1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:13,180 The story you are about to hear is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent. 2 00:00:13,180 --> 00:00:18,140 Fatima cigarettes. Best of all, king-sized cigarettes brings you dragnet. 3 00:00:18,140 --> 00:00:32,080 You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned a homicide detail. A 40-year-old mother is found 4 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:36,920 murdered in the bedroom of her home. The body bears the marks of a savage attack with a knife. 5 00:00:36,920 --> 00:00:41,520 The killer showed no mercy. Your job? Get him. 6 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:49,560 See the difference. Taste the difference. Smoke the difference. 7 00:00:49,560 --> 00:00:55,340 You'll find that in Fatima, the difference is quality. Quality that gives you extra 8 00:00:55,340 --> 00:00:59,040 mildness. 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For the next 30 minutes, in cooperation with the 15 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:51,480 Los Angeles Police Department, you will travel step by step on the side of the law through an 16 00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:57,840 actual case transcribed from official police files. From beginning to end, from crime to punishment, 17 00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:01,040 Dragnet is the story of your police force in action. 18 00:02:01,040 --> 00:02:10,640 It was Tuesday, February 18th. It was cold in Los Angeles. We were working the day watch out a 19 00:02:10,640 --> 00:02:16,000 homicide detail. My partner's Ben Romero. The boss is Thad Brown, Chief of Detectives. My name's 20 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:21,680 Friday. It was 1043 a.m. when we got to Woodview High School, the Vice Principal's office. 21 00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:23,880 Good morning, ma'am. 22 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:24,760 Yes. 23 00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:28,480 I'd like to see the Vice Principal, please. I believe her name is Harmon. Miss Harmon? 24 00:02:28,480 --> 00:02:30,320 I'm Miss Harmon. What is it you wanted? 25 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:32,400 Police officers, ma'am. Is that identification? 26 00:02:32,400 --> 00:02:33,440 Oh, yes. 27 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:35,840 This is my partner, Sergeant Romero. My name's Friday. 28 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:36,880 I see. How do you do? 29 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:41,560 Well, we'd like to talk to one of your girls' students, Miss Harmon. Roberta Dixon. Understand 30 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:42,440 she's registered here? 31 00:02:42,440 --> 00:02:46,200 Roberta Dixon. Oh, yes. I believe I know her. 32 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:49,160 Would you mind calling her out of class, please? Would you like to talk to her? 33 00:02:49,160 --> 00:02:53,400 Well, we generally don't like to do that, Officer, not unless it's absolutely necessary. 34 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:55,600 It's pretty important, ma'am. We've got a message for the girl. 35 00:02:55,600 --> 00:02:58,120 I see. Couldn't it wait until after school hours? 36 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:01,520 I'm afraid not, Miss Harmon. It's about the girl's mother. It's pretty serious. 37 00:03:01,520 --> 00:03:03,920 Oh, has she been taken ill, is that it? 38 00:03:03,920 --> 00:03:05,200 No, ma'am. She's been murdered. 39 00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:11,960 Sixteen-year-old Roberta Dixon, the daughter of the murdered woman, was called out of her 40 00:03:11,960 --> 00:03:17,000 classroom and brought downstairs to the office of Miss Harmon, the girl's vice principal. 41 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:21,640 She was a thin, dark-haired girl in a sweater and skirt. With the help of Miss Harmon, whom 42 00:03:21,640 --> 00:03:25,240 the girl seemed to know fairly well, Ben and I broke the news of her mother's death as 43 00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:30,800 gently as we could. At first, the 16-year-old girl seemed to take the shock with some composure, 44 00:03:30,800 --> 00:03:35,760 but suddenly she broke down weeping and became hysterical. When she recovered sufficiently, 45 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:40,520 the girl agreed to come downtown with us to answer a few routine questions. Miss Harmon 46 00:03:40,520 --> 00:03:45,800 agreed to accompany her. 11.05 a.m. We checked back in at the office. Ben and I completed 47 00:03:45,800 --> 00:03:49,800 the 311 dead body report while Miss Harmon and the daughter of the murdered woman waited 48 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:51,400 in the adjoining room. 49 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:54,280 What was that time discovered, Joe? You got a note on it there? 50 00:03:54,280 --> 00:03:56,320 Yeah, let me look. 8.55 a.m. 51 00:03:56,320 --> 00:03:59,080 Oh, thanks. Hi, Joe. How are you? 52 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:01,720 Oh, hi, George. How you doing? 