Latest / The Great Detectives Present Dragnet (Old Time Radio) / Dragnet: The Big Whiff (EP5059)

Transcript

Dragnet: The Big Whiff (EP5059) · The Great Detectives Present Dragnet (Old Time Radio)

• 0:03
  Speaker 1: THE END.
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio from Boise, Idaho.
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: This is your host, Adam Graham. In a moment, we're
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: going to bring you this week's episode of Dragnet. But first,
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: I want to encourage you, if you're enjoying the podcast,
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: please follow us using your favorite podcast software. And our
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: listener support and appreciation campaign continues. You can become one
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: of our ongoing Patreon supporters for as little as $ 2
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: per month. Just go to patreon.greatdetectives.net. But now, from June 5th, 1952,
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: here is The Big Whiff.
• 1:15
  Speaker 3: The story you are about to hear is true. The
• 1:18
  Speaker 3: names have been changed to protect the innocent. The You're
• 1:31
  Speaker 3: a detective sergeant. You're assigned a homicide detail. A woman
• 1:35
  Speaker 3: is found dying in a vacant lot, her identity unknown.
• 1:39
  Speaker 3: Your job, investigate.
• 1:50
  Speaker 4: Dragnet, the documented drama of an actual crime. For the
• 1:54
  Speaker 4: next 30 minutes, in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department,
• 1:58
  Speaker 4: you will travel step by step on the side of
• 2:00
  Speaker 4: the law through an actual case transcribed from official police files.
• 2:04
  Speaker 4: From beginning to end, from crime to punishment, Dragnet is
• 2:08
  Speaker 4: the story of your police force in action.
• 2:14
  Speaker 5: It was Thursday, October 16th. It was cloudy in Los Angeles.
• 2:17
  Speaker 5: We were working the night watch out a homicide detail.
• 2:20
  Speaker 5: My partner's Frank Smith. The boss is Captain Warman. My
• 2:22
  Speaker 5: name's Friday. It was 9.48 p.m. when I got to
• 2:25
  Speaker 5: Georgia Street Receiving Hospital, Dr. Hall's office.
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: Joe, how are you? Hi, Doc.
• 2:30
  Speaker 5: How about that case you got in from 7th and Union?
• 2:32
  Speaker 5: How's she doing? She died about five minutes ago. Fill
• 2:34
  Speaker 5: me in.
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: What do you got on it?
• 2:35
  Speaker 5: You talk to the radio car officers, ones that handle
• 2:37
  Speaker 5: the call? Frank's talking to them now out in the lobby.
• 2:39
  Speaker 5: Thought I'd check in with you while he was handling
• 2:41
  Speaker 5: that end.
• 2:41
  Speaker 6: Not an awful lot to tell you, Joe. Ambulance G2
• 2:43
  Speaker 6: brought her in from the location. She was alive when
• 2:45
  Speaker 6: they brought her in. Did everything I could for her.
• 2:47
  Speaker 6: Didn't help much. Too far gone.
• 2:49
  Speaker 5: What's it look like? Chloroform poisoning. Pretty obvious.
• 2:51
  Speaker 6: Probably self-administered. Looks like that anyway. She didn't last long.
• 2:55
  Speaker 6: It's a little unusual, huh?
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: Chloroform? Yeah.
• 2:57
  Speaker 5: Under the circumstances, it sure is. Anything else?
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: How do you mean?
• 3:00
  Speaker 5: Well, any probable causes? Any marks on her?
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: No.
• 3:02
  Speaker 5: A little scratch on her wrist. That's about all. Well,
• 3:04
  Speaker 5: you got her now. Can we look at her?
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 3:06
  Speaker 5: Bag number three. Come on. Ed Barrett called us, asked
• 3:13
  Speaker 5: us for help. Rough night, huh?
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah.
• 3:15
  Speaker 6: Traffic went crazy tonight. A dozen cases in the last
• 3:18
  Speaker 6: two hours. A couple of homicides, too.
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: Busy night.
• 3:20
  Speaker 5: You got the weekend coming up. Yeah, not looking forward
• 3:23
  Speaker 5: to it. Here we go.
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: Over here.
• 3:29
  Speaker 5: Chloroform sure hangs on, doesn't it? Sure strong. Notice the
• 3:33
  Speaker 5: burns around her mouth. I know it was discoloration. Well,
• 3:36
  Speaker 5: who is she?
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: Any idea?
• 3:37
  Speaker 6: We got her down as Jane Doe. You're going to
• 3:39
  Speaker 6: have to take it from there. I understand the radio
• 3:41
  Speaker 6: car officers couldn't identify her.
• 3:42
  Speaker 5: Apparently pretty well off, huh? Nice clothes. Seems to be
• 3:45
  Speaker 5: well kept. I'd say so. Expensive jewelry there. Rings, wristwatch.
• 3:49
  Speaker 5: A little strange for a probable suicide, isn't it? Looks
• 3:52
  Speaker 5: like she took good care of herself. Hair all done up, fingernails.
• 3:56
  Speaker 5: About how old, would you say? Not more than 35.
• 3:58
  Speaker 5: Just about that. Here's the chart, honey. Mm-hmm.
• 4:02
  Speaker 6: Time arrival, 9.38 p.m. From southwest corner of 7th and Union.
• 4:05
  Speaker 6: Vacant lot. Reason for call, possible drunk woman down. Jane Doe,
• 4:09
  Speaker 6: number 4. Female, Caucasian, approximate age 35, weight 128 and
• 4:14
  Speaker 6: 1 quarter, height 5 foot 4, brown hair, hazel eyes,
• 4:17
  Speaker 6: listed as Nordic descent, probable suicide.
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: That's it.
• 4:21
  Speaker 5: Okay, Doc, thanks. I better look up Frank, see what
• 4:23
  Speaker 5: he's got, huh?
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 4:25
  Speaker 5: Haven't notified the coroner yet. You fellas want to take
• 4:28
  Speaker 5: care of that? Yeah, sure, we'll call. About all we
• 4:30
  Speaker 5: can do unless we find some relatives to notify, huh?
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: Joe?
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: Yeah, Frank. Oh, hi, Doc.
• 4:34
  Speaker 5: How are you?
• 4:34
  Speaker 6: Frank, looks like you're losing weight. Yeah, four pounds in
• 4:37
  Speaker 6: two weeks. Not too bad for me, anyway.
