The story you are about to hear is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent.
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You're a detective sergeant, you're assigned to homicide detail.
A woman has been shot to death. The apparent motive, robbery.
The killer is still at large. Your job, find him.
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Dragnet, the documented drama of an actual crime. For the next 30 minutes in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department,
you will travel step by step on the side of the law through an actual case transcribed from official police files.
From beginning to end, from crime to punishment, Dragnet is the story of your police force in action.
It was Friday, March 16th. It was damp in Los Angeles. We were working the night watch out of homicide.
My partner is Ben Romero. The boss is Thad Brown, Chief of Detectives. My name is Friday.
It was 11.45 p.m. when we got to where we'd parked our car, second in Maine.
A couple of drops on the windshield.
Yeah, I hope it holds off.
I think we're going out to see the Cubs and Pirates play an exhibition game tomorrow. I guess maybe not alone.
You might be lucky.
What's the weatherman say?
I don't know. I'll get the radio on.
It's a slow night.
Yeah.
Might not be tomorrow night.
Why?
March 17th, isn't it?
Oh, yeah.
62A, call your station.
All units in vicinity of 102 South Virgil, 211 and shooting, code 3.
It's a hot one.
All units in vicinity of 102 South Virgil, 211 and shooting, code 3.
Unit 13, take the call.
Happy St. Patrick's Day.
11.58 p.m. We arrived at 102 South Virgil, the Botelan Hotel, a four-story building.
Sergeant Shimer met us in the lobby and informed us that the shooting took place at 11.40 p.m. in room 432, occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Theodore V. Benham.
Mrs. Benham was the victim.
We went up to the fourth floor where Officer McCready was stationed outside the room.
Any witnesses?
Only Benham says it was a thief.
Did you talk to any of the people on this floor?
None of them saw anything. They're all in their rooms.
Any other way out of here?
That stairway in the rear leads to the roof. I took a look.
Nothing up there.
Where's Benham?
Across the hall, lying down. Cox is with him.
Okay. Let's look at the body.
We went into the room, a dreary place with a single light hanging from the center of the ceiling.
The carpet was faded and worn in spots.
On the north side were a closet and a bathroom.
Against the east wall was a dresser.
Across the room was a double bed and at the foot of the bed a window, looking out over the roofs of adjoining buildings and the marquee of a movie house down the street.
A stumer trunk was in the corner and a straight back chair was next to the door.
The mirror of the dresser was smashed and on the dresser a Gideon Bible.
On the bed was the body of a woman sprawled face down.
There were several splotches of blood on her coat.
In the chair was a.32-20 revolver which McCready said belonged to Benham, the husband of the murdered woman.
We asked McCready to put in a call to the crime lab and we went across the hall to question Benham.
This is an awful shock.
I'm not feeling well. I'm under doctor's care.
Hemophilia.
It's an awful shock.
Sit down, please.
Yes.
Hi.
I don't know what it'll do to me. I should be in the sanitarium right now.
What's the thing you're taking care of?
Lincoln Sanitarium and Eagle Rock.
Could you tell us what happened tonight?
Why, yes.
We, my wife and I, went out to the Sycamore Cafe over in Alvarado.
What time was that?
Oh, about nine thirty.
We had a cup of drinks and something to eat, listened to a piano play, then came home.
I unlocked the door and Elizabeth went in first and went over to the dresser.
I just walked over to her when a man stepped out of the closet in the back of us.
He had a gun.
Can you describe him?
I don't know, I don't know.
Did you see his face?
No.
He had a blue bandana over his face and he had a cap on, a blue and white check.
Did you notice his clothes?
No, no I didn't.
Anything else?
He seemed very nervous and he wasn't holding the gun still.
My wife was opening a purse and I said, well I haven't got very much but I'll give you what we have.
And he fired and hit Elizabeth.
I pulled my gun from my overcoat and started shooting.
Are you in the habit of carrying a gun?
No, no, no.
I noticed suspicious looking men following me lately so I bought one.
Is this the gun here?
Yes.
Then what happened?
Well, I fired all the bullets.
I don't know how I missed.
The room was small.
It kept moving around all the time.
Uh-huh.
But I guess I did miss.
Then he ran out of the room.
But how old would you say this man was?
Officer, I haven't finished.
See you a minute, Sergeant.
Sure.
We'll be back, Mr. Benham.
