Sound off for Chesterfield.
Chesterfield, the first and only cigarette in America to give you premium quality in
both regular and king size brings you Dragnet.
Ladies and gentlemen, the story you are about to hear is true.
The names have been changed to protect the innocent.
You're a detective sergeant.
You're assigned the homicide detail.
A young woman tells you that her mother has disappeared.
There's no trace of her whereabouts.
Foul play is suspected.
Your job, investigate.
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They're best for you.
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 Tuesday, August 5th.
It was hot in Los Angeles.
We were working the day watch out of homicide detail.
My partner's Frank Smith, the boss is Thad Brown, chief of detectives.
My name's Friday.
We were on the way out from the office and it was 1046 A.M. when we got to 4298 North
Estrella Street.
The front door.
Hot.
It sure is.
Yes, Mrs. What's her name?
Randall, L. Randall.
Did she say what this was about?
She said that her mother disappeared.
She wanted to talk to us about it.
Yes?
Miss Randall?
Yes, that's right.
Police officers, ma'am.
Oh, yes, come in, won't you?
Thank you.
It's warm out.
I think I'll leave the door open.
Hope the flies don't come in.
My name's Friday, Mrs. Randall.
I'm going to go to the office.
I'll be right back.
I'll be right back.
My name's Friday, Mrs. Randall.
This is my partner, Frank Smith.
How do you do?
How do you do, ma'am?
Could you tell us just what it is you want to see us about?
Well, of course.
Sit down, won't you?
Thank you, Mrs. Randall.
Would you like some tea or something?
I have some ready in the kitchen.
No, thanks.
Tell us what was it about your mother, Mrs. Randall.
Now that you're here, I guess maybe I could be wrong about it.
I was so sure.
What just what is it, ma'am?
Well, mama's gone.
I don't know how long it's been, but she isn't with Papa.
Well, what's your mother's name, Mrs. Randall?
Bertha.
Bertha Schroeder.
Bertha Schroeder, what makes you think there might be something wrong?
You said on the phone that you were pretty sure that something had happened to her.
Well, yes, I guess I ought to start at the beginning.
It's kind of a dull story, but maybe it's the best way.
All right, ma'am.
You sure you wouldn't like a glass of iced tea?
No, thanks, ma'am.
Thanks.
Just the same.
Mind if I get some?
Just take a minute.
All right.
Hey, it's a nice place, huh?
Yeah, it is.
Very decorated nice.
Hey, look at those trivets.
What?
Trivets.
Those little things over the fireplace.
Those brasses.
Yeah.
Faveman wanted some of those.
He used to use them to hold irons, you know, they'd get hot and put them on the ironing
boards so they won't burn the cloth.
Put them on those things?
Yeah.
I brought a couple extra glasses in case you decided you wanted some.
Well, if you'd just go ahead with the story, Mrs. Randall.
Yes, well, to understand it really, you'd have to know Papa.
He came over to this country when he was just a boy, only about 16 or so.
Landed here and couldn't speak more than a dozen words of English.
Went to work in New York.
Worked as a construction man.
Worked hard.
Met Mama there and they got married.
Right after that they moved out here.
Bought a house and Papa went into business for himself.
Yes, ma'am.
Well, maybe it was the life he'd had when he got here.
I don't know, but he always treated Mama like she was so much dirt.
Mean.
Time went on, he got meaner to her.
I remember when us kids were in school, he used to yell at her all the time.
Get in the mood and he wouldn't talk to any of us for days at a time.
Is that so?
I never knew how Mama took it.
She never said anything.
Just stand there and let him scream at her.
And when he was finished, she'd just kind of shrug her shoulders and take his kids out
of the house, walk around for a while and then go back to the house.
By that time, Papa was so mad he wouldn't talk to anyone.
Uh-huh.
Go ahead.
Well, all of us kids married young.
I got married when I was 16.
The rest of the kids weren't much older than that.
Papa didn't want us around after that.
Said for us to get out and make our own way.
Said that we had to.
So there's no reason that we shouldn't.
You sure you don't want some of this?
No, thank you, ma'am.
Thank you very much, ma'am.
Would you mind going ahead, Miss Rudd?
Yeah, yes.
A couple of months ago I tried to call Mama.
The operator told me that the phone had been disconnected.
May I make a pardon?
The operator told me that the phone had been disconnected when I tried to get hold of Mama.
I see.
Now, I waited a couple of days.
You know, I figured that maybe she'd call me.
Yes, ma'am.