53 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:04,800 I can't complain. Got some checking out. I wonder if you'd help me. 54 00:04:04,800 --> 00:04:09,120 Well, I'll give it a try. Ben, you know George DeCovan, don't you, reporter from the Daily 55 00:04:09,120 --> 00:04:10,120 News? 56 00:04:10,120 --> 00:04:11,120 Yeah, I'm around. How are you? 57 00:04:11,120 --> 00:04:15,160 So I understand you two are working on that knife murder out on Pico, the dead woman they 58 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:16,160 found this morning? 59 00:04:16,160 --> 00:04:17,160 Yeah, that's right. 60 00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:21,280 A few things I'd like to check with you before I do the story. The victim's name was Florence 61 00:04:21,280 --> 00:04:22,560 Eleanor Dixon, right? 62 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:23,560 That's right, George, yeah. 63 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:27,640 A couple more things. You're stopping me if I got it wrong. The victim was 40 years old, 64 00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:32,000 divorced one child, daughter 16. Body was discovered nine o'clock this morning by a 65 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:35,240 next door neighbor. You see the neighbor's name is Esther Fenwick. 66 00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:37,760 No, I think the name's Fenmore, George. 67 00:04:37,760 --> 00:04:44,480 Oh, thanks. F-E-N-M-O-R-E. You understand you haven't got much to go on. No murder weapons, 68 00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:45,480 no other leads. 69 00:04:45,480 --> 00:04:47,760 No, not much of anything so far. We just started on this thing. 70 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:50,000 How about the husband of the dead woman? You get anything there? 71 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:53,960 Well, he divorced Mrs. Dixon two years ago. There's no line on him yet. We're still checking 72 00:04:53,960 --> 00:04:57,440 him out. We might have some word later on in the day for him. 73 00:04:57,440 --> 00:04:59,600 Any other possible suspects in mind, or do you want to say? 74 00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:01,640 No, I don't think so. It's still wide open. 75 00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:03,960 How about him on it? Has that been established yet? 76 00:05:03,960 --> 00:05:06,920 Could have been one of a dozen things. We're going to have to do some digging before we 77 00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:07,920 can say definitely. 78 00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:11,480 It doesn't look like it was a robbery motive. Well, that's about all we can tell you for 79 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:12,480 sure, George. 80 00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:16,120 See, I was over at the morgue when they brought the body, and it's the worst I've seen in 81 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:17,120 a long time. Brutal. 82 00:05:17,120 --> 00:05:21,160 Uh-huh. It's pretty bad. I suppose there's nothing from the crime lab yet. 83 00:05:21,160 --> 00:05:25,140 No. I think they just got back from the house a few minutes ago. If you want to drop by 84 00:05:25,140 --> 00:05:27,600 later on this afternoon, we might have something new for you. 85 00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:28,600 Okay, thanks. 86 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:32,920 Oh, say, I saw you bringing the girl in a few minutes ago. Victim's daughter. I'd like 87 00:05:32,920 --> 00:05:33,920 to get a couple of pictures of her. 88 00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:35,920 Well, how about making a little later on, George? 89 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:37,920 I think she'd still upset. Pretty much, it'd be a shock for you. 90 00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:39,920 Okay, I'll be waiting out in the hall with a photographer. 91 00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:40,920 Okay. 92 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:42,920 Give me a call, just a couple of shots. It won't take a minute. 93 00:05:42,920 --> 00:05:43,920 You betcha, George. We'll call you. 94 00:05:43,920 --> 00:05:44,920 Okay. 95 00:05:44,920 --> 00:05:46,920 You about finished with that report, Ben? 96 00:05:46,920 --> 00:05:49,920 Yeah, all done. I guess we better talk to the girl, huh? 97 00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:50,920 Yeah. All right. 98 00:05:50,920 --> 00:05:54,920 The morgue say when they're going to post the body? 99 00:05:54,920 --> 00:05:57,920 Sometime today. We ought to have the results first thing tomorrow morning. 100 00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:03,920 Miss Harmon? 101 00:06:03,920 --> 00:06:06,920 I think she's a lot better now, Sergeant. 102 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:10,920 Roberta, the officers would like to talk to you a few minutes if you feel up to it. 103 00:06:10,920 --> 00:06:14,920 All right. Who killed my mother? Have you found out? 104 00:06:14,920 --> 00:06:17,920 Not yet, Roberta. We think you might be able to help her, so... 105 00:06:17,920 --> 00:06:20,920 It's so hard to believe. I just saw her this morning. She was all right then. 106 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:23,920 Well, you try to take it easy, Roberta. We'll make it as brief as possible. 