Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio from Boise, Idaho. This
is your host, Adam Graham. If you have a comment, email it
to me Box thirteen at Great Detectives dot nit, follow us on Twitter at
Radio Detectives, and check us out on Instagram, Instagram, dot com,
slash Great Detectives. If you're enjoying the podcast, please follow us using your
favorite podcast software. Today's program is brought in part by the financial support of
our listeners. You can support the show on a one time basis. I'm
mailing a donation to Adam Graham Pielbox one five nine one three. That's Peelbox
one five nine thirteen, Boise, Idaho eight three seven one five. You
can also become one of our ongoing Patreon supporters for as little last two dollars
per month at Patreon dot Great Detectives dot net. Now let's get into this
week's episode of Dragnet. The original air date December the fifteenth, nineteen forty
nine, and the title is The Garbage Shoot Murder Ladies and Gentlemen. The
story you were about to hear is true, only the names have been changed
to protect the innocent. Dragnet you're a detective sergeant. You're assigned to homicide
detail. A young woman has been murdered. The body was discovered behind locked
doors. The assassin is still at large. Your job find him. Drag
Nets the documented drama of an actual crime. For the next thirty 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 from official police files,
from beginning to end, from crime to punishment. Dragnet is the story of
your police force in action. It was Tuesday jail. Very night was stormy
in Los Angeles. We were working a day watch out of homicide detail.
My partner's been Rom Marrow. My name is Friday. I was on the
way to work and was six forty five am when I got to the steps
of the City Hall, a main street entrance. Hey, Joe, wait
up, morning Ben. What did they call you? Five am? Donald
will call you? Yeah, miserable out in pretty well right feet of silking.
We see the times earlier. Yeah, new chief of detective. We'll
wait a minute. I wanna get some government back experiment. Well, I
heard about the new chief. Bat round put men each jump dang uh I
wish I'd make up the mind's blood our shift work days to call you back
night work nights, called you back days once. Put into a desk,
John, and we'll never have to call you back. You're here all the
time. Man. He just hired to please yer. Wanta keep what you
want? Thanks you again? That what? Uh? It's a great way
to start off as unior chief. Called you back on a rocking morning like
this. I'm glad you got the job there. Yeah, congratulations, Jee,
It's hard to follow a man like that backstrand gonna meet your help.
You got it. Here's why I called you back, Laura Barclay. It
was the dead body report nightclub entertainer. Then lady found the body an hour
ago, who was covering Berton Anderson there out there now strangled. Huh the
lamp cord, still trying to figure out how the guy got in the house.
Doors and windows all locked. Yuh. Attack at the motive for Nah?
Yeah, I just came from there. I think there's more in your
raised me a room wasn't proud. Yeah, just a hunch, play it
for me, Ben and I left Bad Brown's office, picked up Lieutenant Lee
Jones at the crime lab and drove to the West Adams District. Number sixteen
Imperial Twice, where the body of Laura Barkley had been found. Was an
ornate frame structure done in Victorian style, at least thirty to forty years old.
Number sixteen was on the ground floor. We went in a narrow hallway
led to the bedroom. In the rear of the house. Two gas jet
fixtures which had been converted to electricity were the only illumination. This place has
seen better day. Anybody else coming out? Lead? I see flash bulbs
down there. They must be here already, ar righty on his way,
Hyeburton Hi. The die was covering a body position Peterson's dusty for Prince Fred.
Shoot a couple of overheads. Don't make them all angle shots, get
up high and move in close. And Chief was right. Rooms in pretty
good order. She talked to anybody burton Land lady lives upstairs. Only two
people living in a building. She tell you anything, said the Barkley girl
paid a rent on time. Good tenant plays the organ in the blue Fox
cocktail. Any idea how the murderer got in here? Not yet. I
got every door and window and the place is locked anything else. That's it
so far. We'll give you fifteen point seven and what we got. Okay,
Lloyd, you and Anderson have another detail? Yeah, I'm working on
that westward thing. Two uniformn outside if you want anything, right, Thanks,
It's like a tough one. Joe, Well, we did it much
to come in through the keyhole. See you later, Andy dusting the Prince.
