Latest / Dragnet | Old Time Radio / Dragnet - "Big Casing" (Old Time Radio, 1951)

Transcript

Dragnet - "Big Casing" (Old Time Radio, 1951) · Dragnet | Old Time Radio

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Jack Webb and Barton Yarborough star as sergeants Joe Friday
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: and Ben Romero in Dragnet from May third, nineteen fifty one.
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: This is episode three Big, casing a Los Angeles investigation
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: that begins with the shooting death of Marie Robertson in
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: her apartment. Her husband says she took her own life,
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: but physical evidence and the detective's inquiries lead the case
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: in another direction. Jim Moser wrote the broadcast for NBC,
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: with Herb Butterfield and Barney Phillips in the supporting cast,
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: and now the original broadcast.
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: The story you were about to hear is true, only
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: the names have been changed to protect the innocent. Fatima
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: cigarettes best of all long cigarettes bring to Dragnet. You're
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: a detective sergeant. You're assigned a homicide detail. You go
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: to an apartment house and answer to her shooting and
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: dead body called. Her husband tells you it's suicide. The
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: facts show it to be murdered. Your job find out.
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: You'll be amazed when you compare Fatima with other lawn cigarettes.
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: You'll find they now cost the same, but in Fatima
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: the difference is quality. You see, Fatima is the quality
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: king size cigarette because it contains the finest domestic and
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: Turkish tobaccos who perbly blended, and Fatima is extra mild
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: well the much different, much better flavor and aroma than
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: any other long cigarette.
• 1:47
  Speaker 3: So compare Fatima yourself.
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: Fatimas now cost the same as other long cigarettes, but
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: your first pop will tell.
• 1:55
  Speaker 4: You, ah, that's gissing.
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: Yes, in Fatima, the difference is quality. Ask your dealer
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: for Fatima, the quality king size cigarette, best of all
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: long cigarette. Start enjoying Fatima tomorrow. Drag Met the documented
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: drama of an actual crime. While the next thirty minutes,
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department, you will
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: travel step by step on the side of the law
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: through an actual case.
• 2:30
  Speaker 4: Transcribe from official police.
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: Files from beginning to end, from crime to punishment. Drag
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: Net is the story of your police force in action.
• 2:44
  Speaker 4: It was Sunday, March ninth, was windy in Los Angeles.
• 2:47
  Speaker 4: We were working to day watch out a homicide detail.
• 2:50
  Speaker 4: My partner's Ben Romero, the boss's stat bound chief of Detectives.
• 2:53
  Speaker 4: My name's Fridy. It was four point thirty five pm
• 2:56
  Speaker 4: when we got to the first floor of the Kelsey Apartment,
• 2:58
  Speaker 4: Hotel one twelve. Hi Joe Ben, Hi, Hey, what did
• 3:04
  Speaker 4: you got here? The woman's dead shot to the right
• 3:07
  Speaker 4: temple with the forty five AutoMac. Husband claims a suicide.
• 3:10
  Speaker 4: What's the name, mister, missus Andrew Robertson? My wife's name
• 3:13
  Speaker 4: was Marie. That's mister Robinson right over here. As a
• 3:16
  Speaker 4: crime I've been called elet ten minutes ago time, mister Robinson.
• 3:20
  Speaker 4: This is Sergeant Romero, Sergeant Friday. How do you deal O?
• 3:24
  Speaker 4: Have you a questioned mister Robertson, No, not yet. But
• 3:26
  Speaker 4: mister Robinson, you want to tell us what happened here.
• 3:29
  Speaker 5: I had just gotten back from the Connor grocery store.
• 3:32
  Speaker 5: My wife and I had a little argument going. It
• 3:35
  Speaker 5: started before I left for the store, and it was
• 3:36
  Speaker 5: still on when I got back. I see she was
• 3:39
  Speaker 5: fixing chicken fried steaks for dinner, putting a flour on them.
• 3:43
  Speaker 4: We had a few more wards and.
• 3:44
  Speaker 5: I went over and sat on the devonport right where
• 3:47
  Speaker 5: I am now.
• 3:48
  Speaker 6: She was standing there. I'm gonna go over to the kitchen.
• 3:51
  Speaker 5: She said something that set me off, and I guess
• 3:53
  Speaker 5: I got pretty mad and said a few things, and
• 3:56
  Speaker 5: she went back over that little night stand there by
• 3:58
  Speaker 5: the door of the kitchen was Yeah, that's it. That's
• 4:02
  Speaker 5: where I keep my army automatic. She pulled it out
• 4:05
  Speaker 5: of the drawer and backed up into the kitchen. She
• 4:07
  Speaker 5: put the gun to her head and said this will
• 4:10
  Speaker 5: put an end to the argument once and for all.
• 4:12
  Speaker 5: I yelled at her and tried to stop her, but
• 4:14
  Speaker 5: I was too late. She pulled the trigger and fell
• 4:17
  Speaker 5: right there.
• 4:17
  Speaker 4: Where she is. What'd you do? Then?
• 4:19
  Speaker 5: I went upstairs to Ted Carlton's place. Listen to twelve
• 4:23
  Speaker 5: right above us. We don't have a phone here. I
• 4:26
  Speaker 5: asked him to call the police and send for an ambulance.
