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Forensic Files

The Metal Business

Forensic Files

HLN

Society & Culture, True Crime

4.63.7K Ratings

🗓️ 1 January 2026

⏱️ 20 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This episode originally aired May 30, 2019. It looked like sixty-two-year-old Phillip Rouss, Jr. had it all: family, friends, and a new business which was the culmination of a life-long dream. Then his health began to deteriorate. Doctors couldn't pinpoint the cause of the illness and Phil began to suspect his condition was no accident. Toxicologists and investigators identified the real problem just in time to save Phil's life.

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Transcript

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0:00.0

Just after opening a vintage car restoration business, Phil Rouse became seriously ill.

0:10.0

Doctors had difficulty finding the cause.

0:13.8

But to forensic scientists, it looked like foul play.

0:17.7

I don't know. foul play. From the day, from the day he found an abandoned Model A Ford in an old cotton warehouse,

0:34.6

Phil Rouse knew that vintage automobiles would be his life.

0:39.5

For most of his career, Phil was a salesman. In 1997, he quit to finally pursue his dream of

0:46.8

starting an antique car restoration business. He called it top quality, and it was housed in a garage near his home in Bartlett, Tennessee.

0:58.2

Phil was real excited about going into business.

1:00.9

He had, that was his dream.

1:04.5

To no one's surprise, the shop was successful from the day it opened.

1:09.9

And with that success, came the need to expand.

1:13.8

For capital, Phil turned to his best friend and next-door neighbor Steve White,

1:19.0

who was anxious to invest in the business in exchange for part ownership.

1:25.3

Phil's good friend, Kimo Couello, also joined the company.

1:30.4

As a matter of fact, everybody was happy with the way things were going.

1:35.2

Everybody was happy we got off to a good start.

1:38.2

It was Phil's knowledge, talent, and experience that made the company so successful.

1:45.1

When Phil Rouse became ill just two months after the shop opened, it was a serious blow.

1:52.4

If I got to wear, I didn't have any energy.

1:55.1

And my stomach gave me a lot of trouble.

1:57.8

I had trouble with digestion.

1:59.9

I had severe chest pains. My hands

...

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