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Dragnet - "Second Hand Killer" (Old Time Radio, 1949) · Dragnet | Old Time Radio

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Two police officers have been shot down and the Los
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Angeles Police Department moves into a homicide investigation. It is
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: the case for Sergeant Joe Friday and Sergeant Ben Romero
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: in Dragnet with Jack Webb and Barton Yarborough. From NBC's
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: early sustaining run, this is episode 19, Second Hand Killer,
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: first broadcast October 6th, 1949. The facts, the procedure, and
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: the pressure of a police investigation come forward in the
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: familiar dragnet manner. And now, we return to the original broadcast.
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: Ladies and gentlemen, the story you are about to hear
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: is true. Only the names have been changed to protect
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: the innocent.
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: Fatima Cigarettes, best of long cigarettes, brings you Dragnet.
• 1:10
  Speaker 3: You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned to homicide detail. A
• 1:14
  Speaker 3: vicious killer has taken the life of a 62-year-old woman...
• 1:19
  Speaker 3: Suspicion points in only one direction. The murderer was heartless, cold-blooded.
• 1:25
  Speaker 3: Your job, get him.
• 1:31
  Speaker 4: If you want a long cigarette, smoke the best of
• 1:34
  Speaker 4: long cigarettes.
• 1:35
  Speaker 5: Smoke Fatima.
• 1:37
  Speaker 4: It's the long cigarette that contains an essential ingredient of
• 1:40
  Speaker 4: all the very popular cigarettes, Turkish tobacco. That's why you
• 1:44
  Speaker 4: see the Turkish symbols on the attractive golden yellow Fatima package.
• 1:49
  Speaker 4: That's why Fatima has a much different, much better flavor
• 1:53
  Speaker 4: and aroma than any other long cigarette. That's why Fatima
• 1:57
  Speaker 4: doubles and redoubles its smokers. Yes, if you want a
• 2:01
  Speaker 4: long cigarette, smoke the best of long cigarettes.
• 2:05
  Speaker 5: Smoke Fatima.
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: Dragnet, the documented drama of an actual crime. For the
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: next 30 minutes, in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department,
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: you will travel step by step on the side of
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: the law through an actual case from official police files.
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: From beginning to end, from crime to punishment, Dragnet is
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: the story of your police force in action.
• 2:33
  Speaker 6: It was Saturday, November 5th. It was foggy in Los Angeles.
• 2:36
  Speaker 6: We were working the day watch out of homicide. My
• 2:38
  Speaker 6: partner's Ben Romero. The boss is Ed Backstrand, chief of detectives.
• 2:42
  Speaker 6: My name's Friday.
• 2:43
  Speaker 5: It was 3.35 p.m. when I got to room 42. Homicide.
• 2:57
  Speaker 3: Long distance.
• 2:59
  Speaker 6: This is Friday in Homicide. I'd like to place a
• 3:00
  Speaker 6: call to Mr. Frank Renard in Murphy, Idaho. The number
• 3:03
  Speaker 6: is 761.
• 3:03
  Speaker 7: Frank Renard, Murphy, Idaho, 761.
• 3:06
  Speaker 5: Yeah, that's right. The call's been cleared with the business office.
• 3:09
  Speaker 7: All right.
• 3:10
  Speaker 5: Do you want me to call you back, Sergeant? No,
• 3:12
  Speaker 5: I'll hang on.
• 3:13
  Speaker 8: Okay, I'll place it for you.
• 3:14
  Speaker 9: Long distance.
• 3:23
  Speaker 3: Long distance, Mr.
• 3:24
  Speaker 8: Frank Renard, Murphy, Idaho, Murphy 761.
• 3:26
  Speaker 4: Thank you.
• 3:26
  Speaker 9: Your number, please.
• 3:28
  Speaker 3: Charge call to Madison 7961.
• 3:29
  Speaker 5: Thank you.
• 3:32
  Speaker 8: The time in charge is when the call is completed, operator.
• 3:34
  Speaker 4: Rate operator.
• 3:35
  Speaker 7: Yes, Murphy, Idaho, routing and person rate.
• 3:53
  Speaker 5: I'm calling NAPA. Murphy, 761.
• 4:26
  Speaker 3: Thank you. Keep ringing, 761. They're ringing.
• 4:39
  Speaker 7: The number, Sergeant.
• 4:40
  Speaker 5: Okay, thanks.
• 4:44
  Speaker 10: Hello?
• 4:51
  Speaker 8: Mr.
• 4:51
  Speaker 5: Franklin, Art, please.
• 4:52
  Speaker 6: Los Angeles calling.
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: Who do you want?
• 4:55
  Speaker 8: Mr.
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: Frank Renard, please.
• 4:56
  Speaker 9: North Angle is calling.
• 4:58
  Speaker 5: I am Frank Renard.
• 4:59
  Speaker 8: Go ahead, please.
• 5:00
  Speaker 5: All right, Sergeant, go ahead.
• 5:02
  Speaker 7: Hello. Hello.
• 5:03
  Speaker 5: Hello, Frank Renard?
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: Yeah, who's this?
• 5:06
  Speaker 6: This is Sergeant Friday, Los Angeles Police Department. We've got
• 5:09
  Speaker 6: an urgent message for you. For me?
• 5:11
  Speaker 7: Well, what's the matter?
• 5:13
  Speaker 5: Your wife, Dolores, asked me to call you. Something's happened
• 5:16
  Speaker 5: to your mother.
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: What do you mean?
• 5:17
  Speaker 4: What's happened?
• 5:19
  Speaker 5: I better let your wife tell you. She wants you
• 5:20
  Speaker 5: back in Los Angeles right away.
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: What's this all about?
• 5:23
  Speaker 5: I can't leave my job now. You better come. Your
• 5:26
  Speaker 5: mother's been murdered. Talk to the skipper, Joe.
• 5:41
  Speaker 7: He's on his way in.
• 5:42
  Speaker 5: That's good.
• 5:43
  Speaker 11: Did you call my husband?
• 5:44
  Speaker 7: Did you?
• 5:45
  Speaker 5: He's flying down from Idaho tonight. Be here in the morning.
