad, did you pick up the phone?
Duanne is on the line.
Duanne, I don't know if you understood the terms of what happened in the court, but if you enter the property at all there is a restraining order against you on that property.
If you appear at that property, you will be put in jail and I don't want that to happen.
- [Duanne] Well I'm not gonna take the consequences.
So I don't care about your threats, Sandy.
If you bring me down a check for $80 or I'm gonna do something that you're not gonna like.
- [Dolores] We're going to go to have a restraining order against Duanne so that he cannot not go here.
Our life is all messed up so we have to put a stop to it.
- [Woman] We're restraining Duanne from coming within a 500 feet of both this house and the Foster Road address.
I'm also saying that he can't contact you by phone or mail or come with 500 feet of either of you.
(soft music) - [Sandra] Our parents renewed their wedding vows right before their 50th anniversary.
In period clothing at the reopening of the Oregon City Bridge.
It was one of mom's last moments of happiness.
A few weeks later, while retrieving holiday decorations in the garage, she fell off a ladder and was put on life support.
Paranoid about the restraining order, my brother refused to come to the hospital.
(somber music) [Ken] When Duanne's mom died, I don't think he believed us when we told him.
He thought it was a conspiracy to get him back in the hospital.
- [Sandra] 24 hours after her death, I turned off my phone and I began writing mom's eulogy.
- [Steve] Hey Sandy, this is Steve.
I need to talk to you.
Give me a call.
- [Lee] Hey Sandra, this is Lee calling.
Can you give me a call back?
I want to make sure everything okay there.
Have you spoken to your brother recently?
- [Mary] Sandra, damn it, will you call me?
[Anderson] Good evening everyone, we begin tonight with the breaking news.
This is all unfolding in a mall outside of Portland Oregon right now, the Clackamas town center.
(siren wailing) - [Reporter] Chaos amidst the Christmas shopping rush.
Lines of shoppers, even children can be seen streaming out with their hands up while the shooter was still inside.
- [Sandra] There was no news of the shooters identity but everyone was thinking the same thing.
The mall was next to our childhood home.
I had to find out if Duanne was the Bridgeview.
After pleading with the staff to break privacy laws, I found out that Duanne had been there all night.
As I planned the memorial, I received enraged messages.
(tense music) The center where we were holding the memorial insisted we hire armed security.
[Officer 1] About how tall is he?
[Sandra] He's uh- - Compared to one of our heights.
Closer to his height?
[Sandra] No, no, he's less than six foot.
I would say he's 5'10".
- Okay.
[Officer] Does your brother have any access to fire arms or like major weapons, anything like that?
- There is a lot of things at the home that he could get access to.
- [Officer] Okay.
[Officer 2] Is this his most current picture?
[Sandra] No, November 4th, November 4th mugshot.
[Officer 1] If he comes, we're gonna be the first ones to make contact, so is there anything we should know.
[Sandra] You guys, please be safe.
(tense music) Duanne never showed up at the memorial but he continued to send menacing emails blaming me for our mother's death.
[Gerald] I feel terrible.
Her and I were half and half as far as everything that we lived for and enjoyed and I still haven't figured out what I'm going to be able to do without her, you know?
I'm so confused.
(dramatic music) - [Sandra] Our father had been so capable.
It devastated me to see his gyrocopter grounded, rusting and engulfed by blackberry bushes.
(somber guitar music) He needed a living situation that could care for him and enforce the restraining order against Duanne.
I felt completely unequipped to deal with any of it.
Finally, I found him a great assisted living facility within our means before I had to return to New York.
(tense somber music) [Duanne] Okay.
This is documentation to show the blood that I had yesterday on the Bible reading Daniel, right there.
Its Daniel chapter seven.
It talks about the return of Christ.
Here's documentation.
Oregon State Hospital, paranoid, delusional, that's it.
Delusional thoughts.
So you (beep), you're going against the directions of the federal government.
There's some blood.
Couldn't make it.
I barely could make this film now, you stupid (beep).
- [Sandra] I started receiving hundreds of raging emails and posts from Duanne.
(intense percussion music) The Portland Police didn't think that these threats posed an imminent danger to me as I lived 3,000 miles away and Facebook refused to take them down, out of frustration, I reached out to my colleagues at 60 minutes.
[Steve Kroft] In the words of one the country's top psychiatrists, these were preventable tragedies, symptoms of a failed mental health system that's prohibited from intervening until a judge determines that someone presents an imminent danger to themselves or others.
The consequence is a society that's neglected millions of seriously ill people hidden in plain sight on the streets of our cities or locked away in our prisons and jails.
