The Big Story: Shotgun and Fatal Accident (EP4972)

Summary

The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio

Episode: The Big Story: Shotgun and Fatal Accident (EP4972)
Date: May 12, 2026
Host: Adam Graham
Original Air Date of Drama: July 12, 1950

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Episode Overview

This episode features an installment of "The Big Story," dramatizing a real-life newspaper reporter’s investigation into the suspicious fatal shooting of a woman in Youngstown, Ohio. The case, at first ruled as accidental homicide, raises more questions than answers: Was it tragic misfortune or calculated murder? Reporter Bill Griffith refuses to accept the official story and follows a trail of inconsistencies, medical evidence, and personal secrets to pursue the truth.

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Key Discussion Points & Plot Breakdown

1. Introduction and Setup

• Adam Graham briefly promotes The Amazing World of Radio and previews his commentary after the episode.
• [03:02] The drama opens: Amy Hodge is found dead, killed by a shotgun blast. Her husband, Clive Hodge, claims it was an accident—he says he "prodded" her to wake her and the gun fired.
• [03:29] Reporter Bill Griffith is reassigned from his usual crime beat to investigate the Hodge estate tragedy.

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2. Initial Investigation & Suspicious Circumstances

• [04:58] Bill Griffith notices the meticulous cleaning of the crime scene, which strikes him as odd:

  “The house is too clean. Everything's too perfect for my taste.”
  (Bill Griffith, 10:46)

• [05:28] Clive Hodge recounts the events, detailing the alleged accident and his lack of familiarity with firearms.

  • He claims not to have realized the gun was loaded and insists there was no malice.

• [06:50] Griffith interviews servants and staff, uncovering conflicting testimonies about the Hodge marriage:

  • Publicly affectionate, but privately discordant according to the maid, Lucy:

    “Not too good. ... He didn't like her.”
    (Lucy, 08:40)

• Lucy also reveals that Hodge had a girlfriend, Madge Carey—a detail the victim knew about.

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3. Red Flags and Growing Doubts

• [09:03] Griffith learns Amy Hodge left a cryptic message:

  “She once told me that if anything ever happened to her for me to look behind the ru. Old. ... I never knew what she meant by that.”
  (Lucy, 09:23)

• [10:06] Griffith questions the lack of powder burns on the wound, which contradicts Hodge’s story:

  “There are no powder burns. ... The gun went off 10 inches from her head.”
  (Coroner/Mortician, 10:16)

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4. Motive and Investigation Deepen

• [12:02] Hodge had insured his wife for $15,000 a year prior and claimed the insurance (and a burial fund) just days after her death.

  “He even went to the trouble of claiming and collecting a hundred dollar burial fund ...”
  (Mr. Gould, 12:13)

• Griffith confronts Hodge about the insurance and his relationship with Madge Carey, leading to a tense exchange and threats from Hodge to “break” the reporter's newspaper.

• [14:27] Griffith discovers Amy Hodge’s hidden note behind a painting:

  “It reads, ‘I'm afraid of my husband.’ It's a woman's handwriting.”
  (Bill Griffith, 15:13)

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5. The Ballistics Break: Science Trumps Story

• [18:13] Ballistics expert Wyatt Veazey re-enters:

  “There should have been powder burns in the body.” (Wyatt Veazey, 18:18)

• Veazey demonstrates for the prosecutor that the wound could not have occurred at such close range without leaving powder burns or wadding, disproving the “accidental prodding” theory.

Notable Quotes from the Ballistics Demonstration:

• [21:36]

  “This gun can't possibly go off unless you press the trigger and press it hard.”
  (Wyatt Veazey, 21:36)

• [22:19]

  “Notice the hole in the body ... no bigger than the size of the shell ... Notice the powder marks around the wound. ... Was there any wadding in the wound that killed Mrs. Hodge?”
  —“No, there wasn’t.”
  (Wyatt Veazey & Coroner/Mortician, 22:19-22:38)

• [23:33]

  “The wound is now much bigger ... about the size of a silver dollar ... The wound that killed Mrs. Hodge was bigger than a silver dollar, wasn’t it?”
  —“Yes, much bigger.”
  (Wyatt Veazey & Coroner, 23:33-23:36)

• [24:37]

  “The shot was fired at Mrs. Hodge from a distance of 8ft. Which meant that he took deliberate aim. There can be no other possible explanation.” (Wyatt Veazey, 25:08)

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6. Confrontation, Motive, and Arrest

• In the face of mounting physical evidence and a clear motive (insurance, infidelity), Hodge protests his innocence.

• [25:27]

  “I'm innocent. I love my wife. We never quarrel. I wouldn't kill her.”
  (Clive Hodge, 25:27)

• [26:00] The state places Hodge under arrest for the murder of his wife.