Well, she didn't.
You see, once we were out of the house, none of us went back.
Papa's retired and none of us wanted to see him.
It's a terrible thing to say, Mr. Friday, but it's true.
Ma'am?
We all hated him.
All of us kids, for what he'd done to us, the beatings and all.
But most for what he'd done to Mama.
She was only 52 and she looked like she was 92.
It was terrible the way he treated her.
I see.
Like I said, we'd never go over there, but Mama would come to see us whenever she could.
She'd come over, visit for a little bit, you know, talk about the kids and things.
Yes, ma'am.
Well, I didn't hear from her and I got a little worried that maybe she was sick.
She was.
I know that Papa wouldn't tell us, so I went over to the old house and I rang the bell.
I was kind of braced because I thought I'd see Papa and there'd be an argument, but there
wasn't.
Ma'am?
No argument.
Papa didn't answer the door.
Some young woman answered it and I asked if I could see Mrs. Schroeder.
Right away I knew there was something wrong.
Well, how was that, ma'am?
Well, I could see inside the front door.
The living room had all been changed around.
There was new furniture.
It looked like the walls had been painted, too.
What did the woman say when you asked for your mother?
She said they didn't live there anymore.
She said that they'd rented the house, you know, and that they'd been living there for
the past month.
Well, at first I don't think I believed her.
I asked her who rented the house to her and she said Papa did.
Then I asked her where he was.
What'd she say to that?
Well, she gave me his address.
I went over there to talk to him.
It was a little tiny apartment just off La Brea.
He said that Mama was gone.
I asked him where she'd gone and he said that she was on a vacation.
Well, I know him well enough to know that he'd never let her go away.
He'd be no one to dine in socks and keep the house clean.
I wanted to know where she'd gone on this vacation.
He said back to the old country.
He said she wanted to see her family.
He said that they'd gotten a letter from her sister that she was sick and wanted to see
Mama.
Well, right then I called him a liar.
I told him right to his face that he was lying.
I kind of thought that he'd hit the ceiling, but he didn't.
He just smiled and said that I had no call to say anything like that.
He asked me why I said it.
What was that?
You thought that he'd hit what?
Well, I thought that he'd hit the ceiling when I said that to him, when I called him
a liar, I mean, you know.
I told him that if Mama had left, she'd have written, maybe not to me, but to one of the
kids.
I called around and when I didn't hear from her, none of the kids had either.
They were all worried about her too.
I see.
Well, what do you say to that?
He said he couldn't understand it so that he'd gotten a letter, that he'd gotten it
not more than a day or so before, that she'd arrived safe and was having a wonderful time.
This was a letter?
Yes, this was a letter he'd gotten from Mama.
Well, I told him I thought he was lying.
Then he said that he'd show me the letter.
Well, did he?
Well, yeah, he showed me the letter, but he wouldn't show me the envelope, just the letter.
He said he'd thrown the envelope away.
Well, was the letter from your mother, ma'am?
Well, sort of from the words it was, told all about her trip and how she was enjoying
herself, said that she was with her sister and that she was getting better, and then
she went on to tell how much she missed Papa and all.
Uh-huh.
Right away, I could tell that it wasn't Mama's handwriting.
She never wrote that letter.
May I be pardoned?
I said that I knew it wasn't Mama's writing on that letter.
Yeah, well...
Well, that's when I thought about calling you.
Then later I remembered something, and then I made up my mind about calling you.
What was that, Miss Randall?
Well, Mama only had one sister living.
She died three years ago.
11.13 a.m.
We continued to talk to Ella Randall.
She told us that she was sure that her mother would not have gone off of her own free will.
She said that when she last saw Mrs. Schroeder, she appeared to be in good health and in good
spirits.
We got the names and addresses of the other children in the Schroeder family.
We also got the address of the Schroeder relatives in Europe.
Ella Randall told us that we could find her father at the apartment, and she gave us the
address.
12.15 p.m.
Frank and I drove over to see him.
This is ridiculous, utterly ridiculous.
Well, maybe so, sir, but we'd like to see the letter that came from your wife.
Well, officer, I'd like very much to show it to you, really.
I would, but I can't.
Why not, sir?
There are a few reasons that I haven't got it anymore.
I destroyed it, burned it a couple of days ago.
Who was your wife staying with, sir?
With her sister.
Uh-huh.
Well, from what we can find out, sir, your wife's sister died three years ago.
How could your wife be staying with her?
Oh, all right.
