Dragnet: The Helen Corday Murder

The story you are about to hear is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent. NBC brings you dragnet. You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned a homicide. Somewhere in the tangled web of your city, there's a killer on the loose.

A young woman has been brutally murdered. The weapon, a steel bludgeon. Your job is to get him. Dragnet, the documented drama of an actual crime investigated and solved by the men who unrelentingly stand watch on the security of your home, your family and your life.

For the next 30 minutes in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department, Department, you will travel step by step on the side of the law through an actual case from official police files, from beginning to end, from crime to punishment.

Dragnet is the story of your police force in action. It was Thursday, March 19th. It was Spoggy in Los Angeles. We were working the night watch out of homicide detail. My partner has been Romero.

The boss is Ed Backstrand, Chief of Detectives. My name is Friday. It was 914 PM when I got to the old central jail building, third floor. The crime lab. Hi Joe. Hi, just trying to spectrograph.

What did you find? The paint flake from the victim's head matches that paint on the hunk of pipe. Any prints? Uh, the pipe was clean, no latent prints. I'm not figured anything else. I got those blood test reports.

A couple of slides for it to look at under the comparison mic. Thanks, Lee. Oh, hi Joe. I didn't hear you come in. What's it look like Ben? Now here's the blood test reports. This one is blood found on the piece of pie.

Mmm, type A. This one's blood from the victim. Type A. They match. That's right, boys. Doesn't mean too much, though. You look at these slides under the microscope. No, not yet. Now this is your clincher. Wait, I'll get the light.

Okay, take a look. Mmm-hmm. Got to make? Yeah, go ahead. Well, this slide here on the right... Mmm-hmm. ...that's the slice of hair from the victim's head. On the other slide, his hair found on the steel pipe.

She had wavy hair. Both specimens are flat, same hair, Joe. You got anything on that piece of pipe, please? Nothing. Just ordinary steel pipe, 14 inches long. What else you got? The plaster impressions of those footprints we found by the body.

Here they are. Craped, sold. Tenors, new ones, size nine. Good impression. Ground was soft. Man about 150 pounds, according to the length of stride, roughly about five feet ten inches tall. Yeah, new shoes are all right.

You can still read the manufacturer's label. That's right, made by the Sport King Company. Well, that's something to follow up. Yeah, sure, you could start with the tennis courts. Only about 1,000 or so in L.A.

Maybe you'd rather track down the brand. These particular tennis shoes are the biggest sellers in the country. Yeah. Where'd you like to start, Minneapolis or Pullman Washington? What about that glove? Yeah, you might look for a missing glove.

Yeah. They go well with the shoes just about as common. white cotton work gloves of the blue top here's the right glove you find the left blood on a glove type a that's good evidence jones but where's the lead i look i don't ask you to pay my parking tickets you want to see blow-ups okay right over here

this is the vacant lot where they found the body and that's right here's a close-up of her showing the location of the murder weapon the glove and the footprints relative to the position of the body looks as bad as yesterday sure did work or overdid The rest of these are morgue shots.

Interested? All right, check them this morning once is enough, Lee. Well, that wine's it, boy. You wanna go with the stuff in a purse again? You're finding a thing more? No, nothing you haven't seen already.

The usual, makeup, comb, barrette. That's a hair clip. Few cheap stones in it. Loose chains, a quarter nickel, few pennies, her ID card. Helen Corday, 33 Naomi Place, age 21. 21. That's not very old, is it, Lee?

Not to die. No. Helen Curdie, who could kill Helen Curdie? Why? Why do you say that, Mr. Meyer? People kill for money. They kill for love. Helen Curdie hit none of these. No boyfriend. Not in here. No, she was a good worker. Five different Vedas, as the Union then, one month. Five!

Did the Union send Helen to you? Sure, sure, all the girls come from the union, but not like Helen. Oh, she was sweet, honest and curdious. Mr. Meyer, did you know anything about her personal life?

Only that she was a good worker. Everything else she took home with her from this place. Did she ever mention any men to you, anyone at all? No gentlemen, not one. How much money did you make here?