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7. Conclusion & Aftermath

• The episode closes with the revelation that the suspect was found guilty:

  “He was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in the Ohio Penitentiary.”
  (Bill Griffith, 26:24)

• Adam Graham provides a brief cast rundown and notes the challenge of comparing this fictionalized broadcast to real events.

• He praises the episode’s solid use of forensic science and notes its straightforward, procedural mystery style.

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Drama Begins: [03:02]
• Bill Griffith is assigned to the case: [03:29]
• Clive Hodge’s statement to police: [05:28]
• Interview with maid Lucy: [07:03] & [08:17]
• Insurance and motive revealed: [12:02]
• Discovery of the hidden note: [14:27]
• Ballistics expert demonstration: [21:00]
• Climax—Hodge’s arrest: [26:00]
• Host’s commentary and cast info: [28:54]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On suspicious cleanliness:

  “The house is too clean. Everything's too perfect for my taste.”
  (Bill Griffith, 10:46)

• The hidden message:

  “It reads, ‘I'm afraid of my husband.’ It's a woman's handwriting.”
  (Bill Griffith, 15:13)

• The science clincher:

  “This gun can't possibly go off unless you press the trigger and press it hard.”
  (Wyatt Veazey, 21:36)

• On motive:

  “He insured his wife a year ago for $15,000 ... put in a claim for the doe two days after her death. ... even collected a hundred dollar burial fund.”
  (Mr. Gould, 12:02–12:25)

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Episode Tone & Language

Classic hard-boiled OTR style:

• Direct, brisk dialogue characteristic of mid-century radio dramas.
• Reporter Griffith’s persistence and skepticism drive the story, maintaining a sense of urgent realism.
• Use of forensic science—ballistics and wound analysis—anchors the drama in then-contemporary investigative practice.

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Final Notes

A strong, suspenseful episode that foregrounds the importance of dogged journalism and scientific evidence in solving what the authorities initially dismiss as a tragic, accidental shooting. Listeners get a vintage procedural with all the classic elements: questionable alibis, hidden clues, a secret mistress, and the decisive role of reporters in uncovering the truth.

For OTR and true crime fans alike, this dramatization scratches the itch for both old-school whodunnit and the enduring question: Can justice prevail when the facts don't fit the story?

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This summary skips all advertising and peripheral announcements, focusing solely on the dramatic content and Adam Graham’s relevant commentary.

Transcript

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[Adam Graham (Podcast Host)]

Welcome to the Great detectives of Old Time Radio from Boise, Idaho. This is your host, Adam Graham. In a moment, we're going to bring you this week's episode of the Big Story. But first, I want to encourage you. If you're enjoying the podcast, please follow us using your favorite podcast software and be sure to rate and review the podcast wherever you download it from. And today, I want to highlight one of our other podcasts. And today it's going to be the Amazing World of Radio. The Amazing World of Radio. We've got nearly 300 episodes available for your listening pleasure through a variety of genres and over the course years done quite a few miniseries as well as holiday specials. And we are kicking off a new series at the end of the month when we will be bringing you Colombo Killers and Old Time Radio, featuring actors in Old Time Radio performances who went on to play the murderer on Columbo. That series will Launch on Wednesday, May 28th. Go ahead and check that out. But now, from July 12th, 1950, here is Shotgun and Fatal Accident, the Big Story.

[Clive Hodge]

Amy, what have I done? Amy?

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

I heard a shot, sir.

[Clive Hodge]

What have I done? What have I done?

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

What's the matter, sir?

[Clive Hodge]

My wife looks.

[Narrator]

Shall I call the police, Mr. Hodge?

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Yes.

[Clive Hodge]

Is she dead?

[Narrator]

She must have died instantly.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

The shot blew half her head off.

[Narrator]

Youngstown, Ohio.

[Wyatt Veazey (Ballistics Expert)]

From the pages of the Youngstown Vindicator,

[Narrator]

the story of a reporter who made

[Wyatt Veazey (Ballistics Expert)]

a hunch pay off. Youngstown, Ohio. The story as it actually happened. Bill Griffith's story as he lived it.

[Narrator]

The first chill wind of autumn slaps you across the face. Bill Griffith, Reporter on the Youngstown Vindicator. As you leave your home that morning, late in October, you hurry to your office, not because you're late, but because you know there's a hotel waiting, made to order for you. The big jewelry store robbery downtown. But you never get to that job because there's something else that happened. It's so big that the boss himself is in your office waiting for you.

[Wyatt Veazey (Ballistics Expert)]

Oh. Oh, hiya, John. Don't take your hat and coat off.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Okay, okay.

[Narrator]

I'll get right over.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

They get much?

