Ladies and gentlemen, the story you are about to hear is true.
The names have been changed to protect the innocent.
Dragmint.
You're a detective sergeant.
You're assigned to homicide detail.
You get a call from a man who tells you his wife has failed to keep an appointment.
There's no trace of her.
There's evidence of foul play.
Your job?
Find her.
Dragmint.
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.
Was Friday, August 7th.
It was warm in Los Angeles.
We were working the night watch out of homicide detail.
My partner's Frank Smith.
The boss is Captain Lorman.
My name's Friday.
I was on my way back from missing persons and it was 1.27 a.m. when I got back to room
42, Homicide Squadroom.
Hi, John.
You talked to Graham?
Yeah, I just got in.
How'd they do?
Well, they came up with a kid.
Where'd they find him?
The boyfriends.
They were watching TV.
A missing youngster told his friend his mother knew he was there.
Uh-huh.
Everything's all right then, huh?
Yeah, I guess so.
Graham said the kid's gonna have to eat standing up for a few days.
You know, it's a funny thing about parents.
What do you mean?
The thing like this happens and all they care about is getting their kids back.
After a while, they begin to think about it and get sore.
Doesn't make a lot of sense.
You figured you got a couple of kids.
Yeah, I guess it'd be the same way.
I got it.
Homicide Friday.
Guess it, that's right.
Well, where were you supposed to meet her?
Well, I'll have you check there.
Let's see.
All right, you want to give me that address?
Yes, sir.
No, we'll be right out.
Right.
Goodbye, sir.
I only got one little better check here.
Yeah?
Bartender out on Normandy.
Says his wife was supposed to meet him a half hour ago and she hasn't shown up.
He called his house?
Yeah, she's not there either.
Says she's never been late before.
Yeah, it's always the first time.
Well, he doesn't think so.
Huh?
He thinks she's been kidnapped.
Frank and I left the office and drove over to the bar.
It was located on the corner of Normandy Avenue and Monroe Street.
In the event the story we'd gotten on the phone was true and the woman had been kidnapped,
we parked the car down the street and I walked back to the place.
A couple of minutes later, Frank followed.
We met the man who placed the call, George Cabot.
We asked him to tell us what was wrong.
Sure didn't waste any time getting here.
Want to tell us what's happened?
Yeah, my wife's gone.
How do you mean?
Ethel's disappeared.
When did you see her last?
This morning when I left the house.
Have you talked to her since then?
Yeah, at 12.55 tonight.
She called here to tell me she was on the way down.
Mm-hmm.
She seemed all right then?
As far as I could tell.
It's possible that she might have stopped at one of the neighbors.
I thought about that too, but I checked and none of them have seen her.
You called your home, haven't you?
Yeah, I didn't get any answer.
I tell you something's happened, Ethel.
I'm about to blow my cork not knowing what it is.
Well, maybe she's still at the house and didn't hear the phone ring.
Yeah, I figured that too.
Maybe that's her.
Hello, Ethel.
What?
No, this is Cabot's barn grill.
Yes, ma'am.
Who?
No, I didn't see him tonight.
No, I'm sure.
Yeah, I'd know him.
No, lady, I'm not lying for him.
He isn't here.
Yeah, if I see him, I will.
Yeah, good night.
Pardon her.
Woman's in the same fix.
I'm in, only she can't find her husband.
Cabot?
Yes, sir.
I hope you won't be offended by this, but does your wife drink?
You mean you think she stopped at some barn, got gassed up, and just didn't show up?
Is that what you mean?
No, that's not exactly what I meant.
I just asked if your wife drank.
Well, you got it all wrong.
Ethel has a martini once in a while before dinner,
but if she wanted to drink any more than that, she could come down here and I'd pour for her.
All right.
That's a question we have to ask.
You understand that?
Just as long as you don't think that Ethel's a lush, because she is.
You said you checked your house, huh?
