 Ladies and gentlemen, the story you're about to hear is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent. Drag Nets. You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned a robbery detail. You get a call that a woman has been badly beaten. She can't describe her assailant. He's still at large. Your job? Find him. It was Monday, January 14th. It was raining in Los Angeles. We were working the night watch out a robbery detail. My partner's Frank Smith. The boss's chief detective is Thad Brown. My name's Friday. We're on our way out from the office. It was 1147 p.m. when we got to 7982 Oakwood Avenue. Front door. What is it? Police officers. Would you like to see Miss Griffin? How do I know? Big part? How do I know your car? Here's our identification. I'm here. Pardon? Pass it through the door. I want to see it good. All right. There you are. Yeah. What do you think? Well, your guess is good as mine. Come on in. Thank you. Hurry up. Don't let all the rain in. Yes, ma'am. What if I have my identification back, please? Take your coats off right here. I don't want you tracking water through the house. All right. Could I have that identification card? You don't mind my being so careful about what's happened here. I've got to take all precautions, you know. Yes, ma'am. Come on in to the sitting room. I'll take that card. Thank you. Which one of you is Sergeant Friday? I am. You're the one who called. That's all right. Who's he? It's my partner, Frank Smith. Well, sit down. Here's your card. Thank you. Get you anything, cup of coffee? Maybe some hot cocoa, ma'am? No, no, no. Thank you. Well, sit yourself. Now, what is it you want? We understand you know Mrs. Kiran. We're neighbors. Mm-hmm. Maybe you can tell us what happened here tonight. Seems like you'd have the story being cops and all. Well, we'd like to hear you tell it now. All right. I was here tonight watching the TV, just going out to the kitchen to get a plate of snacks for the late show. You know, kind of like the munch. Mm-hmm. Well, all of a sudden I heard this scream real loud. I wasn't watching the television right then, so at first I thought it was from the set, you know, like a drama. That's mad. I didn't think nothing about it right then. Got myself all settled for the movie, and then I heard another scream. That's when I knew there was something wrong. How's that? There was a quiz on the television, no reason for any screams. Right then there was another one. Then I knew it was from the next door. Yeah. So I got my coat and umbrella and went over there. I see. Knocked on the door, but didn't get no answer. Well, I went into the house. All dark, not a light on. Right in and called Mrs. Karen called to her. Mm-hmm. There's an answer, but I could clearly hear something off to the back of the place. Uh-huh. Sounded like somebody crying. Sounded like a flimper, soft. Yeah. It came from the back of the house in the bedroom. You didn't see anybody else in the house when you went in, did you? If I had, I'd have told you before this. Go ahead, please. I got to the bedroom and opened the door. I couldn't see anything at first. Uh-huh. Then I was about to go on in, and this man jumped out at me. He was in the bedroom, was he? Yeah, must have been hiding in the dark and heard me coming, and he got back so I wouldn't see him. Then when I opened the door, he jumped right out, almost scared me to death. Well, what did he do? Just jumped at me and ran out of the house. Right through the front door, I heard it slam. Uh-huh. And then I heard the crying again. It was sort of off to one side of the room. I couldn't see right away where it was coming from. Uh-huh. I turned on the light, and right away I saw her. She was laying on the floor. Yes, ma'am. Oh, it was just terrible. The room was all tore up. Things all thrown around, a real mess, and her laying right there in the middle of it all beat up. Looks like whoever done it tried to kill her. What'd you do then? Call the police. Dialed O, told the operator to send a policeman. It wasn't long before they was here. It seemed like there was a hundred of them all over the place. All right, Mr. Griffin, I wonder if you can give us a description of the man you saw. Other officers asked me the same thing. As much I can tell you. Just all of a sudden, he was there, and then he was gone. You're pretty sure it was a man, though, huh? Certainly, I guess I know a man when I see one. I've been married to one for twenty-two years. Yes, ma'am. Can you tell us anything about him? I just got a glimpse of him, not good. I can't tell you anything but how he looked. He was standing in the dark when I come in. Next thing I do, he jumped past me and went out the front door. Yes, ma'am. Would you know him again if you saw him? I don't think so. Just a glimpse, that's all. I'd