• 5:47
  Speaker 11: You tell him about me? The trouble I'm in?
• 5:50
  Speaker 5: I told him his mother was murdered. That's all I
• 5:51
  Speaker 5: told him, Mrs. Renard.
• 5:53
  Speaker 11: What am I going to say to Frank? He always
• 5:55
  Speaker 11: sided in with his mother. He'll never believe me. What
• 5:58
  Speaker 11: can I tell him?
• 5:59
  Speaker 3: A jury can give you more trouble than your husband can.
• 6:01
  Speaker 3: What are you going to tell them?
• 6:02
  Speaker 11: Are you stupid or something? How many times do I
• 6:04
  Speaker 11: have to say it?
• 6:05
  Speaker 3: I didn't kill her.
• 6:06
  Speaker 11: I didn't kill her.
• 6:07
  Speaker 5: It's a small room, Mrs. Renard. We can hear you.
• 6:09
  Speaker 5: Sit down, please.
• 6:10
  Speaker 11: I won't sit down. You're not pinning this on me
• 6:12
  Speaker 11: because I didn't do it. Anybody could have killed the
• 6:14
  Speaker 11: old hag, but I didn't.
• 6:15
  Speaker 5: Will you sit down, please?
• 6:16
  Speaker 11: I don't have to take this.
• 6:17
  Speaker 3: I'm no tramp.
• 6:18
  Speaker 11: Keeping me in here, asking me questions. I told you
• 6:20
  Speaker 11: all I know.
• 6:21
  Speaker 5: Look, you're in a bad spot. I hope you realize that.
• 6:25
  Speaker 11: I didn't kill her.
• 6:26
  Speaker 7: Ms.
• 6:26
  Speaker 5: Renard, how long have you and your mother-in-law been living
• 6:28
  Speaker 5: together in the house on Chavez Road?
• 6:31
  Speaker 11: Since Frank took the job up in the hole. About
• 6:34
  Speaker 11: six months. He said it'd be better for me while
• 6:36
  Speaker 11: he was away living with her.
• 6:38
  Speaker 3: Your neighbors told us you didn't get along very well
• 6:40
  Speaker 3: with your mother-in-law.
• 6:41
  Speaker 11: That's right, I didn't. She hated me, I hated her.
• 6:44
  Speaker 5: You used to fight with her, is that right? You
• 6:46
  Speaker 5: hit her.
• 6:46
  Speaker 11: Only a couple of times. She called me dirty names.
• 6:50
  Speaker 11: I hit her. She pulled me by the hair. And
• 6:53
  Speaker 11: I hated her like everything. And I didn't kill her.
• 6:56
  Speaker 5: Once more, Ms. Renard.
• 6:57
  Speaker 6: Would you mind telling us how you spent your time
• 6:59
  Speaker 6: since early this morning? Where you went, what you did, everything.
• 7:01
  Speaker 11: I told you already, everything.
• 7:04
  Speaker 5: Tell us again, please.
• 7:07
  Speaker 11: I got up about quarter to nine. I had a
• 7:10
  Speaker 11: cup of coffee and then I got dressed. The old
• 7:13
  Speaker 11: lady was on the back porch doing the washing.
• 7:15
  Speaker 5: What did your mother-in-law do for a living?
• 7:17
  Speaker 11: I told you. She took in washing. After I got dressed,
• 7:21
  Speaker 11: I left the house. About ten minutes after nine, I
• 7:23
  Speaker 11: went downtown to the dentist. He felt the tooth for me.
• 7:27
  Speaker 11: This one here, you can ask him.
• 7:29
  Speaker 5: What time did you leave the dentist's office?
• 7:31
  Speaker 11: About quarter after ten. Maybe twenty after. You can ask him.
• 7:35
  Speaker 5: What did you do after that?
• 7:36
  Speaker 11: I walked around window shopping.
• 7:38
  Speaker 5: Did you buy anything? Talk to anybody?
• 7:40
  Speaker 11: I told you no.
• 7:41
  Speaker 5: What time did you get home?
• 7:42
  Speaker 11: About past twelve. I went in the bedroom. The old
• 7:46
  Speaker 11: lady was on the floor. Blood all over. I felt
• 7:51
  Speaker 11: her heart. It wasn't beating.
• 7:54
  Speaker 5: Is that when you got the blood on your dress? Yeah.
• 7:58
  Speaker 11: Now, that's all I'm going to say. Three times I
• 8:00
  Speaker 11: told you this story already.
• 8:01
  Speaker 6: And you still can't account for your time between 10.20
• 8:03
  Speaker 6: this morning and the time you found the body and
• 8:04
  Speaker 6: called the police at 12.30?
• 8:06
  Speaker 11: I told you. I left the dentist. I went window shopping.
• 8:09
  Speaker 11: Then I walked home.
• 8:10
  Speaker 3: And that time you didn't talk to anyone and no
• 8:12
  Speaker 3: one saw you?
• 8:12
  Speaker 11: Lots of people saw me. People on the street downtown.
• 8:15
  Speaker 11: I'm no tramp. I don't talk to everybody.
• 8:17
  Speaker 5: None of your neighbors saw you come home as Renard?
• 8:19
  Speaker 11: Of course they didn't see me. I cut across the back.
• 8:21
  Speaker 11: Black lot up from San Jose Avenue. I came in
• 8:24
  Speaker 11: the back way.
• 8:24
  Speaker 6: The lady who lives next door to you. She says
• 8:26
  Speaker 6: she was in the backyard about noontime. She stayed there
• 8:28
  Speaker 6: till after one o'clock. She didn't see you come in.
• 8:30
  Speaker 5: The back way.
• 8:30
  Speaker 11: Then she's a liar. She's a dirty liar.
• 8:32
  Speaker 6: You and your husband took out an insurance policy on
• 8:34
  Speaker 6: your mother-in-law last year.
• 8:35
  Speaker 5: Is that right, Ms.
• 8:36
  Speaker 9: Renard?
• 8:37
  Speaker 11: Sure it is. What of it?
• 8:39
  Speaker 9: $ 5, 000.
• 8:39
  Speaker 7: Yeah?