• 4:28
  Speaker 4: Did you go over to see how badly your wife
• 4:30
  Speaker 4: was shot? Yeah? I forgot to tell you. The minute
• 4:34
  Speaker 4: she fired, I rushed right over to her, but I
• 4:36
  Speaker 4: was too late. She was dead. Now did you touch
• 4:38
  Speaker 4: anything in here? Move anything? You know? No, s're not
• 4:40
  Speaker 4: a thing. I've been sitting here ever since I got
• 4:43
  Speaker 4: back down from Ted's room upstairs. I see yeah, yeah,
• 4:50
  Speaker 4: empty contridge gazing here on the floor. Yeah, when Jones
• 4:53
  Speaker 4: gets here, we'll measure the distance. Just a minute. We
• 5:00
  Speaker 4: can put this saucer over till the crime lab gets
• 5:02
  Speaker 4: here all right, crime labs blotty joneral highly, oh Joe,
• 5:09
  Speaker 4: they three mich Would you mind taking mister robertson downtown.
• 5:12
  Speaker 4: We'll be right down to finish up here, right see you, lady,
• 5:15
  Speaker 4: thanks a lot. Here, that's regards here, chop through the
• 5:22
  Speaker 4: right temple her husband's named suicide. What's under the saucer,
• 5:27
  Speaker 4: empty casing? Looks like she was flowering meat. H that's
• 5:34
  Speaker 4: what the husband says, you know, it's probably what that
• 5:38
  Speaker 4: is in the barrel of the automatic there. Yeah, we
• 5:40
  Speaker 4: noticed that Ray's best gets short a full yeah, I
• 5:47
  Speaker 4: like temple around fully five automatic. Yeah. If she shot
• 5:54
  Speaker 4: herself from the kitchen, the honey, you figure the empty
• 5:57
  Speaker 4: case and got out there in the living room position
• 5:59
  Speaker 4: of the body you want, then that'll be it to
• 6:02
  Speaker 4: deal with photography, I mean, friday a well, what you
• 6:10
  Speaker 4: want to shoot? Well, if you get an overall of
• 6:12
  Speaker 4: the room first and grab one in the kitchen there,
• 6:15
  Speaker 4: all right, the way till I get that saftware off
• 6:23
  Speaker 4: the casing end?
• 6:28
  Speaker 6: Okay, right.
• 6:32
  Speaker 4: Now you want to move over there? Love?
• 6:33
  Speaker 6: Oh yeah, thanks, all right, okay, you want the.
• 6:45
  Speaker 4: Kitchen right from where you are now, it's good. We
• 6:47
  Speaker 4: can get out of your way here. Okay, this is fine.
• 6:54
  Speaker 4: M m hmm.
• 7:01
  Speaker 3: Now right over the body. Let you get that chattis down.
• 7:04
  Speaker 3: I'm telling her.
• 7:04
  Speaker 7: Here you are that much room to work with you.
• 7:16
  Speaker 4: Can you get a little in there? Yeah, there's a
• 7:22
  Speaker 4: waste basket. There's your outside.
• 7:24
  Speaker 3: Line here in kitchen sink on the other side.
• 7:27
  Speaker 6: You can't get to sink in when you send up
• 7:28
  Speaker 6: for the waste basket only.
• 7:29
  Speaker 3: Fine, just use that as your right hand side line.
• 7:31
  Speaker 3: Huh no, m.
• 7:37
  Speaker 6: Okay, So why are you fellow study?
• 7:41
  Speaker 4: Yep? And here we're going to run upstairs in the way.
• 7:42
  Speaker 3: Okay, jo, come a.
• 7:43
  Speaker 6: Man, where do you want to go?
• 7:49
  Speaker 4: First? To twelve left? This Ted Carlton Robertson mentioned in it. Yeah,
• 7:53
  Speaker 4: the Fellas is supposed to have called them for him.
• 7:56
  Speaker 4: Here it is right herestairs. Yes, police officers, you're miss Garton. Yes,
• 8:05
  Speaker 4: that's right, Thank you very much. This is an awful thing,
• 8:09
  Speaker 4: isn't it. Yes, well, we understand that you're a friend
• 8:12
  Speaker 4: of the Robertson. Yes, I am. Have you found out
• 8:14
  Speaker 4: anything yet? Think Andy killed her and we don't know.
• 8:17
  Speaker 4: We haven't completed that investigation. I see, I'll bet that's
• 8:20
  Speaker 4: the way it was. I hate to say that, but
• 8:22
  Speaker 4: for more indication, it certainly looks that way. How do
• 8:25
  Speaker 4: you mean the argument, the shouting and that single shot.
• 8:28
  Speaker 4: I don't know, but it sure stuck needed Andy did it?
• 8:30
  Speaker 4: When did the argument start? When it prolonged? You know?
• 8:33
  Speaker 4: What do you mean when it stuck? What time? You know?
• 8:36
  Speaker 4: This one today started about three point thirty when Andy
• 8:39
  Speaker 4: got back from the store. But they've been arguing ever
• 8:41
  Speaker 4: since I've known him. How long have you known them?
• 8:42
  Speaker 4: About two years?
• 8:44
  Speaker 6: Those two never should have gotten.
• 8:45
  Speaker 4: Married to begin with.
• 8:46
  Speaker 6: If I'm going to judge, are you married, Y're necessarily not.
• 8:50
  Speaker 4: What if you could tell us, did missus Robertson never
• 8:52
  Speaker 4: say anything that would lead you to believe that she
• 8:54
  Speaker 4: was in fear of her life?