like to help. There isn't much more I can tell you. All right, ma'am. How is Mrs. Cairne? Is she gonna be okay? Well, she'd be in the hospital for a few days, but she's gonna be all right. Can she be able to tell you something about the man who did this? No, ma'am. Seems like she'd be able to describe him. Must have been there for a good half-hour. How do you figure that? Must have been at least that long from the time I heard the first scream until I got over there. First off, I didn't think it was real. Thought it was on television. Yes, ma'am, you told us. Must have been a half-hour. Mm-hmm. Are the Mrs. Cairne having the enemies that you knew of? Well, there's some people who didn't like her. A couple right here in the neighborhood, but none of them that would do a thing like this. How'd she and her husband seem to get along? Well, you mean, did they have any facts? Yes, that's right. All the time. Seemed like they was always battling about something. Would you know what caused the arguments? Oh, mostly about her, another man. He thought she was running around on him. He used to fight about it. A couple of times he said if she didn't stop, he's gonna kill her. Was that true? You mean about her and the man? Yes. Well, it might have been. For all I know, it didn't pay much mind to their troubles. Seems like I had too many things to keep me busy without getting mixed up in their problems. All right, Ms. Griffin, we'll leave our card with you. If you remember anything you think we'd be interested in, we'd appreciate a call from you. If I think of anything, you'll get one. Thank you, ma'am. Don't it seem kind of funny to you? Well, what's that? Mrs. Cairne can't tell you anything about the fella. Don't that strike you kind of odd? How do you mean? Well, somebody who's in my house for that long, I'd be able to tell something about him. Something for sure. Mm-hmm. I guess if the light's off, maybe she couldn't see. And then again. Yes, ma'am. Maybe she don't want to tell you. Frank and I drove back to the office and put in a call to Georgia Street receiving hospital. We talked to Dr. Sebastian and found that the victim had recovered to the point where she could be moved to her own hospital. We also talked with the officers who were with her. They told us that the woman hadn't given them any new information and they still hadn't been able to contact her husband. While I checked the crime lab, Frank went down the hall and ran the names Irene and Tom Kiran through our eye. 2.14 a.m. We met back in the squad room. How'd it go in the crime lab? I got it all here. You want to take a look? Yeah. Beginning to look like we got a good case against the husband. Yeah? Now here. Here's a picture of the room. The woman was found about here. See? Mm-hmm. You can see the way the stuff scattered all around the place all through here. Yeah. Looks like robbery. Well, he wanted to look that way, maybe. What do you mean? Well, on the dresser drawer here, the boys in the crime lab found $120 in cash. All the thief had to do was open the drawer and he'd have seen it, too. Oh. Well, how about the entrance? That's something else that doesn't seem to gel. They checked all the windows and doors. There's no sign of any breaking. She must have opened the door for the thief. Well, that means it was somebody Mrs. Kiran who knew it, huh? Yeah, it kind of looks that way. Anything else we can use? Well, take a look here. Here's a picture of a footprint lead Jones found on the earth beside the path. The way it looks, the thief left the path when he ran from the house and stepped in the soft dirt. Do us any good? I don't know much. The ground was wet. Must have been a good impression, but the rain broke down the walls. It's not much good to us now. That's it, huh? Yeah. Leighton Prince didn't come up with anything. I'm proud you do. Well, nothing on the woman. Husband's got an arrest record. Yeah. Got it right here. Mrs. Kiran had him pinched 18 months ago on a beating charge. Refused to prosecute. Same thing a year ago. And here, besides her complaints, he's been booked for ADW and suspicion 211. Doesn't he big time? No. Never drew a conviction. Joe, the thing I don't understand, if it was her husband, why doesn't she beef him? She wasn't worried about having him arrested before. There's something wrong about it. Well, there's got to be an answer someplace. You tagged the stats office? Yeah, I gave them what we had on the guy. They're going to start a run on the ammo in the morning. Better get the rest of this information down to them. Yeah, we can drop it off on the way out, huh? Right. You've got that list of her husband's friends? Uh-huh. Well, let's talk to them. Maybe they can tell us where he is. Okay. Hot shot. I got it. What is it? Stats office are going to have to wait, I guess. Huh? We've