Speaker 1: Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio from Orlando, Florida.
This is your host, Adam Graham. In a moment, we're
going to bring you this week's episode of dragnap. But
first I do want to encourage you. If you're enjoying
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And you can also become one of our ongoing Patreon
supporters for as little as two dollars per month by
going to Patreon dot Great Detectives dot net. But now,
from November first, nineteen fifty one, here is the.
Speaker 2: Big lease, Ladies and gentlemen.
Speaker 3: Tonight in Miami, Florida, a group of men are gathered
together for their annual conference for their day in, day
out service to the public. Dragnet honors the fifty eighth
Annual Conference of the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
The story you're about to hear is true. The names
have been changed to protect the innocent. You're a detective sergeant.
You're assigned a homicide detail. A wealthy retired businessman suddenly disappears.
You've got two possibilities to work on. Suspicion of suicide,
suspicion of foul play. There's no lead to the man's whereabouts.
Your job find him.
Speaker 4: Dragnet the document a drama of an actual crime. While
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 transcribed from
official police buyers, from beginning to end, from crime to punishment.
Dragnet is the story of your police force in action.
Speaker 2: It was Wednesday, February sixth. That was cold in Los Angeles.
We're working the day out a homicide detail. My partner's
Ben Romero, the boss of stat Brown, Chief of Detectives.
My name is Friday. I was on the way back
from the record Bureau and it was eleven eighteen am
when I got to Room forty two, Homicide Joe Hid.
She show up, Ye yeah, a couple of minutes ago.
She's waiting for us now in the next room or
did you talk to her at all?
Speaker 5: No, seems to be a nice enough woman. I don't
know how much help she's gonna be. Yeah, go ahead, Yeah,
Miss Banner'd like to have you meet my partner, Sergeant
Friday Joe. This is Miss Benner.
Speaker 2: Hello.
Speaker 6: I'm sorry I wasn't home when you stopped by yesterday's sergeant.
I got the card you left, though, I called him
as soon as I got home.
Speaker 2: Well, thanks for coming in, Miss Banner. We have a
few questions we'd like to ask. You won't take very long.
Speaker 5: We have a communication from a Lattice Dylan back in
New York. Miss Bannart's about her brother at Chester Dylan.
We understand you rented his home from him. I don't
know it's on Avenue, mister Dylan.
Speaker 6: My yes, I've got a two year lease on the house.
I rented it Friming last November.
Speaker 2: Well, according to the letter we got from mister Dylan's sisters,
she's worried about him. She hasn't heard from him in
some time. Have you any idea where we could contact Well?
Speaker 6: The last I heard he left on a trip to
New York. That was about eight weeks ago, i'd say.
You see, I usually sent a check for the rent
the apartment he had here, and when he left on
his trip, he told me to hold on to the
rent checks and he'd collect him when he got back.
Speaker 5: How long did he say he'd be gone, I don't.
Speaker 6: Remember, definitely. I think he said four or five months.
Speaker 2: He didn't leave any forwarding address, any place you could
contact him back east.
Speaker 6: No, he didn't. He just wanted to get away, didn't
want to be bothered with anyone. He wasn't feeling very well,
very depressed. Poor man.
Speaker 2: Well, why was that, ma'am?
Speaker 6: Do you know his wife's died just a few months ago?
Speaker 5: You know, no, man, we didn't know.
Speaker 2: What we got from his sister was that she hadn't
heard from Dylan.
Speaker 5: She was worrying. She didn't give us any other information.
Speaker 6: Yes, missus, Dylan died in last September. I think it
was poor man felt terrible about it, couldn't seem to
get over it. That's why he rented the house to me.
Reminded him too much of her. Yes, I understand, lovely
home they have. Mister Dolan said he really didn't want
to rent it, but he couldn't standing alone in the
house was a large place, you know.
Speaker 2: Yes, ma'am. We checked with the people living in the house.
Now we understand you least the place to them. Last
month I stub least.
Speaker 6: Yes, you see, it just got too big for me.
It was nice at first, but it got to be
an awfu lot of work. I rented to this family
and took a smaller house on the street.