I suppose I might as well tell you about it.
It doesn't seem to be any other way.
All right, sir.
Go right ahead.
First off, my wife is not in the old country.
She's not with her sister, but you heard is true.
Uh-huh.
Officer, what I have to tell you is very hard to say.
I find it hard to find the right words.
That's all right, sir.
You just go ahead.
We've been married for 30 years.
30 years, man and wife, and then she did this.
Almost broke my heart, officers.
Is one of you married?
Oh, yes, sir.
My partner here is.
Then you would know what I mean.
You'd know how it is.
Sir?
She left me.
Back to things and left.
Didn't give me any reason.
Just said she didn't want to be my wife anymore.
He said she didn't want to share my roof.
Just left.
30 years.
All that time, and she left.
What kind of terms were you and your wife on, sir?
What do you mean, this term?
Well, did you and your wife get along all right?
Were you happy?
Certainly.
As I said, we were married 30 years.
Yes, sir, I understand that.
But did you ever have any quarrels?
Sergeant, all married people have quarrels.
Maybe the house isn't clean.
Maybe dinner isn't big enough.
Maybe the children get too loud.
All married couples have quarrels.
It's part of living together.
Well, from what we understand, sir, some of the arguments you and your wife had were
pretty serious.
The people who said that are liars.
They seem pretty sure.
Liars, that's what they are.
Oh, sometimes maybe I'd forget myself, get a little loud, but serious never.
How'd you get along with your children, Mr. Shorter?
My children?
Yes, sir, that's right.
How'd you get along with them?
All right, they were a little wild.
All children over here are like that, wild.
They don't respect their elders, but I got along good.
Seems to be a difference of opinion on that too, sir.
We've heard that you and your children went on two friendly terms.
And you believe this?
You think that this is true?
Mr. Fryley, Mr. Smith, these were my own flesh and blood.
I loved them, still do.
Maybe that sounds hard to believe.
I can imagine what you've heard.
I know.
I've heard about this before.
I know who told you.
You didn't think I'd know, but I do.
It was Ella, wasn't it?
Wasn't it?
Who told us isn't important, sir?
But it is.
You see, this is very hard for me to say.
Thirty years married and it is all a mistake.
I knew it from the start.
She was a shrew, Mr. Fryley.
I knew it right away, a shrew.
Sir?
My wife, Berta, almost from the day we were married, she was a nag.
All I wanted in life was to do a day's work and come home and read the paper, maybe have
a pipe of tobacco.
Rest, work, and have my home.
Maybe someday when the children were grown, they'd say, Papa was good.
He gave us a good house and he was good.
That's all I wanted.
Yes, sir?
Berta didn't want that.
Always wanted more for the children, she said.
When I wouldn't kill myself at work, she'd get angry, talk loud to me.
All I wanted was peace.
When the children came along, she taught them just like her.
How do you mean, sir?
She taught them what a mean man I was, turned them against me.
My own children taught them to hate their father, their own father.
Yes, sir.
Well, why didn't you tell your children that your wife left you?
No, Mr. Fryley, I couldn't.
This would break their hearts.
They might hate me, but I don't want them to hate their mother.
I couldn't do that.
The Lord would never forgive me for that.
Have you heard from your wife at all since she left?
Not a word.
I made up that letter so the children wouldn't find out.
I couldn't have that.
Did she take any money with her, would you know that?
Yes, she did.
We have a joint account as a bank two blocks over.
She made a large withdrawal the day she left.
Well, Mr. Schroeder, why did you rent your house?
It was sold by myself.
The house was full of Berta.
All the things were hers.
Everywhere I looked, I saw her.
It hurt me, Mr. Smith.
I had to get out, so I came here.
It's not much, but I can read the paper, and I'll send in a pipe of tobacco.
It's peaceful.
It's all I need.
What did you do with your wife's personal effects?
I don't think I understand, Sergeant.
Her clothes, the furniture from the house, things like that.
They're in storage.
I had some men come out and take all of it away, stored it away.
I thought that maybe someday Berta would come back and we could take up where we left
off.
Yes, could you give us the name of the storage company where you left the furniture?
Certainly.
It's out on Peacock.
I can give you the address.
Is that important?
No, sir, not really.
We ought to check.
Don't you think it might be better if you told your daughter about all this or about what's
happened?
No, Mr. Smith, it wouldn't prove anything, nothing at all.
Well, that's the way you want it, sir.
There's nothing we can do about it.
It's better, Mr. Friday, believe me, I know.