107 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:26,920 Are you and your mother the only people living at your house, no one else? 108 00:06:26,920 --> 00:06:31,920 No, me and my mother, that's all. My father used to live with us. He doesn't anymore. 109 00:06:31,920 --> 00:06:33,920 How long has it been since your father left? 110 00:06:33,920 --> 00:06:38,920 I'm not sure. About five years, I think. He and mama didn't get along. They got divorced. 111 00:06:38,920 --> 00:06:42,920 Do you see your father at all anymore? I mean, does he ever come to your house to visit? 112 00:06:42,920 --> 00:06:46,920 He did once. It was about a year ago, I think. It wasn't much good. 113 00:06:46,920 --> 00:06:51,920 My mother argued all the time he was there, and he left. He hasn't been back since. 114 00:06:51,920 --> 00:06:55,920 Has he been in contact at all with your mother? Do you know? Does he write her letters, call her on the phone? 115 00:06:55,920 --> 00:07:00,920 No. The last time was when he came to our house. I haven't heard anything about him since. 116 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:05,920 I don't even know where he is. I don't care, I guess. I hardly even knew him. 117 00:07:05,920 --> 00:07:08,920 I'd like to have you think about this carefully now, Roberta. 118 00:07:08,920 --> 00:07:11,920 Did your mother have any close friends who used to come to the house quite a bit? 119 00:07:11,920 --> 00:07:14,920 Yes. Two or three women friends of hers at work. 120 00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:15,920 Any men friends? 121 00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:22,920 No. Mama didn't have any men friends. She didn't like men. She said they were all no good. She used to tell me that all the time. 122 00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:25,920 Do you have any relatives we can contact? 123 00:07:25,920 --> 00:07:32,920 I don't know about my father's side. My mother has a brother and sister in West Virginia. Dresses at home. 124 00:07:32,920 --> 00:07:35,920 What am I going to do? Why would anybody kill my mother? 125 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:39,920 All right. Now you try to take it easy, Roberta. Everything's going to work out all right. 126 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:46,920 Look, now, do you think you can give us a list of most of the people your mother knew, friends around the neighborhood, the people she knew at her work? 127 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:50,920 Yes, I think so. Most of them were in her address book. I think I know where it is. 128 00:07:50,920 --> 00:07:51,920 All right. Fine. 129 00:07:51,920 --> 00:07:56,920 Just before you left for school this morning, Roberta, was there anyone in the house besides you and your mother? 130 00:07:56,920 --> 00:07:57,920 No, just the two of us. 131 00:07:57,920 --> 00:07:59,920 Was your mother expecting anyone? 132 00:07:59,920 --> 00:08:00,920 Not that I knew of. 133 00:08:00,920 --> 00:08:03,920 Your mother was all right, was she? There didn't seem to be anything bothering her? 134 00:08:03,920 --> 00:08:13,920 No. She acted all right to me, just like any other morning. We got up at quarter to seven. I got dressed. Mama took a shower. I fixed breakfast. We ate, and then I left for school. 135 00:08:13,920 --> 00:08:14,920 About what time was that, Roberta? 136 00:08:14,920 --> 00:08:32,920 A little before eight, the usual time. I have my first class at nine o'clock. When I left Mama, she was just finishing her breakfast. I said goodbye. It was the last time you saw her. Can we talk after a while, please? Maybe I'll feel better. Can't talk now. 137 00:08:32,920 --> 00:08:35,920 Oh, sure. That's all right. Would you like to rest here? 138 00:08:35,920 --> 00:08:41,920 I don't know why I'm crying. It's stupid. I don't care anyway. No reason to cry. 139 00:08:41,920 --> 00:08:43,920 You'd better get some rest, youngster. 140 00:08:43,920 --> 00:08:46,920 No reason. It doesn't make sense crying about Mama. 141 00:08:46,920 --> 00:08:47,920 How's that? 142 00:08:47,920 --> 00:08:52,920 I'm not sorry. I'm glad she's dead. 143 00:08:52,920 --> 00:09:00,920 Early that afternoon, after she'd rested sufficiently and recovered herself, we had another interview with Roberta Dixon, the teenage daughter of the murdered woman. 144 00:09:00,920 --> 00:09:10,920 Miss Harmon, the vice principal, went back to the school, and a policewoman was called in to be present during the interrogation. Again, she insisted that she wasn't at all sorry that her mother was dead. 145 00:09:10,920 --> 00:09:15,920 She said that privately she didn't have any love for either one of her parents, least of all her mother. 146 00:09:15,920 --> 00:09:26,920 She told the usual story of a broken home, a father who showed little interest in his daughter while providing a good home for her, a strict, overbearing mother who apparently made no effort to understand the girl. 147 00:09:26,920 --> 00:09:33,920 We continued to interview Roberta Dixon, but outside of what she'd already told us, she showed no further knowledge of the murder. 148 00:09:33,920 --> 00:09:46,920 Pending action by the court, we had the girl placed in the custody of the juvenile authorities. 310 p.m. Ben and I drove back to the murder house on South Pico Boulevard where we met police reporter George DeKoven. 