# Dragnet: The Big Fourth (EP5054)

An episode of [The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio| Daily Mystery Dramas](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/335549005), 3 Sep 2026, 37 min.

Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/pdrl.fm/997ffb/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74777161/gd5054.mp3

Todays Mystery: Sergeant Joe Friday and Frank Smith investigate a disturbing series of infant abductions in which babies disappear from the same general neighborhood, only to be found unharmed within a day. With no clear motive and few useful clues, the detectives devise a decoy operation while searching for the person responsible before another child disappears. Original Radio Broadcast Date: May 29, 1952. Originating from Hollywood Starred: Jack Webb as Sergeant Joe Friday, Martin Milner as Detective Bill Lockwood Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net Patreon Supporter of the Day: Support the show on a one-time basis at http://support.greatdetectives.net. Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715 Take the listener survey…http://survey.greatdetectives.net Give us a call 208-991-4783 Become one of our friends on Facebook. Follow us on Instagram at http://instagram.com/greatdetectives Follow us on Twitter@radiodetectives Join us again tomorrow for another detective drama from the Golden Age of Radio.

## Transcript

[0:03] Speaker 1: THE END.
[0:28] Speaker 2: Welcome to The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio. From Boise, Idaho,
[0:36] Speaker 2: this is your host, Adam Graham. In a moment, we're
[0:40] Speaker 2: going to bring you this week's episode of Dragnet. But first,
[0:44] Speaker 2: I want to encourage you, if you're enjoying the podcast,
[0:47] Speaker 2: please follow us using your favorite podcast software. Our listener
[0:53] Speaker 2: support and appreciation campaign continues. You can become one of
[0:56] Speaker 2: our Patreon supporters. For as little as $ 2 per month,
[1:00] Speaker 2: just go to patreon.greatdetectives.net. But now, from May 29th, 1952,
[1:10] Speaker 2: here is The Big Fourth.
[1:14] Speaker 3: Ladies and gentlemen, the entire production staff and technicians on
[1:18] Speaker 3: Dragnet wish to thank the American Weekly and the television
[1:21] Speaker 3: editors of the various newspapers which distribute the American Weekly
[1:24] Speaker 3: for voting Dragnet the best mystery drama on television for 1951-1952.
[1:29] Speaker 3: Our deepest thanks for this fine recognition. The story you
[1:40] Speaker 3: are about to hear is true. The names have been
[1:43] Speaker 3: changed to protect the innocent. You're a detective sergeant. You're
[1:55] Speaker 3: assigned a juvenile detail. An eight-months-old baby is stolen from
[1:59] Speaker 3: its mother. It's the third case of child stealing reported
[2:03] Speaker 3: in less than three weeks. There's no lead on the suspect.
[2:06] Speaker 3: Your job, get him.
[2:09] Speaker 4: ¶ ¶.
[2:18] Speaker 5: Dragnet, the documented drama of an actual crime. For the
[2:22] Speaker 5: next 30 minutes, in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department,
[2:25] Speaker 5: you will travel step by step on the side of
[2:27] Speaker 5: the law through an actual case transcribed from official police files.
[2:32] Speaker 5: From beginning to end, from crime to punishment, Dragnet is
[2:35] Speaker 5: the story of your police force in action.
[2:43] Speaker 6: It was Wednesday, June 18th. It was warm in Los Angeles.
[2:46] Speaker 6: We were working the day watch out of Juvenile Division.
[2:48] Speaker 6: My partner's Frank Smith. The boss is Captain Stein. My
[2:50] Speaker 6: name's Friday.
[2:52] Speaker 7: It was 6.30 p.m. when we got back to 1335
[2:54] Speaker 7: Georgia Street, second floor. The squad room.
[2:57] Speaker 8: Hi, been waiting for you.
[2:58] Speaker 7: Hi, Captain.
[2:59] Speaker 8: How's it going? Any sign of the baby?
[3:00] Speaker 7: No, not yet. We're doing everything we can. We haven't
[3:02] Speaker 7: got a lead to her name.
[3:04] Speaker 8: Lousy thing. How's it stack up? Anything like the last
[3:06] Speaker 8: two cases?
[3:07] Speaker 7: Yeah, quite a bit. Same neighborhood, same general M.O.
[3:09] Speaker 4: We checked with just about everybody in the vicinity. No
[3:11] Speaker 4: one saw the baby taken. Happened about 10 o'clock this morning?
[3:14] Speaker 1: 10.15.
[3:14] Speaker 7: This Mrs.
[3:15] Speaker 6: Donaldson drove down to the neighborhood shopping center to do
[3:17] Speaker 6: her marketing. She had the baby in a bassinet in
[3:19] Speaker 6: the back seat of her car.
[3:20] Speaker 7: Baby boy, eight months old.
[3:22] Speaker 5: Mm-hmm.
[3:22] Speaker 6: She pulled into the parking lot right behind the market,
[3:24] Speaker 6: left the baby asleep in the car.
[3:26] Speaker 7: She went in to do her shopping. When she came out,
[3:27] Speaker 7: the baby was gone.
[3:28] Speaker 8: How long was she in the market? She told us
[3:30] Speaker 8: about 20 minutes.
[3:31] Speaker 6: We talked to a half a dozen people who drove
[3:32] Speaker 6: their cars in and out of the parking lot about
[3:34] Speaker 6: that time.
[3:34] Speaker 7: They couldn't help me. They didn't see anyone loitering around.
[3:37] Speaker 8: How about delivery trucks? They usually unload supplies at the
[3:39] Speaker 8: back door, don't they?
[3:40] Speaker 6: Already checked on that. We talked to the driver of
[3:42] Speaker 6: a bread truck. He was making a delivery about that time.
[3:45] Speaker 6: He couldn't help us either. The mother, Mrs. Donaldson, she's
[3:48] Speaker 6: the only one who came up with anything at all.
[3:49] Speaker 6: It's not much, but it's better than nothing.
[3:51] Speaker 9: Yeah.
[3:51] Speaker 6: But when she parked her car and got out to
[3:53] Speaker 6: go in the market, she noticed a woman sitting in
[3:55] Speaker 6: the car park next to hers. When she came back
[3:57] Speaker 6: and found her baby was gone, she noticed that this
[3:59] Speaker 6: woman's car was gone, too.
[4:01] Speaker 7: Mrs.
[4:01] Speaker 4: Donaldson described the woman for you?
[4:03] Speaker 8: Yeah, she was middle-aged.
[4:04] Speaker 4: She had gray hair. That's all she remembered. How about
[4:05] Speaker 4: the car the woman was in? It was a green sedan.
[4:08] Speaker 4: That's the only thing Mrs. Donaldson could tell us. She's
[4:10] Speaker 4: not even sure of that. And there's no one else
[4:11] Speaker 4: around the market that remembered the car?
[4:13] Speaker 7: Well, if there is, we haven't found them.
[4:14] Speaker 8: We covered the whole neighborhood, Skipper. Talked to everybody we could.
[4:17] Speaker 8: Got us nowhere. Smoke out. Thanks.
[4:20] Speaker 6: You, Joe?
[4:20] Speaker 7: Yeah, thank you. I gotta lie. Captain.
[4:26] Speaker 4: No kickback yet on the broadcast. The old points you
[4:29] Speaker 4: got out on the baby? No, nothing up to now.