• 8:55
  Speaker 6: Well, yes she did.
• 8:57
  Speaker 4: One time Andy stalked out of the apartment down there
• 8:59
  Speaker 4: and Marie came up here to see me, shoes in tears,
• 9:02
  Speaker 4: all broken up about it? As usual during these spats,
• 9:05
  Speaker 4: she said, I'll try to remember exactly how she put it.
• 9:09
  Speaker 4: She said, Andy gets so mad sometimes I think he's
• 9:11
  Speaker 4: going to kill me. What did they usually argue about?
• 9:14
  Speaker 4: You know, all different things? This particular time that I
• 9:17
  Speaker 4: was telling you about. I think it was over his
• 9:19
  Speaker 4: being late for dinner. Aside from this one instance, is
• 9:22
  Speaker 4: there anything else that you can tell us? Well? And
• 9:25
  Speaker 4: he has a terrible temper that I know. He used
• 9:28
  Speaker 4: to go out and bowl once in a while, Mary,
• 9:30
  Speaker 4: Andy and myself. We had to stop every time he
• 9:32
  Speaker 4: missus spare You'd think it was the end of the world.
• 9:34
  Speaker 4: Would he usually seem to take it out of his
• 9:36
  Speaker 4: wife most of the time, you know, although I must
• 9:38
  Speaker 4: say I caught it a few times myself, abusive language.
• 9:42
  Speaker 4: She really carried on over nothing at all? Did Robertson
• 9:45
  Speaker 4: leave his wife home alone? And much of the time, no,
• 9:48
  Speaker 4: nony more than your usual. Seems like he always wanted
• 9:50
  Speaker 4: to get home just so they could argue. Everybody in
• 9:52
  Speaker 4: that parkming House knows about him. So you said that
• 9:55
  Speaker 4: missus Robertson came up here after that one particular argument,
• 9:58
  Speaker 4: and a yes it is. We'll just come up here often,
• 10:01
  Speaker 4: you know, Oh, not very often, just when she was
• 10:03
  Speaker 4: unusually upset and her nerved her on edge. But only
• 10:06
  Speaker 4: then when Andy had rushed out in my head, Well,
• 10:08
  Speaker 4: do you know whether or not rocks and Old was
• 10:09
  Speaker 4: a gun?
• 10:10
  Speaker 7: Yes?
• 10:10
  Speaker 4: I believe it does. As a matter of fact, I
• 10:12
  Speaker 4: know he does. One night we were having trouble with
• 10:14
  Speaker 4: powers and he came up here with his automatic. Later on,
• 10:17
  Speaker 4: I think I asked him where he got the gun.
• 10:19
  Speaker 4: He said, from the army. Is there anything else you
• 10:21
  Speaker 4: can add this garden? I was one who called the police.
• 10:25
  Speaker 4: That that's what we understand. Didn't Andy tell you? He
• 10:27
  Speaker 4: came up here right after the shot and asked me
• 10:29
  Speaker 4: to call the police for him. They don't have a phone. Well,
• 10:32
  Speaker 4: exactly how did he tell you? When? Well? What were
• 10:34
  Speaker 4: exact words? Can you remember them? He said, my wife's shot.
• 10:37
  Speaker 6: Call the police and get an ambulance quick.
• 10:40
  Speaker 4: What was your reaction to this? I'd heard the shot,
• 10:42
  Speaker 4: so I wasn't too surprised, But when Andy came running
• 10:45
  Speaker 4: up here, I knew before he said a word, you.
• 10:46
  Speaker 6: Could tell just to look at him, you could tell
• 10:48
  Speaker 6: what something was wrong.
• 10:50
  Speaker 4: I had to hunch all along that this might happen
• 10:52
  Speaker 4: Someday's that Andy had Kelly his wife then and might
• 10:59
  Speaker 4: continue questioning. The various neighbors in the apartment building, their
• 11:03
  Speaker 4: stories all matched in every detail. The Robertsons had been
• 11:06
  Speaker 4: known to argue quite frequently and quite loud. None of
• 11:09
  Speaker 4: the neighbors could definitely say that they had ever heard
• 11:11
  Speaker 4: Andrew Robertson threaten his wife. All of them volunteered it
• 11:14
  Speaker 4: would be entirely possible. We put in the call to
• 11:16
  Speaker 4: R and I. We found that there was no previous
• 11:19
  Speaker 4: record on Andrew Robertson nor his wife Marie. Before Lee
• 11:22
  Speaker 4: Jones had finished his investigation, Layton fingerprint men had arrived
• 11:26
  Speaker 4: and the men from the Coroner's office were standing by
• 11:28
  Speaker 4: for removal of the body. We canvassed the neighborhood and
• 11:31
  Speaker 4: checked with the various merchants in the area. They could
• 11:34
  Speaker 4: shed no further light on the death of Marie Robertson.
• 11:37
  Speaker 4: The coroner removed the body from Apartment one to twelve,
• 11:40
  Speaker 4: and Lee Jones continued with his investigation. Then and I
• 11:43
  Speaker 4: returned downtown for further interrogation of the suspect.
• 11:47
  Speaker 6: Everything after told it was the truth.
• 11:48
  Speaker 4: Would you mind going over just once more? All right?
