Dragnet - Season 2 - Episode 28 - The Big Hands

[Music] ladies and gentlemen story you're about to see is true the names have been changed to protect the innocent [Music] it was Tuesday October 27th we were working the day watch out a homicide division my partner's Frank Smith the boss is Captain Mormon my name is Friday an unidentified woman had been found murdered in a hotel room the cause of death was strangulation there was no lead to the identity of the killer we had to find him well this is all of it you finally know nothing too good no I don't think you could identify every what we've got here Martin points the body yet yeah this morning how about fingerprints ready they find any in the hotel room checked with Bergman no foreign prints no dead end there what about the woman's purse did it show anything no chance you can see this fabric here file won't take a print contents of the first usual step calm lipstick key chain one key on it half package chewing gum coin purses the diamond two nickels in it that's all of it according to the room clerk at the hotel she had a wallet with her when she checked in there no sign of that huh no no sign of in the hotel room either checked everything not the only piece of jewelry found on the body that wedding ring there yeah it's a cheap ring no markings on it no way of tracing it not the only thing I can tell you she's pretty well dressed that's an expensive bag there sure not a cheap dress either same for a coat and shoes they cost money - how about labels on any of that stuff right yeah Joe there's one on the coat here you can see it right here banlist department store los angeles coats fairly new they might be able to give you something on it yeah maybe people don't tell did you get anything there well it could have been a little better woman checked in last night around 8 o'clock she registered as John Ross in life LA anyone see the man with her no nobody home clerk says a woman came in alone said her husband was parking the car so she registered for both of them mm-hmm clerk said he left the desk a few minutes after that figures a man was to come in some time while he was gone nobody on duty at the desk after midnight could have left the hotel at any time after that without being seen she registered at 8:00 p.m. Carter said she died about 10:30 you're not even sure there was a man with her are you yeah the woman who was next door of the murder room she told her she heard a man a woman arguing that was about ten o'clock said it got pretty loud no idea who the woman really was huh I don't suppose that John Ross and wife business means anything that's pretty doubtful ray about all we got to go on at the physical description from the corner to the small woman five foot 191 in the quarter pounds brown hair blue eyes I'm 31 or 32 years old we got her prints off to Washington you got any ideas well it might be a psycho killer how do you figure the coroner's report listed strangulation is the cause of yeah whoever did it made sure her neck was broken at approximately six o'clock that morning in a second-floor room of a downtown hotel the body of an unidentified woman was found murdered preliminary investigation failed to reveal the true identity of the victim or the killer as far as physical evidence was concerned there wasn't much to go on the deep bruises on her neck and throat along with a crushed vertebrae at the base of her skull indicated a savage attack 1:55 p.m. through the label on the dead woman's coat we traced the garment to the department store where it had been purchased but they had no record on it it was a cash purchase and the salesgirl couldn't remember the customer investigation during the next two days failed to turn up any leads we showed a morgue picture of the victim two bartenders waitresses parking lot attendants in the vicinity of the hotel they couldn't identify her we rechecked tenants and employees at the hotel it got us nothing Thursday 5:48 p.m. sure got me stopped two days of legwork and we're no place well it might be in better shape when you get that kick back from Washington sure hope so a victim was a nice-looking woman well-dressed nice clothes how come she's staying a cheap hotel in a neighborhood like that doesn't jive for my money well that's hard to say excuse me yes sir can we help you no I guess that just depends I wait to see a couple of detectives here who'd you want to say a couple detectives who are they well this is pretty kind of a denture you know I have to talk to myself they told me to see Friday on Smith right Friday Joe Smith detectives they're handing the keys well yes sir I'm Joe Friday this is my partner Frank Smith what we do for you well Fred uh they say that you're working on that murder case that woman who's found the hotel yes sir that's right mm-hmm I see your badges yes sir yeah that looks authentic where's my ID card yeah nice likeness mm-hmm typos good blood now I've been reading about that murder in the papers you're gonna thank me for this I got all you want to know about that murder you mind telling us your name sir I don't mind LP Morgan I was a good friend of hers you know used to work with you mean the dead woman same one never forget a face Vaughn MacLeod I saw that picture in the paper and I said to myself there's old Maude you're pretty sure that are you mr. Morgan sure I'm sure Maude McCloud we used to work together in the circus Maude was a bareback girl you know best in the country real trouper well now what makes you so sure it's the same woman mr. Morgan when was the last time you saw this friend of yours this mard MacLeod well I used to see her all the time work the old sells floater together I got a picture of her you mind if we take a look at it well that's why I came down here I want to help out she's got to be identified yeah I got it here someone okay Carson City no I mean it smarting circus costume awful print take a look at that that's Marty nerd glide-on Oh sir this is a drawing that doesn't seem to be much resemblance there is that right