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Transcript

Dragnet: The Big Fourth (EP5054) · 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,
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: this is your host, Adam Graham. In a moment, we're
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: going to bring you this week's episode of Dragnet. But first,
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: I want to encourage you, if you're enjoying the podcast,
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: please follow us using your favorite podcast software. Our listener
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: support and appreciation campaign continues. You can become one of
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: our Patreon supporters. For as little as $ 2 per month,
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: just go to patreon.greatdetectives.net. But now, from May 29th, 1952,
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: here is The Big Fourth.
• 1:14
  Speaker 3: Ladies and gentlemen, the entire production staff and technicians on
• 1:18
  Speaker 3: Dragnet wish to thank the American Weekly and the television
• 1:21
  Speaker 3: editors of the various newspapers which distribute the American Weekly
• 1:24
  Speaker 3: for voting Dragnet the best mystery drama on television for 1951-1952.
• 1:29
  Speaker 3: Our deepest thanks for this fine recognition. The story you
• 1:40
  Speaker 3: are about to hear is true. The names have been
• 1:43
  Speaker 3: changed to protect the innocent. You're a detective sergeant. You're
• 1:55
  Speaker 3: assigned a juvenile detail. An eight-months-old baby is stolen from
• 1:59
  Speaker 3: its mother. It's the third case of child stealing reported
• 2:03
  Speaker 3: in less than three weeks. There's no lead on the suspect.
• 2:06
  Speaker 3: Your job, get him.
• 2:09
  Speaker 4: ¶ ¶.
• 2:18
  Speaker 5: Dragnet, the documented drama of an actual crime. For the
• 2:22
  Speaker 5: next 30 minutes, in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department,
• 2:25
  Speaker 5: you will travel step by step on the side of
• 2:27
  Speaker 5: the law through an actual case transcribed from official police files.
• 2:32
  Speaker 5: From beginning to end, from crime to punishment, Dragnet is
• 2:35
  Speaker 5: the story of your police force in action.
• 2:43
  Speaker 6: It was Wednesday, June 18th. It was warm in Los Angeles.
• 2:46
  Speaker 6: We were working the day watch out of Juvenile Division.
• 2:48
  Speaker 6: My partner's Frank Smith. The boss is Captain Stein. My
• 2:50
  Speaker 6: name's Friday.
• 2:52
  Speaker 7: It was 6.30 p.m. when we got back to 1335
• 2:54
  Speaker 7: Georgia Street, second floor. The squad room.
• 2:57
  Speaker 8: Hi, been waiting for you.
• 2:58
  Speaker 7: Hi, Captain.
• 2:59
  Speaker 8: How's it going? Any sign of the baby?
• 3:00
  Speaker 7: No, not yet. We're doing everything we can. We haven't
• 3:02
  Speaker 7: got a lead to her name.
• 3:04
  Speaker 8: Lousy thing. How's it stack up? Anything like the last
• 3:06
  Speaker 8: two cases?
• 3:07
  Speaker 7: Yeah, quite a bit. Same neighborhood, same general M.O.
• 3:09
  Speaker 4: We checked with just about everybody in the vicinity. No
• 3:11
  Speaker 4: one saw the baby taken. Happened about 10 o'clock this morning?
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: 10.15.
• 3:14
  Speaker 7: This Mrs.
• 3:15
  Speaker 6: Donaldson drove down to the neighborhood shopping center to do
• 3:17
  Speaker 6: her marketing. She had the baby in a bassinet in
• 3:19
  Speaker 6: the back seat of her car.
• 3:20
  Speaker 7: Baby boy, eight months old.
• 3:22
  Speaker 5: Mm-hmm.
• 3:22
  Speaker 6: She pulled into the parking lot right behind the market,
• 3:24
  Speaker 6: left the baby asleep in the car.
• 3:26
  Speaker 7: She went in to do her shopping. When she came out,
• 3:27
  Speaker 7: the baby was gone.
• 3:28
  Speaker 8: How long was she in the market? She told us
• 3:30
  Speaker 8: about 20 minutes.
• 3:31
  Speaker 6: We talked to a half a dozen people who drove
• 3:32
  Speaker 6: their cars in and out of the parking lot about
• 3:34
  Speaker 6: that time.
• 3:34
  Speaker 7: They couldn't help me. They didn't see anyone loitering around.
• 3:37
  Speaker 8: How about delivery trucks? They usually unload supplies at the
• 3:39
  Speaker 8: back door, don't they?
• 3:40
  Speaker 6: Already checked on that. We talked to the driver of
• 3:42
  Speaker 6: a bread truck. He was making a delivery about that time.
• 3:45
  Speaker 6: He couldn't help us either. The mother, Mrs. Donaldson, she's
• 3:48
  Speaker 6: the only one who came up with anything at all.
• 3:49
  Speaker 6: It's not much, but it's better than nothing.
• 3:51
  Speaker 9: Yeah.
• 3:51
  Speaker 6: But when she parked her car and got out to
• 3:53
  Speaker 6: go in the market, she noticed a woman sitting in
• 3:55
  Speaker 6: the car park next to hers. When she came back
• 3:57
  Speaker 6: and found her baby was gone, she noticed that this
• 3:59
  Speaker 6: woman's car was gone, too.
• 4:01
  Speaker 7: Mrs.
• 4:01
  Speaker 4: Donaldson described the woman for you?
• 4:03
  Speaker 8: Yeah, she was middle-aged.
• 4:04
  Speaker 4: She had gray hair. That's all she remembered. How about
• 4:05
  Speaker 4: the car the woman was in? It was a green sedan.
• 4:08
  Speaker 4: That's the only thing Mrs. Donaldson could tell us. She's
• 4:10
  Speaker 4: not even sure of that. And there's no one else
• 4:11
  Speaker 4: around the market that remembered the car?
• 4:13
  Speaker 7: Well, if there is, we haven't found them.
• 4:14
  Speaker 8: We covered the whole neighborhood, Skipper. Talked to everybody we could.
• 4:17
  Speaker 8: Got us nowhere. Smoke out. Thanks.
• 4:20
  Speaker 6: You, Joe?
• 4:20
  Speaker 7: Yeah, thank you. I gotta lie. Captain.
• 4:26
  Speaker 4: No kickback yet on the broadcast. The old points you
• 4:29
  Speaker 4: got out on the baby? No, nothing up to now.
• 4:31
  Speaker 4: It's a carbon copy of the last two jobs. No suspect,
• 4:33
  Speaker 4: no motive.
• 4:34
  Speaker 8: Mrs. Donaldson can't think of any reason at all for it.
• 4:37
  Speaker 7: No, not a one.
• 4:38
  Speaker 6: Her husband's a teamster. They don't have much money. She
• 4:41
  Speaker 6: couldn't think of any friend or relative who might possibly
• 4:43
  Speaker 6: want to take their baby.
• 4:44
  Speaker 8: The baby normal and good health?
• 4:45
  Speaker 7: Yeah, perfect.
• 4:46
  Speaker 8: She got me in. This makes it about one a week.
• 4:49
  Speaker 8: Just about.
• 4:50
  Speaker 4: Martin baby was taken on the 5th. The Andrews baby
• 4:52
  Speaker 4: was taken on the 12th. Both of them recovered in
• 4:54
  Speaker 4: 24 hours. Nothing wrong with either of them. Sure doesn't
• 4:56
  Speaker 4: make sense.
• 4:57
  Speaker 7: Must be a psycho case of some kind. I think
• 5:00
  Speaker 7: we can go along on that.
• 5:01
  Speaker 8: This one happened near 8th and Dinehart, that right?