Yeah, when she didn't show up, I waited a while, and then I got worried and called Mrs. Lawrence.
She's the lady next door.
Ask her if she's seen Ethel.
Yeah.
She said my wife had been over there all evening.
They were playing that baseball game, um, line drive, you know, with the cards.
I don't think I know it.
It's a new game.
Anyway, they played that for a while, and then they watched the television,
and at 12.30, Ethel said she had to come down and meet me.
Mrs. Lawrence said she left the house then and drove away.
Uh-huh.
Her neighbor's kind of bubble-headed, you know.
She's not real bright about things,
so I thought that maybe Ethel had gotten sick and couldn't answer the phone when I called.
Yeah.
I called the cab and went home.
The car was gone, so was Ethel.
I checked the whole house in the yard, not a sign of her.
Looked in the front closet, too.
Her coat was gone.
I'm sure she left the house.
Uh-huh.
I had the cab driver come back to the bar the same way that Ethel always drives it.
I thought maybe it was an accident or something.
If there was, I'd be able to see it.
You know, people are cops and stuff.
Yeah, I understand.
Wasn't anything.
Does she always come down here at night?
Regular is clockwork.
Never misses.
Excuse me.
Yeah, sure.
Hello.
Yeah.
No, I remember.
No, ma'am, I haven't seen you.
Look, lady, I got my own troubles.
I'm not trying to cover up for your husband.
Well, it doesn't make any difference to me or not what you think.
He isn't here.
Okay, that's fine with me.
Never ran up more than a 30-cent tab anyway.
And even then, he ate all the peanuts on the barn.
You tell him I said so.
Yeah, good night.
Real crackpot.
You were saying that your wife made it a practice to come down here, is that right?
That's right.
You see, our boy was killed in the Pacific five years ago, our only kid.
We both took it pretty hard.
He got on Ethel's nerves sitting around the house by herself,
so she drive down to pick me up, get here a little early,
and help me with the cleanup.
Yes, sir.
Called at 1255 to say she was leaving, walking the door at 105.
Didn't vary more than a minute, either way.
Depend on the light at the corner of Denmore and Santa Monica.
If she makes it green, it's 104 when she walks in.
Otherwise, she's a minute later.
Does she always call before she leaves the house?
I can walk over to the phone at 5 or 1 and pick it up.
No, she's going to be on the other end.
Has your wife been in good mental spirits lately, do you know?
How do you mean?
Well, I mean, has there been anything on her mind?
Anything that worried her more than usual?
No, she didn't say anything.
If there was, I'd have been able to tell.
Is there any special reason why you think she's been kidnapped?
Just that she's gone.
It doesn't like Ethel to do something like this.
I know it's not her idea.
Never done anything like this before, then?
No.
Do you have a picture of her we could have?
Sure, I got one in my wallet.
And probably that woman again.
Hello, look, I haven't seen you.
What?
Now, look, don't you try that with me.
No, I don't. If you hurt her, I'll make you sorry the rest of your life.
Hello? Hello?
Kevin?
Kevin.
What?
What's the matter?
Nothing. I guess I made a mistake about the whole thing.
What do you mean, that?
I guess nothing's happened, Ethel. Just forget I called you about it.
Is that the way you want it?
Yeah, I'm sorry to cause you all the trouble. I'd like to buy you a drink if I could.
No, thanks.
Sorry about the whole thing.
You want to tell us what they said?
Who?
Party on the phone there.
I don't want to talk about anything.
You're not going to help your wife that way. Now, what'd they ask for?
Look, I told you guys it was all a mistake. Now, why not let it go at that?
How about the picture you were going to give us?
There's no reason for it. The whole thing's a goof-up.
Well, your talking to the phone didn't make it sound that way.
All right, she's gone. Those are the people who have her.
They asked for money?
No. They said for me to sit tight and not to tell anybody or they'd kill Ethel.
I'm going to do like they say.
You're taking a big responsibility on yourself, Kevin.