• 11:53
  Speaker 4: We had our claus and arguments, and I guess some
• 11:55
  Speaker 4: of them were pretty bad, But I'd never do a
• 11:58
  Speaker 4: thing like this to Marie. Seems very upset about all this. Robberusly,
• 12:02
  Speaker 4: I'm not crying. If that's what you mean sorry she
• 12:05
  Speaker 4: had to do it. Tried to stop her, but there
• 12:07
  Speaker 4: was nothing I could do. But you seemed to be
• 12:09
  Speaker 4: taking always pretty well uner the circumstances.
• 12:12
  Speaker 5: I don't know if I can explain how I feel
• 12:15
  Speaker 5: about it. You see, Marie and I were too happy
• 12:18
  Speaker 5: the past couple of years. We've been married eight years,
• 12:21
  Speaker 5: and I guess from the start we never could hit
• 12:23
  Speaker 5: it off.
• 12:23
  Speaker 4: Did you used to argue quitely? No, at first we didn't.
• 12:28
  Speaker 5: Just seemed that we've drifted apart the last couple of years,
• 12:31
  Speaker 5: seemed to fight all the time over nothing at all.
• 12:33
  Speaker 5: I honestly believe we fell out of love.
• 12:36
  Speaker 4: What would you learn telling us again exactly what happened
• 12:39
  Speaker 4: this afternoon. First of all, I got up. I always
• 12:44
  Speaker 4: liked to sleep on Sundays. She asked me to go
• 12:46
  Speaker 4: to the store. That started the argument.
• 12:50
  Speaker 5: She knows I don't like to go shopping, but it
• 12:51
  Speaker 5: seemed like she was always forgetting something and i'd have
• 12:54
  Speaker 5: to go. When I got back from the store, she
• 12:57
  Speaker 5: was making chicken fried steaks for dinner. She was putting
• 13:01
  Speaker 5: a flower on the meat. We argued back and forth
• 13:04
  Speaker 5: for a minute, and then she stepped.
• 13:05
  Speaker 4: Into the living room. I went over and sat on
• 13:08
  Speaker 4: the davenport. We had a few more awards, and she
• 13:12
  Speaker 4: went over to the small night stand by the kitchen
• 13:14
  Speaker 4: door and took out my army automatic that I kept
• 13:17
  Speaker 4: in there. She backed up into the kitchen and pointed
• 13:20
  Speaker 4: a gun at her head. Here, she said, this will
• 13:22
  Speaker 4: end the argument once and for all. So I said.
• 13:25
  Speaker 4: I was on the davenport about twelve feet away from her.
• 13:28
  Speaker 4: I yelled at her, what did you say? I said, Marie,
• 13:31
  Speaker 4: put that gun down. It's loaded. Before I could reach her,
• 13:35
  Speaker 4: she pulled the trigger. Then what you knew? I rushed
• 13:38
  Speaker 4: over to her, but it was too late. She was dead.
• 13:40
  Speaker 4: What happened here? We don't have a phone, so I
• 13:43
  Speaker 4: rushed upstairs with the apartment right over ted Cobns. I
• 13:47
  Speaker 4: asked him the phone for the police in the ambulance.
• 13:49
  Speaker 4: Did you tell Carlton about your wife? Yes? I did.
• 13:52
  Speaker 4: I told him she'd been shot.
• 13:53
  Speaker 6: Then let you go.
• 13:55
  Speaker 4: So, just like I told her at the apartment, I
• 13:57
  Speaker 4: went back downstairs and waited in the living room for
• 14:00
  Speaker 4: people to get there. Did you go near your wife's body, No,
• 14:03
  Speaker 4: I did not. Did you always keep that dead loaded?
• 14:07
  Speaker 5: Yes I did. I always kept it loaded. And actuated.
• 14:10
  Speaker 5: I was shell in the chamber, but I kept the
• 14:12
  Speaker 5: safety lock on.
• 14:14
  Speaker 6: We knew how to.
• 14:15
  Speaker 4: Operate the gun because I showed her for when I
• 14:17
  Speaker 4: was off late.
• 14:18
  Speaker 6: She wasn't strong enough to actuate it, but she could
• 14:20
  Speaker 6: work the safety.
• 14:22
  Speaker 4: Did your wife ever try to commit suicide before?
• 14:24
  Speaker 5: Not to my knowledge, mister Robertson, you sure that everything
• 14:28
  Speaker 5: you've told us is the truth.
• 14:29
  Speaker 4: It's the absolute of your truth. Every word of it
• 14:32
  Speaker 4: wels he Here's the way it looks to us. We
• 14:35
  Speaker 4: think you killed your wife. I didn't let just lay
• 14:38
  Speaker 4: out a few things for you. We talked to your
• 14:40
  Speaker 4: friends and neighbors in your apartment house. We have people
• 14:43
  Speaker 4: who are testified to the fact that your wife was
• 14:45
  Speaker 4: afraid that you might kill it. He told one man.
• 14:47
  Speaker 4: Then it isn't true. I don't know what you may
• 14:50
  Speaker 4: have told somebody, but I didn't kill her. So, knowing
• 14:53
  Speaker 4: the fact throughout the entire apartment building that you and
• 14:55
  Speaker 4: your wife had violent quoros a kind of argument from
• 14:58
  Speaker 4: all reports that could easily lead to something like that.
• 15:00
  Speaker 4: I told her. We argued, but I didn't kill Murray.