This has been an awful shock to me.
I wonder how his wife felt.
McCready told us that Sergeant Shimer had found a woman in the Nevada hotel next door who might know something.
When next door in question, Mrs. Caroline Cromwell, a resident of the hotel, she occupied room 415 on the top floor.
She told us that about 20 seconds after she heard the shots, she looked out the door of her room and saw a man come down the back stairs,
which leads to the roof of the hotel, and enter room 402.
She'd seen the man several times and was positive of her identification.
Sergeant Shimer said the man was registered as Jack Morrison, who went to room 402.
Try it again.
What was that?
Police officers.
What do you want?
I'd like to ask a couple questions.
I was going to bed.
We'd like to talk to you.
Won't take very long.
All right.
What do you want to know?
How long have you been in your room?
About 10 minutes.
What?
Where were you?
To the movie.
Which one?
Right down the street.
Why are you asking me all these questions?
You been drinking?
A little.
Not much.
Mind if we look around a little?
I was out all the time.
I didn't know nothing about a shooting.
Then you won't mind if we look around.
You won't find nothing here.
These are all the clothes you've got?
Yeah.
Is this your coat?
Yeah.
Yeah.
You were wearing this tonight, were you?
No.
You were only coating the closet.
What'd you do with the coat you were wearing?
Guess I was wearing that one.
Just spill it.
What?
The bottle of whiskey.
It broke.
How?
How do I know?
You got a hole here in the sleeve.
What did you do with the broken bottle?
Threw it away.
Where?
I don't know.
On the street.
Yo, I found something.
A shirt.
Stuck down between the wall and the bathtub.
Looks like blood on it.
Is this yours?
Where's the shirt you wore tonight?
Take off your pajamas, Tom.
Why?
Take it off.
All right.
But I didn't have nothing to do with that shooting next door.
What happened to your arm?
Guy shot at me.
Who?
I don't know.
I bought a bottle and had a couple of drinks and went to the movie for a little while.
Would you mind moving away from the bed, please?
No, no.
Thank you.
I came out of the movie because I was getting dizzy.
I went up on the roof here to get some air.
While I was standing there, a guy ran across the roof and shot at me.
What did the man look like?
I don't know.
He came from the roof of the hotel next door and ran into this place.
How big was he?
It was dark.
I couldn't see.
What did you do?
Well, after I was sure he was gone, I came down.
I was going to have my arm fixed in the morning.
Better get your clothes on.
Why?
Well, you got a pretty bad arm.
You better have it fixed up.
We'll take you to George Street Receiving Hospital.
It's all right.
I don't have to go there.
Find anything, Ben?
No.
You got a clean shirt?
No.
Well, you better wear your pajama top in.
Here's something.
What did you say your name is?
Jack Marston.
Here's a card I found in the closet.
It says, Tommy Kane, report for work, Joe's Cafe, 8 o'clock, March 1st.
Who's Tommy Kane?
That's me.
Where are you from?
Elgin, Illinois.
How old are you?
I'm 22.
Why'd you leave Elgin?
No work.
I've been bumming around.
You ever been arrested?
I was picked up on a vague charge a month ago.
Here?
Yeah.
I don't know why you guys are balling with me.
When somebody gets shot, we bother.
1.30 a.m.
We took Kane to Georgia Street Receiving Hospital
where they found that a muscle in his upper right arm had been severed
and the right side of his chest was bruised.
Before taking him to Ward 1300 General Hospital for further treatment,
we took him back to the roof of the Nevada Hotel.
Still trying to rain.
Yeah.
Where were you standing when you got shot at, Kane?
Right over there.
I was leaning against the bricks.
Where'd the man come from?
Out of that door and the other roof.
The roof of the Bartlett Hotel?
Yeah.
Was he running when he shot at you?
Yeah, yeah, he was.
Where'd he run?
Right across here where we are.
Then he went through this door here into the Nevada Hotel.
Did you notice anything unusual about him?
Well, his face was covered with a handkerchief and he wore a checkered cap.
But you said before it was too dark.
Well, I could see that.
I mean, you know, I could see that.
I couldn't see his face.
And you were standing over there with the paramedic?
Yeah.
So how about, uh, about here?
Yeah, that's it.
Mm-hmm.
All right, let's get over the roof of the Bartlett.
It's a little high. Can I help you over?
