Ladies and gentlemen, the story you are about to hear is true.
The names have been changed to protect the innocent.
Drag men.
You're a detective sergeant.
You're assigned to homicide detail.
A woman reports her sister is missing.
The story she gives you indicates foul play.
Your job, investigate.
It was Tuesday, April 8th.
It was warm in Los Angeles.
We were working the day watch out on homicide division.
My partner is Frank Smith.
The boss is Captain Norman.
My name is Friday.
I was on my way back from the business office and it was 1146 A.M. when I got to room 42.
Homicide.
It's just too bad to get a little faster on things like this.
It's just too bad.
Yes ma'am.
Hi Joe.
This is my partner Sergeant Friday.
Joe, this is Mrs. Moffat.
How are you ma'am?
How do you do?
Want to tell him the story?
You think it'll do any good?
Yes ma'am.
Well then, my sister is gone.
Yes.
Disappeared and I want you to find her.
When did you see her last?
A couple of weeks ago.
Could you give us a date?
You have a calendar?
Yes ma'am, right on the wall there behind you.
Oh, this is the eighth.
Maggie's birthday was in March and that'd make it 14th of March.
I see.
She came by to thank me for the party.
Had a few of the girls in for her.
That's your sister?
Yes, Margaret Shane.
Have you heard anything from her since then?
Not a peep.
What about her home?
Have you checked there?
Tried to call her on the phone a couple of times.
Didn't talk to her though.
Who'd you speak with?
Her husband.
Did you ask him where your sister was?
Yes, I came right out with it.
Didn't mince anything up.
What'd he have to say?
Well, then, just beat around.
Didn't come out with a yay or no.
Just beat around.
How about the rest of her family?
Isn't any.
I'm the only living relative she has.
Impossible.
She's ill?
If that's so, I'd know about it.
We were pretty close.
Hardly no secrets from each other.
I see.
Now, if you're all done asking me the same questions this fella has, I want to know.
I know there's something wrong.
I want you to find out.
All right, we'll check on it.
I want you to do more than that, a lot more.
Big pardon?
I want you to arrest Maggie's husband.
Well, why?
Because he killed her.
We checked the name and description of the woman through missing persons files, but we
failed to find anything on her.
While I talked to Karen Moffat, Frank went down the hall and ran the names Margaret Shane,
and her husband Gordon through R&I.
There was nothing on either one of them.
1.06 p.m.
We left the office and drove out to check the missing woman's house.
Doesn't seem like anybody's home.
Well, let's check the bank.
All right.
You think there's anything to it?
You know, as much as I do, we both started from the same place.
Yeah.
I'll get it.
All right.
There's somebody home.
Yeah.
I wonder why he didn't bark when we knocked on the door.
There's nothing here.
Let's check the garage there.
Lock?
No.
Well, it's quite a shop, huh?
A lot of tools.
Doesn't look like anything.
No.
Frank?
Yeah?
Come here.
Right here, under the sawdust.
Where?
Oh, yeah.
Looks like somebody tried to hide it.
Blood stains.
We put on the call to the crime lab requesting that a crew be sent out to check the stains
that we found on the floor.
We talked to the neighbors about the couple and we got the address of the place where Mr.
Shane was employed.
It was a large wholesale carpet company.
We found Shane in one of the offices.
That's right.
No, ma'am, if it's put in, it should make the room a lot warmer.
Another carpet you've chosen shouldn't show anywhere for years.
Mm-hmm.
Well, we found that color doesn't show the dirt.
No, ma'am.
Well, it'll increase the value of your home.
Oh, that's right.
Oh, we can have it in for you the day after tomorrow.
That's right.
I'll give you a call.
All right.
Bye.
Yes, sir, can I do something for you?
Mr. Shane?
That's right.
Do you want to come in?
What can I do for you?
Police officers.
It's Frank Smith.
My name's Friday.
How do you do, sir?
Something wrong?
No, sir, just a couple of questions we'd like to ask.
Oh, sure.
Do you want to sit down?
Thank you.
Cigarette?
Yeah, thanks.
How about you, Mr. Smith?
Yes, thank you.
One light?
I've got it.
Here you are.
Thanks.
Thanks.
Now then, what's this all about?
You know where your wife is, Mr. Shane?
Oh, there's something about Maggie?
Well, do you know where she is?
Look, Mr. Friday, if there's something wrong with Maggie, I've got the right to know about
it.
Yes, sir, that's true.
We'd like to talk to Mrs. Shane.
We hope you tell us where we might reach her.
