Original subtitles

This is the city, Los Angeles, California.

464.8 square miles of real estate.

It takes a lot of departments and agencies

to keep it going.

Fire, water, and power... education...

Health.

There's a department of airports,

a harbor department... And libraries.

There's also a department for law and order.

This is Parker Center.

I work here, I carry a badge.

It was Monday, June 29th. It was warm in Los Angeles.

We were working the day watch out of Homicide.

The boss is Captain Brown.

My partner's Bill Gannon.

My name's Friday.

Mrs. Lily Burnham, a real estate broker,

had been reported missing.

The preliminary investigation

indicated a strong possibility of foul play.

The story you're about to see is true.

The names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Bill and I drove over

to the offices of the Burnham Realty Company.

9:05 a.m.

Good morning. May I help you?

Police officers, this is Bill Gannon,

my name is Friday.

I'll tell Mr. Richmond you're here.

Thank you. I'll just be a moment.

Oh, take a look at this, Joe.

Beautiful home, isn't it?

Yeah.

You can tell quality construction.

Three plus den, two baths, built-ins.

What do you figure the asking is?

The what?

The asking price? How much for this one?

Well, I wouldn't have any idea.

Gotta be 42.5, probably take 39.7 in today's market.

Is that right?

You bet. I know the market pretty good.

You do, huh?

Every Sunday, we go for a drive.

Eileen will watch for open houses...

You know, furnished models.

Yeah.

We stop and go through them. Spend the whole afternoon.

We've seen some great buys, Joe.

I didn't know you were interested in a new house.

What makes you say that?

Well, I mean, you're out looking at all those great buys.

Well, you've been out to my place.

That's right.

Well, what's wrong with the house I've got?

Sergeant Friday?

This is Mr. Richmond, one of our salesmen.

Sergeant.

My partner, Officer Bill Gannon.

Well, you gentlemen aren't here to buy a house

so I better let you do the talking.

I wonder if we could have your name, Miss.

That's right. Miss Walters, Ida Walters.

And you filed a missing report, did you?

Well, yes.

Sir, I'm Mrs. Burnham's secretary.

Ida phoned it in, Sergeant, on my say-so.

How long has she been missing?

From our happy little circle, since Friday afternoon.

Went out to show some property about 2:00.

2:15. I saw her drive away.

Did you?

Well, then, Ida must have been the last one to see her.

She didn't even phone in again.

- Was that unusual? - Yes, sir.

The weekend, gentlemen, that's when we move houses.

A man and wife,

generally they can't get out together during the week

so we spend Saturdays and Sundays

sitting in a furnished model, wheeling and dealing.

- You know. - Yes, sir.

Now you take Miss Lily. She's a businesswoman.

Nothing would keep her from a weekend of wheeling and dealing.

Something did.

Yeah, that's why we reported it.

Maybe she's sick.

I called her apartment house.

- Somebody looked in. - Yes, ma'am.

But they don't think she's been there all weekend.

She might have gone out of town.

Has that ever happened before?

Not on a weekend.

Does she have relatives?

There's a sister, I think, in Philadelphia.

Nobody out here.

Well, there must have been a husband at one time.

- What about him? - He's never mentioned.

All right. Does she have a boyfriend?

There is Terry Williams,

but it looks like he doesn't know anything, either.

Mr. Williams has been calling us

two or three times on Friday and again this morning.

I see. Well, maybe there's somebody else.

Wouldn't matter, Sergeant.

Well, how's that?

She had an appointment this morning to close the deal.

No man would ever stand between Lily and her commission,

or a woman, either.

Maybe that's the secret of her success.

You have to understand, gentlemen,

Ida is the president of the Miss Lily fan club.

I work here just for money.

It gives us different perspectives.

Do you need me for anything else?

We'll need a description of Mrs. Burnham.

Well, she's attractive I guess,

if you like them cold and ruthless.

Age? What would you say, Ida?

About 36.

Yeah, 36 going on 42.

But she's kept her figure and knows how to dress.

Do you remember what she was wearing Friday?

Your department, Ida.