got a couple of blocks from Caren's. What's the call? Woman slugged. We left the office and we drove over to the address code 3. It was a small house set well back on the lot. When we got there, a felony car out of Hollywood division had already arrived and the crime lab had been called. The victim was identified as a Mrs. Milo Hudson, age 42. An ambulance was dispatched from Hollywood receiving hospital and she was given first aid. She'd been beaten about the head and shoulders. As soon as the attendance had finished, Frank and I talked to her. If you'll just tell us what happened, please. Awful thing. Awful thing ever happened to me. Yes, ma'am. Did you get a good look at the man? Pretty good. Not real good, but I did see him. Could you describe him for us? How do you mean? Well, how tall was he? I guess about as tall as you. He'd be about 5 foot 11. If that's how tall you are? Yes, ma'am. How about his weight? Is he heavy or light? About like him. That'd be about 180, huh? I guess so. I don't know, but I guess that's about what it is. What about his face? Did you see that? Yes, sir. Got a good look. You'd know him again if you saw him, would you? It certainly would. Never forget that face. Not if I lived to be a hundred. I'll never forget it. Now, could you give us a good description of him? He had dark hair, almost black kind of curly. Little wave right here in front. Had blue eyes, dark blue might have been kind of hazel color. Dark. Was he clean-shaven? You mean, did he have a mustache? Yes, ma'am. No. Didn't have anything like that. Was there anything about him that might make it easier for us to identify him? I don't think I know what you mean. What would you have? Any scars, any birthmarks, anything like that? Let me think. Seems there was something, but I can't remember what. Does this man say anything to you? Not at first. When he came in, he didn't say a word. Just pointed the gun at me and motioned back into the house, like he wanted me to get back there. Uh-huh. But he did say something to you later, is that right? Yes. Well, we got to the bedroom when he started to go through the place. I told him, you better get out, because my husband would be coming in any minute. I see. He smiled and said he knew George didn't get home till 4.30. He used your husband's name, didn't he? Yes. Come think of it, he did. I didn't pay much attention to it before, but he did. Do you think you ever saw that man before? Not that I remember. But you're sure you'd know him if you saw him again? I sure would. See, I remember what it was about him. Yeah? You know, you wanted something about him that would make it easier to tell if he was the right man. That's right. He had a scar. A small one, right here, by his eye, made it look like his left eye was real big, gave him a funny look. Mm-hmm. Is that what you meant? Yes, ma'am. You want to go to the city hall and go through some pictures for us? Well, I want to do everything I can to help. I'm supposed to check with my doctor if he says it's all right. I'll be there. Why would you want me? Well, if he could make it in the morning. If the doctor says it's all right, I'll be there. Okay, thanks, Mrs. Hudson. We can send a car for you if you like. Might be better if you did. George likes to sleep late and I don't drive. All right, ma'am. We'll call you in the morning. Sure hope you can catch the person who's done this. Lord knows how many more people he's going to hurt. Yes, ma'am. He seems to know all about people. When they're going to be alone and all seems to know all about him. Mm-hmm. You're right where everything in this house was all the way. You're right down to a T. You're sure you never saw him before, is that right? Positive. You don't forget that kind of face. See it once and you remember it all your life. Was there been anybody new in the neighborhood? I don't understand what you mean. Well, like any salesman. Door-to-door canvases, anything like that. Residential neighborhood like this, there's always somebody around trying to sell something. Must be a couple of people a day come to door. But I'm sure the man who hit me wasn't one of them. All right, ma'am. Thank you very much. Not at all, Sergeant. I want to do all I can to help you get him. Mm-hmm. Do you have any idea who he is, where to find him? Not very much, Miss Hudson. Terrible to think about it. A man like that roaming the streets. A woman isn't safe in her own home anymore. We'll get to him, ma'am. I should hope so. But what do we do in the meantime? Just sit here and wait for this lunatic to kick the doors down? Well, we'll do everything we can. Awful. I'll never forget how he came in here, shoved me around. Just never forget it. Well, that makes you even. What? He won't either. We got out of supplemental broadcast, carrying the description of the suspect, and then we continued to talk to the latest victim. She was unable to come up with any additional information. 