149 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:57,920 Together with Brian and Ortiz, we continued our preliminary investigation. We rechecked the immediate area of the Dixon home and talked again with the neighbors. We failed to come up with anything new. 150 00:09:57,920 --> 00:10:05,920 425 p.m. Along with the reporter George DeKoven, Ben and I went back to the murder house. 151 00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:10,920 Well, I don't know. It doesn't seem to jive that time of morning. It's possible, though. 152 00:10:10,920 --> 00:10:11,920 What's that, Joe? 153 00:10:11,920 --> 00:10:13,920 Prowler. Might have been it. Do you think so? 154 00:10:13,920 --> 00:10:14,920 No, we've already run that down. 155 00:10:14,920 --> 00:10:15,920 Yeah? 156 00:10:15,920 --> 00:10:25,920 We checked communications. There's no recent complaints about anybody prowling the neighborhood. We talked to the neighbors, too. No indication of it. No sign anybody tried to break in here either. 157 00:10:25,920 --> 00:10:32,920 Got me. I can't figure. And Dixon woman sure kept to herself. Lived here 11 years and we can't dig up more than half a dozen neighbors she already knew. 158 00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:38,920 Yeah, business with her daughter, too. It sure stacks up pretty strange. Didn't the crime-web crew find anything this morning, Joe? 159 00:10:38,920 --> 00:10:44,920 No, nothing great. A jacket, a pair of shoes, a few stains on them. Took them in to run a benzidine test. That's about the size of it. 160 00:10:44,920 --> 00:10:46,920 Sure a slow start. 161 00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:49,920 Yeah. I expect a little more from the neighbors. 162 00:10:49,920 --> 00:10:58,920 No, die. You know, it'd be different if a thing happened in the middle of the night, according to the daughter. It must have happened at least after 8.30 this morning. 163 00:10:58,920 --> 00:11:03,920 Now, if the killer got in the house after that, you'd think somebody on the block would have noticed it. Neighbors close by on either side. 164 00:11:03,920 --> 00:11:08,920 How about checking out in the yard and back? I didn't get too good a look around this morning. 165 00:11:08,920 --> 00:11:13,920 Well, there's nothing more to cover in here. Crime-web's been all over. 166 00:11:13,920 --> 00:11:16,920 And how about where this Mrs. Dixon worked, Joe? Anybody tag base there? 167 00:11:16,920 --> 00:11:23,920 Yeah, Tommy Bryan did. Hotel down on South Grand. She worked in the living room. A couple people she knew there. They couldn't tell them anything. 168 00:11:23,920 --> 00:11:24,920 How about some of her other friends? 169 00:11:24,920 --> 00:11:26,920 No, nothing yet. We're still checking. 170 00:11:26,920 --> 00:11:32,920 Go ahead, Joe. Tell me. 171 00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:36,920 Oh, it's a big backyard. Kept it nice, didn't it? 172 00:11:36,920 --> 00:11:41,920 You want to check alongside here, Ben, with the house? I'll give the back of the yard a look. 173 00:11:41,920 --> 00:11:47,920 Yeah, okay. Good size garage, huh? Pretty hard to find them like that anymore. 174 00:11:47,920 --> 00:11:53,920 Pretty good size lot, too. You sure must have worked at keeping it up. There's not a weed on the place, is there? 175 00:11:53,920 --> 00:11:57,920 Yeah. The more you can save for the neighbors. 176 00:11:57,920 --> 00:11:59,920 Have a look, George, down here. Huh? 177 00:11:59,920 --> 00:12:03,920 Flowerbed here. Two little mounds of dirt. You see them? 178 00:12:03,920 --> 00:12:04,920 Oh, yeah. 179 00:12:04,920 --> 00:12:08,920 The ground looks like it's been recently turned, wouldn't you say? 180 00:12:08,920 --> 00:12:12,920 For some reason. I don't know what that's supposed to mean. 181 00:12:12,920 --> 00:12:17,920 Yeah. Small wooden crosses pressed down on each one of the mounds. 182 00:12:17,920 --> 00:12:21,920 Queer one, huh? Looks like a couple of small graves, doesn't it? 183 00:12:21,920 --> 00:12:23,920 You want to reach me that stick over there, George? 184 00:12:23,920 --> 00:12:24,920 Oh, yeah. Here you go. 185 00:12:24,920 --> 00:12:28,920 Thank you. 186 00:12:28,920 --> 00:12:30,920 Have a look here. 187 00:12:30,920 --> 00:12:34,920 Nice. Nothing on my end. How are you doing? 188 00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:35,920 What's this? 189 00:12:35,920 --> 00:12:38,920 Oh, we're not sure ourselves. Wait a minute. 190 00:12:38,920 --> 00:12:39,920 Uh-huh. 191 00:12:39,920 --> 00:12:40,920 What is it? 192 00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:42,920 Wait a minute. 193 00:12:42,920 --> 00:12:44,920 You all right? How many are? 194 00:12:44,920 --> 00:12:47,920 A bird. A little canary. 195 00:12:47,920 --> 00:12:51,920 How about that? Hasn't been buried long. 196 00:12:51,920 --> 00:12:53,920 Look here. At the breast. 197 00:12:53,920 --> 00:12:54,920 What do you think, a knife? 198 00:12:54,920 --> 00:13:01,920 Could be. Sharp instrument of some kind. Just a minute. I'm going to try this other mound here. 199 00:13:01,920 --> 00:13:10,920 Wait a minute, Joe. Yeah. It's another one. Yellow canary. Same thing. Look at the breast. 200 00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:13,920 Neither one's been buried for more than a few days. 201 00:13:13,920 --> 00:13:16,920 Funny one. Did Dixon's raise canaries, you know? 202 00:13:16,920 --> 00:13:18,920 I don't know. I don't think so. 203 00:13:18,920 --> 00:13:20,920 It sure doesn't make any sense to me. 204 00:13:20,920 --> 00:13:25,920 If they didn't want the bird, you'd think they'd give them away. Why go slaughter them like this? 205 00:13:25,920 --> 00:13:30,920 Yeah, well, it works both ways. Deep wounds in the chest. Some kind of sharp weapon. 