Speaker 5: Would you happen to know any of mister Dylon's friends
in the city, Miss Banner, anyone we could contact, he
might know where we'd be locat him. I don't know.
Speaker 6: We didn't seem to have any friends, see, and his
wife had only been in the city a year before
she died.
Speaker 5: He was retired, you know, Yes, man, we talked to
some of the neighbors out there. They couldn't tell us
much about him.
Speaker 6: Maybe some of the people he did business with might
know something. If he tried the neighborhood bank out there.
I know that's where mister Dollan had his account.
Speaker 2: No, man, we haven't yet.
Speaker 6: Well, I can give you the bank's address. It's about
all though.
Speaker 5: That's the only contact, you know.
Speaker 6: I'm afraid so, yes, I didn't know much about mister
Dolan's private affairs. Whenever I talked to him, it seemed
the only thing he had on his mind was his
wife's death. It couldn't seem to get over it. It
seemed like he didn't want to get over it.
Speaker 2: You mentioned that when you leased his home, mister Dylan
took an apartment. Do you happen to have that address
with Banner?
Speaker 6: Well, I don't have it with me now, but I
have it at home. I can call in and give
it to you if you like.
Speaker 5: If you would for you certainly, well, thank you very much,
Miss Benning. You have our card, and when you hear
anything at all from mister dinnan, we'd appreciate it if
you could call.
Speaker 6: And surely I'll call you right away. Do you think
something could have happened to him?
Speaker 2: Well as possible, we don't know. All we have is
a letter from his sister.
Speaker 6: Does seem kind of strange, doesn't It wasn't feeling too well.
I wondered why he hadn't contacted me about sending the
rent money to him. He was such a nice man,
mister Dylan. I certainly hope nothing's happened to him.
Speaker 2: Well, you say it was very depressed about his wife's death. Man,
would you say that it was getting to be a
little abnormal with him?
Speaker 5: Maybe?
Speaker 6: Well, I wouldn't know about that, sergeant, But I didn't know.
He brooded about it all the time, he felt that
he'd lost everything, didn't seem to want to go on.
Speaker 5: Uh huh. He ever give an indication that maybe he
might take his own life. I mean, all this brooding
over his wife.
Speaker 6: Well, no, nothing definite, just depressed and moody all the time. Oh,
now that I remember. The last time I saw him,
he did say something kind of funny.
Speaker 2: What was that.
Speaker 6: It was the day before he left. We were talking
about the rent money and I asked him if I
couldn't send it to him. He got kind of a
strange look on his face. Yeah, he said, where I'm going,
I won't need the money.
Speaker 2: The day before we called on Lucille Banner for an interview,
a letter had been received from a Miss Gladys Dlon
in Elmira, New York. Her request was routine. It was
one of thousands of similar letters received every year by
police departments all over the country. Each one of them
has to be worked out to the satisfaction of all
parties concerned, the person who's reported missing and the person
looking for them. It's an enormous job, requiring thousands of
man hours annually. Like the dozens of other investigations handled
by the police officers, some of the men happily, some
of them in tragedy. Whatever the result, the finding of
a lost person is just as important a function of
your local police department as any other investigation. Gladys Dylan
hadn't heard from her brother recently. She was worried about him.
She asked us to investigate. Our initial interview with Lucille Banner,
the woman who had rented Chester Dillon's home, failed to
yield much of a lead as to us whereabouts. The
only source of additional information she could offer was the
neighborhood bank where Dylan had his account. One o'clock that afternoon,
Ben and I drove out to interview the manager of
the bank. Think I'm mister Harrison. Yes, that's right.
Speaker 5: Mister Dylan's Pedd's account with us ever since he came
to Los Angeles.
Speaker 7: I know him quite well. Is it something you'd like to.
Speaker 5: Know about him?
Speaker 2: Yes, sir, there is.
Speaker 5: We had a request from his sister in New York
she'd like to locate. I'm pretty sure his account is
still open here. Matter of fact, I'm positivity at this moment.
I'll have one of the quirts get him fired.
Speaker 2: All right.
Speaker 5: I think it was sure. I had to reminds me.
I almost forgot.
