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Yes, in Fatima, the difference is quality. By Fatima, they're extra mild with a better flavor and aroma. Smoke for Fatima. The quality king-size cigarette. Fatima, best of all, long cigarettes. The documented drama of an actual crime. For the next 30 minutes in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department, you will travel step-by-step on the side of the law through an actual case transcribed from official police files. From beginning to end, from crime to punishment, Dragnet is the story of your police force in action. It was Monday, July 9th. It was warm in Los Angeles. We were working the night watch out of homicide detail. My partner's Ben Romero. The boss is Thad Brown, Chief of Detectives. My name's Friday. It was 11.25 p.m. when we got to 543 West Bixle Street. Front door. Homicide. That's right. This is Friday. My name's Romero. Client Unit 16-R. How are you? Partner's Thomas. He's in with the victim's mother and son. Back this way, sleeping porch. Okay. What's the story? Really a nasty mess. Looks like a shotgun. Victim's face is half gone. What's the name? Josephine Stevens, 28 years old. What do you got so far? Not much. Your mother's in the state of shock. Talk to the young boy for a minute. Pretty terrible. Here's the sleeping porch. You're a god. Yeah. You got a little kid by your side. It knocks the props out from under you. What do you got on it? It seems as Josephine Stevens and her 7-year-old boy were sleeping in the bed when it happened. I haven't been able to fill it all out yet, but from what the youngster told us, it happened about 30 minutes ago. I'd say it was a shotgun too, wouldn't you, Joe? Yeah, it looks like it. You can see by the head of the bed here, it looks like shotgun pellets. Yeah. The screen in the door here looks like it was recently torn. Yeah, Thomas and I noticed that too. We made an immediate search of the area. It didn't turn up anybody. Back yard, round the side shrub. We didn't find anything. We're careful not to step off onto the soft earth anywhere around. Didn't want a chance to destroy any prints or anything. That's fine. Did you talk to the girl's mother at all, Klein? Very little. She's still hysterical. Doesn't seem to know what she's saying. Couldn't tell us very much. Well, let's step into the next room, huh? The room's just the way we found it. Nothing out of order. The trusted drawers are all closed. The room had been prowled. Well, it doesn't look like the work of a burglar or a prowler. Well, a burglar or a prowler wouldn't be carrying a shotgun either, would he? The only thing Thomas and I found were they're cutting the screen in the gate around the side of the house there. It was open. The crime lab didn't call. Haven't had time to do it right now. No, never mind. I'll take care of it. I want to call in anyway. Do they have a phone here? Right in the kitchen there on that table. Okay, thank you. I figure we could use some help, don't you? Yeah. Right there on your left. Yeah, I see it. Thank you. Uh, 2643, please. This is Friday, Jay. We're at 543 West Bixel, got a homicide. We're going to need prints, photographs, a whole deal, Jay. Looks like the woman was killed with a shotgun. Yeah, that's right. Yeah, it's Hollywood 93199. Thanks. Hey, Jay, could you transfer me to 2521, please? Right. Sanchez is Friday. What'd you find out there? Oh, it's a bad one. Shotgun killing. Haven't got too much yet. We're going to have to have some help. What do you need? We need somebody to cover the area. We don't know what we got, Jay. Talk to the witnesses, neighbors, cover the park cars. Right. Will you send out a broadcast for us? Alert all units to be able to look out for a person or persons with a shotgun in their possession. Take care of it right away. Well, at least four crews. Could you get them out right away? Okay. Anything else? No, I'll fill them in when they get here. Thanks a lot, Sanchez. All right, Joe. All right, bye. Everything okay? Yeah. Client says we could talk to the youngster. You don't think you'd do any good to talk to mother? She's still in bad shape. Imagine she'll be all right in a little while, but I think you just waste your time right now. I forgot something. What's that? I forgot to call the coroner. I'll take care of it for you. Would you take the boy to the front part of the house for us? Sure. Fine. Then if you'll just call Sanchez down in homicide downtown, he'll notify the coroner for us. Right. Thanks a lot. Joe, you want to see something to break your heart? Yeah, what's that? There's some blood on the floor there, leading from the sleeping porch to this bedroom here. Yeah. You look like small footprints, huh? They are. Little boys. Well, let's go in the front room. Yeah. This is a boy. Seven years old. Name's Charles. Right. Thanks, Client. I'll make that call for you right away, Franny. Hello, son. What happened to my mommy? I'm sorry. You better take it, Joe. Yeah. Come over here to me, son. Charles, is that your name? Charlie. My name's Joe, Charlie. Yes, sir. Mr. Joe. Well, it's Joe Friday, son. Mr. Friday. Are you a policeman? Yeah, that's right, Charlie. Now, that other man in the uniform, Officer Klein. Yes, sir. He said you might be able to tell us what