206 00:13:30,920 --> 00:13:31,920 Yeah. 207 00:13:31,920 --> 00:13:32,920 The Dixon woman. 208 00:13:32,920 --> 00:13:34,920 She died the same way. 209 00:13:34,920 --> 00:13:44,920 4.35 p.m. We took the two canaries, wrapped them in paper, and brought them downtown to Lieutenant Lee Jones at the crime lab to be processed. 210 00:13:44,920 --> 00:13:51,920 He was still running tests on the stained jacket and pair of shoes which had been found in the house among the dead woman's personal effects. 211 00:13:51,920 --> 00:13:57,920 5.15 p.m. We checked for the office, and then we drove over to Juvenile Hall to see Roberta Dixon. 212 00:13:57,920 --> 00:14:01,920 Apparently, she was in a much better frame of mind. 213 00:14:01,920 --> 00:14:09,920 I talked to Miss Harmon this afternoon, our vice principal. She wants me to come and stay with her for a while. Hope she can arrange it. It should be nice. 214 00:14:09,920 --> 00:14:13,920 We were back at your house this afternoon, Roberta. We found something we'd like to ask you about. 215 00:14:13,920 --> 00:14:14,920 What's that? 216 00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:17,920 Do you keep any pets in your house? I mean, either you or your mother? 217 00:14:17,920 --> 00:14:19,920 Well, no. Not usually. Why? 218 00:14:19,920 --> 00:14:21,920 How do you mean, not usually? 219 00:14:21,920 --> 00:14:25,920 Well, we didn't up until a week ago. Mama didn't like animals. She didn't want them around. 220 00:14:25,920 --> 00:14:26,920 Mm-hmm. 221 00:14:26,920 --> 00:14:30,920 Then I got these two canaries. I bought them with my own money. I work after school, you know. 222 00:14:30,920 --> 00:14:31,920 I see. 223 00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:36,920 I bought a cage for them, too. My mother was mad when I brought them home. She didn't like any kind of animals. 224 00:14:36,920 --> 00:14:40,920 She kept preaching at me. She finally made me get rid of them. 225 00:14:40,920 --> 00:14:42,920 How'd you do that, Roberta? 226 00:14:42,920 --> 00:14:44,920 I got a knife, and I killed them. 227 00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:56,920 See the difference. Taste the difference. 228 00:14:56,920 --> 00:14:58,920 Smoke the difference. 229 00:14:58,920 --> 00:15:01,920 You'll find that in Fatima, the difference is quality. 230 00:15:01,920 --> 00:15:07,920 Quality that gives you extra mildness. A much different, much better flavor and aroma. 231 00:15:07,920 --> 00:15:17,920 Yes, in king-size Fatima, you get all the advantages of extra length, plus Fatima quality, which no other king-size cigarette has. 232 00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:26,920 Fatima, best of all king-size cigarettes. Definitely the best quality in its class, but the same price as the cigarettes you're now smoking. 233 00:15:26,920 --> 00:15:36,920 Remember, thousands of Americans are switching to Fatima. Insist on Fatima quality. So why wait? Switch to Fatima today. 234 00:15:36,920 --> 00:15:42,920 Look for the sunny yellow pack. Buy Fatima. Best of all king-size cigarettes. 235 00:15:42,920 --> 00:15:51,920 Remember, thousands and thousands of Americans are switching to king-size Fatima. Insisting on Fatima quality. 236 00:15:51,920 --> 00:16:00,920 So compare Fatima yourself. When you see the difference, taste the difference, smoke that difference, you'll switch to Fatima. 237 00:16:00,920 --> 00:16:04,920 Because in Fatima, the difference is quality. 238 00:16:04,920 --> 00:16:11,920 Look for the sunny yellow pack. Buy Fatima. Best of all king-size cigarettes. 239 00:16:11,920 --> 00:16:24,920 February 18th, the Dixon girl was released to the custody of Miss Harmon pending action by the juvenile court at 9 p.m. 240 00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:28,920 Ben and I double-checked with Lieutenant Lee Jones at the crime lab. 241 00:16:28,920 --> 00:16:34,920 We noticed the school jacket and a pair of shoes which had been found in the closet in the home of the murdered woman, Mrs. Florence Dixon. 242 00:16:34,920 --> 00:16:40,920 Apparently, the clothing belonged to the daughter, Roberta. There were several dark stains on each of the articles. 243 00:16:40,920 --> 00:16:48,920 They'd been checked thoroughly. First, a benzidine test to determine if they were blood stains, then a biological precipitant test to classify them further. 244 00:16:48,920 --> 00:16:56,920 There wasn't any doubt in Lee's mind that the stains were recent, but they were made by human blood, the same blood type as that of the murdered woman. 245 00:16:56,920 --> 00:17:03,920 It was a little hard to believe, but the evidence on hand pointed to only one prime suspect, 16-year-old Roberta Dixon. 246 00:17:03,920 --> 00:17:10,920 Early the following morning, we checked back in at the office. Ben went across the street to see if the coroner's autopsy report was ready. 247 00:17:10,920 --> 00:17:18,920 8.05 a.m. I checked by communications. They had a report on the tracer we'd gotten out on the murder victim's husband, a Charles Dixon. 248 00:17:18,920 --> 00:17:23,920 I picked it up and headed back to the office. 