• 5:04
  Speaker 6: Yeah, same neighborhood as the other two. About a 12
• 5:06
  Speaker 6: square block area there.
• 5:08
  Speaker 8: How about that lead you had on the old man
• 5:09
  Speaker 8: out there? Did you exhaust that?
• 5:11
  Speaker 7: Yeah, the old gardener?
• 5:12
  Speaker 6: We double checked him this afternoon. He wasn't anywhere near
• 5:15
  Speaker 6: the market when the Donaldson.
• 5:16
  Speaker 7: Baby was taken.
• 5:16
  Speaker 8: How about the other two people you had your eye on?
• 5:19
  Speaker 8: Either of them anywhere near the scene at the time?
• 5:21
  Speaker 7: Neither one of them, Skipper. Both clear.
• 5:22
  Speaker 8: How's it stand now?
• 5:23
  Speaker 7: Well, we're doing everything possible.
• 5:25
  Speaker 6: Dean Bergman went over the Donaldson car for prints.
• 5:28
  Speaker 7: The bassinet, too.
• 5:29
  Speaker 6: There's no word from him yet. Special detail from Metro Division.
• 5:32
  Speaker 6: Still going over the neighborhood. Nothing from them either.
• 5:34
  Speaker 8: No sign of any physical evidence, huh? I mean, besides
• 5:36
  Speaker 8: any possible prints. No, nothing, Captain. The usual number of
• 5:38
  Speaker 8: tips from people in the neighborhood. Checked on all of them.
• 5:40
  Speaker 8: They went nowhere. Well, we just about run the gamut
• 5:43
  Speaker 8: on this thing. You have anything in mind?
• 5:45
  Speaker 4: Joe and I were kicking around an ID on the
• 5:47
  Speaker 4: way back in, figured it might be worth a try.
• 5:49
  Speaker 4: I mean, providing we get the Donaldson case cleared.
• 5:51
  Speaker 10: Yeah.
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: Joe?
• 5:53
  Speaker 6: Well, for one thing, we figure the neighborhood out there
• 5:55
  Speaker 6: works in our favor. All three of the babies were
• 5:57
  Speaker 6: taken in the same 12-square block area. It's the strongest
• 6:00
  Speaker 6: part of the MO that we got to work on. Now,
• 6:03
  Speaker 6: if we get good enough coverage in that area out.
• 6:04
  Speaker 7: There, it might lead somewhere.
• 6:05
  Speaker 8: What kind of coverage?
• 6:07
  Speaker 6: Well, maybe a system of decoys, something to draw the
• 6:09
  Speaker 6: suspect out at the right time, the right place.
• 6:11
  Speaker 8: Makes sense. What have you got in mind?
• 6:13
  Speaker 6: Well, Frank and I were figuring if we could round
• 6:15
  Speaker 6: up half a dozen policewomen or so, let them work
• 6:17
  Speaker 6: different points around the neighborhood and make it obvious that
• 6:19
  Speaker 6: they're housewives.
• 6:20
  Speaker 7: Yeah.
• 6:21
  Speaker 6: Have each one of them with a baby carriage. Spot
• 6:23
  Speaker 6: them at the shopping centers out there in that area.
• 6:25
  Speaker 6: They leave the carriages outside the stores, go through the
• 6:28
  Speaker 6: motions of doing their shopping, and cover each one of them.
• 6:30
  Speaker 7: Mm-hmm.
• 6:31
  Speaker 4: What do you do for bait? I think we can
• 6:32
  Speaker 4: fake it, Skipper. Put a life-size doll in each of
• 6:34
  Speaker 4: the carriages, keep it pretty well covered. Very chance it'll
• 6:37
  Speaker 4: get us a nibble if we work it right. About
• 6:39
  Speaker 4: half a dozen policewomen, that's what you figure?
• 6:40
  Speaker 7: I figure that ought to do it.
• 6:42
  Speaker 8: Excuse me.
• 6:43
  Speaker 7: Yeah.
• 6:44
  Speaker 8: Juvenile Division, Captain Stein. Yeah, that's right. How's that? I see. Mrs.
• 6:53
  Speaker 7: Bolger.
• 6:55
  Speaker 8: Yes, ma'am, I understand. How's that? Yes, ma'am, if you like.
• 7:00
  Speaker 8: All right, thank you. Goodbye.
• 7:03
  Speaker 7: Weird one. Yeah.
• 7:05
  Speaker 8: Either one of you contacted Mrs. Marion Bolger the last
• 7:07
  Speaker 8: month or so?
• 7:08
  Speaker 7: No, it's not familiar to me. How about you, Frank?
• 7:10
  Speaker 4: Don't recall the name, why don't you? That was her
• 7:12
  Speaker 4: on the phone. She wants to be investigated. Says she
• 7:14
  Speaker 4: wants to prove to us that she's not involved in
• 7:16
  Speaker 4: any of these child-stealing cases.
• 7:18
  Speaker 7: How do you spell that name?
• 7:19
  Speaker 8: Marion Bolger, B-O-L-G-E-R. Ewing Street address.
• 7:22
  Speaker 7: No, I never heard of her. What's the pitch?
• 7:24
  Speaker 8: Got me. She kept saying she's got to have her
• 7:26
  Speaker 8: name cleared. She's innocent. Kept insisting she didn't steal the
• 7:28
  Speaker 8: Donaldson baby.
• 7:29
  Speaker 7: Well, we didn't say she did. We don't even know
• 7:31
  Speaker 7: the woman.
• 7:31
  Speaker 8: You're going to. Check her out.
• 7:36
  Speaker 6: We ran the name Marion Bolger through R & I,
• 7:38
  Speaker 6: but there was no previous criminal record on her.
• 7:41
  Speaker 7: 7.25 p.m.
• 7:42
  Speaker 6: Frank Smith and I left the office and drove out
• 7:44
  Speaker 6: to the Ewing Street address to interview the Bolger woman.
• 7:47
  Speaker 6: Before we called at her home, we checked with some
• 7:49
  Speaker 6: of the neighbors. Most of them had a favorable opinion
• 7:52
  Speaker 6: of her. They described her as a pleasant woman, slightly eccentric.
• 7:55
  Speaker 6: The only complaint was that the Bolger woman was very
• 7:58
  Speaker 6: fond of children and that she kept most of the
• 8:00
  Speaker 6: youngsters on the block well supplied with cake and candy,
• 8:03
  Speaker 6: despite repeated objections from the youngsters' parents.
• 8:06
  Speaker 7: Other than that, they seemed to like her.
• 8:07
  Speaker 6: 8.05 p.m., Frank and I called on Mrs. Bolger, and
• 8:10
  Speaker 6: she ushered us into a neatly furnished living room. She
• 8:13
  Speaker 6: was an older woman, possibly in her early 60s, dark
• 8:16
  Speaker 6: brown hair streaked with gray.
• 8:18
  Speaker 11: It's the honest truth, Sergeant. Anybody who really knows me
• 8:20
  Speaker 11: would tell you I wouldn't do a thing like that.
• 8:22
  Speaker 11: I love children. I want all of them to be happy.
• 8:24
  Speaker 11: I wouldn't steal anybody's baby.
• 8:25
  Speaker 7: Just a minute, Mrs. Bulger, please.
• 8:26
  Speaker 8: Something we'd like to get straight.
• 8:28
  Speaker 11: I don't care how it looks. I don't care what
• 8:29
  Speaker 11: they say. I didn't do it. I didn't steal those
• 8:31
  Speaker 11: other two babies. I didn't steal the Donaldson baby either.