[Wyatt Veazey (Ballistics Expert)]

I'm not putting you on the jewelry job. Lawson's gonna cover it.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Why Lawson?

[Wyatt Veazey (Ballistics Expert)]

You heard of Clive Hodge?

[Coroner/Mortician]

Sure, sure.

[Narrator]

The big mining millionaire.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

What's the matter with him?

[Wyatt Veazey (Ballistics Expert)]

Nothing with him. It's his wife. He just blew her head off accidentally. Get down there fast. I'll try to hold the blue edition until I hear from you.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

I'm on my way.

[Narrator]

When you get to the Hodge mansion, Gould, the secretary, suave and courteous, shows you into the huge library. There you see Detective Bromley and a couple of his men sitting around and looking, listening to Mr. Hodge. You've seen Mr. Hodge many times, but never like this. He's slumped in his chair, tortured and dazed. He keeps shaking his head in horror, as if trying to shake the remembrance away.

[Clive Hodge]

It was after dinner, Detective Bromley. Amy was resting on the love seat. She hadn't been feeling well. Harley ate her dinner.

[Prosecutor]

How did you happen to have a shotgun in the library, Mr. Hodge?

[Clive Hodge]

We were nearly robbed the night before. I had an old shotgun in the storehouse I carried for protection. I don't know why I did that. I never shot this gun, or any gun, for that matter. Go on. She fell asleep on the chair. She looked so uncomfortable. I decided to wake her up. To get her to go to her room, I prodded her with a gun. It went off. I never even dreamed it was loaded.

[Prosecutor]

How far was the gun from her head?

[Clive Hodge]

About 10 inches at most. It was the most awful thing.

[Narrator]

You look around the room. Bill Griffith. Beautifully furnished, clean. You look at the love seat, a large stain on the side of it and on the rug. Someone had already tried to clean it. Since the accident, someone had been in this room cleaning it up. Even the ashtrays. You wonder what was the hurry. You get up and think, maybe you can look around the mansion. Maybe talk to a couple of the servants. Where are you going, sir?

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Oh, just. Just looking around, Mr. Gould?

[Clive Hodge]

Oh.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Any objections? Oh, no, sir.

[Narrator]

Go ahead and look all you like.

[Lucy (Maid)]

No, sir, they got along fine. It was always darling and deary and honey. They've been on a perpetual honeymoon for 10 years. Oh, mister, you're looking for something that isn't there.

[Madge Carey]

Well, to tell you the truth, I won't lie to you. They did have one spat. That was two years ago. Less than three weeks. About two months after I came here. Mr. Hodge was real considerate of her. Not like some of the men that walk around these days. He made up to her when they

[Lucy (Maid)]

were alone in their room.

[Madge Carey]

He'd give her a pearl necklace and kiss her behind the ear. I couldn't always hear what they said, but. Well, they always got a long swell.

[Coroner/Mortician]

I never saw them quarrel. But then I'm just the gardener. I never did see them much at all. Lucy could tell you more. She was poor Mrs. Hodges maid.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Where can I find her?

[Coroner/Mortician]

She went back home. She was fired this morning.

[Lucy (Maid)]

Yes, sir.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Ms. Lucy, I'm Bill Griffith from the Youngstown Vindicator. May I come in?

[Lucy (Maid)]

Oh, sure.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

I want to talk to you about Mrs. Hodge. It was a terrible accident, wasn't it?

[Lucy (Maid)]

It was horrible.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Why were you discharged so soon?

[Lucy (Maid)]

I don't know. Mr. Gould gave me two weeks salary and told me there was no need for my services.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

How did Mr. Hodge and his wife get along?

[Lucy (Maid)]

Not too good.

[Clive Hodge]

They quarrel?

[Lucy (Maid)]

No. But he didn't like her.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

He didn't? How do you know?

[Madge Carey]

Well, I.

[Lucy (Maid)]

Hey, I don't want to get mixed up in this. I. I got nothing more to do with Mr. Hodge and I'd rather forget the whole terrible business.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Did you like Mrs. Hodge?

[Lucy (Maid)]

She was real nice and sweet to me. Always gave me a few extra dollars over my salary. He's an old skin flint, he is.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Wouldn't you want to help in case it wasn't an accident?

[Madge Carey]

You think he.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

I don't know. I'm trying to find out. Why didn't he like his wife?

[Lucy (Maid)]

Well, he. He had a friend.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Girlfriend?

[Lucy (Maid)]

Yes.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

What's her name?

[Lucy (Maid)]

It's Madge Carey. She lives over in Bellrose.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Did Mrs. Hodge know about her?

