10. Production 10

[00:00] Here's another in NBC's great parade of new shows. Ladies and gentlemen, the story you're about to hear is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent. NBC brings you Dragnet.

[00:34] You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned to homicide. There's a mad killer at large in your city. A woman has been brutally slain, the body mutilated. The picture is clear. The killer has a thirst for blood. Your job, get him. Dragnet, the documented drama of an actual crime, investigated and solved by the men who unrelentingly stand watch

[01:05] on the security of your home, your family, and your life. For the next 30 minutes, transcribed in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department, you will travel step by step on the side of the law through an actual case from official police files. From beginning to end, from crime to punishment, Dragnet is the story of your police force in action. It was Wednesday, January 12th. It was raining in Los Angeles.

[01:37] We were working the night watch out of homicide. My partner is Ben Romero. The boss is Ed Backstrand, chief of detectives. My name's Friday. I was on the way back from the morgue and it was 11.23 p.m. when I got to room 42. Homicide. Hi, Jill. Chief wants to see you. He's in there with Romero. Thanks, Chandler. How's the wife? Fine. How about your mother? Better, thanks. Hi, Jill. Hi. Honey, sit down. Did they post the body yet? In the morning. Pretty messy. Strangled and mutilated.

[02:10] The guy's a maniac, Skipper. The body shows it. A murder like this? Anybody's a suspect. The coroner looked at the body. He says the weapon was a long, sharp instrument. Find her in a hotel down on East 3rd Street. Manager Son discovered her about 7.30. You talked to him? It was too much for him. He passed out. Manager wasn't home. We'll check with him before midnight. Close to it now, Jill. We better get going. All right. The boys from the crime lab check the room. They're still down there, Ed. The place is a mess. Get back as soon as you can. We're working straight through on this thing.

[02:41] That's a hard shot. I'll get it. At the Lux Hotel, room 219, corner of South Grand and Cordova. Dead body. Possible homicide. At the Lux Hotel, room 219, corner of South Grand and Cordova. A dead body. What is it, Friday? Lux Hotel. Possible homicide. Busy night. Yeah. You coming, Ed? Right. Let's go.

[03:20] Six minutes later, Ed Backstrand, Ben and I pulled up in front of the Lux Hotel. The manager met us at the door and led the way up a narrow stairway to the second floor. The room number was 219. We were prepared for the worst. We got it. You're right, Romero. The guy must be a maniac. Two hotels, two murders. The same M.O. Three of us made a brief inspection of the room at the Lux Hotel.

[03:53] We took a few notes on the appearance of the girl's body and a brief description. Apparently, she'd been strangled to death first and then her body brutally mangled. Ben and I went back down to the lobby and the manager of Mr. Ford showed us the house book. The girl was registered together with a man, Mr. and Mrs. Philip Grant. We took the hotel register to have it checked for fingerprints and to photostat the handwriting. Ben notified the crime lab. Then we went back to the room and questioned the manager.

[04:23] Mr. and Mrs. Philip Grant, that's all I know. I never saw either one of them before tonight. When did they check in, Mr. Ford? About three hours ago. That's right, about nine. Maybe a little before. Did they register together? Yeah, a little before nine. They came in together. Did you let them in the room? Yes, sir, like I always do. It's a small place here. Maybe not first class, but I treat people right. What did the man look like? Do you remember? I think so. Kind of tall. Young, maybe 30 or so. Husky fellow. Had a mustache.

[04:53] How tall would you say, Mr. Ford? Oh, about your height, Wade. Must have been at least 180. Seemed like a nice fellow. Would you know him if you saw him again? I think so. People sure don't act like they look. You think it was him? Can you think of anybody else? Well, no. I never saw him before tonight. Either one of them. I don't know anything about it. Did you notice anything in particular about them when they came in? Well, he didn't show it, but it looked like she'd been drinking a little. Giggling, you know.