Duanne Luckow is one of them but he doesn't acknowledge that there's anything wrong with him and has refused treatment.
[Sandra] He said that someone was gonna come to my apartment with an AR-15 and hollow point bullets and splatter my brains all over my apartment.
(screaming) [Kroft] 50 years ago, someone like Duanne Luckow would've ended up in a place like this, involuntarily committed to one of the big state hospitals that were used to warehouse the seriously mentally ill. (clock ticking) (soft electronic music) - [Sandra] His anger started to get him into trouble and he was evicted from the Bridgeview.
He was arrested on multiple misdemeanors, including trespassing, interfering with a police officer, resisting arrest, and failure to appear.
During this time, he was tasered on multiple occasions.
It was writing a bad check at Safeway for five dollars that was the last straw.
He was recommitted to the Oregon State Hospital.
It seemed like this cycle would never end.
I was beyond frustrated and feeling utterly ineffectual.
Despite my research, nothing or no one could guide me, let alone explain the quagmire of contradictions, legalese, and paperwork that exists in this broken mental health system.
I found comfort in anecdotal readings, of people who tried to traverse this system before me and who advocated for somebody.
Particularly John Hinkley's parents in their book, "Breaking Point", and former Washington Post reporter Pete Earley in his book, "Crazy."
- Do you have any ideas for me like how I can get my brother help?
[Pete] The problem is, Sandra, you're not in control.
He is.
We depend on the person who is psychotic to determine that they need help and until they determine they need help, we're not gonna intervene.
We have legally said, not only does everybody have a right to be crazy, but we as a society have no reasonability to step in and help that person.
Look at what your brother had.
He had a life, he had loving parents, he had a house, he had a thriving business.
He was very very skilled.
All of that is gone now and you've tried to stop it but you couldn't.
Why?
Because we believe he has a right to throw it all away even though he's not thinking clearly.
[Sandra] And the court is putting me in a position to work against him.
[Pete] Yes to be an adversary.
[Sandra] There's no way he could trust me when the court is ordering me to sell his house.
[Pete] And that's the problem.
By you merely saying, hey wait a minute, my brother has a mental illness, he needs help, you've already made the adversary because he doesn't think he needs help.
You can continentally go back to trying to get him forced into a hospital and force him to have treatment but even if you get someone committed that doesn't mean they're going to get treatment and it doesn't mean you can force treatment on them because you can still refuse treatment.
If you get arrested, you can refuse treatment.
We created a system, the only way you can get into it is to fall so far down that you become dangerous or homeless and then you can get the kind help usually, that you can't get when you need it way up here.
You had to be broke, poor, homeless, destitute, and so psychotic that society can no longer ignore you anymore.
[Sandra]I don't have any intention of abandoning my brother.
[Pete] Right.
[Sandra] But I don't think he's ever gonna get better.
[Pete] Maybe this is a path they have to walk down on.
And the question is, are you willing to let your brother get there?
(dramatic music) - [Sandra] A few months later, I received notice that after 17 months, the ejectment was finally scheduled.
I had lost touched with Duanne and assumed that he was still at the Oregon State Hospital but the night before, I saw him at the house.
The last time the police went in, he actually hid with a gun in the crawl space.
[Officer] So he's gonna hide wherever he can?
[Sandra] Exactly.
[Officer] The best case is that no ones there.
We'll be able to change the locks and everything.
[Sandra] They're there.
[Officer] Yeah?
[Sandra] They're there.
[Officer] They're there.
[Officer 2] I don't know his reactions.
[Sandra] I don't know either I haven't seen him in over a year.
[Officer 2] We'll play it by ear with Duanne.
[Sandra] Absolutely.
[Officer 2] Okay.
[Sandra] Sure.
[Officer 3] You can follow us up there, stay in your car, just park behind us, let us do our thing and then we'll come out.
(low tense music) - [Sandra] Hi there, it's Sandra.
We just showed up today.
They wanted to catch her off guard.
I mean she's known since the 21st that she'd have to be out.
This is really bizarre.
I really feel like I'm playing a part in a movie.
Oh my god, I just have to say, this the best moment of my life in the past three years is to see that bitch drive away.
- [Dinah] We went out there with the Sheriff's deputies that were actually doing the eviction and we went out there to basically assess him in the moment and see how he reacted to that as far as him being potentiality a risk to himself or others.
He actually was very calm, was upset about being evicted obviously, but was quite cooperative with us.
He didn't want to talk about mental health concerns at all but was of course, concerned about where he was gonna stay and what was gonna happen next for him.
- [Man] I know you're trying to film, but we're trying to work here with Duanne in the backyard.
Can I get you to step back out and stay on the street behind everybody till we're down?
