All language subtitles for Dragnet S01E17

This is the city— Los
Angeles, California.

It's the largest city
in the United States.

Los Angeles has
a lot of everything—

People,

a Police A dministration Building
and I 6 geographical police divisions—

North Hollywood Division,

Wilshire Division,
West Valley Division,

Van Nuys Division,
Hollywood Division.

Los Angeles has one of the
largest artificial harbors in the world.

This is San Pedro.

It has a baseball team. This is
where they play— Dodger Stadium.

It has a sports arena. This
one will handle ice hockey,

a rodeo, a championship fight
or a national political convention.

It has Hollywood, and it says
so on the side ofa mountain.

It has golf courses, lots
of 'em, public and private.

You can trace the history ofman,
his habits, his progress, right here—

The Los Angeles County Museum.

A lot ofpeople are born
in Los Angeles every day.

Many of them here
at the County Hospital.

A lot ofpeople die in
Los Angeles every day.

A lot ofpeople get married.

A lot get divorced.

When a marriage falls apart, and it
happens here, it's a job for lawyers.

When it doesn't,
sometimes it's part ofmyjob.

I carry a badge.

It was Tuesday, March 24.
It was cold in Los Angeles.

We were working the day
watch out of Homicide Division.

The boss is Captain Hugh Brown.

My partner's Bill Gannon.

My name's Friday.
We were workinglate.

We heard an ambulance
shooting call on the air— Code 2.

We were in the vicinity, so
we drove over to check it out.

The storyyou are
about to see is true.

The names have been
changed to protect the innocent.

Police officers. What
happened here? He's in there.

I called for an
ambulance. Who is he?

My husband. What's his name?

Carl Hamlin. It's locked.

He has a gun. He said
he was gonna kill himself.

All right, come on,
Hamlin, open up.

- Do you have another key to this door?
- No, I don't.

All right, let's hit it.

It's no use. Is there
another way into this room?

- No, this is the only door.
- How about windows?

- What?
- Is there a window in the room?

- Oh, yes, off the porch.
- You wanna show us?

He came in here drunk
and caused a scene.

The shade is pulled down.

Yes, ma'am.

Here. Here's a knife.

It's locked. I'm gonna
have to break this.

I don't care, as long
as you get to him.

Cruiser unit. I'll tell
'em to stand by. Right.

Hurry. Please hurry.
Watch the glass.

Is he still alive?

I can't tell.

That'll be the ambulance. Will you
show them where this room is? Oh, yes.

He must have wanted
privacy real bad.

Looks like he got it.

.38 Colt.

One round fired.

He's in here. I'm his wife.

Let's roll him over.

He's dead.

May I have his full
name? Carl Hamlin.

He have a middle name? Martin.

Age. 43.

He live here? No.

We have a little house
over on North Bronson, 947.

Do we have to
go through all this?

That's all, Mrs. Hamlin.

Here's your D.O.A. slip.
See you later, Friday. Gannon.

Yeah.

All right if I use your
telephone, Mrs. Hamlin?

Yes. It's all so wrong, Carl
being dead. It's all so wrong.

Would you like to go
in there and sit down?

Would you like us to call
your family doctor for you?

I've already called him for
my mother. He'll be right here.

Where is your mother
now? In the bedroom.

She's lying down. This—This
whole thing has been such a shock.

- I understand.
- When I talked to our doctor,

he said for me to give her
one of the pills he's prescribed.

It's supposed to
make her sleep. I see.

- You gonna have to talk to her?
- Yes, ma'am.

I hope you won't have to do
it tonight. She's not too well.

- We'll try to avoid upsetting her.
- I'd appreciate it.

I released the
cruiser unit. All right.

Now, Mrs. Hamlin, there are a
few questions we have to ask you...

ifyou feel up to
answering them. Yes.

- Do you wanna tell us what happened?
- Well, Carl came over tonight,

drunk, and caused a big scene.
Your husband doesn't live here then?

- No. No, we're separated.
- I see. Anyone else here
when it happened?