Speaker 2: What's that.
Speaker 5: I've got to get to the bank to morew for
sure payment all my cars. The day passed you already
when he got two Mayman's left, when we we were
doing fine. I got another eight months ago. I'm not
so fine. Two more famous to go, and now the
wife once a knew and never failure. Here we are, sergeant,
Just as I thought, mister Dylan's account is still open
for her.
Speaker 2: Is there been any recent deposits or withdrawals on the account?
Speaker 7: I never look here, Uh huh, just as.
Speaker 5: I thought nothing Since he left on his trip. That
last withdrawal date was November twenty seventh. He mentioned to
you that he was going on on trip, did he yes?
I think he said he was going back to New York,
more or less a vacation trip.
Speaker 7: His wife died recently. He didn't take it too well.
Speaker 2: Yes, we understand. Did he leave any instructions about his
account with you, mister Harrison. Then he addressed you could
contact him out if you had to.
Speaker 5: No, he didn't leave any instructions with me, no address,
just a vacation trip. He said he didn't expect to
be gone too long. Did he mention how long it
would be?
Speaker 2: Five or six weeks? I think that's what he said.
Speaker 5: I happened to talk to him about it because at
the time he made it quite a sizable withdrawal.
Speaker 7: I thought maybe he was a little unhappy.
Speaker 5: With our service.
Speaker 2: How much was it withdraws?
Speaker 5: See here it is November twenty seventh. He withdrew twenty
four hundred dollars.
Speaker 2: Was that in cash or in travelers checks?
Speaker 6: You know?
Speaker 5: I show to hear that it was in cash. Mister Harrison.
You said a minute ago that you knew mister didn't
pretty well.
Speaker 2: Yes, that's right.
Speaker 5: He used to stop and chat with me whenever he'd
come in the bank. That was usually once a week.
I didn't know him socially, though. You mentioned he seemed
to take his wife's death pretty hard. Yeah, what would
you say his mental condition was last time doing all right?
I'd say just after his wife's death. He wasn't in
very good shape. Brooded about it quite a bit, and
he began to pull out of it. Seemed to be
in a fairly good friend of mind, planned its vacation.
Speaker 7: He was looking forward to it.
Speaker 2: And I see, why do you ask something wrong?
Speaker 1: No?
Speaker 2: Sure, not that we know of. Routine checked, that's about
the size. Does Dylan have any other real estate besides
the house on Rosson Avenue? Would you have know that?
Speaker 8: Not?
Speaker 7: To my knowledge.
Speaker 5: No, he has no other business connections in Los Angeles.
Here are all the references right here. See most of
them are charge accounts and so forth. I remember the
time he opened his account with us.
Speaker 7: He told me he was retired. He and his wife
came out here for their health.
Speaker 2: Do they have any relatives out here? Do you know, Michai?
Speaker 5: No, from what I understand, both of their families are
in the East. You don't have any children, according to
his application, very few relatives.
Speaker 2: And since Dylan was in here last November to make
that withdrawal, and you've had no communications from him at all?
Speaker 5: No, sir, I haven't what seems to be the trouble.
Speaker 7: Do you have an idea something might be wrong?
Speaker 5: Nothing definite. No, we've been told about his feeling depressed
over his wife's death, and there was some indication he
might possibly have done away with himself after what chtold.
Speaker 2: This doesn't seem too lightly.
Speaker 5: I don't know.
Speaker 2: I wouldn't like to commit myself. As I say.
Speaker 7: He didn't seem to be getting over it. I didn't
know him.
Speaker 2: That well though.
Speaker 5: It might be entirely possibly he was devoted to missus Fillon.
Maybe he could have picked his own life. I don't know.
