Sound off for Chesterfield. Chesterfield, first with premium quality and best for you. Chesterfield brings you Dragon. Ladies and gentlemen, the story you are about to hear is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent. You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned to homicide detail. You get a call from a man telling you that a woman has been badly beaten. Before you can get the name of the victim or any other information, the caller hangs up. Your job, investigate. Here is Chesterfield's record with smokers and important to you. No adverse effects to the nose, throat, and sinuses from smoking Chesterfield. That's the report of a doctor who has been examining a group of Chesterfield smokers for a full year and two months as a part of a program supervised by a responsible independent research laboratory. Don't you want to try a cigarette with a record like this? Chesterfield, first with premium quality. Chesterfield, first choice of young America. And that's from a survey made in 274 colleges and universities. Try Chesterfield's today. Chesterfield, regular or king size. They're much milder and best for you. Dragnet, the documented drama of an actual crime. For the next 30 minutes in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department, you will travel step by step on the side of the law through an actual case transcribed from official police files. From beginning to end, from crime to punishment, Dragnet is the story of your police force in action. It was Friday, June 10th. It was hot in Los Angeles. We were working the night watch out of homicide detail. My partner's Frank Smith. The boss is Captain Lorman. My name's Friday. I was on my way back from the main jail and it was 8, 10 p.m. when I got to room 42. Homicide. Frank? Yeah? Wait a minute, I want to talk to you. I'm not going anyplace. Oh. Well, I talked to Evans. I couldn't get any more out of him. The arraignment's still set for the 14th, isn't it? Yeah, that's right. Can't you settle down for a minute and stop that pacing up and down? What's the matter? Something on your mind? On my leg. Oh, something wrong with it? Not a thing. Just walking. Well, I wish you could manage to stand still for a minute. I'm getting a little bilious following you around the room. You know how far it is from here to the business office? What do you mean? How far? Well, it's just across the hall. Is that what you mean? 25 feet? No, you're wrong. It's 1,210th of a mile. Well, that's good to know. It's 1,6th of a mile to the crime lab, including the stairs. 1,8th of a mile to Sal's Cafe. Four trips to R&I equals a quarter of a mile. Never knew that, did you? No. Our grand total tonight so far is over six miles and we're only half through. What do you think of that, Joe? Well, what's it all prove? This is a walking job we got. Well, everybody knows that, don't they? Yeah, but I'm the only one in the department who knows exactly how far we walk. That's fine. Any calls come in when I was out? No. Like to know how I do it? What's that? It's done with a pedometer. Measures miles. Just fastens on your legs, see? At the end of the day, you know exactly how far you walk. Yeah. Gonna measure everything, Joe. Keep track. Gonna know exactly how far everything is. What for? Somebody might want to know. Who? I'll get it. Homicide Friday. Yeah. Now, what's that address again? Yeah. Right. Now we got one to roll on. What do you got? Ambulance follow-up, Westlake area. Yeah. Woman's been beaten. 8.14 p.m. We left the city hall and drove to the address we'd been given. 8674 Cambria Street was a large private home that had been divided into apartments. The house was quiet and there was no sign of any disturbance. There was a woman sitting in a glider on the front porch. We went up and talked to her. Something I can do for you? Police officers, ma'am. We got a call that there'd been some sort of trouble here. What kind of trouble? A woman had been beaten. Is that right? Must be some kind of joke. Nothing like that here. You sure you got the right address? The one we were given, ma'am. We got in apartment 104. Yeah. The last one back on the left. Rockmans live there. Mr. and Mrs. We'd like to see the apartment. Go ahead. Anything happen around here, I'd know about it. I'm the landlady. Anything happen, I'd know about it. Go ahead. You won't find anything. Thank you very much, ma'am. Here it is. I'll get it. Better try the door, huh? Yeah. Nobody here. Looks like they had a party. I'll check the back. No. No one out there. Coffee on the table's cold. You find anything? Where's that door