It was her paisley linen dress.

Over it, she wore a matching linen coat.

What color?

The dress was orange and yellow

- and the coat was yellow... - Hmm-mm.

And bone leather shoes with a matching purse.

It's very smart.

Yes, ma'am. Anything else?

No, except we're all terribly worried.

It's just not like Mrs. Burnham.

She must have had an accident or something.

Something has kept her away, but knowing our Lily...

- Yeah. I doubt it was an accident.

Before leaving the realty office,

we learned that Terry Williams,

the missing woman's boyfriend,

was the day bartender at a bar on West Adams.

We also obtained the make, model and license number

of Mrs. Burnham's car.

10:50 a.m. We went back to the office and after checking R&I,

we put out a teletype describing the vehicle

with a request that if observed,

to notify Homicide Division.

11:05 a.m. We drove over to West Adams

to interview Terry Williams, Mrs. Burnham's boyfriend.

Good morning.

Terry Williams?

That's right.

Police officers.

It's about Lily Burnham, isn't it?

That's right. Only thing it could be.

The secretary said they were going to report it

if she didn't show up soon. I guess she hasn't, huh?

When did you see her last?

Thursday night.

We had dinner, couple of drinks.

Broke it up early.

See her over the weekend?

No, sir.

You didn't make a date with her.

Nothing definite.

I said I'd call, maybe we'd get together.

Did you call?

A few times. Got no answer.

How long have you known Mrs. Burnham?

I guess it must be close to a year now.

She got any other boyfriends that you know of?

Don't see how she could have.

We were together most of the time.

- But not over the weekend? - That's right.

Because she wasn't in when I called.

I explained all that.

Would you happen to have a photograph of her?

No, sir.

Use the phone.

Do you know if Mrs. Burnham carried a lot of cash?

She was never short, but not enough to go very far,

if that's what you're thinking.

- That's not what I'm thinking. - Robbery?

How much do you need to get mugged these days?

Not very much.

Excuse me, I got a customer down here.

Nothing on Williams, local boy.

Clean all the way through high school.

Mrs. Burnham's car turned up,

they want it moved before tonight.

- They need the space. - Who's they?

Car's in the restaurant parking lot.

11:18 a.m. According to the parking lot attendant,

the car had been discovered on the lot Saturday morning.

It was first assumed the owner,

deciding he was incapable of driving,

had gone home in a cab

and would return for it the next day.

When it was still there 48 hours later,

it was reported abandoned.

Book of real estate listings.

Keys are in the ignition.

Gas receipt.

Mrs. Lily Burnham, 17 gallons.

Tank's almost full. Where did she buy the gas?

Station out near Hanson Dam.

12 noon. Before leaving the lot,

we arranged to have Mrs. Burnham's car

gone over by SID.

An examination of the loose-leaf book

revealed eight listings in the Hanson Dam area.

12:20 p.m. We interviewed the attendant

at Jackson and Martin Super Service.

After hearing a description of Mrs. Burnham and her car,

he thought he remembered her from last Friday.

He was almost certain

there had been a man in the car with her,

but he was unable to give us any description of him.

We got a copy of the recent listings

from the Burnham Realty Company.

We also picked up a set of keys for the houses.

12:35 p.m.

We started checking the various listings.

The occupants of the houses

told us Mrs. Burnham had not been there

at any time in the past month.

12:48 p.m. The third house we checked

was vacant and still for sale.

What was that number, 1223?

That's right.

Here we are.

Cigarette butts, lipstick on them.

Could have been here a long time.

Yeah, I'll check the rest of the place.

Bill.

Orange and yellow linen dress,

bone shoes, matching handbag.

Yep.

Mrs. Lily Burnham.

1:30 p.m. In answer to our request,

a field supervisor and two radio units

arrived at the scene.

One unit was stationed at the end of the street

to keep out curious onlookers.

The other was sent to cruise the area

in the hopes of locating witnesses.

Men from SID were also dispatched.

The room was dusted for fingerprints.

Photographs, both in black and white and color,

were taken of the victim.

Do you want to take a look at this now?