• 4:39
  Speaker 5: What'd you get, Joe? Chloroform poisoning. Probable suicide. Find out
• 4:43
  Speaker 5: who she is? I gotta get back to my office.
• 4:44
  Speaker 5: If there's anything I can help you with, come on back.
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: Right, Doc.
• 4:46
  Speaker 5: Thanks very much.
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 4:48
  Speaker 5: How about it? Any identification? No, I talked to the
• 4:50
  Speaker 5: fellas that took the call. Unit 182.
• 4:52
  Speaker 6: It was a routine call. 390W down. They couldn't find
• 4:55
  Speaker 6: out who put the call in. Said they found her
• 4:57
  Speaker 6: in a vacant lot lying over against the side of
• 4:58
  Speaker 6: the building.
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 4:59
  Speaker 6: They said she looked like she'd been drinking. Then I
• 5:01
  Speaker 6: got away for the chloroform. Then they found this empty
• 5:03
  Speaker 6: container by her side.
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: Here. Yeah.
• 5:07
  Speaker 5: Ties in. They were careful handling it. Anything else?
• 5:10
  Speaker 6: Well, while they're waiting for the ambulance, they talked to
• 5:11
  Speaker 6: some of the people in the neighborhood. They couldn't tell
• 5:13
  Speaker 6: them anything about the woman. The building they found her
• 5:15
  Speaker 6: next to is a vacant store.
• 5:16
  Speaker 5: No identification on her at all?
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: No, nothing.
• 5:18
  Speaker 6: No purse or wallet. I checked missing persons. No one
• 5:20
  Speaker 6: of her description reported. Fellas who handled the call said
• 5:23
  Speaker 6: they went over her clothing. No marks of identification.
• 5:26
  Speaker 5: Better notify Leighton Prince, huh? Maybe they can identify her.
• 5:28
  Speaker 5: I already called him, Joe. Looks like probable suicide. I'm
• 5:30
  Speaker 5: sure of a new twist, though.
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: Chloroform root.
• 5:32
  Speaker 5: He hasn't figured out. What do you think? I don't know.
• 5:35
  Speaker 5: No violence committed on the body. No indication of robbery.
• 5:38
  Speaker 5: She had a wristwatch on. Rings, too. Wouldn't figure anyway.
• 5:40
  Speaker 5: Chloroform angle. No other physical evidence out there, huh? I mean,
• 5:44
  Speaker 5: besides the chloroform container. Nothing else besides the handkerchief. Yeah,
• 5:47
  Speaker 5: plain white handkerchief, chloroform on it. They found it next
• 5:49
  Speaker 5: to the body. It's the only thing that doesn't fit 100%.
• 5:51
  Speaker 5: What do you mean? It's a man's handkerchief. 10.25 p.m.
• 5:58
  Speaker 5: Frank and I took the dead woman's clothing, the handkerchief,
• 6:01
  Speaker 5: and the almost empty container of chloroform and drove back
• 6:03
  Speaker 5: downtown to the office. We dropped off the clothing and
• 6:06
  Speaker 5: the handkerchief at the crime lab to be processed for
• 6:08
  Speaker 5: possible identifying marks. The chloroform container was taken to latent
• 6:12
  Speaker 5: fingerprints for examination. The following morning, the body of the
• 6:16
  Speaker 5: unidentified woman was taken to the county morgue for posting.
• 6:19
  Speaker 5: As soon as the dead woman's prints were made available
• 6:21
  Speaker 5: to us, they were checked through our record bureau and
• 6:23
  Speaker 5: also through the record bureau at the sheriff's office. In addition,
• 6:26
  Speaker 5: they also made a run on her description. They were
• 6:28
  Speaker 5: unable to identify her. We checked with the crime lab,
• 6:31
  Speaker 5: but they couldn't help us either. A detailed examination of
• 6:34
  Speaker 5: the dead woman's clothing failed to yield any leads as
• 6:36
  Speaker 5: to her identity. Latent prints didn't have any better luck
• 6:39
  Speaker 5: with a chloroform container. The only prints they found on
• 6:42
  Speaker 5: it were those of the dead woman. Meantime, the morning
• 6:45
  Speaker 5: papers had picked up the story and given it front
• 6:47
  Speaker 5: page billing. 11.16 a.m. How's that again, Doc?
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: Uh-huh. Yeah, I see. Mm-hmm.
• 6:55
  Speaker 5: A little unusual, wouldn't you say?
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 7:00
  Speaker 5: Okay, we'll pick it up after lunch. Right, goodbye.
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: Anything? Yeah, doc.
• 7:04
  Speaker 5: Cephalo at the morgue. Just finished posting the body. What'd
• 7:07
  Speaker 5: he say? The chloroform killed her. They even found traces
• 7:09
  Speaker 5: of it in the stomach. Huh?
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: That's right.
• 7:10
  Speaker 5: That's a weird one, isn't it? Doesn't leave much doubt. Suicide.
• 7:14
  Speaker 5: No indication it was anything else, is it?
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: I got it.
• 7:19
  Speaker 5: Homicide.
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: Friday talking. Yes, sir. Yeah?
• 7:24
  Speaker 5: Mitchell?
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: Mm-hmm.
• 7:26
  Speaker 5: That so?
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: Yeah, sure.
• 7:28
  Speaker 5: I'd be glad to. Yeah, we'll be here. You want
• 7:31
  Speaker 5: to give us your address?
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: Hello?
• 7:32
  Speaker 5: Hello? Here we go. Who was it, Joe? Somebody the
• 7:36
  Speaker 5: name of James Mitchell. He's on his way down to
• 7:38
  Speaker 5: see us, wants to talk to us about the dead woman.
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 7:40
  Speaker 5: He says he killed her. 11.50 a.m. While Frank and
• 7:46
  Speaker 5: I waited around for Mitchell to show up, we checked
• 7:49
  Speaker 5: his name through R & I, but we were unable
• 7:50
  Speaker 5: to find anything on him. A few minutes before 1 p.m.,
• 7:54
  Speaker 5: a short, blonde-haired man in a blue serge suit entered
• 7:56
  Speaker 5: the squad room and asked for us. He introduced himself
• 7:59
  Speaker 5: as James Mitchell. Frank and I took him to the
• 8:01
  Speaker 5: interrogation room where we started to question him. He told
• 8:04
  Speaker 5: us he was a steel worker by trade, currently unemployed.