go, ma'am? Bedroom. Joe, there's a girl on the bed. Yeah. Yeah, it really worked her over, huh? How about it? Let's see if I can find her pulse here. Yeah, she's still alive. What is it? Something happened to Hazel? Joe? It's pretty bad. Both eyes black, bleeding. Is this Mrs. Rockman here? Yeah, it's Hazel. What's wrong? Where's her husband? I don't know. When did you see him last? About five minutes ago. Where was that? On the front porch. He just walked out. The ambulance crew arrived and immediately removed the victim to Georgia Street Receiving Hospital for emergency treatment. We got in touch with Officer Ed Barrett of the hospital detail and asked him to try to get a statement from the victim if she regained consciousness. We locked the door to the Rockman apartment to preserve any physical evidence we might need, and then we went down and talked to the landlady, Mrs. Ruth Baker. We found her on the front porch. We asked her what she knew about what had happened. I sure wish I could tell you more. How about Hazel? Is she going to be all right? We don't know yet, Mrs. Baker. She's pretty badly beaten. What do you want from me? Some questions we'd like to ask, ma'am. About what? I've told you what I know. Do you know where Mrs. Rockman's husband was going? No, I don't. I don't much care, either. Did you see anything at all when he went out? Not a word. Just walked out in a sort of daze. He was just a little boy. He didn't say anything at all to you? I just got through telling you that he didn't. Yes, ma'am. Mr. and Mrs. Rockman fight often, would you know? No, not any more than any married couple. Mrs. Baker. Yeah? I wonder if you can give us a description of Mr. Rockman. Description? Yes, ma'am. Tell us what he looks like. You figure he did that to Hazel, huh? That's what we want to talk to him about. What kind of description do you want? About how tall is he? About as tall as he is? That'd be 5'10", huh? If that's what you are. How much would you say weighed? Wouldn't even make a guess. I don't notice things like that. Yes, ma'am, but would you say it was medium-built or heavy? I'd say medium. Not too heavy, not too skinny. Medium. What color is his hair? Black. How about his hair? Black. How about his eyes? Brown. Real dark brown. You wear glasses? No. Was he clean-shaven? What do you mean? Well, do you have a mustache? No, he had one a while ago. He tried to grow one, but Hazel made him take it off. It never grew real well. Little scraggly thing. What was he wearing when you saw him last? Shirt and pants. Could you tell us what color the shirt was? No, and I can't tell you what color the pants were either. It's dark out here. I didn't pay much attention when he left. Just thought he didn't feel well. Sick from the party. All right, Miss Baker. May I use your phone? Sure, help yourself. It's in the living room, right inside the door to your left. You can't miss it. All right, ma'am. Thanks. I'll call a sentry. All right. Hello, Miss Baker. Yeah? Does Mr. Rockman drink much? Why do you ask that? No wonder. There might be some bar in the neighborhood that he might have gone to, maybe. No, he doesn't drink much at all. Once in a while, he and Hazel have a glass of wine before dinner. You know, sharpen the appetite. Just a glass of wine before dinner. And you haven't any idea where he might have gone? Not the slightest. Does he have any relatives in the city? I can't answer that. You mean you don't know? Must have some people someplace. Most of us do. But I'm not the kind of person who prides into the private lives of my tenants. They pay their rent, no loud parties, and I don't bother them. How about this party tonight? Yeah, what about it? Was there any trouble? Not that I knew about. You didn't hear anything? Any loud talking? Any arguments, maybe? Nope, I wasn't at the party. I wasn't invited. Hazel gave it for her Tony friends. Gonna play bridge. I wasn't there. Yes, ma'am. Could you tell us who was there? Never been able to get the hang of the game. Don't like cards. Chinese checkers, that's my game. Never could understand bridge, so I wasn't invited. Can't you give us a list of the people who were there? I suppose. Why do you need it? We'd like to talk to them. Well, I guess it'd be all right to give them to you. How's Hazel? You heard yet? No, ma'am. Sure a terrible thing. Not that maybe she didn't deserve it, but it's sure terrible. Why do you say that, Ms. Baker? What do you mean, why do I say it? I say it because it's true. No other reason to say something. Yes, ma'am, but what do you mean? Just that it was bound to happen. Somebody