4.30 a.m. The crew from the crime lab finished up their investigation, and Frank and I went back to the office. We left the description of the suspect at the stats office, and we asked R and I to check the oddity file for a possible identification on the scar that the suspect had. 5.21 a.m., we signed out of the office. The next day at 9.26 a.m., we met with Chief Brown and Captain Donahoe, and we went over the case with them. Because of the method of operation used, it became apparent that the thief was acquainted with the habits of the people in the neighborhood. Two additional teams of men were assigned to the case, and they began to canvass the area for information on people who appeared to be loitering in the vicinity. We also decided to assign three more police units to patrol the streets during the night hours. We checked all F.I. cards that had been filed in the area. That afternoon, Milo Hudson came down to the office and went through the mug books, but she was unable to make an identification. She was shown pictures of Tom Curran, the husband of the first victim, but she stated positively that he was not the man who'd beaten her. The list of possibles came back from the stats office and was checked without result. A week went by. In spite of the additional men involved, the suspect hit three more times. In each case, the M.O. was the same. In each case, he escaped. However, we were able to get a little more information on him. We had the artist in crime analysis division draw up a composite picture of the suspect, and we had it distributed to all officers in the city. The daily papers ran out on their front pages. Thursday, January 24th, 5.20 p.m. Frank and I got back to the office from dinner. I want to call Faye and tell her it looks like a late night. All right, I'll check the book. Anything? No. You call her from Pinky. Yeah? Ian Lightner talked to that magazine salesman. Check out? No, the guy just got in town a couple of days ago. The description's pretty far off. I got it. Bobby Friday. Yes, ma'am, that's right. Well, we can take it. All right. What's that address again? Yeah, it's that studio court. Yes, ma'am, we'll be right out. No, no, don't do anything. If he wants to leave, don't try to stop him. That's right, we'll be right there. Woman out on studio court. Says she thinks the suspect's in her house now. Frank and I left the office and drove over to the address we've been given on the phone. As we pulled up in front of the house, we could see a man standing on the porch. We got out of the car and we went up the wall. At the front door, we met the woman who'd called. She said that the man had run the doorbell and had tried to force his way into the house. She went on to say that her husband wasn't home and that she'd managed to stall the man until we got there. We took him back to the city hall and talked to him in the interrogation room. He identified himself as Victor Nadel. Frank went down the hall to run him through records and identification. He's causing me no reason for all this. What were you doing at that house? Trying to earn a living. You have to force your way in to do that? That old broad's off her rocker. I didn't try to get into the place. She says you did. She's flipped. What do you do for a living? I work, you know another way? What kind of work? Salesman. What do you sell? Right now I'm selling lots. Real estate? Yeah. Where? Tracked out in the desert. Who do you work for? I don't think I'm going to tell you that. You're not going to get them a no-true. We're going to find out anyway. Now why don't you save yourself a lot of grief and tell us? If you get paid, you'd dig it out. You ever been arrested? A couple of times. Where? Oklahoma. What for? Call it hijackin'. Robbery? Same thing. You ever do any time? No, they couldn't nail it down. Where do you live? Got a room down on these fifths, room and privileges. Who do you work for? That's your job. How long have you been in town? A couple of months. You've been working for this real estate company since you got here? Yeah, got the job a couple of days after it got off the train. How'd you get it? Answered an ad. You ever see that woman out on studio court before? No. You don't know her? I told you. She'd have no reason to tie a bad beep on you, would she? She's doing it, ain't she? She's kind of silly without any reason, isn't it? She's a woman. That's all they need. All right, empty your pockets out on the table. Why? Come on. We're not playing games. You're empty your pockets. What's this all about? What are you guys trying to prove it all this strong? We're trying to find out why you wanted to break into that house. I told you I didn't break into the