Nothing yet. Only piece of physical evidence so far the lamp court she
was strangled with. I wrun it through downtop. Not a sign of a
struggle. Maybe she wanted to die. Check the bathroom when you been to
look around the kitchen? Wait, Pete, have you addusted the lamp yet?
Not? Ben? Come here a minute, will you, Ben?
Yeah, come in the kitchen with you. You got a pencil? Uh?
Yeah, yeah, here you are? Okay you look at this garbage
shoot here? M let me see mm about eight feet to the ground.
Yeah, big enough for a man to get through. Oh yeah, I
have no probing him. Lay Oh be right there. It could be the
ens Joe, and he either got in this way or he was in the
house when she came home. What do you got garbage? Shoot here?
What do you think could be? Let me grab a kit. Let's see
moving the powder and set it. No, yeah, you know, nothing
on the outside of the lid. Look pretty clean. That's the justment.
Scrubbed abrasions here, had a pencil. Yeah, yeah, okay, hold
it up that yeah yeah, yeah, there we go. Large prints,
unusually large, big hands. Can I look inside the shoot a minutely,
Go ahead, watch that the lid Yeah, well, uh, looks like
it's blocked off upstairs. This thing hasn't been used for garbage for some time.
Most of them will condemned a few years back. I'll get Fred to
shoot these. Let's go in the living room at Dimindstedly. Yeah, it's
clean. Go ahead, take a look, Joe. Yeah, photographs hmm,
hundreds of'em. All men, Yeah, all different, Lee Jones
and the crime lab group and each step and went back to Central Division.
Two uniformed officers remained on duty at the scene of the crimes. Fat Brown
had men sent out to canvas the neighborhood. Ben and I went upstairs and
talked with a landlady and missus Emma Smith. Yes police officers you, miss
Smith. Yes, you're not the same officers I talked with before. No,
ma'am, I wonder if we could ask you a few questions. I
told the other officers everything I knew. We have to double check miss Man.
Who was a girl who lived in the apartment below number sixteen, Laura
Barkley? Is that the name she used the males she received? Was it
address that way? Yes? It was. Oh, she was a very
good tenant, Laura. No trouble with her at all. When did she
move here? Oh? About four or five years ago. I have the
rent receipts. I always save receipts. Did she always live by herself?
Oh? Yes, that apartment rents to one person only. Did she have
many visitors? Friends dropping in that I ever saw? Pretty much to herself,
Laura. The men came yesterday and took it away. What's that meant?
The organ? Electric one? Laura rendered it from a big downtown term
used to practice all the time. Mine was beautiful. Yeah, in the
globing. She used to play that for me, missus Smith. When did
the men come and take the organ away? Yesterday in the afternoon by four
thirty. Was Miss Barclay at home when they came, No, she wasn't.
She left me a note to let the man so I left the me
in. I never allow anyone in the apartment without a note. You know
the name of the company where she went to the organ the graziers. It
was called down on South Spring. Well, didn't you think it was unusual
that miss Barkley didn't have any friends? Now? Oh, sir, I
didn't stay the horror didn't have any friends. What I said was that she
didn't have any friends who came to see her here. She moved here from
a hotel for women. That's the reference she gave me. Let's see what
if you could give us the address of that hotel? Please write it down
for you? Thank you? Uh, Miss Smith, did you hear any
unusual sounds in Miss Barclay's flat last night? Anything out of the ordinary?
If I had, I would have called the police and we have saved the
girl's life. Ah, thank you very much. Miss here's her coin?
There's anything you think of after gone? Don't hear his dat? Car?