[05:23] And you didn't see this man grant leave the hotel? No, I didn't. I must have been checking the account books back at the desk. Guess he got by me. Is there a back entrance to the hotel, Mr. Ford? No, he had to come out this way, all right. How about the fire escape? I never thought of that. Say, I bet you cops think I'm trying to hide something. How did you happen to find the body? I don't know anything about it, honest. I've been running the hotel for ten years now. Everybody knows me around here. You can ask at the bank. All right, Mr. Ford. Now would you mind telling us how you happened to find the body?

[05:55] I don't want a lot of lousy newspaper publicity. Give the place a bad name. Can you blame me? The newspapers won't get your name from us. All we want to know is how you happened to find the body. Well, I told you. It's a small place here, but I like to treat people right. A couple hours after they checked in, I remembered I forgot to fill the ice water pitcher in the room. So I got some and took it up. The door was opened a little ways. It's got a bad catch on it. And the lights were on. I peeked in, and there she was.

[06:26] She was...well, the guy must have been crazy. Do you remember what time it was when you found her? Well, just before I called the cops, about half past eleven, I guess. All right, Ford, that's all for now. When the other officers get here, show them up, will you? Yes, sir, I sure will. Romero. Yes, Giver? Get on the phone downstairs and call the Metropolitan Division. Have them send us every available man from the reserve unit. We're going to patrol the area for the rest of the night. Right, Gene. The least we can do is make it hard for them.

[06:58] Two murders in seven hours. Yeah, both of them in a three-block radius. Same pattern, it's got to be the same guy. All right, we've got a description. What do you think? When the reserve unit shows up, have them cover this whole section of town. Pick up everybody who even comes close to that guy's description. All right, Ed. It's got to go fast, we can't lose a minute. One hour either way, it might mean another body. Like this one. Nine minutes later, at four minutes past midnight, the men from the crime lab showed up.

[07:31] It started to drizzle. They went over the room in detail. They dusted everything in the room for fingerprints, the walls, the doors, the fixtures in the bathroom, the lamps, chairs, everything. They took samples of the girl's blood and her lipstick. Small pieces of flesh and human hair were found under the girl's fingernails. The nails were scraped carefully and the contents put in an envelope, marked and sealed. Ed Backstrand ordered pictures taken of the room and the girl's body from different angles. Every object in the room that could have any possible tie-in with a murder was photographed.

[08:02] It was raining. The rear of the hotel where the fire escape was overlooked a vacant lot. Ben had a hunch. While the lab men were at work, we left the hotel and circled around into the lot for a look at the ground directly underneath the fire escape ladder. It was raining hard now. Must be an easier way to make a living. Mud's almost up to my knees. Line two. Watch your step. See any prints? No. Wait till my wife sees these new shoes. Put it on your expense account.

[08:33] All real fun. Ben, get that light over here. Look. Yeah. Good set of prints. Lucky that rain didn't start turning to wash them out by now. Yeah. Hand me that cover from the trash can over there. I'll cover them. Wait a minute. What? Here. On the edge of the fire escape ladder. Small hunk of fluff. Man suit. Well, looks like it. Might have caught himself in that sharp corner. I got it.

[09:03] All right. Come on. Let's get back. Yeah. Out of this mud bath. Yo. Huh? Let me have a light. You catch anything? Hunk of wrapping paper in that trash can. Stains on it. Open it up. Look. Yeah. A butcher knife. We went back to the Lux Hotel, room 219. The lab men were tearing the room apart. It was ten minutes to one.

[09:34] We gave the bloodstained knife and the piece of cloth we found on the fire escape to Lieutenant Lee Jones, head of the crime lab. We told him about the footprints just below the fire escape ladder. The knife will help us sew the cloth. I don't know about the footprints. You say you covered them? I tried, Lee. They still looked in pretty good shape. Maybe we can do something if the rain hasn't broken them down too bad. Bracken. Yeah, Lieutenant? You and Sloan get downstairs and take a look at those prints. If they're good enough, get a torch, dry them out, make a cast, right? Okay, Lieutenant. Come on, Sloan. That's about all I can do for you now, Ed.