- No problem.
- Okay.
- [Dinah] I had some shelter vouchers.
He accepted that and then we drove him from the home downtown.
[Sandra] Tanna, we should get in to see this garage because there was about $250,000 worth of equipment in here that she sold to a machine shop for 20 grand cash and she has taken that.
Oh (beep).
Oh my God.
This used to be his workshop.
She had a grow thing going on in here, that I knew about.
- [Tanna] How did they live here?
[Sandra] 16 months.
- [Tanna] Was Duanne here with them?
[Sandra] No, most of the time he was in Oregon State Hospital.
[Tanna] Oh.
[Sandra] Look at this.
She's been watching "Weeds" or something.
[Officer 1] No, this is pretty typical in Portland, Oregon.
This is not, it happens all the time.
As long as you have a medical marijuana growing card and a lot of people have it.
[Sandra] What are we gonna do with all this stuff?
This stuff is all Duanne's.
This is all his stuff.
I mean in terms of just of sort structurally, they haven't put any holes in the walls.
I think my brother was staying here.
This is Duanne's stuff.
Oh my God.
This is what her daughter had drawn for Duanne about Jessica, look at August 5th.
Oh my God.
It just goes on and on.
What is this?
Its like a piece of his tooth.
How do we determine what is her stuff and what is my brother's stuff without her coming back?
And, I mean do we, how does that work?
[Tanna] That I don't know either.
So you think he could possibly come back here?
- [Sandra] The only thing that I have learned from this experience is that I know nothing.
[Tanna] Right.
- [Sandra] You know but I mean, you know.
[Tanna] The police officer, he said he wasn't really worried about Duanne, it was the other people that were living here.
[Sandra] Oh I'm worried about Duanne coming back.
I mean, I know, I guess I should try calling around, I mean, I feel like I should let him live here.
You know, but I can't.
- [Officer 2] I know, I know.
(sighing) (dramatic music) [Ken] When Duanne was truly homeless, I don't think he ever thought he was, but he realized if he went to his house, he would get arrested.
He would live downtown and we lived close to downtown.
We would go pick him up and have him over for dinner and watch a movie.
What are you thinking, Duanne?
[Duanne] I'm thinking I'm out of the cold weather, I'm by a fire.
In good company, Ken and Phet, so what more could you ask for me?
[Ken] He would never say can I stay, I don't care if it was 30 degrees out, when the movie was over, he'd go well I guess I better go.
- [Duanne] I'm waiting at 5:30 to get into the Right to Dream.
So we're gonna see what happens, here?
(somber music) [Ken] Every time we'd go downtown, he'd kind of have a new place where he was staying.
I never forget dropping him off, pull along side the road, get out of the car, watch him scurry under a bridge downtown where he was living.
That was a weird feeling to see your friend have to do that.
- [Duanne] Okay, we're starting this movie.
It is supposedly my 50th birthday and I am here sitting under this bridge.
This is what its like at about 6:30 a.m. in the morning.
[Ken] He doesn't fit in with your average homeless person.
Haircut, shave.
I never seen the guy with stubble.
I don't know how you can live on the street and be clean shaven every day and not have dirty clothes.
I think that's one of the keys to people liking him.
You'd almost think he was a Mormon on one of his missions.
(kids shouting) - [Duanne] This is what I'd rather be watching but instead they're making a show called "Grim."
So the Portland Police are getting paid to be here and rather I'm homeless in a situation where I have a paid off home but I'm not allowed to go there.
They'll protect this but they won't protect me and they won't arrest Sandra Karen Luckow.
As grim as it may seem, a homeless person in the city of Portland, Duanne Alan Luckow.
(dramatic music) - [Sandra] It took months to clean up the house and remove Duanne and Rita's belongings.
Finally, I had the house ready to put on the market, then I got a call from the police.
[Officer÷} New Year's Eve, I got a phone call from Sargent Bob McCormick of the behavioral health unit.
We took a look at the spray painted bomb threats.
It appeared to be fairly significant based the actual wording of the threats and also the information they got from the behavioral health unit people that Mr. Luckow possessed the mental acuity and the skill to be able to actually make a bomb.
We ended up calling out our explosive disposal unit and made entry to that shed and determined that there were threats only there.
- [Sandra] Although we knew it was Duanne, it could not be proven.
So all I could do was hire painters to clean it up.
We installed security cameras.
The next day, he graffiti the property again and stole the camera recorder.
Only this time did the police have a reasonable cause to arrest him.
He was sent to the Oregon State Hospital again in a treat until fit program to stand trial.
I put up the house on the market before I had a chance to have the graffiti removed again.
There were five offers on the first day.