• 8:41
  Speaker 11: For what?
• 8:42
  Speaker 5: You know a man by the name of George Martino?
• 8:46
  Speaker 11: No.
• 8:46
  Speaker 5: You better tell the truth, Ms.
• 8:47
  Speaker 8: Renard.
• 8:49
  Speaker 11: All right, so I do. He's a friend of mine.
• 8:51
  Speaker 5: You've been running around with him since your husband's been away.
• 8:53
  Speaker 11: None of your business. I do what I want.
• 8:54
  Speaker 5: Your mother-in-law found out about Martino. That's what you fought
• 8:57
  Speaker 5: about most of the time.
• 8:58
  Speaker 11: Oh, she was crazy. He's a friend of mine, that's all.
• 9:02
  Speaker 5: Are you telling the truth, Ms. Renard?
• 9:03
  Speaker 11: Martino's a boyfriend of mine. I told you, that's all.
• 9:07
  Speaker 6: Your mother-in-law found out you were running around with him.
• 9:09
  Speaker 6: She warned you if you didn't shake Martino, she'd write
• 9:10
  Speaker 6: your husband.
• 9:11
  Speaker 5: You said you'd kill her if she did.
• 9:12
  Speaker 11: That's a lie.
• 9:13
  Speaker 5: That's what your mother-in-law told one of the neighbor ladies.
• 9:15
  Speaker 11: And I said it just to scare her. We had
• 9:19
  Speaker 11: a fight. She was yapping at me all night. I
• 9:22
  Speaker 11: said it just to scare her.
• 9:23
  Speaker 5: But she wrote the letter anyway.
• 9:26
  Speaker 11: That's what she said. But I didn't kill her.
• 9:29
  Speaker 7: You had the time, the motive, and the opportunity.
• 9:32
  Speaker 11: It wasn't me. I didn't kill her.
• 9:36
  Speaker 5: Interrogation room, Friday. This is Brennan, Joe. Yeah, Bill. Where
• 9:40
  Speaker 5: are you? Santa Monica. Picked up George Martino. Ben and
• 9:48
  Speaker 5: I drove Mrs.
• 9:49
  Speaker 6: Renard to Lincoln Heights Jail, 5th floor, and had her
• 9:51
  Speaker 6: booked on suspicion of 187 PC. When we checked back
• 9:54
  Speaker 6: in at the office, Brennan and Wiseman, the other two
• 9:56
  Speaker 6: men on the case with Ben and I, were questioning
• 9:58
  Speaker 6: George Martino in the interrogation room.
• 10:00
  Speaker 5: Room.
• 10:00
  Speaker 6: Ben and I stood by. Martino admitted only two things.
• 10:03
  Speaker 6: He had been running around with Mrs. Renard since her
• 10:05
  Speaker 6: husband left town, and he had heard Mrs. Renard express
• 10:07
  Speaker 6: a desire to do away with her mother-in-law. After the
• 10:10
  Speaker 6: questioning of Martino, Sergeant Brennan, Ben, and I met.
• 10:13
  Speaker 5: With Chief Ed Batron. It was 5.15 p.m.
• 10:16
  Speaker 7: You got everything but the murder weapon, huh? That and Mrs.
• 10:18
  Speaker 7: Renard's confession. She ought to come through, huh, Joe?
• 10:21
  Speaker 5: I don't know.
• 10:21
  Speaker 6: She's scared, but she's still got a smart mouth. What
• 10:24
  Speaker 6: about Martino, Brennan? You think he had a hand in it?
• 10:26
  Speaker 5: I don't think so. We spent most of the afternoon
• 10:28
  Speaker 5: talking to him. He hasn't got the guts. We took
• 10:30
  Speaker 5: his statement.
• 10:31
  Speaker 7: Does he have an alibi?
• 10:32
  Speaker 8: Solid.
• 10:33
  Speaker 7: What was the cause of death?
• 10:34
  Speaker 6: Strangulation, multiple fractures of the skull.
• 10:36
  Speaker 5: All motives are with Mrs. Renard, Chief. Pretty clear-cut job.
• 10:39
  Speaker 7: No evidence of robbery or burglary, I guess.
• 10:42
  Speaker 3: A couple of the dresser drawers in the bedroom were
• 10:44
  Speaker 3: emptied on the floor. Clothes tossed all around. Pretty obvious
• 10:47
  Speaker 3: plan to make it look like burglary.
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: Maybe.
• 10:49
  Speaker 6: We found three one-dollar bills in plain sight. They were
• 10:51
  Speaker 6: on the floor near the body. If a burglar went
• 10:53
  Speaker 6: through this stuff, he wouldn't have missed that money.
• 10:55
  Speaker 7: It shouldn't be too much trouble tying it up. Shouldn't be, Skipper.
• 10:58
  Speaker 7: Friday and Romero, you follow the case through. Just a minute. Hello. Backstrand.
• 11:06
  Speaker 8: Yeah? What?
• 11:07
  Speaker 5: What?
• 11:09
  Speaker 7: All right, I'll send him over. Lee Jones. Just finished
• 11:13
  Speaker 7: checking evidence at the crime lab.
• 11:14
  Speaker 5: Yeah?
• 11:15
  Speaker 7: He thinks Mrs. Renard's innocent. There they are, fellas. Facts
• 11:25
  Speaker 7: don't lie.
• 11:25
  Speaker 3: But she had every reason in the world to kill
• 11:27
  Speaker 3: the old lady. In my book, she couldn't have killed her.
• 11:29
  Speaker 5: All right, let's have it, Lee. How does the evidence
• 11:31
  Speaker 5: add up? That's just it, Joe.
• 11:33
  Speaker 7: It doesn't. Take a look.
• 11:34
  Speaker 3: The vest Mrs. Renard was wearing when she found the body.
• 11:37
  Speaker 5: That's it. Blood smears near the hem.
• 11:39
  Speaker 7: Two smears, that's all.
• 11:40
  Speaker 3: Now, if she murdered her mother-in-law, there should be more
• 11:42
  Speaker 3: blood on this dress. It shouldn't be smeared.
• 11:44
  Speaker 7: How do you mean?