• 8:33
  Speaker 7: How'd you know the Donaldson baby was missing, ma'am? It
• 8:34
  Speaker 7: just happened this morning.
• 8:35
  Speaker 11: The evening paper. The whole story's in there. It's the
• 8:37
  Speaker 11: first I knew about it to help me, but I
• 8:39
  Speaker 11: got the evening paper. Please, Sergeant, you've got to believe me.
• 8:41
  Speaker 12: All right, ma'am.
• 8:42
  Speaker 7: Try to take it easy, ma'am. What gives you the
• 8:44
  Speaker 7: idea that we're accusing you of taking those babies?
• 8:45
  Speaker 11: We haven't yet. Not in so many words. You're thinking
• 8:47
  Speaker 11: about it, though. I know that. You've been told.
• 8:49
  Speaker 8: How do you mean, told what?
• 8:50
  Speaker 11: You know what I mean. All those stories going around
• 8:54
  Speaker 11: about me. Just because I like children, because I enjoy them.
• 8:57
  Speaker 11: I understand them. Just because of that, they try to
• 9:00
  Speaker 11: make me out a witch or something, trying to say
• 9:01
  Speaker 11: I took.
• 9:02
  Speaker 7: Those poor little babies. All right, just a minute, ma'am.
• 9:03
  Speaker 7: Who said you took the babies?
• 9:05
  Speaker 11: Down at the store this afternoon.
• 9:06
  Speaker 7: I heard them.
• 9:07
  Speaker 11: That grocery clerk and that silly Mrs.
• 9:09
  Speaker 7: Murdoch.
• 9:10
  Speaker 11: They laughed about it. tried to make out there's only
• 9:12
  Speaker 11: fooling well i knew better they weren't fooling they meant
• 9:15
  Speaker 11: it accusing me of such a terrible thing i just
• 9:18
  Speaker 11: don't know when i've been so upset.
• 9:19
  Speaker 6: Well now what grounds would they have for saying anything
• 9:21
  Speaker 6: like that ma'am i mean even if they were.
• 9:23
  Speaker 11: Fooling only because i love children that's all people in
• 9:26
  Speaker 11: the neighborhood are the same way they don't like me
• 9:30
  Speaker 11: they go around saying things about me just because i
• 9:32
  Speaker 11: understand their children better than they do Just because I
• 9:36
  Speaker 11: know how to treat children.
• 9:37
  Speaker 7: No, I think you got it wrong, Mrs.
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: Bolger.
• 9:39
  Speaker 6: The only complaint your neighbors have is that you treat
• 9:41
  Speaker 6: children too well. A little too much candy, huh?
• 9:43
  Speaker 11: Nothing wrong with giving a child candy. Good homemade fudge.
• 9:47
  Speaker 11: I make it myself. Besides, how would you know about that?
• 9:50
  Speaker 7: We talked to your neighbors, ma'am. They had a lot
• 9:52
  Speaker 7: of nice things to say about you.
• 9:53
  Speaker 11: Yes, I just bet they did. Nasty, dirty stories. They've
• 9:56
  Speaker 11: been passing them all over the neighborhood about me.
• 9:59
  Speaker 7: No, ma'am, you've got it wrong.
• 10:01
  Speaker 11: Just let me show you. Come in here, this way,
• 10:03
  Speaker 11: the dining room.
• 10:04
  Speaker 10: Yes, ma'am.
• 10:08
  Speaker 7: Look at that. Look at that. Yes, ma'am, it's very nice.
• 10:12
  Speaker 11: You see how I decorated the table? Paper streamers all
• 10:16
  Speaker 11: over the room. It was supposed to be a party
• 10:18
  Speaker 11: for the children in the neighborhood. I worked a whole
• 10:21
  Speaker 11: week getting it ready. I made the cakes myself, decorated
• 10:24
  Speaker 11: them too. I made everything in my own kitchen. Candy, sandwiches.
• 10:30
  Speaker 11: Took me a whole week. And they didn't even come.
• 10:35
  Speaker 11: They didn't come. Well, the neighborhood children. It was supposed
• 10:39
  Speaker 11: to be for them. Special summer party I wanted to
• 10:41
  Speaker 11: give them today. They didn't even come. The parents wouldn't
• 10:45
  Speaker 11: let them.
• 10:46
  Speaker 7: Not one of them.
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: It's a crime.
• 10:49
  Speaker 11: Terrible crime. All this good food.
• 10:53
  Speaker 7: Well, now, maybe there was a mistake, ma'am.
• 10:55
  Speaker 11: There wasn't any mistake. I invited the children, 14 of them.
• 10:59
  Speaker 11: Mothers wouldn't let them come. I had everything ready. Little
• 11:03
  Speaker 11: favors for each one of them.
• 11:06
  Speaker 9: Now, look.
• 11:08
  Speaker 11: Ice cream's all melted. Hot cocoa boiled away to nothing.
• 11:12
  Speaker 11: Even the paper streamers are coming down. Such a mean
• 11:16
  Speaker 11: thing to do. Keeping children from a party. Such a
• 11:21
  Speaker 11: mean thing.
• 11:22
  Speaker 8: We don't like to bother you, Mrs.
• 11:23
  Speaker 7: Bulger.
• 11:24
  Speaker 8: Just like to ask you a few routine questions, then
• 11:26
  Speaker 8: we'll let you alone.
• 11:27
  Speaker 11: Anything you want to know, Sergeant?
• 11:28
  Speaker 8: Can you account for your time this morning, ma'am, between
• 11:30
  Speaker 8: 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.? Yes.
• 11:32
  Speaker 11: Of course I can. I was right here in the
• 11:34
  Speaker 11: house getting things ready for the party. My friend Aggie
• 11:37
  Speaker 11: Benson was with me. She's a school chum of mine.
• 11:39
  Speaker 11: She was helping me get things ready.
• 11:40
  Speaker 6: Well, then you didn't leave the house at any time this.
• 11:42
  Speaker 13: Morning, then?
• 11:42
  Speaker 11: No, sir, I didn't. You can ask Aggie.
• 11:44
  Speaker 7: She'll tell you. Do you have a car, Mrs.
• 11:46
  Speaker 10: Bolger?
• 11:46
  Speaker 7: Oh, my, no.
• 11:47
  Speaker 11: I wouldn't know what to do with it if I
• 11:48
  Speaker 11: had one. I never learned to drive. Why'd you want
• 11:51
  Speaker 11: to know?
• 11:51
  Speaker 7: Just routine, ma'am. Well, I guess we'd better be going, Frank.
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: All right, sir.
• 11:55
  Speaker 11: And you don't believe those stories, do you? I mean,
• 11:57
  Speaker 11: just because I like children, I'd steal those babies. You
• 11:59
  Speaker 11: don't believe that, do you?
• 12:00
  Speaker 10: No, ma'am.
• 12:01
  Speaker 7: We haven't any reason to believe it.
• 12:02
  Speaker 11: I knew you'd understand. I wouldn't do a thing like that.
• 12:05
  Speaker 11: I just love children, Sarge. I've never had any of
• 12:07
  Speaker 11: my own. Living here by myself, no husband, lonely. Terrible thing,
• 12:12
  Speaker 11: being lonely.
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: Yes, ma'am, it is.
• 12:14
  Speaker 11: There's only one answer for it. Children, big family. It's
• 12:17
  Speaker 11: an old saying.
• 12:18
  Speaker 9: It's very true.
• 12:20
  Speaker 11: When you get to be 63, you want something else
• 12:22
  Speaker 11: to wake up to beside the morning paper.
• 12:24
  Speaker 13: 8.40 p.m.