[10:04] I think we got everything there is to get. All right, Jones. I'll follow you back to the lab in a couple of minutes. Okay, Ed. Good luck, fellas. Thanks, Lee. We're gonna need it. All right, Fratty, Romero. It's your baby for the rest of the night. Lee get anything? A few prints, a woman's purse under the bed. Don't know if it's hers or not. No identification. You gonna be at the crime lab, Ed? All night. As soon as we find anything, I'll let you know. Yeah? The gang of cops just came in the lobby. They asked for you. Must be the reserve men from Metropolitan.

[10:34] Tell them we'll be right down, Ford. Okay. You want us to handle it, Ed? That's right. Do just as I told you. Spread them out over the whole area. Cover the streets, the alleys, the flophouses, restaurants, bars, everything. You got a description to go on. Find the man that fits it. Right, Scarborough. Don't forget, the guy's a killer twice over. I don't think he'd hesitate on you. Be careful. We went down to the lobby and Ed Backstrand gave the reserve men their orders.

[11:06] Then Backstrand left and Ben and I took over. We picked up another half dozen men in addition to the men in the reserve unit. They were deployed over an area of a dozen square blocks. It was one of the toughest sections of the city. With a general description of the suspect, some of them were to travel on foot, some in cruiser cars. A few minutes before 1 a.m. there was a steady downpour. Visibility was bad. At three minutes past one, the manhunt was on. For the first 30 minutes, Ben and I cruised the general area between East 3rd and Colleague Streets and Alameda and Figueroa.

[11:38] No sign. The rain kept on. We sat and listened to the calls come in. 12A, call your station. 12A, KMA 367. Attention all units, recovered license plates in the sixth column. 4 Young, 7690. 41R, 788 Standard Avenue at 373.

[12:10] 41R, KMA 367. Unit 71, at 2816 West La Cienega, the 507 party. What do you think, Joe? Any hunches? I think he's still around, somewhere inside these 12 blocks. I'd bet on it. Five? All right, you're on. Want to check out a couple of these bars along here, getting on at closing time?

[12:40] That's a good idea. Pull over, hon. All right, let's check them for the next couple of blocks, huh? Right. For the next six blocks until closing time, Ben and I checked every bar and every informant we met along the way. The questions got to be automatic. Have you seen a man answering this description? Tall, dark, about 5 feet 11, 180 pounds, well-built mustache, about 30 years old.

[13:10] The answers got to be automatic, too. Sorry, officer, I haven't seen him. No, can't remember him. Try the place down the street. We kept on checking the bars until they closed for the night. Then we started on the all-night restaurants and coffee counties. We did plenty of legwork for the next hour, not a trace. About 2.30, the rain let up a little, and then it started in heavy all over again. That finishes that block.

[13:41] Yeah, better get the radio on. Beautiful weather. By the bucket full. Want a smoke? Hmm, thank you. Control 4, unit 80K, your location, KMA 367. 80K, your location, KMA 367. That's us, Joe, you want to take it? Yeah, I got it. 80K to Control 4, 80K to Control 4, our location, corner of Alameda and commercial, KMA 367. 80K, standby. Something doing.

[14:11] Maybe. No, hold on a minute. Control 4 to 80K, go to the crime lab, code 2. 80K to Control 4, KMA 367. Crime lab? Maybe those prints paid off. Well, I hope so. Let's go. That killer sure picked fine weather to work in. Feels like I've just been swimming in these clothes. Yeah, I hope those guys in the crime lab have the heater on. A hot bath and a warm bed lead me on.

[14:42] Attention all units. Hold it, let's get the radio. Attention all units, at 420 St. John's Place, a woman screaming. At 420 St. John's Place, a woman screaming. All right, double around, Ben. Hit the siren, I'll get the light. Right, hold on. Left turn on the mark, is that right? Yeah, watch out for those car tracks, they're wet. Hold on again. The alley up ahead to your right, huh? All right, pull up, Ben. Put the street light over there. There you are.