• 11:45
  Speaker 3: First of all, the manner in which the old lady
• 11:46
  Speaker 3: was killed. Head was battered in. Must have bled profusely.
• 11:50
  Speaker 3: No question about that.
• 11:50
  Speaker 5: All right, go ahead.
• 11:51
  Speaker 3: Whoever murdered the old lady must have stains all over
• 11:54
  Speaker 3: their clothes.
• 11:55
  Speaker 7: Here's the important part.
• 11:56
  Speaker 3: Because of the nature of the wound, it would have
• 11:58
  Speaker 3: stained in drops, not smears.
• 12:00
  Speaker 5: Well, how can you tell the difference? Maybe these are
• 12:01
  Speaker 5: drop stains on her desk.
• 12:03
  Speaker 7: They're not.
• 12:03
  Speaker 3: I checked them with a microscope. Only the higher ribs
• 12:06
  Speaker 3: of the cloth are stained. The smears, nothing else. But
• 12:08
  Speaker 3: a drop forms its own definite drop pattern and permeates.
• 12:11
  Speaker 7: The cloth, soaks in.
• 12:12
  Speaker 5: Uh-huh. No signs of that on her dress.
• 12:14
  Speaker 7: Not a one.
• 12:15
  Speaker 3: Now, here's a silk scarf the old lady was strangled with.
• 12:17
  Speaker 5: Yeah?
• 12:18
  Speaker 3: Here's what I found in the knot tied in the scarf.
• 12:21
  Speaker 3: A blonde hair, wavy.
• 12:23
  Speaker 7: The old lady had dark hair. So does Ms.
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: Renard.
• 12:25
  Speaker 5: So does your boyfriend.
• 12:26
  Speaker 7: That's what I mean.
• 12:27
  Speaker 3: This blonde hair is one of two things that didn't
• 12:29
  Speaker 3: belong at that murder scene.
• 12:31
  Speaker 4: Whatever.
• 12:34
  Speaker 3: Well, a gun butt, I'd say.
• 12:36
  Speaker 8: See here?
• 12:36
  Speaker 5: Uh-huh.
• 12:37
  Speaker 7: Crisscross surface, then a little smooth area here.
• 12:39
  Speaker 11: Yeah.
• 12:39
  Speaker 3: The killer could have hit the old lady with the
• 12:41
  Speaker 3: butt of a gun.
• 12:41
  Speaker 5: And a piece of the stock could have chipped off
• 12:43
  Speaker 5: like this, huh?
• 12:43
  Speaker 8: Mrs.
• 12:44
  Speaker 7: Renard doesn't own a gun. You did your murdering wrong.
• 12:46
  Speaker 5: Where does that leave us? I don't know, Joe.
• 12:48
  Speaker 3: There's the stuff. You can't disregard it. Maybe you can
• 12:50
  Speaker 3: explain it.
• 12:51
  Speaker 8: Yeah.
• 12:51
  Speaker 7: How?
• 12:52
  Speaker 3: Well, first prove this dress isn't the one Mrs. Renard
• 12:55
  Speaker 3: was wearing this morning. Then find the.
• 12:57
  Speaker 7: Dress she did wear.
• 12:57
  Speaker 3: We know she wore this when the dentist identified it,
• 13:00
  Speaker 3: and so did two of the neighbors.
• 13:00
  Speaker 7: That's what I mean. The dress is too clean. Doesn't belong.
• 13:03
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 13:04
  Speaker 3: This blonde hair, this piece of gun butt, they don't
• 13:06
  Speaker 3: belong either.
• 13:07
  Speaker 5: Well, then you think she's innocent.
• 13:08
  Speaker 3: You're looking at the evidence.
• 13:10
  Speaker 5: What do you think? 6 p.m. Saturday, November 5th.
• 13:16
  Speaker 6: Ben and I went back to the office and met
• 13:18
  Speaker 6: with Brennan Wiseman and Ed Backstrand.
• 13:20
  Speaker 5: The open and shut case against Mrs. Renard was up
• 13:22
  Speaker 5: in the air.
• 13:23
  Speaker 6: But we still weren't sure that she was innocent of
• 13:25
  Speaker 6: the murder of her mother-in-law. Ben and I drove to
• 13:28
  Speaker 6: the Lincoln Heights Jail and interviewed the suspect again. She
• 13:31
  Speaker 6: agreed to submit to a lie detector test. We drove
• 13:33
  Speaker 6: back to the office, contacted Sergeant Berger, the department's polygraph man,
• 13:37
  Speaker 6: and set up a special test for the following day.
• 13:40
  Speaker 6: The next morning, we met with Berger and formulated a.
• 13:42
  Speaker 5: List of key questions, and then we picked up Mrs.
• 13:44
  Speaker 6: Renard and brought her to the third floor of the
• 13:45
  Speaker 6: Old City Jail building, the polygraph room. At 10.33 a.m.,
• 13:49
  Speaker 6: the test got underway. As usual, Sergeant Miller conducted the
• 13:52
  Speaker 6: interview alone. Backstrand, Ben and I waited outside.
• 13:55
  Speaker 7: Well, um, how about Mrs. Renard's husband? Get in town yet?
• 13:59
  Speaker 7: He's due in around noon, Skipper. Um, got a smoke?
• 14:04
  Speaker 5: Here you are.
• 14:11
  Speaker 8: Yeah, thanks.
• 14:12
  Speaker 7: What time is it now?
• 14:14
  Speaker 5: 11.25.
• 14:17
  Speaker 7: Here's Berger now. That's it, Ed. What'd you get?
• 14:21
  Speaker 3: I can study the chart a little more.
• 14:22
  Speaker 7: The results are pretty well defined, though.
• 14:24
  Speaker 5: How's it look?
• 14:25
  Speaker 7: No reaction to the key questions.
• 14:27
  Speaker 5: What's your opinion? I don't think she did it.
• 14:30
  Speaker 9: I don't think she did it.
• 14:40
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• 14:43
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  Speaker 4: These are the words of Miss Pamela Bookman of New York,
• 15:07
  Speaker 4: where Fatima has increased its smokers 132 percent.