• 12:30
  Speaker 6: Before we headed back for the office, Frank and I
• 12:32
  Speaker 6: made a thorough check on Mrs. Bolger, her background and
• 12:35
  Speaker 6: her alibi. We found nothing to link her in any
• 12:38
  Speaker 6: way with the child stealings.
• 12:41
  Speaker 7: 9.15 p.m.
• 12:41
  Speaker 6: We got back to the city hall and went directly
• 12:43
  Speaker 6: to Layton Fingerprints where we met with Dean Bergman. He'd
• 12:46
  Speaker 6: found several sets of prints on the Donaldson's car and
• 12:49
  Speaker 6: on the bassinet from which their baby had been stolen.
• 12:52
  Speaker 7: Most of them were those of the parents, Mr. and Mrs. Donaldson.
• 12:55
  Speaker 6: Bergman was unable to identify the two foreign prints found
• 12:58
  Speaker 6: inside the car. We contacted the officers in charge of
• 13:01
  Speaker 6: the special detail checking the neighborhood where the latest child
• 13:04
  Speaker 6: stealing had occurred.
• 13:05
  Speaker 7: They'd failed to uncover a lead.
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: 7.48 a.m.
• 13:07
  Speaker 7: The following morning. Friday? Morning, Captain.
• 13:11
  Speaker 8: Good piece of news. The Donaldson baby, they just found him.
• 13:13
  Speaker 3: Where?
• 13:14
  Speaker 4: Highland Park area. They found him in a cardboard box.
• 13:16
  Speaker 4: Apparently he's all right. A little exposure. Doctors are checking
• 13:19
  Speaker 4: him over now at Georgia Street.
• 13:20
  Speaker 7: How about the suspect? Any sign of him?
• 13:21
  Speaker 8: Not a trace.
• 13:26
  Speaker 7: It was little or no different than the first two cases.
• 13:29
  Speaker 6: Some 21 hours after he'd been abducted from the car
• 13:31
  Speaker 6: in the parking lot at the rear of the market
• 13:33
  Speaker 6: near 8th and Dinehart, the Donaldson baby had been recovered
• 13:36
  Speaker 6: apparently unharmed. The cardboard box in which the baby had
• 13:39
  Speaker 6: been found was gone over for fingerprints. Routine investigation at
• 13:43
  Speaker 6: the scene and in the neighborhood where the child had
• 13:45
  Speaker 6: been found failed to turn up a lead on the abductor.
• 13:48
  Speaker 6: Frank and I checked with Dr. George Hall, who'd examined
• 13:50
  Speaker 6: the child. After that, we talked with Mr.
• 13:52
  Speaker 7: And Mrs. Donaldson.
• 13:54
  Speaker 6: The details of the case coincided almost point for point
• 13:57
  Speaker 6: with the first two abductions. The baby had been taken,
• 13:59
  Speaker 6: then recovered in a 24-hour period.
• 14:02
  Speaker 7: Outside of slight exposure, the child was unharmed.
• 14:05
  Speaker 6: Also, like the two cases preceding it, something which the
• 14:08
  Speaker 6: child was wearing at the time of his abduction was missing.
• 14:12
  Speaker 6: In the first case, it was a small pink sweater.
• 14:14
  Speaker 6: In the second, a pair of shoes the baby was wearing.
• 14:17
  Speaker 6: In the case of the Donaldson baby, it was a
• 14:19
  Speaker 6: sterling silver ID bracelet with the initials JD engraved on it.
• 14:23
  Speaker 6: During the next five days, Frank and I ran down
• 14:25
  Speaker 6: every lead we could get our hands on.
• 14:27
  Speaker 8: They went nowhere.
• 14:28
  Speaker 7: Our system of policewomen decoys was put in effect. It
• 14:32
  Speaker 7: failed to get a rise.
• 14:33
  Speaker 6: On the sixth day, Thursday, June 26th, 5.30 p.m., we
• 14:36
  Speaker 6: got word of another child stealing, this time in the
• 14:38
  Speaker 6: Echo Park area.
• 14:40
  Speaker 7: We drove out to talk to the mother, a Mrs.
• 14:42
  Speaker 7: Chester Osborne.
• 14:43
  Speaker 11: Yeah, that's right.
• 14:44
  Speaker 12: Did the same thing I do every morning. Gave the
• 14:46
  Speaker 12: baby a bath, dressed her, put her out in the
• 14:48
  Speaker 12: backyard in her buggy. She usually plays a while, then
• 14:50
  Speaker 12: she takes a nap.
• 14:51
  Speaker 8: And about what time did you discover your baby was missing?
• 14:54
  Speaker 12: I don't know exactly. About 2 o'clock, I guess. Maybe
• 14:56
  Speaker 12: a couple of minutes after. Went out to see how
• 14:58
  Speaker 12: she was, looked in the buggy, and she was gone.
• 15:01
  Speaker 7: Well, it's almost six o'clock now, Mrs. Osborne. How is
• 15:03
  Speaker 7: it that you waited so long before you notified us?
• 15:05
  Speaker 14: Just kept hoping it was a mistake, that's all. I
• 15:08
  Speaker 14: went from house to house all over the neighborhood. Went
• 15:11
  Speaker 14: as far as three blocks away. I asked everybody. Nobody
• 15:13
  Speaker 14: saw my baby. You don't know what it means to me.
• 15:17
  Speaker 7: Telephone, Mrs. Osborne.
• 15:19
  Speaker 11: Would you answer it, please? Whoever it is, take the number.
• 15:22
  Speaker 2: I'll call them back.
• 15:23
  Speaker 7: Yes, ma'am.
• 15:24
  Speaker 8: Glad to.
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: Hello?
• 15:27
  Speaker 9: Yeah.
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: Yes, sir.
• 15:29
  Speaker 7: Oh, yeah, Harry. We're here now. This is Friday. How's that?
• 15:34
  Speaker 2: When?
• 15:35
  Speaker 7: I see. Where?
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: That's all? Uh-huh.
• 15:39
  Speaker 7: Okay, Harry, thanks. Yeah, tell him we'll be right in.
• 15:42
  Speaker 7: Right away.
• 15:42
  Speaker 9: Okay, bye.
• 15:44
  Speaker 7: Well, that was our office, Mrs.
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: Osborne.
• 15:46
  Speaker 7: You can stop worrying now.
• 15:47
  Speaker 6: What?
• 15:48
  Speaker 7: It was about your little girl. She's all right.
• 15:49
  Speaker 8: What do you mean?
• 15:50
  Speaker 7: I just found her three blocks from here.
• 15:56
  Speaker 6: Again, with the lone exception of the time element, the
• 15:59
  Speaker 6: Osborne baby's abduction resembled closely the three previous cases. The
• 16:03
  Speaker 6: crime occurred in the same general area. The same general
• 16:05
  Speaker 6: method of operation was employed. And again, outside of slight exposure,
• 16:09
  Speaker 6: the child was recovered unharmed. There was also an article
• 16:12
  Speaker 6: of clothing missing, a pink knitted bonnet. And as in
• 16:16
  Speaker 6: the previous three cases, the suspect had abandoned the baby
• 16:19
  Speaker 6: without detection. Routine investigation by the crime laboratory crew and
• 16:23
  Speaker 6: juvenile officers working the case failed to turn up a lead.
• 16:26
  Speaker 6: During the week that followed, additional personnel for both decoys
• 16:29
  Speaker 6: and stakeouts were assigned to the area without results.
• 16:33
  Speaker 7: Friday, July 4th, 10 a.m. Joe, you busy? What do
• 16:37
  Speaker 7: you got, Frank?