Thank you? I'm will. I hope you get the dirty men who killed
Laura. We didn't say it was a man, Miss Smith. Well,
isn't it all we'resome man? Before we left missus mmss Smith, we asked
her about the garbage shoe. She said it had not been in use for
the last four years. We showed her the stack of photos. She got
identify none of them. We drove back to Central Division. We checked Brazier's
music store. The two men who moved the organ were checked out and cleared.
We went to the wind Hotel for young ladies. They could tell us
nothing. Laura Barkley's references were all good. We went back to the office
and met with chiev detectives. That brown you think he got into the garbage
shoe, That's where it looks Gee went all over the apartment. If there's
another way, we haven't found it all right, you know I got in
who is he? We got out on apb and his m laden fingerprints are
making a run on those prints we found. I got an idea about these
pictures here, most of them theatrical still chow people. Oh Frank Latour and
he's Canine Circus's Laura, ah my love, Frank se what you do.
Here's a guy I checked with this morning, Bernard Carubian theatrical bookings and huh
yeah, Barney's office is down in the Orphan building, Athan Hill. He
booked her into the blue fox. See what he can tell you. Alright,
I'm glad to pick up the band now. Oh yeah, well you
got more than you started with. Yeah, those fingerprints and you get a
make on him. We'll be close to the gay. So was the Barclay
girl, but he got away. I wonder if we could see mister Krubin.
Who's calling? Please Sergeant Rameau and Sergeant Friday police officers. Oh one
moment, please two police officers to see you, mister Krubian, Sergeant Friday
and Sergeant Ramero. Is that right? Yes, ma'am sent him go right
in. Thank you? Uh, how the IgA when the Rosy Russ bus
through the snow, I'll be coming home on the girl again. When then
General Shuman saying, so are covered with ice. I'll be home for good.
And Benu no no, no, was corn? Thank you? I
help you understand that you booked Laura Barklay. Yeah, that's right. I
spoke with a got his name right here, Chief's bad Brown. That's right.
He asked me about Laura. Too bad about that any close we're working
on it. Mister Kruby makes a person pull of stuff like that. La
didn't have no enemies. She had one. Well, I don't know much
about her except I've been booking her for about four years. Good organist,
great card boys too, got some big she's here. When did you take
a look a yeah, sure, quite a stack. Oh oh, Frankie
Latour and them dogs, great acts. I book'em, Recky Rogan,
King of the Tap Gout, saw an Ocle, and that same seala Is.
Yeah, yeah, I know all these people. I book'em off.
Did Norah Berkley work with all these people one time or another year during
the war us O gam shows? You know? Do you know whether she
was close to any of them? Well, come to think of it,
she was that Frankie Latour, crazy about them dogs he is, no,
I mean the men themselves. Anybody that she seemed particularly interested in. Never
heard of mention anybody, pretty girl. Did you know her very well,
Miss Gruby, only once she came in and out of town on an engagement.
I'm a married man. Well, when you don't think there's anything to
these pictures here of hers, huh, I wouldn't say so. When you're
on the road, you always collect photos of the people you work with souvenirs.
Well, thank you very much, mister Krubian, here's our cod you
bet you uh sure? Hope you catch the guys. What a way he
picked on Laura. Sometimes they don't have a reason. When we left Benard
Peruvian's office, were checked by the Blue Box cocktail lounge was still early.
The sign said opened five pm. It was three fifteen. We went to
the morgue in the basement of the Hall of Justice and looked at the corners
report. The autopsy report stated that the cause of death for Laura Barclay was
strangulation. We went to the second floor of the Old City Jail building,
the crime lab. Nothing in the lamp corn stand at Ruel one hundred and
ten line, but anywhere no prints. How about the shoot? Lee went
back there and rechecked. You were right, the guy got in through the
garbage shoot. I'm more of the same prints, along with some cloth impressions
in the dust ten anything. The guy was wearing some kind of twee down
ago fifteen to the inch. How about the size of a manly how big
could he be to clear that shoot? They had a twenty inch diameter.