249 00:17:23,920 --> 00:17:28,920 Morning, Joe. Oh, hi, George. You got the message I left for you? I'll put it on your desk over in the press room. 250 00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:31,920 Yeah, I got it. Thanks. How's it look this morning? Anything new? 251 00:17:31,920 --> 00:17:38,920 Well, this here, an answer on that tracer we got out on Mrs. Dixon's husband. He's been living up north for the past year, San Francisco. 252 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:43,920 That so? Still up there? No, not according to this. He died six months ago, heart attack. 253 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:46,920 What do you figure? Well, there's not much choice. 254 00:17:46,920 --> 00:17:51,920 Joe, oh, hi, George. Hi. Autopsy report. Corner just got it out. What's the word? 255 00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:56,920 It doesn't jive with the story we got that Corner places a time of death close to 7.30 a.m. yesterday. 256 00:17:56,920 --> 00:18:01,920 Cause of death is what we figured, chest wounds, some kind of a sharp weapon. There's something else. 257 00:18:01,920 --> 00:18:08,920 According to the girl, she had breakfast with her mother before she left for school. Corner says Mrs. Dixon hadn't eaten for at least 12 hours before she died. 258 00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:13,920 What was that time of death, Ben? 7.30 a.m., no later. Well, I guess we better move on it, huh? 259 00:18:13,920 --> 00:18:21,920 I am. What's the angle? Well, the daughter, she says she didn't leave the house until 8.30. 260 00:18:21,920 --> 00:18:28,920 Along with the policewoman, Ben and I drove out to the home of the high school vice principal, Miss Harmon, where the suspect, Roberta Dixon, was staying. 261 00:18:28,920 --> 00:18:33,920 There was no one there. We checked at the high school. Miss Harmon told us that she'd brought Roberta to school that morning. 262 00:18:33,920 --> 00:18:37,920 She thought that if the girl attended classes, it had helped keep her mind off her troubles. 263 00:18:37,920 --> 00:18:42,920 Miss Harmon checked the classroom the Dixon girl was supposed to be in, but she wasn't there. 264 00:18:42,920 --> 00:18:46,920 Her teachers were contacted. None of them had seen her that morning. 265 00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:51,920 9.40 a.m., we drove over to the Dixon home. We found Roberta in the back bedroom. 266 00:18:51,920 --> 00:18:59,920 She was sitting calmly at a sewing machine, stitching ruffles on a dress. In one corner of the room, there was an empty bird cage. 267 00:18:59,920 --> 00:19:05,920 I'm pretty busy right now. I've got this sewing to do. What do you want to talk to me about? 268 00:19:05,920 --> 00:19:08,920 We've got a few more questions for you, Roberta. It's about your mother. 269 00:19:08,920 --> 00:19:11,920 She's dead, isn't she? Do we have to talk about it? Yeah, I'm afraid we do. 270 00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:15,920 Why do we? You just told me she was dead. There's no sense in talking about dead people. 271 00:19:15,920 --> 00:19:20,920 Anyway, I've got this sewing to do. I have to get finished. There. 272 00:19:24,920 --> 00:19:32,920 Isn't that pretty? These ruffles go all the way around the bottom of the skirt. Here, like this. Beautiful color, brown. You like it? 273 00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:35,920 You want to tell us what happened, Roberta, yesterday morning? 274 00:19:35,920 --> 00:19:37,920 Yesterday? I already told you, didn't I? 275 00:19:37,920 --> 00:19:40,920 We don't think you were telling the truth. You want to go over it again for us? 276 00:19:40,920 --> 00:19:46,920 I've got this sewing to do. You can see that, can't you? Three more rows of ruffles go on. Right here. 277 00:19:50,920 --> 00:19:53,920 I have to get it finished. It takes time, you know. 278 00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:56,920 I think you better let the sewing go, Roberta. 279 00:19:56,920 --> 00:19:58,920 Oh, no, I couldn't do that. I have to get it finished. 280 00:19:58,920 --> 00:20:01,920 I'm afraid this is a little more important. I think you realize that. 281 00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:04,920 I went over the whole thing for you already. I told you everything. 282 00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:07,920 Wasn't the truth. You know that, Roberta. Why do you say that? 283 00:20:07,920 --> 00:20:09,920 Was it the truth? What do you expect me to say? 284 00:20:09,920 --> 00:20:10,920 That's up to you. 285 00:20:10,920 --> 00:20:14,920 You think I lied, don't you? That's stupid. I haven't got any reason to lie. 286 00:20:14,920 --> 00:20:16,920 Did you kill her, Roberta? What? 287 00:20:16,920 --> 00:20:18,920 Did you kill your mother? 288 00:20:18,920 --> 00:20:21,920 I told you everything already. It's just the way it was. 289 00:20:21,920 --> 00:20:25,920 Mom and I got up and had breakfast and I went to school. That's all. 290 00:20:25,920 --> 00:20:27,920 I don't have any reason to lie. 291 00:20:27,920 --> 00:20:29,920 Oh, excuse me. 292 00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:35,920 Hello? Oh, hi, Fran. 293 00:20:35,920 --> 00:20:39,920 Yeah, I'm working on it now. It's going to be beautiful. 294 00:20:39,920 --> 00:20:42,920 What? Oh, no, that's all right, sure. 295 00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:45,920 Oh, thanks. Yeah, I'm all right. 296 00:20:45,920 --> 00:20:47,920 Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. 297 00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:50,920 Look, can you call me back later? 