(somber music) A week before the closing of the house, our father took a turn for the worse.
His caretakers had warned me that he was losing his desire to thrive.
Would you like to see Duanne, your son?
- [Sandra] We don't know dad, we don't know what happened.
- [Sandra] The doctors released him from the hospital and we returned to the assisted living home.
Unlike him, dad was pessimistic.
"I don't think I'll be here in the morning."
I thought he was confused, thinking that he'd have to go back to the hospital.
But he didn't make it through the night.
Our father passed away two days before the closing on the house.
As a result, my brother became the sole remaining owner of the property.
Allowing the Oregon State Hospital to claim all of the proceeds.
- This is State of Oregon versus Duanne Luckow, case number 140130370.
Continuing evidence in this cell hearing concerning Mr. Luckow.
- [Sandra] After several months in the hospital, the doctors had failed to restore Duanne to trial competency for the vandalism and burglary charges.
Because he refused medication.
- The state has filed the motion for involuntary administration of medication for the purpose of restoring trial competence.
I'm going to deny that motion.
The fact that the defendant has been confined for a significant period of time essentially lessens the state interest in keeping the defendant in custody for longer.
- [Sandra] The charges were dismissed and he was released that evening.
We decided to see if he wanted to stay in the shop.
So he was like our roommate for about six months I would say.
- Can ya see me?
Check out, Dr. Ken getting a haircut.
Pretty cool.
- Everything seemed to be good.
He would help us do little projects during the day and then he would usually pack his backpack, go downtown to the library.
That was really his home away from home.
I think he was probably there just about every minute that they would allow you to be there.
(soft electronic music) - [Dinah] We had gotten a series of emails that were forwarded to us and they had been sent to county commissioners and chief of police.
So we had been trying to meet with him to see what he had actually intended by those emails.
He described that he does hear the voice of God and that he receives command from God, or Yahweh, as he would say.
- [Man] We believed that it was elevating up to a some type of violent confrontation.
- It was like, man I got this dude living in my house.
This is kind of creepy.
He doesn't have just some weird ideas about politics and paying bills, he's in some big trouble.
The officer told me out of 6,000 mentally ill people he was the top one that he was worried about and that he got the most calls from city officials.
Like, "Watch this guy, now he's not just threatening the mayor, he's threatening the mayor's daughter", and here I had him living in my shop.
- [Duanne] What are you doing?
Where are we going?
- [Ken] Luckily his friend, Rita, came to visit.
Cops scared him out of town.
Matter of fact, he came home, grabbed his stuff and left.
He said he was gonna go with Rita for awhile.
- [Sandra] Duanne had stopped CC-ing me on his emails and he was absent from social media.
So I suspected there may be something wrong.
The only person who would really know was Rita.
(low tense music) First of all, did you ever imagine, Rita, that you and I would be at this point that we could actually come to this moment?
- No, I've not thought about anything like this and I don't know why, I just think like if it helps him, it helps him.
- [Sandra] Okay, lets start at the very beginning.
You're in Seattle, Duanne's in Portland.
(light electronic music) - [Rita] Duanne came to Seattle and he was staying at the shelters.
- [Ken] He would email us, told us was sleeping in churches at night and then next thing we knew he told us he had a job with Homeland Security.
We didn't believe anything much that Duanne said by then, but he did have a picture of him with a uniform on doing something and came to find out he was actually was taking tickets for a cruise line, I think.
But in Duanne's mind, that was working for Homeland Security.
- [Rita] He made it all the way to the end of July but that was about it.
He went ballistic.
He started attacking everybody, anybody, everybody, on the internet, on the street.
Me, everybody.
He was just an angry man.
One day he didn't show up to work and I said, I know where to look and I found him, he was in jail.
- [Sandra] Duanne was held at the county jail on a one million dollar bail.
He was now considered an imminent danger to himself and others and spent seven weeks in solitary confinement.
He was then moved to the criminal ward of the Western State Hospital.
45 minutes outside of Seattle where he was forced-medicated.
It is a place riddled with problems and patient violence.
A social worker had told me that Duanne had been beaten up by another inmate on the ward.
I was actually scared for him.
(screaming) My only idea of the Western State Hospital was from a biopic of Frances Farmer who had spent time there.
- [Duanne] Hello?
[Sandra] Duanne?
- [Duanne] Yes?
[Sandra] Hey, it's your sister.
- [Duanne] Oh hi.
[Sandra] What's going on?
- [Duanne] They forced drugs on me now again.
[Sandra] Can you describe it?
- [Duanne] Sandy, why don't you take this (beep) and find out yourself?
These (beep) hospitals are (beep).