I'm afraid you've made a mistake mr. Morgan thanks for your cooperation anyway appreciate you coming in I was sure it was mod okay homicide Friday oh yeah uh-huh is that right what to say uh-huh okay fine yeah we'll pick it up thank you anything communications they just got the kickback from Washington on the dead woman's fingerprints any luck yeah they got our identified worked in an aircraft plant during the war names Doris Fraser I can't help but think you fellas are missing the bet I know that dead woman oh no sir she's already been identified mr. Morgan we know who she is her name is Doris Fraser that's all that's her that's right what do you know about that old Maude she went and changed her name [Music] thirsty 6:35 p.m. Frank and I went down the hall to communications and got a copy of the kickback from Washington the murder victim was identified as Doris Alan Fraser she applied for a position as a typist at the Eagle aircraft plant in Burbank in 1942 next morning we checked the personnel office at the plant and we found that Doris Fraser had been employed as a typist from 1942 to 1944 in going over her application we found her last-known address listed as 73 46 Oakdale Avenue her application stated she was single with no previous employment with no known relatives we could uncover no further information on the girl we drove across town to the Oak Hill Avenue address a large apartment building in a better-than-average neighborhood the manager told us that Doris Fraser had lived there up to 18 months before he said that a few weeks before she moved she was married but he was unable to remember the name of her husband the manager also told us that the newly married couple apparently began having trouble from the day they were married we checked the next forwarding address a boarding house for women in the southwest end of the city Frank and I interviewed the woman in charge of mrs. Francis Watson we talked to her in the dining room in the boarding house where she was polishing a set of silverware well of course when she first came here we didn't know it but she was married this is a home for single girls and we have our rules and regulations just like any other respectable place yes ma'am well as we came to find out later Doris wasn't only married but she was fighting with her husband I understand he wasn't much at all she was thinking of getting a divorce as a matter of fact did you ever meet her husband Miss Watson no I never did I suppose it's just as well I didn't I understand that Doris left him after they'd been married only a few months uh-huh you know what his name is ma'am no I have no idea Doris always used her maiden name when she was with me and you never saw the man mrs. Watson he never came to the house here no I didn't say I never saw him I said I didn't meet him yes it was once when he came to the house to see Doris what was the occasion would you mind telling us about it well it was most unpleasant I can tell you that let me see now yes Doris had been here about six months even by that time I was beginning to see the real side of the girl no character off sir no character at all it shows up every time yes ma'am would you go on please well as I was saying it was after about six months when this man brought Doris home late one night about a quarter till midnight I'd say upset the whole house well how was that ma'am the two of them this man and Doris they stood right off the hall there they had a terrible quarrel their language it was dreadful at the top of their lungs too my husband went out to quiet them down but the man left before he had a chance to call him down upset the whole house mm-hmm this man at the Frazer woman was arguing with you sure it was her husband well it sure as I can be that's what Doris told me anyway the day after I called her in and told her I just couldn't tolerate behavior like that it upset her quite a bit I remember she cried said it wouldn't happen again that's when she told me she was trying to get a divorce was that what the big argument was about would you know yes she said she wanted the divorce her husband didn't he wanted her back with him certainly is sad the way some people mix up their lives yes ma'am by any chance did you ever get a good look at this man the husband I mean well he was tall and had dark hair that's about all I remember he was well-dressed - I see when Doris Fraser left here mrs watson did she leave in a forwarding address with you no she didn't I haven't any idea where she moved what kind of work was she doing while she was living here do you have any idea where she was employed yes that was one of the references she gave me furniture company down on Venice Boulevard if I remember correctly I have the address in my record book certainly is unfortunate the whole thing yes ma'am it is I even tried to talk to her before she left sat her down and talked to her for a whole afternoon guess it was just a waste of time well how's that man the trouble with her husband terrible thing he seemed to treat her so badly two of them fighting all the time I believe she was actually afraid of him she told me was very jealous he drank ran around that's why I couldn't understand it don't understand what ma'am Doris when she moved away from here yeah she said she was going back with her husband elana D Francis Watson gave us the address of the furniture store where the murder victim had been employed and we drove down to check with the personnel manager mr. Collins he said Doris Fraser had been fired from a job ten months before he said she'd been let out because she was constantly late for work and that she got into the habit of asking for salary advances too often Collins also told us that he'd heard about the trouble between the fraser woman and her husband he said he'd seen the husband in the store several times when he came to call for his wife he identified the husband as Steven Arnold the personnel manager gave us the last-known address they had on the victim the following morning we checked it out an