• 8:07
  Speaker 5: He said he was originally from Alabama, that he'd been
• 8:09
  Speaker 5: in California for approximately two years. After that, he lapsed
• 8:13
  Speaker 5: into silence. We tried to question him about the dead woman,
• 8:15
  Speaker 5: but we made little headway. The only admission we could
• 8:18
  Speaker 5: get from him was that he killed the woman. Outside
• 8:20
  Speaker 5: of that, he refused to say anything. Now, how about it, Mitchell?
• 8:23
  Speaker 5: What's the trouble?
• 8:24
  Speaker 6: You called us, volunteered a confession. You said you killed
• 8:26
  Speaker 6: the woman. You wanted to tell us a story. Now,
• 8:28
  Speaker 6: why don't you answer our questions?
• 8:30
  Speaker 5: Jim, how about it? Aren't you feeling well? You want
• 8:34
  Speaker 5: us to call a doctor?
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: Jim?
• 8:37
  Speaker 6: You're not giving us much of an out, mister. You
• 8:39
  Speaker 6: volunteered to make yourself a suspect in this thing. You
• 8:41
  Speaker 6: say you killed a woman. Now, why didn't you answer
• 8:42
  Speaker 6: the questions? We can't keep this up forever.
• 8:46
  Speaker 5: You ought to know that. You haven't answered a question
• 8:48
  Speaker 5: in almost an hour now. Look, if you're not going
• 8:51
  Speaker 5: to talk, Jim, there's only one thing we can do.
• 8:52
  Speaker 5: We're going to have to book you.
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: Mitchell?
• 8:54
  Speaker 5: Is that what you want?
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: Go ahead and book me.
• 8:58
  Speaker 5: I killed her.
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: Go on, book me.
• 8:59
  Speaker 5: Well, why can't you tell us the story? Now, you
• 9:01
  Speaker 5: admit you killed the woman. Why won't you tell us
• 9:02
  Speaker 5: about it?
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: Why should I?
• 9:04
  Speaker 5: I killed her.
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: That's all you have to know.
• 9:06
  Speaker 5: You said on the phone you'd tell us the whole story,
• 9:08
  Speaker 5: didn't you? Now, what made you change your mind?
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: You got the story. I killed her. All there is
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: to it.
• 9:12
  Speaker 5: You know better than that, Mitchell. You know the woman
• 9:15
  Speaker 5: very well? No, not very well. What was her name?
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: Mary.
• 9:20
  Speaker 5: Mary what?
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: Mary, that's all. I met her in a bar. I
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: didn't know her well. I killed her. That's all you
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: got to know.
• 9:27
  Speaker 5: I had to. Why'd you have to, Jim?
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: I don't have to tell you. I had a reason.
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: Good reason. Robbery? I don't have to say.
• 9:36
  Speaker 5: You have a fight with her? Lovers quarrel?
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: Maybe. What's the difference?
• 9:40
  Speaker 5: This bar where you met Mary, that in downtown L.A.,
• 9:43
  Speaker 5: was it?
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's downtown.
• 9:45
  Speaker 5: She had it coming.
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: I'm glad I did it.
• 9:47
  Speaker 5: Not worth much, huh?
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: She was when I met her.
• 9:50
  Speaker 5: Well, what happened? Did she go off the deep end?
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: Guess so. What's the difference? She's dead.
• 9:54
  Speaker 5: But why'd you turn yourself in, Jim? Figured you couldn't
• 9:57
  Speaker 5: beat her? Maybe. How do you mean?
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: I could have stayed out of your way if I
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: wanted to. For a while, anyway. I didn't want to.
• 10:05
  Speaker 5: Why not, Jim?
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: Good reason. I'm glad I killed her. She had it coming.
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: Now go ahead and do what you want. I know
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: what the rap is. I'll pay for it.
• 10:12
  Speaker 5: Well, if you're willing to take the rap, Jim, why
• 10:14
  Speaker 5: not tell us the whole story, huh?
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: You got the story. I killed her. That's all you need.
• 10:18
  Speaker 5: Don't you want to brief us in on the details?
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: How it happened?
• 10:20
  Speaker 5: How it came about? Might be extenuating circumstances. You can't tell?
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: Well, how you mean?
• 10:25
  Speaker 6: Different things that might throw a new slant on the case.
• 10:27
  Speaker 6: Court's not going to hand down a decision until they
• 10:29
  Speaker 6: get the whole story.
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: You mean about Mary? I'll never tell them about her.
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: Lousy things she did to me. Never tell anybody about it.
• 10:36
  Speaker 5: Must have been pretty bad, huh? I mean, the way
• 10:38
  Speaker 5: you took it out on her.
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: She was rotten all the way through.
• 10:41
  Speaker 5: I had to kill her. What happened with the chloroform, Jim?
• 10:44
  Speaker 5: Didn't it work fast enough for you?
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: Chloroform? Yeah, uh-huh.
• 10:48
  Speaker 5: Didn't it react on her fast enough for you?
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: No. No, it didn't. I hated her.
• 10:53
  Speaker 5: Yeah, I guess you did. You must have had quite
• 10:55
  Speaker 5: a scrap with her. Struggled quite a bit, didn't you?
• 10:57
  Speaker 7: Yeah, she fought me all the way.
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: I got her, though. I hated her. Out of my mind,
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: I hated her so much.
• 11:03
  Speaker 5: We've been trying to figure it out, Jim. What'd you
• 11:05
  Speaker 5: hit her with? I mean, around the head and on
• 11:07
  Speaker 5: the neck. What'd you use, a piece of metal?
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: Yeah, angle iron. Kind of lost my head. I kept
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: beating her.
• 11:13
  Speaker 7: She tried to scream, but I had my hand over
• 11:15
  Speaker 7: her mouth, and then she fell down. She didn't make
• 11:17
  Speaker 7: a sound after that.
• 11:18
  Speaker 5: I see. Well, how come you took her jewelry? I mean,
• 11:21
  Speaker 5: if you just wanted to kill her, how is it
• 11:22
  Speaker 5: you took all her valuables, too?
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: Jim?
• 11:26
  Speaker 5: How about it, Mitchell?
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: Well, I don't know.
• 11:29
  Speaker 7: Spur of the moment, I guess. I took them, but
• 11:31
  Speaker 7: I didn't keep my thumb away. I don't remember where.
• 11:34
  Speaker 7: I'm glad it's over.
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: All right, Jim.
• 11:38
  Speaker 5: Now, what's this all about? You didn't kill that woman.
• 11:40
  Speaker 5: You know that as well as we do.