Maybe so, but she's my wife.
This is a big city. It's going to be a little tough for us to find the kidnappers without your help.
Not so bad.
How do you mean that?
I got an idea who they are. It isn't going to be too hard to find out.
You go out on a limb and you may give your wife more trouble and help.
Ethel's my wife.
I'm not going to let us help you then, huh?
No, and I don't want to go over it anymore. I got the only stake in this anyway.
Well, you're wrong about that.
What?
What about your wife?
Because of his attitude, it was useless to question George Cabot any further.
We left the bar and got in touch with the office.
We made arrangements for a complete 24-hour surveillance to be kept on him.
In most cases of this type, the kidnappers usually demand that the victim's friends or relatives stay away from law enforcement agencies.
They do this to stall for time.
Statistics prove that in the vast majority of cases, the victim's fate was decided long before the kidnapping occurred.
It never is the intent of any officer to endanger the life of a kidnapped victim, but at the same time,
it is necessary for them to have all available information so that they can move rapidly when the case does break.
In an effort to gain more information on the missing woman, Frank and I went over to see the victim's next door neighbor.
She identified herself as Carol Lawrence and asked us into the house.
I'm not sure this is quite proper, you know.
What's that, Miss Lawrence?
A couple of men in my house at this hour, especially with me in my bathrobe.
I'm sure the neighbors will understand.
I hope so. A couple of real gabby ones from the streets, you know. Big mouths.
Yes, ma'am.
I guess you being a policeman, it's all right, you think?
Yes, ma'am.
Okay, then. What do you want to know?
When did you see Miss Cabot last?
You mean Ethel?
That's right.
Well, sorry, didn't I? Why?
What time did she leave?
Well, I guess it was about 12.30.
Did you say where she was going?
I didn't have to.
What do you mean?
Ethel only goes one place that time of night.
Yeah.
Down to pick up George.
We understand she usually calls him before she leaves.
That's right. I left here at 12.30, went next door to get a coat.
A couple of minutes later, I heard her drive off.
What can you tell us about her?
Nice woman. Real nice.
Yes, ma'am.
Great chums, you know.
Belong to the same club and see a lot of each other.
You see, my husband's gone and Ethel's man works every night,
so she's alone a lot of the time, too.
I understand.
Ever since their boy was killed, she's been kind of empty.
How is that?
Their boy was killed.
Yes, ma'am.
And she's been kind of empty ever since.
I see.
Then two George don't help much.
What do you mean, Miss Roy?
Oh, maybe I shouldn't have said anything.
Well, sorry, ma'am.
Oh, I sure don't want to get nobody in trouble.
Well, you won't?
You won't know that around that I told you anything.
No, ma'am.
How about you?
No, ma'am.
One thing, I can't go as a person who carries tales.
Just can't go.
I don't want anybody to say that about me.
Well, yes, ma'am.
What is it you're going to say?
I guess it'll be all right.
You're so honest looking.
Thank you.
He is, too.
Yes, ma'am.
Well, would you like to tell us, Miss Roy?
Well, you know, poor Ethel isn't very happy.
Is that so?
Oh, I feel so sorry for her sometimes.
What about?
Well, is that husband of hers?
Mr. Cabot?
Yeah.
Oh, he's a good provider and all, but I always say there's more to life than just that.
That's right.
Nice home, good car, paid bills and all, but George isn't the fella he makes out, you know.
Is that so?
Why do you think Ethel goes down to that bar to pick him up every night?
Well, we don't know.
Why don't you tell us?
You're a man.
You should be able to figure it out.
She doesn't trust him.
That's why.
Uh-huh.
All those girls hanging around the bar, Ethel notices things like that.
George has got pretty big eyes, too.
It doesn't take a lot of imagination to add it all up.
Well, has Miss Cabot ever talked to you about all this?
A couple of times.
She'd come over crying because of something George had said or done.
She'd tell me, no, sir.
No matter what it looked like, they weren't very happy.