Was she in trouble?
No, sir.
Well, then I don't understand all the questions.
We've got a report that she's missing.
Who filed it?
Her sister.
That figures.
How's that?
She is never going to stop.
I don't believe I'll follow you.
Karen's been hacked at me ever since I married Maggie.
Now the day goes by she doesn't plan some kind of a dig.
Does she have a reason?
Yeah.
She had it all fixed for Maggie to marry someone else.
I came along and upset her plans.
Been trying to break us up ever since.
That's how?
Yeah.
This fellow she was trying to palm off on my wife.
Karen's husband worked for her.
She figured it'd be real soft having the boss as a brother-in-law.
Well, the way it worked out, the slob had to work for a living.
Almost kills Karen every time she thinks of it.
Where is your wife?
I wish I could tell you.
What?
I wish I knew where she was.
Haven't you got any idea?
No.
A couple weeks ago I came home from work.
Maggie was gone.
I haven't seen her since.
Can you pin it down?
Uh, Thursday, week.
She called during the day to tell me she wanted me to go out to dinner.
Said she wanted me to be home on time.
I told her I wouldn't be able to make it.
We had word.
She hung up.
When I got to the house, she was gone.
Did she leave any kind of a note?
Yeah.
Have you got it?
I don't think so.
I was pretty upset.
Guess I must have thrown her away.
Haven't seen her around since.
You know, you've got quite a woodworking shop in your garage.
Yeah, yeah.
Stuff's getting a little rusty now.
I haven't felt like doing anything.
Now, this trouble with your wife, was there another man involved?
It'd be hard to say.
What do you mean?
Well, Maggie's an attractive girl.
Everywhere she went, there was some guy trying to make time.
Might have been someone special.
I wouldn't know.
Mm-hmm.
I wonder if we could use one of the phones outside.
Use this, if you like.
Well, one of the others will do.
Sure.
Go ahead.
I'll call over, Joe.
See what they've come up with.
Okay.
There's notes your wife left.
What'd it say?
You mean the exact words?
If you remember them.
It was pretty simple.
Just that she was leaving me.
Said she didn't have to tell me why, and then I knew.
Did she say where she was going?
No.
Figured maybe she went back east.
She's got some friends there.
Where?
Nebraska, I think.
I've never met her.
How about clothes?
What?
Did she take any clothes with her?
Oh, yeah, I guess so.
She had quite a few.
I looked at her closet.
I couldn't tell what was gone.
She took her fur coat, though.
Mm-hmm.
Did you try to contact any of her friends?
I called around.
I didn't find out anything.
Mm-hmm.
Oh, things are far, Sergeant.
Isn't anything new about a wife leaving her husband?
Read about it all the time in the papers.
Karen's just a little girl.
She's soaring at me, always has been, always will be.
Joe.
Yeah?
Excuse me.
Yeah, sure.
Did you talk to the lab?
Yeah.
I just finished the tests on the blood stains.
Mm-hmm.
We're not too far off.
Huh?
Human blood.
Frank and I took Gordon Shane back to his house.
During the ride, he was quiet, and he refused to be let out.
He was a good boy.
He was a good boy.
He was a good boy.
He was a good boy.
He was a good boy.
He was a good boy.
He was a good boy.
He was a good boy.
He was a good boy.
When we arrived at the floating park discount,
it was like there was stalling for theive at night.
Why didn't he arrive yet, and he refused to be lead into
a conversation about his wife?
When we arrived at the house,
we took him back to the garage.
The crew from the crime lab had
gone back to the office to make the groupings tests
on the blood stains.
We should tell me what this is all about.
We figure you might have the answer to that.
When are you gonna stop talking in riddles?
You know, Shane, you know what we're after.
You'll save yourself a lot of trouble if you go along with us.
Well, I don't know.
What are you after?
You dragged me away from my job,
caused me a lot of embarrassment.
Fine sure you got an explanation for this what?
The blood stains here on the floor
Yeah, sure. I killed a couple of people. This is where I did it. We don't need any jokes Shane
Just figure it out. Well, you better turn in your deer stalker cap. I made those stains myself
Yeah, I was working on the lathe chiseled slipped out of my hand cut my foot when this happened a couple weeks ago
before or after your wife left
Now you're ready to stop the game. It's a real easy question Shane. Give us the answer the same way. Will you?
Before how much a couple of days you told us your wife left on the 27th of March. Is that right? Yeah
I guess is it right or isn't it? It's right. It's right. When'd you cut your foot the Sunday before?