Speaker 2: Well, it leaves a big question to answered. Let's say,
why do you need the twenty four hundred dollars to
do it? One t five PM we continued interviewing the
bank manager, mister Harrison, but he was unable to come
up with any further leads. Before we left the bank,
he gave us a complete list of all of Chester
Dillon's references. We gave him our card and he told
us he would pass along immediately any information he might
get on the whereabouts of mister Dylan. One five we
went back to the office, where we got a call
from Lucille Banner. She gave us Dylan's last known address
and we drove out to check. It was an apartment
court in the Pico Crenshaw area. We talked to the
manager and she told us that Dylan had moved out
three months before, on November twenty second. He told her
that he was moving in with a close friend of his,
and he gave her his forwarding address. It turned out
to be a single story framed cottage located in one
of the older residential districts of the city. The name
on the mail box read Raymond L. Shaffer. We rang
the bell and a man who identified himself as Raymond
Shafer ushered us into a small living room. He told
us that he was from the same town in the
east that the Dylans came from, and that he was
a longtime friend of theirs.
Speaker 8: No, I haven't seen Chester for months. Last November, I
think it was the last time I saw him.
Speaker 5: You say at that time, Dylan was living in the
apartment done in the Friends show areamsh Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 2: You mean he never came here to live with you. No,
it's just like I told you before.
Speaker 8: He talked about moving in here with me, but he
never did.
Speaker 2: Haven't any idea where he is. Well. He gave your
name here as a forwarding address, Shaffer. If you've been
getting his mail.
Speaker 8: Yeah, as a matter of fact, I have. He told
me he was going to do that. Never came to
pick it up, though.
Speaker 5: Seemed funny to me.
Speaker 2: You're still getting his man here.
Speaker 5: Is that right?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 8: It's still coming. Not much of it, may be a
letter a week, mostly builds and advertisment.
Speaker 2: This list of names you've given us, sir, these are
all the people in the east. Mister Dylon was acquainted
with people in attacking his trip back there, that's all.
I'm as far as I know.
Speaker 7: He hadn't been back there yet, though.
Speaker 2: How do you know that I've got a letter.
Speaker 8: From my sister Gert a couple of days ago at
Chester was in town. Girt would have known about it.
He would have been sure to stop buy and see it.
I wish I could help you tell you the truth.
I'll get a little worried about it myself.
Speaker 2: Well, just have one more question, mister Shaever, you know
if mister Dylan was in the habit of carrying large
sums of money around with him.
Speaker 8: No, I don't think so. Chester was pretty cautious that way.
He wasn't too free with a dollar.
Speaker 2: You know, wold you'd happen to know if he had
a large sum of money with him the last time
you saw him. No, if he did, he didn't mention it.
Speaker 5: I see. You can't think of anything else that might
give us a leader on mister Dinnon's worry about anything
at all.
Speaker 8: I think I've told you everything. I wish it was
something I could tell you that it helped. I sure
hope nothing's happened to him.
Speaker 5: Yes, sir, And would you mind showing us that in
there you're holding for dinner flee?
Speaker 8: Oh sure, sir, he's right over here in the desk.
Speaker 5: Here you are. That's all.
Speaker 2: I thank you?
Speaker 5: Anything, Joe or not much?
Speaker 2: Bills circulars. There's one with a New York post may
Al Maya, probably from his sister. Another one only three
days old from the Union Department store. A couple more
earlier dates on him. That's about it.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I'll copy down and return that. Addresses on fine,
mister Shaffer. Yeah, this suitcase for the desk here, initials
on it, cold Yeah, CLD.
Speaker 2: Is that your bag? Shaver?
Speaker 8: Oh no, I forgot to tell you a chest to
left that here one day?
Speaker 2: Huh?
Speaker 5: How was there? Well, that was one day just.
Speaker 8: Before he was going to leave on his vacation he
brought over here and said he'd like to leave it
with me.
Speaker 5: Forgot to mention it today.
Speaker 2: Do you bring anything else with him?
Speaker 8: Yeah, he brought another suitcase with him, just like this
one I got in the other room. He said he
wanted to leave him here while he was on his vacation.
I'm sorry I forgot to mention it, or.
Speaker 2: Maybe you forgot something else, Shaver? What most people take
their suitcases on a trip, don't they? Two thirty pm
we continued questioning Raymond Shaffer. We opened the two suitcases
labeled with the initials of Chester Dyllon and found an
assortment of personal items which Shaffer told us belonged to
Dylan and his late wife. Small pictures, cigarette boxes, books,
similar articles, which apparently would not be taken on a
vacation trip. None of them were of any great value.