[4:31] Speaker 4: It's a carbon copy of the last two jobs. No suspect,
[4:33] Speaker 4: no motive.
[4:34] Speaker 8: Mrs. Donaldson can't think of any reason at all for it.
[4:37] Speaker 7: No, not a one.
[4:38] Speaker 6: Her husband's a teamster. They don't have much money. She
[4:41] Speaker 6: couldn't think of any friend or relative who might possibly
[4:43] Speaker 6: want to take their baby.
[4:44] Speaker 8: The baby normal and good health?
[4:45] Speaker 7: Yeah, perfect.
[4:46] Speaker 8: She got me in. This makes it about one a week.
[4:49] Speaker 8: Just about.
[4:50] Speaker 4: Martin baby was taken on the 5th. The Andrews baby
[4:52] Speaker 4: was taken on the 12th. Both of them recovered in
[4:54] Speaker 4: 24 hours. Nothing wrong with either of them. Sure doesn't
[4:56] Speaker 4: make sense.
[4:57] Speaker 7: Must be a psycho case of some kind. I think
[5:00] Speaker 7: we can go along on that.
[5:01] Speaker 8: This one happened near 8th and Dinehart, that right?
[5:04] Speaker 6: Yeah, same neighborhood as the other two. About a 12
[5:06] Speaker 6: square block area there.
[5:08] Speaker 8: How about that lead you had on the old man
[5:09] Speaker 8: out there? Did you exhaust that?
[5:11] Speaker 7: Yeah, the old gardener?
[5:12] Speaker 6: We double checked him this afternoon. He wasn't anywhere near
[5:15] Speaker 6: the market when the Donaldson.
[5:16] Speaker 7: Baby was taken.
[5:16] Speaker 8: How about the other two people you had your eye on?
[5:19] Speaker 8: Either of them anywhere near the scene at the time?
[5:21] Speaker 7: Neither one of them, Skipper. Both clear.
[5:22] Speaker 8: How's it stand now?
[5:23] Speaker 7: Well, we're doing everything possible.
[5:25] Speaker 6: Dean Bergman went over the Donaldson car for prints.
[5:28] Speaker 7: The bassinet, too.
[5:29] Speaker 6: There's no word from him yet. Special detail from Metro Division.
[5:32] Speaker 6: Still going over the neighborhood. Nothing from them either.
[5:34] Speaker 8: No sign of any physical evidence, huh? I mean, besides
[5:36] Speaker 8: any possible prints. No, nothing, Captain. The usual number of
[5:38] Speaker 8: tips from people in the neighborhood. Checked on all of them.
[5:40] Speaker 8: They went nowhere. Well, we just about run the gamut
[5:43] Speaker 8: on this thing. You have anything in mind?
[5:45] Speaker 4: Joe and I were kicking around an ID on the
[5:47] Speaker 4: way back in, figured it might be worth a try.
[5:49] Speaker 4: I mean, providing we get the Donaldson case cleared.
[5:51] Speaker 10: Yeah.
[5:52] Speaker 1: Joe?
[5:53] Speaker 6: Well, for one thing, we figure the neighborhood out there
[5:55] Speaker 6: works in our favor. All three of the babies were
[5:57] Speaker 6: taken in the same 12-square block area. It's the strongest
[6:00] Speaker 6: part of the MO that we got to work on. Now,
[6:03] Speaker 6: if we get good enough coverage in that area out.
[6:04] Speaker 7: There, it might lead somewhere.
[6:05] Speaker 8: What kind of coverage?
[6:07] Speaker 6: Well, maybe a system of decoys, something to draw the
[6:09] Speaker 6: suspect out at the right time, the right place.
[6:11] Speaker 8: Makes sense. What have you got in mind?
[6:13] Speaker 6: Well, Frank and I were figuring if we could round
[6:15] Speaker 6: up half a dozen policewomen or so, let them work
[6:17] Speaker 6: different points around the neighborhood and make it obvious that
[6:19] Speaker 6: they're housewives.
[6:20] Speaker 7: Yeah.
[6:21] Speaker 6: Have each one of them with a baby carriage. Spot
[6:23] Speaker 6: them at the shopping centers out there in that area.
[6:25] Speaker 6: They leave the carriages outside the stores, go through the
[6:28] Speaker 6: motions of doing their shopping, and cover each one of them.
[6:30] Speaker 7: Mm-hmm.
[6:31] Speaker 4: What do you do for bait? I think we can
[6:32] Speaker 4: fake it, Skipper. Put a life-size doll in each of
[6:34] Speaker 4: the carriages, keep it pretty well covered. Very chance it'll
[6:37] Speaker 4: get us a nibble if we work it right. About
[6:39] Speaker 4: half a dozen policewomen, that's what you figure?
[6:40] Speaker 7: I figure that ought to do it.
[6:42] Speaker 8: Excuse me.
[6:43] Speaker 7: Yeah.
[6:44] Speaker 8: Juvenile Division, Captain Stein. Yeah, that's right. How's that? I see. Mrs.
[6:53] Speaker 7: Bolger.
[6:55] Speaker 8: Yes, ma'am, I understand. How's that? Yes, ma'am, if you like.
[7:00] Speaker 8: All right, thank you. Goodbye.
[7:03] Speaker 7: Weird one. Yeah.
[7:05] Speaker 8: Either one of you contacted Mrs. Marion Bolger the last
[7:07] Speaker 8: month or so?
[7:08] Speaker 7: No, it's not familiar to me. How about you, Frank?
[7:10] Speaker 4: Don't recall the name, why don't you? That was her
[7:12] Speaker 4: on the phone. She wants to be investigated. Says she
[7:14] Speaker 4: wants to prove to us that she's not involved in
[7:16] Speaker 4: any of these child-stealing cases.
[7:18] Speaker 7: How do you spell that name?
[7:19] Speaker 8: Marion Bolger, B-O-L-G-E-R. Ewing Street address.
[7:22] Speaker 7: No, I never heard of her. What's the pitch?
[7:24] Speaker 8: Got me. She kept saying she's got to have her
[7:26] Speaker 8: name cleared. She's innocent. Kept insisting she didn't steal the
[7:28] Speaker 8: Donaldson baby.
[7:29] Speaker 7: Well, we didn't say she did. We don't even know
[7:31] Speaker 7: the woman.
[7:31] Speaker 8: You're going to. Check her out.
[7:36] Speaker 6: We ran the name Marion Bolger through R & I,
[7:38] Speaker 6: but there was no previous criminal record on her.
[7:41] Speaker 7: 7.25 p.m.
[7:42] Speaker 6: Frank Smith and I left the office and drove out
[7:44] Speaker 6: to the Ewing Street address to interview the Bolger woman.
[7:47] Speaker 6: Before we called at her home, we checked with some
[7:49] Speaker 6: of the neighbors. Most of them had a favorable opinion
[7:52] Speaker 6: of her. They described her as a pleasant woman, slightly eccentric.
[7:55] Speaker 6: The only complaint was that the Bolger woman was very
[7:58] Speaker 6: fond of children and that she kept most of the
[8:00] Speaker 6: youngsters on the block well supplied with cake and candy,
[8:03] Speaker 6: despite repeated objections from the youngsters' parents.
[8:06] Speaker 7: Other than that, they seemed to like her.