Do they have a quarrel that you know of?
A lot of times.
George used to yell at her, scream about her, leaving him alone.
You could hear it over here.
Summertime, you know, the windows are open, sound carries right over.
Couldn't really not hear it.
In mind, I didn't try.
Yes, we understand.
Any of these quarrels ever get violent, do you know?
You mean did George ever hit her?
That's right.
Oh, you bet he did.
Gave her a black eye once, took a couple of weeks for it to go away.
Poor Ethel.
She tried to hide it with makeup, but she could still tell.
I see.
Once she left, did she say that she was going down to pick up her husband?
Yeah.
Told me she had to go get George.
Met her a little mad tonight.
Why is that?
Missed the last part of the movie on TV.
I see.
Ethel had to leave before we found out who the swindler was.
Uh-huh.
Can you tell us what kind of a car the Cabot's drive?
Pontiac.
Cooper sedan.
Sedan, light blue.
What year?
This one.
Brand new.
Do you happen to know the license number?
No.
I didn't give that to you, didn't pay a lot of attention.
Do you know if they do business with one service station?
No, I can't tell you that.
Can you give us a description of Mrs. Cabot?
Sure.
I'll give you a picture if you want one.
We'd appreciate it.
It's no trouble at all.
I've got a scrapbook here.
Shocks of Ethel.
Uh-huh.
Huh?
Here's that pencil sharpener I was looking for.
It's here now.
I know it's here.
Is that it?
Is that it there, the book?
No, no, no.
That's my high school annual.
I'll wait just a minute.
Well, it is here.
I know it is here.
Oh, here it is.
Uh-huh.
I took all these myself.
Yes, ma'am.
They're very nice.
Oh, that's my husband.
I took that at Clarnot Island one spring.
Uh-huh.
Oh, here's one you can take.
This one here in the chef's half, that's Ethel.
We were having a barbecue and she was the cook.
It's a little fuzzy, but it gives you an idea what she looks like, you see.
Uh-huh.
Her hair's cut short now.
Had it cut last month.
Kind of a bob-like.
You can take it.
Thank you very much, ma'am.
You know, I just thought of it.
You haven't told me what this is all about.
Something happened to Ethel and George?
Well, we're not sure yet.
We're just checking out a complaint.
Oh, well, as long as you're all right.
Yes, ma'am.
Well, I think that about covers it.
I'd sure like to thank you for your cooperation.
No, I'm happy to help.
Good night, Miss Loris.
Good night, Mr. Smith.
Well, there's one more thing.
Uh-huh.
Will you be home tomorrow if we have to get in touch with you?
All day.
If I don't answer right away, let the phone ring for a while.
I've got some work to do in the garden.
All right, ma'am.
Thank you very much.
Well, I hope I helped you out.
Good night.
What do you think?
I don't know.
The way she tells it, something's out of line, isn't it?
Well, Cabot seemed to be pretty upset when he got that phone call.
There's only one big trouble with that.
What do you mean?
Maybe that's what he wanted us to think.
2.45 a.m., Frank and I got back to the office.
We ran the names George and Ethel Cabot through R&I, but we found no record on them.
We sent a teletype to DMV up in Sacramento asking for all available information on a
car registered to George Cabot or his wife or both.
Frank went over to the business office to see if the men in the units that were keeping
Cabot under surveillance had reported in.
There were no messages.
We made a 15.7 report directing it to Captain Warman telling him of what had happened and
what action we'd taken.
At 3.52 a.m., we were ready to leave the office.
You all set?
Yeah.
Well, let's go.
All right.
I get it.
Make it fast, huh?
Armicide, fighting.
Where?
Yeah.
Okay, we'll be right over.
What do you got?
Ethel Cabot.
Yeah?
I just found her.
You are listening to Dragnet, the authentic story of your police force in action.
Frank and I left the office and immediately drove over to Georgia Street Receiving Hospital.