After we left Shafer's home, we checked him through R
and I and found he had no criminal record. We
checked further with friends and acquaintances of both men and
found nothing to indicate that Shaffer was in any way
involved in the disappearance of Chester Dylon. Three point thirty
pm we called the office and found that there's been
no answer so far to the broadcast and missing person's
bullets that we'd gotten out on Dylan. We started checking
your references given us by the bank. First was the
Union Department store. It was located on Main Street in
the south end of town. We checked with a credit
department to see what information we could get from them.
Speaker 6: Yes, here's the fire on the Dylan's right here, mister
Ellan s Jay on Rushton Avenue. What information would you like?
Speaker 2: So we're trying to locate mister Dylon, ma'am. If you
had any recent change of address on that account.
Speaker 5: No, we haven't.
Speaker 6: If they moved, you know.
Speaker 2: Well we believe so. We don't know his present address.
Speaker 6: So we do have an outstanding bill of theirs. I
noticed them several form letters. Have been trying to contact
them ourselves.
Speaker 2: Have there been any recent charges on that account?
Speaker 6: You know, nothing too recent. No, last charge was made
on December fifth, Yes, Thursday, December fifth.
Speaker 5: That's a couple of weeks after we disappeared.
Speaker 2: You yeah, sorry, what was that charge for? Man? What
did mister Dylan buy?
Speaker 6: Oh, mister Dylan didn't buy anything. The slip was signed
by missus Dylon.
Speaker 4: You are listening to Dragnet authentic stories of your police force.
Speaker 5: And action.
Speaker 2: Four fifteen pm, Thursday, February seventh. As soon as the
clerk in the credit department at the Union Department store
showed us the sales slip with the late missus Sarah
Dillon's signature on it, we had the date on the
sales slip double checked immediately. The data shown on the
slip was correct beyond any doubt, December fifth. That was
a little more than two and a half months after
Sarah Dillon had died. Who the person was who forged
her signature or why they'd forged it, we had no idea.
The amount of the charge purchases shown on the sales
slip was for four hundred and eighteen dollars, all of
it for women's clothing. We attempted to check with the
salesgirl who handle the purchase, a Laura van Kirk, but
we were told it was her day off. We called
her home, they told us that she was gone for
the day and couldn't be located. They said she'd be
at work the following morning. Four forty pm. Then and
I took the sales slip with a forged signature on it,
and drove back to the office. We went directly to
forgery Detail, briefed them on our findings, and gave them
the sales slip. Then we drove back to the home
of the Dylan's friend, Raymond Shaffer, and checked through the
two suitcases. There we came up with a small photo
of missus Dylan, along with exemplars of her handwriting, as
well as her husbands, which we found in an autograph
album in one of the suitcases. The handwriting samples were
checked against the signature on the sales slip, but neither
of them matched. The work of compiling a list of
all known female forgery suspects was begun immediately. The following morning,
Gun and I went back to the Union Department store,
where we interviewed the salesgirl, Laura van Kirk, who'd handled
the purchase.
Speaker 9: Yes, I remember making this sale officer. I'm not too
sure about the woman who brought the things, though, I
mean what she looked like.
Speaker 5: Well, could you try to describe her force, Miss then
Kirks as well as you can remember.
Speaker 6: She had light round here.
Speaker 9: I'm pretty sure that not too old, maybe in her
late thirties early forties. She was a plain looking woman
five foot five or six. Then, as I remember, she
wore glasses. I remember that too.
Speaker 2: I see you got that picture, miss delamare Ben.
Speaker 5: Uh yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2: Here would you take a look at this picture? Miss?
How does that look like a woman you waited on?
Speaker 9: No, no, that's not her. The woman I weighed on
was much younger. She had light brown hair too, not gray,
thin face I think, And she walked glasses.
Speaker 5: I'm sure that you remember if there was a man
with him, Miss Vankirk, or was she alone?
Speaker 9: No, she was alone, now that I remember. There was
something very different about the glasses she wore. I don't
know if that's important or not.
Speaker 2: What about her glasses?