If they hate me, there's not much I can do about it, but I don't want to bring them any
unhappiness.
I couldn't do that.
Yes, sir.
I'm 65 years old, Mr. Friday.
I've worked hard all the time, harder than most men.
Had four children.
They're all grown.
They have families of their own.
All this, and I've got nothing.
But lonely days and empty nights.
Yes.
It's an awful thing, just awful.
Sir?
To work all your life and have nothing to show for it.
1.37 p.m. We got the address of the storage company from Henry Schroeder, and then Frank
and I left to go back to the office.
At this point, we had two stories.
Both of them could be true.
Both of them could be lies.
There was no way of knowing.
In the meantime, it was merely a matter of checking until it could be proved one way or
the other.
We had a little action we could take.
2.15 p.m. Frank and I checked back into the office, and I put in a call to the storage
house.
Yes, sir.
I'll wait while you're checking, huh?
I don't know, Joe.
It sure seems like the old guy is telling the truth.
Oh, we checked this out while no one were the other.
Such a nice little guy.
Seems hard to believe that he'd do anything wrong.
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir, what was that?
Uh-huh.
Could you tell me when?
What was the name?
Mm-hmm.
That's right.
Yes, sir.
All right.
Uh-huh.
Thanks very much.
What's that?
That's Joe Friday, F.R.I.D.
Yeah, that's right.
Michigan 5211, extension 2521.
Right.
All right, thanks again.
How about it?
He stored the furniture, all right?
Yeah.
I remembered him.
Talked to him a couple of weeks ago.
Uh-huh.
Told him to sell everything.
We drove out to the storage house and talked to the owner.
He said that Schroeder had called them out to pack the furniture, and then he ordered
it stored.
A week later, he called back and told them to dispose of all the furnishings and personal
effects.
We called Schroeder's bank, and they told us that there'd been no large withdrawals
on the date of her disappearance.
Also, she'd drawn no checks since.
We got in touch with the other children, and they verified their sister's story.
They all said that the father was hard to live with and had on several occasions struck
Mrs. Schroeder.
They told us that it was possible that she had left her husband, but that she would certainly
have gotten in touch with one of them if she had.
They said that as far as they knew, Mrs. Schroeder was in good health, and she was in good condition
mentally.
One of the daughters said that they were planning on a shopping trip to buy school clothes for
one of the grandchildren.
The woman went on to say that as far as she knew, Mrs. Schroeder would not have left without
saying something to her about not being able to keep the appointment.
We got in touch with Ella Randall.
She said that she would like to accompany us when we talked to the neighbors of the Schroeder
woman.
She said that she could point out her mother's friends and that she would be able to trace
her mother's movements about the neighborhood for us.
Four fifteen p.m.
We picked her up.
We talked to the neighbors, and they told us of hearing loud voices coming from the house.
They said that Mr. Schroeder was always angry at his wife, and he made no attempt to hide
it.
Seven thirty p.m.
We went on to talk to the people who had rented the Schroeder home.
Come on in.
Thank you very much, Mr. Armstrong.
This is my partner, Frank Smith.
This is Mrs. Randall.
Yes, Mrs. Randall.
I've met before.
How are you, Mrs. Randall?
How are you, Mr. Armstrong?
What's this all about?
We'd like to ask you some questions about the Schroeders, if we could.
Well, Mrs. Randall here would be able to answer them better for you.
They're her parents.
Yes, sir, we'd like some information from you, if we could.
All right, go ahead.
I don't think there's much I can tell you.
Did you see Mr. Schroeder when you rented the house?
No, come to think about it, I didn't.
Mr. Schroeder talked about her, but I didn't see her when we took the house.
Uh-huh.
How did Mr. Schroeder act when you rented the place?
I don't think I understand.
Well, did he seem upset, anything at all unusual about him?
As a matter of fact, there was.
What was that, sir?
Well, the house was kind of old.
You know, paint missing from some of the woodwork.
Some of the paper was a little faded.
We asked him if he planned to fix it up before we moved it.
You know, if we could foot the bill.
Yes, sir, we understand.
All right, well, I can't expect an argument.
He just seemed like that kind of a guy.
You know, who wouldn't spend a nickel to get a half-to.
Uh-huh.
It wasn't like that.
The smile, the same thing that we wanted, he'd have done.
Real nice.
Sure hasn't caused any trouble.
Of course, there's no reason for him to.
We'd pay the rent on time, take care of the lawn and the flowers.
