 The Equitable Life Assurance Society present, this is your FBI. This is your FBI, the official broadcast from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, presented as a public service by the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, and the Equitable Society's representative in your community. Are you one of the 47 million Americans who benefit from group insurance? Listen carefully to this special message from Mr. Walter S. Carpenter Jr., President of the E.I. DuPont Dinamooran Company. Mr. Carpenter says, and I quote, We are convinced, on the basis of our experience with group insurance, that this protection contributes importantly to employee morale. Some measure of its benefit is reflected in a study made a few years ago, which revealed that at least one-third of our deceased employees left no other life insurance. To an even lesser degree, have our employees made provision against accident and sickness through other than group insurance. Group protection has in these ways a proved value which we cannot overestimate. Yes, group insurance is something worth owning. In 14 minutes, the Equitable Life Assurance Society will give further important information about group insurance which will interest both employers and employees. Tonight's FBI file, Murder by Accident. In your mind's eye, when you picture the surroundings in which a criminal operates, you undoubtedly picture a filthy, crowded slum district in a noisy city. You never think of a quiet country lane when asked to imagine the typical environment of those who lead a life of crime. And yet, the greatest percentage of increase in crimes in the United States did not take place in the teeming cities, but in the placid rural areas of our nation. The towns and villages of America, as if waking from a long sleep, suddenly saw themselves inundated by the 1946 crime wave, a wave that brought ashore every violation in the book, including murder. Tonight's file opens in the kitchen of an old farmhouse. It is late in the evening. An old farmer perkins and his wife Betsy are rocking back and forth before the fire. Betsy breaks the silence. Did you read that paper the county agent mailed us, Pa? No, I ain't had a chance to yet, Betsy. What's it say? Well, it's about some new kind of corn. I didn't know there was any new kind. I thought corn was just corn. Not from what this paper says. What's new about it? Well, it's supposed to be able to stand bad weather. Well, no need to worry about that this year. No, I guess not. I never saw such a mild fall. Here it is, the end of November. There's a fog outside, so think you can hardly see the barn. Yes, it's the funniest weather I ever saw. Oh, I guess that's the barn. Sounded like it. You get all your chores done, Pa? Yeah, I finished feeding the mink more than an hour ago. Did you move that hay in the barn so the boys will have a place to put the truck? Yeah, the barn's all ready for them. I hope it don't rain tonight, though. What? Well, I got our truck out behind the house. I figured there wouldn't be room in the barn for the two of them. Oh, well, don't feel like rain, Pa. Did your work turn out, boys? You tell it, Jack. Oh, it went fine, Mrs. Perkins. It was easy. Chuck, uh... Yeah? You better get rid of those pants. Aren't those blood stains on your leg? Oh, yeah, a guy got tough put up a fight. Oh, that's too bad. Wouldn't your boys like a cup of coffee? Oh, sure. That sounds good. How about you, Jack? Yeah, I'll take one. She makes the best coffee I ever had. Oh, thank you, Jack. Pa, you go and pour the boys some coffee. There's a fresh pot on the stove. Yeah. How about the, uh... Was the truck very full, Chuck? With a tub and every case is 12 bottles of scotch. Oh, my. Isn't that fine? Oh, here's your coffee, boys. Cream and sugar in them already. Oh, good. Thanks. Yeah, this job ought to be worth a lot of dough. How much do you figure, Chuck? Oh, never mind. We're in your heads about that now. You just finish that coffee and go get a good night's sleep. In a large city some 35 miles from the old farmhouse, Special Agent Jim Taylor is seated at his desk in the offices of your FBI. A report has just come in and Taylor is discussing it with Special Agent Bob Hopper. Well, we ride again, eh, Bob? I guess the boss thinks we make a good team. What's this one about? A liquor truck was hijacked last night. Where? On route 347 about a mile from the ferry. Oh, what about the driver? What's his story? He's still unconscious. Hospital's going to call us just as soon as we can talk to him. Oh, well, I guess there's nothing else to do right now, then, huh? No, not a thing. I put an alarm out on the truck, and until we hear something about the truck we'll have to wait. Right, well, I'm going to grab some breakfast. Do you want anything? No, not a thing, thanks, huh? Stay here by the phone. I'll see you later. Better take some of this oatmeal, boys. No, no, not me. I just want some of that ham and egg and