The Oklahoma Cowboy Murder Case: Richard Diamond, Private Detective (September 27, 1950)

“The Oklahoma Cowboy Murder Case” is an episode of Richard Diamond, Private Detective, the old-time radio show, first broadcast September 27, 1950. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Private detective Richard Diamond is hired by wealthy Oklahoma rancher Clay Baxter to investigate his brother Wil's death, officially ruled a horse-riding accident. Diamond travels to the small town of Okmulgee, Oklahoma, where he examines the body and the scene of the incident, becoming convinced that Wil was deliberately murdered. As Diamond gathers evidence and interviews witnesses, he uncovers a complex murder plot involving a hat pin weapon and a carefully staged accident.

Okmulgee, Oklahoma in the present day; a remote cattle ranch and the surrounding desert landscape

Characters: Richard Diamond, Clay Baxter, Wil Baxter, Mrs. Baxter, Sheriff Jim Billings, Frank Kelly, Luke Maryweather, Phineas Maryweather

Listen for: The distinctive dialogue between Diamond and the locals, the reveal of the murder weapon and method during the autopsy discussion, and the climactic confrontation in the mine shaft where the killer is exposed and apprehended.

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.