house. That old harpy's out of her mind to tell you a thing like that. I don't know why, but she's got it in for me. He wants to see me getting into trouble. That's right. You never saw her before. That's what I said. And why'd she build a thing like this? I told you, I don't know what's a lie. I walked up to the door and asked if I could talk to her. Just try to talk to her. Right away she starts yelling at me to get away, get off the property. Why didn't she leave then? I wanted to make a sale. You must have figured she wasn't interested. I needed to make a sale. I haven't been doing too good. I had to make a sale or I'd have lost my job. That's a reason to act like a tough guy, isn't it? All I did was try to talk to her, talk her into buying a life. You got a funny way of doing it. I thought maybe she was going to call the police, make a complaint. She'd have done that. I'd have lost my job, sure. That's all there is to it. I'm telling you the truth. You've got to believe me. You've been working in the neighborhood before? No. It's the first time. I've been kind of sick the last week. It's the first time out for me. It's the first time I've been around here. Where'd you work before? Westlake area. You ever have any trouble there? No, none. Why'd you make the switch then? Just thought I'd try a new territory. See if I could make up for the week I lost. You got anybody go back up this story for you? People at my rooming house, I'll tell you. I'll say I was there all week. It's kind of fluid, I'll tell you. So, see you in a minute. You want me to wait here? That's right. Just sit there. What do you got? Looks like we nailed the wrong guy. What do you think? The call just came in. The radio car picked up a fellow on Rosewood Avenue. Caught him in a house trying to beat a woman to death. What about the description? Matches the suspect right down the line. Victor Nadel was booked in at the main jail, pending further investigation. We were unable to connect him with any robbery, but Terry Thomas of the city attorney's office issued a complaint charging violation of section 415 of the penal code. At 746 p.m., the suspect we'd gotten a call about arrived at the city hall. He was fingerprinted and checked through R&I. We found that he'd served a year in a day in New York state for breaking and entering. He'd served a sentence in the state of Washington on similar charges. Physically, he matched the description we'd gotten from the victims. While Pinky Mead and D. Lightner contacted the women and asked them to come down to the office, Frank and I questioned the suspect. What's your name? Marnell. Is that your true name? Yes, sir. Where do you live? My home's out in Hollywood. It's a big place now at Darwin. Ledgewood Drive, 2917. You ever been arrested? Yeah, you know that. It was a mistake, though. Both times? The second time was because of the first. What do you mean by that? I want you done time. It seems like anything goes wrong. The cops are on your back, just like this. You want to tell us what happened out there tonight? You mean on Rosewood? That's right. Big misunderstandings. What do you tell us about it, will you? I wanted to use her phone. I don't know. I guess she got scared about something. How'd you ask her? Regular way. Told I was in trouble. Asked if I could phone. Next thing I know, she's screaming up the storm. There's cops all around me. According to this report, you didn't stop when you were told. Is that right? I guess so. Well, is it, or isn't it? Yeah. Why'd you run? Well, I didn't know what's going on. I got a record. I had enough to do with cops to last me the rest of my life. As soon as I heard the sirens, I took off. I guess I didn't hear that cop tell me to stop. Yeah. It's kind of hard to believe. Well, you believe the woman who says I tried to slug her. You believe her, but you don't believe me. You see, that's what I meant. What's that? Well, as soon as you fall once, there's a dozen cops right behind you all the time waiting to stomp on you. You ever figured that you helped build it that way? Yeah, it reads good, but you ain't got nobody on your tail. All right. Now tell us again about tonight. I told the cops who picked me up. I told the cop who fingerprinted me. I already told you once. Now how many times you want to hear it? Until we get it the right way. Well, how are you going to know? You'll find it. Come on. Go down to the interrogation room. Go ahead. Down this way. Go ahead, right in there. Hold on. Let's clean it up. What do you mean? You know we're going to have no trouble making you on these things. We've got the victims on their way down here now. As soon as they identify, you've had it. So save yourself a lot of time and trouble if you cop out now. I'd like to give you a hand, Sergeant. I really would, but there's nothing I can