I think we're pretty good tenants.
Sure is a difference.
Never looked like this when we lived here.
I remember that Mama would ask him to paint the place a little.
Always raised the roof.
Said there wasn't any reason to do it.
Said to wait until the kids were grown and appreciated the house.
Not like that with us.
Well, he was with his own family.
Even when we were gone, after we left the house, he said that there wasn't any reason
to fix the place up.
Said that Mama and him were the only people who ever saw the inside of it and it didn't
matter to them.
Like I said, couldn't ask for a better landlord.
Well, I kind of hate to ask this.
Yeah.
Well, I wondered if I could see the rest of the house.
I'd kind of like to see what he did to it.
Well, I guess it's okay.
If it won't take too long, I gotta eat pretty quick.
Got a bowl tonight.
The team's playing the league championship tonight.
Just a look.
I won't keep you.
Okay.
Well, you know the house.
Yes.
This is the living room.
The bedrooms are down the hall.
This is the dining room.
Oh, pretty paper.
It made Mama so happy to have this.
Here's a bath.
All new tile.
Just beautiful.
Yeah, makes it nice.
It's a master bedroom.
This was Papa's room.
It sure is nice.
Oh, look at the pretty curtains.
Those are ours.
We said he'd put drapes in every one of them, but Sally, it's her wife.
She likes curtains.
Uh-huh.
You do too.
Here's this, the oldest boy.
This was Mom's room.
Oh, it's just beautiful.
That's a beautiful carpet.
Yeah, he put that in too.
Didn't even have to ask for that, it's own idea.
Older world carpeting.
Mama always wanted it.
The only room in the house that has it.
Do you have a cellar in this house, Mr. Armstrong?
Yeah.
We use it for the freezer.
Sally puts up canned goods in the summer, keep them down there.
I wonder if we could see it, please.
Sure, but there isn't any change down there.
He didn't do anything with the cellar.
Yeah, sir.
It's all right, though.
We'd like to see it.
Oh, sure.
I'd like to make it fast, though.
I gotta eat, you know.
Yeah, sir, we understand.
It won't take very long here.
Sure is down this way.
Had to run electricity down there for the freezer.
I guess he'd have done it, but it was just an extension cord.
Thought about having it done permanently, but no real reason to.
I understand.
I'll go ahead and get the light.
Yeah, sir.
You want to wait here, Miss Randall?
Why?
Well, no reason, ma'am.
We just thought it might be better.
Well, all right, I'll wait in the living room.
All right, thank you.
Come on, Frank.
Yeah.
Not very big, just room enough for the freezer and a few shelves.
Uh-huh.
Some ant floor, huh?
Yeah.
Frank?
I'm gonna swing that light up here.
I want to check something here.
Oh, sure.
What's this room under, Mr. Armstrong?
I mean, what's above it?
Let's see.
That'd be the master bedroom about to there.
Uh-huh.
The room next to the beginning there.
Uh-huh.
That'd be Mrs. Schroeder's room, wouldn't it?
Mm-hmm.
From what Mrs. Randall said, yeah.
Uh-huh.
You got a piece of paper, sir?
I'd like to get up on the freezer.
I don't want to scratch it here.
Why, something you want?
Well, I just like to look.
Have a piece of paper, cardboard, anything, cloth.
I don't see any.
Go ahead.
Just don't scratch your foot.
It'll be all right.
All right, Frank.
Swing the light around, will you?
Yeah.
What is it, John?
I'm not sure.
You got your flash?
Yeah.
Here you go.
All right.
Okay.
What is it?
What do you see up there?
I better call the crime lab and get him out here.
What is it?
Seep through the floor.
What's that?
Looks like blood.
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814 p.m. The crime lab was called and they came out to go over the place.
A benzidine test was run on the stains and it was proved that they were blood stains.
The carpet in the bedroom was removed and additional stains were uncovered.
Frank and I checked the cellar floor, but it was solid and there was no evidence that
any part of it had been torn up.
A preliminary check was made of the yard, but we found nothing.
The next morning at 758 a.m. we called the crime lab.
They'd finished their investigation and told us that the stains were made by human blood.
810 a.m. Frank and I drove out to the house to continue our investigation.
Boy, it's going to be a scorcher.
Yeah, it looks that way.
Did you check that corner of the yard over there?
Yeah, doesn't look like anything's been disturbed.
Well, let's talk to the neighbors again.
There's got to be an answer someplace.
Okay.
You know, I'm going to tell Fay to get me some of those church with the holes in them.