I paid her $26.50 a week, every Tuesday. Not much salary for so much work, but the tips are very good here. Nice customer. This or home address? 33 Naomi Place? 33 Naomi, that's right. Thank you very much Mr. Mar for your time.

I wonder what kind of a person those things like that. Who could kill Helen Cawde? Everybody liked Helen. Helen Cawde? I never liked her. Come on in the office boys where we can talk. Never liked her because anyone knew her.

You the head of the union? just a steward like the most the girls it's going to go on what was you what you look like small brunette about five three here's a picture yeah pretty girl wasn't she oh sure sure but it's rather not a place nicely to Dutch fella out of my

own that's right he seemed to think quite a lot of her yeah she was a fine worker oh sure always right up and I do is paid all the assessments right on time but you said you didn't know. No not right off I didn't but when you showed me that picture there placed around a way. You know anything about our personal life? No wait a minute.

Why all these questions? Helen Cord Day was murdered last night. Oh who did it? You know anything about our personal life? Oh you see my position sergeant. Twelve hundred girls. Take a minute and check him out. Just names to me tonight. See a picture of him. You wouldn't know if he had any boyfriends here in the union. Waiters,

But boy that I wouldn't know like I tell you I never know Helen Cordae sure I knew Helen Cordae got to play the nice piano her search it yeah I read about it in the paper this morning how long you been selling pianos here to play long as I knew Helen three years how'd you find me Helen's landlady we talked to her

yesterday she told us you were here at this piano store uh... funny is not what funny seek got over there that fellow demonstrating the piano you would like to go on a deal with him to give help in the i think it would help her with a thing one to be a singer you know

did hella know that fellow guss no she never met him who gave her this thing unless it's missing she took from australia poll australia and i don't know A lot of movie people used to take from him.

What do you know about her personal life? How do you mean? Does she have any boyfriends? Well, yes. You don't seem sure, Miss Ells. Well, it's just that I don't know. I never asked Helen, but she did have a few dates with Paul Ostrander.

I don't think she was serious. How about Ostrander? Gee, I don't know, Sergeant. I don't want to involve anybody. You want to help us find the killer, don't you? Yes, but if you're thinking Carl Ostrander, did it?

No, I'm sure he didn't kill him. That's all for David Chorio. No gentlemen, I did not kill Helen Chorio. You gave her singing lessons, Mr. Ostrander. You know her pretty well?

Yes, I gave her voice coaching for about a year and a half. Helen Chorio, the little promise, not a great voice, is a bad vibrator. You know her pretty well. Why'd you say that? Mr. Ostrander, didn't you use to take her out in less than a while?

No. No, I didn't know Helen socially at all. We know you had dates with her. That's not true. Only time that I saw her was when she came here to the studio for lessons. You better tell her truth, Mr. Oscar, ain't it?

We can prove that you've been out with her. Afraid of the publicity, is that it? Certainly, that's it. I have a successful business here. I've spent years building it. Anything like this would ruin me.

Then you have been out with her. Only a few times. Nothing serious. I had nothing to do with her murder. Now, that's the truth. No, but you know that withholding information about a thing like this can go kind of hard for you.

Yes, I know that. What else could I do? Mr. Ostrander, somewhere in this city right now, there's a guy who beat a young girl to death. He crushes skull with a piece of steel pipe.

We need every bit of information we can get to track him down. I know that, son. You could have come to us. We wouldn't run to the newspapers with it. If the information's confidential, that's the way we treat it.

Most of the time it's the people who run to the newspapers first, then they come to us. That's right, Mr. Ostrander. People are their own press agents. Sergeant, I'd like to know what right you have to invade my privacy.

And lecture me on my city duty. Alright, I'll tell you what, right, Ostrander? We want the man who murdered Helen Corday. I got as much right as he had at 1214 this morning. Come on, Joe.

Yeah. Thanks, Mr. Ostrander. Sorry if I invaded your privacy. Chief of Detective Thomas, Hanon. No, I'm sorry, ma'am. You got the wrong extension. Try 2511. You're welcome. Hi, Friday, Romero. Chief's been looking for you.