• 16:38
  Speaker 8: Galvin and Mildred Leslie just called in on this child-stealing thing.
• 16:41
  Speaker 8: Looks like it might be something.
• 16:42
  Speaker 7: Yeah, what's the pitch?
• 16:43
  Speaker 8: This Leslie girl's employed as a maid for a Mr.
• 16:44
  Speaker 7: And Mrs.
• 16:45
  Speaker 8: Roth, R-O-T-H. She's a stockbroker. She's worked for him a
• 16:48
  Speaker 8: year or so, she says.
• 16:48
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 16:49
  Speaker 4: Leslie girl's an upstairs maid for the Roths. She's been
• 16:51
  Speaker 4: following this baby-stealing case in the papers right along. She
• 16:53
  Speaker 4: thinks maybe Mrs. Roth can tell us something about it.
• 16:55
  Speaker 7: Yeah, how's that?
• 16:56
  Speaker 4: Well, the Leslie girl was cleaning Mrs. Roth's bedroom yesterday.
• 16:58
  Speaker 4: She came across a few things stored back in one
• 17:00
  Speaker 4: of the closets.
• 17:01
  Speaker 8: Baby things. Pink sweater, pink bonnet, and a pair of
• 17:03
  Speaker 8: baby shoes. She says they've all been used.
• 17:05
  Speaker 9: They're not new.
• 17:06
  Speaker 7: Well, a lot of mothers save baby clothes, things like that.
• 17:08
  Speaker 8: No, the Roth woman wouldn't have a reason to.
• 17:10
  Speaker 12: Yeah.
• 17:10
  Speaker 8: She's never had any children.
• 17:23
  Speaker 5: You are listening to Dragnet, authentic stories of your police
• 17:26
  Speaker 5: force in action.
• 17:29
  Speaker 6: Friday, July 4th, 11 a.m. Frank Smith and I left
• 17:38
  Speaker 6: the office and drove out to interview Mildred Leslie at
• 17:40
  Speaker 6: her apartment. She told us substantially the same thing she
• 17:43
  Speaker 6: told Frank on the phone. The Leslie girl had been
• 17:46
  Speaker 6: employed as a maid by Mr.
• 17:47
  Speaker 7: And Mrs.
• 17:48
  Speaker 6: Roth for almost a year. She went on to tell
• 17:50
  Speaker 6: us that for the last few months or so, Mrs. Roth,
• 17:53
  Speaker 6: who was a fairly prominent clubwoman, had been acting peculiarly
• 17:56
  Speaker 6: and that Mr.
• 17:56
  Speaker 7: Roth was worried about her.
• 17:58
  Speaker 6: According to the Leslie girl, he'd consulted the doctor several
• 18:00
  Speaker 6: times about his wife. As for the articles of baby clothing,
• 18:04
  Speaker 6: they'd been found stored back on a shelf in Mrs.
• 18:06
  Speaker 7: Roth's bedroom closet.
• 18:08
  Speaker 6: The Leslie girl told us that she happened to find
• 18:10
  Speaker 6: them while cleaning and dusting Mrs.
• 18:12
  Speaker 7: Roth's bedroom.
• 18:13
  Speaker 6: Each of the articles she claimed she saw seemed to
• 18:16
  Speaker 6: tie in directly with the child stealings. A pink sweater,
• 18:19
  Speaker 6: a pink bonnet, a pair of baby shoes. Identical items
• 18:21
  Speaker 6: of clothing had been taken from each of the previous
• 18:23
  Speaker 6: abduction victims. After we left Mildred Leslie, Frank and I
• 18:27
  Speaker 6: got to a phone, called a record bureau, and had
• 18:29
  Speaker 6: them make a run for us on Mrs.
• 18:30
  Speaker 15: Roth.
• 18:31
  Speaker 7: She had no previous criminal record. 1.20 p.m. We called Mr.
• 18:35
  Speaker 6: Roth at his place of business, but the office was
• 18:37
  Speaker 6: closed because of the Fourth of July holiday. We got
• 18:39
  Speaker 6: in the car and drove out to the Roth home,
• 18:42
  Speaker 6: an old two-story mansion just above Silver Lake Reservoir.
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: Mrs.
• 18:45
  Speaker 7: Roth wasn't at home. We interviewed her husband in the
• 18:47
  Speaker 7: living room.
• 18:48
  Speaker 8: What seems to be the trouble, Sergeant? Why would you
• 18:50
  Speaker 8: want to see my wife? A few questions we'd like
• 18:51
  Speaker 8: to ask her, Mr. Roth.
• 18:52
  Speaker 4: Can you tell us where she is now? She took
• 18:54
  Speaker 4: a drive with some friends of hers. I think they
• 18:56
  Speaker 4: were going down to the beach club.
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: Why?
• 18:57
  Speaker 7: But we're investigating a juvenile case, Mr.
• 18:59
  Speaker 3: Roth.
• 18:59
  Speaker 7: We think maybe your wife can give us some information
• 19:01
  Speaker 7: on it.
• 19:02
  Speaker 4: Well, I'm sorry she isn't home. It's too bad you
• 19:04
  Speaker 4: didn't call this morning. She didn't leave until after 11.
• 19:06
  Speaker 4: She'll be home later tonight if you care to call back.
• 19:09
  Speaker 4: You're sure it's not something I can help you with?
• 19:11
  Speaker 7: Well, yes, sir. Maybe you can. I'd like to ask
• 19:13
  Speaker 7: you a few questions about your wife's activities the last
• 19:15
  Speaker 7: month or so.
• 19:16
  Speaker 8: Well, how do you mean? Some of the social work
• 19:17
  Speaker 8: she does with the club? Not quite, Mr.
• 19:19
  Speaker 15: Roth.
• 19:20
  Speaker 4: You said you were from the juvenile division. Is it
• 19:21
  Speaker 4: something regarding her work with the underprivileged kids? Her club
• 19:24
  Speaker 4: does quite a bit of that, you know. Afraid I
• 19:26
  Speaker 4: don't know too much about it, though.
• 19:27
  Speaker 7: No, sir, it's not that.
• 19:29
  Speaker 8: I don't think I understand.
• 19:30
  Speaker 7: What is it about? Mr.
• 19:32
  Speaker 6: Roth, we want you to understand that this is merely
• 19:34
  Speaker 6: a routine investigation. We don't want to offend you in
• 19:36
  Speaker 6: any way, but we have some information that we've got
• 19:38
  Speaker 6: to check out.
• 19:39
  Speaker 7: What do you mean?
• 19:40
  Speaker 8: What kind of information?
• 19:41
  Speaker 6: Well, there's been a series of child-stealing cases the last
• 19:43
  Speaker 6: month or so. We're the investigating officers on it. Maybe
• 19:46
  Speaker 6: you read about them in the papers.
• 19:47
  Speaker 4: Yes, I have, but what would my wife have to
• 19:49
  Speaker 4: do with that? You think she has some information for you?
• 19:52
  Speaker 4: She didn't say anything about it to me. Yes, sir.
• 19:53
  Speaker 4: I think she can help us quite a bit. I
• 19:56
  Speaker 4: don't know exactly when she'll be home. I don't have
• 19:57
  Speaker 4: any place to contact her. I do know the club's
• 20:00
  Speaker 4: taking a group of children to the Coliseum tonight. The
• 20:02
  Speaker 4: big Fourth of July fireworks display, you know.
• 20:04
  Speaker 7: Yes, I see.
