Video summary
In this episode of Dragnet titled "The Big Elevator," Detective Sergeant Joe Friday and his partner Bill Lockwood investigate the mysterious death of a woman found slumped in a wheelchair inside a hospital elevator on the third floor. The victim, identified only as Grace Morgan by the night nurse who discovered her, was found unconscious with minor abrasions but no obvious cause of death, leaving the police to determine if she had been murdered or died of natural causes. Initial inquiries reveal that a man claimed to have a sick woman in his car requested a wheelchair around 11:00 p.m., yet he refused assistance and vanished before anyone could see him or the patient, creating an immediate red flag for foul play.
The investigation leads Friday and Lockwood to the victim's apartment on North Capitol Avenue, where they discover signs of a recent party involving alcohol but no identification on the deceased woman. After contacting her husband, Ernest Chzwick, who describes his wife as a chronic alcoholic with whom he is separated, the detectives learn she frequented a specific bar before being found dead. When questioned, Chzwick expresses deep resentment toward his wife's lifestyle and admits he would have preferred her dead, but he has an alibi placing him at work late that night. However, the investigation takes a turn when a man named John Gables, who was seen with the woman at the bar, is identified as the last person to leave with her before she was taken to the hospital.
During interrogation, Gables initially denies knowing the woman or leaving with her, claiming he only had a few drinks and then went to a movie, but under pressure he eventually confesses that he helped her after she fell in her apartment and drove her to the hospital himself, intending to avoid scandal by sending her up the elevator alone. The case reaches its conclusion when the coroner's autopsy report reveals that the woman suffered from a massive cerebral hemorrhage caused by a pre-existing brain tumor, confirming that her death was due to natural causes rather than foul play. Consequently, John Gables is cleared of all charges and released, while Chzwick is exonerated as well, resolving the case without any criminal liability.
Read the full video transcript
Hello and welcome to Dragnet Life from
Ottergold.com. I'm Austin Vog. Thank you
for being here. Happy Wednesday to
everyone. Um, today we're listening to
episode 150 of Dragnet. The title is The
Big Elevator. If you're new here, we're
here every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
at 9:00 a.m. Pacific listening to one
episode of Dragnet until we've listened
to all 310 episodes currently available.
Um,
episode 150, originally broadcast April
24th, 1952, and it's about a dead body
that has been discovered in a hospital
elevator. There's no lead to the
identity of the corpse, and there's no
apparent cause of death. So, a quick
shout out to So Over It, Alfredo, Mary,
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>> [music]
>> The story you're about to hear is true.
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You're a detective sergeant. You're
assigned a homicide detail. You [music]
get a call from the receiving hospital
in your city. A dead body has been left
in the hospital elevator. There's no
lead to the identity of the corpse.
There's no apparent cause of death. Your
job, investigate.
[music]
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>> [music]
>> Dragnet, the documented drama of an
actual crime. For the next 30 minutes in
cooperation with the Los Angeles Police
Department, [music] you will travel step
by step on the side of the law through
an actual case transcribed from official
police files. From beginning to end,
from crime to punishment, Dragnet is the
story of your police force in action.
It was Wednesday, November 9th. It was
foggy in Los Angeles. We were working
the night watch out of homicide detail.
My partner's Bill Lockwood. The boss is
Captain Lurman. My name's Friday. It was
11:28 p.m. when we got to the third
floor at Georgia Street Receiving
Hospital. Dr. Terrell's office.
>> Friday. Glad to see you. I've been
waiting for you.
>> We made it as soon as we could, doctor.
Like to have you meet my new partner,
Bill Lockwood. Dr. Terrell. Bill.
>> How are you? I think I've seen you
around, Lwood.
>> Yes, sir. How are you?
>> Understand you got a problem, Doc.
What's the story?
>> Odd one. It happened a few minutes after
11:00. You want to sit down a minute?
I'll fill you in before we go back and
take a look at the body.
>> Thank you very much.
>> I understand it's a woman. That right?
>> Yeah. Grace Morgan. She's a night nurse
on duty. She told me she was sitting at
the desk checking over some patients
cards. It was about 5 10 minutes after
11 when she heard the elevator come up.
>> She heard the elevator stop and the
doors open. Kept on checking the cards
there. Didn't pay any attention to it.
And then she realized nobody got out of
the elevator. She looked up and the
elevator doors were still open. She saw
this young woman slumped over in a
wheelchair sitting there in the
elevator.
>> The woman was alone, was she?
>> That's right. Nurse went over and
wheeled her out of the elevator. Woman
was wearing a night gown, a bathrobe
over that. She was unconscious. Nurse
called me. The two of us took the woman
into a treatment room. I examined her.
