The Hannibal Murphy Matter: Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar (November 3, 1951)

“The Hannibal Murphy Matter” is an episode of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, the old-time radio show, first broadcast November 3, 1951. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Insurance investigator Johnny Dollar arrives in Kingston, Jamaica to investigate the death of Hannibal Murphy, a wealthy American whose body was found at the base of a cliff. Inspector Traeber reveals the death is murder, not an accident—Murphy was shot in the head. Dollar interviews the Murphy family and household, including the widow, stepdaughter Phyllis, and Murphy's brother Paul who lives nearby, seeking to understand who might have wanted Murphy dead.

Kingston, Jamaica, at the Myrtle Bank Hotel and the Murphy cottage near a clifftop overlooking the sea

Characters: Johnny Dollar, Inspector Traeber, Hannibal Murphy, Paul Murphy, Mrs. Murphy, Phyllis Murphy

Listen for: The mystery of who shot Hannibal Murphy and why his body was placed near his family's home; Phyllis's explosive outburst revealing deep resentment toward her stepfather; Mrs. Murphy's evasiveness about certain details of the night he died.

Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.