What do you mean holes in them?
You know, like they were back east.
Little bitty holes between the material.
That way you don't get so hot.
Yeah.
Hey, wait a minute, Joe.
What?
There's something on the grass over there by the rose bed.
Oh, it's probably a locket or something one of the kids dropped, a toy maybe.
Yeah, I'll get it.
Give it back to Armstrong.
What do you got?
Piece of dental bridge work.
Looks like it's been on a fire.
The crime lab was called and they went over the backyard.
They checked the incinerator and under a large heap of ashes they found several pieces of
bone.
They took a sample of the ash back to the lab to examine it.
We got in touch with the daughter, Mrs. Randall.
We got the address of Mrs. Schroeder's dentist.
Frank and I drove out to talk to him.
We showed him the piece of dental bridge work that we'd found and he identified it as positively
belonging to Mrs. Schroeder.
He showed us the card from his files which gave the date that he'd installed the bridge.
11 56 a.m.
We called the crime lab and Lieutenant Lee Jones told us that the ash and the particles
of bone that he'd recovered could be of human origin.
12 15 p.m.
We drove out to the apartment and took Henry Schroeder into custody.
We talked to him in the interrogation room.
I don't understand all this.
None of it makes any sense.
Well it's pretty simple Schroeder.
Simple you say that I killed Bertha and you say it's simple.
How can you say that?
Why do you say that?
You must have a reason.
I told you all I know.
A couple of things you didn't tell the truth about sir.
What?
You said that just before your wife left you she made a large withdrawal from your account
didn't you?
That's right she did.
She did take some money.
When we're checking your bank account we find no record of any such withdrawal.
You've got no right to go through my bank account.
You've got no right.
This is a murder investigation Schroeder.
We've got a right to clear it up.
But she did take the money.
She did.
You've got to believe me.
It's a little hard to do Schroeder.
Since your wife disappeared she hasn't drawn any money out of your account.
Before that she drew checks to pay the local store bills.
Now how do you explain that?
I can't.
I can't.
I don't know what you're trying to say.
I don't know what you're trying to get me to say.
We're trying to get you to say the truth that's all.
But I am.
I am.
You said you put all the furniture from your house in storage now is that right?
Yes I said that.
You said you wanted to keep it in case your wife came back and you two started all over
again?
Yes that's the truth.
We checked the storage company.
They told us you called them and ordered everything sold.
Told them to sell it as soon as possible.
Now how do you explain that?
You're getting me so confused I can't think.
We checked the house.
The one where you and your wife lived.
We found blood stains.
Lots of them.
They're human blood.
I don't know.
I don't know.
The people who live there now said that you put a carpet over the floor.
Only room in the house that has a carpet.
They say it was your idea.
I can't think.
I don't know what you're saying.
Well here's a report here.
Take a look at it.
It's a list of the things we found in your incinerator.
Things that were burned.
Now do you want to read it or do you want me to read it to you?
How about it Schroeder?
Schroeder?
I didn't mean it.
Thirty years.
Thirty years married.
I didn't mean to do it.
I came home late.
Real late.
I'd been drinking.
We had words.
I hit her.
I don't know what happened.
I knew what I was doing.
I kept hitting her.
Then she was dead.
I didn't mean to do it.
I didn't mean to.
She turned the kids against me.
She turned everybody against me.
Thirty years married.
She turned everybody against me.
I'm afraid you got it wrong mister.
You did that yourself.
The story you have just heard was true.
The names were changed to protect the innocent.
On December 10th trial was held in Department 87, Superior Court of the State of California
in and for the County of Los Angeles.
In a moment the results of that trial.
Now here is our star Jack Webb.
Thank you George Fenomen.
Friends remember this.
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Henry Rudolph Schroeder was tried and convicted of murder in the first degree.
He was executed in the lethal gas chamber at the State Penitentiary, San Quentin, California.
You have just heard Dragnet, a series of authentic cases from official files.
Technical advice comes from the Office of Chief of Police W.H.
Parker, Los Angeles Police Department.
Technical advisors Captain Jack Donahoe, Sergeant Marty Wynn, Sergeant Vance Brasher.
Heard tonight were Ben Alexander, June Whitley, Harry Bartel.
Script by John Robinson.
Music by Walter Schuman.
Hal Gibney speaking.
For a million laughs, tune in Chesterfield's Martin and Lewis Show.
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Chesterfield has brought you Dragnet transcribed from Los Angeles.