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: Well, what are you talking about? Of course I killed her.
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: She's dead, ain't she? How many times do I have
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: to admit it?
• 11:45
  Speaker 5: The woman had one mark on her body, Mitchell. A
• 11:47
  Speaker 5: small scratch on the wrist.
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: Huh?
• 11:49
  Speaker 5: Not a single wound on the head, none on the
• 11:50
  Speaker 5: neck either.
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: Well, I killed her. That's all you've got to know.
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: Not saying anything there.
• 11:54
  Speaker 5: All the woman's valuables weren't taken either, Jim. She was
• 11:56
  Speaker 5: found with a couple of rings on her hands, an
• 11:58
  Speaker 5: expensive watch, a bracelet, too. Now, come on, Jim. What's
• 12:01
  Speaker 5: the angle here?
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: You can't prove I didn't do it. You can't prove that.
• 12:05
  Speaker 7: I think we can. Now, why can't you just take
• 12:07
  Speaker 7: my word for it? It's a queer setup I ever saw.
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: I'm willing to admit I killed her, and you won't
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: believe me.
• 12:12
  Speaker 5: What kind of cops are you, anyway? Where'd you spend
• 12:13
  Speaker 5: last night, Jim? Where were you?
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: I don't know. I don't remember.
• 12:17
  Speaker 5: You remember. Now, how about it?
• 12:18
  Speaker 7: It's a queer setup I ever saw.
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: Whole town. You wouldn't believe it. Yeah. Look, I come
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: here from Alabama. I told you that. I've been here
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: for 22 months. A long time.
• 12:27
  Speaker 5: It's almost two years.
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: Mm-hmm. Queerest town I ever saw. Thousands of people all over.
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: Millions of them. People all around you, all over the place,
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: everywhere you go. I didn't know any of them. Not
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: a one. They didn't know me. 22 months. Couldn't get
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: to know nobody. I still don't. They don't know me either.
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: Tried to get acquainted. Just seemed I never could. Nobody
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: knew me. Nobody cared.
• 12:50
  Speaker 7: Didn't even know who I was. What kind of town
• 12:52
  Speaker 7: is that? 22 months right here. They don't even know
• 12:54
  Speaker 7: who I am. Nobody knows.
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: Living alone, you just get sick of it. Get sick
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: and tired of it.
• 12:59
  Speaker 5: That's what brought all this on, huh?
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: Well, I mean, at least they'll notice me. They'll know
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: I'm here. I killed a woman. They'll know who I
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: am now.
• 13:05
  Speaker 5: You ever spend any time in a hospital, Mitchell?
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: Institution?
• 13:09
  Speaker 7: Now, what'd you have to ask that for? Just because
• 13:11
  Speaker 7: I want to know people, want to notice me? That
• 13:13
  Speaker 7: doesn't make me crazy. Can't be alone all the time.
• 13:16
  Speaker 7: You got to have somebody notice you. Were you ever
• 13:18
  Speaker 7: in an institution, Jim?
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: Just once. Only a couple of months. It wasn't anything.
• 13:23
  Speaker 7: Look, can't you just forget what I said? I mean,
• 13:26
  Speaker 7: I told you I'd kill the woman. The paper's going
• 13:28
  Speaker 7: to be out pretty soon.
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: Pictures and things. Probably a big write-up. Yeah. Well, can't
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: we let it go at that? I killed her. Just
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: forget the rest.
• 13:34
  Speaker 5: No, I'm afraid not.
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: Why not?
• 13:37
  Speaker 7: We'll just make out it's that way. People get to
• 13:39
  Speaker 7: know me anyway. At least they'll know I'm around. I
• 13:41
  Speaker 7: won't be alone.
• 13:41
  Speaker 5: There's no use worrying, Jim.
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: Huh?
• 13:44
  Speaker 5: You won't be alone anymore.
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: 1.38 p.m.
• 13:49
  Speaker 5: We continued to question the self-accused suspect, James Mitchell, and
• 13:52
  Speaker 5: he finally told us that he'd been confined for a
• 13:54
  Speaker 5: period of 18 months in a state mental hospital in Alabama.
• 13:58
  Speaker 5: That had been more than three years before. The questioning
• 14:01
  Speaker 5: also left no doubt in our mind that Mitchell had
• 14:03
  Speaker 5: nothing at all to do with the death of the
• 14:05
  Speaker 5: unidentified woman. A sister of Mitchell's living in Alabama was contacted,
• 14:09
  Speaker 5: and she agreed to come out west as soon as
• 14:11
  Speaker 5: possible to look after her brother. In the meantime, he
• 14:14
  Speaker 5: was delivered to the care of psychiatrists at the county hospital.
• 14:17
  Speaker 5: The incident of a man confessing guilt of a crime
• 14:20
  Speaker 5: of which he's wholly innocent certainly wasn't anything new. Like
• 14:23
  Speaker 5: police officers all over the country, all over the world,
• 14:26
  Speaker 5: we've come to accept it as almost a routine part
• 14:28
  Speaker 5: of a criminal investigation. Most of the time, the would-be
• 14:31
  Speaker 5: criminal's suffering with mental trouble. Sometimes it's a thirst for notoriety.
• 14:35
  Speaker 5: In any event, they all have to be checked, every
• 14:37
  Speaker 5: one of them. It means time, trouble, and money. Hours
• 14:40
  Speaker 5: of cautious interrogation. More hours of checking stories that have
• 14:44
  Speaker 5: basis only in the imagination of a sick mind. They
• 14:47
  Speaker 5: slow the investigation, they waste hundreds of man hours, but
• 14:51
  Speaker 5: like anonymous leads or would-be witnesses, they can't be ignored.
• 14:54
  Speaker 5: It's part of the job. Saturday, October 18th. The newspapers
• 14:58
  Speaker 5: continue to cooperate by giving us front page space to
• 15:01
  Speaker 5: the story of the unidentified woman. Joe? Yeah, how'd you do?
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: Nothing.
• 15:06
  Speaker 5: Identification wasn't even close. How about Brian Lopez? What'd they
• 15:09
  Speaker 5: do on that call of theirs? Well, they're over at
• 15:10
  Speaker 5: the morgue now with a boy, 16-year-old. Kid was pretty
• 15:13
  Speaker 5: wrought up when he came in. We sure had a
• 15:15
  Speaker 5: parade of them. All last night, all this morning. Well,
• 15:17
  Speaker 5: it doesn't hurt our chances any. The more, the better.