• 15:12
  Speaker 3: Fatima tastes much better than any other long cigarette.
• 15:15
  Speaker 5: It's the best.
• 15:16
  Speaker 7: Says Mr. James S.
• 15:17
  Speaker 4: Winterhalter of Detroit, where Fatima smokers have increased 348 percent.
• 15:23
  Speaker 8: I like the flavor, and Fatima is mild. It's the
• 15:27
  Speaker 8: best long cigarette.
• 15:28
  Speaker 5: That's the statement of Mrs. Mary C.
• 15:30
  Speaker 4: Werdeman of Los Angeles, where Fatima has increased its smokers 545%. Yes,
• 15:39
  Speaker 4: more and more long cigarette smokers every day agree. A
• 15:43
  Speaker 4: change to Fatima is a change to the best. Enjoy
• 15:47
  Speaker 4: Fatima yourself. Best of long cigarettes.
• 15:50
  Speaker 9: 8 a.m.
• 15:56
  Speaker 5: Monday, November 7th. Mrs.
• 15:57
  Speaker 6: Renard was released from custody. We questioned her husband, Frank Renard, briefly.
• 16:01
  Speaker 6: He could tell us nothing more than we already knew.
• 16:03
  Speaker 6: Brennan and Wiseman were called back on the case, and
• 16:06
  Speaker 6: together the four of us started over again from the beginning.
• 16:09
  Speaker 5: We had a dead body, two pieces of physical.
• 16:11
  Speaker 6: Evidence to work with, no idea how to fit them together,
• 16:14
  Speaker 6: and no suspects. We went back to the Chavez Road
• 16:17
  Speaker 6: neighborhood where the murdered woman lived and started pushing doorbells.
• 16:20
  Speaker 6: We canvassed the neighborhood for three days and we uncovered
• 16:23
  Speaker 6: one slim lead.
• 16:24
  Speaker 8: He was selling magazines, officer. Went door to door, right
• 16:27
  Speaker 8: up the street here.
• 16:28
  Speaker 5: Young fellow. Could you describe the man for us, please?
• 16:31
  Speaker 11: Nothing to talk about.
• 16:32
  Speaker 8: Pasty face, pimply complexion, blonde hair.
• 16:34
  Speaker 9: 5.30 p.m.
• 16:39
  Speaker 5: Wednesday, November the 9th.
• 16:40
  Speaker 6: Ben and I met with Brennan and Wiseman and head
• 16:42
  Speaker 6: Backstrand's office to compare notes. Together, we had more than
• 16:45
  Speaker 6: a dozen reports of the magazine salesman's presence in the
• 16:47
  Speaker 6: neighborhood just prior to the murder of Mrs.
• 16:49
  Speaker 5: Renard's mother-in-law.
• 16:50
  Speaker 6: The various descriptions of the man which we obtained from
• 16:52
  Speaker 6: the people in the neighborhood tallied closely.
• 16:54
  Speaker 10: About six feet, 170 pounds, pimply complexion, blonde hair, fast talker.
• 16:59
  Speaker 7: About 25 years old.
• 17:00
  Speaker 3: As far as we know, Skipper, he was the only
• 17:02
  Speaker 3: stranger in the neighborhood last Saturday morning.
• 17:04
  Speaker 7: Only one that people remember, anyway. How close did you
• 17:06
  Speaker 7: trace him to the Renard house?
• 17:07
  Speaker 5: You got your list there, Brennan? Yeah. There you are. Thanks.
• 17:10
  Speaker 5: Let's see.
• 17:11
  Speaker 6: Well, he picked up his tracks down on Floresta Street,
• 17:14
  Speaker 6: sold a couple of descriptions there, then he headed up
• 17:16
  Speaker 6: Landers Avenue.
• 17:16
  Speaker 5: Onto Chavez Road.
• 17:17
  Speaker 7: Yeah.
• 17:18
  Speaker 6: The Renards live at 2280 Chavez Road. My salesman talked
• 17:21
  Speaker 6: to the woman at 2274 Chavez.
• 17:23
  Speaker 5: That's three doors away from the Renards.
• 17:25
  Speaker 7: When was he seen there?
• 17:26
  Speaker 5: Let me see. Where is that, Brennan? Oh, on the
• 17:30
  Speaker 5: 15-7 sheet, Joe. Didn't have enough room on the report.
• 17:32
  Speaker 7: Oh, yeah.
• 17:33
  Speaker 5: Here it is.
• 17:34
  Speaker 7: Mrs.
• 17:34
  Speaker 5: John Rico, 2274 Chavez.
• 17:35
  Speaker 6: The guy was there about 11.45 Saturday morning.
• 17:38
  Speaker 7: Well, that puts him in the running. First time he
• 17:40
  Speaker 7: ever showed in that neighborhood. First time, Skipper. Fresh kid,
• 17:43
  Speaker 7: not a very good salesman.
• 17:44
  Speaker 6: Here's the name of the company he's working for, the
• 17:46
  Speaker 6: Harrison News Distributors.
• 17:47
  Speaker 7: You check with them?
• 17:48
  Speaker 5: No, they're closed for the night. We'll call them the
• 17:50
  Speaker 5: first thing tomorrow.
• 17:50
  Speaker 8: Good.
• 17:51
  Speaker 10: Here's something else for you. I had a call from
• 17:53
  Speaker 10: Frank Renard this afternoon. What did he have to say?
• 17:56
  Speaker 10: Seems in the excitement just after the murder, Mrs. Renard
• 17:58
  Speaker 10: overlooked a couple of things.
• 18:00
  Speaker 5: What's that?
• 18:00
  Speaker 10: Well, they're missing a yellow table model radio... It was
• 18:04
  Speaker 10: in the bedroom where the old.
• 18:04
  Speaker 7: Lady was killed.
• 18:06
  Speaker 5: Well, that ties in with the robbery motive, huh?
• 18:07
  Speaker 7: Yeah, they're missing a ring, too. Belonged to Mrs. Renard.
• 18:10
  Speaker 7: Topaz ring. Supposed to be worth a little money.
• 18:12
  Speaker 5: But she didn't notice it was gone until today.