was bound to haul off and slap her mouth shut one of these days, the way she talked. Ma'am. Accusing, always accusing. Thought everybody in the world was after her. Always telling me that she knew about me, that I wasn't fooling anybody. The word she'd use. And they're supposed to be so Tony. Well, did she have any enemies around her? Anyone to make her think that, would you know? Well, she didn't have any right-out enemies. There were several people who didn't like her. They thought she was too snooty for them. I called the office, Joe. They're putting out a broadcast. Did you check him? Yeah, nothing on him. Hope it's all right, ma'am. I left your number in case they want to reach us. Sure, it's all right. Can you give us the names of the people who were at the party tonight, ma'am? Yeah, there was Lily Davis, the Harrises, and there was some fellow with Lily that I never saw before. You know where you can get in touch with them, do you? Well, the Harrises live up in 203, and Lily has an apartment 105, right across from the Rockmans. She ought to be able to tell you something. Don't know if it's going to be the truth, but she'll think of something to tell you. Ma'am, is she a good friend of Mrs. Rockmans, do you know? Oh, you bet. They're thick as thieves. Always having little lunches by themselves, talking secrets, buzzing around. Thieves. Myself, I never took to Lily. I always thought she was kind of wild, divorcee, you know. All right, Miss Becker, thank you very much. We'll be in 105 if there are any calls. Appreciate it if you'd let us know if Mr. Rockman comes in. Don't mention to him that we're here. Mm-hmm, all right. That was 105, you said? Yeah. Better talk to this Davis woman, huh? Yeah, maybe she can tell us where Rockman is. Yeah. 105, here it is, huh? Yes? Miss Davis? Yes. Is there something I can do for you? Yes, ma'am, we're police officers. What is it you want with me? We'd like to talk to you, ma'am. Oh, come in. Thank you. I wonder if it'd be all right if we left the door open. I suppose so. Any special reason? Well, we'd like to keep an eye on the apartment across the hall. What's it about? We understand that you know the Rockmans pretty well. I suppose so. Why? You have any idea where Mr. Rockman might be? No, I don't. Isn't he across the hall? No, ma'am, he isn't. Well, then I don't know where he is. Have you talked to Hazel? No, ma'am. Well, why don't you ask her? She should know. We were wondering if you could help us out. No, last I saw of him was when he left their place. Uh-huh. Say, I wonder if you'd mind if I went ahead with what I was doing. Ma'am. It probably seems silly to you, but it's a hobby of mine. Wire sculpture. Silly, but it gives me a chance to relax. Yes, ma'am. Will you go right ahead? I don't think I got your names. My name's Friday. This is my partner, Frank Smith. How do you do, Mr. Smith? How do you do, ma'am? Mr. Friday. Well, what's all this about? Have I done something wrong? No, it's just a routine investigation, Miss Davis. Oh, uh-huh. I understand that you were at their place tonight. A party, huh? Yes. Hazel was going to have a couple of tables, a bridge. Anything unusual happen while you were there? No, nothing that you'd call really unusual. Who was there, ma'am? Oh, myself. The Harrises. They live upstairs. And Tom Reeves. Another couple were coming over after dinner, but they called and said they couldn't make it. It was just as well. None of us felt much like playing. Why was that? Well, Hazel wasn't feeling very well. She and Herman had a little argument. You know how it is. Kind of uncomfortable. Excuse me. Hello? Yes. Oh, yes, Tom. No. Well, you've got to understand she wasn't feeling too well. Mm-hmm. Just one of those things. Yeah. What? No, I've got a meeting that I want to go to tomorrow night. Modern Art, yes. At a place down on Melrose. Well, sure, if you want to. Mm-hmm. All right. You want to pick me up about seven. Right. Okay. See you then. Bye. Excuse me. That was Tom. He's a nice boy. I just met him tonight. The Rockmans set it up. What was this argument that the Rockmans had? Do you know what that was about? It was nothing. Just a little thing. Hazel hadn't been feeling well lately. It's awfully easy to set her off. I guess sometimes Herman doesn't realize it. Yes, ma'am. But what caused it tonight? Well, you see, Hazel's been thinking that there was somebody been following her, spying on her. She told Herman about it tonight. That made him a little angry. And well, then at dinner we just sat down. Mrs. Harris said that she'd seen a picture of the dress that