• 15:03
  Speaker 4: I couldn't do a thing like that. Mister Robertson, we've
• 15:06
  Speaker 4: made a preliminary investigation of your apartment. You say your
• 15:10
  Speaker 4: wife killed herself. Let me show you some of the
• 15:11
  Speaker 4: flaws in your story. All I can say is what
• 15:14
  Speaker 4: I've told you is the truth. I didn't kill her.
• 15:16
  Speaker 4: Well you told her is that your wife went to
• 15:17
  Speaker 4: the knight standing and got the gun. That's right. How
• 15:21
  Speaker 4: did she pick up the automatic? How do you mean? Well,
• 15:23
  Speaker 4: how did she take it from the drawer? Liked anyone
• 15:26
  Speaker 4: who pick up a gun by the butt. She picked
• 15:29
  Speaker 4: it up like anybody who was going to use it.
• 15:31
  Speaker 4: And you're sure about that? Positive? She didn't touch anything
• 15:34
  Speaker 4: but the butt. Well, she had part of her hand
• 15:37
  Speaker 4: on the trigger, we know that, But she didn't touch
• 15:39
  Speaker 4: any other part of the weapon. She did not. She
• 15:41
  Speaker 4: didn't have time. Well, then, how do you account for
• 15:43
  Speaker 4: the fact that we found traces of flower on the
• 15:45
  Speaker 4: barrel of the gun? Oh? Sure, she was flowering me.
• 15:48
  Speaker 4: So how'd the flower get on the barrel? I don't know. Well,
• 15:51
  Speaker 4: wasn't it true that when you approached her with the
• 15:53
  Speaker 4: automatic pointed at her, she tried to ward off the
• 15:55
  Speaker 4: shot with her hand. Isn't that how the flower got
• 15:58
  Speaker 4: on that barrel? That isn't true. Now you said your
• 16:01
  Speaker 4: wife was putting flower on some steaks. That's right.
• 16:04
  Speaker 6: How do you ACCOMPLI the fact.
• 16:05
  Speaker 4: That we didn't find any flower on the butt of
• 16:06
  Speaker 4: the gun we'd belonged, or on the drawer of the
• 16:09
  Speaker 4: knight stand where you say she first picked up the arma.
• 16:13
  Speaker 4: I can't answer that. I don't know what all this means. Well,
• 16:15
  Speaker 4: it means that unless you've got some kind of explanation,
• 16:17
  Speaker 4: we have to assume that you're lying that you killed
• 16:19
  Speaker 4: your wife. I don't know how to explain all these things,
• 16:22
  Speaker 4: but I didn't kill her. Mister Robertson, you say you
• 16:26
  Speaker 4: were an army man. Isn't that what you told us?
• 16:28
  Speaker 4: Emp to your pardon? Yes, I was a sergeant in
• 16:30
  Speaker 4: the Army during the last war. What outfit were you?
• 16:32
  Speaker 4: We or an instructor in side arm weapons an army
• 16:36
  Speaker 4: air base. Then you'd be somewhat of an authority on
• 16:38
  Speaker 4: the Colt forty five caliber automatic pistiluion. I guess I would.
• 16:42
  Speaker 6: Yeah, that was one of the weapons I instructed in.
• 16:45
  Speaker 4: You'd know all about the system of ejection employed by
• 16:47
  Speaker 4: the Colt coming on there forty five automatic, Yes, I would.
• 16:50
  Speaker 4: The empty casing injects to the right up back, that's right, yes, right.
• 16:56
  Speaker 4: In other words, if you were pointing a forty five
• 16:58
  Speaker 4: at me and you pulled the trigger, the empty ca
• 17:00
  Speaker 4: eject to your right up and fall on the floor
• 17:02
  Speaker 4: to the rear on your right side, right, yeah, that's
• 17:06
  Speaker 4: what it would end up. You still maintained that your
• 17:09
  Speaker 4: wife shot herself. Yes, I do. Where was she standing
• 17:13
  Speaker 4: when she pulled a trader? I told her before?
• 17:15
  Speaker 6: In the kitchen?
• 17:16
  Speaker 4: How was she standing? What do you mean?
• 17:18
  Speaker 5: Which way was she facing? Let's see, facing me? Yeah,
• 17:23
  Speaker 5: that's right, in the kitchen with her back to the sink,
• 17:25
  Speaker 5: facing out towards me. And where were you on the
• 17:28
  Speaker 5: devenport in the living room facing huh?
• 17:30
  Speaker 4: Now? Betting in mind what we've already discussed in the
• 17:33
  Speaker 4: greater upon concerning the ejection system of the forty five,
• 17:37
  Speaker 4: how do you account for the fact that the empty
• 17:39
  Speaker 4: casing was found in the living room six feet and
• 17:41
  Speaker 4: four inches from the kitchen. Let's see, I'll figure it
• 17:45
  Speaker 4: for you. The empty casing should have been found on
• 17:48
  Speaker 4: the floor of the kitchen somewhere to the right and
• 17:50
  Speaker 4: rear of your wife. Is not about it. I don't understand.