- Just Mother and myself.
- Anyone else living here?

Just the two of us. All right.
What time did Mr. Hamlin get here?

I'm not sure. I-I was asleep.

- I beg your pardon?
- I was asleep.

You weren't expecting
him then? No.

Last time I saw him, I
told him to leave me alone.

I-I said I'd get a
court order if I had to.

Yes? Well, we've been
separated about a week this time.

- Is that right?
- There have been other times.

This was the worst. I-I
told him I was finished,

that I didn't want anything
more to do with him.

- Would you go on, please?
- Well, he's—he's been calling here...

and—and where I work, and
most of the time he was drunk.

He kept asking
for reconciliation.

Saying how sorry he was
and asking me to take him back.

- Yes.
- Oh, I'm not blaming it all on him.

I-I know some
of it was my fault.

- Yes, ma'am.
- But he called this afternoon...

and said he— Said
he had to see me.

Had it all worked out so we
could get back together again.

- Yes, ma'am.
- Well, I told him I didn't wanna see him.

I said for him to stay away.

I came home and
told Mother about it...

and said Carl might
come over tonight.

- That if he did,
I-I didn't wanna see him.
- Yes.

I kind of half-expected him
to show up, but—but he didn't.

And well, I went to bed
after the 10:00 news,

- and Mother stayed up to read.
- Yes, ma'am.

The first I knew there was anything
wrong was when I heard the shot.

I got up, and I came
right downstairs. Yeah.

Well, Mother was standing
in front of the study door.

She told me that Carl had locked
the door, and that he'd shot himself.

I see. I tried to call to him.

First I thought he was playing
some kind ofa— a joke. Yes, ma'am.

Well, Mother said she'd
heard Carl fall down in the room.

I-I called you right away.

- Anything else, Mrs. Hamlin?
- No, that's all.

All right, Mrs. Hamlin. We'd
like to talk to your mother now.

She's over 60, Sergeant Friday.

A thing like this isn't easy
to go through at that age.

- Yes, ma'am. We understand.
- Carl and my mother didn't get along.

He's always said that she
caused the trouble between us.

Told me a couple of times
that if she'd kept her nose

out of our business, we
might be able to get along.

- I wonder if we could talk to her now.
- Oh, do you have to?

Yes, ma'am. We'll try
to be as brief as possible.

- I'll go see.
- Thank you.

- I made the notifications.
- Yeah.

Well, as soon as we get a
statement from her mother...

and the coroner shows
up, we can take off.

Yeah. Wanna stop by the
house on the way home?

Eileen bought a bunch of
stuff for me at the delicatessen.

Is that right? Make you
a real good sandwich.

Bottle of beer. Yeah?

Head cheese and bologna on garlic bread,
a little mayonnaise, horseradish, mustard.

How's that sound to you, Joe?

I'll just have a bowl of
soup at the apartment.

Thanks anyway. Just don't see how
you can sleep nights the way you eat.

Mother, these men wanna
ask you some questions.

My mother, Mrs. Gaynor,
Sergeant Friday and, uh...

Gannon's my name. How do
you do, ma'am? How do you do?

Couple of things we
have to know, Mrs. Gaynor.

Now, we'll try to be
as brief as possible.

Mother, if you get tired, just tell
them. They'll stop. All right, dear.

What time did your son-in-law
get here tonight, ma'am?

I'm not sure. I think
it was about 11:30.

- Yes, ma'am.
- Nora told me Mr. Hamlin
might be coming over.

But that time of night, you'd hardly
expect anybody to come calling, would you?

- No, ma'am.
- He did.

He always was doing
something nobody else did.

I think he just sat around and tried to
figure things to do that was different.

Yes, ma'am? Like tonight.

He came in drunk. He yelled about
how he wanted to have a showdown.

- I didn't know what he was talking about.
- Yes, ma'am.

He started to yell at
me. Told me how their

breakup was all my fault.
Started to curse at me.

Yeah. I'm 62, Mr. Friday.

I've seen lots of things,
met lots of people.