• 20:05
  Speaker 4: I'm going to meet my wife there tonight. Maybe I
• 20:06
  Speaker 4: could give her a message for you, tell her to
• 20:08
  Speaker 4: contact you.
• 20:09
  Speaker 7: All right, fine, Mr.
• 20:09
  Speaker 10: Roth.
• 20:10
  Speaker 7: There is something that you can do for us right now, though.
• 20:12
  Speaker 5: Yes.
• 20:13
  Speaker 7: Would you take us up to your wife's room? I'd
• 20:15
  Speaker 7: like to have a look at it. Take you to
• 20:17
  Speaker 7: her room?
• 20:17
  Speaker 8: I don't understand.
• 20:18
  Speaker 7: What for?
• 20:19
  Speaker 4: Well, like we told you before, sir, it's a routine investigation.
• 20:22
  Speaker 4: I think if you take us to your wife's room,
• 20:23
  Speaker 4: I think we can clear the whole thing up now.
• 20:24
  Speaker 4: Probably won't be necessary to bother you tonight. Well, I
• 20:27
  Speaker 4: certainly don't understand, but come along if you like. The
• 20:29
  Speaker 4: Doris's room is right ahead of the stairs.
• 20:31
  Speaker 7: Thank you.
• 20:34
  Speaker 8: Certainly has me baffled. What would there be about Doris's room?
• 20:37
  Speaker 8: It has to be investigated.
• 20:38
  Speaker 7: We don't know that there is anything, sir. Just appreciate
• 20:40
  Speaker 7: your cooperation.
• 20:41
  Speaker 9: Not at all.
• 20:42
  Speaker 8: We haven't anything to hide.
• 20:43
  Speaker 9: Here we are.
• 20:46
  Speaker 8: This is her room. Now, what is it you're looking for?
• 20:49
  Speaker 7: That's the bedroom closet, is it?
• 20:51
  Speaker 8: Yes, that's right.
• 20:52
  Speaker 7: I'd like to look at it if we could.
• 20:54
  Speaker 8: Certainly.
• 20:54
  Speaker 7: Go right ahead.
• 20:55
  Speaker 8: There's a shelf up there, Joe. Can you reach it on?
• 21:02
  Speaker 7: Yeah, I think so.
• 21:04
  Speaker 8: What is it? What are you looking for?
• 21:06
  Speaker 7: Here you go, Frank.
• 21:07
  Speaker 8: Yeah. Pink bonnet, pink sweater.
• 21:09
  Speaker 7: That's it. Here's the baby shoes. The I.D. bracelet.
• 21:14
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 21:15
  Speaker 7: Initials J.D.
• 21:16
  Speaker 9: Uh-huh.
• 21:16
  Speaker 8: Not much doubt.
• 21:17
  Speaker 7: Yeah. Baby clothes. Bracelet.
• 21:21
  Speaker 8: Never seen them around here. How'd you know they were here?
• 21:24
  Speaker 4: Well, we weren't sure that they were. But I'd never
• 21:26
  Speaker 4: seen them before. What are they doing in Doris's room?
• 21:28
  Speaker 4: Why would she have them? To talk to her about this.
• 21:31
  Speaker 7: Yes, sir. So do we.
• 21:35
  Speaker 6: After finding the evidence in his wife's bedroom closet, we
• 21:38
  Speaker 6: continued to interview Mr.
• 21:39
  Speaker 15: Roth.
• 21:40
  Speaker 6: We briefed him on the details of the case and
• 21:42
  Speaker 6: explained about the articles of baby clothing. He was very cooperative,
• 21:45
  Speaker 6: but he found it hard to believe that his wife
• 21:47
  Speaker 6: was responsible for the abduction of the babies. He told
• 21:50
  Speaker 6: us that early in their marriage, his wife did have
• 21:52
  Speaker 6: a child which died shortly after birth. Complications left her
• 21:56
  Speaker 6: unable to have any more children. When she found out
• 21:58
  Speaker 6: about this, it resulted in Mrs. Roth having a nervous breakdown,
• 22:01
  Speaker 6: but apparently she recovered completely. Roth went on to tell
• 22:05
  Speaker 6: us that his wife was very fond of children and
• 22:07
  Speaker 6: that she devoted a great deal of time to social work,
• 22:09
  Speaker 6: caring for underprivileged children. He also told us that during
• 22:12
  Speaker 6: the past month, with the recurrence of her nervous condition,
• 22:16
  Speaker 6: she'd been under a doctor's care. Shortly after 8 o'clock
• 22:19
  Speaker 6: that night, along with Mr. Roth, we drove to the
• 22:21
  Speaker 6: Coliseum where crowds of people were gathering for the annual
• 22:24
  Speaker 6: July 4th fireworks display.
• 22:26
  Speaker 7: Roth pointed out his wife. We went over and he
• 22:28
  Speaker 7: introduced us.
• 22:31
  Speaker 9: These officers would like to talk to us, honey. Let's
• 22:33
  Speaker 9: step over here.
• 22:34
  Speaker 10: Well, I can't leave the children alone. Can't we talk later?
• 22:36
  Speaker 9: No, honey, it's pretty important. I think you'd better talk
• 22:38
  Speaker 9: to them now.
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: Well, all right.
• 22:40
  Speaker 10: If you say so. You'll have to stay and watch
• 22:41
  Speaker 10: the children, though.
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: It'll be all right.
• 22:43
  Speaker 9: We can keep an eye on them from over there.
• 22:44
  Speaker 10: No, I can't leave them alone. You'll have to stay.
• 22:46
  Speaker 9: Well, all right.
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: Ma'am, I wonder if you'd step over here, please.
• 22:49
  Speaker 10: Yes, all right.
• 22:51
  Speaker 9: This ought to be all right right here.
• 22:52
  Speaker 10: Beautiful night tonight, isn't it? Children just love these things.
• 22:56
  Speaker 10: I think they're just about ready to start the show. Yes.
• 22:59
  Speaker 10: Just look at that.
• 23:04
  Speaker 16: The colors.
• 23:05
  Speaker 10: Isn't that gorgeous?
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: Yes, ma'am.
• 23:07
  Speaker 7: We'd like to drive you and your husband downtown to
• 23:09
  Speaker 7: Juvenile Division.
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: We'd like to talk to you.
• 23:11
  Speaker 6: What do you mean?
• 23:12
  Speaker 10: I can't leave now. I have these children with me.
• 23:14
  Speaker 10: What did you want to see me about? What's the trouble?
• 23:16
  Speaker 9: I think you know why we're here, Mrs.
• 23:18
  Speaker 10: Roth.
• 23:18
  Speaker 2: I do.
• 23:19
  Speaker 10: Why do you want to talk to me?
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: Well, we can start here, ma'am. We were at your
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: home this afternoon. Your husband showed us your bedroom, the closet.
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: We found the things up on the top shelf.
• 23:28
  Speaker 13: What?
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: The baby clothes, the bracelet.
• 23:29
  Speaker 13: Oh, beautiful.
• 23:31
  Speaker 7: Just beautiful.
• 23:33
  Speaker 10: How about it, Mrs. Roth?
• 23:36
  Speaker 9: You want to come along downtown?
• 23:38
  Speaker 10: Just baby clothes. Had them in my closet. It doesn't
• 23:41
  Speaker 10: mean anything.
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: I'm afraid you're wrong. It means a good deal, ma'am.
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: You know that.
• 23:44
  Speaker 15: Yes.
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: All right. Well, do you want to tell us about it, Mrs.
• 23:48
  Speaker 10: Roth?
• 23:50
  Speaker 6: Mrs.
• 23:50
  Speaker 10: Roth? Where do I start? There's no beginning. Just started.