No.
Come on, Ben.
Ever been in this hotel before, King?
No.
Everything all right, McCray?
Yeah. Crime lab's here. Checking the murder room.
Is Benham awake?
I think so.
Mr. Benham?
Yes?
Mind if we come in?
Of course not.
You ever seen this man before?
Let me see. Can you stand over there in the light?
My eyes aren't as good as they used to be.
Okay.
Move over there.
How's that?
That's better.
Is this the man who shot your wife?
No, that's not the man.
We left instructions for another car to take Theodore Benham to the Lincoln Sanitarium on Eagle Rock.
We took Kane toward 1300 General Hospital.
2.42 a.m. We arrived back at the Bartlett Hotel where police chemist Ray Pinker had finished his examination.
Three slugs, 38 caliber and five slugs, 3220, were found in the mattress and the walls, all on the same side of the room.
On the floor of the room were found a piece of white cloth and some brown threads.
Ray Pinker returned to the crime lab while Ben and I made a search of both hotels, the incinerators, the alley and all likely places for the missing 38 was not found.
3.48 a.m. Ben went to the record bureau to check on any possible criminal record Kane might have had.
I went to the crime lab to see what Ray Pinker had found.
Nothing on this one. It's been a clean mess.
And nothing on these four 3220s.
What'd you find out?
I dug the 38 out of the window for him. 3220s are in the south and east walls.
How about the others here?
Well, on these two 38 slugs I found minute portions of threads. They compare with the dress and coat one of the deceased.
Hi.
Hi, Ben.
I checked Kane's record. He told the truth.
Nothing more than a vague charge, huh?
How's this come?
There's threads on two of the 38 slugs.
And on one of the 3220s.
Same kind of threads?
Same kind.
3220, that's the gun Benham used.
Yeah.
Did you check the cloth yet?
I will right now.
Benham must have been shooting off a while.
Where'd you find that 3220 slug, Ray?
On the floor near the bed.
Nothing on any of the other 3220s?
No.
Yeah, this piece of cloth matches the shirt.
How about the coat and those threads?
Got only a couple threads that might match.
Let me have a coat.
Here you are.
I'm gonna have Benham take another look at Kane, huh?
Yeah, I guess so. I could use a cup of coffee. How about you?
As soon as we get finished.
How about it, Ray?
You gotta make it.
All right.
Yeah, they match.
Now that's it, huh?
Oh, one more thing.
Yeah?
Fresh stains on the carpet of that room.
What kind?
Whiskey.
March 18th, we picked up Benham at Lincoln Sanitarium and drove him to the General Hospital.
Three times he asked us to stop someplace so he could have a drink.
We told him he'd have to wait.
We arrived at Ward 1300 at 1.40 p.m. and Kane was brought out.
Take a good look, Mr. Benham.
Now that isn't the man, I'm sure of it.
All right, Kane, tie this handkerchief over your face.
No, no, this way. That's right.
All right, you can go.
No, no, this way. That's right.
I'll put on this cap.
Kane, now stand over there, please.
Now a little further.
That's good.
All right, Mr. Benham.
You know, his eyes and forehead look a little familiar, but I don't know.
All my nerves are all shot. I can't be positive. I'm a sick man.
All right, Kane.
I wish I could help you, boys.
So do we. Come along, please.
You don't have to take me back to the sanitarium.
Just take me to your streetcar. I'll make it all right.
Good day.
Sergeant.
Yeah.
Can I see you a minute?
Sure.
Yeah.
Did you notice anything when you first brought Kane out of the ward?
No.
You must have been closing the door.
Yeah, I was.
And that man, Benham, he winked at you.
And that man, Benham, he winked at him.
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We took Benham back to his sanitarium.
On the way he asked if he could be excused from testifying at the inquest and preliminary hearing.
We told him it couldn't be done.
7 p.m. Ben and I returned to the general hospital and took Kane into a small room adjoining the prison ward.
After three hours of interrogation, he stuck to his story.
Cigarette, Kane.
Thanks.
How's the arm?
All right.
It hurts a little now.
When you guys going home?
When we get a straight story.
I've been telling you all I know.
Yeah, you've been telling us the same story for two days, but it doesn't hold water.
What do you mean?
How do you account for the fact that parts of your clothing were found in that room?
I told you before, you must have made a mistake.
No, no, it's no mistake.