When we got there, we talked to Dr. Sebastian and he gave us the whole story.
The woman had been found lying by the roadside.
She was picked up by a motorist.
He'd taken her directly to the hospital.
Sebastian went on to tell us that from her appearance, Ethel Cabot had been severely
beaten and then rolled or dragged in hot tar.
Her clothes were covered with it.
Her hair was matted.
The doctor said that the woman's head had been shaved and that most of the tar had been
removed.
A tentative identification had been made through a letter found on her purse when she'd been
brought in.
An attempt was made to call her husband, but there was no answer at either the bar or at
their home.
Frank and I waited until the woman had been treated.
Then we went in to talk to her.
She was in a state of severe shock and she was incoherent.
Don't hit me anymore.
Please don't hit me anymore.
Get out of her hand.
I didn't do anything.
Don't hit me.
Miss Cabot.
Please let me go.
Please.
You're all right now.
There's nothing to be afraid of here.
You're lying.
You're in a hospital, Miss Cabot.
You're all right.
Don't let him get me anymore.
Don't let him touch me.
Nobody's going to hurt you, Miss Cabot.
Where's George?
We're trying to reach him, ma'am.
I don't want to see him.
Not ever.
It's all his fault.
George caused this?
They told me.
Who said that?
Both of them.
They said they were doing it for George.
There were two people?
Yes.
They kept hitting me.
They poured the tar over me.
There wasn't anything I could do.
Nothing.
Did you know these men?
They kept hitting me.
George.
George tell them to stop.
Not anymore, please.
Not anymore.
Miss Cabot, do you know who the two men were?
No.
I don't know them.
They didn't have any reason to do it.
Except for George.
That's what they told me.
I didn't know they were going to hit me like that.
Did you hear a name?
No.
I don't know them.
Did either one of them call a name of any kind?
Please make them stop.
Don't let them pour any more tar on me.
Miss Cabot.
Burns.
I can't stand anymore.
Miss Cabot, I'm sorry.
Miss Cabot, can you tell us what the men looked like?
George.
George, tell them to stop.
Tell them to stop.
Miss Cabot.
We're not going to get much more out of her, Joe.
Better get a policewoman up here to stand by.
Yeah.
George.
George, can you stop?
Joe.
Yeah, Dave.
While you were talking, the Cabot woman's call
came in for you to get in touch with the business office.
OK, Dave.
Right away.
They probably got a line on Cabot, huh?
Hello.
This Friday.
When?
OK, we're leaving right now.
Right.
Bye.
How long really tears it?
What's that?
We just lost the tail on Cabot.
Frank and I went back to the office.
We got in touch with the unit who'd been assigned
to keep Cabot under surveillance.
They told us that the man had gone downtown
and had entered an all-night movie.
In the darkness, he managed to get away.
A team of men was sent out to his house,
but he hadn't returned.
A stakeout was set up on it.
The lack of his bar failed to yield any additional information
as to his whereabouts.
A local broadcast was sent out to all units
asking that they be on the lookout for the man.
If he was found, he was to be taken into custody,
and we were to be notified immediately.
6.45 a.m.
Frank and I checked out of the office,
and we went home to shave and change our clothes.
At 8.15 a.m., we got back to homicide.
There was somebody waiting to see us.
You want to see us?
Are you Friday and Smith?
That's right.
I'm Arnold Leffer. I got something to tell you.
All right.
You heard from Cabot?
No.
Oh, I figured maybe he'd call you.
You know him?
Yeah, yeah. I work for him.
Help out in this place.
You heard from him?
Yeah, this morning. He called me at home.
Did he say where he was?
No, but I think he'd been drinking.
He sounded like it.
Yeah.
It was either that or he was mad, one or the other.
Is that right?
Yeah, the last time I heard him talk like he did this morning
was when he had that beef in the bar about a week ago.
What was that all about?
Oh, a couple of guys thought they were pretty rough,
tried to prove it to George.
Yeah.