The outside was wiped clean.

$50 in bills.

The inside is pretty neat, isn't it?

Yeah, it doesn't look like anybody prowled it.

The usual stuff in it.

Compact, lipstick, nail file, comb.

Yeah.

We'd better take these beads along.

They're broken.

- I was just thinking. - Yeah?

This purse, the stuff in it, not like my wife's.

What do you mean?

You know what's missing? Credit cards.

We know she had a gas card.

Not anymore she doesn't.

3:55 p.m. The radio unit

which had been cruising the area

had located a possible witness.

Frank Stoby, a local handyman,

told us that while riding past the house

on his bicycle at roughly 2:30 p.m.

the previous Friday, he had seen a man and a woman

approaching the front entrance.

He described the victim's clothing

with reasonable accuracy,

but he could not recall any details about the man.

5:20 p.m.

Bill and I decided to re-interview

the victim's boyfriend, Terry Williams.

At the Red Quill Bar,

we were told that he had already left for the day.

We got his home address.

Okay, what is it, what do you want this time?

We want to talk to you again.

Did you find Lily?

We'd like you to come downtown with us, Williams.

So she's dead.

What makes you say that?

- It's true, isn't it? - You got a coat?

Are you guys arresting me?

No, we just want to get some more information.

Okay, let me wash my face.

All right.

Joe.

Take a look.

If I can just get a clean shirt on.

You look fine.

You're not taking me in?

Now listen carefully.

You have the right to remain silent.

Any statement you make

can and will be used against you in a court of law.

Do you understand that?

Then you are arresting me?

You have the right to the presence of an attorney.

If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed

without charge before any questioning.

Do you understand that?

Yeah, yeah, I understand. I just want to know why.

Well, that makes us even.

We just want to know why you've got those four beads.

Oh, I can explain those.

Suppose you do that.

Thursday night. I told you about it.

It was my birthday. Lily took me to dinner,

afterwards we came over here for a little while.

Go on.

She broke her beads, or maybe I did.

One way or the other, the string got busted.

I fixed it for her

and thought all the beads were on it.

But when I sacked out for the night,

those four turned up.

Where did they turn up?

On the couch.

Except one, I found in the cuff of my slacks.

Now that's the truth.

Maybe. But you didn't tell us all that this morning.

I didn't think it was important then.

Why do you think it is now?

6:45 p.m.

Terry Williams was booked for murder.

Under interrogation,

he made several conflicting statements.

He admitted that last Thursday was not his birthday

and that Lily Burnham had been in the habit

of picking up all their tabs.

He also admitted they had quarreled that night,

but he continued to deny having seen her

after she left his apartment around midnight.

He could not satisfactorily account for his whereabouts

at the approximate time of the murder.

8:05 p.m.

The suspect agreed to undergo a polygraph examination.

It was conducted by Lieutenant W.L. Clingon.

11:30 p.m.

We were given the results of the examination.

First, let me say there was strong patterns

indicating deception.

For instance, a good reading on the money

in the victim's billfold.

- He knew how much? - On the nose.

It's possible that she always carried exactly $50.

Some people limit themselves to a certain amount.

- Yeah. - Also, a good response

on the clothes she was wearing,

the string of beads getting broken in the quarrel,

and the general location of the crime.

What location?

Hanson Dam area.

I will return to that in a minute.

I got a positive reading on the victim's death

by strangulation.

Now let me ask you a question, Joe, Bill.

Where was she killed?

What do you mean, Lieutenant?

Could she have been murdered somewhere else

and her body moved into the house?

No, we didn't find any evidence to suggest that,

none at all.

Specifically in the victim's car,

parked somewhere in an alley.

You got that reaction from Williams?

Very strongly, and it was dark,

rather late at night.

We've got a good witness placing the victim

at the house about 2:30 Friday afternoon.

We think she was strangled shortly after.

Coroner might confirm the time, Joe.

Yeah, we'll know after the post tomorrow.

All right, let's get back to this reaction on Hanson Dam.

Could he have known that she was going out there?

The victim might have mentioned it the night before.