• 18:14
  Speaker 7: That's right.
• 18:15
  Speaker 5: You got the serial number on the radio?
• 18:16
  Speaker 6: Yeah, down here. Yeah, let's see. Yeah, Ben, here we are.
• 18:23
  Speaker 5: It's an Emerson model 511-180,000-277-609.
• 18:24
  Speaker 7: Not a small radio in town. There's only one with
• 18:27
  Speaker 7: that serial number on it. Track it down.
• 18:33
  Speaker 6: A complete description of the topaz ring and the serial
• 18:35
  Speaker 6: numbers and description of the yellow table model radio were
• 18:37
  Speaker 6: sent to the pawn shop detail. The information was then
• 18:40
  Speaker 6: placed on the stolen property list and relayed to every
• 18:42
  Speaker 6: pawn shop operator in the city. The next morning, Ben
• 18:45
  Speaker 6: and I interviewed the manager of the Harrison News Distributing Company. There,
• 18:48
  Speaker 6: the suspect had given his name as Sam Bricker. We
• 18:51
  Speaker 6: checked out his home address. Turned out to be a
• 18:53
  Speaker 6: gas station in North Holly. We took the suspect's job
• 18:56
  Speaker 6: application blank with a specimen of his handwriting and then
• 18:58
  Speaker 6: we drove back to the office.
• 19:00
  Speaker 5: Sam Bricker. We were unable to get a make on
• 19:02
  Speaker 5: the name from the record bureau.
• 19:04
  Speaker 6: Checked the cards on every known criminal who was cataloged
• 19:06
  Speaker 6: in the oddity file.
• 19:07
  Speaker 5: Having a pimply complexion. None of them matched. That night,
• 19:10
  Speaker 5: we got out an APB and a radiogram.
• 19:13
  Speaker 6: The suspect's trail led from one salesman's job to the next.
• 19:16
  Speaker 6: On his last job, he gave his name as Albert Berry.
• 19:19
  Speaker 6: His address is 1430 Palo Alto Drive.
• 19:21
  Speaker 5: It was in the Echo Lake District. Ben and I
• 19:23
  Speaker 5: drove out to check it.
• 19:24
  Speaker 7: 1428... 14.30. There it is, Joe.
• 19:29
  Speaker 5: Yeah. At least it's not a gas station, huh? Come on. Tiresome, huh?
• 19:41
  Speaker 8: Yeah.
• 19:42
  Speaker 5: I could stand a change.
• 19:44
  Speaker 8: Yes, what is it?
• 19:45
  Speaker 5: We're looking for an Albert Berry, ma'am. Does he live here? Mr.
• 19:48
  Speaker 8: Berry, I'm sorry. He and his wife moved four days ago.
• 19:54
  Speaker 6: We identified ourselves as police officers and had the landlady,
• 19:57
  Speaker 6: a Mrs.
• 19:58
  Speaker 5: Catherine Hoffman, show us the apartment which Berry and his
• 20:00
  Speaker 5: wife had occupied. It was still vacant.
• 20:02
  Speaker 6: In one of the closets in the apartment, we found
• 20:04
  Speaker 6: a cheap overnight bag. The lock on it was broken
• 20:06
  Speaker 6: and one of the seams had ripped.
• 20:09
  Speaker 8: I forgot about that old bag, and Mr. Berry told
• 20:12
  Speaker 8: me I could throw it away.
• 20:13
  Speaker 5: Take a look. I'm in. How long has Berry been married?
• 20:16
  Speaker 5: Do you know, Mrs.
• 20:17
  Speaker 9: Hoffman?
• 20:17
  Speaker 8: No, I don't. But the way they acted, lovey-dovey all
• 20:20
  Speaker 8: the time, I don't think they've been together long.
• 20:22
  Speaker 3: Hey, Joe. Look, some kind of an identification tag.
• 20:25
  Speaker 5: Yeah, let me see.
• 20:27
  Speaker 7: It's a tool disc.
• 20:28
  Speaker 5: It looks like that... Jameson Larrabee, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
• 20:33
  Speaker 8: You're not after Mr. Berry, are you, officer?
• 20:35
  Speaker 7: Yes, ma'am, we are. Did he leave a forwarding address?
• 20:37
  Speaker 8: I wish he did. I'm holding three letters for Mrs.
• 20:40
  Speaker 8: Berry in my apartment right now.
• 20:42
  Speaker 5: May we see them, please?
• 20:42
  Speaker 8: Certainly. Would you step this way, please? My apartment's just
• 20:45
  Speaker 8: across the hall.
• 20:46
  Speaker 7: Yes, ma'am.
• 20:49
  Speaker 8: Would you like a bottle of beer or something?
• 20:51
  Speaker 5: No, ma'am, thanks.
• 20:55
  Speaker 7: Let's see.
• 20:56
  Speaker 8: I thought I... Yes, here they are.
• 20:59
  Speaker 7: Three of them, Sergeant.
• 21:01
  Speaker 8: From her folks, I think.
• 21:02
  Speaker 5: Mrs.
• 21:03
  Speaker 8: Berry's from Fresno.
• 21:04
  Speaker 5: Oh, that's good. Do you want to copy down this
• 21:05
  Speaker 5: return address, ma'am?
• 21:06
  Speaker 7: Yeah, go ahead.
• 21:07
  Speaker 5: Okay. That's C.K. Ulrich, U-L-R-I-C-K. 525 North Lamona, Fresno.
• 21:13
  Speaker 7: Yeah, got it.
• 21:15
  Speaker 5: There you are, Mrs.
• 21:15
  Speaker 9: Hoffman.
• 21:16
  Speaker 5: By the way, did the Berry's say they'd call for
• 21:17
  Speaker 5: their mail?
• 21:18
  Speaker 8: Mrs. Berry did. That's why I'm holding on to it.
• 21:20
  Speaker 7: All right.
• 21:21
  Speaker 5: Just one more question. Do you remember if Mr. and Mrs.
• 21:23
  Speaker 5: Berry had a radio?
• 21:24
  Speaker 8: Yes, they did.
• 21:26
  Speaker 11: A small one.
• 21:27
  Speaker 7: Do you remember what brand it was?