There isn't anybody who
can talk to me like that.

I told Mr. Hamlin, told
him to get out of the house.

That's when he pulled this gun
out of his pocket. He pulled a gun?

Had it right in his
coat, outside pocket.

Yes. Would you go
on, please? I told him.

I said, "Mr. Hamlin, you just stop
this foolishness and get out of here."

- That's what I said.
- Yes, ma'am.

He looked at me and said, "Yeah,
you'd like that, wouldn't you?"

Those are the exact words.

Then he told me how he was
gonna kill himself to just show me.

- Go on, please.
- I thought it was some kind of dramatics.

Mr. Hamlin was
that kind, you know.

Always playacting
around. Yes, ma'am.

Not this time. Next thing I know, he
ran into the study and locked the door.

After that, there was a shot,
and I heard him fall down.

Right then's when— When
Nora came into the room.

He went into the study, and
you heard the shot, is that right?

Yes. Then I heard
him fall on the floor.

All right, Mrs. Gaynor. I think
we have everything we need.

- Okay if I go back to bed then?
- Yes, ma'am, you go ahead.

- All right then. Mr. Friday?
- Yes, ma'am?

Anything more you want to
know about Mr. Hamlin, I'll tell you.

Well, I don't think there'll be
anything else. Thank you, Mrs. Gaynor.

- If there is, I'll tell you.
- Yes, ma'am.

I'll be in my room, Nora.

All right, Mother.
I'll be right there.

She's taking it a lot better
than I thought she would.

- Yes, ma'am.
Mrs. Hamlin— - Yes.

Did your husband ever
mention suicide before?

Oh, yes, several times.
Matter of fact, just this week.

I thought he was being dramatic
again. I didn't pay much attention to him.

It was so hard to tell if he was
drunk, or if he really meant something.

- I see.
- All the years we were married,

I don't think he was
ever really serious.

He was this time.

I 4 a.m. The police photographer

arrived at the house and
took pictures of the room.

The coroner removed the
body to the county morgue.

37 a.m. Bill and I left the Gaynor
house and returned to the office.

2:03 a.m. We filled
out the D. B. report,

listing the death of Carl
Martin Hamlin as suicide.

The body would be posted at
I 0:00 a.m. the next morning.

Wednesday, March
25, I I: I 5 a.m.

We got a call from
Ray Murray in S. I. D.

He wanted to see us.

Ran the normal checkout
this morning. Fired

a test shot from the
Hamlin suicide revolver.

Checked it against .38
Colt unsolved murders.

Weapon's clean. Your case
isn't. What do you mean, Ray?

Take a look at this one.

Yeah, six left.38 Colt. So?

Picked this one up from
the coroner this morning.

- I was there when Hamlin was posted.
- Yeah?

Lodged in the back
muscle near the spine.

Slug's good and
clean. No damage.

- Passed between the ribs.
- What are you getting at, Ray?

Be my guest.

Yeah, I was expecting a quarter.

And I handed you
a penny. A bad one.

Six right. Automatic
ammunition, isn't it?

- That's right. Nine millimeter.
- What do you think, a Luger?

Either that or a Browning.
Both are common. Yeah.

This fella Hamlin pulled a
pretty neat trick, didn't he?

- He sure did.
- He killed himself with a bullet...

that couldn't possibly be fired
from the gun he was holding.

Yeah. You two better tear
up your reports on this one.

No suicide here. Yeah.

You gotta find a murder gun.

32 a.m. Bill and I,
along with Ray Murray,

drove out to see Nora
Hamlin, the victim's widow.

From the physical evidence on hand—
The way the door had been locked,

and the fact that the window
had been bolted from the inside—

It appeared unlikely that
anyone could have left the room...

after Carl Hamlin had been shot.

However, from the information
we'd gotten from Ray Murray,

there had to be another
weapon involved in the killing.

It was I I:44 a.m. when we got
to the house on Whitmore Drive.

Oh, I didn't expect you back. I
wonder if we could come in, Mrs. Hamlin.

Well, yes, of course.