Thank you, Mike. Come on, Joe. Hello, Joe. Ben, sit down. What'd you get? A note, book, full of notes. A crime lab full of evidence, nothing to tie them together. These are some of the people you interviewed?

Yeah, those and about a dozen more we didn't even take notes on. It's hard to figure, Scaper. Everybody seemed like this girl. Helen Corday, no known relatives. Single, unattached girl, living all alone in the city.

Few friends and no enemies, none we can find anyway. You were satisfied that all the people you interviewed are in the clear... Well, if we're going to stick to the simple robbery motive, or... The money had him, of course, they made wouldn't interest those people.

How are you doing on the outside, Leeds? Nothing. If we could just find one hole someplace, anything. All right, now look. You've got a lab full of evidence across the street. You've got a book full of names here.

You've got the pieces. Now, fit them together. I just don't add. Well, go over them and keep going over them until they do add anything from the informants. Oh, nothing so far. No tips on anybody that's been doe heavy lately. Nobody's shooting off their mouth.

The guy we want won't advertise figures himself a pretty smooth operator. But he probably made a mistake somewhere along the line. We'll find it. Is that a hot shot, Ed? Yeah. 3220 casino woman probable attack.

Alright Friday, you and Ben run it down. We ran down the hot shot call for 3220 casino. Turned out to be a typical dead end lead. Her name was Mrs. Lillian Horn. For the past five years, Mr. Horn had been paid regularly on Wednesday.

He spent all day Thursday drinking up his paycheck and beating his wife. The call had no connection with the court-a-merger. We made the usual call in the communications. Unit 8EK to Control 1, 8EK to Control 1.

And crew on to 8EK, go ahead. On that probable attack, 3220 casino, code 4. 8EK, Roger. 8EK to Control 1, KMA-367. That was the beginning. For the next three days we followed up every lead and every call, but they were all blind.

All units were alerted and they had as much information on the killer of Helen Corday as we did. Ben and I cruised throughout the entire Central Division. We covered every probable call that might have some connection with the murder.

Attention Unit 41R. 1654 Swanson, Caris, a woman, victim of probable attack, crow through. Unit 30, run, run! It didn't make any difference what the trial was. If it was a possibility at Mike Tyen with the court aid murder, we ran it down.

We made it a 24-hour job. So far, if the killer made a mistake, we hadn't been able to find it. The court aid funeral was on Monday. They were all there. The girls' landlady, the boys' teacher, Oscar, and her.

The girlfriend, Marie Olson, the man from the union, and her boss, Otto Meyer. But nobody else we hadn't checked. That was Monday afternoon. Monday night we went back to the old routine, tracking calls during the night in the squad car, picking up small threads that led nowhere.

Three more days are the same thing. Thursday morning, one week after we found Helen Corday's body, we got an anonymous phone tip. I know who killed Helen Corday. His name is George Barlow. He lives at 480-quite-o-cavidue.

He used to date her up all the time. Just him and you got the murder. We checked George Barlow in about ten others just after the day. for up all the time. Just him and you got the murder.

We checked George Barlow and about 10 others just like him. None of them knew Helen Cordy. Saturday night, Ben and I were back in the squad, car cruising the central division. Saturday night's a good night for Robley.

By 10 p.m. we'd run down four various calls. 123, number one. 123, Roger. 12G, radio station. In a 13 hour 12 to 4 tower road. The woman screaming, That's the way to trouble how to...

Let's handle that one, Ben. You know, I'll notify communications. Unit 8K to Control 1. 8K to Control 1. Control 1 to Unit 8K, go ahead. On your 1254 Tower Road call, we're in the vicinity. We will handle.

8K to Enragis. 8K to Control 1, KMA-367. Let's go, Ben. Road 113, R. Just forgot to have a call. And on by 82. You'd be right about here. Oh, man. Here it is, 1254. Aah!

Where? He's getting to the next corner! Come on. Where'd he go, June? Turn right at the next corner. That's him up ahead. Got a good lead on us. Hit the siren. He's getting in, June.

Took a lap at the next corner. I'm going to stop closing as tight as you can, Ben. Down to the floor now. Swing out to the left a little. I'm going for his tires. But, paddle for him down, pull up on him.