• 21:29
  Speaker 8: No, I don't. It had a yellow case. That's all
• 21:32
  Speaker 8: I remember.
• 21:36
  Speaker 6: Before we left, we called Ed Backstrand, and he had
• 21:39
  Speaker 6: an immediate stakeout placed at the apartment house in case
• 21:41
  Speaker 6: the Berries returned.
• 21:42
  Speaker 5: To pick up their mail.
• 21:44
  Speaker 6: Ben and I went back to the office and placed
• 21:45
  Speaker 6: a call to.
• 21:46
  Speaker 5: The Pittsburgh Police Department.
• 21:47
  Speaker 6: We gave them the description and the number of the
• 21:49
  Speaker 6: tool disc which we'd found in Berry's old suitcase.
• 21:52
  Speaker 5: They said they'd check with.
• 21:53
  Speaker 6: The Jamison Larrabee Company in the morning, and then they'd
• 21:55
  Speaker 6: call us back. That night, Ben and I drove to
• 21:58
  Speaker 6: Fresno and checked in.
• 21:59
  Speaker 5: At the police station up there.
• 22:00
  Speaker 6: Two officers were assigned to stake out the Ulrich home.
• 22:03
  Speaker 6: We interviewed Mr. Ulrich, who identified himself as Albert Berry's father-in-law.
• 22:07
  Speaker 5: He told us his daughter had married the murder.
• 22:09
  Speaker 6: Suspect eight months before, and he gave us pictures of
• 22:11
  Speaker 6: Berry taken at the wedding. Ulrich told us that he'd
• 22:13
  Speaker 6: catch a Santa Fe train out of Fresno the next morning.
• 22:16
  Speaker 6: He wanted to be in Los Angeles to take his
• 22:18
  Speaker 6: daughter home when Berry was apprehended.
• 22:20
  Speaker 5: It was almost 2 a.m.
• 22:21
  Speaker 6: When Ben and I left Fresno and started back for
• 22:23
  Speaker 6: Los Angeles. We checked in at the office at 10
• 22:25
  Speaker 6: minutes past 8 the next morning. At 8.35, the call
• 22:28
  Speaker 6: came through from.
• 22:29
  Speaker 5: The Pittsburgh Police Department.
• 22:32
  Speaker 7: What did they say, Joe?
• 22:33
  Speaker 5: It was a tool disc, all right.
• 22:34
  Speaker 6: Jamison Larrabee Company issued 18 months ago to one of
• 22:36
  Speaker 6: their workers.
• 22:37
  Speaker 7: They give a name?
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: Albert Berry.
• 22:38
  Speaker 9: 11 a.m.
• 22:43
  Speaker 5: December the 5th. One month to the day since the
• 22:46
  Speaker 5: 62-year-old woman had been beaten to death.
• 22:48
  Speaker 6: The pictures of Barry and his wife, which had been
• 22:50
  Speaker 6: taken at their wedding, were printed up in wholesale lots
• 22:52
  Speaker 6: and distributed to all points.
• 22:54
  Speaker 5: Mr. Ulrich, Barry's father-in-law, arrived in town and got himself
• 22:57
  Speaker 5: a hotel room. We waited.
• 23:00
  Speaker 6: There was no report from the stakeout at the apartment house.
• 23:02
  Speaker 6: We checked back in at the office at five minutes
• 23:04
  Speaker 6: to one.
• 23:05
  Speaker 5: I'll get it. Homicide, Friday.
• 23:10
  Speaker 7: This is Mr.
• 23:11
  Speaker 5: Ulrich, Sergeant.
• 23:12
  Speaker 7: I just got a call from my wife in Fresno.
• 23:15
  Speaker 7: I thought you'd want to know.
• 23:16
  Speaker 5: What's that?
• 23:17
  Speaker 7: The wife got a letter from Norma. They're living in
• 23:19
  Speaker 7: South Pasadena, an apartment.
• 23:21
  Speaker 5: You got the address there?
• 23:22
  Speaker 7: Yes, sir.
• 23:22
  Speaker 5: That's what the wife called about.
• 23:24
  Speaker 7: It's 134 Norway Terrace.
• 23:26
  Speaker 5: When was the letter mailed, do you know?
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: Wife said it was marked December 3rd, day before yesterday.
• 23:31
  Speaker 5: Get your coat on, Ulrich. We'll be right over. Ben
• 23:37
  Speaker 5: and I picked up Mr.
• 23:38
  Speaker 6: Ulrich at his hotel and drove to the South Pasadena address.
• 23:42
  Speaker 6: Barry and his wife had the apartment on the top floor.
• 23:44
  Speaker 6: Neither of them were at home. The landlord let us
• 23:47
  Speaker 6: in with a passkey. In the bedroom, we found a
• 23:49
  Speaker 6: small yellow radio. We checked the serial numbers.
• 23:52
  Speaker 5: They matched.
• 23:53
  Speaker 6: It was the same radio stolen from the Renard house.
• 23:56
  Speaker 6: In the bedroom closet, we found two suitcases. We checked
• 23:58
  Speaker 6: through them.
• 23:59
  Speaker 7: There's nothing in this one, Joe. Here we are.
• 24:02
  Speaker 5: Look at these. What are they, Sergeant? A pair of
• 24:05
  Speaker 5: plastic gun butts.
• 24:06
  Speaker 7: Let's see, Joe.
• 24:07
  Speaker 5: One of them's been chipped, see? Sergeant, somebody coming up
• 24:11
  Speaker 5: the stairs. All right, let's get in the living room.
• 24:13
  Speaker 5: Be quiet.
• 24:22
  Speaker 11: Ben, what are you doing here? Who are these men?
• 24:27
  Speaker 7: Police, Norma. They want Albert. He killed a woman.
• 24:33
  Speaker 11: Dad.
• 24:33
  Speaker 3: Dad.
• 24:35
  Speaker 7: It's all right, Norma.
• 24:38
  Speaker 5: It'll be all right. Did you know your husband killed
• 24:40
  Speaker 5: a woman, Miss Berry?