Mrs. Hamlin, this is Ray Murray from
our Scientific Investigation Division.

Mr. Murray. How do you do?

We'd like to take
another look at the study.

Oh, why? We'd
like to check it again.

Well, all right. If you need
me, I'll be in the living room.

Thank you.

Right in here is where we
found him, Ray. Mm-hmm.

You can see where we had
to break this window to get in.

Yeah, I see. Body
was lying along here.

Head down there.
Feet about here.

About on line with
the sofa, huh? Right.

What about the gun? It
was near his right hand.

Was the gun in his hand when you
found it? No, no, near his right hand.

The pictures from the
photo lab will bear that out.

Even if it wasn't for the
variance in the slugs,

none of it adds for two
cents. Well, how's that?

I talked to the doc when I
picked up the death slug. Yeah.

It entered the right center of his
chest, about here, and traveled straight.

Yeah. Came to rest in
his right back muscle.

Line of travel's all off. No right-handed
man's likely to shoot himself that way.

Nope.

What about the doors
when you found him?

Well, we'll show you the
way they were when we got in.

This bolt was thrown.
This key was turned.

And this chair was propped
up under these knobs like so.

What about the key? Was
it still in the lock? Yeah.

Yeah, the place
looks solid enough.

Plaster walls.

Not much chance anyone
getting through 'em.

Did you check those bookcases?
Any of them move in any way?

No, they appear to be solid.

Well, what do you think,
Ray? Well, I don't know.

The way that door was
barricaded, the rest of the room,

nobody could have shot
him and gotten outside.

And they couldn't have come
through that window. That's for sure.

No, you had to break it. Right.

Well, the way it's set up, you shouldn't
have too much trouble finding a suspect.

How's that? Find a butler
built like an envelope.

Hey, uh, you didn't see anything of an
empty shell casing last night, did you?

No. There was no
reason to look for one.

There's sure no sign of any
now. Let's see if we can turn it.

Yeah, it looks to me like the rug's
been vacuumed since last night.

Let's talk to the Hamlin woman.

Mrs. Hamlin? Yes.
Somethingyou want?

Has anyone been in
the study since last night?

I didn't know I
wasn't supposed to.

You didn't say anything about
it. Did you clean the room?

Well, yes, I told you. I was
straightening up the house.

- Did you see an empty shell casing?
- I don't know what you mean.

Like this. The brass part. See?

No, I didn't see
anything like that.

- Did you use the vacuum cleaner
this morning?
- Yes, I did.

Have you emptied it
since you used it? No.

- Wonder if we could see it.
- I don't know what this is all about,

but if you want the
vacuum, I'll get it.

I'll give you a hand
with it. It's not heavy.

Do you want the attachments too?

No, ma'am, just the vacuum itself,
please. And a piece of newspaper.

All right.

Here it is. Thank you.

I wish I knew what
this is all about.

There it is. What's
the caliber, Ray?

Nine millimeter.

Mrs. Hamlin, do you have
another gun in the house?

- No.
- You sure about that, are you?

Yes. What makes you think
there might be another one?

- How many shots did you hear
last night, Mrs. Hamlin?
- One.

- You sure about that?
- Yes. Why?

We have reason to believe
there were two shots fired.

- What difference does it make
how many there were?
- It might make a lot of difference.

Why? My husband killed himself.

I can't be sure how many times
he might have fired the gun.

Once, twice, three times.
What difference does it make?

I'll try to explain it to
you. Your husband was

holding a.38-caliber
revolver when we found him,

but the bullet that killed him was
fired from a nine-millimeter automatic.

I don't know what you're talking
about. What are you trying to say?

Mrs. Hamlin, we don't believe
your husband killed himself.

- You're not serious.
- I'm afraid we are.

- This whole thing's ridiculous.
- Not according to the evidence.

Well, who'd want to kill
him? Who'd have a reason?

- That's what we're trying to find out.
- Would you get your mother, please?

- What do you want to talk to her about?
- Would you get her, please?

She's not well. She's
had enough trouble.