She was dead.
>> Any indication how long?
>> Body was still warm. She'd only been
dead a short time.
>> You any idea of the cause of death?
>> I noticed a couple of abrasions on her
right shoulder. Another one in the right
temporal region. Not positive, but I
don't think any of them were severe
enough to cause death.
>> No other markings at all?
>> No. She seemed to have been in good
physical condition. Noticed a strong
smell of alcohol, though. Couldn't be
she'd been drinking.
>> Is the nurse pretty sure the woman came
up the elevator alone. Possibility one
of the attendants might have brought her
up.
>> No, I checked with the attendant on duty
down the first floor lobby, Ray Collins.
He didn't bring her up. He said a man
came in the lobby about 11:00. Said he
had a sick woman out in his car. He
asked for a wheelchair to bring her in.
Ray asked if he could help, but the man
said he'd take care of it. That's all Ry
knows about it. He let the man have a
wheelchair, then he went in the back
room to change some linens on the
ambulance stretcher.
>> Mhm. Any possibility one of the other
attendants might have brought her up in
the elevator?
>> No. Collins was the only attendant on
duty.
>> Uhhuh. I'd like to talk to him. Is he
still around?
>> Yeah, I knew you'd want to see him. He
was off duty 11:30. I held him over.
He's down at the corner having a
sandwich. He ought to be back in a few
minutes.
>> What do you figure, doctor? Think the
woman could have operated the elevator
herself?
>> Possible. Not too probable, though. It's
a self-operating elevator. Automatic.
>> Mhm.
>> Someone could have wheeled a woman into
the elevator, pushed the button for the
third floor, and then stepped back.
Would have taken her straight up.
>> Yeah. The nurse is sure the elevator
didn't go back down after it got up
here, huh?
>> Positive. She heard the elevator doors
open. They stayed that way. She kept
waiting for someone to come out. That's
what attracted her attention.
>> How about identification? The woman have
a purse with her? Anything like that,
doc?
>> No. All she had was what she was
wearing. Night gown, slippers, and
bathroom. Let's go back and have a look.
I'll show you. Okay. Thank you.
>> You say the only markings on the body
are those abrasions on the shoulder and
the forehead?
>> Yeah. Yeah, that's right. And you don't
think that's why she's dead? You got any
ideas at all?
>> I wouldn't want to say, Lockwood.
Strange one. Going to have to wait for
the autopsy.
>> Well, how about the wheelchair the woman
came up in? Doc, where is it now?
>> Back here in the same room with the
body. I gave notice it wasn't to be
touched. I knew you'd want to check.
>> Oh, fine.
>> In here.
>> All right. You smoke in here?
>> Yeah, sure.
>> Fine. Want a cigarette?
>> No, thanks. Bill.
>> No.
>> Over here on the table.
>> Mhm.
>> Nurse put the woman's clothing over
there. Night gown, slippers, bathroom.
>> I see. Seems to be a fairly young woman.
>> I'd say in her early 30s. Nicel looking
girl. Well-groomed. Nose her hair and
fingernails. Well kept.
>> Bruise there on her head. Took a pretty
good blow to cause that, wouldn't you
say?
>> Yeah. Might even be worse than it looks.
Hard to say right now. Other abrasions I
was telling you about right here along
the clavicle seem to be fairly distinct.
Three or four of them.
>> That's all of them. Huh?
>> That's it. Like I say, we'll know more
after they post the body.
>> Take a look at the clothing over here.
>> Want to check over the bathrobe bill?
>> Yeah.
>> There's no label here. Size marking
though. Size 34.
Just an ordinary rayon night gown. Seems
to be fairly new. It's not damaged.
Nothing on the bathrobe, Joe. Both
pockets empty. No visible markings.
Manufacturers label here. Fairly common
trade name. Mhm.
>> Laundry marks.
>> No, none showing. We can have the crime
lab check them over. How about the
slippers? No,
>> it's the same. Nothing.
>> You fellas want me to notify the corner?
>> No, we'll get it, doc. We have to call
in for the crime lab crew anyway.
>> It looks like a rough one. We don't even
know what we've got. I can't figure it.
If somebody murdered the woman, why'd
they bring her here to die?
>> No.
>> If she was sick or hurt and they were
worried enough about it to bring her
here, why' they want to get rid of her?
Leave her alone in an elevator.
>> Yeah.
>> Doesn't make sense. Somebody's got
something to hide.
>> Sure could use a lead. Man puts her on
the elevator and sends her up three
floors. Don't know who she is, how she
died. Don't even know where she came
from. There's no choice. We'll just
start at the beginning. Yeah. Ground
floor.