[Lucy (Maid)]

Yeah, but she never let on. Mrs. Hodge was a very unhappy woman. You know, she once told me that if anything ever happened to her for me to look behind the ru. Old. I never knew what she meant by that.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Ruhald is a painter. She probably has one of his pictures hanging in a room. It'll be very interesting to know what's behind that picture.

[Narrator]

Now you have A fistful of leads, Bill Griffith. But you're not ready to go back to the office.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Not yet.

[Narrator]

You want to have a look at the body?

[Coroner/Mortician]

I'm sorry, Bill, but I got instructions not to let anyone look at the body. Mr. Hodges orders.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Why?

[Coroner/Mortician]

He doesn't want anyone to see her the way she is. I can't blame him. A shotgun makes an ugly mess.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Okay, okay. Just tell me where the powder marks are.

[Coroner/Mortician]

Powder marks? There aren't any.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Well, there must be. The gun went off 10 inches from her head.

[Coroner/Mortician]

I'm telling you, there are no powder marks.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Are you sure?

[Coroner/Mortician]

Look here, Bill. I've been a coroner and a mortician for a long time. I work with the police. I know about these things. I'm telling you, there aren't any powder burns. I'm telling you absolutely.

[Wyatt Veazey (Ballistics Expert)]

What the devil happened to you, Bill?

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Am I too late for the blue edition, boss?

[Wyatt Veazey (Ballistics Expert)]

We put that to bed an hour ago. What did you get, boss?

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

The story was too good. The house is too clean. Everything's too perfect for my taste. So I did a little snooping. And? And now I'm a wiser man. I don't know all the answers, but I certainly picked up a lot of questions that should be answered.

[Wyatt Veazey (Ballistics Expert)]

Like what?

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

There's only one thing fit to print right now. And that is why are there no powder burns on Mrs. Hodge since the gun went off 10 inches away? It's just not possible. Let's keep asking that question, and I have a hunch we'll come up with the answer.

[Narrator]

But even though the Vindicator hammers away for days on the absence of powder marks, the police decide that it was accidental homicide. But you, Bill Griffith, aren't satisfied with this decision. You go ahead with your investigations and make some phone calls. You try to see Madge Carey, Hodge's girlfriend, but she's away for the weekend. You try to get into the Hodge mansion to take a look at the ruhalt painting. But Mr. Gould won't let you get any further than the front door. You're getting nowhere fast until one of your phone calls pays off.

[Wyatt Veazey (Ballistics Expert)]

Yes?

[Mr. Gould (Secretary)]

Well, this is Cliff.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Oh, hiya, Cliff. Got anything for me, Ronnie?

[Mr. Gould (Secretary)]

After you call, I check through our policies.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Spill it.

[Mr. Gould (Secretary)]

Clive Hodge insured his wife in New York about a year ago for 15.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

15,000.

[Mr. Gould (Secretary)]

But that's not the half of it. He put in a claim for the doe two days after her death.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Well, isn't that a loving husband?

[Mr. Gould (Secretary)]

Don't go away yet. He even went to the trouble of claiming and Collecting a hundred dollar burial fund because his wife was once a government nurse.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

You know what? I'm beginning to have a feeling that Mr. Hodge didn't like his wife at all.

[Wyatt Veazey (Ballistics Expert)]

Yes?

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Am I speaking to Mr. Griffith? Yes, who is this?

[Mr. Gould (Secretary)]

I. Mr. Gould, secretary to Mr. Hodge.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Oh, yes, yes.

[Mr. Gould (Secretary)]

Would you oblige me by coming down to see Mr. Hodge at your earliest convenience?

[Clive Hodge]

Okay.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

I can come down this afternoon.

[Mr. Gould (Secretary)]

Thank you. He'll be waiting for you.

[Wyatt Veazey (Ballistics Expert)]

Oh, I've.

[Clive Hodge (Alternate or same as E)]

Come in.

[Clive Hodge]

Please. Please. Mr. Griffith. Hello, Mr. Hodge. Mr. Griffith. Your paper has apparently been on a crusade against me. I suppose it makes a good copy for your readers.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

We're merely asking that someone answer the question we're asking.

[Clive Hodge]

You mean about the lack of powder burns? That's right. I wish I knew the answer.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

There are a couple of other questions that have been bothering us.

[Clive Hodge (Alternate or same as E)]

I'd be very glad to answer any questions at all.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

You're a close friend of Madge Carey, aren't you?

[Clive Hodge]

Who told you that?

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

What difference does it make?

[Clive Hodge (Alternate or same as E)]

I know her slightly, that's all.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Seems strange that you should buy her a new automobile if you.

[Clive Hodge (Alternate or same as E)]

That was just a business deal.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

You also applied for a collection on your wife's insurance two days after a fatal accident.