[15:12] All right, come on. Let's go. Officer! Officer, over here! All right, what happened? Let's have it. This girl, Rita, she was coming home up the street. A man, he tried to grab her. He slashed her coat. Look at her. Her eyes formed as he ran under the street light. Where'd he go? Down that way, down the alley, over that bench there, a big man. Davis, Davis, you there? Yeah, Joe. All right, Ben, go with Davis. Circle behind the alley. See what you can find, I'll call in. All right, come on, Ben. Yeah. Officer, look at her face. What's wrong with her? Severe state of shock, it looks like.

[15:42] Get her in the house, huh? I'll call an ambulance. 80K to Control 4. 80K to Control 4. Control 4, go ahead. Direct all units in the vicinity to converge on area around St. John's Place, from Jackson to Banning Street, a woman, attacked by a large man with a knife, suspect left seen on foot, possibly still in area. Request ambulance. KMA 367. 80K, Roger, stand by. Attention all units, attention all units, converge on area around St. John's Place,

[16:16] Jackson to Banning Street. 80K reports woman attacked by large man with knife, suspect left seen on foot. In three minutes, the area around St. John's Place was surrounded. For the next hour, the men combed the neighborhood back and forth, every building, every storehouse in the two square blocks of the street, and the street was surrounded by a large crowd of people. Every building, every storehouse in the two square blocks was searched from basement to attic. No trace. The girl, Rita, was hysterical.

[16:46] She could give us only a bare description of her attacker. At 3.45 a.m., a detail was assigned to patrol the area and the rest of the cars, and men were deployed again in the general area from Figueroa to Alameda Street, and East 3rd to College Street. The manhunt went on. So did the rain. At 3.54, Ben and I checked in at the Old City Jail Building, second floor, the crime lab. Chief Ed Backstrand and Lee Jones were waiting for us. Heard about the call. How'd he get away? Not sure it was him, Skipper. How do you mean?

[17:16] Well, the girl wasn't hurt bad for one thing. No attempted strangling. For another thing, the guy stole her purse. That doesn't sound like a man we're after. Did you get a description from the girl? Didn't jibe too well what she gave us. She was pretty hysterical. And you raked the neighborhood good? Every corner. Not a sign. You find anything? Yeah. Jones? Yeah, Ed? Fill them in, will you? Not one print on that knife you found, boys. Blood, but not a print. You're killers crazy like a fox. And how about the scrapings from the girl's fingernails, Lee? Didn't help too much. Rarely do. Not enough to go on. Gotta have a fair sized bit of flesh to run it for papillages.

[17:46] All we found under the girl's fingernails were small bits of skin. Yeah. She probably scratched the guy up some. Might have drawn blood. We had more luck with the footprints. You get an impression? Dried out the ground with torches and cast them. About size 10B. That's fine, Lee. But how about the prints? Only good one was her thumb. Real good. Got her off the wall near the light switch in the bathroom. You classified yet? Yep. Founded in our single fingerprint file. The print belongs to a man by the name of Long. Robert Long. You got a record, Ed? Yeah. Mr. Meener. Two arrests for drunkenness last October.

[18:17] Petty theft in December. The mom of she chose a dishonorable discharge from the United States Coast Guard in 1946. Age 29. 192 pounds. 5 feet 10 inches. Dark hair, dark eyes. That's close enough. We got even closer, Joe. Long works as a counterman at the Cottage Cafe down on South Flower. Started there last week on the early morning shift, but he didn't show up for work last night. Good. Where'd you get the tip? The knife, you boys found. Didn't have any prints, but it had a brand on it.

[18:47] We ran it down. It was taken from the Cottage Cafe. Any address on this Robert Long, Ed? Yeah. Got it from his boss. Grooming house in East First. Landlady says he hasn't been home in two nights. Now we wait. Grooming house is staked out and so is the Cottage Cafe, just in case Long decides to show up for work this morning. What time you got, Romero? Six minutes past four. All right. We've got every indication that Robert Long's the man we're after. His description, fingerprints, the knife, the footprint, his size.