How do you pull that date up? Well, no trouble. It's the last time I worked out here
Oh, well, the cut that bad still be a mark with me. Yeah, you mind showing us now at all
You know your blood type. Hmm. What's your blood type? Oh, how about your wife's?
I don't know somehow we never quite got around to talking about all right. Let's go in the house
You can show us your foot there. Yeah, sure you think you might be able to come up with a note your wife left as well
Look
You know much about the law what do you mean if I get out of this can I bring suit against my sister-in-law?
Okay
Well seems there should be something I can do to close her mouth all the time Maggie and me were together. She was causing trouble
Like to really fix her good. That's a civil matter. You better see your lawyer about that
I'm going to get the bill. I'm not
Talking to living room where living room you want to go ahead. Yeah
This is the living room. You can sit down any place. All right
Little messy. I haven't spent a lot of time here since she left just toss those things on the floor
Don't worry about it. You want to see if you can find that note now? Yeah, I think maybe it's in the desk
I'm gonna play them and I'll have a look first. You guys don't trust anybody do you that's the way it's gonna be
You got to go with it. All right
Better make sure I haven't got a machine gun hidden in there. You know, you've done pretty good up to here Shane
Don't press your luck. Yeah, go ahead tear the place up. You better haven't got a wall bed
You could look for her in there. I don't seem to make any difference to you that your wife left at all
That's the way it looks. Yeah
Now you ain't far off real load off my back. We've been married over four years and all that time
I haven't had a minute's rest
Thinking how she was gonna run off for somebody else figured that she dropped me now. It's over
I don't have to worry anymore. You got it wrong Shane. That right? Yeah, take a look Joe
What do you got there? You got no right to go through my personal things. When you see your wife last
I'm not gonna say anything more. You're trying to lead me into something looks like you found your own way. Now, how about it?
I'm not gonna talk anymore. All right, you call it any way you want no matter how it turns out
You're gonna carry the load
All right, she left on the 27th. That's the last time you saw her
Yeah, have you heard anything from her since then? Oh, and I hope you got an answer for these
Where you got a couple of checks made out to you and they're signed by your wife
Well, what's that prove the dates and the checks make a lot out of you Shane? Ah, they were written a week after she left you
We made a search of the house
But we failed to turn up anything more that would tie Gordon Shane in with his wife's disappearance
We looked through the desk and we found several letters that she'd written these were taken for handwriting comparison
We also found several pictures of the missing woman a check with the neighbors failed to give us anything further to work on
All of them told us of constant fights between Shane and his wife
One of the people said that on several occasions the sound of sobbing had been heard coming from the house
At 520 p.m. Frank and I left the place and took Shane down to the City Hall
The checks and samples of Mrs. Shane's writing were turned over to Larry Sloan for comparison
We put in a call to the crime lab, but we found that the blood grouping tests were not finished
612 we took the suspect to the interrogation room
Let's sit down over there. Okay
How long you think you're gonna be able to hold me depends on when we get the truth
Well, you saw the cut on my foot. You didn't find anything at the house. Look you're grabbing at shadows
You still haven't told us about the check. No reason to everything I say you twist around so it ends up something
I don't mean where'd you get the checks from Maggie? What about the date on them? I don't know
I guess she made a mistake when they were written. Where'd you get them? Found them at the desk
Well, didn't you think it was kind of funny that your wife would write a couple of checks just leave him laying around on a desk
No, Maggie was always doing something like that. She didn't care about money. How about you Shane? Huh make any difference to you?
Look, I'm getting tired of this some crazy old bag comes in here tells you a fairy tale and you buy it all away
Any special reason why you're taking my sister-in-law's word for it?
Well, she tells us things that up well, then you better go over the column again. My wife walked out on me
There wasn't any fight when it happened. She just picked up and she left. I don't know where she is. I don't much care
But you put this down in your book. I didn't kill her now. Look leave me alone
When do I get to call a lawyer? We'll set it up for you. Well do it fast cuz you get nothing more from me
That's the way you want it was in any other way. I'm telling you the truth and you don't believe it
We'll keep my mouth shut so you can't make it any worse. All right, Gordon
We'll take you over to the main jail. You can call your lawyer for me
What are you holding me on?