[Clive Hodge (Alternate or same as E)]

My business manager, he probably took care of that. I had no idea that he made application so soon.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

You also collected a hundred dollar burial fund three days after her death. It's hard for some of the people in my office to consider that an act of deep mourning.

[Clive Hodge (Alternate or same as E)]

Mr. Griffith, I don't care what your paper thinks. If necessary, I'll put a stop to these ugly stories. And I can do it too. You can go back to your editor and tell him that I'll break your paper if he doesn't leave me alone. Now you get out of here.

[Narrator]

On your way out, you pass Amy Hodge's room. The door is slightly ajar.

[Clive Hodge]

The ruol. The painting.

[Narrator]

You step carefully into the room.

[Clive Hodge]

Bill Griffith and close the door.

[Narrator]

You look on the walls.

[Clive Hodge]

There it is. The rue of painting.

[Narrator]

You have to stand on a chair to get at it.

[Clive Hodge]

You take the picture off the hook and you look behind it.

[Narrator]

There's a piece of paper stuck into

[Clive Hodge]

the back of the frame. You take the paper.

[Coroner/Mortician]

Huh?

[Clive Hodge (Alternate or same as E)]

What are you doing here?

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Well, I was just admiring your pictures, Mr. Hyde.

[Clive Hodge (Alternate or same as E)]

You were snooping. Didn't I tell you to get out?

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Well, I was on my way out when I. When I saw this picture.

[Clive Hodge (Alternate or same as E)]

Before I throw you out, hand me that paper. That paper, Mr. Griffith.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

I found it by accident behind the painting. It reads, I'm afraid of my husband. It's a woman's handwriting.

[Wyatt Veazey (Ballistics Expert)]

You're not leaving here.

[Clive Hodge (Alternate or same as E)]

I'm going to call the police and have you arrested for breaking into my wife's room.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

You're very confident, Mr. Hodge. But don't depend on that good conduct ribbon the police gave you. They might take it away. I know you're a powerful man around these parts, but so is the Vindicator. It usually lives up to its name. Avenge injustice. If you're guilty, believe me, we'll find you out.

[Narrator]

This is Cy Harris returning it to your narrator.

[Wyatt Veazey (Ballistics Expert)]

And the big story of Bill Griffith

[Narrator]

as he lived it and wrote it. You, Bill Griffith, reporter for the Youngstown Vindicator. Are now standing in the bedroom of the late Amy Hodge. Her husband has just called the police in what you think is a bold bluff. When they arrive, Hodge tells them the entire truth. How he invited you, how you violated his hospitality. And then he gives him the note you found behind the painting. He's so straightforward about it that you begin to have doubts about your convictions. The police let you go, but they don't like your meddling. And they tell you so in no uncertain terms. And now you have one lead left. Madge Kerry. Mr. Hodges. Girlfriend.

[Madge Carey]

Who is it?

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

William Griffith.

[Madge Carey]

What do you want?

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

I'd like to speak to you, Ms. Carey.

[Madge Carey]

What about?

[Narrator]

I'm a reporter.

[Madge Carey]

Well, what do you want to see me about?

[Clive Hodge]

About Mr. Hodge.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

You know him very well, don't you?

[Madge Carey]

What business is that of yours, Ms. Carey?

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

I can print what I think, or I can print what you tell me. I think you'd be better off if you answered a few questions.

[Madge Carey]

What are you dragging me into this for?

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

You're a good friend of Mr. Hodge, aren't you?

[Madge Carey]

Yes.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Very good, huh?

[Madge Carey]

Yes, very good.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

You love each other, don't you?

[Madge Carey]

Of course not. He's a married man.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Why did he buy you that car?

[Madge Carey]

Well, because he likes me. We're good friends. Can't you understand that?

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

No, I can't. I can't understand a young, pretty woman like yourself. Being such a close friend of a man in his 50s.

[Madge Carey]

Are you making insinuations?

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

You were seen kissing me.

[Madge Carey]

That's a lie.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

I can prove it.

[Madge Carey]

Well, I might have kissed him once. In friendship. Nothing else. Just friendship. Now, please get your foot out of the door. I have nothing else to say to you.

[Narrator]

You didn't get very far with Horrible Griffith. And now you have nothing else left to go on. You go back to your office planning to give this Case up. But there's someone waiting for you.

[Wyatt Veazey (Ballistics Expert)]

Hi, Bill.

[Narrator]

Remember me?

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Wyatt Veezy. What brings you here? I haven't seen you in months.

[Wyatt Veazey (Ballistics Expert)]

Well, naturally, as a ballistics expert, I've been reading your articles in the Hodge case. I think you're quite right about it. There should have been powder burns in the body.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Yes, I know, but it hasn't gotten me anywhere.

