Murder on a weekend getaway
Posted: Tuesday, January 02, 2007 2:01 PM by Dateline Editor
Filed Under:
Crime, Chris Hansen
by Chris Hansen, Dateline Correspondent
LOWER HERRING LAKE, MICHIGAN-- I’d been to this scenic part of northern Michigan many times over the years. Not as a reporter, but for vacations when my dad and I would catch salmon and trout from Lake Michigan. As a young man, I sailed with friends every summer on the same lake. For the last 10 years or so I’ve returned with my family from the east coast every other summer so that my kids can spend time with their cousins on the beautiful beaches here. The small water front towns that make up Benzie County stay busy in the summer but are not overrun with tourists. Saloons serve fried perch and planked whitefish, two local specialties. I very much like recharging my batteries here. It’s about the last place you’d expect to be following leads in a story about addiction, betrayal and ultimately it was alleged, murder.
And just like the small resort area seemed an unlikely crime scene, the accused killer and the victim seemed unlikely to ever be center stage in such a drama. Mark and Florence Unger had crossed paths in college, years later dated and ultimately got married and had two sons. It seemed for a time they had it all, living in the very hip Detroit suburb of Huntington Woods. Mark was a sports reporter for a radio station before going into the mortgage business. Florence worked in retail, became a stay-at-home mom and ultimately went into the mortgage business as well.
Along the way though there were problems. Mark admits he got hooked on painkillers after a back injury. He battled alcohol and gambling habits as well. Mark eventually went into rehab, but it was all too much for Florence who finally filed for divorce. While there seemed to be no chance for reconciliation, Mark, Florence and their two young sons decided to take a fall weekend trip to their favorite spot in northern Michigan, a resort they’d visited for years called Watervale on the shores of Lower Herring Lake. The couple seemed to be getting along or at least tolerating each other as the family had dinner at one of their favorite restaurants.
Later that night they returned to their cottage. Mark says the boys started watching a DVD. Florence and Mark ended up on a boathouse deck overlooking the lake. What happened next is still in dispute, but ultimately it lead to Florence being face down in the lake and Mark charged with her murder.
Florence Unger was found in these waters.
A top prosecutor would face off against one of Michigan’s most respected criminal defense lawyers. Two families, once joined by a marriage were now deeply divided and two young boys were caught in the middle.
Tonight you’ll hear from virtually everyone involved in the case, from Mark Unger himself and from those who speak for Florence. As you’ll see, this was by no means an open and shut case. Consider this: when I was watching some of the closing arguments in the Benzie County court house, I ran into some reporters I’d known for years, who were also covering the case. Some of these folks I’d known for 20 years from back when I was a reporter in Detroit. I asked a couple of them who’d been in court everyday and had covered the case from the get-go to predict the out come. They were wrong.
Dateline Correspondent Chris Hansen reports on "The Lady In The Lake." "Til Death Do Us Part" -- first aired January 2, and re-airs April 22, Sunday, 7 p.m.
Editor's note: We invite you to check out the crime files on this case -- Web-extra video and pictures, and to weigh in on our poll. After the broadcast, you can also read the transcript and watch video of the report.