Almost any man could squeeze through that. Check the ground level of the shute
cement no foot, prince, you don't have too much for it. I
got one thing for you. I think I found your motive, and not
the one listed on the report. Yeah. Here are the blow ups of
the body. It's thirty six x fifty four. Here, pulled that in,
will you man no, look through this magnifying glass here the right hand.
Yeah, see where I'm pointing ring finger. Yeah, looked like ring
marks. That's right, pretty wide. Must have been good side things.
I might still be in that room. I called that brown. He had
the room. We checked, no sign and you think we got a burglary
bony be on her hand. That's my guess. Dad had the boy's check
with the landlady. She didn't know anything about any ring with the barclay girl
out of hand. That doesn't help. Think I got something else here?
Library book r The cards in one of the pockets inside checked out from the
LA Public Library main branch. I think these might be your lead on the
miss rings. Librarian sees a person's hands every time they checked out a board.
It makes sense ly we'll play it that way. What do partner with
the books checked out a music room? Well, that's it. I think
you've got your motive. Now on a good set of twins your clothes.
Thanks a lot. Later, let's go to the library, Ben, I'll
get it. Crime. No, this is Friday. Oh thanks, Frank,
Well we got some motive. How do you mean no? Make on
those fingerprints? Nothing? You are listening to Dragnet for the solution to an
actual case from official police files, four thirty pm, Tuesday, January ninth,
heavy rain. Laura Barclay's murderer was still a free man. Ben and
I were sure that whoever left their fingerprints on the inside of that garbage chute
was the same man who murdered the Barkley girl. He had no previous record,
his first crime, as far as we knew, was a killing,
and the odds were all in his favor. The fingerprints gave us nothing.
All we had left to lead us to the killer were three library books and
a stack of old theatrical photos. The solution of most crimes for the working
detective is method and persistence. When you have clues, you work with him.
When you don't, you work your way to a logical conclusion as best
you can. We went to the Los Angeles Public Library, the main branch.
The librarians in the music room handled thousands of readers every week. None
of them remembered Laura Barclay. We drove over to the Blue Fox cocktail lounge.
We interviewed the manager, and he knew nothing of her personal life.
We talked to Harry Schumann, the organist who had taken Laura Barklay's place.
What would you like to hear, phil police if she'd like to talk to
you? Man? My Laura, Ya, I'm tried, all right?
If I keep on playing? Manager wants full fifteen minute sets, go ahead,
That's all right. What can I tell you? How long have you
known miss Barklay? Oh? Four or five years? Terrible thing? You
gotta get to whoever did it? Yeah, we're gonna try. Can you
think of anybody that might have killed her? You know you asked that questioning
everybody. I don't know. Does anybody ever know for sure? Sometime?
But I don't know. When you think of a person, you never think
who might murder. Maybe you might know a few things about it that you
could fill us in on. I'll try. She go in for jewelry,
much rings, things like that. Funny you should ask that she was nuts
for him? Good things? Rings had a couple of beauties diamonds said,
we're big stones, cost four thousand. She used to put most of her
money into those rings. She'd buy them on time. Yeah, I remember
one night she was over joyed. The night she paid them off. Cost
a lot of doubt. Can you describe those rings for us? Not too
good. I can give you the name of the jeweler she bought him from.
That'll do. Do you know anybody else that we might talk to.
I don't know any of her friends. She was an only child, no
living relatives that I know. How about her landlady? Yeah, I guess
that's it. Harry, Thank you for what I wish I could help more.
Everybody had your attitude, we'd be out of a job. Before we
left the Blue Fox, Harry Schumann gave us the address of Laura Barkley's jeweler.