There's no reason foryou
to make any more for her.

Don'tyou worry about it, Nora.

Mother, you shouldn't be up.

I heard you talkin'.
I've been listenin'.

Haven't seen you
before. Murray's my name.

How do you do? Jessie Gaynor,
Nora's mother. How are you?

Now, what's all this about
Mr. Hamlin not killing himself.

- That's right, Mrs. Gaynor.
- What makes you think it is?

Several things. Do you
have a gun in the house?

You mean a pistol?

- An automatic.
- Might. Why?

- Where is it?
- In the table drawer in the living room.

- We'd like to take a look at it.
- All right.

In there.

German Luger.

Does that gun belong
to you, Mrs. Gaynor?

Yes, My husband
had it. It's mine now.

Mrs. Gaynor, it's our duty to advise
you of your constitutional rights.

You have the right to remain
silent. Any statementyou

make may be used
againstyou in a court oflaw.

You have the right to the
presence ofan attorney.

Ifyou desire and cannot
afford an attorney,

one will be appointed
before any questioning.

Yes, I understand, but what sense does it
make to tell me all that legal mumbo jumbo?

All this talk about
Mr. Hamlin not killing himself.

If he didn't do it, who did?

That's what we're
trying to find out here.

Uh-huh. But you've got
somebody you're looking

at, haven't you?
Somebody you figure did it.

- That gun belongs to you, doesn't it?
- Uh, yeah.

You're the only one who witnessed
the shooting, isn't that right?

- That's right.
- Well, now why don't you
tell us about it?

Because if I did,
you'd never believe it.

- Try us.
- All right.

Mr. Hamlin came here
last night, like I said.

He was drunk. Came
in and startedyelling.

I was sitting right
here, reading.

He started to curse at
me, using foul language.

Yeah? I didn't pay him no mind.

Told him to go away, that—
That Nora was through with him.

- He wouldn't go.
- Yes, ma'am.

All of a sudden, he pulled out a
gun and started waving it around.

Said if I didn't get
Nora, he'd kill himself.

Well, I thought it was just
some more of his playacting.

- Yes, ma'am?
- I didn't pay any attention to him.

Figured when he was
through, he'd go away.

I went back to readin' the book.

Made him madder than ever.

- Go on, Mrs. Gaynor.
- He grabbed the book out of my hand...

and shot it, shot right at it.

Then he threw it
into the fireplace.

He shot your book,
and then he threw it into

the fireplace? Now,
did he shoot at you?

No, no, at my book, not at me.

Just all of a sudden,

something happened to me.

I don't think I've
ever been so mad.

I took the gun out of the
table there and shot him.

He got real scared
and ran into the study.

- Closed the door behind him.
- Yes, ma'am?

I heard him lock the door and
start moving the furniture around.

- Then what happened?
- Well, right after that,
I heard him fall down.

And then—then Nora
came into the room.

Mother, why didn't you tell me?

There wasn't any reason
to. I had to think about it,

- what I had done
and what I had to do.
- Yes, ma'am.

I was gonna call you men this morning
and tell you the truth. I really was.

Yes, ma'am. I really was.

Just all of a sudden last
night when he shot my book,

I-I've never been so mad.

I really wanted to kill him.

You remember it all
pretty well, don't you?

Yes. Yes, I do.

All right, you wanna get a coat, Mrs.
Gaynor? We'll have to take you downtown.

Yes, sir. I'll get my coat.

Is it going to be all right?
We don't decide that, ma'am.

But she told the truth. Isn't
that going to make a difference?

We'll put it down that way.

Ray. Yeah.

There's the book.

There's the slug.
What's left of it.

The storyyou have
just seen is true.

The names were changed
to protect the innocent.

OnJuly I 4, trial was
held in Department I 86,

Superior Court of
the State of California,

for the County of Los Angeles.

In a moment, the
results of that trial.

The defendant pled not guilty
and not guilty by reason ofinsanity.

The jury found the
defendant guilty.

However, she was found
to have been insane...

at the time of the
commission of the offense.