>> 11:52 p.m. The receiving hospital
attendant, Ray Collins, returned, and we
interviewed him in Dr. Terrell's office.
He told us [music] substantially the
same thing the doctor had told us. At a
few minutes past 11:00 that night, a man
entered the lobby of the hospital and
asked for a wheelchair to move a patient
up to the third floor. Collins [music]
stated he gave the man the wheelchair.
The man refused his offer of assistance.
And Collins went on about his work. He
didn't see the patient and he didn't see
any car [music] parked outside and he
was able to give us only a partial
description of the man himself. A male
Caucasian about 35 years old, short,
[music] heavy build, dark hair. The crew
from the crime lab arrived and began
their investigation. The body was
photographed and fingerprinted, and the
wheelchair was also dusted [music] for
prints. The clothing was packed up to be
taken downtown for further examination.
[music]
After the men from the crime lab left,
Bill Lockwood began a canvas of the
immediate neighborhood for possible
witnesses. [music] Meantime, I checked
with the rest of the hospital personnel
and the patients. They could tell me
nothing. 12:30 a.m., I [music] met Bill
back at Dr. Terrell's office.
>> How'd you do, Joe? Any luck?
>> Well, I talked to the nurses and some of
the other attendants. They couldn't help
any. Checked with the dispatcher on
incoming and outgoing ambulances.
Nothing there. What about you?
>> No good. Most of the business places
around here are locked up. Talked to the
news boy down at the corner. He was
about the only one on the street. He
didn't see anything.
>> Sure going slow, isn't it? Might give
Bergman a call. See if he's got the
woman's prince classified.
How about the corner show up yet?
>> Yeah, I think he's in there now.
>> Yes, ma'am. Give me station 2557. Yeah,
that's right. Leighton Prince.
Hi. Let me talk to Bergman, please.
Right.
Yeah, Dean. Joe Friday. No, we're still
over at the hospital. You doing any good
on those prints? Uh-huh. Yeah, that's
what we figured. How about her prints?
Mhm. Okay, Dean, thanks. Yeah, right.
>> We're still batting a thousand.
>> What do you say they make her prints?
>> Nothing in records on her. Dean's going
to send along a set to Washington. See
if they got anything.
>> How about the wheelchair? Any prints
there?
>> Well, the nurses and Doc Terrells,
that's all. We figured on that, didn't
we?
>> Lousy luck.
>> Sure is. I checked with missing persons
while you were out. There's nothing
there either.
>> Well, that about finishes up here, huh?
Yeah, we better get back to the office.
>> Joe.
>> Yeah, Don. I
>> think I got something for you here.
>> Yeah.
>> Nurse at the switchport got a call a
minute ago. Man's voice wanted to know
the condition of Carla Chzwick.
>> Mhm.
>> Nurse checked the list of patients.
Didn't find anyone by that name. The man
insisted she's here. The nurse asked him
what time the woman was admitted to the
hospital. He told her 11:00 tonight.
Yeah.
>> The man said, "I know she's there. I
brought her myself."
[bell]
>> Along with Dr. Terrell, Bill Lockwood,
and I went down the hall and talked to
the nurse who'd received the phone call.
She told us that she tried to question
the [music] caller as to his name and
his relationship to the alleged patient,
Carla Chzwick, but the man refused and
hung up. We put in a call to RNI and
asked him to run the name for us.
[music] There was no one with that name
in the files. We went back to the
doctor's office and started checking
through the telephone directories.
[music] In the northwestern section, we
found a listing for a Mrs. Carla Z.
Chzwick on North Capitol Avenue. [music]
We called the number, but there was no
answer. Then we checked with the office,
told them what we had and that we were
going to follow through on it. 1:18 a.m.
It was only a possibility, but it had to
be checked out. [music]
Bill Lockwood and I left Georgia Street
Receiving Hospital, got in the car, and
drove out to the address on North
Capitol Avenue. Was a large apartment
house, fairly new. The name on the
mailbox for apartment 18 [music] was
Mrs. Carla Chzwick. We rang, but there
was no answer. We finally had to get the
manager out of bed on Mrs. Herbert.
[music] We identified ourselves and
explained the reason for our visit. She
got a pass key, showed [music] us
upstairs to the second floor, and let us
in apartment 18. There was no one there,
but there was evidence of a recent party
within a matter of hours. Half-filled
cocktail glasses, [music] an empty
whiskey bottle, a glass bowl containing
partially melted ice cubes. An end table
in the corner had been overturned. In
the bedroom, women's [music] clothing
was scattered on the floor and on the
dressing table. On the mantle in the
living room, there was a picture of a
woman.
>> Did you notice anything unusual about
her at that time, Miss Herbert? I mean,
anything out of the ordinary?