Yeah. All right, June. both hands on that wheel and get over the curb. Go over me, you. Right. Out of that car, mister. Shake him down. Hey, take it easy. I haven't got a gun.

Put the cuffs on him. You boys work fast. What am I doing with the gas chamber? Yes, they have that, massy. That's pretty rough treatment for speeding. Alright, come on, you. Look, I got a right to know where you're taking me.

What's the charge? We let the girls tell you. What girl? I know where you're going. I'm a place back on Tara Road. I asked to use the phone. The girls slammed the door in my face.

I don't know what you're trying to prove. I just wanted to use the phone. That's all. I even tried to scare her a little. I told her I'd hit over the head if she didn't let me use the phone.

That's a laugh. All right, you get out. Yeah, I suppose. Get out. Okay. I got nothing to hide. That little girl's gonna lie. You know that. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie.

I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna lie. That's little girl's gonna lie, you know that, don't you? Police officers. Her name's Frank Philip Larson. They had no previous records.

This the girl's report? Yeah, that's it, skipper. Mmm, Judy Scott. How old is she? He's 19. The baby's there. Real tough boy, isn't he? Force his way into the house. Beat her about the neck and arms.

That's Chairion. We found it in his car. Jones is running it through the crime lamp. Ask her if she had any money. She told him no. Struck her again. Where's this larkton live? Hotel out near Santa Monica.

The clothing salesman had worked for a big men's store, Burns & Company. According to the housebook sales record, he bought a pair of tennis shoes two weeks ago. The weighs 158 pounds, five foot 11 inches.

Tennis shoes are missing. They're not in his hotel room. He's not wearing it. What else do you find? Orion stone. You mean a pin? No, just a small loose stone recovered from the rug and larkton's room.

Crime lab got it. Working on it now. Head? I think. The man who killed Helen Corday. A few scraps of circumstantial evidence and a hunch. That's not much to go on. Larson had gone after the little scot girl with a tire iron.

It wasn't much of a tie in, but we had to be sure. All that day we checked Frank Larson's alibi for the night of Helen Corday's murder. We interviewed the personnel manager at Burns and Company where he worked.

We talked to all the clerks who knew him. The manager of the hotel where he lived. We found out everything we could about Frank Larson. And that night at 10 o'clock we had the prisoner brought to the interrogation room.

Hi, Lars. Yes, fine. I like jail. Sit down. Lowsy weather been foggy all over town. I wouldn't know. I've been inside all day. How old are you, Larkin? 31, same as the last time you were asking.

Where'd you go to school? I didn't. I was born smart. You sell clothes, don't you, Larkin? We know you work for Burns and Company. Remember, you told us. What is all this? What are you guys trying to build?

I just want to know if you like selling clothes. That's all. Well, you've got us, nobody clothes. One blue surge of years, you're sprayed. You know quite a bit about clothes, don't you? I've been selling them for five years.

Can you tell me something I've been wondering about? That's right. Are you stocks and tie always both to me? That's what the style books say. Bet you always know the right things the way, don't you?

You wouldn't wear black shoes with a brown suit, would you? Is that what you're keeping me here for? Style, isn't it? Oh, would you? Would you wear black shoes with a brown suit? Most people wouldn't.

Bet you wouldn't wear brown shoes with a tuxedo. I've been smoking too much, you got a glass of water? Oh, yeah, sure. Hey, R. Lorne. Couldn't call. How about it? Would you ever wear brown shoes with a tux?

Nobody would. That's a navy blue flannel you got on there, isn't it? Yeah. It's a good-looking suit. Top-ron some tan. Get you a good deal. Suit like that flannel area you're wearing. You'd never wear tennis shoes with an outfit like that, would you?

What do you think? I think you did. I think you wore them the night you killed Helen Corday. Who? Maybe you didn't have the blue suit on, but you were wearing tennis shoes, Sport King size 9, Cell for $5.95.

You picked him up at a discount, cost you three and a quarter. Where'd you get that? Out of the housebook, Burns and Company? You wouldn't have those shoes around now, would you? We couldn't find them in your hotel room.