Well, he cleaned up the place with them.
What caused that beef?
Well, they started to get loud with a couple of girls in the place.
George told them to quiet down. They didn't do it, so he told them to get out.
Yeah.
They didn't want to go, and they tried to put the muscle on George,
but they tried it with the wrong guy.
George really showed them.
That's all?
Oh, yeah.
Bounced them both right out in the street.
The guys were pretty sore about it.
When did this happen?
About a week ago.
I don't remember the exact date.
Mm-hmm.
They were pretty sore.
Told George they'd find some way to get even with him.
I get it.
Homicide Friday.
He's not here right now. Can I take a message?
Mm-hmm.
Yes, ma'am.
No, he's not working today.
Yes, ma'am.
Well, if you give him your number, I'll have him call when he gets in.
All right.
That's 9-8.
Yes, ma'am.
No, no, it's right in the message book.
No, he'll see it.
That's right.
Yes, ma'am.
Mm-hmm.
No, he'll look at the book when he comes in.
No, the first thing.
You bet.
Well, you're more than welcome.
Yes, ma'am.
Bye.
You know these two men?
Yeah, I've seen them a couple of times around the block.
You know their names?
Well, one of them's called Jack something or other.
I don't know the last part.
How about the other one?
I can't do any good there.
You know where we can find him?
Yeah, that's one of the reasons I come in here.
I want to tell you what George said to me.
Yeah?
Well, he said he found out who kidnapped Ethel.
Told him he was going to get him.
He mentioned this Jack.
I figure it was the same guy.
Where can we find him?
Well, there's a room in house over on 7th.
I can show you.
Well, let's go.
Look, there's something else, so...
What's that?
Well, I was at the bar when George called,
and after I talked to him, I checked around.
Yeah?
His gun's gone.
Frank and I left the office and drove over to 7th Street.
The bar boy pointed out the roaming house
where he said we could find Jack and his friend.
We checked with the manager
and found that two men answering the description we'd gotten
shared a room on the third floor.
We left Arnold Leffer in the car,
and we went up to the room.
Should be the last one.
Yeah.
I wonder if Cabot's got it.
He has. Come on.
Let's kick it in.
All right.
All right, Cabot, let him go.
All right.
Let him go.
Get him away.
All right, come on.
Please don't stop me.
He's crazy. This guy's crazy.
Come on, Cabot. Take it easy now.
Come on. Come on over here.
Get over there.
You keep him away from me.
Go on, move.
Move.
What do you think you're gonna prove
doing a thing like this, Cabot?
A couple of minutes more, I'll be right back.
I'll be right back.
A couple of minutes more, I wouldn't have cared.
We found your wife.
She's gonna be all right.
Yeah, I know.
You didn't help yourself much
doing a thing like this.
He's crazy.
Shut up.
All right, now, come on.
Calm down, both of you, and stand still.
All right.
How about this one?
Name's Rick O'Martin.
Him and Jack took my wife.
They admit it?
Yeah, they said they did it
to get him with me for the fight.
Well, we didn't hurt her.
We just scared her a little bit.
That's all.
They're right.
What difference does it make?
We're gonna beat it anyway.
You are, huh?
Sure.
All we gotta do is come up with the right plea.
You got it all figured, haven't you?
Sure.
There's a lot of ways we can go.
Yeah, we got one in mind.
The story you have just heard is true.
The names were changed to protect the innocent.
On December 14th, trial was held in Department 98,
Superior Court of the State of California,
in and for the
County of Los Angeles.
Jack Prescott Bischoff and Rico Blake Martin were tried and convicted of kidnapping one
count.
They both received sentence as prescribed by law.
Kidnapping with bodily injury is punishable by life imprisonment without possibility of
parole or by death in the lethal gas chamber.
You have just heard Dragnet, the authentic story of your police force in action,
and starring Jack Webb, a presentation of the United States Armed Forces Radio Service.
Nats Kara?
You