>> No, don't think so. She'd been drinking
some. I'm pretty sure of that. But
that's not unusual for Mrs. Cheswick.
She drinks quite a bit, parties and
things. Runs around a lot.
>> Yes, ma'am. You didn't notice anything
about her face? No cuts, bruises,
anything like that?
>> No, nothing like that. Why?
>> You told us she had quite a few men
friends. Do you know any of their names
where they live?
>> No, can't say to do. She was just one of
the tenants. I didn't try to get
acquainted. Didn't have much in common
with her. The other tenants didn't
either. Matter of fact, she kept pretty
much to herself, her and her friends.
>> Mhm. I see. Now, about this party she
had last night, Miss Herbert, you say
you don't know who was there with her?
>> No, I'm afraid I don't. When I called
her on the phone to ask her to quiet
things down, I heard that one man's
voice talking. That's about all, though.
I couldn't tell you who is there.
>> Well, is there anyone at all that you
know of that was close to her? I mean,
someone we could talk to about her.
>> Well, her husband, I suppose. He's the
only one close to her I know. He comes
around every month and takes care of the
rent. Kind of peculiar thing, but I
never questioned it. I figured it's
their business. Live and let live.
>> Do you have any idea where we can find
the husband? Well, I'm not sure. He
works at a machine shop out near
Glendale. I have his home address in my
rent book downstairs if you wanted.
>> Yes, ma'am. We'd like to have that if we
could. Would you happen to know how Mrs.
Chzwick and her husband got along? I
mean, this separation of theirs. Was it
friendly or did they still quarrel quite
a bit?
>> No. As far as I know, they got along all
right as long as they didn't have to
live together. Poor Mr. Chzik, I feel
sorry for him. He's going to take it
hard. His wife, I don't know whether to
blame or pity her. She was a terrible
disappointment to him.
>> That's all.
>> I had a long talk with him once. seemed
like such a nice man, hard worker, and
his wife. He was so disgusted. I mean,
drinking all the time, going out with
different men, bitter disappointment. He
told me how he felt.
>> Or did he seem violent on the subject? I
mean, did he feel anger toward his wife,
which
>> No, just pity. Said he'd rather have her
dead than go on the way she was.
>> We checked [music] through the dead
woman's apartment for names and
addresses of some of her men friends,
but we found nothing. The crew [music]
from the crime lab went over the
apartment thoroughly. The only evidence
found were fingerprints on some of the
cocktail glasses. Along with the
apartment manager, Mrs. Herbert, we
[music] went downstairs and she gave us
Mr. Chzwick's home address and also his
place of employment. 2:30 a.m. We got to
a phone and called Chzwick's home, but
the people he was staying with [music]
told us that he wasn't there. He was
working the allnight shift at a farm
implement factory on Glendale [music]
Boulevard. 3:05 a.m. Bill and I drove
out to the factory and checked with the
night personnel superintendent. He
[music] directed us to the factory
repair shop where Chzwick was employed
as a welder. The foreman at the repair
[music] shop pointed him out for us.
Chzwick was working on the welding line.
A tall, thin man, slight build. Bill
Lockwood and I went back and introduced
ourselves.
>> Yes, sir. Ernie Chzwick. That's my name.
What can I do for you? Like to talk to
you for a few minutes if we could. It's
about your wife. Connor, what's the
matter? Is she in trouble again?
>> Well, it might be better if we could
step outside and talk. It won't take
very long.
>> All right. I got to finish up this
little job here if you don't mind
waiting. Couple of pieces of tubing. It
won't take a minute.
>> Sure. You go right ahead. You might
stand back a couple of steps. This thing
pops a little. Okay, thanks.
Ah, too much oxygen. I have to light it
again.
Ah, that does it.
>> Don't look at the flames, though. Bad
eye.
>> Yeah, I know.
>> They're sure in their money, don't they?
>> Yeah, they seem to a lot of work.
Finish a second here.
>> Okay, that's got it. Now, what's this
about my wife, Sergeant? What's the
matter?
>> We understand you're separated from her,
Mr. Chzwick.
>> Yeah, that's right. About a year ago
now. I finally gave it up as a bad job.
Wasn't anything I could do for her.
Nothing anybody could do for her.
Hopeless. Well, when's the last time you
saw her?
>> First of the month. Went by to pay her
rent. Dropped in to say hello, that's
all. I stay away as much as I can. No
good bum. That's about all you can say
about her. Shame to admit I was even
married to her. What do you ask anyway?
>> Your wife's dead, Mr. Chzwick.
>> Huh?
>> Yes. So, she died late last night. Found
her at Georgia Street Receiving
Hospital.