• 24:44
  Speaker 11: He just told me last Saturday. We've been running away
• 24:49
  Speaker 11: for a month now. Moving all the time. I wanted
• 24:54
  Speaker 11: to know why. So he told me.
• 24:59
  Speaker 8: He said I was in it as much as he was.
• 25:01
  Speaker 5: And I'm tired of running. Why did he kill her?
• 25:06
  Speaker 5: Did he tell you that?
• 25:08
  Speaker 8: He said it broke in the house. He didn't know
• 25:12
  Speaker 8: anyone was home. The old woman was in the bedroom.
• 25:17
  Speaker 8: She started to cry out. He had a gun. He
• 25:21
  Speaker 8: hit her with it.
• 25:21
  Speaker 5: Where's your husband now?
• 25:23
  Speaker 11: I don't know. He said he'd come home for dinner.
• 25:28
  Speaker 8: About five. I bought the groceries.
• 25:31
  Speaker 5: What time you got, Ben?
• 25:33
  Speaker 7: Half past three. That ring you're wearing, Mrs. Berry, did
• 25:38
  Speaker 7: someone give you that?
• 25:39
  Speaker 8: Yes, why?
• 25:40
  Speaker 5: What kind of a stone is that?
• 25:42
  Speaker 7: Topaz.
• 25:44
  Speaker 11: Britt gave it to me. Why?
• 25:46
  Speaker 5: Nothing. We'll wait. Five o'clock came and went. Berry failed
• 25:53
  Speaker 5: to show. Five-thirty. Ulrich started to get nervous. Six o'clock. 6.30.
• 26:01
  Speaker 6: No sign of Barry. I went to the window and
• 26:03
  Speaker 6: kept an eye on the street below. At 6.45, a
• 26:04
  Speaker 6: light green Nash sedan pulled to a stop.
• 26:08
  Speaker 5: In front of the apartment house. A man got out
• 26:09
  Speaker 5: and went into the main floor entrance.
• 26:12
  Speaker 8: Bert.
• 26:14
  Speaker 11: I'll let him in.
• 26:15
  Speaker 5: All right. How long have you had the new car?
• 26:17
  Speaker 11: A couple of days.
• 26:19
  Speaker 8: Bert got it. Credit.
• 26:23
  Speaker 11: What do you want me to do now?
• 26:24
  Speaker 5: Does he have a key to the apartment here?
• 26:26
  Speaker 11: He lost.
• 26:27
  Speaker 5: Okay, when he rings, let him in. Just act natural.
• 26:30
  Speaker 8: Ben?
• 26:30
  Speaker 7: Yeah, yeah.
• 26:31
  Speaker 5: You cover me. I'll get the cuffs on him. Right.
• 26:40
  Speaker 3: Hi, Bert.
• 26:42
  Speaker 5: Look out, Joe! All right, drop it, Barry. Okay, Ben.
• 26:49
  Speaker 3: Yeah, he's fast with a gun.
• 26:54
  Speaker 8: Nice looking, isn't he, Sarge? on.
• 26:59
  Speaker 5: Let's take him in.
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: I love him.
• 27:03
  Speaker 8: I still love him.
• 27:05
  Speaker 11: But you're a cop. You wouldn't understand.
• 27:09
  Speaker 5: That's right. I wouldn't understand.
• 27:11
  Speaker 7: I'm a cop.
• 27:12
  Speaker 9: The story you have just heard was true.
• 27:21
  Speaker 3: Only the names were changed to protect the innocent.
• 27:24
  Speaker 2: On February 16th, 1947, trial was held in Superior Court,
• 27:29
  Speaker 2: Department 82, City and County of Los Angeles, State of California.
• 27:32
  Speaker 5: In a moment, the results of that trial.
• 27:34
  Speaker 3: Earlier tonight, you heard the reports of amazing increases in
• 27:37
  Speaker 3: Fatima smokers from New York to Los Angeles. Yes, all
• 27:41
  Speaker 3: over the country, Fatima is doubling and redoubling its sales.
• 27:45
  Speaker 5: And here's reason one.
• 27:46
  Speaker 4: Fatima is the long cigarette that contains an essential ingredient
• 27:51
  Speaker 4: of all the very popular cigarettes, Turkish tobacco.
• 27:54
  Speaker 5: Reason two.
• 27:55
  Speaker 4: Fatima has a much different, much better flavor and aroma
• 27:59
  Speaker 4: than any other long cigarette.
• 28:01
  Speaker 7: Reason three. To millions of smokers.
• 28:04
  Speaker 4: The name Fatima has always stood for the best in
• 28:07
  Speaker 4: cigarette quality. Smoke Fatima, the best of all long cigarettes.
• 28:21
  Speaker 2: Albert Ralph Berry was tried and convicted of murder in
• 28:24
  Speaker 2: the first degree. His wife, Norma Berry, was found innocent
• 28:28
  Speaker 2: of the charge that she harbored a criminal. She was
• 28:30
  Speaker 2: returned home with her father. Barry was executed in the
• 28:33
  Speaker 2: lethal gas chamber at the state penitentiary. You have just
• 28:41
  Speaker 2: heard Dragnet, a new series of authentic cases from official files.
• 28:45
  Speaker 2: Technical advice for Dragnet comes from the Office of Acting
• 28:49
  Speaker 2: Chief of Police, W.A.
• 28:50
  Speaker 3: Wharton, Los Angeles Police Department. Tonight's program is dedicated to
• 28:54
  Speaker 3: Private Hubert W. Estes of the District of Columbia Metropolitan
• 28:58
  Speaker 3: Police Department, who, on the night of May 16, 1947,
• 29:01
  Speaker 3: gave his life so that yours might be more secure.
• 29:09
  Speaker 4: Fatima Cigarettes, best of long cigarettes, has brought you Dragnet,
• 29:17
  Speaker 4: portion transcribed from Los Angeles.
• 29:20
  Speaker 5: Be sure to hear.
• 29:21
  Speaker 3: Songs by Morton Downey tonight on NBC.
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: This has been Dragnet, Episode 19, Secondhand Killer. Good night,
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: and thank you for sharing another visit to Radio Z.
• 29:40
  Speaker 5: Past.