• 15:19
  Speaker 5: I suppose so. Not going to make much headway if
• 15:22
  Speaker 5: we can't identify her. Any answers on the roll.
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: Points we got out on it? Yeah, four of them.
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: They've all been checked.
• 15:26
  Speaker 5: Nothing. Chewing gum, Joe?
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: New kind. Tangerine flavor.
• 15:31
  Speaker 5: No, no thanks. How about that check of the hospitals
• 15:34
  Speaker 5: around town? Anything show up there yet? No, not so far.
• 15:37
  Speaker 5: The scar on the woman's leg was from an operation,
• 15:39
  Speaker 5: all right. Doc figures it might not have been done
• 15:41
  Speaker 5: in a hospital, though. It was a minor operation. Could
• 15:43
  Speaker 5: have been done in a doctor's office, maybe. I'd stop it, sure.
• 15:46
  Speaker 6: Tough enough checking hospitals for a record of the operation.
• 15:49
  Speaker 6: Next to impossible to check every doctor in town for it.
• 15:51
  Speaker 5: Well, even then we could miss. Don't know where the
• 15:53
  Speaker 5: woman's from. She could have had the operation done anywhere.
• 15:56
  Speaker 5: I'll get it. Homicide.
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: Friday talking.
• 16:00
  Speaker 5: Yeah, Tom.
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: I know.
• 16:03
  Speaker 5: You did? That so?
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Okay. Fine.
• 16:07
  Speaker 5: You bet. Thanks, Tom. It was Brian. He and Lopey
• 16:11
  Speaker 5: are driving that boy over to Georgia Street, the 16-year-old.
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: What happened?
• 16:14
  Speaker 5: Well, they took the boy to the morgue. They showed
• 16:15
  Speaker 5: him the body. Asked him if he recognized it.
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: What's he say?
• 16:18
  Speaker 5: It's his mother. 2.05 p.m. Frank and I left the
• 16:25
  Speaker 5: office and drove over to Georgia Street Receiving Hospital. The
• 16:28
  Speaker 5: 16-year-old boy who had identified the dead woman as his
• 16:30
  Speaker 5: mother was being treated for shock and hysteria. The youngster
• 16:33
  Speaker 5: had told Brian and Lopez that his name was Arnold
• 16:36
  Speaker 5: Hopkins and that he'd been living with his mother at
• 16:38
  Speaker 5: a Norwood Street address. After he was given a sedative
• 16:41
  Speaker 5: and recovered himself a bit, the boy was driven to
• 16:43
  Speaker 5: the home of his aunt and uncle out near Barnsdale Park.
• 16:46
  Speaker 5: That night, Frank and I called on the boy and
• 16:48
  Speaker 5: found him sufficiently recovered to answer a few questions. He
• 16:51
  Speaker 5: confirmed his identity of the body he'd viewed that afternoon
• 16:54
  Speaker 5: as that of his mother, Mrs. Jeanette Hopkins. He said
• 16:57
  Speaker 5: he was an only child and that his father was dead.
• 17:00
  Speaker 5: He told us his mother had been working for the
• 17:01
  Speaker 5: past six years as coast representative for an eastern cosmetics firm.
• 17:05
  Speaker 5: We asked him what had happened the night his mother disappeared.
• 17:07
  Speaker 8: The phone just rang about, well, when we were finishing dinner.
• 17:10
  Speaker 8: About 8 o'clock, maybe quarter after. Well, when Ma hung up,
• 17:14
  Speaker 8: she said something important come up. She had to go
• 17:16
  Speaker 8: out to see somebody. She said she had to see
• 17:18
  Speaker 8: him right away. She got her coat and left. That's
• 17:22
  Speaker 8: the last time I saw her.
• 17:24
  Speaker 5: Well, who was she going to see, Arnold? Did she
• 17:26
  Speaker 5: tell you? No, she didn't.
• 17:28
  Speaker 8: I heard her talking on the phone, though.
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: Heard her say, Leo.
• 17:31
  Speaker 8: She said it a couple of times.
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: Leo.
• 17:33
  Speaker 5: Where was she going to meet this person, Arnold? Did
• 17:35
  Speaker 5: you happen to overhear that?
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: No, I didn't.
• 17:37
  Speaker 8: I think she said, okay, I'll meet you there, Leo,
• 17:39
  Speaker 8: and she hung up. Then she got her coat, kissed
• 17:42
  Speaker 8: me goodbye, and she went out.
• 17:43
  Speaker 5: Did she leave on foot or was she driving, do
• 17:44
  Speaker 5: you remember?
• 17:45
  Speaker 8: Oh, on foot. My mother didn't drive.
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: Who's Leo, so?
• 17:48
  Speaker 5: Your mother ever talk about him?
• 17:49
  Speaker 8: Heard her talking to him on the phone a couple
• 17:50
  Speaker 8: of times, that's about all.
• 17:52
  Speaker 5: Well, do you know where he lives, what he looks like?
• 17:53
  Speaker 5: Can you tell us anything about him at all?
• 17:55
  Speaker 8: No, sir, nothing. I wouldn't know him if I saw him.
• 18:09
  Speaker 4: You are listening to Dragnet, authentic stories of your police
• 18:12
  Speaker 4: force in action.
• 18:20
  Speaker 5: Saturday, October 18th, 8.30 p.m. Frank Smith and I continued
• 18:24
  Speaker 5: interviewing the dead woman's son, 16-year-old Arnold Hopkins... The big
• 18:28
  Speaker 5: lead pointed in the direction of the man known as Leo,
• 18:31
  Speaker 5: who telephoned Mrs. Hopkins Thursday night, little more than an
• 18:34
  Speaker 5: hour before she died, and made an appointment to meet her.
• 18:37
  Speaker 5: It was a good lead, but it didn't go too far.
• 18:39
  Speaker 5: All the boy could tell us was that the man's
• 18:41
  Speaker 5: name was Leo. He'd heard his mother address a man
• 18:43
  Speaker 5: by that name on the telephone several times, but that
• 18:46
  Speaker 5: was the extent of it. He didn't know Leo's last name.