[Wyatt Veazey (Ballistics Expert)]

Well, look, I've just talked to the coroner. He swears that there were no powder burns. But I'm quite willing to testify that the shot could not have been made at 10 inches without leaving burns.

[Clive Hodge]

You are, Ed?

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

I am, Ed. That's terrific.

[Prosecutor]

I also took the trouble to go

[Wyatt Veazey (Ballistics Expert)]

over the coroner's report. The great area of the wound couldn't possibly have been made by a shot fired at 10 or 15 inches away. It had to be a lot farther than that, Ed.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

If you can prove that, I think we can get the new prosecutor to reopen the case.

[Wyatt Veazey (Ballistics Expert)]

Well, if you'll all come down to the Culver Valley Hunting Club, I can demonstrate it to everyone's satisfaction.

[Prosecutor]

Look, Bill, I've only been prosecutor for a short time. The case is officially closed. The verdict is accidental homicide. Why should we reopen it now?

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

I've got a lot of reasons why this case should be reopened. One of them is this sworn statement by Mr. Veazey, a ballistics expert. Here, take a look at this.

[Narrator]

All right.

[Prosecutor]

Well, suppose it wasn't fired at 10 inches. What difference does a few more inches either way make?

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

The difference was more than a few inches. This means that Mr. Hodge was lying. It means that he wasn't prodding his wife with a gun to awaken her. It means that he was far enough away to take aim and murder her.

[Prosecutor]

You say that Mr. Veazey can prove it?

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Yes. He's willing to conduct a series of tests down at the Culver Valley Hunting Club.

[Clive Hodge]

All right.

[Prosecutor]

I'm willing to be shown.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

There's. There's one more thing.

[Narrator]

Like what?

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

I'd like you to ask Mr. Hodge to come down.

[Clive Hodge]

He'll never do it.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

From what I know about him, I have a hunch he will.

[Narrator]

Two days later, everyone involved in this case assembles at the Culver Valley Hunting Club in the target room. And as you had expected, Bill Griffith, Mr. Hodge and his secretary, Mr. Gould, are present. Mr. Hodge seems calm, even nods pleasantly to you when you happen to catch each other's eye. The atmosphere is more like a college lecture hall than a hearing in which a man's voice. Life hangs in the balance I want

[Prosecutor]

to thank you, Mr. Hodge, for being so cooperative.

[Clive Hodge]

Well, Mr. Prosecutor, I am as anxious as I hope all of you are to get this tragedy cleared up once and for all.

[Prosecutor]

Yes, let's proceed and get this finished as fast as we can. Go ahead, Mr. Veasy.

[Wyatt Veazey (Ballistics Expert)]

Gentlemen, I have here the same shotgun which caused the fatal accident to Mrs. Hodge.

[Prosecutor]

Is that the gun, Mr. Hodge?

[Clive Hodge]

I suppose so. I'm not very familiar with guns.

[Narrator]

I. I guess it is.

[Wyatt Veazey (Ballistics Expert)]

It's loaded. Mr. Hodge said he gently prodded his wife with the gun went off. That so, Mr. Hodge?

[Clive Hodge]

Yes, it is so.

[Wyatt Veazey (Ballistics Expert)]

I'm going to take the same gun and pound it on the floor. And now I'm going to hammer it and knock it. It's facing me. You notice it goes off. The shell will hit me.

[Narrator]

You see, the shotgun didn't go off.

[Wyatt Veazey (Ballistics Expert)]

I wasn't being dramatic by pointing it at me. I did this only to prove that this gun can't possibly go off unless you press the trigger and press it hard.

[Clive Hodge]

You might do that once too often, sir. You can hammer it on the floor a thousand times and it won't go off the thousand and first time it might fire.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Mr. Veasy, do you consider it impossible for the gun to go off without pulling the trigger?

[Wyatt Veazey (Ballistics Expert)]

Nothing is impossible, Mr. Griffith. But it's so unlikely that I was quite willing, as you saw, to point the gun at myself while pounding and hammering it.

[Prosecutor]

Do you have any other tests, Mr. Veasey?

[Wyatt Veazey (Ballistics Expert)]

Well, Mr. Prosecutor, I brought here a slaughtered pig. I'm going to fire the shotgun at it from a 10 inch distance. Will you people move to this side?

[Clive Hodge]

Surely.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Thank you.

[Wyatt Veazey (Ballistics Expert)]

Notice that the hole in the body of this pig is no bigger than the size of the shell, a half inch in diameter. Notice the powder marks around the wound. Notice the waddings around the shell have followed the shot into the wound. Is the corner here?

[Coroner/Mortician]

Yes.

[Wyatt Veazey (Ballistics Expert)]

Was there any wadding of the shell in the wound that killed Mrs. Hodge?