[8:07] Speaker 6: 8.05 p.m., Frank and I called on Mrs. Bolger, and
[8:10] Speaker 6: she ushered us into a neatly furnished living room. She
[8:13] Speaker 6: was an older woman, possibly in her early 60s, dark
[8:16] Speaker 6: brown hair streaked with gray.
[8:18] Speaker 11: It's the honest truth, Sergeant. Anybody who really knows me
[8:20] Speaker 11: would tell you I wouldn't do a thing like that.
[8:22] Speaker 11: I love children. I want all of them to be happy.
[8:24] Speaker 11: I wouldn't steal anybody's baby.
[8:25] Speaker 7: Just a minute, Mrs. Bulger, please.
[8:26] Speaker 8: Something we'd like to get straight.
[8:28] Speaker 11: I don't care how it looks. I don't care what
[8:29] Speaker 11: they say. I didn't do it. I didn't steal those
[8:31] Speaker 11: other two babies. I didn't steal the Donaldson baby either.
[8:33] Speaker 7: How'd you know the Donaldson baby was missing, ma'am? It
[8:34] Speaker 7: just happened this morning.
[8:35] Speaker 11: The evening paper. The whole story's in there. It's the
[8:37] Speaker 11: first I knew about it to help me, but I
[8:39] Speaker 11: got the evening paper. Please, Sergeant, you've got to believe me.
[8:41] Speaker 12: All right, ma'am.
[8:42] Speaker 7: Try to take it easy, ma'am. What gives you the
[8:44] Speaker 7: idea that we're accusing you of taking those babies?
[8:45] Speaker 11: We haven't yet. Not in so many words. You're thinking
[8:47] Speaker 11: about it, though. I know that. You've been told.
[8:49] Speaker 8: How do you mean, told what?
[8:50] Speaker 11: You know what I mean. All those stories going around
[8:54] Speaker 11: about me. Just because I like children, because I enjoy them.
[8:57] Speaker 11: I understand them. Just because of that, they try to
[9:00] Speaker 11: make me out a witch or something, trying to say
[9:01] Speaker 11: I took.
[9:02] Speaker 7: Those poor little babies. All right, just a minute, ma'am.
[9:03] Speaker 7: Who said you took the babies?
[9:05] Speaker 11: Down at the store this afternoon.
[9:06] Speaker 7: I heard them.
[9:07] Speaker 11: That grocery clerk and that silly Mrs.
[9:09] Speaker 7: Murdoch.
[9:10] Speaker 11: They laughed about it. tried to make out there's only
[9:12] Speaker 11: fooling well i knew better they weren't fooling they meant
[9:15] Speaker 11: it accusing me of such a terrible thing i just
[9:18] Speaker 11: don't know when i've been so upset.
[9:19] Speaker 6: Well now what grounds would they have for saying anything
[9:21] Speaker 6: like that ma'am i mean even if they were.
[9:23] Speaker 11: Fooling only because i love children that's all people in
[9:26] Speaker 11: the neighborhood are the same way they don't like me
[9:30] Speaker 11: they go around saying things about me just because i
[9:32] Speaker 11: understand their children better than they do Just because I
[9:36] Speaker 11: know how to treat children.
[9:37] Speaker 7: No, I think you got it wrong, Mrs.
[9:38] Speaker 1: Bolger.
[9:39] Speaker 6: The only complaint your neighbors have is that you treat
[9:41] Speaker 6: children too well. A little too much candy, huh?
[9:43] Speaker 11: Nothing wrong with giving a child candy. Good homemade fudge.
[9:47] Speaker 11: I make it myself. Besides, how would you know about that?
[9:50] Speaker 7: We talked to your neighbors, ma'am. They had a lot
[9:52] Speaker 7: of nice things to say about you.
[9:53] Speaker 11: Yes, I just bet they did. Nasty, dirty stories. They've
[9:56] Speaker 11: been passing them all over the neighborhood about me.
[9:59] Speaker 7: No, ma'am, you've got it wrong.
[10:01] Speaker 11: Just let me show you. Come in here, this way,
[10:03] Speaker 11: the dining room.
[10:04] Speaker 10: Yes, ma'am.
[10:08] Speaker 7: Look at that. Look at that. Yes, ma'am, it's very nice.
[10:12] Speaker 11: You see how I decorated the table? Paper streamers all
[10:16] Speaker 11: over the room. It was supposed to be a party
[10:18] Speaker 11: for the children in the neighborhood. I worked a whole
[10:21] Speaker 11: week getting it ready. I made the cakes myself, decorated
[10:24] Speaker 11: them too. I made everything in my own kitchen. Candy, sandwiches.
[10:30] Speaker 11: Took me a whole week. And they didn't even come.
[10:35] Speaker 11: They didn't come. Well, the neighborhood children. It was supposed
[10:39] Speaker 11: to be for them. Special summer party I wanted to
[10:41] Speaker 11: give them today. They didn't even come. The parents wouldn't
[10:45] Speaker 11: let them.
[10:46] Speaker 7: Not one of them.
[10:48] Speaker 1: It's a crime.
[10:49] Speaker 11: Terrible crime. All this good food.
[10:53] Speaker 7: Well, now, maybe there was a mistake, ma'am.
[10:55] Speaker 11: There wasn't any mistake. I invited the children, 14 of them.
[10:59] Speaker 11: Mothers wouldn't let them come. I had everything ready. Little
[11:03] Speaker 11: favors for each one of them.
[11:06] Speaker 9: Now, look.
[11:08] Speaker 11: Ice cream's all melted. Hot cocoa boiled away to nothing.
[11:12] Speaker 11: Even the paper streamers are coming down. Such a mean
[11:16] Speaker 11: thing to do. Keeping children from a party. Such a
[11:21] Speaker 11: mean thing.
[11:22] Speaker 8: We don't like to bother you, Mrs.
[11:23] Speaker 7: Bulger.
[11:24] Speaker 8: Just like to ask you a few routine questions, then
[11:26] Speaker 8: we'll let you alone.
[11:27] Speaker 11: Anything you want to know, Sergeant?
[11:28] Speaker 8: Can you account for your time this morning, ma'am, between
[11:30] Speaker 8: 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.? Yes.
[11:32] Speaker 11: Of course I can. I was right here in the
[11:34] Speaker 11: house getting things ready for the party. My friend Aggie
[11:37] Speaker 11: Benson was with me. She's a school chum of mine.
[11:39] Speaker 11: She was helping me get things ready.
[11:40] Speaker 6: Well, then you didn't leave the house at any time this.
[11:42] Speaker 13: Morning, then?
[11:42] Speaker 11: No, sir, I didn't. You can ask Aggie.
[11:44] Speaker 7: She'll tell you. Do you have a car, Mrs.
[11:46] Speaker 10: Bolger?
[11:46] Speaker 7: Oh, my, no.
[11:47] Speaker 11: I wouldn't know what to do with it if I
[11:48] Speaker 11: had one. I never learned to drive. Why'd you want
[11:51] Speaker 11: to know?
[11:51] Speaker 7: Just routine, ma'am. Well, I guess we'd better be going, Frank.
[11:54] Speaker 1: All right, sir.
[11:55] Speaker 11: And you don't believe those stories, do you? I mean,
[11:57] Speaker 11: just because I like children, I'd steal those babies. You
[11:59] Speaker 11: don't believe that, do you?
[12:00] Speaker 10: No, ma'am.
[12:01] Speaker 7: We haven't any reason to believe it.
[12:02] Speaker 11: I knew you'd understand. I wouldn't do a thing like that.