Speaker 9: They were horn rimmed, as I remember, very light color,
and there was some metalwork along the top edge of
the frame, very smart looking gold metal along the top.
Speaker 5: Light brown hair, slight bill, thin face. Late thirties and
early forties were light, horn rimmed glasses and gold metal
on the frame.
Speaker 6: Yes, that's right.
Speaker 5: Check me if I'm wrong, Joe. That descriptions done familiar,
Just what I was thinking. Horn rim glasses, metal work
on the woman who came to see us at the oven. Yeah,
you got a little Seal Banner.
Speaker 2: Then and I went back to the office and had
low Seal Banner checked your r and ey. She had
no criminal record. Then we drove to the home on
Ralston Avenue which Chester Dillon had leased to Lucille Banner
and which she in turn had sub left. We obtained
a copy of the lease which the Banner woman had
with the current tenants and which bore her signature. We
brought the copy of the lease downtown, gave it to
Don Meyer and Handwriting and asked him to compare Lucille
Banner's signature with the signature on the sales slip that
we'd obtained from the Union Department store. Fifteen minutes later,
he called us at the office with a result.
Speaker 5: Yeah, Don, that's up. You are right.
Speaker 2: Thanks. Hell what do you get?
Speaker 5: Says There's no question in his mind, Yeah, both signatures
match perfectly.
Speaker 2: What the reason was behind Lucille Banners forging the signature
of missus dllon on the sales slip, We didn't know
whether or not it had any connection with the disappearance
of Chester Dillon. We didn't know. As soon as we
got the handwriting report from Don Meyer, Ben and I
left the office immediately and drove to the bungalow which
the Banner woman was renting on Ralston Avenue. It was
a block down the street from the Dylan house. Lucille
Banner wasn't at home, but a neighborhood gardener trimming the
lawn in front of her high house told us that
she was expected back shortly. The gardener, who identified himself
only as Julio, volunteered that he also did gardening work
for Miss Banner when she occupied the Dylan home. He'd
also worked for the Dylans when they lived in the house.
He told us he liked the Dylans quite a bit,
but he didn't have much use for Miss Banner. He
seemed to be up on all the news in the neighborhood.
He trimmed the hedges of the lawn with hands shears
as we talked to him.
Speaker 5: Can you tell us anything about Miss Dylan and Miss
Banner and Julia? How did the same to get along?
Speaker 2: You know?
Speaker 5: Did they get along all right?
Speaker 8: I guess when I worked at the big house down
there from Miss Banner, that's before she moved, I would
see mister Dillon there. He would be at the house
maybe once two times a week. This, Kanna would ask
him to come over cook dinner for him. Miss Banner
likes him, might think, mister Dylan, I don't know about him.
He wasn't feelings so good, still thinking about his wife. Yeah,
I finish up this clipping. Now there all done.
Speaker 2: You mentioned you don't like miss Banner very much, Julia,
Why is that she ever give you a reason not
to like her.
Speaker 8: She's a little crazy, i'd think, funny woman. When I
used to work at the Big House for her in
the garden, she would watch me all the time, follow
me all around, tell me to do all kind.
Speaker 2: Of crazy jobs.
Speaker 8: She can be good play though, So I do.
Speaker 5: That, honey, mean Julia, what kind of crazy?
Speaker 2: Joe?
Speaker 5: The compost box for fertilizer?
Speaker 8: You know, she wanted me to build one for her
in the backyard. That was down the street at the
Dylon house. Crazy woman, she wanted me to build a
compost box in the greenhouse.
Speaker 2: I'm a special place mart for whoever heard of that?
Speaker 8: To build a compost box inside the greenhouse? Crazy?
Speaker 2: What did you build it for?
Speaker 8: It is but not inside the greenhouse. I built it
outside right next door to the greenhouse. When she come
out saw she goes crazy, almost call me names crazy.
She made me tear it up. Then she made me
build the inside the greenhouse right on the place she had.
Speaker 5: Mark for it.
Speaker 2: And when it always happened, Julia, do you remember when
you built a compost box? I mean a couple of.