Your boss, Mr. Craig, used to think a lot of you, Larson. Before you started drinking on a job, your commission just run pretty high up the last couple of months. What happened? That cheap ride get to you?

Why, you two really knowers around, didn't you? When are you gonna tell me what I eat for breakfast? Corn flakes, cup of coffee, donut. Sometimes two donuts when you're hungry. Elsie waits on you at the Royal Cafe.

She gets a dime tip. And I'll some more than that water. Happy sephirous and cool. Very good and cold. How about at Larson, where are the tennis shoes? They wore out. In three weeks? They'd be very good, tennis shoe.

Oh, they didn't wear out. What'd you do with them? You know all the answers. You figured out. We know you bought the tennis shoes. We don't know where they are now. We know you had them.

Five, nine. Three feet from the body of Helen Corday. We found two size nine footprints made by a pair of sport team tennis shoes. I figured the man weighed about 150 pounds. You weigh 158.

He's about five foot ten. You're five eleven. You come off a close to being the same bill as the man who killed Helen Corday, don't you Lord? Man, you wear the same size tennis shoes, same brand name.

A lot of people wear lines. It's the average size. They sell all the sport games to everybody wears them. If we could find your pair, it might make a difference. Doesn't mean your tennis shoes made the Prince with a body. Doesn't prove it, it didn't, neither. What'd you do with the marks?

I throw them away. That's too bad. It might make a difference. No, what difference could it make? I throw them away, that's wrong. How about the mate to this glove? I never saw it before.

Found this right hand glove, but the body of Helen Corday. Just an ordinary cottonwork glove. Everybody wears them. We could find the mess and left glove. I might make a difference. Size, medium. That's average too, isn't it, Larson?

I never saw a work glove. I wouldn't know. No, but you bought work gloves, haven't you? Not a pair of those. Mean like this, no, it's you. You only got one. What kind of work gloves did you buy?

I didn't buy any. You just said you did. I never said I bought any work gloves. You bought tennis shoes, though, didn't you? I told you I bought the tennis shoes. Didn't I tell you I bought them?

No, you didn't tell us. We told you. Find out from Princeton company. Where you were. All right, you told me. I bought him. You know that. Same kind of tennis shoes that made footprints by him and Cordy's butt.

It wasn't me. And why won't you tell us what you did with it? I've already told you. I threw him away. They were only three weeks old. That's the worn out off of fat. I didn't say they wore out. They got too dirty.

No, you told us they wore out. Remember, Larson? I don't remember what I told you, but I don't have them now. We know you don't have them now. Where are they? He told us. They got too dirty. Right, Larson?

Yes. Yes. Yes. That's what I said. Anyhow, you haven't got them now. No, I haven't got him now. All right, not just for the record, Larsen, which was it? Did they get too dirty or did they wear out?

Whatever I said before. You said both before, Larsen. All right, I said both. You haven't got anything on me. We got that little Scott girl statement from last night. She said you tried to kill her.

She's lying. I told you she lied, didn't I? I only wanted to use the phone. She says you hit her with a tire iron. Did you hit her with that iron? No, I only tried to scare her.

I didn't hit her with anything. And how'd you get those marks around her neck? No, I'm. Police doctor says they were made by that tire iron. I don't care what your doctor says. I didn't hurt her.

I just want to have to find out. To find out what? To find out if I could use her phone. But she said you didn't know if she had a phone. I don't know anything.

The way you pushed everything around? Sorry, Larson. We only want the truth. How about a cigarette? Yeah. Yeah, yeah, I could use it. Here's a lie. Larson, where were you Wednesday night, March 18? How many times are you going to ask me that same question?

Just want to make sure we got it right. I told you this morning. I went to a show. I got out about 11 and I went home. What time did you get home? About 1130.

Did you stay? I went to bed. What do you see at the show? I never remember the names. You ought to try to remember this and it's pretty important. I was at Deluxe Theatre. I was Spencer Tracy and something. What was on when you walked in?

No, I never go in in the middle of a picture. Neither do I. It's boys and for me. Yeah, that's right. The girl on the box office doesn't remember seeing you go in. She knows. Keynor Knight. There's a big crowd. Did you win anything? I never do.