Hazel had on in the morning paper. Well, Hazel didn't understand. I guess she thought that Mrs. Harris was being nasty about it. She got up and left the table, went into the bedroom. Yes, ma'am. Herman got up and went in after her. Came out and said that she wasn't feeling well. Kind of threw a damper on the evening. So when the other couple called and said that they wouldn't be able to make it, we all decided to call it quits. Was there any reason for Mrs. Rockman to feel that there was somebody spying on her? No, Mr. Friday, it was just one of those things. She'd go along fine, feel good, and then she'd wake up in the morning and start to think about things and she'd get depressed. Oh, and she's like that. There isn't anything that can lift her out of it. We used to talk about it. I'd try to help her. Same thing happened to me, I know. It's just one of those things. Yes, ma'am. Maybe if they'd had children it would be different, but lately she hasn't been feeling well and she and Herman haven't been getting along. He just didn't seem to understand. She'd get angry and he'd work late. The more he worked late and stayed away from home, the more she'd fret and get angry. It was just a vicious circle. Nothing anyone can do about it. It'll pass with time. When Rockman went in to see his wife, did they argue? Well, they had a few words, a little loud, nothing serious, then he came out and said that everything was all right. Ma'am, did Rockman ever get violent toward his wife, do you know? What do you mean violent? He ever hit her? No, I don't think so. A couple of times when I was over there he looked like he might be thinking of it, but I never saw it. I think if he ever did hit her, Hazel would have told me. We were very close, as I said. I tried to help her. Just a few loud words, that's all I ever knew about. Anyway, after Herman came out of the bedroom, we all decided to leave. This fellow Tom, he wanted to go on, you know, out someplace, but I was a little tired and I'd just met him tonight, so I begged off and came home. Yes, ma'am. Can't you tell me what this is all about? Miss Davis? Hello, Mrs. Baker. Something you want? I want to see the police. Mr. Smith, your office called, said you were to call this number right away. Here's the number they gave me. They said you'd know I wrote it down. Thank you, ma'am. Here, you want to call, Joe? Yeah. What if I use your phone, Miss Davis? Sure, help yourself. Thank you. I'm sorry, Miss Davis. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Isn't this the most awful thing you've heard in all your life? What? Well, about Herman, what he did. Terrible. They ought to send him away for a long time, a good long time. Dr. Hall, please. What are you talking about? All the ambulances, the police, never had a thing like this happen before, all the excitement, and what Herman did. Just terrible. That's all terrible. Mrs. Baker, would you wait just a minute, please? Well, somebody tell me what this is all about. Hello, Dr. Hall, this is Joe Friday. Yeah. Now, we're here now. She is. You're sure about that, are you? Yeah, well, he's out, right. Now, we'll call him right out. Yes, it does. Right. Bye. This is Georgia Street. Yeah. Miss Rockman died. There's something else. What? She wasn't beaten. She was shot to death. You are listening to Dragnet, the authentic story of your police force in action. Years ahead of them all. Chesterfield is years ahead of all cigarettes. Chesterfield quality is highest. Here's the proof. Recent chemical analyses give an index of good quality for the country's six leading cigarette brands. The index of good quality table, which is a ratio of high sugar to low nicotine, shows Chesterfield quality highest. Chesterfield quality highest. 15% higher than its nearest competitor. Chesterfield quality highest. 31% higher than the average of the five other leading brands. Don't you want to try a cigarette with a record like this? Chesterfield. First with premium quality and best for you. Try Chesterfield today. Regular or king size. 9, 10 p.m. We called a crime lab and Ray Pinker and a crew were sent out to check the physical evidence at the scene. We contacted Ed Barrett at the hospital, but he said the woman had not regained consciousness. Frank and I went upstairs to talk with Mr. and Mrs. Harris. They gave us substantially the same story we'd gotten from Lily Davis. They agreed that when Rockman went into the bedroom to see his wife, they'd heard loud voices but nothing else. They stated positively that as far as they knew, there'd been no shot fired while they were in the Rockman apartment. 