[12:05] Speaker 11: I just love children, Sarge. I've never had any of
[12:07] Speaker 11: my own. Living here by myself, no husband, lonely. Terrible thing,
[12:12] Speaker 11: being lonely.
[12:13] Speaker 1: Yes, ma'am, it is.
[12:14] Speaker 11: There's only one answer for it. Children, big family. It's
[12:17] Speaker 11: an old saying.
[12:18] Speaker 9: It's very true.
[12:20] Speaker 11: When you get to be 63, you want something else
[12:22] Speaker 11: to wake up to beside the morning paper.
[12:24] Speaker 13: 8.40 p.m.
[12:30] Speaker 6: Before we headed back for the office, Frank and I
[12:32] Speaker 6: made a thorough check on Mrs. Bolger, her background and
[12:35] Speaker 6: her alibi. We found nothing to link her in any
[12:38] Speaker 6: way with the child stealings.
[12:41] Speaker 7: 9.15 p.m.
[12:41] Speaker 6: We got back to the city hall and went directly
[12:43] Speaker 6: to Layton Fingerprints where we met with Dean Bergman. He'd
[12:46] Speaker 6: found several sets of prints on the Donaldson's car and
[12:49] Speaker 6: on the bassinet from which their baby had been stolen.
[12:52] Speaker 7: Most of them were those of the parents, Mr. and Mrs. Donaldson.
[12:55] Speaker 6: Bergman was unable to identify the two foreign prints found
[12:58] Speaker 6: inside the car. We contacted the officers in charge of
[13:01] Speaker 6: the special detail checking the neighborhood where the latest child
[13:04] Speaker 6: stealing had occurred.
[13:05] Speaker 7: They'd failed to uncover a lead.
[13:06] Speaker 1: 7.48 a.m.
[13:07] Speaker 7: The following morning. Friday? Morning, Captain.
[13:11] Speaker 8: Good piece of news. The Donaldson baby, they just found him.
[13:13] Speaker 3: Where?
[13:14] Speaker 4: Highland Park area. They found him in a cardboard box.
[13:16] Speaker 4: Apparently he's all right. A little exposure. Doctors are checking
[13:19] Speaker 4: him over now at Georgia Street.
[13:20] Speaker 7: How about the suspect? Any sign of him?
[13:21] Speaker 8: Not a trace.
[13:26] Speaker 7: It was little or no different than the first two cases.
[13:29] Speaker 6: Some 21 hours after he'd been abducted from the car
[13:31] Speaker 6: in the parking lot at the rear of the market
[13:33] Speaker 6: near 8th and Dinehart, the Donaldson baby had been recovered
[13:36] Speaker 6: apparently unharmed. The cardboard box in which the baby had
[13:39] Speaker 6: been found was gone over for fingerprints. Routine investigation at
[13:43] Speaker 6: the scene and in the neighborhood where the child had
[13:45] Speaker 6: been found failed to turn up a lead on the abductor.
[13:48] Speaker 6: Frank and I checked with Dr. George Hall, who'd examined
[13:50] Speaker 6: the child. After that, we talked with Mr.
[13:52] Speaker 7: And Mrs. Donaldson.
[13:54] Speaker 6: The details of the case coincided almost point for point
[13:57] Speaker 6: with the first two abductions. The baby had been taken,
[13:59] Speaker 6: then recovered in a 24-hour period.
[14:02] Speaker 7: Outside of slight exposure, the child was unharmed.
[14:05] Speaker 6: Also, like the two cases preceding it, something which the
[14:08] Speaker 6: child was wearing at the time of his abduction was missing.
[14:12] Speaker 6: In the first case, it was a small pink sweater.
[14:14] Speaker 6: In the second, a pair of shoes the baby was wearing.
[14:17] Speaker 6: In the case of the Donaldson baby, it was a
[14:19] Speaker 6: sterling silver ID bracelet with the initials JD engraved on it.
[14:23] Speaker 6: During the next five days, Frank and I ran down
[14:25] Speaker 6: every lead we could get our hands on.
[14:27] Speaker 8: They went nowhere.
[14:28] Speaker 7: Our system of policewomen decoys was put in effect. It
[14:32] Speaker 7: failed to get a rise.
[14:33] Speaker 6: On the sixth day, Thursday, June 26th, 5.30 p.m., we
[14:36] Speaker 6: got word of another child stealing, this time in the
[14:38] Speaker 6: Echo Park area.
[14:40] Speaker 7: We drove out to talk to the mother, a Mrs.
[14:42] Speaker 7: Chester Osborne.
[14:43] Speaker 11: Yeah, that's right.
[14:44] Speaker 12: Did the same thing I do every morning. Gave the
[14:46] Speaker 12: baby a bath, dressed her, put her out in the
[14:48] Speaker 12: backyard in her buggy. She usually plays a while, then
[14:50] Speaker 12: she takes a nap.
[14:51] Speaker 8: And about what time did you discover your baby was missing?
[14:54] Speaker 12: I don't know exactly. About 2 o'clock, I guess. Maybe
[14:56] Speaker 12: a couple of minutes after. Went out to see how
[14:58] Speaker 12: she was, looked in the buggy, and she was gone.
[15:01] Speaker 7: Well, it's almost six o'clock now, Mrs. Osborne. How is
[15:03] Speaker 7: it that you waited so long before you notified us?
[15:05] Speaker 14: Just kept hoping it was a mistake, that's all. I
[15:08] Speaker 14: went from house to house all over the neighborhood. Went
[15:11] Speaker 14: as far as three blocks away. I asked everybody. Nobody
[15:13] Speaker 14: saw my baby. You don't know what it means to me.
[15:17] Speaker 7: Telephone, Mrs. Osborne.
[15:19] Speaker 11: Would you answer it, please? Whoever it is, take the number.
[15:22] Speaker 2: I'll call them back.
[15:23] Speaker 7: Yes, ma'am.
[15:24] Speaker 8: Glad to.
[15:26] Speaker 1: Hello?
[15:27] Speaker 9: Yeah.
[15:28] Speaker 1: Yes, sir.
[15:29] Speaker 7: Oh, yeah, Harry. We're here now. This is Friday. How's that?
[15:34] Speaker 2: When?
[15:35] Speaker 7: I see. Where?
[15:38] Speaker 1: That's all? Uh-huh.
[15:39] Speaker 7: Okay, Harry, thanks. Yeah, tell him we'll be right in.
[15:42] Speaker 7: Right away.
[15:42] Speaker 9: Okay, bye.
[15:44] Speaker 7: Well, that was our office, Mrs.
[15:46] Speaker 1: Osborne.
[15:46] Speaker 7: You can stop worrying now.
[15:47] Speaker 6: What?
[15:48] Speaker 7: It was about your little girl. She's all right.
[15:49] Speaker 8: What do you mean?
[15:50] Speaker 7: I just found her three blocks from here.
[15:56] Speaker 6: Again, with the lone exception of the time element, the
[15:59] Speaker 6: Osborne baby's abduction resembled closely the three previous cases. The
[16:03] Speaker 6: crime occurred in the same general area. The same general
[16:05] Speaker 6: method of operation was employed. And again, outside of slight exposure,
[16:09] Speaker 6: the child was recovered unharmed. There was also an article
[16:12] Speaker 6: of clothing missing, a pink knitted bonnet. And as in
[16:16] Speaker 6: the previous three cases, the suspect had abandoned the baby
[16:19] Speaker 6: without detection. Routine investigation by the crime laboratory crew and
[16:23] Speaker 6: juvenile officers working the case failed to turn up a lead.