Suspicion of murder you just don't give up do you look we got to go along with the evidence
Well, you better check it again cuz you're making a mistake somewhere along the line. That's the way it looks to you does it
Yeah, go over the road again find that you're a cop. No, let's do it the easy way. Ah, you pointed out
The suspect was removed to the main jail and held for further investigation
Frank checked the office and I went down the hall to talk to Larry Sloan in handwriting
Joe how's it going? You all throw those checks Larry just wrapping it up. All right the way sure sit down
What do you figure I want you to tell us
How to start complaint woman wanted us to find her sister. Where the checks fit in
Found him with a husband dates a couple of days after she disappeared
Figure he might have written him. Huh? Well, that's one way
Well, that doesn't okay. What do you got the endorsement on the back of Shane's writing his signature? Yeah here you can see it
Yeah, here you can see it
No trouble there. The old way pulls a stroke down. Yes, that's his what about the writing on the face
No, but here shading on the G. Yeah, where the crossbar on the T's pulled up. These are the samples and you got the same thing right here
No doubt about it, huh? No with me woman wrote the checks
So in here Frank, oh
Just talk with Lee at the crime lamp. Yeah, he finished the grouping test
What do you find got in touch with Karen Moffat found out the missing woman's blood type? Yeah stains on the floor aren't hers
They belong to Shane
How you doing Joe?
Not good. Looks like we got the wrong man in jail doesn't it? You are listening to dragnet the authentic story of your police force in action
Frank and I left the office went over to the main jail to see Gordon Shane and talked to him for over an hour
He told us that he and his wife had been having trouble for quite a while and that they'd separated on several occasions
He went on to tell us that he didn't know for sure whether there was another man involved
But that he heard his wife spent a lot of time in a small bar on Vermont Avenue
He said that it was possible we could pick up some information on her there
Frank and I left the jail and we went to the main jail and we talked to him for over an hour
He said that it was possible we could pick up some information on her there Frank and I left the jail and drove over the place
It was an average neighborhood tavern we talked to the bartender
Only one way to describe her, a man oh man
Was there anybody special that Mrs. Shane spent a lot of time with would you know?
Gee I don't know a lot of people in here like a family
Guess if you had to nail it down it'd be Leonard
Who's Leonard?
Another regular he's here almost every afternoon
He and Mrs. Shane were pretty friendly huh?
Yeah real buddies they used to come in and get gas together spend the whole afternoon
Sit down there at the inn and play horse play it by the hour not for money we don't allow that in here
What do you know about him?
Not much doesn't figure him and Maggie had hit it off though
Why do you say that?
Well it just doesn't she liked her fellas big you know dark and handsome
Leonard's a little guy not more than five-fourth sure ain't anything to look at
What's his last name?
Hmm I think it's P-U-R-D-Y Purdy that seems like it's it
What's he look like?
Hmm?
Not much about him you'd remember he's a little guy blonde hair real bad complexion
He has a mustache you know big kind of handlebar like
Yeah you know where he lived?
Not for sure I think he's got a room over on Fountain someplace I don't know the number
Where's your phone?
Through the back door there
Thanks
I'll check it Joe
Alright
This is Purdy work for a living?
No regular
What's he duty now?
He's some kind of salesman door to door I don't know what he peddled
Seen him a couple of times with a Snapple case
He's been around lately?
No hadn't thought about it but I guess I haven't seen him in a couple of weeks
You ever hear what he and Mrs. Shane talked about?
Word here and there nothing you could put together I think she spent the time with him because
she didn't have to worry about it
How do you mean that?
Well you know a little guy like that couldn't give me no trouble he was always around Maggie
didn't have a car so Leonard is a driver if she wanted to go someplace
What kind of a car?
41 Bissola parked it out back a couple of times it's a real wreck
Alright
What'd she do?
Huh?
Maggie what are you after?
Like I said we like to talk to her
Sure doubt you get to know her after that doesn't matter how much money she spent she can't
switch you back
She spent quite a bit in here did she?
Yeah
Her and Leonard had really put the drinks away both of them had hollow legs
You know I've seen some pretty heavy drinkers walk up against them they don't stand a chance
Maggie can really put it away
The hose causes trouble
How do you mean?
It's loud yelling all over about how she could buy and sell everybody in a place
A couple of times I had to ask her to get out things like that hurt business you know
She carry a lot of money with her did she?
Oh yeah I always had a bundle six was an heiress or something I don't know she was always loaded
though
Anything on Purdy?
Yeah sure is
Yeah?