Speaker 8: Months ago about that. It was just after mister Dylon
went away. I tried to tell him its banter. Who
ever heard of a compost box in a greenhouse? She
wouldn't listen. She had to have a building a certain
place right in the greenhouse, a little piece of ground,
and the box had to go right on top of
her her.
Speaker 2: You figured she acted pretty strange about it.
Speaker 8: Do you think she had something there?
Speaker 5: Little piece of ground?
Speaker 8: You think she I sup at the.
Speaker 2: High one fifteen, DM Lucille Banner returned home and Ben
and I went inside the house Winner where we questioned
her in the living room. Outside in the front yard,
the gardener Julio continued working on the lawn. Lucille Banner
was calm and composed. We questioned her about the forged
signature on the sales slip. She would admit nothing.
Speaker 6: The whole thing's too silly to even comment on. I
don't know what you're talking about. Target.
Speaker 2: We think you do, Miss Banner.
Speaker 5: Our handwriting man is checked the two signatures, one on
the sailor slip and went on the lease. They both met.
They were written with the same person, there's no doubt
about it, and checked her.
Speaker 2: Know what about it, Miss Banner, There's no way out
of it. You ought to know that.
Speaker 6: I'll deny it. That's all. I'll keep on denying it.
I wasn't in that story, and I didn't forge any signatures.
Why would I do a thing like that. What kind
of a woman do you think I am?
Speaker 5: Oh?
Speaker 2: We know are the facts, ma'am? Now, why don't you
give us a straight story. It's going to save time
and trouble for everybody concerned.
Speaker 6: I've heard everything you've got to say. This thing's ridiculous,
it's stupid. I'm not answering any more questions.
Speaker 5: You want to get your hat and code, Miss Banner,
for you not to come downtown win her?
Speaker 6: What good's that going to do. I'll just keep on denying.
If you can't make me say out of a thing
like that, please strike here.
Speaker 5: All right, Yes, ma'am, cars right out in front. Hold
of a minute, when your bed, you know, okay, Julie.
Speaker 2: Yes, a minute?
Speaker 5: Sure, well, Miss Bonner, Liam say.
Speaker 2: I'd like to ask of you, Julia. You've got a
couple of minutes to spare.
Speaker 8: Yeah, you want something?
Speaker 2: We want to take a look in the backyard of
the house down the street, mister Dylon's house. Like, have
you come along with it? Julia?
Speaker 5: Won't take very long?
Speaker 8: Sure, okay, I'll come along.
Speaker 2: Bring a shovel along when you're Julio like to check something?
Speaker 8: Yeah, okay, I bring one, all right, miss Spas About
what are you trying to do?
Speaker 7: Something?
Speaker 2: We want to check in the Dylan's backyard. It won't
take far.
Speaker 6: Would it have to do with me? I don't have
anything to do with that house. I don't even live
there anymore. You realize that, Yes, ma'am, I'll call my lawyer.
I'll call him as soon as I get to a phone.
Speaker 5: Julia, back this way, started through the gate.
Speaker 6: What are you trying to do to me? You know
I don't live here anymore. I don't even have anything
to do with this place.
Speaker 5: You did live here, ma'm you lived here, haven't missed
the dinner disappeared? And none? Right?
Speaker 6: But are you trying to say, you've got no business
on this property. You've got no business here at all.
Speaker 5: Yes, ma'am. What did you kill Jessterdylan? Did you Kenny Man?
Speaker 2: All right?
Speaker 5: Julia?
Speaker 2: The compost box in the greenhouse.
Speaker 8: Do you want to start digging the compost box?
Speaker 5: Yeah? Okay.
Speaker 6: He was an old man, so old, he was sick.
He didn't want to live anymore. He didn't have any
reason for living. Why shouldn't give me the house? Why
shouldn't I have his money? I was nice to him,
I cooked for him, wanted to take care of him.
He just didn't want to live anymore.
Speaker 5: That's all all right, Julia.
Speaker 2: You can't hold it up.
Speaker 5: You want to tell us man he needed a woman.
Speaker 6: Anybody could tell that he needed me. He got a
long sign testing me. He offered to marry him, and
he wouldn't do it. I wanted to do was think
about his wife. She was dead. He'd sit around and
talk about her all the time.