• 17:54
  Speaker 4: Why are you trying to prove me guilty. I've told him,
• 17:57
  Speaker 4: I swear to you I didn't kill my wife. Well,
• 17:59
  Speaker 4: it would be a physical possibility for that implication to
• 18:01
  Speaker 4: have landed anywhere but in the kitchen, if your wife
• 18:03
  Speaker 4: had pulled the trigger that automatic. How about that? What
• 18:08
  Speaker 4: can I say? Please believe what I'm telling you. I
• 18:11
  Speaker 4: didn't do it, not according to the evidence. I don't
• 18:14
  Speaker 4: understand any of this. Well, here's the way we've got
• 18:17
  Speaker 4: it reconstructed. You had a quarrel, you got the gun,
• 18:21
  Speaker 4: You met your wife at the doorway to the kitchen.
• 18:23
  Speaker 4: You pointed the gun at her. She tried to ward
• 18:26
  Speaker 4: it off with her left hand, leaving flower on the
• 18:28
  Speaker 4: barrel of the gun. You fired, and the case was
• 18:31
  Speaker 4: thrown up and back to the right where it landed
• 18:33
  Speaker 4: on the regu of the living room, and testimony as
• 18:35
  Speaker 4: the neighbors, the flower in your wife's hand, the position
• 18:38
  Speaker 4: of the emptication. No, it's in your nick. I don't
• 18:42
  Speaker 4: know why all these things are the way you say
• 18:44
  Speaker 4: they are. We do. We don't believe your wife committed suicide.
• 18:47
  Speaker 4: You think about it? Come on, then, yeah, well what
• 18:57
  Speaker 4: do you think evidence we've got so far? Ten with
• 19:02
  Speaker 4: all that proof, he still refuses to compound. Something doesn't
• 19:05
  Speaker 4: get Maybe we can find out why.
• 19:17
  Speaker 2: You are listening to Dragnet. From beginning to end, Dragnet
• 19:22
  Speaker 2: is the authentic story of your police force in action. Now,
• 19:26
  Speaker 2: from beginning to end, the Fatima story, actual convincing proof
• 19:31
  Speaker 2: that in Fatima the difference is quality. Quality of tobaccos.
• 19:36
  Speaker 2: The finest domestic and Turkish variety is extra mild and
• 19:40
  Speaker 2: superbly blended. They give you a much different, much better
• 19:44
  Speaker 2: flavor and aroma. Quality of manufacture, smooth, round, perfect cigarettes,
• 19:50
  Speaker 2: rolled in the finest paper money can buy. Manufacture of the
• 19:54
  Speaker 2: newest and most modern of all cigarette factories. Quality even
• 19:58
  Speaker 2: to the appearance of the bright, clean, golden yellow package,
• 20:02
  Speaker 2: carefully wrapped and sealed to bring you Fatima's rich, fresh,
• 20:06
  Speaker 2: extra mild flavor. Because of its quality, it's extra mildness, it's.
• 20:12
  Speaker 4: Better flavor under roma.
• 20:14
  Speaker 2: More long cigarette smokers are now insisting on Fatima than
• 20:18
  Speaker 2: ever before, So if you smoke a long cigarette compare Fatima,
• 20:24
  Speaker 2: you'll find they now cost the same, but your first
• 20:27
  Speaker 2: puff will.
• 20:28
  Speaker 4: Tell you, ah, that's different.
• 20:31
  Speaker 2: Yes, in Fatima, the difference is quality.
• 20:35
  Speaker 4: Insist on Fatima.
• 20:37
  Speaker 2: Start enjoying the quality King size cigarette Fatima best of
• 20:43
  Speaker 2: all long cigarettes.
• 20:52
  Speaker 4: We had Gene Beckel take Andrew Robertson's statement. We had
• 20:56
  Speaker 4: his testimony that his wife had committed suicide, a fact
• 20:59
  Speaker 4: that he couldn't prove, that we could disprove we had
• 21:02
  Speaker 4: before us the final investigation. All evidence was taken to
• 21:06
  Speaker 4: the crime lab for analysis, but photographs taken at the
• 21:08
  Speaker 4: scene were developed and brought in for careful checking in
• 21:11
  Speaker 4: accordance with Robertson's story. Both he and his deceased wife
• 21:15
  Speaker 4: were given paraffine tests to determine the presence of nitrates.
• 21:18
  Speaker 4: Both of them were fingerprinted and Latent Prince Details started
• 21:21
  Speaker 4: to check them out. Two teams of men were sent
• 21:24
  Speaker 4: out to talk with the close relatives of the two people. Sunday,
• 21:27
  Speaker 4: March ninth, seven pm, we got a call from Lieutenant
• 21:31
  Speaker 4: Lee Jones that he had the final results of his investigation.
• 21:34
  Speaker 4: We went over to the second floor of the Central
• 21:35
  Speaker 4: Station Crime Lab, got a couple of things for him. Okay,
• 21:41
  Speaker 4: as you make out who Robertson money insisted it was
• 21:43
  Speaker 4: suicide with your idea on it, let me show you
• 21:46
  Speaker 4: all we got all. Yeah, look at this, I'm picture
• 21:52
  Speaker 4: the forty five cases. That's why I take a close
• 21:54
  Speaker 4: fotest right here in particular. You know this far man,
• 22:00
  Speaker 4: there's a little crimped here. Ejector marks. No here, we
• 22:04
  Speaker 4: are ejector marks up here. See this crimping is something
• 22:08
  Speaker 4: entirely different than what is it? Do you remember where
• 22:11
  Speaker 4: you found this case? Six feet four inches into the
• 22:13
  Speaker 4: living that's fine, And we wondered how I could have
• 22:15
  Speaker 4: been thrown that far by the ejector. If the husband's
• 22:18
  Speaker 4: story is true, the executive didn't do that. I wanted too.