Mr. Benham is starting to think he recognizes you.
What?
Why'd he wink at you?
He didn't wink at me.
We got somebody here who saw him.
He seems to think whoever did the shooting didn't take the gun with them.
When we drove him back to the sanitarium, he asked us if we found it yet.
He thinks we will.
How long has Benham lived in L.A.?
A long time.
How long?
Why do you want to know how long he's lived here?
Is a dead woman really his wife?
Well, certainly she's his wife.
Why?
Where's he been since the shooting?
In the sanitarium in Eagle Rock.
What's the matter with him?
Hemophilia.
You know what that is?
No.
You sure that was his wife?
Positive.
She wasn't a stool pigeon?
Stool pigeon?
Where'd you get that idea?
You guys never saw her before?
Never.
You never heard of her?
Kane, what's eating you?
Did you check on her?
We always do.
You don't make mistakes on anything like that, do you?
Not at all.
Look, she was a pretty nice woman from all we could find out.
Happily married for 30 years.
Something's wrong.
What, Kane? What's wrong?
Whole setup.
Yeah?
Yeah.
What Benham say about me?
We told you, he says you look a little bit like the man.
Did you say anything else?
He winked at you, Kane.
Why?
She wasn't a bad looking woman.
Wasn't she, Kane?
All right, now how about it?
You guys swear that was his wife?
Yeah.
Okay, I'll tell you where the 38 is.
Where?
The mattress on the roof of the Nevada hotel.
Benham cut a hole in it that day.
He told me to hide the gun there after the shooting.
All right, let's have a look.
I don't want anybody to know I'm telling you this.
Why?
Benham's a real smart guy.
He's got a gang.
He's in on it as much as I am.
Yeah?
He double crossed me.
He tried to kill me.
I'm going to jail.
He's going with me.
Maybe he will.
Kane told us that he had known Benham for about two months.
During that time, Benham helped him along by giving him a couple of dollars every once in a while.
On March 11th, Benham got Kane a room in the Nevada hotel and gave him $20 to buy a gun, which Kane did.
On March 15th, he gave Kane a blue bandana and a checkered cap.
On March 16th, he told Kane that he'd been sent by a gang in Chicago to kill a woman who was a stool pigeon.
He promised Kane $100 for his help.
Early that evening, Benham told Kane how to enter their room and where to hide.
When they came home, Benham stood by the door.
Kane stepped out of the closet and, after a few words, shot the woman.
As he moved toward the bed, Benham started shooting at him.
Kane ran from the room and hid the gun in the mattress on the roof,
then went to his room and flushed the cap and bandana down the drain.
1115 p.m. Ben and I found the gun where Kane said it would be.
38 Special Detective Colt Revolver, 2-inch barrel, number 381327.
1152 p.m. We checked and found no evidence that Benham belonged to any kind of a gang.
March 19th, 9 a.m. Ben and I reported into homicide and picked up Captain Steed.
We went over to Dr. Wagner to learn his autopsy report.
It showed that the deceased had been shot three times.
Two 38 slugs and one 3220 were recovered from the victim's body.
They were initialed for evidence.
8 p.m. Captain Steed, Ben and I went to the sanitarium and told Benham that there were a few angles we wanted to clear up before the inquest next morning.
Benham got dressed and we drove back to the Bartlett Hotel.
It was raining.
I'm still trying to remember what happened. I was very shocked that night.
Yeah, I suppose you were.
Sometimes my memory comes back for a little bit.
The red light?
Yeah, I see.
You know, the man who did the shooting knew you lived in room 432 and he knew you'd be gone that night.
How do you suppose he figured that out?
Well, I've been noticing a lot of men have been following me.
Suspicious looking men.
I told that to Sergeant Friday, didn't I, Sergeant?
Yeah, that's right.
Must have been one of them.
You ever give money to characters on the street so much they might follow you?
Yeah, that must be it.
Many times I used to do that.
I'd be nice to them and they'd try to make friends.
You remember any of them?
Yeah, I do. There was a young man, Dorsey, and Jolly Swanson, and a fellow named, uh, Mane, Blaine.
Kane?
Yeah, that's it, Kane. There you are. There you are.
The young man you took me to see in the hospital.
I'm, I'm thinking I believe that's Kane.
Are you sure?
Quite sure. He's the burglar.
What makes you think he was a burglar?