Speaker 5: You killed him, I want you trying to say I wanted.
Speaker 6: To marry Chester and take care of him. Wouldn't do it.
He had an argument in the kitchen one night. I
had a gun and I killed him. I killed him.
Speaker 2: Is that where you buried him in the greenhouse?
Speaker 6: Yes, I buried him deep the gun too. He'll be
all right, poor Chester.
Speaker 5: Yeah, he was so old he.
Speaker 6: Needed a woman and he'll tell you that and needed me.
Speaker 5: I guess you made a mistake, No, sir, he did.
Speaker 6: Yeah, he didn't want me.
Speaker 3: The star you have just heard was true. The names
were changed to protect the innocent.
Speaker 4: On June, second trial was held in Superior Court Department
eighty six, City and County of Los Angeles, State of California.
In a moment the results of that trial, Lucille Marie
Banner was tried and convicted of murder in the first degree.
She received the sentence as prescribed by law. She is
now serving a life term in the State Penitentiary for
Women to hatch Apee, California. 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.
Speaker 2: They tuned for Counterspy next on NBC.
Speaker 1: Welcome back. Well an interesting case.
Speaker 2: Now.
Speaker 1: I don't know whether it was somehow the way that
this episode concluded. From having heard this episode as well
seen it before, although it's been a few years since
I've encountered this at all, But the whole arrangement about
having her fold his checks and give them when they
got back was a bit suspicious because as a landlord,
you're taking a big risk that something might come up
and the money might get spent, And even as a renter,
I don't like the idea of that, because it just
messes up your book keeping to have this extra money
in the bank that you're gonna have to pay out,
although her subleasing the house might solve that problem, but
still it seems to me that it would make a
lot more sense for her to deposit checks into his
bank account than to hold checks for an indeterminate amount
of time. Though I guess if she was going for
the suicide narrative, it might make sense of him just
not thinking clearly. But still, once the evidence came forward
that really disproved that, I think they should have started
thinking of her. And probably one of the only times
that I kind of question the sort of rote procedure
that they end up following of beginning the work of
compiling a list of all known female forgery suspects. I mean,
I guess it might take quite a while to get
the list together, and it might be a case of
better to have it and not need it than need
it and not have it. But still it seems less
likely that a generic female forgery suspects going to be
the key to this case, and more specifically someone who
had in some way interact did with the missing man
or his wife. But I guess there's a certain amount
of box checking that you just have to do on
police procedure. No matter how like unlikely, it's going to
be fruitful. All right, Well, now it's time to thank
our Patreon supporter of the day, and I want to
go ahead and think Margie, Patreon supporter since June twenty sixteen,
currently supporting the podcast at the Detective Sergeant level of
seven dollars and fourteen cents or more per month. Thanks
so much for your support, Margie, and that will do
it for today. If you're enjoying the podcast, please follow
us using your favorite podcast software and be sure to
rate and review the podcast wherever you download it from.
We will be back next Thursday with another episode of Dragnet,
but join us back here tomorrow for yours truly. Johnny
dollar ware.
Speaker 2: Gop right there, we'll come any closure.
Speaker 4: Oh well, now, just a mine.
Speaker 2: Of us worry around here.
Speaker 5: Stranger.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I guess you'd call me as strange.
Speaker 3: Maybe you're just stranger.
Speaker 1: I'm looking for.
Speaker 8: Get out of that tie with your hand, jump over
your head, don't try no.
Speaker 2: Front of it. Hey, what is this a hold up? Like?
I tell you to be quick about it.
Speaker 3: Okay, whatever you say, I like, can't seem to the store,
doesn't seem to.
Speaker 2: Want to trying to pull some tricks do well? It stuck.
I guess they're here. I'll do it.
Speaker 3: God it Yeah, I'll take that.
Speaker 1: I hope you'll be with us then. In the meantime,
send your comments to Box thirteen at Great Detectives dot net,
follow us on Twitter at Radio Detectives, and check us
out on Instagram, Instagram, dot com slash Great Detectives from
Boiseatta home the This is your host, Adam Graham, signing off.