9, 17 p.m. We checked with the other people in the apartment building. None of them could report having heard a shot. From them we got the same story of Mrs. Rockman's actions. Some of the neighbors said that they didn't get along with her. Others seemed to understand her feelings. 9, 22 p.m. We checked back with Ray Pinker and the crew from the crime lab. We didn't spend a lot of time here, Ray. The husband looked good for it. We were trying to round him up. Shooting was a real surprise. It looked like a beating to us. We couldn't tell. The boys from Georgia Street got her out of here right away. Did you come up with anything, Ray? Yeah, a couple things. How you fellas got it figured? Well, talking to the neighbors, looks like the husband does. Talked to him? No, he walked right out after it happened. Got out of broadcast on him. Nothing's turned up yet, though. How's it look to you, Ray? Well, I'm not sure I can go along with you guys and the husband. I talked to Doc Hall. We weren't going to be able to know for sure until they post the body. Woman was slapped around, we know that. Yeah, we saw her. Looked pretty brutal to us. You mean the black eyes? Yeah. What Doc Hall says, that didn't come from beating. He says the bullet did it. Was he pretty sure about it? Looks like it. Autopsy will prove it. Where'd you find the gun? Under the bed. Over here, right side. Indentation on the floor here. Evidently fell from her hand, bounced back under the bed. Any prints on it? Lifted three clean ones. You been able to make them? Lifted some from the dressing table over there. Looks like they might belong to the dead woman. Checking for sure later. You figure maybe she did it herself then, huh? Well, it's beginning to shape up. Well, how about the shot, Ray? Nobody we've talked to heard it. Here's the explanation for that. This pillow here. See the bullet hole here? Burn? Yeah. Doc Hall says she was shot in the back of the right ear. She must have held the gun in the pillow. That muffled the sound. What noise there was wouldn't be heard very far. Well, how can you be sure it was suicide, Ray? Just an idea now. Roll the dead woman's prints, run a blotter test on her, see if she fired the gun. Check for nitrate, we'll know for sure. How long will that take? I'll be finishing in an hour or so. I'll let you know then. From where I sit though, it looks like she did it herself. I still don't understand about the black eyes though. Well, I get it. The bullet entered just behind the right ear. Past behind the eyes. I've seen it a couple of times before. Yeah, but Doc Hall said that she'd been slapped a couple of times, right? Yeah. Said he found a couple of bruises on her cheeks. Not enough to do any damage though. Sure not enough to kill her. Mr. Friday? Yes, ma'am. Can you come right over to my place? Herman's on the phone. What's that? Mr. Rockman. He called to find out how Hazel was. Alright. Phone's right there. Thank you. Hello? Hello? Hello? Well, he's not there now. What did he say? Well, he asked me if I knew how Hazel was. I told him that she was dead and then I asked him where he was. Did he tell you? No. He just said for me to tell people that he was sorry he did it, for me to tell him that he didn't mean it. He said he didn't mean to kill Hazel. Well, the way it looks, he didn't do it. Then you better find him right away. He thinks he did and he's going to kill himself. We talked to the landlady Ruth Baker, but she was unable to tell us where Herman Rockman was employed. Lily Davis told us that he was a car salesman employed at a lot in the south end of town. We asked Miss Davis to stay by our phone in the event that Rockman called back and to let us know immediately if he did. We found an address book in the desk in the living room of the apartment and we began to call Rockman's friends and relatives. None of them had seen him or could tell us where he worked. Nine forty-five p.m. It had been twenty minutes since the husband of the dead woman had called and said that he was going to kill himself. At nine forty-six p.m. we contacted a brother-in-law of the dead woman and he told us that as far as he knew, Rockman had been employed by the Bateman Auto Agency in Gardena. We got the number from information and I put in the call. Hello, is this the Bateman Auto Agency? Well, this is Sergeant Joe Friday, Los Angeles Police Department. Yes, sir. Do you have a Herman Rockman working for you? Yes, sir, that's right. R-O-C-K-M-A. Uh-huh. I see. When was that? Yeah. Any idea where he's working now? Uh-huh. Yes, sir, I understand. Yeah, well, have