do. I don't know what you're talking about. All right. What were you doing on January 10th? 10th? That's right. What day was that? Thursday. Gee, I don't know. It's a long time ago. It's hard to remember. I'm about the 11th. Same. I don't remember. The 14th? Yeah. Yeah, I can tell you about that. All right. Let's go ahead. I got through work and went home. I met the wife. We had dinner. Took in a show. You can prove that? Well, sure. Ask my wife. She'll tell you. All right. How about Wednesday to 16th? Blank. You don't remember what you were doing on the 16th of January, you know? No. Is it important? It's going to be for you. How about the 17th? That'd be Thursday. That's right. I stayed home and watched the wrestling on television. You can prove that, can you? Sure. I had some people in to watch the matches. Give us their names, will you? Yeah. Who was wrestling that night? Are you one of them all or just the main? How about the sunny wind-up? Well, let me think. Yeah, it was a tag team match between the McLean Brothers and the South Twins. You're sure? I'm positive. How about the 19th? What'd you do then? 19th. That would be a... Saturday. Well, I'm off Saturday. I don't remember too good. Probably came home sat around the house, drank beer and loafed. Mm-hmm. That was Saturday the 19th. Yeah, the 19th. How about Monday the 21st? I bowl that night. Where? Lanes out on sunset. Bowler all the time? Yeah. Well, Saturday and week usually it's on Tuesday. Why'd you change this? Well, some of the guys couldn't make it Tuesday, so we changed the day. Anything special to you about January 14th, 17th, 21st? What do you mean special? Well, your birthday, your anniversary, something like that. No. Just regular days. That's right. Nothing to make them stand out. No. Then how come you can remember what you were doing on those days? You can't give us a story if it's January 10th, 11th, 16th or 19th. I don't know. What are you guys trying to get me to say? What are you trying to get at? The truth. Well, I'm giving it to you. We can't see it. How come you remember those days? I don't know. It's funny. I couldn't remember what I was doing last week. I'd have to sit down and think about it. You didn't even have to try to remember. You knew right away, didn't you? Mike was important for you to remember. You keep trying to build an alibi, don't you? Look, you asked me where I was. I told you. Let's have the names of the people you say you're aware of. You going to talk to them? That's right. Well, maybe they won't remember. I think they will. But what happens if they don't? Then you're in big trouble. You're holding a lot of it right now. Let's have the names. Sure. I've got nothing to worry about. I'll give them to you. Here's a pencil. Paper there. I don't know all the addresses. We'll look them up. You're going to have to talk to them, huh? Sure. What's the matter? You think they won't stand behind you? No, it's not that. Then what is it? Well, just that they don't know I've done time. Maybe when they find out, they'll try to get me. You know, say they weren't with me, they might do that. You're like that woman tonight. Yeah, just like that. People don't like you much. Do they mind now? Hmm? It seems like everybody's trying to get you in trouble. I want a lawyer. You want to check, Frank, see if the victims are here. Yeah. But what's going to happen now? We've got some people we want to see you. Who are the women you beat up? No, you can't make me on those jobs. We think we can. Yeah, well, you just try. You take this thing into court, and they're going to throw it right out. That's the way you've got to figure this out. That's right. Go ahead, Frank. Bring them in. All right. I said I want a lawyer. What? I said I want a lawyer. Well, you'll get one. Yeah, and a jury. I want a jury trial. You've got a choice. You bet I have. You bring all these women down here to point me out. Well, this isn't going to work. A bunch of people who don't like me causing me trouble. People who don't like me. I want a jury trial. A judge and a jury. All right, you'll get them. I'll make you a bet. Hmm? They won't like you either. Rudolph August Marnell was filed on for four counts of robbery in the first degree, five counts of burglary in the first degree, and five counts of assault with intent to do great bodily injury. He was found guilty by a jury trial on all counts and received sentence as prescribed by law. Robbery in the first degree is punishable by imprisonment for a period of not less than five years. Burglary in the first degree is punishable by imprisonment for a period of not less than five years. Assault with intent to do great bodily harm is punishable by a term of from one to 20 years 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 United States Armed Forces Radio Service