[Coroner/Mortician]

No, there wasn't.

[Prosecutor]

Do you want to say anything, Mr. Hodge?

[Clive Hodge (Alternate or same as E)]

Yes.

[Clive Hodge]

Yes, indeed, Mr.

[Prosecutor]

Prosecutor.

[Clive Hodge (Alternate or same as E)]

I would merely like to say that

[Clive Hodge]

I had no idea there was going to be an accident. And I didn't measure the distance the gun was from her head. It might have been more or less. I was so dazed by what happened that my sense of distance might easily have been distorted.

[Wyatt Veazey (Ballistics Expert)]

Well, that's very true, but I haven't finished this experiment.

[Narrator]

Please let me go on.

[Clive Hodge]

Go ahead.

[Wyatt Veazey (Ballistics Expert)]

The shell of a shotgun is different from a rifle bullet. A bullet makes the same hole no matter What? The distance. But a shell hole is larger the farther the weapon is from the target. The shot spreads. Now, I'll fire the shotgun at a distance of three feet from target. The wound is now much bigger, as you can see. A little bigger than the silver dollar. Now, I'd like to ask coroner a question.

[Coroner/Mortician]

Yes?

[Wyatt Veazey (Ballistics Expert)]

The wound that killed Mrs. Hodge was bigger than the silver dollar, wasn't it?

[Coroner/Mortician]

Yes, much bigger.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

If I'm not mistaken, according to your report, the wound was about 3 by 2 inches, or roughly about the size of a closed fist.

[Coroner/Mortician]

That's about the size, Mr. Griffith.

[Wyatt Veazey (Ballistics Expert)]

All right, I'll now fire the shotgun.

[Clive Hodge (Alternate or same as E)]

I don't know what you expect to prove.

[Wyatt Veazey (Ballistics Expert)]

By the way, if you'll allow me to finish, I'll point out to all of you the significance.

[Clive Hodge (Alternate or same as E)]

This experiment seems most unfair to me. Very prejudicial against.

[Wyatt Veazey (Ballistics Expert)]

Allow me to finish.

[Narrator]

Wait a moment.

[Prosecutor]

Why do you think it's prejudicial, Mr. Hodge?

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Mr.

[Clive Hodge (Alternate or same as E)]

Prosecutor, he's firing into a dead body. There's a great difference between the resistance

[Clive Hodge]

of a dead body and a live one. The size of the wound would therefore be very different.

[Wyatt Veazey (Ballistics Expert)]

Well, there is a difference, but so small as not to be measurable. For all intents and purposes, the shell makes the same size. Holes the naked eye in a live or dead body.

[Clive Hodge (Alternate or same as E)]

I refuse to accept this.

[Wyatt Veazey (Ballistics Expert)]

We can carry on the same experiment with a live animal if necessary. But I deplore the unnecessary use of

[Clive Hodge (Alternate or same as E)]

slaughter to prove I object to these experiments.

[Prosecutor]

You may continue with this experiment.

[Wyatt Veazey (Ballistics Expert)]

Thank you, Mr. Prosecutor. I will now fire the shotgun from a distance of 8ft. Notice the wound about the size of my closed fist. About the same size as the wound that killed Mrs. Hodge.

[Clive Hodge (Alternate or same as E)]

This is a ridiculous experiment.

[Wyatt Veazey (Ballistics Expert)]

Coroner can easily verify that this was the size of the fatal wound.

[Clive Hodge (Alternate or same as E)]

I object to this whole procedure.

[Clive Hodge]

Quiet, please. Coroner.

[Coroner/Mortician]

Yes, that was about the size.

[Wyatt Veazey (Ballistics Expert)]

The shot was fired at Mrs. Hodge from a distance of 8ft. Which meant that he took deliberate aim. There can be no other possible explanation.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Would you like to comment on this, Mr. Hodge?

[Narrator]

The whole thing is a lie, Griffith.

[Clive Hodge (Alternate or same as E)]

Your newspapers are just trying to make a lurid story out of this tragic accident.

[Prosecutor]

You have anything else to say, Mr. Hodge?

[Clive Hodge (Alternate or same as E)]

I'm innocent. I love my wife.

[Clive Hodge]

We never quarrel.

[Clive Hodge (Alternate or same as E)]

I wouldn't kill her.

[Clive Hodge]

I wouldn't harm a hair of her head.

[Clive Hodge (Alternate or same as E)]

I loved her.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Mr. Hodge, we know about Madge Carey.

[Clive Hodge]

So what?

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

We know about the note which I found behind the Ruault.

[Clive Hodge (Alternate or same as E)]

Well, that doesn't prove anything. My wife was eccentric.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

You insured your wife A year ago for $15,000. And put in a claim for the money two days after her death.