apartment hotel in the East Wilshire area she was still registered there together with her husband Steven Arnold but the desk clerk told us that Arnold hadn't been living there for the past three months he had no idea where Arnold had moved they didn't know where he worked while the desk clerk stood by Frank and I went upstairs and check the apartment not too much no she likes nice things but that's about all I can figure mm-hmm what you got there looks like a letter she started and she didn't finish it it's dated October 23rd what's it say you're George I've been meaning to write you before that's all as far as she got George that's the first time he'd run to that name on this deal yeah means there's more than one man her life few more letters and Bill's here all unopened hmm ad from a woman's store another ad telephone bill postcard here's one post Mike Santa Monica check the name on that return yeah Steven Arnold [Music] 12:35 bien we called the office and check Stephen Arnold through our and I he had no criminal record the return address which he'd listed on the envelope of a letter to his wife was 108 to 6:00 Pacific front Boulevard we located it on the beach just below Santa Monica was a small dark concession owned and operated by the dead woman's husband no I haven't seen doors for a couple of months anyway why understand she had an apartment with your wife in the East Wilshire neighborhood that right mr. Arnold yeah that's right you mind telling us why you left no I don't mind I wanted to move closer to my work that's all that place was way too far off how is it your wife didn't move out with you sir she wanted to stay close to town she doesn't care much for the beach bad for a sinus did you have an argument with your wife on some kind of a disagreement is that one of the reasons you moved yeah you might call it that we're getting a divorce that's oh yeah it was the best thing all the way around it's been nothing but fighting and scrapping all last year anyway we decided to call it quits say would you excuse me a minute I got some cold drinks in this cooler here but would either of you like a cool drink no thanks are you getting the divorce from the wife Werner yeah that's right I'm divorcing her why'd you want to know remember that last time you saw your wife the exact date I mean no I don't think I remember that and at least three months I'll say that much you spend most of your time down here at the beach mr. Arnold yeah that's right I get in town a couple of times a month sure you wouldn't like a cold drink no thank you my self if you don't mind keep cool yes about last Tuesday night were you in town that night no last time was two or three weeks ago anyway wanting to see a show I was working here last Tuesday night work here every night except Monday that's the only night I'm closed up is there anyone who can vouch for that I don't think I get this why do you want to know well is there anybody who will vouch for you sure half a dozen people anyway the fellow who runs the place next door the guys and the rest of the stalls up and down the way here they can all vouch for me I worked here lil one a.m. same as usual just a minute hey big come on over here a moment will ya these fellas the detectives brick guess it's something about a Jam my wife got herself into they want to know where I was last Tuesday night yeah they want somebody to vouch for me sure did you see Arnold last Tuesday night I was working next door Steve was here all night Saturday October 31st 2 p.m. Frank and I checked with a dozen different concession operators in the neighborhood of Steven Arnold's place they all corroborated the fact but on the night his wife had met her death in a downtown hotel Arnold had been working at his stand until 1:00 a.m. despite all the previous indications that he might have been responsible for the murder of his wife we had to eliminate him as a possible suspect 2:20 p.m. on the way back into town we stopped by the apartment hotel where Doris Fraser was living at the time of her murder after checking further with tenants and with the help in the building we found out that the victim had been in the habit of eating most of her meals at restaurants in the immediate neighbourhood after some two hours and six restaurants later we found a small coffee shop four blocks from the apartment building where one of the waitresses identified Doris Frazier's picture yeah that's her officer terrible picture though is she looks so much older about how often would you say mr. Frazier came in here man oh three or four times a week I'd say the bus stop is right out there in the corner she'd usually have breakfast and then grab the bus and go to work some nights coming home from work she'd stop here for dinner nice girl quiet did you get to know her at all miss I mean do you happen to know any of her friends in the neighborhood no as I say she was a quiet person not very talkative usually read while she was eating magazine or a book did she ever come in here with anyone else would you know oh yes quite a few times she seemed to have the boyfriends of course she was attractive small you know but real cute looking you happen to know any of these men no I'm sorry I don't any one of them in particular that she came in with very often see I think there was one dark well-dressed kind of tall good-looking they usually came in together for breakfast how long ago was this miss would you recall oh I'd say up till a couple of weeks ago I usually waited on them in the morning that's how I happen to remember I see do you ever happen here this man's name let me see George I think that was it yeah would you happen know if he lives in the neighborhood no I'm sorry I don't is this man been in there during the past week do you know yes he has he came in for breakfast what day was that this morning [Music] before we left the coffee shop we questioned the cashier who came up with the information that the man known as George usually left his car parked at the service station across the street we left