[19:21] Maybe we were wrong. I don't think so. How about a motive, Ed? I think Robert Long likes to kill. He's thirsty for it. None of the victims were criminally attacked. They were strangled. Bodies mutilated. How about robbery? No. Two of the women he killed had money in their purses. He didn't touch it. Well, what's next, skipper? Back on the street? Figaro to Alameda. He's third to College Street. Keep an eye around that area and work it back and forth until we're positive he's not inside. I think he is.

[19:55] At ten minutes past four a.m., Ed Backstrand, Ben and I left the crime lab and drove to the surrounded area. It was still raining. We passed several patrolmen from the reserve unit making their rounds. They didn't look any more comfortable than we felt. At Broadway and Alpine Street, Ben and I got out and started patrolling on foot again. Backstrand followed in the car to maintain a radio check. We must have covered two dozen blocks and a half a dozen coffee counters before we got to the Criterion restaurant and doughnut shop,

[20:26] a few blocks up the street from the cottage cafe. Hey, skipper, you want to take a minute for some hot coffee? I'll keep an ear on the radio. You two go ahead. You look drenched. Yeah, we are. Will we bring you some back in a paper carton? Fine, thanks. Cream. No sugar. All right, Ed. Come on, Ben. Place is empty. Yeah. Yes, sir, gentlemen. What'll it be? Hot coffee? Yeah, there's two of us here. Can you fix up one to go?

[20:59] Sure thing. Say on that one to go, cream, no sugar. Right. Say, you fellas cops? Yeah, why? No offense, just wondering. Here you are. Thank you. Cop in uniform was around a couple hours ago, wanted to know if I'd seen some guy he was looking for. Tall, about 190 pounds, moustache, about 30 years old. Yeah, that's the description he gave me. He was looking for the guy. So are we. Say, that's good. That other cop came in right at my busiest time, a little after two when the bars closed.

[21:30] You know, it gets pretty rushed and I didn't have much time to think, so I just said no. Then after the cop left, I remembered. You saw a man answering that description tonight? Yeah. I would have told the cop, but I was rushed. You know how it is, no time to think, and then I remembered. Are you sure? Oh, I'm sure all right. Whoever he is, he's a lady killer. What do you mean? No offense. There was a sharp-looking dame down the end of the counter and this guy breezes in and picks her up. Talks to her about 20 minutes, buys her a cup of coffee, and they walk out together. Do you remember what she looked like? Oh, nice looking dame. Not beautiful, you know, more on the cute side.

[22:06] Ben, you got that morgue shot? Oh, yeah. Here, here it is. Thanks. Here's a picture. This the girl? Let me see. Yeah, that's her. Who is she? I don't know, mister. Down at the morgue, they call her Jane Doe, number seven. Just by accident, we'd come across a concrete lead on the killer's method of operation. The picture we showed the man in the donut shop was a shot of the strangler's first victim the night before. Evidently, the killer would enter a bar, coffee shop, or restaurant, strike up a conversation with a woman, make friends with her.

[22:42] Either buy her drinks or invite her to a bar in the neighborhood, and then the rest of the puzzle was still unsolved. We went back to the cottage cafe and checked with the men on stakeout. Not a sign of them, chief. How are you men covering the place? Baxter up in front in the booth across from the cash register. Lyman's back with the dishwashers. I'm at the counter. When's Long due to report for work, Dave? At five. About twenty minutes to go. You're lucky you're inside. It's wet out there. You'll look it. All right, Davis. We'll be around about five. Right, chief.

[23:19] Let's get back in the car. Where to, Skipper? Cruise the next two blocks, but don't go too far. If Long shows up for work this morning, we want to be around. The next ten minutes dragged by. The rain kept on. Backstrand chewed nervously on a cigar. At South Flower and First Street, the sewers were clogged with street refuse. The rain backed up and filled the intersection.