They've taken away seven months of my (beep) life, Sandra.
[Sandra] Yeah I know.
- [Duanne] Seven months of my (beep) life and I'm pissed off.
So (beep) pissed off that you can't believe it.
Pissed off at everybody.
[Sandra] I know, I know you are, Duanne.
I hear that.
I hear that very clearly.
- [Duanne] Then how much more do you have to hear?
I'm not gonna play this (beep) game anymore.
I don't know who to trust anymore.
(low tense music) - [Reporter ] This is State of Washington versus Duanne Alan Luckow, case number 151046698SCA.
- [Sandra] Duanne was in a no win situation at the hearing.
If he was finally found competent to stand trial, he would face up to 12 years in jail.
With the medication he was now forced to take condemn him to more than a decade in prison?
If he failed competency again, then what?
- [Reporter] Defendant is present by a speaker phone from Western State Hospital by agreement of the parties.
- [Duanne] Yes, I'm here.
[Judge] Mr. Luckow, this is the Judge in court.
Your case is going to be dismissed as a result of Western State not being able to restore you to competency.
- [Duanne] Okay, thank you.
[Judge] Thank you, Duanne.
- [Sandra] He failed to meet trial competency but was still considered a danger to others.
So the hospital involuntarily committed him to their civil ward.
It was the first time in five years the treatment would concentrate on his illness instead of his trial competency.
Maybe he could finally get the treatment he needs.
- [Heather] Hello, this is Heather from Western State Hospital, I was calling to speak with Sandra Luckow on behalf of Duanne Luckow.
- [Sandra] The social worker wanted to alert me that they had a discharge plan for Duanne.
She said there was a woman in Puyallup, Washington who was willing to have Duanne live with her.
(dramatic orchestral music) My family had ties to Puyallup.
My dad had graduated high school and my grandparents had a health food store there.
Is she someone I know?
Who was she?
We drove up to Seattle to check in on Duanne.
We wanted to prepare him for reentry after 15 months inside.
(dramatic music) - [Ken] Is he coming?
- [Sandra] Yeah.
- [Ken] Whoa, ho.
- [Scott] Duanne.
- [Duanne] Scottie.
- [Ken] The gangs all here.
- [Duanne] The gangs all here, yeah.
- [Sandra] How you doing?
- [Ken] Steve.
(laughing) [Duanne] Yeah man, it's been awhile.
What a surprise, everybody.
- [Sandra] Are you glad to see everyone?
[Duanne] Yeah.
- Just laying down on the bed waiting for whatever.
- [Ken] Lunch.
- Trying to lose weight from the medication.
- [Sandra] Is it causing you to gain weight?
[Duanne] Yeah, medication do.
Been through a lot.
[Sandra] You have been through a lot.
So Rita said to us that the person in Puyallup is somebody that we know?
[Duanne] Yeah.
- [Sandra] Who is it?
[Duanne] It's a family friend.
I can't tell you.
- [Sandra] Why?
[Duanne] I just can't tell you.
- [Sandra] Okay.
Is there anything that we can do to help you help you?
[Duanne] No that's just, the state is the only thing that's gonna help me now.
[Sandra] Okay.
[Duanne] That's their responsibility, so I'm gonna, I'm gonna let them take care of it.
(somber music) - [Sandra] Seeing Duanne at the hospital made me realize he did not want me to be apart of his future and I cannot continue to be my brother's keeper.
I felt like collateral damage to his experience.
Even though it had been my choice.
I had to disengage from him in a much more profound way.
(somber rock music) Dear Duanne, as requested, I'm sending you all the items I did not deliver to you in the hospital.
I'm also sending you the remains of our parents to do with as you choose.
There's also an ounce of silver that you gave me many years ago.
I don't feel right about keeping it.
You've made it clear that you do not want anymore contact with me and now that my legal and financial obligations are over, I can finally respect that request, but I will always be your sister and remain open to a relationship at your initiation.
I wish you health and peace and happiness in Puyallup.
Remember how we loved the fair and the twister dad operated during his high school years?
I found this photo recently.
It felt like a sign that this scary ride needs to be over for me.
Please remember, I'll be waiting on the bench beside it if you need me.
Your sister, Sandra.
(somber rock music) ♪ They say the Oregon rain will get you down ♪ ♪ But I hunger for the freshness of its sound ♪ ♪ The wind the sun ♪ ♪ The things that I have known before ♪ ♪ Now seem like faded ghosts ♪ ♪ Like shadows on the floor ♪ ♪ I live in Oregon ♪ ♪ Oregon's my home ♪ ♪ I love the trees ♪ ♪ The hills♪ ♪ The places I have roamed ♪