Anybody hit the jackpot? I don't remember. I give away a lot of money in those neighborhood theater. I always remember who hits the jackpot. All right you do I don't. You remember if anybody won the Jackpot? I told you no. Do they have a jackpot at that show? I guess they do. I don't know. You know it was keynote night. You should

know if I had a jackpot. Maybe they had a jackpot. I don't know. I went out for a smob. You said the cartoon was on when you walked in. Why do you always twist what I say? I told you the news was on when I went in. You remember anything about the news when it was ten days ago? How do I know I was in it? I only know it was a

news-realized song. You're lying, Larson. We checked your alibi. The manager of the theater had to cut the news real Wednesday night because the show was running long with Keynote Knight. You didn't go to show one tonight, did you? All right, maybe I didn't. I don't remember. What's the difference? The difference is you could have been in that

big and locked the same night. The night Helen Corday was murdered. I didn't kill her. You can't prove I did. Interrogation room Friday. Hi, Jones. It did, huh? You're positive. Yeah, okay. Thanks, Lee. Sure, you don't want to tell us what you did with those tennis shoes? I'm not going to go back over all that. I've told you guys all I'm going to tell you. You know

how the Corday girl was murdered? How would I know? I don't know anything about it. She's He was on our way home from work, as usual. About midnight. Of course you were home in bed about that time.

But you didn't go up the show that night, Larsen. On our way home, Helen Corder always took a shortcut across a vacant lot. She was about halfway through the lot when the murderer tried to grab her purse.

She screamed and he struck her. Hit her several times with a piece of steel pipe, 14 inches long. He beat her to death with that piece of steel pipe. Then he dropped the pipe and the right hand caught him work, love.

He left two-foot print size, nine, sport king, ten issues. I know all that. Well, here's something you don't know. When the killer scooped the paper money out of that girl's purse, accidentally took along a loose rhinestone, a stone that fell out of a cheap barrette in the bottom of her bag. He carried that stone home with him when he

reached in his pocket to pull out the money he stole from her the rhinestone fell on the floor. So we found that rhinestone on the rug in your hotel room. Well I haven't lived in that hotel room all my life. Maybe the tenant before me dropped it there. No not this one. We checked the cement that held it in that

barrette. It matches the glue on the stone. No larks in that rhinestone came from the hair clip that Helen Cordae wore before she was murdered. That's enough to take you to the district to turn him with. What am I supposed to say? We want you to Tell us the truth. Why did you kill Helen Corday?

Sam, which is some coffee now, Sergeant? Bring them in, Mike. Looks like we're going to be here a long time. Yeah, brought you ham, cheese, and liverwurst and some fruit. Coffee's black. Cream and sugar on the side.

Thank you, Mike. Yeah, it looks good. What kind you want, Lord? Ham? Cheese and liverwurst. Oh, not hungry? Okay. Now with you? No, thanks. I think I'll have an apple. Yeah. I've fixed you a plate there, Arshman.

Aren't coffees right here. It's a fine apple. Nice and fresh. This is Washington apple? Yeah, I don't know. Isn't that coffee hiding there? Yeah, it's fine. Where'd Mike pick these up? Yeah, across the street.

At ease? Yeah, hm. I don't tell you good. You drink your coffee anyway, Arshman. It's getting cold. Alright! Oh, Arshman! The first, that's all I wanted. She shouldn't give to me. She had to fight back so I hit her. I didn't want to kill her.

Stay with him. We'll call this demographer. See it more, Jill. Good night.

Yeah. Sour racket, huh? The star you have just heard is true. Only the names were changed to protect the innocent. Frank Philip Larson was tried and convicted of murder in the first degree. He was executed in the lethal gas chamber at the state penitentiary.

You have just heard the fifth in a new series of authentic cases from official files. Technical advice for Dragnet is furnished by the Los Angeles Police Department. The night's program is dedicated to police officer Charles A Brady of the Chicago Illinois Police Department.

Who on the night of September 2nd 1945 gave his life so that yours might be more secure Dragnet came to you from Los Angeles. This is NBC the National Broadcasting Company