you got the number? Fine. Yeah. Would you know if they're open this time of night? I see. Okay, all right, sure, I'll hold on. How about it? Says Rockman did work for him. He hasn't seen him in a couple... Yes, sir. Yeah. Uh-huh. That's 03, right? Yes, sir, thanks very much. Says he's heard Rockman's working for a company out in Washington Boulevard now. Left him a couple of weeks ago. Hello. Do you have a Herman Rockman working there? Hello. Hello. Somebody answered as soon as I asked about Rockman, he hung up. Think it was him? There's no way of telling. We better check on it quick. You got the address? Yeah, ought to take us about five minutes to get there. Let's go. We still got a chance. 9.50 p.m. We left the apartment and we drove out Westlake Avenue... and turned down to Washington Boulevard. We traveled code 03, but because of the possibility of alarming Rockman... we turned off the sirens six blocks from the address of the used car lot. 9.54 p.m. We got to the place. The lot was dark. At the rear and back of a line of cars, we could see a small shack. I hope he's here. Yeah. There's no lights on. The door's locked. Let's try the side. There's a window around there. Right. Can you see anything? No, the window's dirty. Got your flashlight? Yeah, here you go. Give me that. How about it? He's in there. Looks like he's out. Come on. Let's hit it. Right. Full of gas. Kill your flashlight. Right. I'll get him out of here. You want to get that heater? Right. The window's stuck. Break it. How about it? He's still alive. Fresh air should bring him on. Yeah. Rockman. Rockman. Come on, Rockman. You're all right. Come on. Sit up. Why'd you do it? Why'd you stop me? No reason for you to kill yourself. I got a reason. I killed Hazel. I didn't mean to. I loved her more than anything. I didn't mean it. I didn't want to hurt her that hard. All right. Settle down. Settle down. You didn't kill her, Rockman. Nobody asked you to come down here. I called you to take care of her. I knew it was too late. I killed her. She's dead and it's my fault. Why'd you come here? Why'd you stop me? All right. Now take it easy, will you, Rockman? Straighten yourself out of here. You didn't kill your wife, Rockman. You understand? What? We don't think you killed her. We think she did it herself. Huh? Oh. Well, she wasn't well. She was sick. She didn't know what she was doing. She did the wrong thing, didn't she? Her way wasn't right. I loved her, you know, very much. Yes, sir. We understand. It doesn't really make any difference you stop me. No difference. Sir? It doesn't make any difference that you stop me. I loved her. There's no difference at all. How's that? I died with her. The story you have just heard is true. The names were changed to protect the innocent. On June 15th, an inquest was held in the coroner's office in and for the county of Los Angeles. In a moment, the results of that inquest. Now here's our star, Jack Webb. Thank you, George Feniman. Friends, next Sunday, June 21st, is Father's Day. Your neighborhood dealer has the special Chesterfield Father's Day carton on sale right now. So remember the guy who never forgets you. Don't give him just any cigarette. Give him premium quality Chesterfields, regular or king size. They're best for him. At the coroner's inquest, it was decided that the wound that killed Hazel Eileen Rockman was self-inflicted. The death was listed as a suicide. Her husband, Herman George Rockman, was not held. You have just heard Dragnet, a series of authentic cases from official files. Technical advice comes from the Office of Chief of Police, W.H. Parker, Los Angeles Police Department. Technical advisors, Captain Jack Donahoe, Sergeant Marty Wynn, Sergeant Vance Brasher. Heard tonight were Ben Alexander, June Whitley, Lillian Byiff. Script by John Robinson, Ben Alexander. Music by Walter Schuman. Hal Gibney speaking. For a million laughs, tune in Chesterfield's Martin & Lewis show Tuesday on the same NBC station. And sound off for Chesterfields, either regular or king size. You'll find premium quality Chesterfields much milder. Chesterfield is best for you. Chesterfield has brought you Dragnet transcribed from Los Angeles. Have you tried new cork-tipped Fatima? It's the smooth smoke. Here's why. New Fatima tips of perfect cork. King size for longer filtering. And Fatima quality for a much better flavor and aroma. Remember, Fatima has the tip for your lips. Try new Fatima. See how smooth it is. Fatima is made by the makers of Chesterfield, Liggett & Myers. One of tobacco's most respected names. Music by John Robinson.