• 18:48
  Speaker 5: He didn't know where he lived. He had no idea
• 18:50
  Speaker 5: where his mother was to meet the man the night
• 18:52
  Speaker 5: she died. We talked to the boy's aunt and uncle,
• 18:55
  Speaker 5: the dead woman's brother and sister-in-law, but they couldn't help
• 18:57
  Speaker 5: us either. Frank Smith and I obtained a list of
• 19:00
  Speaker 5: all of Mrs. Hopkins' friends and business associates known to
• 19:03
  Speaker 5: the son and the aunt and the uncle. We spent
• 19:05
  Speaker 5: the rest of the weekend checking with them. Most of
• 19:07
  Speaker 5: them gave us pretty much the same story.
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: Mrs.
• 19:10
  Speaker 5: Hopkins was well-liked and well-respected, both in her business and
• 19:12
  Speaker 5: private life. She was devoted to her teenage son. She
• 19:16
  Speaker 5: didn't drink, and socially her behavior was beyond question. She
• 19:19
  Speaker 5: attended church regularly. She was active in several women's clubs,
• 19:22
  Speaker 5: engaged in social and religious work. None of the people
• 19:25
  Speaker 5: we talked to could think of any reason that she
• 19:27
  Speaker 5: would want to end her own life. All of them
• 19:29
  Speaker 5: denied any knowledge of the man known as Leo. Monday afternoon,
• 19:33
  Speaker 5: October 20th, Frank and I had another meeting with the
• 19:35
  Speaker 5: victim's son, Arnold Hopkins. We had him check over the
• 19:38
  Speaker 5: personal effects found on the body.
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: Yes, sir, that's hers.
• 19:41
  Speaker 8: The other ring, too. How about this bracelet, son?
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: Yes, sir.
• 19:48
  Speaker 5: She always wore that.
• 19:50
  Speaker 8: My dad gave it to her, I think. When he
• 19:52
  Speaker 8: was alive, I mean.
• 19:53
  Speaker 5: She always wore it. Now, the wristwatch, two rings, the bracelet,
• 19:57
  Speaker 5: and this lapel pin here. That's about it, son.
• 20:00
  Speaker 8: Yes, sir, I guess so. You have her necklace, too.
• 20:04
  Speaker 5: How's that?
• 20:04
  Speaker 8: My mother's necklace. She was wearing it that night. She
• 20:07
  Speaker 8: had it on when she left the house. Didn't you
• 20:09
  Speaker 8: find it?
• 20:09
  Speaker 5: What kind of necklace is it, son? What's it look like?
• 20:12
  Speaker 8: It's made like the bracelet is. That one there. See,
• 20:15
  Speaker 8: the two of them go together to set.
• 20:17
  Speaker 5: Your mother wear expensive jewelry like that every day, did she? No, sir.
• 20:20
  Speaker 8: She wore the bracelet quite a bit, not the necklace, though.
• 20:23
  Speaker 8: She only wore that when she was dressed up. I
• 20:25
  Speaker 8: thought about it yesterday. I meant to tell you about it.
• 20:27
  Speaker 5: What's that, son?
• 20:28
  Speaker 8: Well, right after she got the phone call that night
• 20:31
  Speaker 8: when she told me she had to go out.
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 20:33
  Speaker 8: Well, she went back and got her coat and then
• 20:35
  Speaker 8: she came in the living room and kissed me goodbye.
• 20:37
  Speaker 8: She had the necklace in her hand.
• 20:38
  Speaker 5: You sure she took it with her? Oh, yes, sir.
• 20:40
  Speaker 8: I'm positive. After she kissed me goodbye, she went over
• 20:43
  Speaker 8: to the mirror and I saw her put the necklace on.
• 20:45
  Speaker 8: She was wearing it when she left. I didn't think
• 20:47
  Speaker 8: much about it till later on. Most of the time,
• 20:49
  Speaker 8: she only wears it when she dresses up. She wasn't
• 20:52
  Speaker 8: very dressed up that night.
• 20:54
  Speaker 5: Joe. Yeah. Can you describe the necklace for us, son?
• 20:58
  Speaker 5: Exactly what it looks like?
• 20:59
  Speaker 1: Yes, sir.
• 21:00
  Speaker 8: I think I can.
• 21:01
  Speaker 6: When you saw your mother with the necklace on, did
• 21:02
  Speaker 6: you think to ask her about it?
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I did.
• 21:05
  Speaker 8: She said she was wearing it because she wanted to
• 21:07
  Speaker 8: look pretty. She was going to meet a good friend.
• 21:09
  Speaker 5: And she didn't say where?
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: No, sir.
• 21:13
  Speaker 8: I guess she was wrong, huh? About her necklace, I mean.
• 21:16
  Speaker 5: No, son. About her friend. Monday, 3.18 p.m. We got
• 21:25
  Speaker 5: a description of the necklace from the Hopkins boy, confirmed
• 21:27
  Speaker 5: it with his aunt and uncle, and then we double-checked
• 21:29
  Speaker 5: it at the jeweler's, where it had been purchased. After that,
• 21:32
  Speaker 5: we contacted the pawn shop detail and burglary division. The
• 21:35
  Speaker 5: necklace and its description was put on the stolen property
• 21:37
  Speaker 5: list and copies were sent to second-hand jewelry stores and
• 21:40
  Speaker 5: pawn shops throughout the area. We also got out a
• 21:43
  Speaker 5: broadcast and an APB on it. 4.15 the following afternoon,
• 21:47
  Speaker 5: we got a reply from the San Diego Police Department.
• 21:49
  Speaker 5: A pawn shop owner down there had reported taking in
• 21:52
  Speaker 5: the necklace the Friday before, which matched the description of
• 21:54
  Speaker 5: the one we were looking for. The man who pawned
• 21:57
  Speaker 5: the necklace listed his name in the pawn shop's buy
• 21:59
  Speaker 5: book as Raymond Butler. San Diego officers had checked out
• 22:03
  Speaker 5: the home address that he'd given. It was a vacant lot.
• 22:05
  Speaker 5: The necklace was sent back to Los Angeles where it
• 22:07
  Speaker 5: was identified as Mrs.
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: Hopkins.
• 22:10
  Speaker 5: The description of the man who'd pawned the necklace was
• 22:12
  Speaker 5: forwarded from San Diego together with a photostatic copy of
• 22:14
  Speaker 5: the suspect's signature, and we got out an all-points bulletin
• 22:17
  Speaker 5: on him. Two days passed.
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: Nothing.
• 22:20
  Speaker 5: Along with Brian and Lopez, we continued checking all public
• 22:23
  Speaker 5: places in the general area where the body of Mrs.
• 22:26
  Speaker 5: Hopkins had been found. You got anything, Frank?