• 22:22
  Speaker 4: On close inspection, I noticed this crimping. Let me show
• 22:26
  Speaker 4: you how this case and got out there in the
• 22:27
  Speaker 4: living room. Here's an identical forty five caliber called empty cases.
• 22:33
  Speaker 4: You know. We place it here on the floor off
• 22:35
  Speaker 4: heat of copeting, the same pickness that was in their kitchen.
• 22:38
  Speaker 3: Linoli. I'll watch this, I'll.
• 22:42
  Speaker 4: Step on it, hitting it from an angle. And there's
• 22:48
  Speaker 4: your answer to that. When the husband ran.
• 22:50
  Speaker 3: Over to his wife's side, what you say he.
• 22:52
  Speaker 4: Did aunt about the size of it. He stepped on
• 22:54
  Speaker 4: the casing accidentally and certainly not caring about it at
• 22:58
  Speaker 4: that moment, bounced out in the live the room just
• 23:00
  Speaker 4: like a tiddley way. Notice the case is now the crimping.
• 23:07
  Speaker 4: Check it against the photo, which exactly the same way
• 23:12
  Speaker 4: it matches.
• 23:15
  Speaker 3: Then the flower and the barrel of the gun. It
• 23:17
  Speaker 3: was flower, by the way, Did it figure in for
• 23:19
  Speaker 3: your colors?
• 23:20
  Speaker 4: Well, yeah, we figured the wife was trying to ward
• 23:22
  Speaker 4: off the gun when he pointed it at it. Certainly
• 23:24
  Speaker 4: in the logical deduction when you show your hear it
• 23:27
  Speaker 4: really got on there hands that shadow the kitchen out there.
• 23:33
  Speaker 4: Notice the waste basket here, it's pretty full, isn't it. Yeah,
• 23:36
  Speaker 4: we noticed that when we're out there. What you probably
• 23:39
  Speaker 4: didn't know this is their Here's a blow up of
• 23:43
  Speaker 4: just that section where the waste basket was. Can you
• 23:46
  Speaker 4: see what's on the top of the stuff in the basket? Pa?
• 23:50
  Speaker 4: Hold over here the room might seem and it looks
• 23:54
  Speaker 4: like a flower sack.
• 23:55
  Speaker 3: That's drying, an empty flower sack.
• 23:57
  Speaker 4: Now figuring the position of the body in the lace
• 24:00
  Speaker 4: of that wastebasket. When she dropped, the gun fell from
• 24:03
  Speaker 4: her hand, striking a wastebasket, bouncing off and landing on
• 24:06
  Speaker 4: the floor where your found it. And you said, when
• 24:09
  Speaker 4: she dropped the gun, you figured it with suicide.
• 24:11
  Speaker 3: It's beginning to shape up that way.
• 24:13
  Speaker 4: There was no flower found on the butt of the gun.
• 24:15
  Speaker 4: That part of the automatic didn't come in contact with
• 24:18
  Speaker 4: the flower side. Yeah, at least she was flowering meat.
• 24:21
  Speaker 4: There were no traces of it on her right hand,
• 24:23
  Speaker 4: on the palm, just on the back and checking the clothing,
• 24:27
  Speaker 4: we found streaks of flour where she could have white
• 24:30
  Speaker 4: her hands clean before.
• 24:32
  Speaker 3: Picking up the gun.
• 24:33
  Speaker 4: And out there we can only see the backs of
• 24:35
  Speaker 4: her hand corner. Check that through her. It doesn't look
• 24:37
  Speaker 4: like a killer.
• 24:38
  Speaker 3: And there's more here.
• 24:41
  Speaker 4: As you know, we ran paraffine tests on both the
• 24:43
  Speaker 4: victim and robins. Yeah, here's the results of the tests.
• 24:47
  Speaker 4: Soon Andrew Robertson no Knightrates negative. Marie Robertson evidence of
• 24:52
  Speaker 4: knight Rate's pocketing. She fired a gun, he didn't turn
• 24:56
  Speaker 4: to something else. Here's the report from Layton Prince smudgers
• 25:02
  Speaker 4: one good thumbprint right hand belonging to Marie Robertson, indicating
• 25:07
  Speaker 4: she was the last one to handle the weapon. Well,
• 25:09
  Speaker 4: that's about edne.
• 25:10
  Speaker 3: No, that's move man. Now.
• 25:14
  Speaker 4: This shot was taken facing the east wall of the kitchen.
• 25:18
  Speaker 4: That's the wall that would be on anyone's left sitting
• 25:20
  Speaker 4: on the davenport in the front door, wouldn't be.
• 25:23
  Speaker 3: Possible to see that wall. From the davenport.