happened here. Do you feel like talking about it, son? Mr. Friday, do you know what happened to my mommy? Well, that's what we're trying to find out, son. We'd just like to ask you a few questions. She's hurt bad, isn't she? Could she talk to you? She wouldn't talk to me. Grandma and those other policemen wouldn't let me stay in there. Well, can you tell us what happened here? You want me to tell you like I told the other policeman? If you would, please. I wish she'd let me go in and see mommy. She could tell you a lot better than I can. Well, she's hurt kind of bad, son. We just thought that maybe you'd tell us. Well, we were sleeping in the bed on the back porch. We just got to bed, and mommy was reading me a story. And I heard this man at the screen door. Did you see the man, Charlie? No, I didn't. Mommy wouldn't let me. How do you mean, son? How do you know it was a man, then? Well, somebody was cutting the screen at the door. I thought it was a man. But you're not sure you didn't see him? No, sir. I didn't see anybody. It was dark outside. You heard somebody cutting the screen, though. Is that right? Yes, sir. Then mommy sat up in bed. I started to sit up, too, but she wouldn't let me. She pushed me back down and said, keep down. Can you remember exactly what she said, Charlie? She said, just to keep down. That's all she said. Well, then what happened? I heard this big gun. Mommy fell down in the bed again. I could tell she was cut. I could see blood all over her. I tried to talk to her, but she wouldn't talk to me. So then I went to get grandma. After you heard the gun, did you hear anything else? I don't know what you mean. Did you hear anybody running outside the house? Anything like that? I don't remember, and I don't think so. I got up and went into grandma's room. I was awful scared. I don't know why mommy wouldn't talk to me. She always used to when I was scared. Well, now, can you think of anything else that you might be able to tell us, son? No, sir. I just don't know why anybody would hurt my mommy. She's so good, she never hurts anybody. Where's your father, Charlie? I don't know where he is. They don't live together anymore now. How long has it been since you saw your father, son? Just last Sunday it was, yesterday, I guess. I see him every Sunday. Do you have any idea who might want to hurt your mother? No, sir. Nobody. All right. What do you think, Ben? Um, Johnny. Yes, sir? Did your mother and father seem to argue with one another very much? Before we moved here to grandma's house, they used to argue all the time. That's when we lived in the apartment. Is that why you moved over here, son? Yes, sir. That's partly it. Mama had to work, and she didn't want to leave me alone here. So we moved over to grandma's house. Mm-hmm. Do you think your father would ever hurt your mother? Did he ever say anything about ever hurting her? My daddy was always so good to me. He used to buy me all kinds of things. I don't think he was ever mean to anybody. See? Do you remember your mother ever saying she was afraid of anybody? No, sir. She was never afraid of anybody. How do you know that, son? She and grandma used to always tell me that I'm the man of the family. As long as I'm around, they're not scared of anybody. Oh, I see. But when you talk to mama, you won't tell her, will you? Tell her what, son? She always says that big men don't cry about things. When grandma came out on the porch, she started crying. She took me into her room, and she cried some more. I guess I cried a lot, too. When you talk to mommy, you won't tell her that, will you? No. No, we won't. I've never really known. Is that right? Did big men ever cry? Yes, son. They cry. It was a 45 p.m. The crime lab men arrived and went to work. They found three shotgun pellets embedded in the wall to the right and above the head of the victim's bed. Two additional lead pellets were removed from the bedstead above the pillow on the right side of Josephine Stevens' bed. This fact, in conjunction with the position of the hole ripped in the screen door, proved that the victim was sitting up in bed at the time of the shooting. This fact, too, showed why the seven-year-old boy lived and his mother died. Further investigation showed that the fatal shot from outside threw the hole in the screen door. The search of the surrounding area failed to yield the murder weapon or any additional physical evidence. The neighbors were all checked. They could add nothing to what we already knew. The few who had heard the blast from the shotgun thought it was backfire from a passing car. Units in the area of the murder picked up 14 possible suspects on the street and in the neighborhood at the time of the killing. They were all checked out and cleared of any connection with the crime. Josephine Stevens' mother, Mrs. James Edwards, was in a near-state of collapse, but she managed to give us a statement. Her story corroborated that of seven-year-old Charles Stevens. Supplemental broadcasts and an all-points bulletin were put out to try and locate the killer. Ben and I drove over to 1543 East Workman Street to check out the husband of the murdered woman. Well, this is it, huh? Yeah. White house, here. All right. Let's go. Car parking, driveway. Hoods warm. Cars been used