The next morning, we checked with the manager of the store and he
gave us a complete description of the two diamond rings which the dead girl had
purchased. They were valued at four thousand dollars. He gave us detailed drawings
of the rings. We went back to the office, gave the information,
the burglary detail and all points bulletin was put out describe a pawn Shops throughout
the city and state were alerted to watch for the stolen rings. When we
had lunch with Chief that Brown at Costa's CAFETI never mind, no matter,
I'll get it. Oh, thank you, Jeeve, I'll get them.
Stu was good. There's some change with the cigarette shoe. Thanks any cigarettes,
Joe? No, no thanks, than let's go. What do you
think, Fad? The description of the rings and the EMO should help.
Haven't turned up. Good chance he's holding on to him. Could be his
first job. Probably scared. Anybody checked back over the neighborhood. Then this
is the afternoon and this morning about a daughter or salesman through that district.
All been checked out. It's a dead end nowhere. Only those friends that
checked out, well they didn't got a kickback from Barrett's and Sacramento and his
m O. No, mate, We'll have to get him with what we've
got. Here's the car. Sure you picked up all of those ends.
We've been back over the course three times. Go over it again, keep
going over it until something breaks. For the next ten days, we retraced
our steps from the room where the crime was committed throughout the neighborhood to the
place where she worked, back to the same dead end. Then and I
checked and double checked each other to make certain that neither of us had overlooked
even the smallest detail of the investigation. We got no place. It was
eight am January nineteenth, Homicide Friday. Joe, Yeah, Dick, that's
h japp last night double of watches strand up. How do we figure in
it is m Yeah, guy got into the garbaitute. Besides fingerprints and photographs,
one other marked by which the unknown criminal is identified is by his method
of operation, as m all. Once a thief finds a successful means of
operation, he seldom changes it. In our search for Laura Barkley's murderer,
we had checked our files and found no criminals at large whose practice it was
to gain entrance through a garbage choe. It was reasonably safe to assume that
this was the same man. It was two pm January twenty third. I
was on my way back from the record girl she just out at calls Joe
Alma rad Clan to conform it. Yeah, says two days ago he heard
about some guy who was making around is trying to peddle a couple of diamond
rings, same ones, and he's not sure, doesn't know what the guy
looked like, any idea where the guy is now, hasn't been around saying
told ever mean to keep his eyes open. That's good. Come any of
you two? What he got? That poor just came down from Burglary pawn
shopped down on North Maine. Took in a watch and stand of pearls last
night. Yeah, same stuff that Rubles called you about. Yeah, I
remember, where's it dying? Same guy tried to peddle a couple of diamond
rings. Ten am, January twenty fifth, Bad Brown arranged to have all
pawn shop detail calls concerning the suspect put through to us on extension two five
to one homicide five days past, no further word homicide Friday. This is
George Rose really rubber porn shop second in May. Yeah, what's the matter?
Man in here trying to turn those diamond rings ones in the stolen dramay
list again, stallmoll, be right down, Come on, Ben move it.
Yeah, the next corner there, it is just up the block.
Pull up, all right, let's go. Hell here we are, hey,
holo, gook God Joe. He's got a gun, all right,
Joe, Yeah, up the back way, let's get him. There he
goes, stop bad, can you hit him? He didn't stop him.
Watching. Come on, Joe, he's turning on the spring. He ran
into that cafeteria. It's trueman, it's run where he goes? Se Yeah,
and there he goes. He headed for the kitchens. Bun stop bat
man. Stop here, hup the back door into the galley. There he
goes stuck. Man, all right, Joe, stop, he's not stopping.
Stay clear, he's done right, Come on, all right, get
his guns. Yeah, he got him in the leg. Joe hit his
head when he fell, all right, snap, mir huh huh. Look
on the little finger of his right hand. Two diamond rings. Yeah,
doesn't make sense, does it? What's there? Four thousand dollars worth of
diamonds and he was laying on a pilot garbage. The story you I've just
heard was true, only the names were changed to protect the innocent. On
April second, nineteen forty seven, trial was held in Superior Court, Department
eighty one, City and County of Los Angeles, State of California. In
a moment, the results of that trial. Lola Barclay's murderer was identified as
Martin Eric Swanson. He was trying and convicted of murder in the first degree.