>> Ah,
guess I've been expecting something like
that. I can't feel sorry. Probably the
best thing for her. How'd it happen?
Well, we're not sure. I wonder if we
could step outside. Sure. Be a lot
easier to talk with her.
>> Yeah. All right. Fine.
>> Over here. We can dug out the back way.
>> Okay.
They say they found her at Georgia
Street, huh? What was it? She in an
accident? Oh,
>> she doesn't look like that. We're going
to have to wait for the coroner's
report. What time do you check in at
night for work, Mr. Chzley?
>> You're supposed to be on the job by
10:00. I punched in before that tonight.
Why?
>> A routine question. I suppose the men
around the plan will vouch for you. You
check in at 10:00 and you've been here
ever since.
>> Yeah, that's right. You can ask any of
them. What's the pitch? You think I had
something to do with it? Carly getting
killed?
>> Well, we didn't say that, Chzwick.
wife's dead and we have to check on all
the leads, all the possible suspects.
>> Well, I don't know how it happened, but
I didn't have anything to do with it.
She wasn't I lived 9 years with her.
Lousiest 9 years of my life. Booze,
parties, going out all the time. She
wasn't a wife. She didn't know what the
word meant.
>> Understand? She'd been running around
with different men lately. Do you happen
to know any of them?
>> No, I don't know. I couldn't care less.
Stupid dame, Sergeant. That's the
easiest way you can let her off. I tried
to make a go of it. Wasn't any good. I
worked for her. Tried to give her
everything she wanted. Didn't make any
difference. Yeah,
>> she's a bum. Some of them must be born
that way. A bum d. I could have killed
her. I had reason enough to. I didn't.
>> How about your wife's drinking habits?
She do most of it at home or did she go
out to bars?
>> Always at the bar. Only one place she
ever went to. Place on Ethan Rosewood
right on the corner. Went there all the
time. Six, seven nights a week. She hang
over the bar all night. Always like to
put up with that for 9 years, huh?
Drinking, going off somewhere in
weekend.
>> How come it lasted that long, Chzwick?
>> I don't know. I guess I should have had
my head examined. Just a bum. I figured
I could change her. Kept trying. Never
worked out. After the drinking, she'd
have these terrific headaches. It make
her sick. I'd stay home from work and
take care of her. Wait on her hand and
foot. She always made promises. Nothing
but a liar. Soon she got well, she'd
start it all over again. Same thing.
Hell,
just a bum. A [ __ ]
No good at all. No good.
Just a [ __ ] No good [ __ ]
>> Chzwick. Mr. Chzwick, is there anything
we can do?
>> Carla,
she's dead.
Carla.
Perfect.
When the dead woman's husband, Ernest
Chzwick, [music] recovered, we continued
questioning him, but we got nowhere.
Before we left the plant, we checked his
time card, talked to the machine shop
foreman and some of [music] the men
Chzwick worked with. We got the same
story all along the line. Chzwick had
showed up for [music] work at 9:46 p.m.
the night before and had not left the
plant since that time. 4:35 a.m. Bill
[music] and I got in the car, drove back
to the office, and typed up a 15.7
report for Captain Lman. 8:30 a.m. Over
in the county morg, the body [music] of
Mrs. Chzwick was being posted. A few
minutes past 10:00 a.m., Bill Lockwood
and I drove out to a bar on the corner
[music] of 8th and Rosewood, the same
bar where Ernest Chzwick told us his
wife did most of her drinking. It was a
typical [music] neighborhood cocktail
lounge in the early morning. Two
customers sipping beer at the far end
[music] of the bar. The manager busy
washing glasses and bringing in
supplies. We called him over and
identified ourselves.
>> Popular girl, married old Ernie Chzwick.
They're separated now.
>> Yeah. Would you know if she was in here
last night?
>> That's right. She was hardly Mrs.
Knight. Why
>> would you happen to know about what time
she left [music] last night?
>> 8 8:30 about that. You might ask that
fell there down there in the bar. He'd
know better than me.
>> Well, how's that?
>> He left with her.
[music]
>> You are listening to Dragnet. Authentic
stories of your police force in action.
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[music]
November [music] 10th, Thursday, 10:14
a.m. The manager of the cocktail lounge
pointed out the man at the end of the
bar who was supposed to have left the
place shortly after 8:00 the night
before with the dead woman, Carla
Chzwick. Bill Lockwood and I went up to
the man, identified ourselves, and
[music] questioned him briefly. He
appeared tense and highly nervous. He
told us his name was John Gables,
[music]
an assistant sales manager for a
downtown jewelry concern. He didn't deny
that he was in the bar the night before,
but he refused to admit that he left
with Mrs. [music] Chzwick. He insisted
he didn't even know her. We asked him to
account for how he spent his time the
night before, but he refused. We got in
the car and drove downtown to the city
[music] hall. While Bill took the
suspect to the interrogation room, I
stopped by the RNI counter and had to
make a run on Gables. [music] He had no
previous criminal record. I called the
morg, but there was no report on the
autopsy yet. 10:52 a.m. I signed in at
the [music] office, briefed Captain
Lurman on the developments, and then I
headed down the hall for the
interrogation room.