recently. Yeah, you got your flash now? Yeah, here. Car registered to Keith Steven. Yeah, come on. The lights are on inside, huh? Yes. Mr. Keith Steven. Yes, that's right. Police officers like dope to you. Want to come in? Yes, sir. Thank you. What's the trouble, officer? When's the last time you saw your wife, Stevens? Why? Well, when did you see her last? Well, I was over there Sunday, yesterday. Always go over every Sunday to visit my little boy, Charlie. My wife and I are separated. That's what we agreed on. And that's the last time that you saw her? Yes, it is. Why? Well, I'm sorry to have to tell you this. Your wife is dead. What's that? I'm sorry. You're kidding. She was all right just today. There must be some mistake here. No, sir. I'm afraid not. Josephine Stevens, you sure? 543 West Bixle Street. I got to sit down. What happened? He was shot. Well, how? I can't believe this. Well, we're working on it now. Somebody shot her while she was in bed. I just saw her yesterday. How did it happen? Was it an accident? No, sir. Somebody killed her. How about little Charlie? He sleeps with his mother. Is Charlie all right? Yes, sir. He's fine. He wasn't hurt at all. It was a small miracle how he came out of it. But apparently his safety was the last thing your wife thought of before she was killed. It's just terrible. I still can't believe what you're saying is true. Who in the world would do a thing like this? We want to know that, too. We need your help. Well, where's my boy? I better go right over and see my boy. He's in good hands with his grandmother. We just want to ask you a few questions, and then you can go right over and see him. All right. You got to get whoever did this terrible thing. Yes, sir. I'm going to try. How is it that you happen to be up this late at night? I just got home from work. I worked the swing shift at Gibnes. That's the steel mill down in Alameda? Yes, that's right. Did you work today? Yes, I told you. I just this minute got in. Swing shift? What hours would that be? Four to twelve. Did you work the full shift today? I did. You don't think I would have done this thing? Well, you have to check everybody. Is there somebody out at the plant that can verify the fact that you were out there during the entire shift today? Yes, my lead man and I always punch my time card in and out. How do you get to work? I drive. My car's right outside there, blue shed. Do you own any firearms? No, I don't. You ever owned any? No, never have. Didn't want to go around with a boy. You live here alone? No, since the wife and I split up, I live with another fellow here. Where's he tonight? He's out somewhere, usually home when I get here. Do you have any idea where he might be? Does he go out much? He goes out quite a bit. He's going with some girl. Might be at a movie or something like that. Does he know your wife? Well, not too well, no. I think I took him over to the house one Sunday. He met my son Charlie and my wife. Try to take it easy, Mr. Stephen. Oh, I'm sorry. It's kind of hard to take. Yes, sir, we understand. This man that you live with here, what's his name? Carl Walters. Where'd you know him from? He advertised in the papers. He said he wanted somebody to share a small house with him. I answered the ad and we seemed to hit it right off from the start. He's okay. What do you know about him? I know enough to know he's all right. I wouldn't want to get him mixed up in this. Well, has this Walters ever been in trouble? Has he ever been arrested? Not that I know of. He's a good guy. Fine army record. I understand. Have you ever been arrested? No, sir, I never have. Any kind of an arrest? Misdemeanor, anything like that? Never. Have you ever been in jail for any reason? No, sir, never have. I had traffic tickets, but I've never been in jail for any reason. I always paid my fines, never had any trouble. Have you any idea who might want to do a thing like this? No, no one. How did it happen? Did they break in the house? I mean, I wasn't burglary or anything like that. Somebody just wanted to do it with your wife. If you can think of anybody who might do a thing like this, it wouldn't help. You know, we've been separated for a while. Maybe she took up with someone who'd do something like this. I wouldn't know. I can't think of anybody I know to do this. I see. She and I have had our ups and downs, but we wouldn't be apart. We argued time and again over the custody of Charlie, but nothing serious. I can't tell you what a shock this is, do me. You say that you don't own a gun. Do you know of any of your friends or hers that might? No, I can't think of anybody. Well, it's fellow Carl Walters. What can you tell us about him? No, please, he's all right. He certainly had nothing to do with this. Well, we just want to be sure to check everybody out. If you can tell us, it may save him some embarrassment. I realize you have to be sure, but please believe me, he's all right. You say he doesn't know your wife at all? No, just at one meeting. You're sure he couldn't have had any pardon? Absolutely sure. What kind of a fellow is he? Oh, average guy, I guess. Likes to swim, plays a little golf. Always wants me to go out camping or hunting with him. Do you ever go with him? No, I haven't so far. He wants to go on weekends, and I like to see my son on Sundays, like I said. What does he hunt, you know? He's not much of a hunter, really. He just likes to go out for ducks once in a while. Does he keep his equipment here? No, he doesn't over at his father's house. Does he ever hunt for anything besides duck? No, I'm positive about that. He's always saying how he never could shoot a deer as he gets buck fever. Can't say I blame him. You ever tell you what kind of a gun he had? No, not that I recall. Still think he had a pardon? We didn't say that. What's his duck hunting got to do with it? Well, when you hunt ducks, you use a shotgun. You are listening to Dragnet, authentic cases from official police files. Now, let's look at our Fatima files. Listed under K. 