coffee. Me too, Ma. All right, but I... Say, Ma. Yes, yes. How'd you ever get into this farm and rag? Oh, well, a couple of years ago when Pop got out of San Quentin, we had a talk. We were making for the old. Uh-huh. And we decided that the farm out here would be a good idea. Give some of the boys who were hiding a place to stay where they could be outdoors. Yeah, then all bedrooms get awful small sometimes. Exactly. And they're unhealthy, too. That's a pretty smart layout, Ma. You got brain. Oh, that was nothing. Besides, it was half Pop's idea. Oh, by the way, where is Pop? Ain't he going to have any breakfast? Oh, he had his breakfast an hour ago. He's out on the barn. Switching the whisky you boys bought in into his own truck. Oh, he didn't have to go out this early. I'm not going to the town to late this afternoon. Yeah, and I ain't going to drive Pop's truck in until tonight after I hear from Chuck. Well, Pa had to get up early anyhow to feed the minks. So he thought he might as well do everything at once. Yeah, the... Had to feed the what? The minks. Yeah, we raise minks out here, you know. You mean lichen and fancy coats? Yeah, that's right, Jack. You'll be able to buy your girl one of them coats now, Jack. Well, all the dough we're getting from this job. Uh, I'm glad you brought up that subject, Joe. What subject? Money. Well, what about money? Well, I just want to be sure there wouldn't be any mistakes about our share. Oh, we agreed on that, Ma. We're going to cut everything right down the middle. That's right. 50% for you and 50% for us. Sure, that's the deal. When...when do you get paid? Tonight, when Jack delivers the stuff in Pop's truck, we get paid on the spot. And when Pop picks up the truck, I give him your share. Oh, that's fine. Now, your boys go right along and eat. I...I got to clean up the house. Oh, it's the perfect man. Well, that's a pretty good description the driver gave us of one of the hijackers. Too bad he couldn't tell us much about the other one. Well, if we get this one, that may be enough, especially if you've ever been arrested in a gang. Oh, it's phone calls I made from the hospital. Help the little. Huh? Who'd you call? Well, you remember the driver said he was only a mile and a half across the Wesley River when he was stopped by the hijackers? Uh-huh. So, first they called the ferry slip. Oh, to find out if the truck had gone across? Oh, to find out if anything had gone across last night. Oh, yeah. It was a heavy fog, wasn't it? That's right. So heavy, there was a collision on the Wesley. They stopped running the ferries at 8.13. And the truck wasn't stolen until 9.15, according to the driver. Right. That means the truck did not cross the Wesley. Well, then I made a call to the fellow who was working at Towel Bridge over the Williams River last night. You remember the driver said he was a good friend of his? Yeah, yeah, I remember that. His friend's truck positively did not come back across that bridge. Then that means that it's still somewhere between the Wesley ferry slip and the Williams River Bridge. Check. But Jim, there's nothing but farms in that stretch. We'd rather make the job easier for us. There's no towns to hide in. Oh, well, let's do first things first, huh? What do you mean, Jim? Let's get those pictures for the driver to examine. Let's find the hijackers and we'll find that truck. Pop. Oh, why? You're worried about something. Yes, I am, huh? Well, what is it? Oh, something I heard Chuck and Jack talking about. When? A couple of minutes ago, I just happened to be walking past the room. And they called us a couple of old has-been. Oh, they shouldn't have done that. Yeah, not after we've treated them. Like two of our own boys. And then Chuck told Jack that after Jack delivered the whiskey tonight, they'd meet at the Blue Mirror Saloon. Instead of meeting you with the truck and our money? That's right, they're going to cheat us. Oh, and they don't look like that kind of boys at all. You see, you can't never tell but look smart. You know that. Yes, not. They even laughed and said, what could we do? Go to the cops? They said, no, we wouldn't do that. Well, now you know what I'm worried about. I don't like to lose all that money. We won't lose it, Pop. We'll find a way. Oh, hello, Jim. Hi, where have you been? I got a phone call from the doctor saying the driver was conscious, so I hopped over to the hospital. Oh, was he able to give you any help? Yes, he went through our file of pictures. He pipped one of them out. Who was it? A thug named Jack Brown. He'd been arrested five times. Was the identification definite? Oh, yes. He was positive Brown was one of the two men who hijacked the truck, so I called the police in the hospital. Do they know where he is? No, they went looking for him themselves a couple of days ago. I wanted to talk to him about some other job, but Brown had disappeared. Oh, sounds like Armando, right? Yes. He probably went into hiding right after that truck job. No word yet from our alarm on the truck, isn't he? No, not a peep. That truck hasn't turned up anywhere, which may or may not be good news. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it might mean that whoever did the job still has the truck on his hand and the whiskey. Police have one good lead, though. They're working on it now. How's that? Well, Brown has been going with a girl named Nancy James. The police are going to question her. You think she knows anything about this job? She might. Right now, we're in no position to pass up any lead. Well, let's go downtown and see what Miss James has to say. Yes? Where'd you want me to put this ham? Oh, oh, the ham? Well, just leave it there on the table. Oh. Ah. Oh, you know where my boots are, Ma? Yes, they're in the closet. I cleaned them. Oh, thanks. Well, I think I'll go out and feed the mink again. Good. Is it that late already? I'll never have suffered done at this rate. Ah, that's all right, Ma. I'm not hungry. We can get... Hey, Ma. I'm not hungry. I just happened to notice over there in the corner. How'd you ever get Jack tied into that chair? Oh, that wasn't anything. Well, he's a big boy and strong. I told you, I'd think of something. Ah, you're wonderful, Ma. How'd you ever do it? Oh, it was easy. You know how crazy Jack was about my coffee. Yeah, he was always talking about it. Well, after Chuck left, Jack came down to the kitchen for a bite of London. I put some of those drops in his coffee. Oh, so that was it. And then you tied him up after he passed out. Yeah, that's right. And then I made a phone call. Who'd you call? Oh, you remember that fence, that nice boy who was out here last summer did his business with? The one who came out here from the city? Yeah, that's the one. Well, I called him, and he's coming out here tomorrow morning. What for? To buy our coffee. To buy our coffee. What for? To buy our whiskey. Oh, good. Now we can get all the money for ourselves. That's what I figured. What are you doing with those ropes, Pa? I just wanted to see if he was tied up. Wouldn't proper? I took good care of that. He can't break loose when he wakes up. Hey, Ma. What? Jack ain't gonna give us any trouble. Oh, do you figure that, Pa? You come over here and take a look. You see? He's dead. We will return in just a moment to tonight's file, which shows how your FBI promotes national security. Now let's hear from a typical American worker who has attained greater personal security thanks to his employer's cooperation and the equitable society. Believe me, I'm getting a swell break where I work. Good pay, and on top of that, we get complete group insurance protection. Well, you do get a good break. You get life insurance, accident and sickness insurance, and a retirement income, plus hospitals, surgical and medical benefits for yourself and your wife and children, all in one package from the Equitable Life Assurance Society and no medical examination. Milton, how come you get so much for so little money? Well, your employer pays a large part of the cost. And with so many of you in the plant, the boss can give you the benefit of his wholesale purchasing power. Well, it sure turned out to be a friend of need when they took my appendix off. I knew group insurance would cover the hospital expenses, but, well, I figured the surgeon's bill would nick me for plenty. But I discovered our group plan provides surgical benefits too. You know, group insurance was originated by the Equitable Life Assurance Society in 1911. Thomas I. Parkinson, president of the Equitable Society, says, group insurance is the most inspiring life insurance development of our time. If your company does not have group insurance, or if your company's group program is incomplete, your management can get in touch with the nearest Equitable Life Assurance Society office. That's E-Q-U-I-T-A-B-L-E. The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States. And now, back to the FBI file, written by accident. There have been surveys in the past which attempted to portray the average criminal, which tried to tell you how tall or how old or how heavy the typical criminal is. But those interesting statistics actually mean nothing. For, as you can see from tonight's case from the files of your FBI, there is no single type which can be classified as the criminal. Approximately two million crimes are committed in the United States every year. And they are committed by a variety of people. People of every age, every race, every creed. The criminal wears no label of identification. And the next major crime in this country, which will be committed within the next 17 seconds, might be committed 3,000 miles away or right in your own home. The night's file continues in the office of your FBI. Special agents Jim Taylor and Bob Hopper have just returned from questioning Nancy James, the girlfriend of Jack Brown. How do you figure a petty larceny crook like Brown whining over the pretty