• 23:56
  Speaker 10: I couldn't help myself. What can I say?
• 23:57
  Speaker 9: You just tell us what happened. Start any place.
• 24:00
  Speaker 10: My baby died. Then they said I couldn't have any more.
• 24:04
  Speaker 10: Guess it started then. I told my husband, told the doctor, too.
• 24:08
  Speaker 13: They didn't understand. Nobody understands. It's all I wanted, my children,
• 24:13
  Speaker 13: my own children.
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: How about the Martin baby, Mrs.
• 24:15
  Speaker 7: Roth?
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: The first one you took. How'd that happen?
• 24:24
  Speaker 10: Look, another one. Purple, white. Beautiful.
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: What about it, ma'am? The Martin baby? How'd that happen?
• 24:32
  Speaker 10: I saw him in the baby carriage. Outside the market there.
• 24:35
  Speaker 10: Such a cute baby. Pulled the covers back, looked at him.
• 24:40
  Speaker 10: I didn't think I was going to steal him. After
• 24:42
  Speaker 10: I looked at him, I just wanted to hold him.
• 24:44
  Speaker 10: Hold him close, so I picked him up. You understand,
• 24:48
  Speaker 10: don't you?
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: Yes, ma'am.
• 24:49
  Speaker 10: He was such a sweet baby. Could have been mine.
• 24:52
  Speaker 16: I kept on holding him. Then I started to put
• 24:55
  Speaker 16: him down, back.
• 24:56
  Speaker 10: In his carriage. I couldn't.
• 25:00
  Speaker 15: I couldn't.
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: What do you mean, ma'am?
• 25:02
  Speaker 10: I couldn't put the baby down. Just like mine. It
• 25:06
  Speaker 10: was mine. I can't explain it. I took the blanket
• 25:10
  Speaker 10: from the buggy. I put it around him. I walked away.
• 25:12
  Speaker 10: Nobody knew. It was my baby.
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: Yes, ma'am.
• 25:16
  Speaker 7: Would you go on?
• 25:17
  Speaker 13: Oh, my head.
• 25:19
  Speaker 10: Terrible headaches. It's so hard to tell you. I couldn't
• 25:24
  Speaker 10: even tell my husband.
• 25:26
  Speaker 9: I lied.
• 25:28
  Speaker 16: I'd take the baby and stop overnight at a motel
• 25:30
  Speaker 16: and tell my husband lies.
• 25:31
  Speaker 10: I couldn't let him know.
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: Well, you knew you were doing wrong, didn't you?
• 25:35
  Speaker 13: Yes, I knew it.
• 25:37
  Speaker 10: Not when I was taking the baby, though. Not when
• 25:39
  Speaker 10: I picked him up. Not when I held him in
• 25:40
  Speaker 10: my arms, held him close. It didn't seem wrong. Most
• 25:43
  Speaker 10: natural thing in the world. I just pretended. I'd pick
• 25:46
  Speaker 10: the baby up and I'd hold it close. It was
• 25:48
  Speaker 10: my baby.
• 25:50
  Speaker 16: All of a sudden, it was my baby. Later on,
• 25:53
  Speaker 16: I had to face... I had to stop pretending the
• 25:56
  Speaker 16: baby wasn't mine.
• 25:57
  Speaker 10: I had to give it back.
• 25:59
  Speaker 7: Isn't that wonderful?
• 26:02
  Speaker 10: Look, screamers, a shower of stars. It's marvelous.
• 26:06
  Speaker 9: Why'd you abandon the children, ma'am, without notifying anyone?
• 26:09
  Speaker 10: I knew they'd be found. I made sure of that.
• 26:11
  Speaker 10: I always put them someplace where they had to be found.
• 26:15
  Speaker 10: Terrible headache. You don't know what it's been like. I
• 26:19
  Speaker 10: couldn't tell anyone.
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: No one. Yes, ma'am. You about ready to go now?
• 26:24
  Speaker 10: All right.
• 26:26
  Speaker 13: I could only explain it to you. I mean, having
• 26:29
  Speaker 13: a baby, then losing it. You don't know what it's like.
• 26:33
  Speaker 13: No one will ever know what it's like.
• 26:36
  Speaker 10: No one.
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: You took four babies, ma'am?
• 26:39
  Speaker 7: Yes. How about their mothers? The story you have just
• 26:49
  Speaker 7: heard was true.
• 26:51
  Speaker 8: The names were changed to protect the innocent.
• 26:53
  Speaker 5: On October 10th, trial was held in Superior Court, Department 88,
• 26:57
  Speaker 5: City and County of Los Angeles, State of California. In
• 26:59
  Speaker 5: a moment, the results of that trial. Doris Evelyn Roth
• 27:11
  Speaker 5: was tried and convicted of child stealing under Section 278,
• 27:14
  Speaker 5: Penal Code, four counts. She was placed on five years probation...
• 27:18
  Speaker 5: One of the terms of probation required that she would
• 27:20
  Speaker 5: be under strict supervision of a competent psychiatrist. You have
• 27:32
  Speaker 5: just heard Dragnet, a series of authentic cases from official files.
• 27:36
  Speaker 5: Technical advice comes from the office of Chief of Police, W.H. Parker,
• 27:39
  Speaker 5: Los Angeles Police Department. Technical advisors, Captain Jack Donahoe, Sergeant
• 27:43
  Speaker 5: Marty Wynn, Sergeant Vance Brasher. Heard tonight were Herb Ellis,
• 27:47
  Speaker 5: Vic Perrin, Virginia Gregg. Script by Jim Moser. Music by
• 27:50
  Speaker 5: Walter Schumann. Hal Gibney speaking.
• 27:56
  Speaker 9: Each Thursday night, it's Counterspy on NBC.
• 28:07
  Speaker 2: Welcome back! This is another one that I didn't quite remember.
• 28:13
  Speaker 2: I actually thought I did, but I had it mixed
• 28:16
  Speaker 2: up in my mind with another episode which Jack Webb
• 28:21
  Speaker 2: actually once declared his favorite. But this was not that one.
• 28:26
  Speaker 2: In many ways, the story calls to mind a much
• 28:29
  Speaker 2: earlier story, The Big Mother, which was also about a
• 28:34
  Speaker 2: bereaved woman kidnapping a baby, although in that case it
• 28:38
  Speaker 2: was a single baby and may have been a bit
• 28:43
  Speaker 2: more relatively tragic as she had just lost her child
• 28:50
  Speaker 2: and was trying to avoid having to tell her husband
• 28:56
  Speaker 2: the truth after she'd gone out of town to give birth.
• 29:01
  Speaker 2: This one is still sad, and it does point to
• 29:05
  Speaker 2: the fact that some hurts really do fester and raises
• 29:11
  Speaker 2: some important mental health issues, but it doesn't quite pack
• 29:16
  Speaker 2: the punch of the Big Mother, which may be a
• 29:21
  Speaker 2: reason that it's one of those that just kind of
• 29:23
  Speaker 2: slips into the giant Dragnet back catalog in my memory.
• 29:29
  Speaker 2: What is really interesting about this episode, though, is the
• 29:34
  Speaker 2: way that it does mark the time, because the way
• 29:40
  Speaker 2: that these babies were left out would raise a lot
• 29:45
  Speaker 2: of questions in the 21st century. But leaving babies parked
• 29:52
  Speaker 2: outside a store was certainly... not uncommon, and neither was
• 30:01
  Speaker 2: leaving a baby in her own backyard. In fact, that
• 30:06
  Speaker 2: was actually really common parenting advice back then. In fact,
• 30:12
  Speaker 2: early editions of Dr. Spock's books recommended giving babies hours
• 30:20
  Speaker 2: of outdoor time Although this was around even before Dr. Spock.