• 25:27
  Speaker 4: You can see the white X where we located the
• 25:29
  Speaker 4: slut relative to the position of the body. If she
• 25:34
  Speaker 4: was standing holding a gun at approximately a right handle
• 25:37
  Speaker 4: to the side of her head, the bullet would come
• 25:40
  Speaker 4: to rest approximately four inches below the crown of her
• 25:43
  Speaker 4: head to the jack out. The coroner says she was
• 25:46
  Speaker 4: five to four. The bullet was found at the height
• 25:49
  Speaker 4: of five and one eighth, proving that she shot herself
• 25:53
  Speaker 4: rather than anyone else doing it, judging from the inclination
• 25:56
  Speaker 4: of the bullet, says, you know, this is critical. From
• 26:00
  Speaker 4: what it's worth, the condition of the wound indicates that
• 26:04
  Speaker 4: it was inflicted from extreme close range. Fair point when
• 26:08
  Speaker 4: you consider that most people wouldn't submit to being shot
• 26:10
  Speaker 4: from close range without a struggle or unless taken by surprise,
• 26:14
  Speaker 4: and from all reports we know she wasn't thinking my Spyeah,
• 26:19
  Speaker 4: that's a fella, that's all I have, thankfully, sure enough.
• 26:25
  Speaker 3: Crime lab Joan, Yeah right here, three the one of.
• 26:29
  Speaker 4: You, I'll get it. Thanks right well, Hi Harry, he did?
• 26:38
  Speaker 4: What's that? Yeah? Do you have a letter with you
• 26:46
  Speaker 4: does Yeah, yeah, right, Harry, thank you very much. Bye,
• 26:52
  Speaker 4: Harry Fremont. He just left Marie Robertson's money. What do
• 26:55
  Speaker 4: you have to say? Well, Freemont says she gave him
• 26:58
  Speaker 4: a letter. He's on his way in with it now.
• 27:00
  Speaker 4: Was written by Marie Robertson, says something about taking your
• 27:02
  Speaker 4: own life. Her mother says that the husband couldn't have
• 27:05
  Speaker 4: done it, says the daughters shown indication in the past
• 27:07
  Speaker 4: of wanting to take her own life. I'm about saying
• 27:10
  Speaker 4: to him, it makes a few kind of good A dozen. Yeah,
• 27:13
  Speaker 4: find a man clear of charge instead of having to
• 27:16
  Speaker 4: hang him up. Come on then, right, well you ahead
• 27:18
  Speaker 4: back cross street?
• 27:19
  Speaker 3: Where do I get my coat?
• 27:20
  Speaker 6: I'll go with you?
• 27:20
  Speaker 4: What's for? And I want to see him too when
• 27:22
  Speaker 4: you tell him the story you've just heard was cruel.
• 27:33
  Speaker 4: Only the names which to protect the.
• 27:35
  Speaker 2: Innocon On March twelfth, the hearing was held in the
• 27:38
  Speaker 2: office of the Coroner, City and County of Los Angeles,
• 27:41
  Speaker 2: State of California.
• 27:42
  Speaker 4: In a moment the results of that hearing and now
• 27:45
  Speaker 4: here is our star Jack Webb. Thank you friends. A
• 27:48
  Speaker 4: great many listeners have written us saying that they first
• 27:51
  Speaker 4: bought Fatimas because they liked our program. But they go
• 27:54
  Speaker 4: on to say that after smoking their first pack, they
• 27:56
  Speaker 4: agree with everything that we've said about them, that Fatima's
• 27:59
  Speaker 4: our extra miles, that they do have a better flavor
• 28:02
  Speaker 4: in Aroma. Well, naturally, we're pleased when you get acquainted
• 28:06
  Speaker 4: with Fatimas, because all of us on Dragnet are convinced
• 28:09
  Speaker 4: Fatima is the best of all long cigarettes. When you
• 28:12
  Speaker 4: buy your first pack, I'm sure you'll agree in Fatima
• 28:16
  Speaker 4: the difference is quality.
• 28:26
  Speaker 2: Andrew William Robertson was immediately released from custody. A five
• 28:30
  Speaker 2: to ten form was made out exonerating him from any
• 28:33
  Speaker 2: complicity in the death of his wife. Ladies and gentlemen,
• 28:37
  Speaker 2: Mister James M. Fox, President of the Southern California Chapter
• 28:41
  Speaker 2: of the Mystery Writers of America. The Edgar Alan Peer
• 28:44
  Speaker 2: Rewards of the Mystery Writers of America are made each
• 28:47
  Speaker 2: year for outstanding contributions in the field of mystery. This
• 28:52
  Speaker 2: year by a nation rite vote of three hundred professional
• 28:54
  Speaker 2: mystery writers. The Radio Award goes to Dragnet for consistent
• 28:58
  Speaker 2: excellence in the use of the medium in the best
• 29:00
  Speaker 2: traditions of our craft. The Mystery Writers of America are
• 29:04
  Speaker 2: happy to present their Edgar's statuettes of.
• 29:07
  Speaker 4: Poe to Dragnets.
• 29:08
  Speaker 2: Jim Mursor, who writes the script, and a duplicate statuette
• 29:12
  Speaker 2: to Dragnet.
• 29:13
  Speaker 4: Congratulations mister Moser, Thank you, mister Fire.
• 29:25
  Speaker 2: You have just heard Dragnet a series of authentic cases
• 29:28
  Speaker 2: from official files. Technical advice comes from the office of
• 29:32
  Speaker 2: Chief of Police w Ah Parker, Los Angeles Police Department.
• 29:40
  Speaker 2: Fatima Cigarettes, best of all Long Cigarettes, has brought you
• 29:44
  Speaker 2: drag Net fortunes. Transcribed from Los Angeles. Stay tuned for
• 29:49
  Speaker 2: Countersire next over many NBC stations.
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: That was Dragnet and Big Casing. Thank you for joining
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: us for this nineteen fifty one broadcast.