[16:26] Speaker 6: During the week that followed, additional personnel for both decoys
[16:29] Speaker 6: and stakeouts were assigned to the area without results.
[16:33] Speaker 7: Friday, July 4th, 10 a.m. Joe, you busy? What do
[16:37] Speaker 7: you got, Frank?
[16:38] Speaker 8: Galvin and Mildred Leslie just called in on this child-stealing thing.
[16:41] Speaker 8: Looks like it might be something.
[16:42] Speaker 7: Yeah, what's the pitch?
[16:43] Speaker 8: This Leslie girl's employed as a maid for a Mr.
[16:44] Speaker 7: And Mrs.
[16:45] Speaker 8: Roth, R-O-T-H. She's a stockbroker. She's worked for him a
[16:48] Speaker 8: year or so, she says.
[16:48] Speaker 5: Yeah.
[16:49] Speaker 4: Leslie girl's an upstairs maid for the Roths. She's been
[16:51] Speaker 4: following this baby-stealing case in the papers right along. She
[16:53] Speaker 4: thinks maybe Mrs. Roth can tell us something about it.
[16:55] Speaker 7: Yeah, how's that?
[16:56] Speaker 4: Well, the Leslie girl was cleaning Mrs. Roth's bedroom yesterday.
[16:58] Speaker 4: She came across a few things stored back in one
[17:00] Speaker 4: of the closets.
[17:01] Speaker 8: Baby things. Pink sweater, pink bonnet, and a pair of
[17:03] Speaker 8: baby shoes. She says they've all been used.
[17:05] Speaker 9: They're not new.
[17:06] Speaker 7: Well, a lot of mothers save baby clothes, things like that.
[17:08] Speaker 8: No, the Roth woman wouldn't have a reason to.
[17:10] Speaker 12: Yeah.
[17:10] Speaker 8: She's never had any children.
[17:23] Speaker 5: You are listening to Dragnet, authentic stories of your police
[17:26] Speaker 5: force in action.
[17:29] Speaker 6: Friday, July 4th, 11 a.m. Frank Smith and I left
[17:38] Speaker 6: the office and drove out to interview Mildred Leslie at
[17:40] Speaker 6: her apartment. She told us substantially the same thing she
[17:43] Speaker 6: told Frank on the phone. The Leslie girl had been
[17:46] Speaker 6: employed as a maid by Mr.
[17:47] Speaker 7: And Mrs.
[17:48] Speaker 6: Roth for almost a year. She went on to tell
[17:50] Speaker 6: us that for the last few months or so, Mrs. Roth,
[17:53] Speaker 6: who was a fairly prominent clubwoman, had been acting peculiarly
[17:56] Speaker 6: and that Mr.
[17:56] Speaker 7: Roth was worried about her.
[17:58] Speaker 6: According to the Leslie girl, he'd consulted the doctor several
[18:00] Speaker 6: times about his wife. As for the articles of baby clothing,
[18:04] Speaker 6: they'd been found stored back on a shelf in Mrs.
[18:06] Speaker 7: Roth's bedroom closet.
[18:08] Speaker 6: The Leslie girl told us that she happened to find
[18:10] Speaker 6: them while cleaning and dusting Mrs.
[18:12] Speaker 7: Roth's bedroom.
[18:13] Speaker 6: Each of the articles she claimed she saw seemed to
[18:16] Speaker 6: tie in directly with the child stealings. A pink sweater,
[18:19] Speaker 6: a pink bonnet, a pair of baby shoes. Identical items
[18:21] Speaker 6: of clothing had been taken from each of the previous
[18:23] Speaker 6: abduction victims. After we left Mildred Leslie, Frank and I
[18:27] Speaker 6: got to a phone, called a record bureau, and had
[18:29] Speaker 6: them make a run for us on Mrs.
[18:30] Speaker 15: Roth.
[18:31] Speaker 7: She had no previous criminal record. 1.20 p.m. We called Mr.
[18:35] Speaker 6: Roth at his place of business, but the office was
[18:37] Speaker 6: closed because of the Fourth of July holiday. We got
[18:39] Speaker 6: in the car and drove out to the Roth home,
[18:42] Speaker 6: an old two-story mansion just above Silver Lake Reservoir.
[18:45] Speaker 1: Mrs.
[18:45] Speaker 7: Roth wasn't at home. We interviewed her husband in the
[18:47] Speaker 7: living room.
[18:48] Speaker 8: What seems to be the trouble, Sergeant? Why would you
[18:50] Speaker 8: want to see my wife? A few questions we'd like
[18:51] Speaker 8: to ask her, Mr. Roth.
[18:52] Speaker 4: Can you tell us where she is now? She took
[18:54] Speaker 4: a drive with some friends of hers. I think they
[18:56] Speaker 4: were going down to the beach club.
[18:57] Speaker 1: Why?
[18:57] Speaker 7: But we're investigating a juvenile case, Mr.
[18:59] Speaker 3: Roth.
[18:59] Speaker 7: We think maybe your wife can give us some information
[19:01] Speaker 7: on it.
[19:02] Speaker 4: Well, I'm sorry she isn't home. It's too bad you
[19:04] Speaker 4: didn't call this morning. She didn't leave until after 11.
[19:06] Speaker 4: She'll be home later tonight if you care to call back.
[19:09] Speaker 4: You're sure it's not something I can help you with?
[19:11] Speaker 7: Well, yes, sir. Maybe you can. I'd like to ask
[19:13] Speaker 7: you a few questions about your wife's activities the last
[19:15] Speaker 7: month or so.
[19:16] Speaker 8: Well, how do you mean? Some of the social work
[19:17] Speaker 8: she does with the club? Not quite, Mr.
[19:19] Speaker 15: Roth.
[19:20] Speaker 4: You said you were from the juvenile division. Is it
[19:21] Speaker 4: something regarding her work with the underprivileged kids? Her club
[19:24] Speaker 4: does quite a bit of that, you know. Afraid I
[19:26] Speaker 4: don't know too much about it, though.
[19:27] Speaker 7: No, sir, it's not that.
[19:29] Speaker 8: I don't think I understand.
[19:30] Speaker 7: What is it about? Mr.
[19:32] Speaker 6: Roth, we want you to understand that this is merely
[19:34] Speaker 6: a routine investigation. We don't want to offend you in
[19:36] Speaker 6: any way, but we have some information that we've got
[19:38] Speaker 6: to check out.
[19:39] Speaker 7: What do you mean?
[19:40] Speaker 8: What kind of information?
[19:41] Speaker 6: Well, there's been a series of child-stealing cases the last
[19:43] Speaker 6: month or so. We're the investigating officers on it. Maybe
[19:46] Speaker 6: you read about them in the papers.
[19:47] Speaker 4: Yes, I have, but what would my wife have to
[19:49] Speaker 4: do with that? You think she has some information for you?
[19:52] Speaker 4: She didn't say anything about it to me. Yes, sir.
[19:53] Speaker 4: I think she can help us quite a bit. I
[19:56] Speaker 4: don't know exactly when she'll be home. I don't have
[19:57] Speaker 4: any place to contact her. I do know the club's
[20:00] Speaker 4: taking a group of children to the Coliseum tonight. The
[20:02] Speaker 4: big Fourth of July fireworks display, you know.