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Smoke for quality king-size cigarette. Fatima. Best of all, long cigarettes. Tuesday morning, July 10th, 1 a.m. We continued to question Keith Stevens about the murder of his wife. He could add very little to what he'd already told us. We made a thorough search of his house and garage. We searched his car. We found nothing that would incriminate him in any way. 1.37 a.m. Carl Walters, the man who Keith Stevens lived with, returned home. We retraced his steps for the night of July 9th. All his time was accurately accounted for. We talked with his father. We were told that the shotgun had not been used for about 10 months since last duck season. We looked at the gun and noticed that it was covered with lint and had not been recently fired. We talked to the plant foreman at Gibney Steel Mill. He verified the fact that Keith Stevens worked his full shift on July 9th and did not leave his job until 12 midnight. At this point, both men were clear of any complicity in the murder of Josephine Stevens. Tuesday, July 10th, 8 a.m. We made the usual routine check of R&I of the four people involved in the case so far. Josephine Stevens, the murdered woman, her mother, Mrs. James Edwards, the husband, Keith Stevens, and his friend, Carl Walters. Here it is, Joe. One packet. Nothing on Josephine Stevens or Mrs. Edwards. That's right. Carl Walters is clean. He kind of makes a liar out of the husband, Keith Stevens. It's his package. Yeah, he forgot. Let's see. Keith Stevens. Here's the arrest report, one only. Let's see. It's 41-27-8. Yeah, I picked up and drunk George. He didn't forget, Joe, this was on June 7th last. Yeah, let me look at that officer, Steve. Let's see. Above suspect was picked up in the company of co-defendant Michael Duff, booking number 8023. Both suspects were drunk and disorderly at the time of arrest. Their condition was such they were unable to care for themselves. No, he didn't forget. Hey, Mary. Yes, sir? Pull this package for us, will you please? Booking number 8023. Give us a mug if he's got one, huh? What was that arrest date? June 7th, 51. Thank you. What's an outside chance? He lied once, maybe he'll lie again. I thought he was trying to prove by not telling us about this. Oh. Here you are. Oh, thank you, Mary. That's a little bigger package, huh? Yeah. Look, he's our card. He's done time in Quentin. 1933, Grand Theft Auto. Did four and a half years, paroled out in 37. Here he is, back in again on suspicion of robbery. 1946, charge released. Picked up again, suspicion of robbery, released again. Michael Lewis Duff, alias Mickey Duff. Stevens is moving in pretty fast company. Yeah. Look here, this is the guy all right. Here's that last drunk arrest, see, on the Louison Stevens, June 7th. Yeah, mm-hmm. Is your mug there, Joe? I'll see. There's this one on that 211 arrest in 47. Yeah, I see that one. It's pretty old, though. It's a little worn, and hard to see. Check that last arrest report, and the drunk charged me. We got one of those auto photo strips. I ought to do it. I hope so. Yeah, here we are. Let's see. Yeah, those auto photos are good mugs, aren't they? Yeah. What address did he give on that last arrest? 5234 West Main. No. All these other addresses are just transient hotels. The main street address the most recent looks like the best bet. This is probably why Stevens lied about being arrested. Yeah, let's see if he lied about anything else. We drove over to 5234 West Main Street. It was a small two-story roaming house. We checked with the landlady, and she told us that she had a man registered under the name of Michael Duff in room 20. She told us that he had just walked out a few minutes before we arrived, saying he was going down to the corner to buy a newspaper. We identified ourselves and stated that we'd wait in his room for him. We asked her not to tell him. She went upstairs with us and unlocked the door to room 20. We made a thorough search of his place. It was a two-room apartment. I searched the living room, and Ben went over the kitchen. Yo, come here. Yo. Look here. Look, I'm up under the sink here, cradled in the goose-neck of the drain. Yeah. Shotgun. Yep. Just a minute. He's been fired recently. I know. And this much fits in. Please don't. Found him in the pocket of one of his coats in the closet there. Gauge shotgun shells. Where'd you find them? In the pocket of a dress suit? It doesn't fit, does it? Not unless he's the best dressed hunter in town. Sounds like he's back. Yeah. Get