We had a couple of drinks together, and
that's all there was to it. You can ask
anybody who was there. She got up and
left by herself. I didn't go with her.
And Joe,
>> yeah,
>> Gables here was just telling me he did
see Mrs. Chzwick in the bar last night.
Had a couple of drinks with her.
>> Why'd you hold out, Gables? Why couldn't
you tell us that when we asked you?
>> I didn't remember. Then you came up to
me in the bar, started asking questions.
I got all rattled.
>> Mhm.
>> Didn't make any difference. So I didn't
even know her name. Just had those
couple of drinks with her and then she
got up and left. That's all. I didn't go
out with her. The bartender says you
did. He's sure of it. Says he can get
half a dozen other people to back him
up. He's wrong. He's got to be. He's
thinking of somebody else.
>> Well, if you didn't leave the bar with
Ms. Chzwick. When did you leave?
>> I don't know. About 5 or 10 minutes
later, I get.
>> Where'd you go then?
>> I walked around a little bit. Got a
little fresh air.
>> Mhm.
>> And I went to a show.
>> Which one?
>> I don't remember the name of the place.
was on Rosewood a couple of blocks down
from the bar.
>> What picture did you see?
>> I'm not sure. I had a couple of drinks.
>> You went to the movies. You don't even
know what you saw.
>> Well, I told you I had a couple of
drinks. Feeling pretty good. I I just
don't remember. That's all.
>> Not much of an alibi, Gables. What are
you talking about? I don't need an
alibi.
>> The woman's dead, mister. You were with
her the last time she was seen alive.
>> I wasn't with her. I don't care what
anybody tells you. I wasn't with her.
>> This movie you say you went to? What
time did you get out?
>> After midnight, I think. I don't
remember.
>> Where'd you go after that?
>> Bar. Had a few more drinks and then went
back to my hotel.
>> Which bar was that? place on West 7th. I
go there sometimes. I know the
bartender.
>> What time you leave there?
>> Closing time, 2:00. And then I went back
to my hotel.
>> Mhm. You say you know the bartender
there? I guess he'd be glad to vouch for
you. I mean that you were there when you
said you were.
>> I don't know. Maybe not. He was pretty
busy last night. Maybe didn't notice me.
>> How about your hotel, huh? The desk
clerk. Somebody like that. They should
be able to tell what time you got in,
don't you think?
>> No, they wouldn't know. I always carry
my key with me. I go in the side door.
They wouldn't know what time I got in.
>> What are you trying to sell, mister?
>> What are you talking about? You knocked
around town from 8:00 last night till
past 2:00 this morning. You can't think
of anyone that could vouch for you where
you were, what time you got there, what
time you left.
>> I can't think of anybody right now. I
don't take down names and addresses
every time somebody looks at me. What's
the difference anyway? I didn't have
anything to do with a girl.
>> This difference, Gables, the attendant
at the hospital, he got a good look at
the man who came in and asked for that
wheelchair. He gave us a man's
description. It fits you pretty close.
>> So what? It doesn't mean anything. He
could make a mistake, too, just like
that bartender.
>> They're all wrong but you. Is that what
you're trying to say?
>> Look, as far as I'm concerned, I only
got one thing to say. I had a couple of
drinks with Carla last night, and that's
all. She left by herself. I didn't even
go near the apartment.
>> How'd you know she had an apartment?
>> Well, you told me. You said so.
>> No, we didn't say anything like that.
>> Then I guess I heard it around the bar.
Maybe she mentioned to me. Yeah, that's
probably it.
>> Why don't you come off at Gables?
>> Come off what? I don't even know what
you're getting.
>> We want a straight story and we're not
getting it. You told us you didn't even
know the Cheswick woman before last
night. You didn't even know her name.
>> That's right.
>> Then why'd you say Carla just a minute
ago? You said I had a couple of drinks
with Carla.
>> I say that.
>> That's what you said.
>> Maybe I just hadn't remembered. I was
drinking quite a bit talking to her.
Maybe I just remembered it. Won't do,
Gables. Story doesn't hold water. How
about it? I don't know. I was drinking
quite a bit. A lot of things I don't
remember.
>> How about giving it to us straight? What
do you remember?
>> I thought about it. Thought about it all
night. The more I went over it, the
worse it got. I just couldn't remember.