[20:04] Speaker 7: Yes, I see.
[20:05] Speaker 4: I'm going to meet my wife there tonight. Maybe I
[20:06] Speaker 4: could give her a message for you, tell her to
[20:08] Speaker 4: contact you.
[20:09] Speaker 7: All right, fine, Mr.
[20:09] Speaker 10: Roth.
[20:10] Speaker 7: There is something that you can do for us right now, though.
[20:12] Speaker 5: Yes.
[20:13] Speaker 7: Would you take us up to your wife's room? I'd
[20:15] Speaker 7: like to have a look at it. Take you to
[20:17] Speaker 7: her room?
[20:17] Speaker 8: I don't understand.
[20:18] Speaker 7: What for?
[20:19] Speaker 4: Well, like we told you before, sir, it's a routine investigation.
[20:22] Speaker 4: I think if you take us to your wife's room,
[20:23] Speaker 4: I think we can clear the whole thing up now.
[20:24] Speaker 4: Probably won't be necessary to bother you tonight. Well, I
[20:27] Speaker 4: certainly don't understand, but come along if you like. The
[20:29] Speaker 4: Doris's room is right ahead of the stairs.
[20:31] Speaker 7: Thank you.
[20:34] Speaker 8: Certainly has me baffled. What would there be about Doris's room?
[20:37] Speaker 8: It has to be investigated.
[20:38] Speaker 7: We don't know that there is anything, sir. Just appreciate
[20:40] Speaker 7: your cooperation.
[20:41] Speaker 9: Not at all.
[20:42] Speaker 8: We haven't anything to hide.
[20:43] Speaker 9: Here we are.
[20:46] Speaker 8: This is her room. Now, what is it you're looking for?
[20:49] Speaker 7: That's the bedroom closet, is it?
[20:51] Speaker 8: Yes, that's right.
[20:52] Speaker 7: I'd like to look at it if we could.
[20:54] Speaker 8: Certainly.
[20:54] Speaker 7: Go right ahead.
[20:55] Speaker 8: There's a shelf up there, Joe. Can you reach it on?
[21:02] Speaker 7: Yeah, I think so.
[21:04] Speaker 8: What is it? What are you looking for?
[21:06] Speaker 7: Here you go, Frank.
[21:07] Speaker 8: Yeah. Pink bonnet, pink sweater.
[21:09] Speaker 7: That's it. Here's the baby shoes. The I.D. bracelet.
[21:14] Speaker 2: Yeah.
[21:15] Speaker 7: Initials J.D.
[21:16] Speaker 9: Uh-huh.
[21:16] Speaker 8: Not much doubt.
[21:17] Speaker 7: Yeah. Baby clothes. Bracelet.
[21:21] Speaker 8: Never seen them around here. How'd you know they were here?
[21:24] Speaker 4: Well, we weren't sure that they were. But I'd never
[21:26] Speaker 4: seen them before. What are they doing in Doris's room?
[21:28] Speaker 4: Why would she have them? To talk to her about this.
[21:31] Speaker 7: Yes, sir. So do we.
[21:35] Speaker 6: After finding the evidence in his wife's bedroom closet, we
[21:38] Speaker 6: continued to interview Mr.
[21:39] Speaker 15: Roth.
[21:40] Speaker 6: We briefed him on the details of the case and
[21:42] Speaker 6: explained about the articles of baby clothing. He was very cooperative,
[21:45] Speaker 6: but he found it hard to believe that his wife
[21:47] Speaker 6: was responsible for the abduction of the babies. He told
[21:50] Speaker 6: us that early in their marriage, his wife did have
[21:52] Speaker 6: a child which died shortly after birth. Complications left her
[21:56] Speaker 6: unable to have any more children. When she found out
[21:58] Speaker 6: about this, it resulted in Mrs. Roth having a nervous breakdown,
[22:01] Speaker 6: but apparently she recovered completely. Roth went on to tell
[22:05] Speaker 6: us that his wife was very fond of children and
[22:07] Speaker 6: that she devoted a great deal of time to social work,
[22:09] Speaker 6: caring for underprivileged children. He also told us that during
[22:12] Speaker 6: the past month, with the recurrence of her nervous condition,
[22:16] Speaker 6: she'd been under a doctor's care. Shortly after 8 o'clock
[22:19] Speaker 6: that night, along with Mr. Roth, we drove to the
[22:21] Speaker 6: Coliseum where crowds of people were gathering for the annual
[22:24] Speaker 6: July 4th fireworks display.
[22:26] Speaker 7: Roth pointed out his wife. We went over and he
[22:28] Speaker 7: introduced us.
[22:31] Speaker 9: These officers would like to talk to us, honey. Let's
[22:33] Speaker 9: step over here.
[22:34] Speaker 10: Well, I can't leave the children alone. Can't we talk later?
[22:36] Speaker 9: No, honey, it's pretty important. I think you'd better talk
[22:38] Speaker 9: to them now.
[22:39] Speaker 1: Well, all right.
[22:40] Speaker 10: If you say so. You'll have to stay and watch
[22:41] Speaker 10: the children, though.
[22:42] Speaker 1: It'll be all right.
[22:43] Speaker 9: We can keep an eye on them from over there.
[22:44] Speaker 10: No, I can't leave them alone. You'll have to stay.
[22:46] Speaker 9: Well, all right.
[22:47] Speaker 1: Ma'am, I wonder if you'd step over here, please.
[22:49] Speaker 10: Yes, all right.
[22:51] Speaker 9: This ought to be all right right here.
[22:52] Speaker 10: Beautiful night tonight, isn't it? Children just love these things.
[22:56] Speaker 10: I think they're just about ready to start the show. Yes.
[22:59] Speaker 10: Just look at that.
[23:04] Speaker 16: The colors.
[23:05] Speaker 10: Isn't that gorgeous?
[23:06] Speaker 1: Yes, ma'am.
[23:07] Speaker 7: We'd like to drive you and your husband downtown to
[23:09] Speaker 7: Juvenile Division.
[23:10] Speaker 1: We'd like to talk to you.
[23:11] Speaker 6: What do you mean?
[23:12] Speaker 10: I can't leave now. I have these children with me.
[23:14] Speaker 10: What did you want to see me about? What's the trouble?
[23:16] Speaker 9: I think you know why we're here, Mrs.
[23:18] Speaker 10: Roth.
[23:18] Speaker 2: I do.
[23:19] Speaker 10: Why do you want to talk to me?
[23:20] Speaker 1: Well, we can start here, ma'am. We were at your
[23:23] Speaker 1: home this afternoon. Your husband showed us your bedroom, the closet.
[23:26] Speaker 1: We found the things up on the top shelf.
[23:28] Speaker 13: What?
[23:28] Speaker 1: The baby clothes, the bracelet.
[23:29] Speaker 13: Oh, beautiful.
[23:31] Speaker 7: Just beautiful.
[23:33] Speaker 10: How about it, Mrs. Roth?
[23:36] Speaker 9: You want to come along downtown?
[23:38] Speaker 10: Just baby clothes. Had them in my closet. It doesn't
[23:41] Speaker 10: mean anything.
[23:42] Speaker 1: I'm afraid you're wrong. It means a good deal, ma'am.
[23:43] Speaker 1: You know that.