[Clive Hodge (Alternate or same as E)]

I told you, my manager.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

You even collected a hundred dollar burial fund on your wife three days after her death.

[Clive Hodge (Alternate or same as E)]

I don't see what all this has to do with the situation.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

I think the combination of all these things adds up to a motive. And certainly this demonstration has proved.

[Clive Hodge (Alternate or same as E)]

I tell you, I didn't kill him. I'm sorry.

[Prosecutor]

Mr. Hodge, the state now considers you under suspicion of the murder of your wife, Amy Hodge. You are now under arrest.

[Wyatt Veazey (Ballistics Expert)]

Now, we read you that telegram from Bill Griffith of the Youngstown Vindicator.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Suspect in tonight's big story was brought to trial. His suavity and polish and his calm demeanor did not fool the jury. He was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in the Ohio Penitentiary.

[Clive Hodge (Alternate or same as E)]

And so ends another Big Story. In order to protect the names of people actually involved in tonight's authentic big story. The names of all characters in the dramatization were changed. With the exception of the newspaper reporter. The big story has been a presentation of the United States Armed Forces Radio Service. The voice of information and education.

[Clive Hodge]

Sam.

[Liberty Mutual Insurance Spokesperson]

And Doug. There's nowhere I wouldn't go to help someone customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual. Even if it means sitting front row at a comedy show.

[Liberty Mutual Insurance Companion]

Hey, everyone, check out this guy and his bird. What is this, your first date?

[Liberty Mutual Insurance Spokesperson]

Oh, no. We help people customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual together. We're married. Me to a human, him to a bird.

[Liberty Mutual Insurance Companion]

Yeah, the bird looks out of your league.

[Liberty Mutual Insurance Spokesperson]

Anyways, get a'@libertymutual.com or with your local agent.

[Liberty Mutual Insurance Companion]

Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty.

[Adam Graham (Podcast Host)]

Welcome back. Well, let me go ahead and go through the cast information. The star was Bill Quinn. Also in the cast, Amzie Strickland, Anita Anton, Paul McGrath, Roger de Koven, Lyle Sudro, Mason Adams and Bob Dryden. Now, in terms of the inspiration of the particular episode, the story behind the Big Story notes that the original story has been identified. Summary to be available soon. So not available at the moment. And so it's kind of hard to know how it compares to real life. Because as we've experienced with a big Story, you don't even know what era a story is properly set in. But I think in terms of being a mystery was a good, solid episode with some solid forensic facts. It was kind of plain in that way. I do again wonder about the era. Whether, given the area, the police might not have been as up to speed as they might have been. Closer to 1950. But any rate, it is time to thank our Patreon supporter of the day, Q2. ROSA Patreon Supporter since January of 2020. Currently supporting the podcast at the Detective Sergeant level of $7.14 or more. Thanks so much for your support, Rosa, and that will do it for today. If you're enjoying the podcast, please follow us using your favorite podcast software and be sure to rate and review the podcast wherever you download it from. We'll be back next Tuesday with another episode of the Big Story, but join us back here tomorrow for Broadway's My Beat, where.

[Bob (Friend or Colleague)]

What are you doing here, Bob?

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

I just told him what happened.

[Bob (Friend or Colleague)]

I told him we came back to your place.

[Narrator]

You wait outside, Mr. Coler.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Sure, sure. Whatever you say.

[Bob (Friend or Colleague)]

Just take it easy, Charlie boy.

[Narrator]

Sit down.

[Bill Griffith (Reporter)]

Mr. Baker,

[Narrator]

your wife is dead. Lucille, I want you to try to tell me just what happened tonight.

[Bob (Friend or Colleague)]

The office party. I went there. I was having a fine time. Yes, I was. I was having a wonderful time. Look, it was the end of the day, and at first I wanted to go home, but they wouldn't let me. They said, look at all this. Three booze. Lap it up and forget it. And now

[Narrator]

go on.

[Bob (Friend or Colleague)]

Well, I tried to call Lucille three or four times. I don't know how many times to tell her I was having a good time, not to wait up for me, but line was always busy.

[Narrator]

What else do you remember?

[Bob (Friend or Colleague)]

Bob said, come on, let's go home. When we got there, that last thing I remember Lucille lying there, saying to myself, just like this. I am drunk. You think you see all sorts of things when you're drunk, and this is one of them. That's not Lucille. I'm not even home now. I wake up.

[Adam Graham (Podcast Host)]

I hope you'll be with us then. In the meantime, do send your comments to box13reatdetectives.net follow us on Twitter Twitter at radiodetectives and check us out on Instagram. Instagram.com Great detectives from Boise, Idaho, this is your host, Adam Graham, signing off.

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