Got out of state mental hospital six months ago
From his package we found that Leonard Purdy had been arrested several times for suspicion
of grand theft however he hadn't been convicted on any of them also there were 18 drunk arrests
against him
We put in a call to Georgia Street psycho detail and we talked to Lieutenant Quinn he
remembered Purdy and went on to say that the suspect had been in the scene several times
since his release
He told us that Purdy had committed himself to the state hospital as an alcoholic
Quinn went on to say that when Purdy was drunk he became violent and that on three of his
arrests it had taken several officers to subdue him
We contacted the authorities up at Camarillo they told us that the suspect had been released
by them after treatment and that he apparently was cured
We checked the last address in his package but we found that he'd moved a local and an
APB was gotten out on him
We asked EMV to furnish any and all information on a car registered to him two days went by
without a word of him
In the meantime we talked to all of his friends and acquaintances from each one of them we
got the same story
Leonard Purdy was a freeloader who'd do anything for a dollar
On Thursday April 10th we got word that the suspect had been seen in the second hand store
down on Main Street
We checked the area and got an identification from his mug shot
He'd come in to pawn a man's watch
From the buy book we got an address out on Gladys Avenue
We talked to the landlady and found that the suspect was in his room
Frank and I went upstairs
Want to talk to you Purdy?
Yes and I
Yeah what do you want?
You Leonard Purdy?
That's right who are you guys?
Police officers want to talk to you
I got nothing to do with cops I have my fill up
Yeah
Why don't you come in?
Frank
Yeah
You gonna be here long?
Not long
That's good I don't feel like making small talk
I don't know if you drink but there's just barely enough for me you can understand
Put the glass down Purdy
What?
Put it down
You got no right to come in here and tell me what to do nobody asked you
No I don't miss my closet
Does this fur coat belong to you Purdy?
Yeah I get cold nights
You know a woman by the name of Margaret Shane?
Never heard of her
You sure about that?
I'm sure I'm sure I got nothing to answer to you before you come in here and tell me
what to do I don't have to give you one single answer about nothing
You better come up with one
What's that?
This coat
What about it?
It's got Margaret Shane's name in it
Well it must be a mistake I don't know anybody named Shane nobody
We got a lot of people who say you do
You telling me the truth?
Same people tell us you were with her when she disappeared
They don't know what they're talking about
The way they put it it's pretty straight
Who told you who?
Just give me some names
Everybody we talked to
They said I was with her?
That's right
Now where is she?
I don't know
You gotta do better than that
No it's the truth I don't know where she is
I killed her but I don't know where she is
We took the suspect down to the city hall and questioned him
He finally sobered up enough to tell us that he'd gotten into an argument with a Shane
woman and beaten her to death
He went on to say that his car was being repaired and that he'd rented one and driven it out
into the desert
He buried the victim there
We showed him maps of the area but he was unable to tell us where to find the body
He only knew that he'd put it in the culvert along the roadside
We got the name of the automobile rental agency and we called them
Their records gave us the date of the rental and the mileage the car had been driven
We put the suspect in our car and started out toward the Mojave Desert
As we drove Purdy verified our route
By dividing the total mileage in half and figuring the distance between his house and
the office of the auto rental company we had a vague idea where to start looking
After we'd been driving for over two hours we pulled to the side of the road
How's it look around here?
Yeah it might be it I think up the road a little way
Remember that big rock over there?
Remember that pretty good it's up ahead a little
All right
We drove for another 30 minutes and then Purdy directed us to pull off onto a dirt road
We drove another half a mile and we came to the end of the road
We can't go any further
Don't have to
Huh?
I remember now let's get out of the car
Just stay close to us Purdy right here
All right
Which way?
Over here
Sure beautiful day
Yeah
It's different when you get out in the country everything's got a different color
Come on Purdy where is she?
Over there behind the bushes
I'll go look
Always been in big trouble
What's that?
Boozing it up every time I get a few drinks I don't know what I'm doing
But after I got out of the hospital I had it made you know I'd be able to stay away
from it
No
First time I had trouble I went back I always went back
How about it?
Yeah
She's there
All the time that's what caused the trouble wouldn't be here if it wasn't for me boozing
it up
If I could just stay away from it I wouldn't have any problems I want to give it up
If I could just find a way
You got one now
The story you have just heard is true the names were changed to protect the innocent
On August 14th trial was held in Department 98 Superior Court of the State of California
in and for the County of Los Angeles
Leonard Eiler Purdy pled guilty to murder in the second degree and received sentence
as prescribed by law
Murder in the second degree is punishable by imprisonment for a period of from five
years to life in the state penitentiary
DRAGNET the story of your police force in action is a presentation of the United States
Armed Forces Radio Service
The story of your police force in action is a presentation of the United States Armed
Forces Radio Service
The story of your police force in action is a presentation of the United States Armed
Forces Radio Service