[23:44] Speaker 15: Yes.
[23:45] Speaker 1: All right. Well, do you want to tell us about it, Mrs.
[23:48] Speaker 10: Roth?
[23:50] Speaker 6: Mrs.
[23:50] Speaker 10: Roth? Where do I start? There's no beginning. Just started.
[23:56] Speaker 10: I couldn't help myself. What can I say?
[23:57] Speaker 9: You just tell us what happened. Start any place.
[24:00] Speaker 10: My baby died. Then they said I couldn't have any more.
[24:04] Speaker 10: Guess it started then. I told my husband, told the doctor, too.
[24:08] Speaker 13: They didn't understand. Nobody understands. It's all I wanted, my children,
[24:13] Speaker 13: my own children.
[24:14] Speaker 1: How about the Martin baby, Mrs.
[24:15] Speaker 7: Roth?
[24:16] Speaker 1: The first one you took. How'd that happen?
[24:24] Speaker 10: Look, another one. Purple, white. Beautiful.
[24:29] Speaker 1: What about it, ma'am? The Martin baby? How'd that happen?
[24:32] Speaker 10: I saw him in the baby carriage. Outside the market there.
[24:35] Speaker 10: Such a cute baby. Pulled the covers back, looked at him.
[24:40] Speaker 10: I didn't think I was going to steal him. After
[24:42] Speaker 10: I looked at him, I just wanted to hold him.
[24:44] Speaker 10: Hold him close, so I picked him up. You understand,
[24:48] Speaker 10: don't you?
[24:48] Speaker 1: Yes, ma'am.
[24:49] Speaker 10: He was such a sweet baby. Could have been mine.
[24:52] Speaker 16: I kept on holding him. Then I started to put
[24:55] Speaker 16: him down, back.
[24:56] Speaker 10: In his carriage. I couldn't.
[25:00] Speaker 15: I couldn't.
[25:01] Speaker 1: What do you mean, ma'am?
[25:02] Speaker 10: I couldn't put the baby down. Just like mine. It
[25:06] Speaker 10: was mine. I can't explain it. I took the blanket
[25:10] Speaker 10: from the buggy. I put it around him. I walked away.
[25:12] Speaker 10: Nobody knew. It was my baby.
[25:15] Speaker 1: Yes, ma'am.
[25:16] Speaker 7: Would you go on?
[25:17] Speaker 13: Oh, my head.
[25:19] Speaker 10: Terrible headaches. It's so hard to tell you. I couldn't
[25:24] Speaker 10: even tell my husband.
[25:26] Speaker 9: I lied.
[25:28] Speaker 16: I'd take the baby and stop overnight at a motel
[25:30] Speaker 16: and tell my husband lies.
[25:31] Speaker 10: I couldn't let him know.
[25:33] Speaker 1: Well, you knew you were doing wrong, didn't you?
[25:35] Speaker 13: Yes, I knew it.
[25:37] Speaker 10: Not when I was taking the baby, though. Not when
[25:39] Speaker 10: I picked him up. Not when I held him in
[25:40] Speaker 10: my arms, held him close. It didn't seem wrong. Most
[25:43] Speaker 10: natural thing in the world. I just pretended. I'd pick
[25:46] Speaker 10: the baby up and I'd hold it close. It was
[25:48] Speaker 10: my baby.
[25:50] Speaker 16: All of a sudden, it was my baby. Later on,
[25:53] Speaker 16: I had to face... I had to stop pretending the
[25:56] Speaker 16: baby wasn't mine.
[25:57] Speaker 10: I had to give it back.
[25:59] Speaker 7: Isn't that wonderful?
[26:02] Speaker 10: Look, screamers, a shower of stars. It's marvelous.
[26:06] Speaker 9: Why'd you abandon the children, ma'am, without notifying anyone?
[26:09] Speaker 10: I knew they'd be found. I made sure of that.
[26:11] Speaker 10: I always put them someplace where they had to be found.
[26:15] Speaker 10: Terrible headache. You don't know what it's been like. I
[26:19] Speaker 10: couldn't tell anyone.
[26:20] Speaker 1: No one. Yes, ma'am. You about ready to go now?
[26:24] Speaker 10: All right.
[26:26] Speaker 13: I could only explain it to you. I mean, having
[26:29] Speaker 13: a baby, then losing it. You don't know what it's like.
[26:33] Speaker 13: No one will ever know what it's like.
[26:36] Speaker 10: No one.
[26:37] Speaker 1: You took four babies, ma'am?
[26:39] Speaker 7: Yes. How about their mothers? The story you have just
[26:49] Speaker 7: heard was true.
[26:51] Speaker 8: The names were changed to protect the innocent.
[26:53] Speaker 5: On October 10th, trial was held in Superior Court, Department 88,
[26:57] Speaker 5: City and County of Los Angeles, State of California. In
[26:59] Speaker 5: a moment, the results of that trial. Doris Evelyn Roth
[27:11] Speaker 5: was tried and convicted of child stealing under Section 278,
[27:14] Speaker 5: Penal Code, four counts. She was placed on five years probation...
[27:18] Speaker 5: One of the terms of probation required that she would
[27:20] Speaker 5: be under strict supervision of a competent psychiatrist. You have
[27:32] Speaker 5: just heard Dragnet, a series of authentic cases from official files.
[27:36] Speaker 5: Technical advice comes from the office of Chief of Police, W.H. Parker,
[27:39] Speaker 5: Los Angeles Police Department. Technical advisors, Captain Jack Donahoe, Sergeant
[27:43] Speaker 5: Marty Wynn, Sergeant Vance Brasher. Heard tonight were Herb Ellis,
[27:47] Speaker 5: Vic Perrin, Virginia Gregg. Script by Jim Moser. Music by
[27:50] Speaker 5: Walter Schumann. Hal Gibney speaking.
[27:56] Speaker 9: Each Thursday night, it's Counterspy on NBC.
[28:07] Speaker 2: Welcome back! This is another one that I didn't quite remember.
[28:13] Speaker 2: I actually thought I did, but I had it mixed
[28:16] Speaker 2: up in my mind with another episode which Jack Webb
[28:21] Speaker 2: actually once declared his favorite. But this was not that one.
[28:26] Speaker 2: In many ways, the story calls to mind a much
[28:29] Speaker 2: earlier story, The Big Mother, which was also about a
[28:34] Speaker 2: bereaved woman kidnapping a baby, although in that case it
[28:38] Speaker 2: was a single baby and may have been a bit
[28:43] Speaker 2: more relatively tragic as she had just lost her child
[28:50] Speaker 2: and was trying to avoid having to tell her husband
[28:56] Speaker 2: the truth after she'd gone out of town to give birth.
[29:01] Speaker 2: This one is still sad, and it does point to
[29:05] Speaker 2: the fact that some hurts really do fester and raises
[29:11] Speaker 2: some important mental health issues, but it doesn't quite pack
[29:16] Speaker 2: the punch of the Big Mother, which may be a
[29:21] Speaker 2: reason that it's one of those that just kind of
[29:23] Speaker 2: slips into the giant Dragnet back catalog in my memory.