298 00:20:50,920 --> 00:20:54,920 Yeah, I'll be here. Okay, honey, bye. 299 00:20:54,920 --> 00:20:56,920 I'm sorry, officers. My girlfriend Fran. 300 00:20:56,920 --> 00:20:57,920 Mm-hmm. 301 00:20:57,920 --> 00:20:59,920 She's a good friend of mine. She can vouch for me. 302 00:20:59,920 --> 00:21:01,920 She'll tell you I'm not a liar. 303 00:21:01,920 --> 00:21:05,920 Do you own a pair of brown and white saddle oxfords, Roberta? 304 00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:06,920 No, why? 305 00:21:06,920 --> 00:21:08,920 How about a school jacket, green plaid? 306 00:21:08,920 --> 00:21:12,920 No, I don't like green. Brown's my favorite color. 307 00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:14,920 The green plaid jacket was found in the house here. 308 00:21:14,920 --> 00:21:18,920 It was stuffed back in the hall closet. It had your name stenciled on it. 309 00:21:18,920 --> 00:21:22,920 Oh, yeah. That old thing. I don't even wear it anymore. 310 00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:25,920 Look at that. Won't be pretty when I get it finished. 311 00:21:25,920 --> 00:21:29,920 That jacket of yours, Roberta, they found blood stains on it. 312 00:21:29,920 --> 00:21:31,920 On the shoes, too. 313 00:21:31,920 --> 00:21:33,920 Roberta? 314 00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:35,920 I already told you, the shoes aren't mine. 315 00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:36,920 The jacket is. 316 00:21:36,920 --> 00:21:40,920 Why do you keep calling me a liar? Can't you believe me for once? 317 00:21:40,920 --> 00:21:43,920 Isn't it bad enough the way things are? 318 00:21:43,920 --> 00:21:47,920 Now, the last time we talked to you, you said you left the house at 8.30 yesterday morning. Is that right? 319 00:21:47,920 --> 00:21:50,920 Yes, it was around 8.30. 320 00:21:50,920 --> 00:21:53,920 Well, we got the report on your mother this morning, Roberta. 321 00:21:53,920 --> 00:21:56,920 The coroner says she died at 7.30. No later. 322 00:21:56,920 --> 00:21:58,920 That's stupid. How could he tell anyway? 323 00:21:58,920 --> 00:21:59,920 He can tell. 324 00:21:59,920 --> 00:22:00,920 He's a liar. 325 00:22:00,920 --> 00:22:04,920 Something else, Roberta. You told us you and your mother got up and you had breakfast together. 326 00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:08,920 Yeah, we had breakfast together. Why are you picking on me? 327 00:22:08,920 --> 00:22:13,920 You couldn't have had breakfast together. The time she died, your mother hadn't eaten anything for 12 hours. 328 00:22:13,920 --> 00:22:15,920 I guess you're going to say they can tell that, too. 329 00:22:15,920 --> 00:22:21,920 That's right. You want to tell us what really happened now? 330 00:22:21,920 --> 00:22:30,920 Tell us the truth, Roberta. It's going to work out a lot easier. 331 00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:39,920 These are some of the toys I had when I was little. I saved almost all of them. 332 00:22:39,920 --> 00:22:46,920 My best doll. I had a lot of dolls. I loved them. I guess I still do. I love them more than her. 333 00:22:46,920 --> 00:22:48,920 You mean your mother? 334 00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:56,920 I wasn't fooling. I don't care if she's dead. She didn't mean anything to me. She never did mean anything. 335 00:22:56,920 --> 00:23:01,920 These are more my dolls here. I dressed them all myself, every one of them. 336 00:23:01,920 --> 00:23:04,920 What was the matter, Roberta, between you and your mother, I mean? 337 00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:10,920 I don't know. I guess she just didn't mean anything. Not in life, anybody else's mother. 338 00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:14,920 She didn't mean anything at all. Same as my father. 339 00:23:14,920 --> 00:23:18,920 In the same house, that's all. Nobody cared for anybody else. 340 00:23:18,920 --> 00:23:24,920 Anything but fighting. Fighting or just not saying anything at all. I'm glad she's dead. 341 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:29,920 You killed her? Is that what you want to say? 342 00:23:29,920 --> 00:23:38,920 Here's a little piano I had. I got one Christmas, I think. 343 00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:41,920 Look, they'll play. 344 00:23:41,920 --> 00:23:45,920 You want to tell us from the beginning? 345 00:23:51,920 --> 00:23:57,920 It took a long time. I thought about it a lot. A week ago, I made up my mind. 346 00:23:57,920 --> 00:24:07,920 It was time to kill her. She was getting worse. I couldn't do anything. I was always wrong. 347 00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:12,920 Couldn't go out, couldn't do this, I couldn't do that. 348 00:24:12,920 --> 00:24:18,920 She started the same way yesterday morning. 349 00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:26,920 I got the knife from the kitchen. I went in and she was sitting on the bed, putting her stockings on. 350 00:24:26,920 --> 00:24:33,920 I don't think she knew what happened. Didn't take long. 351 00:24:33,920 --> 00:24:37,920 Were you having an argument with her? Is that what started? 352 00:24:37,920 --> 00:24:43,920 We argued every morning. I got so tired of it. She had an awful voice. 