girl like Nancy James? No, he's got big shoulders and he's not bad looking. But he's pretty stupid. I doubt they picked each other out because of their IQ. You think she's telling the truth? You mean when she says she doesn't know where Brown is? No, I thought she was lying. So did I. You know, I wish we had something we'd get her mad. At us? At whoever Brown did this job with. Yeah, that might make her talk. Well, wherever the two of them are, they're certainly staying very low. They sure are. You know, I do think, however, the girl was telling the truth when she said she hadn't seen Brown in a week. Hello? Yes, this special agent Taylor speaking. Hello, Chief. You did? Where? Mm-hmm. Yes, I see. And you're sure of the identification? Yes. Yes, we'll be out and take a look. Thanks very much. I think we've got it, Bob. What is it? There was a chief of police at Hendricksburg. The truck has turned up. Where? In mud up to its axles in the bank of the Williams River. Good, let's go out and take a look at it and maybe we can get a lead on where they're hiding out. Only one of them is hiding out now. Oh, yes. Jack Brown's body was found in the truck. Look, Bob, will you run out and take a look at the truck? I'm going back and talk to Miss James. Papa, I wish you wouldn't feel so blue about it. Oh, it's just that you did your parts so good and then I bungled the whole thing. No, you didn't. I hadn't gotten stuck in that mud with the truck. They'd have found it anyway. Water isn't that deep at that part of the river. I know, but then it would have looked like an accident. Well, maybe the cops will think it was an accident anyway. No, I'm not so sure. I couldn't sleep so I was up in time to hear the news on the radio at six o'clock. What did they say? Well, they said the truck was found and that one of the bandits was in the truck dead. Oh, they shouldn't have called Jack a bandit now that he's dead. I know. It's very disrespectful. I guess if it was on the radio already it must be in the papers in town. I guess so. Well, that means that Chuck will see it. What do we do if he decides to come out here? Now, now don't you worry about that, Bob. Oh, why not? But don't you remember? Remember what? He liked my coffee, too. If he comes out, I'll just give him a coffee, coffee like I did yesterday. Come in. Hello, Jim. Hi, Bob. Did you see the girl? Yes. How about you? Do you examine the truck? Yes, I did. Find anything? Well, I brought back the coroner's report on Brown. What's it show? He died of an overdose of drugs. No bruises? None that could have resulted in his death, and he'd been dead for some time. Huh? He didn't drive the truck to the spot where it was found. How do you know that? Well, the police found the truck. The motor was still hot, and Brown had been dead for about four hours. I see. Anything else? I found some debris on the running board of the truck, and I sent it over to our lab to be analyzed. Oh, good. How about you? Have any luck with Nancy, Jane? Yes. Yes. Death of her boyfriend broke her down. She talked. How much did she know? Plenty. She was secretly married to Brown. Oh, and did she know who he was working with? Yes, a hoodlum named Chuck Parker. The police are out trying to pick him up now. Where were they hiding out? Did she know? Not exactly. She just knew that they planned to take the truck to a farm, switch the whiskey to the farmer's truck, and have Jack drive the farmer's truck back into town. Sounds like they were the neat double-crossed something. It must have been. I've got a hunch that if we can find that farm, we can find out how that double-crossed worked. Well, there's nothing to do now, but wait for the report from the lab. I guess not. Unless the police pick up Chuck Parker first. I don't understand what's taking the lab so long, Jim. Oh, it's not really so long, Bob. It just seems long when you're waiting. I guess you're right. Well, there's one good thing about the lab. What's that? When they do call and give us a report, we don't know it's right. I know, but that still doesn't stop me from wishing the phone would ring right now. Special Agent Taylor. I don't understand what's taking the lab so long, Jim. Oh, it's not really so long, Bob. It just seems long when you're waiting. Special Agent Taylor. Yes, sir. Oh, will you just hold a moment, please? I want to copy those down. Okay. Go ahead. Yes. And grain. Right. Thanks very much. Well, you wanted the report so badly. Now that we've got it, we've got to figure out what it means. I don't get you. Well, here's what was in the debris on the running board of that truck. Horse meat, wheat, some grains and wheat germ oil. That only proves what we already know, that it was a farm. That's right. I've got a hunch, though, Bob. About what? About those ingredients. I'm going to check. Yes, sir, thanks. Yeah, thanks very much, Professor. Goodbye. I think we might have it, Bob. It was a good hunch of yours calling the university, huh? Looks