I I knew what it would have sound like
in court. I couldn't tell it that way.
>> You couldn't tell what
>> I didn't kill her. I didn't even touch
it. You got to believe that.
>> Yeah.
>> I left the bar with her about 8:15,
8:30. She invited me up to her
apartment. She was pretty well gone. Had
quite a few drinks.
>> Mhm. We got there and had some more to
drink and then Carla got up and started
for the kitchen to get some more ice.
She tripped, I think, stumbled a little
bit and then she fell down. I think
that's the way it was.
>> All right, go on.
>> She tried to get up and then she fell
again. Wasn't a bad fall though. I
figured she just passed out. Got some
cold towels, ice water, tried to bring
her around. It wasn't any good. She was
white as a sheet. I got scared. I didn't
know what happened.
>> What'd you do then?
>> I don't remember. I just kept trying to
bring her around. I don't remember any
of it very well. I I don't even know why
she fell down.
>> You think you could have hit her,
Gables? You think maybe that's why she
fell down?
>> No, I don't know. I don't think so. I
don't I don't think I was mad at her for
anything. I think we were having a
pretty good time. I I just don't
remember. That's all. I'm not sure about
any of it.
>> Lousy booze. No good at all.
>> Did you kill her Gables?
>> No, Sergeant. I swear. As far as I can
remember, I didn't. We were having a
good time. That's all I know. I know I
wasn't mad. I I'm not a nasty drunk. Not
as far as I can remember. Anyway,
>> what'd you do when you couldn't revive
Mrs. Chzwick? You brought her to the
hospital?
>> Yeah. The shape I was in, I couldn't
figure anything else to do. I got her in
the car, drove her down to Georgia
Street. I put her in the elevator,
pressed the button, and sent her up. I'm
a married man, you know. I didn't want
any scandal and didn't want to get
involved.
>> You didn't kill her. Is that what you
want us to believe?
>> I don't know what to tell you. I don't
remember. If I killed her, I think I'd
know it. I'm sure I would. I just don't
remember.
>> I'll get it. Okay.
Interrogation room. Friday talking.
Yeah, Arthur.
That's so
just a second. All right, I got a pencil
now. Go ahead. Uh-huh. Mhm. Are you
sure?
How was that?
I see. No possibility, huh?
Yeah, I see. Okay, Arthur. Thanks a lot.
Yeah, sure. We'll pick it up later.
Right. Bye.
>> Corner's report. Just finished the
autopsy.
It's all right, Gables. Huh?
>> It's all right. It's all cleared up.
>> What do you mean?
>> Well, you're free to go if you like.
We're not going to hold you.
>> What was the pitch, Joe?
>> Corner's report. Primary cause of death
was a massive cerebral hemorrhage.
Hemorrhage into the ventricle.
>> Could have been a blow on the head,
couldn't it? You figure that could have
done it?
>> No. Secondary cause was a brain tumor. A
big one. Corner says she's had it for
years. Must have caused her a lot of
pain. Probably what accounted for the
drinking.
>> And the tumor wrote on the hemorrhage.
That's what's killed her.
>> That's it. Corner says uh erosion of the
blood vessel by brain tumor. probably
grew, caused pressure on a blood vessel,
finally gave way, caused a hemorrhage,
and that killed her.
>> And she just died. I didn't have
anything to do with it. She She died,
and I didn't kill her.
>> Yes, sir. That's right. You're free to
go if you want.
>> Thank God.
You know, officers, I'll tell you the
truth. I didn't know the answer. I
didn't know if I killed her or not. I
really didn't. Drinking so much I came
to and there she was dead. I didn't know
what happened. I really didn't. I didn't
know the answer.
>> Well, you're one up on us, Gables.
>> Huh?
>> We thought we did.
>> [music]
>> The story you have just heard was true.
The names were changed to protect the
innocent.
>> On Thursday, November 10th, the meeting
was held in the office of Captain of
Homicide. In a moment, the results of
that meeting.
>> And now, here is our star, Jack Webb.
>> Thank you, friends. There's not much I
can add to what George Fenaman and Hal
Gibney have already told you about
Fatimas. If you smoke them, I know
you'll agree with me that Fatima is the
best of all king-size cigarettes. If you
haven't tried them yet, well, there's
only one way to prove it to yourself,
and that's to buy a pack and give them a
try. I wish you would kind of check up
on what we've been telling you. Compare
Fatima's with any other king-size
cigarette. You'll like Fatima's better
flavor and aroma. It's extra mild and
soothing smoke. In Fatima, the
difference is quality. Buy a pack
tomorrow. Fatima.