our card and asked the cashier to call us in case the suspect returned at the service station they also remembered the man known as George but they told us that he hadn't been in for the past two weeks they'd done some work on his car for him in the past so they had a record of his license number we called our DMV in found that the car was registered to a Carl Lucy in East Hollywood 4:30 p.m. we drove out and interviewed Lucy at his home but he came nowhere near the description of the suspect he told us that he had purchased the car six weeks before from a man known as George crane described crane as tall dark and well-dressed from the bill of sale we got cranes address a motel on East Manchester the manager there told us that George crane had moved a week before he said that crane had left no forwarding address but he did remember where he worked he gave us the name of the aircraft company in the San Fernando Valley we called their personnel office but they were closed for the day [Music] description checks out all the way you called him that offs the aircraft company did you yeah they couldn't tell us anything here was the whole number of the personnel manager well he's got a record I got the package on him here yeah nothing very heavy drunk charged two years ago another one last year disorderly conduct resisting arrest that's about all I got homicide Friday who how's that oh yeah yes sir no no I'm afraid not well we sure certainly I guess we are yes sir thanks anyway right right what does it who was it that guy was in here the other day that al P Morgan yeah what do you want Juan Tobias a drink he's celebrating huh his old friend Marty just found her [Music] Sunday November 1st 8:00 a.m. we got in touch with the manager of the personnel department of the aircraft company at his home he said that he checked the files for us 8:42 a.m. he called back to tell us that George Crane was employed as a maintenance man in the electrical department that he'd been working for the company for the past five years and that he had a good employment record he told us he was on the day shift that he was scheduled to report for work in the generator room at 8 o'clock that morning Frank and I got in the car and drove out to the valley where we located the murder suspect George Crane at work in the generator room of the aircraft Factory do you know what Doris crazy guys crazy I'm sorry officers I don't know anybody by that name how about Doris Arnold you know that name I know no I'm afraid not what's it all about you own a car yeah dr. dan had it very long a couple of weeks last one hell is giving me a lot of trouble to trade it in no I sold it to a private party fellow in Hollywood how about this picture no her it doesn't look like anybody I know I suppose to be sure yeah I don't follow you you spent any time around the East Wilshire district crane East Wilshire no I probably been over there a couple of times not lately though how about the coffee shop on the corner of Gramercy and Marengo ever been in there not that I remember no the waitress in that coffee shop the cashier to say they got a pretty regular customer any picture description exactly you sure you never been in there I'm not positive I wouldn't swear I'd never been in the place what's the difference anyway how about the service station across the street from the coffee shop you ever park your car there they ever do any work on it for you oh it's fair but I know the place you're talking about yeah I haven't bite her a few times sure it's a good station been a lot of good jobs on my car for me I remember now then I guess you remember the coffee shop crane yeah I think I do now right across the street from the station yeah that's right well what do you want to know about it when's the last time you were in there crane well tell the truth I couldn't be sure we talked to a waitress in there yesterday said you were in that morning for breakfast do you remember that she's way off her track on that one I can tell you that I was near the place yesterday morning cashier remembers you too she says you were in but how about a crane look what difference does it make what's this thing all about anyway want to take another look at that picture I told you once I don't know the woman I never saw her before in my life why don't you give it some thought huh you remember to East will sure you remember the service station you finally remember the coffee shop maybe you can remember her - I don't know I never saw in my life usually came in for breakfast we stopped going there about two weeks ago what do you figure she's got to do with me anyway we check her apartment mister we found a letter she was writing to you you ready to tell us what's the letter that doesn't mean anything can't prove anything by letter what are you thinking anyway we think you're lyin crane we think he got a reason for it what do you say doesn't prove anything maybe I knew it doesn't mean anything at all we think it does yeah we think you killed her the way it looks to you that's the way it looks I don't think you can prove it we're gonna try how about it look go any easier for me if I admit it that's not up Jess I don't know why I did it what am I gonna give her a reason I wouldn't know crane I don't know why I killed him sounds funny doesn't it no reason at all he just killed it what am I gonna tell him I don't have a reason how can I ask him to let me off easy how can I ask I don't know but they'll have an answer [Music] On February 8 trial was held in apartment 89 Superior Court of the state of California in and for the County of Los Angeles in a moment the results of that trial the suspect was tried and convicted of murder in the first degree [Music] you

Channel: The Film Detective

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Keywords: Classic TV Show, tv, Movies, Film, TV, shows', Dragnet - Season 2 - Episode 28 - The Big Hands, Jack Webb, Ben Alexander, Olan Soule, Vic Perrin

Id: 1OAbxmoA1-w

Length: 26min 2sec (1562 seconds)

Published: Tue Nov 20 2018