• 22:29
  Speaker 6: Talked to a man by the name of Wagner, Joe.
• 22:30
  Speaker 6: He told me she used to do a lot of traveling,
• 22:32
  Speaker 6: business trips, most of them to San Diego. Wagner says
• 22:34
  Speaker 6: he heard she had a boyfriend down there, a tall,
• 22:36
  Speaker 6: dark-haired fellow.
• 22:37
  Speaker 5: That's all.
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: No name.
• 22:38
  Speaker 5: I get it.
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: Homicide, Friday. What?
• 22:43
  Speaker 5: Oh, yeah, Lopey. Mm-hmm.
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: Where?
• 22:46
  Speaker 5: Checks out, does it?
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's good.
• 22:48
  Speaker 2: Fine.
• 22:48
  Speaker 5: Okay, thanks, Lopey. Yeah, right away.
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: Anything, Joe?
• 22:51
  Speaker 5: Lopez, he and Brian just checked a bar out in
• 22:53
  Speaker 5: the neighborhood where the body was found. They talked to
• 22:55
  Speaker 5: the bartender in the place, showed him the description of
• 22:57
  Speaker 5: the man who pawned the necklace. Bartender says he knows
• 22:59
  Speaker 5: the man.
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: You sure?
• 23:00
  Speaker 5: Pretty sure. He told Brian and Lopey that the man's
• 23:02
  Speaker 5: either a boxer or a wrestler, something like that, anyway.
• 23:04
  Speaker 5: You know the man's name, where he lives? Says his
• 23:06
  Speaker 5: name's Taylor. No home address. You know his first name?
• 23:08
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 23:09
  Speaker 5: Leo. 1.25 p.m. After interviewing four other people who were
• 23:17
  Speaker 5: in the bar the night of Mrs. Hopkins' death, Lopez
• 23:19
  Speaker 5: and Bryan checked back in at the office. They told
• 23:22
  Speaker 5: us that at least one of the four persons they
• 23:24
  Speaker 5: talked to, in addition to the bartender, was sure that
• 23:26
  Speaker 5: the description of the suspect who pawned the necklace fitted
• 23:28
  Speaker 5: a man known as Leo Taylor, who was in the
• 23:30
  Speaker 5: bar the previous Thursday night. He was seen in the
• 23:33
  Speaker 5: place between 8.30 and 9.00 p.m., and he was seen
• 23:36
  Speaker 5: with a woman answering Mrs. Hopkins' general description. The bartender
• 23:39
  Speaker 5: had no idea where the man lived, but he seemed
• 23:42
  Speaker 5: fairly certain of the man's name. Leo Taylor, and his occupation,
• 23:46
  Speaker 5: either wrestling or boxing. 5.05 p.m., we made a run
• 23:49
  Speaker 5: on Taylor's name and description through R & I, and
• 23:51
  Speaker 5: we got a make. We checked his handwriting, and that
• 23:54
  Speaker 5: matched out also. He had one previous arrest for assault
• 23:57
  Speaker 5: and disorderly conduct. His residence was a West 11th Street address.
• 24:01
  Speaker 5: We checked it out, but he'd moved six months before.
• 24:04
  Speaker 5: The landlady had no forwarding address on him, but she
• 24:06
  Speaker 5: told us one of the places he used to frequent
• 24:07
  Speaker 5: was a gym on South Olive down near Olympic. We
• 24:11
  Speaker 5: ran it down.
• 24:14
  Speaker 6: I checked with a fellow in the office over there, Joe.
• 24:17
  Speaker 5: Says the man we were once taking a shower back there, locker.
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: Room, all right?
• 24:22
  Speaker 5: In here?
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Go ahead. Yeah. Hey, excuse me.
• 24:29
  Speaker 5: Your name Leo Taylor?
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: How's that?
• 24:31
  Speaker 5: I said, are you Leo Taylor?
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's right.
• 24:33
  Speaker 9: What is it?
• 24:34
  Speaker 5: Police officers would like to talk to you. Oh, I'm
• 24:36
  Speaker 5: taking a shower right now.
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: You want to wait a while? Well, keep, Taylor. We
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: want to talk to you now. All right. All right,
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: what's the rush?
• 24:45
  Speaker 5: What's it all about? I want to talk to you downtown.
• 24:48
  Speaker 5: What do you want me downtown for? A routine check.
• 24:50
  Speaker 5: I'd like to ask you a few questions.
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: About what?
• 24:52
  Speaker 5: Jeanette Hopkins. That so? What about her? When's the last
• 24:56
  Speaker 5: time you saw the woman, Taylor? I don't know. A
• 24:58
  Speaker 5: couple of months ago.
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: At least that. Why?
• 25:00
  Speaker 5: We can talk about it downtown. Well, let's talk now.
• 25:02
  Speaker 5: It'll take me a little time to get dressed. What's
• 25:04
  Speaker 5: the pitch? You know as well as we do. You
• 25:06
  Speaker 5: want to throw me that shirt, Mac? Thanks.
• 25:09
  Speaker 9: What do you mean I know as well as you do?
• 25:11
  Speaker 5: Know what?
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: No rush, Leo.
• 25:13
  Speaker 9: We can talk downtown. I read about it in the papers.
• 25:16
  Speaker 9: It's a terrible thing. I was going to look her
• 25:19
  Speaker 9: up one of these days. It's too bad.
• 25:21
  Speaker 5: You live in Los Angeles, Taylor?
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: Yeah, why?
• 25:23
  Speaker 5: Ever get down to San Diego? Once in a while,
• 25:25
  Speaker 5: not too often. You don't think I had anything to
• 25:28
  Speaker 5: do with it, do you? How do you mean, Leo?
• 25:29
  Speaker 5: With what?
• 25:30
  Speaker 9: I mean, Jeanette, she's dead. You don't think I had
• 25:33
  Speaker 9: a hand with it, do you?
• 25:34
  Speaker 5: I tell you, I'm going to level with you, Leo.
• 25:36
  Speaker 5: We've been on this thing a week. We've got you
• 25:38
  Speaker 5: placed in San Diego. We've got you placed here. You
• 25:40
  Speaker 5: say you haven't seen Mrs. Hopkins for two months. We
• 25:42
  Speaker 5: can do a lot better than that. You were with
• 25:44
  Speaker 5: her in San Diego two weeks ago. You were drinking
• 25:46
  Speaker 5: with her in a bar out there last Thursday night.
• 25:48
  Speaker 5: You were with her 20 minutes before she died. We
• 25:49
  Speaker 5: got all we need, Leo.