353 00:24:43,920 --> 00:24:50,920 Finally made up my mind. Planned it all out. I even practiced it. 354 00:24:50,920 --> 00:24:53,920 You know the two canaries I had? Yeah. 355 00:24:53,920 --> 00:24:57,920 I didn't buy them because I wanted them. 356 00:24:57,920 --> 00:25:03,920 They got to be cute though. I felt bad about killing them. 357 00:25:03,920 --> 00:25:07,920 Why did you kill them, Amber? Practice. 358 00:25:07,920 --> 00:25:11,920 Decided to use a knife. 359 00:25:11,920 --> 00:25:17,920 I wasn't sure I knew how to do it though, so I got the canaries. 360 00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:26,920 One day after school I killed them. Gave me more confidence. I knew I could do it after that. 361 00:25:26,920 --> 00:25:31,920 Poor old things. I guess I shouldn't have killed them. 362 00:25:31,920 --> 00:25:35,920 With the knife you killed your mother with, Roberta. You want to show us where it is? 363 00:25:35,920 --> 00:25:40,920 Alright, I'll show you. I don't think you ever could have found it. It's up in the attic. 364 00:25:40,920 --> 00:25:45,920 Special place I hide things. 365 00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:48,920 Say, would you like some coffee or coke or something? No, no thanks. 366 00:25:48,920 --> 00:25:52,920 One more thing. Why'd you leave school this morning? I mean going off without telling anybody. 367 00:25:52,920 --> 00:26:01,920 I wanted to come back here. I felt like it. I wanted to come back to my room. 368 00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:07,920 It's the only place I really like to be. I've lived in this house all my life. 369 00:26:07,920 --> 00:26:12,920 And this has always been my room. 370 00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:17,920 Toys I had. My dolls. 371 00:26:17,920 --> 00:26:21,920 Everything's here. Everything I have. 372 00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:25,920 My books. All my dolls. 373 00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:29,920 I think we better be going, Roberta. We'll have to take you downtown. 374 00:26:29,920 --> 00:26:39,920 Yes, alright. 375 00:26:39,920 --> 00:26:44,920 I'll get my coat. Then I'll show you where the knife is. 376 00:26:44,920 --> 00:26:49,920 Officers, could I ask you one favor? What's that? 377 00:26:49,920 --> 00:26:55,920 It probably sounds silly. It'll help a lot though. 378 00:26:55,920 --> 00:26:58,920 This doll here. Yeah. 379 00:26:58,920 --> 00:27:02,920 Could I take it with me? Just this one. 380 00:27:02,920 --> 00:27:05,920 Make me feel a lot better. 381 00:27:05,920 --> 00:27:10,920 Please, do you think I could? Yeah, sure. Bring it along if you like. 382 00:27:10,920 --> 00:27:13,920 Thank you. 383 00:27:13,920 --> 00:27:17,920 You probably think I don't care for anything but my dolls. 384 00:27:17,920 --> 00:27:21,920 There's one thing though I want to tell you. What's that? 385 00:27:21,920 --> 00:27:25,920 I'm sorry now. I really am. 386 00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:30,920 I shouldn't have done it. I know it was wrong. You knew? 387 00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:41,920 Yes, I'm sorry I killed the canaries. 388 00:27:41,920 --> 00:27:46,920 The story you have just heard was true. The names were changed to protect the innocent. 389 00:27:46,920 --> 00:27:52,920 On May 6th the hearing was held in Juvenile Court, Department 38, City and County of Los Angeles, State of California. 390 00:27:52,920 --> 00:27:55,920 In a moment the results of that hearing. 391 00:27:55,920 --> 00:27:57,920 Now here is our star, Jack Webb. 392 00:27:57,920 --> 00:27:58,920 Thank you, George Fenomen. 393 00:27:58,920 --> 00:28:03,920 Friends, I'd like to take just a moment this evening to tell you about Fatima's Christmas gift carton. 394 00:28:03,920 --> 00:28:06,920 When you visit your dealer, take a real good look at it. 395 00:28:06,920 --> 00:28:11,920 I think you'll agree with me that it's the smartest of all Christmas cartons, just as it should be, 396 00:28:11,920 --> 00:28:15,920 because Fatima is the best of all king size cigarettes. 397 00:28:15,920 --> 00:28:20,920 This Christmas season I'm buying Fatima's for all my friends and I hope you will too. 398 00:28:20,920 --> 00:28:26,920 Compare Fatima. See the difference. Taste the difference and then smoke that difference. 399 00:28:26,920 --> 00:28:30,920 Because in Fatima the difference is quality. 400 00:28:30,920 --> 00:28:44,920 At the hearing in Juvenile Court, Roberta Evelyn Dixon was found unfit to be handled as a juvenile 401 00:28:44,920 --> 00:28:47,920 and was certified to Superior Court as an adult. 402 00:28:47,920 --> 00:28:52,920 There she was found to be criminally insane by three psychiatrists appointed by the state. 403 00:28:52,920 --> 00:28:57,920 She is now confined to a state mental institution where she is undergoing treatment. 404 00:28:57,920 --> 00:29:10,920 You have just heard Dragnet, a series of authentic cases from official files. 405 00:29:10,920 --> 00:29:16,920 Technical advice comes from the Office of Chief of Police W.H. Parker, Los Angeles Police Department. 406 00:29:16,920 --> 00:29:21,920 Mark Yarborough is Sergeant Ben Romero. Also heard was Joyce McCluskey. 407 00:29:21,920 --> 00:29:27,920 Script by Jim Moser. Music by Walter Schuman. Hal Gibney speaking. 408 00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:48,920 Fatima cigarettes, best of all king size cigarettes, has brought you Dragnet transcribed from Los Angeles. 409 00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:57,920 Another spy fights international intrigue next on NBC.