Well, I have to tell you, I got no indication at all

that he knows the location of the house

or that he took her car

or that he knew where the car was found abandoned.

He just doesn't know the right things, does he?

And yet he reacted to her being dead by strangulation.

That's true, but a woman being strangled in a car

parked in an alley

is a fairly common scene in mystery novels or on TV,

or he could have been reacting

to the way he would have done it.

You mean, he might have just played back to you

something he'd read.

Or saw in the movies, say in the last 24 hours.

And didn't they quarrel Thursday night in his apartment?

Yeah, according to him.

Well, if she got loud and disturbed the other tenants,

well, Williams may have wished he could quiet her down.

I see.

Well, what's your best opinion, Lee?

Looks to me like you've got some work to do.

Yeah, how's that?

I don't think he's a good suspect.

Tuesday, June 30th.

We attended the post mortem on Lily Burnham.

The coroner confirmed that death was due to manual strangulation.

He fixed the time of death somewhere between

2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. the previous Friday.

There was no evidence of sexual assault.

On the basis of this information,

Terry Williams was cleared and released.

11:30 a.m.

Bill and I went back to the office.

Bill contacted the real estate secretary, Ida Walters,

and asked if she would check Lily Burnham's charge accounts.

Miss Walters agreed and said she'd let us know.

Friday, July 3rd.

In response to a message from Ida Walters,

we drove over to the Burnham Realty Company.

2:20 p.m.

I'm sorry I took so long.

That's all right, Miss Walters.

I knew Mrs. Burnham had many charge accounts,

but nobody can find any cards or charger plates or anything.

Unless you found them with her.

No ma'am, we don't have them.

The only thing I could do was go through the files

and look for old receipts and then verify

that these accounts were still active.

Yeah.

It was the least I could do for her.

Anyway, it took time.

What did you find?

Two service station cards, Diner's Club,

Carte Blanche, an air travel card,

just about all the major department stores

and BankAmericard. I made this list.

Thank you.

Sergeant, is it true what the papers say,

that Mrs. Burnham was...

It happened last Friday afternoon?

Yes, ma'am, it's been verified.

- Then I'm right. - How do you mean?

This statement just came in today from Barton's Wilshire.

Yes, ma'am.

Well, it shows that Mrs. Burnham

bought a diamond wrist watch for over $400.

At first I thought the store had made a mistake.

But you called the store, did you?

Yes, sir. They said there was no mistake.

They were very positive.

I knew then that there was something wrong.

I mean, it just isn't possible.

Mrs. Burnham couldn't put a charge on her account

the day after she was... excuse me.

All right, whoever it was stole her credit cards,

figured that way buying a lot of stuff

that he could sell off later.

He'd need a woman to use those cards.

That's right.

Made an appointment with Mrs. Burnham

to look at a house, got her alone...

Yeah. - -and then he killed her.

4:00 p.m. A description of the suspect's MO

was circulated to all police departments.

A different version of this bulletin

was sent to a real estate trade journal for publication.

Tuesday, July 7th.

A response to our bulletin came in from Phoenix, Arizona.

Man identified as Carl Keegan,

alias William Simpson,

victimized nine women in Phoenix.

Same MO... stole credit cards.

Yeah, what about the description?

Good one. This Keegan is wanted on a fugitive warrant.

Yeah.

He jumped bail down there.

One week passed. Tuesday, July 14th.

We got a call from Sergeant Jack Williams,

Robbery Division.

He said he thought he might have something for us.

Bill and I went down to the robbery squad room to see him.

Friday, Gannon.

- Jack, how's it going? - Can't complain.

Got a bank series going that's keeping us on the run.

- That right? - Couple of on-ramp specialists,

they're really hitting pretty good.

You said you might have something for us.

Yeah, on that realty thing you guys are working.

What have you got?

Just got back in from talking to this woman,

a lady realtor down near Englewood.

Name is Roy, Ardith Roy.

Yeah? What about her?

She says, about four days ago,

she was out showing a house to a prospective buyer.

Said the guy appeared interested in the house

and told her he'd check back with her

about making a deal in a few days.