His case was fought through the Supreme Court of California and in the United
States Supreme Court. In both instances, his conviction was upheld last Friday morning,
after a delay of five years, Martin Eric Swanson was executed in a
lethal gas chamber at the State Penitentiary. You have just heard Dragnet, a
new series of authentic cases from official files. Technical advice for Dragnet comes from
the office of Acting Chief of Police W. A. Wharton, Los Angeles
Police Department. Dragnet honors the City of Youngstown, State of Ohio, and
the men who make up the Youngstown Police Department, another of America's great law
enforcement agencies. One of these men, Chief of Police, Edward J.
Allen, honored as Policeman of the Year who dedicates his life so that yours
might be more secure. A welcome back. Friday's explanation of why modus operandi
was important may seem basic to those of us who watched television programs in the
eighties and nineties, or even take part in normal cultural conversation. Describing something,
even something non criminal, as being someone's typical m is a fairly common
expression, but in nineteen forty nine, Dragonet was on the cutting edge of
bringing public awareness to police jargon and introducing that into the public vocabulary. Fad
Brown is introduced and takes a pretty active role in the case. Although this
type of thing wouldn't continue or be typical. It makes me wonder whether this
particular script was int development with Ed Baxtrand in mine and was rewritten for Thad
Brown, or maybe they were experimenting with the format a little bit. Well.
Now listener comments and feedback and we go to YouTube where Marine comments regarding
the mother in law murder. They didn't fool around in those days. Irrefutably
guilty and done well. Thanks for the comment, Maureen. I would say
that the earlier episodes of Dragnet do tend to have more of the murders lead
to death penalty cases. It's a little bit more mixed as the series goes
on as to whether someone will get the death penalty, and I'd say more
often than not, later episodes that have murders don't actually have the killers getting
the death penalty. All right. Well, now it's time to thank our
Patreon supporter of the day, and I want to go ahead and think Blaine.
Blaine has been one of our Patreon supporters since January twenty seventeen, currently
supporting the podcast at the rookie level of two dollars or more per month.
Thank you so much for your support, Blaine, and that will do it
for today. If you're enjoying the podcast, please follow us using your favorite
podcast software. And if you're enjoying the podcast on YouTube, be sure to
lock the video, subscribe to the channel, and mark the notification bell.
Join us for public domain video Theater, where we will be featuring an episode
of Dangerous Assignment. You can find that over at video Theater dot Great Detectives
dot net tomorrow or on our YouTube channel at YouTube dot Great Detectives dot net.
We will of course be back here next Saturday with another episode of Dragnet,
but join us back here on Monday for the adventures of the falcon Wear.
Hate to do this to it, but fils a doug on weekend can't
move out of this spin? What what are we talking about? The shooting?
O? Yes, I didn't see who did it. They're not giving
much to go on. All Right, I'll give you something. It's a
fellow named Audie Allison. I think he knows he did the shooting. What
makes you think that? He called me in the hospital and we talked.
I got the idea knows something, but once cash to spill it. All
right, I'll get to Alison if heybody knows only won in trouble? Price
too high? No, we didn't get around talking terms. Well, I
sent a wife around to see Alison. Oh right, did you find Alison?
It's ten to one. You'll get to the boy we're looking for.
Okay, I'll go to work at it. Do that wedding and hurry,
will you? Last time he missed me by a fraction of an inch,
it would be next time he'll hit death center. I hope he'll be with
us then. In the meantime, do send your comments to Box thirteen at
Great Detactoos dot net, follow us on Twitter at Radio Detectives, and check
us out on Instagram, Instagram, dot com slash Great Detectives from Boise,
Idaho. This is your host, Adam Graham, signing off.