[29:29] Speaker 2: What is really interesting about this episode, though, is the
[29:34] Speaker 2: way that it does mark the time, because the way
[29:40] Speaker 2: that these babies were left out would raise a lot
[29:45] Speaker 2: of questions in the 21st century. But leaving babies parked
[29:52] Speaker 2: outside a store was certainly... not uncommon, and neither was
[30:01] Speaker 2: leaving a baby in her own backyard. In fact, that
[30:06] Speaker 2: was actually really common parenting advice back then. In fact,
[30:12] Speaker 2: early editions of Dr. Spock's books recommended giving babies hours
[30:20] Speaker 2: of outdoor time Although this was around even before Dr. Spock.
[30:28] Speaker 2: His book came out in 1946. And on the Amazing
[30:32] Speaker 2: World of Radio, we played a Christmas episode from 1941.
[30:41] Speaker 2: It was actually four soap operas that did a combined
[30:47] Speaker 2: Christmas program together. and baby outside in the carriage was
[30:53] Speaker 2: a key plot point. Now, leaving the baby in the car,
[30:57] Speaker 2: that might be a different matter in terms of how
[31:01] Speaker 2: common that was, though our standards about leaving kids in
[31:05] Speaker 2: cars has kind of changed even within my lifetime. Worrying
[31:09] Speaker 2: at a relatively young age, I got left in the
[31:13] Speaker 2: car quite a few times while my parents went inside. Now,
[31:19] Speaker 2: this was not for a ridiculous amount of time, like
[31:23] Speaker 2: hours or something, but as new recommendations have come out
[31:31] Speaker 2: in recent years, I have that same common Gen X
[31:36] Speaker 2: or elder millennial experience of wondering how I survived childhood
[31:42] Speaker 2: before some of these.
[31:45] Speaker 2: Advice came out. Now, some of this practice does continue.
[31:49] Speaker 2: You can find in a few places there have been
[31:52] Speaker 2: Americans who've gone over to some Nordic countries and still
[31:56] Speaker 2: seen the babies in the pram sort of experience. But
[32:02] Speaker 2: this highlights one of the nice things about Dragnet, listening
[32:05] Speaker 2: to it so many decades later. It is the dedication
[32:12] Speaker 2: to accuracy and telling... the way things are that most
[32:19] Speaker 2: programs didn't have, that really does make the program a
[32:24] Speaker 2: calm capsule that captures all of these different aspects of
[32:30] Speaker 2: life in some realistic detail as to how things were
[32:37] Speaker 2: in a way that's more reliable than a lot of
[32:39] Speaker 2: other programs that leaned into more tropes to tell their story.
[32:45] Speaker 2: Listener comments and feedback now. And I have a comment
[32:50] Speaker 2: from Mechanic66 regarding the episode The Big Mail. I'd think
[32:56] Speaker 2: that assault with a deadly weapon would be a longer
[33:00] Speaker 2: sentence than robbery. I'd also think someone facing life in
[33:04] Speaker 2: prison would clam up and demand a lawyer. But of course,
[33:08] Speaker 2: that never happens in Dragnet. I only assume they didn't
[33:11] Speaker 2: want any listeners to know they had rights. Well, as
[33:16] Speaker 2: we've discussed a few times, this was well before Miranda v.
[33:21] Speaker 2: Arizona required those sort of warnings. As to the assault
[33:28] Speaker 2: with a deadly weapon charge, there is a lot of
[33:33] Speaker 2: conduct that can fall under assault with a deadly weapon,
[33:37] Speaker 2: as likely to produce great bodily injury. So, Throwing a
[33:42] Speaker 2: rock at someone could be assault with a deadly weapon.
[33:46] Speaker 2: First-degree robbery was aggravated robbery, as it would be when
[33:54] Speaker 2: you rob someone with a dangerous or deadly weapon. So
[33:59] Speaker 2: the robbery is the core charge that the legislature essentially
[34:06] Speaker 2: and very deliberately made more serious. And the assault with
[34:11] Speaker 2: a deadly weapon was capturing additional violent conduct. All right,
[34:17] Speaker 2: well now it's time to thank our Patreon supporter of
[34:21] Speaker 2: the day. Thank you to Amy Sue, Patreon supporter, since
[34:27] Speaker 2: April 2026, currently supporting the podcast at the rookie level
[34:32] Speaker 2: of $ 2 or more per month. Thanks so much for
[34:35] Speaker 2: your support, Amy Sue. And that will do it for today.
[34:38] Speaker 2: If you're enjoying the podcast, please follow us using your
[34:41] Speaker 2: favorite podcast software, and be sure to rate and review
[34:45] Speaker 2: the podcast wherever you download it from. We will be
[34:49] Speaker 2: back next Thursday with another episode of Dragnet, but join
[34:53] Speaker 2: us back here tomorrow for yours truly, Johnny Doll, or where?
[34:56] Speaker 1: I'm sorry, Mr.
[34:57] Speaker 15: Cartwright, go ahead.
[34:59] Speaker 4: Just how did your friend in Los Angeles die after
[35:02] Speaker 4: the dozen times, the dozen hours that passed?
[35:04] Speaker 15: Yes, well, now, The same as my other friend, Alpheus
[35:07] Speaker 15: Perryman in Chicago.
[35:08] Speaker 2: Yeah, well?
[35:09] Speaker 1: They were both of them run over by a.
[35:11] Speaker 15: Hit-and-run driver at exactly the time the chain letter said
[35:15] Speaker 15: disaster would overtake them.
[35:17] Speaker 9: You know they're against the law, don't you? Chain letters
[35:19] Speaker 9: for any purpose. Of course they are, and they should be.
[35:21] Speaker 8: But you just listen to this, and this is why
[35:23] Speaker 8: I'm worried.
[35:24] Speaker 5: Yeah?
[35:25] Speaker 15: A dozen, dozen hours after he received this letter and carried.
[35:31] Speaker 1: On the chain.
[35:32] Speaker 15: Admiral Parley Barron came into a great fortune.
[35:36] Speaker 1: Oh, sure.
[35:36] Speaker 15: Yeah, yeah, you see.
[35:37] Speaker 2: Now, and this one.
[35:39] Speaker 15: Adjutant General Frederick Melchior was suddenly and miraculously cured of cancer.
[35:47] Speaker 9: Same old junk.
[35:48] Speaker 1: No, no, no, no, listen now, listen.
[35:50] Speaker 6: About a dozen, dozen.
[35:51] Speaker 15: Hours after Hector Kenworthy of Los Angeles.
[35:54] Speaker 1: Broke the chain.
[35:54] Speaker 15: That's my friend, Johnny, that Hector. Yes, I know. And
[35:57] Speaker 15: after A.J. Perryman of Chicago broke the chain, they were
[36:01] Speaker 15: both dead.
[36:02] Speaker 1: Yeah, you see that? Right here.
[36:04] Speaker 15: Let me see.
[36:07] Speaker 8: And if you break the chain, beware. The same thing can.
[36:09] Speaker 15: Happen to you.
[36:11] Speaker 1: It will happen to you.
[36:12] Speaker 4: Yeah, I know.
[36:13] Speaker 5: You see, Johnny?
[36:13] Speaker 8: I think maybe you're right.
[36:17] Speaker 2: I hope you'll be with us then. In the meantime,
[36:20] Speaker 2: send your comments to box13 at greatdetectives.net. Follow us on
[36:26] Speaker 2: Twitter at Radio Detectives. And check us out on Instagram, instagram.com.
[36:32] Speaker 2: Slash Great Detectives. From Boise, Idaho, this is your host,
[36:36] Speaker 2: Adam Graham, signing off.

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