• 30:28
  Speaker 2: His book came out in 1946. And on the Amazing
• 30:32
  Speaker 2: World of Radio, we played a Christmas episode from 1941.
• 30:41
  Speaker 2: It was actually four soap operas that did a combined
• 30:47
  Speaker 2: Christmas program together. and baby outside in the carriage was
• 30:53
  Speaker 2: a key plot point. Now, leaving the baby in the car,
• 30:57
  Speaker 2: that might be a different matter in terms of how
• 31:01
  Speaker 2: common that was, though our standards about leaving kids in
• 31:05
  Speaker 2: cars has kind of changed even within my lifetime. Worrying
• 31:09
  Speaker 2: at a relatively young age, I got left in the
• 31:13
  Speaker 2: car quite a few times while my parents went inside. Now,
• 31:19
  Speaker 2: this was not for a ridiculous amount of time, like
• 31:23
  Speaker 2: hours or something, but as new recommendations have come out
• 31:31
  Speaker 2: in recent years, I have that same common Gen X
• 31:36
  Speaker 2: or elder millennial experience of wondering how I survived childhood
• 31:42
  Speaker 2: before some of these.
• 31:45
  Speaker 2: Advice came out. Now, some of this practice does continue.
• 31:49
  Speaker 2: You can find in a few places there have been
• 31:52
  Speaker 2: Americans who've gone over to some Nordic countries and still
• 31:56
  Speaker 2: seen the babies in the pram sort of experience. But
• 32:02
  Speaker 2: this highlights one of the nice things about Dragnet, listening
• 32:05
  Speaker 2: to it so many decades later. It is the dedication
• 32:12
  Speaker 2: to accuracy and telling... the way things are that most
• 32:19
  Speaker 2: programs didn't have, that really does make the program a
• 32:24
  Speaker 2: calm capsule that captures all of these different aspects of
• 32:30
  Speaker 2: life in some realistic detail as to how things were
• 32:37
  Speaker 2: in a way that's more reliable than a lot of
• 32:39
  Speaker 2: other programs that leaned into more tropes to tell their story.
• 32:45
  Speaker 2: Listener comments and feedback now. And I have a comment
• 32:50
  Speaker 2: from Mechanic66 regarding the episode The Big Mail. I'd think
• 32:56
  Speaker 2: that assault with a deadly weapon would be a longer
• 33:00
  Speaker 2: sentence than robbery. I'd also think someone facing life in
• 33:04
  Speaker 2: prison would clam up and demand a lawyer. But of course,
• 33:08
  Speaker 2: that never happens in Dragnet. I only assume they didn't
• 33:11
  Speaker 2: want any listeners to know they had rights. Well, as
• 33:16
  Speaker 2: we've discussed a few times, this was well before Miranda v.
• 33:21
  Speaker 2: Arizona required those sort of warnings. As to the assault
• 33:28
  Speaker 2: with a deadly weapon charge, there is a lot of
• 33:33
  Speaker 2: conduct that can fall under assault with a deadly weapon,
• 33:37
  Speaker 2: as likely to produce great bodily injury. So, Throwing a
• 33:42
  Speaker 2: rock at someone could be assault with a deadly weapon.
• 33:46
  Speaker 2: First-degree robbery was aggravated robbery, as it would be when
• 33:54
  Speaker 2: you rob someone with a dangerous or deadly weapon. So
• 33:59
  Speaker 2: the robbery is the core charge that the legislature essentially
• 34:06
  Speaker 2: and very deliberately made more serious. And the assault with
• 34:11
  Speaker 2: a deadly weapon was capturing additional violent conduct. All right,
• 34:17
  Speaker 2: well now it's time to thank our Patreon supporter of
• 34:21
  Speaker 2: the day. Thank you to Amy Sue, Patreon supporter, since
• 34:27
  Speaker 2: April 2026, currently supporting the podcast at the rookie level
• 34:32
  Speaker 2: of $ 2 or more per month. Thanks so much for
• 34:35
  Speaker 2: your support, Amy Sue. And that will do it for today.
• 34:38
  Speaker 2: If you're enjoying the podcast, please follow us using your
• 34:41
  Speaker 2: favorite podcast software, and be sure to rate and review
• 34:45
  Speaker 2: the podcast wherever you download it from. We will be
• 34:49
  Speaker 2: back next Thursday with another episode of Dragnet, but join
• 34:53
  Speaker 2: us back here tomorrow for yours truly, Johnny Doll, or where?
• 34:56
  Speaker 1: I'm sorry, Mr.
• 34:57
  Speaker 15: Cartwright, go ahead.
• 34:59
  Speaker 4: Just how did your friend in Los Angeles die after
• 35:02
  Speaker 4: the dozen times, the dozen hours that passed?
• 35:04
  Speaker 15: Yes, well, now, The same as my other friend, Alpheus
• 35:07
  Speaker 15: Perryman in Chicago.
• 35:08
  Speaker 2: Yeah, well?
• 35:09
  Speaker 1: They were both of them run over by a.
• 35:11
  Speaker 15: Hit-and-run driver at exactly the time the chain letter said
• 35:15
  Speaker 15: disaster would overtake them.
• 35:17
  Speaker 9: You know they're against the law, don't you? Chain letters
• 35:19
  Speaker 9: for any purpose. Of course they are, and they should be.
• 35:21
  Speaker 8: But you just listen to this, and this is why
• 35:23
  Speaker 8: I'm worried.
• 35:24
  Speaker 5: Yeah?
• 35:25
  Speaker 15: A dozen, dozen hours after he received this letter and carried.
• 35:31
  Speaker 1: On the chain.
• 35:32
  Speaker 15: Admiral Parley Barron came into a great fortune.
• 35:36
  Speaker 1: Oh, sure.
• 35:36
  Speaker 15: Yeah, yeah, you see.
• 35:37
  Speaker 2: Now, and this one.
• 35:39
  Speaker 15: Adjutant General Frederick Melchior was suddenly and miraculously cured of cancer.
• 35:47
  Speaker 9: Same old junk.
• 35:48
  Speaker 1: No, no, no, no, listen now, listen.
• 35:50
  Speaker 6: About a dozen, dozen.
• 35:51
  Speaker 15: Hours after Hector Kenworthy of Los Angeles.
• 35:54
  Speaker 1: Broke the chain.
• 35:54
  Speaker 15: That's my friend, Johnny, that Hector. Yes, I know. And
• 35:57
  Speaker 15: after A.J. Perryman of Chicago broke the chain, they were
• 36:01
  Speaker 15: both dead.
• 36:02
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you see that? Right here.
• 36:04
  Speaker 15: Let me see.
• 36:07
  Speaker 8: And if you break the chain, beware. The same thing can.
• 36:09
  Speaker 15: Happen to you.
• 36:11
  Speaker 1: It will happen to you.
• 36:12
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I know.
• 36:13
  Speaker 5: You see, Johnny?
• 36:13
  Speaker 8: I think maybe you're right.
• 36:17
  Speaker 2: I hope you'll be with us then. In the meantime,
• 36:20
  Speaker 2: send your comments to box13 at greatdetectives.net. Follow us on
• 36:26
  Speaker 2: Twitter at Radio Detectives. And check us out on Instagram, instagram.com.
• 36:32
  Speaker 2: Slash Great Detectives. From Boise, Idaho, this is your host,
• 36:36
  Speaker 2: Adam Graham, signing off.