Well, what else would he be?
He didn't rifle any of the drawers or steal anything, did he?
Must have got there just before us.
Did you have anything important there?
Ah, yes. Some insurance policies.
And your wife?
Yeah.
How much?
Oh, one policy for 4,000 and two for 2,500 each.
Who's the beneficiary?
Well, I am.
We took Benham up to room 432 where he got out the insurance policies on his wife and showed them to us.
Then Captain Steed asked him to reenact the shooting.
Benham acted as the killer. I played Benham. And Ben acted as his wife.
Well, the man was over here in the closet. My wife and I came in that door and then my wife went over to the dressing room.
Oh, over here? Did you turn on the light?
Oh, yeah. And then I closed the door and went over behind her.
Like this?
Oh, she was closer to the bed.
Here?
Yeah.
Were you standing next to her?
Yeah.
You started to take off your coat?
Well, I was just going to when this man stepped out of his closet here.
How far?
Oh, here. Yeah, right here.
Then what?
Well, he held the gun in his hand and asked how much money we had. Elizabeth said we didn't have much.
From here?
Yeah, but she turned around.
Like this?
Yeah, that's it.
What happened then?
Well, then I said I haven't got very much, but I'll give you what we have. And he started shooting.
Yeah, but you said before that your wife started looking in her purse.
Yeah, that's it she did. I forgot. And that made him think she was going after a gun.
How do you know?
Well, I suppose that's what he thought. He shot and Elizabeth fell on the bed. I pulled out my gun and started shooting and the man ran out the door and that's all.
That's exactly what happened, huh?
Just as I remember it. Will I help you?
Not very much.
What's the matter?
Well, if you were standing where I am, there'd be bullet holes on that side of the room there, wouldn't there?
They're all on this side.
I see. I got it. Come with me.
Where are you going?
On the roof.
What for?
I want to show you something. It's raining. There are two umbrellas in the closet. I'll get them.
Why do you want to go up there?
I think I know where that gun might be hidden. I'll bet it's there. Here, you take this umbrella.
Thanks.
We'll take this one, Captain.
Let's go.
I'll bet it's up there. We'll find it.
You got your flashlight, Ben?
It should be around here somewhere.
What?
A mattress. My wife used to take sun baths on it.
Where would it be?
Just about here.
I don't see any.
You sure it's up here?
I bet it's on the next roof. Didn't you say Cain lived in that hotel? He probably moved it.
There's a flashlight over there, behind that elevator shaft.
There?
Yeah, there. You see it? We have to climb over this pair, but to get on the other roof.
Watch it, Captain. It's pretty slippery.
Okay. It is slippery.
This mattress here?
That's it.
Take a look, Joe.
Right.
No, nothing here.
Did you look all around there? Did you look in the corners?
No.
That'd be a good place to hide a gun, don't you think?
Let me see. It might be a hole cut in one of them.
No. Maybe the other corner.
No.
Maybe this one.
Yeah. You see the mattress has been cut.
No. No. It's got to be here.
Where is it?
It's here, I tell you. It's here. I know it's here.
I'll find it. I'll find it. You wait. You see. I'll get it. I know it's here.
I'll find it. You wait. I'll get it. I'll get it.
It's getting wet, Joe.
We got the 30-18 told us about it.
You ready to talk?
Yeah.
The insurance. That why you did it?
Yeah. I'm a sick man.
Let's go, Bannum. On your feet.
All right.
They played that ball game the other day.
Yeah? Who won?
Pirates, eight to seven. Sure do like baseball.
Must be a real nice business.
Yeah.
The fans only yell if they never do it.
What's that?
The Holy Empire.
The story you have just heard was true.
Only the names were changed to protect the innocent.
On July 2nd, trial was held in Superior Court,
Department 89, City and County of Los Angeles, State of California.
In a moment, the results of that trial.
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Thomas Cain was convicted of second-degree murder and received a term as prescribed by law.
Theodore V. Venom was convicted of first-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon.
He received a life sentence and died in prison one year later.
You have just heard Dragnet, a series of authentic cases from official files.
Technical advice for Dragnet comes from the Office of Chief of Police, W.A. Wharton, Los Angeles Police Department.
Fatima cigarettes, best of all, long cigarettes, has brought you Dragnet, transcribed from Los Angeles.
This is NBC, the national broadcasting company.