- Yeah. - Roy woman said

she wrote it off as a no sale.

The guy left her at the empty house,

she locked up and started back for her office.

On the way back she stopped for a tank of gas.

When she went to give the attendant her credit card,

she noticed it was gone.

Not only her gas card, but all of her cards.

Now the man she was showing the house to,

did he give a name?

Yeah, Simpson, William Simpson.

She give you a description?

Yeah. It's all down here. There's more.

- Go ahead. - Well, she figured until today

that maybe she just lost the cards or misplaced them.

She finished checking her morning mail.

- That's why she called in. - Yeah.

She got a bill from Mallard's, you know,

the sporting goods store.

Well, the bill was for 780 bucks.

The most she ever bought there was a catcher's mitt

for her son's birthday.

Did you check the store?

Yeah, the clerk remembers a rather nice looking girl

who charged this stuff.

He asked for identification.

The girl showed him all the other credit cards,

so naturally he didn't question the purchase.

Big store, doubtful if anybody would know

the Roy woman on sight.

- That it? - Well, that's it.

Whoever you're looking for,

I'm sorry I can't serve him up on a plate,

but it ties, doesn't it?

Sure sounds like it, Jack.

Now, this realtor,

she say anything about the man's behavior?

She said he appeared courteous,

looked the house over carefully,

appeared straight enough to her.

How did this Simpson get to her purse, she say?

Told us she left it on the kitchen sink.

The two of them wandered through the house.

When they got to one of the back bedrooms,

the guy said he'd like to take one more look at the kitchen.

She stayed in the bedroom

and he went to the kitchen by himself.

Thanks, Jack.

Got anything going for you?

We put a notice in the Real Estate trade journal.

About all we can do is wait and hope it brings rain.

And in the meantime,

there are a lot of empty houses to show.

And a lot of credit cards to steal.

Wednesday, July 22nd, 10:45 a.m.

We got our first break.

A woman realtor out in Pacoima just phoned in.

Name is Esther Jenkins.

Saw our notice in the trade journal.

Says she's got a date to show a house in 30 minutes.

- Yeah? - Description fits Keegan.

11:15 a.m.

We arrived at the address given us by the realtor

who had telephoned in, Mrs. Esther Jenkins.

I think you will really enjoy this home.

It seems to have everything you're looking for.

Yes, I believe this is just what I want.

Hello. Would you gentlemen like to see the house?

- Police officers. - Stand still.

- You're Esther Jenkins? - That's right.

I don't think you have a right to do this.

We have a right to look at your identification.

I'm entitled to know why.

You've been the route.

There is a fugitive warrant on you.

You jumped bail in Arizona. Let's have your name.

William Simpson.

Miss Jenkins, are you carrying any credit cards?

Yes, I am.

Would you mind showing them to us?

No, not at all. I always carry them with me.

That's strange, I had them just a few minutes ago.

- Yes, ma'am. - I'm positive.

I always carry them with me.

I hope you're not accusing me of taking them.

Well, now maybe your name is Esther Jenkins.

That's what it says on these credit cards.

You can't do a thing until I talk to my attorney.

Miss Jenkins?

Yes?

Those are mine all right.

All right, put your hands behind your back.

Just a minute, who do you think you're pushing around?

We're not pushing you around,

but since you don't seem to know,

I'll tell you what your name is.

It's Carl Keegan.

You killed a realtor by the name of Lily Burnham,

just like you would have this woman

if she found out you stole these cards.

- You can't prove any of that. - Oh, we're going to try.

You made a mistake and I'm not going to pay for it.

You going to use a credit card?

The suspect was found guilty of murder

in the first degree.

Murder in the first degree is punishable by death

or confinement in the state prison for life,

at the discretion of the court or jury trying the same.

Subsequent investigation led to the identification

and arrest of Carl Keegan's female accomplice,

who was tried and found guilty on five counts of forgery.

Forgery is punishable by imprisonment

in the state prison for not less than one year,

nor more than 14 years, or by imprisonment

in the county jail for not more than one year.