like I might pay off. What did the professor say? He says that those ingredients are used in the feeding of mink. I never heard of a mink farm around here. I don't even deny it. That doesn't prove there is nothing. Well, how are we going to find it? You know who could tell us? County Agent. Get him on the phone. It's getting pretty late, ma. I wonder where your friend is. Oh, he'll be along. Now, don't you worry. Oh, I'm not worried. And once we get our money from the whiskey, maybe we can buy a new car. Yes, that would be nice. We could even get you a mink coat. Oh, no, Bob, no. Huh? Why not? I couldn't wear a mink coat after seeing a little fella here on the farm. Oh, my, you're so delicate. But I guess that's your friend now. Come in. I just want you to know I was polite, so I'm not. Oh, Chuck. How nice to see you. Yes, Chuck. We've been expecting you. Don't hand me none of that. Where's the whiskey? Why? It's out in the barn right where you left it. What's your mother, Jack, for? Oh, Chuck, don't use that word. Jack just died. You bet he just died. And you just killed him. Now, Chuck, don't get excited. We can explain everything. I don't care about no explanations. Jack's dead. Well, that's too bad for Jack. Now the whiskey's all mine. All yours? Yeah, all mine. We ain't going to cut nothing 50-50. Oh, no, Chuck. You sit right down here. Let me get you a cup of hot coffee. Then we can talk. Well, okay. What's doing in town, Chuck? Nothing much. Mom and I were figuring maybe we'd go in tomorrow, the next day. That's nice. A nice cup of hot coffee. All right, you old geezers. You see what I got in my hand? Why, it's a gun. What do you want with a gun? I want to stand here and watch you two drink that coffee. It was for you. What do you think I am, stupid? Don't you think I can read the papers? So that's how you gave Jack this stuff, huh? Now you can drink it yourself. Come on, I'll take a drink. Oh, I'm really not thirsty, Chuck. What do I care if you're thirsty? Jack and I did that job. Now Jack's dead. Little while, you're both going to be dead. Nobody will ever know who did it. Drop that gun, Parker. Drop it. Who are you? All special agents of the FBI. Oh, you've been outside that door. Long enough to hear the whole story. Now you'd better come along with us. I know where you can all get some coffee. That's healthy. After separate trials, the trio of Leslie Perkins, Betsy Perkins, and Charles Parker were all sentenced to long terms in the penitentiary. Tonight's case from the files of your FBI was brought to you so that you, the American people, might better understand the variety of facilities which your FBI uses in its constant attempt to protect your lives and your property. The friendly cooperation of local police throughout the country has helped your FBI to solve a tremendous number of cases. And so has helped to build the international reputation the Federal Bureau of Investigation now possesses. Your FBI is happy to take this public opportunity to register its profound appreciation to every one of those core of police, and anxiously hopes that they will all continue to cooperate in the future, as they have in the past. In just a moment, we'll tell you about next week's exciting case from the official files of your FBI. Now one last word to business executives. Since group insurance was originated by the Equitable Life Assurance Society 35 years ago, thousands of employers have learned that group insurance means satisfied workers, builds loyalty and morale, decreases labor turnover, improves quality and quality of production. Get all the facts and figures from an Equitable Society group insurance expert. Whether your employees are entirely uninsured or have only partial protection, get in touch with the nearest office or write direct to the New York Home Office of the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States. Next week, we will bring you another colorful story from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Return of the Killer. The incidents used in tonight's Equitable Life Assurance Society's broadcast are adapted from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. However, all names used are fictitious, and any similarity thereof to the names of persons living or dead is accidental. Tonight's broadcast was directed by William M. Sweets. The music was composed and conducted by Frederick Steiner. The author was Jerry D. Lewis. Your narrator was Dean Carlton. This is your FBI is a Jerry Divine production. This is Milton Cross speaking for the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States and the Equitable Society's representative in your community, and inviting you to tune in again next week at this same time when the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States will bring you another thrilling story from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Return of the Killer on This is Your FBI. This is the American Broadcasting Company.