With the filing of the official autopsy
report by the county coroner, John
Gables was cleared of all charges. He
was released from custody immediately.
The death of Mrs. Carl Chzwick was
listed as due to natural causes by the
coroner's jury. Ladies and gentlemen,
last year's traffic death toll was
37,500,
a 7% increase over 1950. The National
Safety Council believes that the best
way to promote safety on the road is for
each of us to know and obey traffic
laws, to read and heed traffic signs.
So, be careful. The life you save may be
your own. [music]
>> [music]
>> You have just heard Dragnet, a series of
authentic cases from official files.
Technical advice comes from the office
of chief of police WH Parker, Los
[music] Angeles Police Department.
Technical advisers Captain Jack Dono,
Sergeant Marty Wyn, Sergeant Vance
Bracher. [music] Heard tonight were
Martin Milner, Vic Perin, and Gwen
Deleno. Script by Jim Moser. Music by
Walter Schuman, Hal Gibney speaking.
>> [music]
>> Fatima cigarettes, best of all king-size
cigarettes, [music] has brought you
Dragnet, transcribed from Los Angeles.
[music]
Now it's Counter Spy on NBC.
[music]
You've been listening to the otrold
[music]
network. Find more classic radio at
otrold.com.
[music]
Okay,
thanks for sticking around for that
episode. Uh I I want to ask I want to
tell you why I've asked about podcasts
here. Um again I I through otrold.com I
have got a lot of podcasts. I've been
doing that for a while. The each each
one focuses on a different show. Um but
which is what we're listening to when I
play the audio. But um I had this idea
the other day that um it would be cool.
So like a lot of podcasts have the ad
supported feed and then if you pay some
money you can get the ad free feed which
also those that are YouTube channel
members you let me know I can get you
the ad free feed that's part of the
YouTube that's part of what you get as
like a bonus for being a channel member.
Um
so you just [clears throat] have to let
me know you have to contact me. But
anyway, um I thought there's this gap
between people that like content like of
a particular podcast and the people that
like it enough to pay the how however
many dollars a month to do it. But what
if there's a way that you could buy
individual episodes adree? So, if you're
listening to some some new podcast and
you listen to the first few minutes and
you like it and then you hit the ad read
um or you know whatever ad pops up in
the feed instead of the skip forward 30
seconds or having to listen through the
whole ad, there's a button that you push
and it immediately converts to the ad
free experience, but you're only since
it's only for that one episode, it's
much lower cost. Maybe it's like 25
cents or something or even less. So, um
that's what I was curious to know. How
many of you listen to podcast? Because
I'm actually spending some time trying
to solve this problem and figure out how
do I have a podcast player that lets me
buy adree access to
individual episodes and do it in like a
one-click thing so it doesn't really
interrupt
um what I'm doing. If I'm going to pull
out my phone to skip an ad, I can just
push a button and I've skipped all ads
and that money goes to the content
creator. They get paid for it and you
just get the ad free experience. So, um,
that's the idea. I'll maybe keep you
posted as I make progress on it, but
thank you for answering my podcast
related questions. That's why I was
asking.
Um,
let's see what were the other comments
here.
Alfredo, let me find this one.
Says, "This was a bit of a downer, but
I'm glad nobody killed her." Yeah, me
too. I feel a little bit bad because I
was dogging on her whole time saying
what a bum dame she was. Well, jokes's
on me. I feel bad. Uh, note to self,
don't judge people so quickly, I guess.
Who would have known don't judge people
so quickly?
Timeless advice. Okay.
Um,
so over it says, "I like this one
because every main character they be
because every main character they dealt
with, they felt like they knew what was
going on with them, but it was always a
surprise how it turned out."
Agreed. It's a good one.
Um, I like this one, too. I feel like I
feel this at the end of several
episodes. One day we should hang out
after and listen to a counter spy. Yeah.
It's like, "No, don't turn off the
radio. That's my favorite show."
Um, the marketing is working. I never
listen to Counter Spy, but I want to
because it's got to be great. They talk
about it all the time.
Uh,
Counter Spy is about an intrepid diner
waitress. Is this true?
I did not know this.
Uh,
I'll have to check it out. Or that's a
joke. Am I getting punked right now?
Um,
okay. Anyway,
that's it. I'm kind of It's hard for me
to like read and have commentary on the
comments at the same time because I'm
trying to figure out the context of the
conversation like everybody else. But
thanks for all the comments. I'm going
to read through the rest of these. I
wish you all a great Wednesday and hope
to see you back on Friday for episode
151.
What's the title of that one? Let me
see. Whoops. Hang on. Title 151 is the
big safe. So, check back for that one
Friday morning at 9:00 a.m. Pacific. See
you then. Bye.
[music]