[23:52] A group of aircraft workers huddled together in a doorway on one corner, waiting for the bus. It was cold and damp. I opened one of the back windows in the car to get some fresh air in. Off in the distance and close by, we could hear the sounds of a big city waking up slow to a rainy January morning. It was eight minutes to five. Attention all units. Attention all units. At 7-8-0, East Main, a restaurant. Man answering description of murder suspect.

[24:23] All right, Romero. Step on it. Right, Skipper. About ten blocks away, Ed. Who's going to cover the men at the cottage cafe? If this is a blind lead, it won't take us long to find out. They can handle it alone if they have to. Hang on. Look out. We're skidding. That was a close one, Ben. Yeah. If this is the guy, I owe you five bucks, right? Yeah. Attention all units. Additional information on your call to 7-8-0, East Main.

[24:53] Officers in pursuit of suspect. Suspect is on foot. Step on it, Romero. Two more blocks, Skipper. Watch your spin. Next one to the left. Got it. That's the joint up ahead there. All right, watch your step and don't take chances. Don't play with him. Right. Here we go. He went out the back. Ran down that alley. Come on, Ben. Behind you. You men hustle it. Circle around the block and choke off the alley.

[25:23] Fast. That was a boom. Go for the break. Right. Over the fence, Ben. Ben, look out. Look out. You all right? It's not that good. Come on, Joe. All right. There he goes. Between the buildings. Stop or I'll shoot. The next house. He ducked into the basement. Right. Cover me. Right. Come on. He broke through the garage doors. There's Davis. Dave. Dave. He slipped through. Get down to the next corner and ring the block.

[25:55] Yeah. Ben. Ben, did you follow him? Yeah. Right on his tail. That warehouse. Couple of lots over. He went through the back. There he is, Joe. All right. Don't go in blind. Watch out. All right, Joe. You haven't got a chance. Come out with your hands up. He's not stopping, Joe. All right. Let's fan out. All right, Ben. Cover me. I'm going for the door. All right, Ben. Come on. You're clear.

[26:25] Did you spot him? There he is. Let's get him. Close. He's in a good spot. Let's move. He's up in the loft. Come on. Let's head for the stairs. Would you? Easy. Did you spot him, Ben? No. Not a sign. Ben, look out the packing tail. Kind of close, huh, Joe? Yeah. Let's get that punk now.

[26:55] Look out, Joe. There's another one. All right, you. We got the warehouse surrounded. Come on down. All right, then we'll blast you out. Joe, he's dropping down the ladder. He's going for the front door. They're waiting for you with Tommy guns out there. They'll cut you down. Stop. Joe, he's got the door open. He's making a break for it. He's crazy. He's trying to shoot his way out.

[27:31] Well, he asked for it. Yeah. Let's take a look. Messed up. Like his girlfriends. Maybe he just didn't like women. Maybe. Hi, Ed. You all right? Tired. This is him, huh? Even the scratches that girl made on his face.

[28:06] Description match? Five feet, ten. 192 pounds. Dark hair, dark eyes. Age, 29. Robbery. Dark hair, dark eyes. Age, 29. Robert Long. Killer. The story you have just heard is true. Only the names were changed to protect the innocent. You have just heard the tenth in a new series of authentic cases transcribed from official files.

[28:40] Technical advice for Dragnet is furnished by the Los Angeles Police Department. Tonight's program is dedicated to Detective Louis A. Abbott of the Chicago Police Department, who on the afternoon of March 3rd, 1947, gave his life so that yours might be more secure. Dragnet came to you from Los Angeles. If you enjoyed tonight's production of Dragnet, you'll probably want to listen this Saturday evening to a pair of adventure shows featuring two well-known Hollywood personalities.

[29:13] You'll enjoy Brian Donlevy, star of Dangerous Assignment. Also on Saturday's schedule, we'll be talking about the first episode of the series, The Last of Us. And the second episode of the series, The Last of Us. And the third episode of the series, The Last of Us. And the last episode of the series, The Last of Us. And the fourth episode of the series, The Last of Us. And the fourth episode of the series, The Last of Us.

[29:47] And the last episode will be on Sunday, January 5th, You