your hand out of that pocket, please, officer. What's going on? Keep your hands out and open. Stand still. Here, Joe. You want to take this? Yeah. What are you doing carrying a gun, Duff? Anything wrong? You know better than that. What did they tell you when they paroled you? That was a long time ago. They haven't changed the rules. I don't know what you're doing here in the first place. Go on over there and sit down. All right. If that's what you want. That's what we want. Move. Very loud. You want to tell us about it? About the gun? About both of them. The shotgun here in the table. This one I got in my hand. Well, you found that old shotgun, huh? They found it. I haven't used that old thing for years. Just kept it as a keepsake. Haven't fired it for a long time. Don't even have any shells for it anymore. Except these two, huh? I don't know where those came from. Look, Duff, you're an ex-convict. We find two guns in your possession. Now let's don't play games. Tell us about it. I haven't got anything to tell you. What if I did? I just had a long talk with Keith Stevens. What'd he have to say? Never mind what he had to say. Let's hear your side of it. You wouldn't try to kid me, would you? Now, you listen, fella. We just came from a house over on Bixel Street. There's a woman lying in bed over there that took a blast from a sawed-off shotgun. You own a shotgun. It's been recently fired. You lied. You said you hadn't fired it. You said you didn't have any shells for it. Well, here they are. Now look, they fit, don't they? Take a good look at it, mister. There's only one thing missing. Who pulled the trigger? Let's have it, Duff. Did Stevens tell you? We'll ask the questions and I'll come on. All right. I did it, but I did it for Stevens. Tell me, give me $1,000 if I kill his wife for him. I haven't been paid yet. I'm still waiting to get paid off. You won't have to wait any longer. We took Michael Duff downtown together with a murder weapon. He gave us a full confession stating that Keith Stevens had offered to pay him $1,000 for the murder of his wife. He said that he and Stevens had planned it together. 1.30 p.m. Tuesday, July 10th. We drove out to pick up Keith Stevens. What else could I do? Is that how you justified the murder of your wife? It was her fault. She'd have just tried to be reasonable. This never would have happened. People settle these kind of problems every day and they don't use a shotgun. You wouldn't understand. Unless you got a son, you'd never really understand why I did it. I don't got a son. I don't understand. And you don't love him like I do. Couldn't stand the thought of never seeing him, having her take him away from me. And that's the way you want us to put it down. But you didn't want your child taken away from you so you killed his mother. Not exactly. She was going to take him away. She wanted him to forget all about me. She wanted him off for herself. Did your wife tell you all that? No, of course not. Any fool could see that's what she had in mind. You mean just because of some argument that you and your wife had, you just assumed all this to be so? Sure. I knew she'd never give me a break with Charlie. Isn't that what always happens? You never asked her how she felt? Never thought that she could stand on your legal rights? Never knew that what you're trying to make us believe seldom happens unless there's a good reason for it? I wasn't going to let her take my son away from me. Nobody could do that. You're right. You lost him yourself. The story you've just heard was true. Only the names were changed to protect the innocent. On October 15th, trial was held in Superior Court, Department 84, City and County of Los Angeles, State of California. In a moment the results of that trial. And now here is our star, Jack Webb. Thank you. Friends, I'd like you to be the judge while I present our case for Fatima. Now you've heard me say that Fatima is the best of all long cigarettes. Get a pack of Fatimas and compare them with any other long cigarette. Side by side, I'll admit a Fatima looks the same as any other king-size cigarette. But when you smoke them, you'll find a world of difference. In Fatima, that difference is quality. Quality that gives you extra mildness, a much better flavor and aroma. Compare Fatima, and I'm sure you'll agree with me. Fatima is the best of all long cigarettes. Keith Edward Stevens was convicted of murder in the first degree and received a life sentence. He is now serving his time in the State Penitentiary. Michael Lewis Duff was convicted of first-degree murder and received the death sentence. He was executed in the lethal gas chamber at the State Penitentiary. Dragnet wishes to thank Sheriff Brian Clemens of the parish of East Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana, for the appointment of Sergeant Joe Friday and Sergeant Ben Romero as honorary deputy sheriffs. Our sincere thanks to Sheriff Clemens. You have just heard Dragnet, a series of authentic cases from official files. Technical advice comes from the office of Chief of Police W. H. Parker, Los Angeles Police Department. Fatima Cigarettes, best of all long cigarettes, has brought you Dragnet, portions transcribed from Los Angeles. Stay tuned for counters by next over most NBC stations.