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: Got my coat there, the gray one.
• 25:53
  Speaker 5: Check the pockets, Frank.
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Gonna take a lot of proof.
• 25:57
  Speaker 5: I guess you know that. Gonna take a lot of it.
• 25:59
  Speaker 5: We got it.
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: Better have.
• 26:02
  Speaker 5: Let's see. Keys, wallet, coin.
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 26:06
  Speaker 5: Okay, let's go. No, just a minute, Leo.
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: Yeah?
• 26:11
  Speaker 5: Coin ticket here. You forgot it.
• 26:21
  Speaker 3: The story you have just heard was true. The names
• 26:24
  Speaker 3: were changed to protect the innocent.
• 26:26
  Speaker 4: On January 28th, trial was held in Superior Court, Department 89,
• 26:29
  Speaker 4: City and County of Los Angeles, State of California. In
• 26:32
  Speaker 4: a moment, the results of that trial. When confronted with
• 26:43
  Speaker 4: the evidence and testimony against him, Leo Francis Taylor broke
• 26:47
  Speaker 4: down and confessed to the murder of Mrs. Jeanette Hopkins.
• 26:50
  Speaker 4: She'd been paying blackmail to Taylor in order to keep
• 26:52
  Speaker 4: their affair secret, but a month before her death, she
• 26:54
  Speaker 4: refused to pay him any more. Taylor threatened her again,
• 26:57
  Speaker 4: and she agreed to give him the necklace as a
• 26:59
  Speaker 4: final payoff. At their meeting, Taylor demanded cash. His victim
• 27:03
  Speaker 4: threatened him with arrest, and he administered the chloroform. Taylor
• 27:06
  Speaker 4: was tried and found guilty of first-degree murder and was
• 27:09
  Speaker 4: sentenced to a life term in the state penitentiary.
• 27:11
  Speaker 6: © BF-WATCH TV 2021.
• 27:53
  Speaker 5: Each Thursday night, it's Counterspy on NBC.
• 28:04
  Speaker 2: Welcome back. Well, I like the little part at the
• 28:08
  Speaker 2: end where Friday drops the final piece of crucial evidence
• 28:14
  Speaker 2: in that pawn ticket. The false confession segment was interesting,
• 28:20
  Speaker 2: even though it was probably the weakest false confession that
• 28:25
  Speaker 2: I'd heard. Obviously, this guy wasn't prepared to answer anything
• 28:31
  Speaker 2: outside of what was publicly available information and hoped that
• 28:36
  Speaker 2: the police would just take his word for it. All right, well,
• 28:40
  Speaker 2: listen to our comments and feedback now. And we have
• 28:43
  Speaker 2: a couple on YouTube regarding the big male. Davey writes,
• 28:49
  Speaker 2: I love Dragnet. And Mark writes, also a big fan
• 28:52
  Speaker 2: of Radio Air Dragnet was Murphy in the Harry Nile
• 28:56
  Speaker 2: Detective series made in Seattle. Yeah, I've listened to that
• 29:00
  Speaker 2: series and I don't know if I remember her name
• 29:04
  Speaker 2: dropping Dragnet. But she was such a great character. who
• 29:09
  Speaker 2: was very vague on facts and details.
• 29:12
  Speaker 5: And, of course, there are.
• 29:14
  Speaker 2: All kinds of nods to old-time radio, as well as
• 29:19
  Speaker 2: to classic detective series. One episode that stands out to
• 29:25
  Speaker 2: me is they actually had Fred Allen visiting Seattle, and
• 29:33
  Speaker 2: they had, I believe it was Larry Albert in that.
• 29:36
  Speaker 2: playing Fred Allen and doing this very spot-on... impression. But
• 29:42
  Speaker 2: thank you so much. Appreciate the comments. Well, now it's
• 29:46
  Speaker 2: time to thank our Patreon supporter of the day. Thank
• 29:49
  Speaker 2: you to Tony, Patreon supporter since March 2023, currently supporting
• 29:55
  Speaker 2: the podcast, at the Shamas level of $ 4 or more
• 29:59
  Speaker 2: per month. Thanks so much for your support, Tony. And
• 30:02
  Speaker 2: that will do it for today. If you're enjoying the podcast,
• 30:05
  Speaker 2: please follow us using your favorite podcast software and be
• 30:09
  Speaker 2: sure to rate and review the podcast wherever you download
• 30:12
  Speaker 2: it from. We'll be back next Thursday with another episode
• 30:16
  Speaker 2: of Dragnet, but join us back here tomorrow for yours truly,
• 30:20
  Speaker 2: Johnny Dollarware.
• 30:21
  Speaker 5: Now, Johnny, I suppose you're curious about why I sent
• 30:24
  Speaker 5: for you.
• 30:25
  Speaker 3: Yeah, well, according to Fred Starkey, it's all a big mystery.
• 30:28
  Speaker 5: Oh, mystery's right.
• 30:29
  Speaker 7: Was right.
• 30:30
  Speaker 6: But, Johnny, I've found it.
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: Oh?
• 30:32
  Speaker 5: Yes.
• 30:33
  Speaker 8: The mystery of.
• 30:34
  Speaker 6: Why my lumberyard burned down a few weeks ago.
• 30:37
  Speaker 5: You mean it was set?
• 30:38
  Speaker 3: That's exactly what I mean.
• 30:40
  Speaker 6: I had no proof in the beginning, no reason to.
• 30:43
  Speaker 5: Think it was set, but I have now.
• 30:44
  Speaker 1: By whom, Mrs. Tufin?
• 30:46
  Speaker 5: Oh, I wish you'd.
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: Call me Grace, Johnny, just to flatter.
• 30:49
  Speaker 5: Me a bit. Okay, sure.
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: But who set the fire?
• 30:53
  Speaker 7: All right, you said three suspects out there in the
• 30:57
  Speaker 7: living room.
• 30:58
  Speaker 5: That's right.
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: Would you like to go in and meet them and then.
• 31:04
  Speaker 2: I hope you'll be with us then. In the meantime,
• 31:07
  Speaker 2: send your comments to box13 at greatdetectives.net. Follow us on
• 31:12
  Speaker 2: Twitter at Radio Detectives and check us out on Instagram, instagram.com
• 31:18
  Speaker 2: slash greatdetectives. From Boise, Idaho, this is your host, Adam Graham,
• 31:23
  Speaker 2: signing off.