
Today's Mystery: A woman with a history of trouble suddenly disappears, leaving behind four children and a trail of conflicting stories. As Joe Friday and Ed Jacobs dig deeper into the case, a missing person's investigation turns into a homicide hunt...
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Bernice Marin
Can you grab one more thing?
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Sergeant Friday
Really?
Bernice Marin
You can have another one.
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Sergeant Friday
Oh, that's neat.
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Roy
Foreign
Adam Graham
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 Dragnet. But first, I do want to encourage you. If you're enjoying the podcast, please follow us using your favorite podcast software. And today's program is brought to you in part by the financial support of our listeners. You can support the show by mailing a donation to Adam Graham, P.O. box 15913. That's P.O. box 15913, Boise, ID 83715. And you can also become one of our ongoing Patreon supporters for as little as $2 per month. Just go to patreon.greatdetives.net but now, from March 27, 1952, here is the big rose.
Wix Harmony User
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Brian
Oh, cool.
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Yeah. Check it out@wix.com Domains.
Narrator
The story you are about to hear is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent. You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned a homicide detail. A 38 year old woman disappears. She leaves her sister and her four children behind. There's evidence of foul play. Your job, find Her.
Dragnet Announcer
Dragnet, the documented drama of an actual crime. For the next 30 minutes, in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department, you will travel step by step on the side of the law through an actual case. Transcribed from official police files. From beginning to end, from crime to punishment, Dragnet is the story of your police force in action.
Sergeant Friday
It was Monday, June 3rd. It was overcast in Los Angeles. We were working the day watch out of Homicide detail. My partner's Ed Jacobs. The boss is Thad Brown, Chief of detectives. My name's Friday. I was on the way back from communications, and it was 8:15am when I got to room 42. Homicide.
Narrator
Joe, what's doin'?
Sergeant Friday
Hi, Brian. You seen Ed?
Carl Shelton
Went down the hall a minute. Said he'd be right by.
Sergeant Friday
Oh, thank you. I don't see anything in the book. Nothing new, huh?
Carl Shelton
Not much.
Sergeant Friday
Pretty slow.
Brian
How's your mother, Joe?
Sergeant Friday
Heard she wasn't feeling too well. No, she's not, as a matter of fact. Doctor says it's anemia. It's gonna take a little time to get over it, I guess. Oh, Sorry to hear it. I gotta do some checking down at the Autodesk.
Carl Shelton
If I get any calls, I'll have
Sergeant Friday
him switch it down there.
Narrator
Will you?
Sergeant Friday
Yeah, I sure will, Brian.
Carl Shelton
Thanks.
Sergeant Friday
You betcha. Oh, excuse me, Ed.
Brian
Pardon me, Tom.
Sergeant Friday
Hi, Ed. What'd they give you?
Brian
Missing report woman. How about the mail?
Sergeant Friday
No, there's nothing. That the missing report there?
Brian
Yeah, it's all here. Some woman out on 64th Street. Name's Rose Baker. She's been gone about a week.
Sergeant Friday
Mm. Last seen Tuesday, May 27, 10pm who's this that made the report? Carl Shelton. Who's he?
Brian
He's her boyfriend. Mrs. Baker's husband died about five years ago. He's been running around quite a bit since then. Had a lot of man trouble.
Sergeant Friday
She disappeared before then, huh?
Brian
Yeah, half dozen times. Never been gone this long, though. Holmes took this report from shelton. He gathered. Ms. Baker's not too stable. She's known to drink quite a bit. Doesn't seem to care anything for her home or kids.
Sergeant Friday
You don't see it here. She has four children. They're living with her aunt, Mrs. Baker's sister. It's kind of a funny arrangement, isn't it?
Carl Shelton
Yeah.
Brian
Baker woman packed her bags and walked out of the house about a year ago. Her sister's been taking care of the kids ever since. Mother comes back for a visit once in a while.
Sergeant Friday
This address we've got on Mrs. Baker. It's the same address as her Boyfriend, Carl Shelton?
Brian
Yeah, that's right. They both have apartments in the same building.
Sergeant Friday
This a recent picture? Ms. Baker?
Brian
Supposed to be, yeah. Nice looking woman, huh?
Sergeant Friday
Yeah. Sister's listed here as the last person who saw her. Well, how's that? Baker woman still wasn't living at home, was she?
Brian
According to the sister, Mrs. Baker came over to the house to see her the night she disappeared. Sometime around 8 o'.
Carl Shelton
Clock.
Brian
Two of them had some business to talk over. Seems the sister had a check for $400 she got from selling some furniture. Claimed the kids had been sick. She had doctor bills to pay.
Sergeant Friday
You mean Mrs. Baker's sister took care of things to that extent, apparently.
Brian
Anyway, after the sister got the check for selling the furniture, Ms. Baker wanted half the money. Sister said that's why she came to see her that night. Two of them got in the car and went out to find somebody to cash a check. You want a drink of water?
Sergeant Friday
No, no, thanks. Ann, where do you get a $400 check cashed at 8 o' clock at night? Would you know?
Brian
Sister said Mrs. Baker knew somebody could cash it for him. Turned out the person couldn't cash it. Sister stopped at a bar for a glass of beer. Mrs. Baker took the car and went to look up somebody else she thought could cash it. That was it. Mrs. Baker hadn't been seen since.
Sergeant Friday
Who was this somebody else?
Brian
No idea. Sister claimed she doesn't know. Mrs. Baker didn't tell her.
Sergeant Friday
Sounds like Mrs. Baker wanted the whole check.
Brian
Wouldn't you say that's what the sister figure. When Ms. Baker didn't come back, she finished the glass of beer, left the barn, started walking home. Two blocks from the house, she found her car parked. No sign of Ms. Baker. Car keys were in the glove compartment. So it's a sister's share of the money. $200 in cash.
Sergeant Friday
Well, how about the firm that issued the check? They get it back? Canceled.
Brian
Yeah, a couple of days ago. Ms. Baker's endorsement on the back?
Sergeant Friday
Yeah. Sounds pretty wild, doesn't it?
Brian
Whole thing does. Talked to half a dozen people who saw Ms. Baker that night. And none of their stories jibed.
Sergeant Friday
How do you mean?
Brian
Her boyfriend, Carl shelton. He claims Ms. Baker told him she was going out of town for a few days with a girlfriend.
Sergeant Friday
They check it out?
Brian
Yeah. Girlfriend didn't know anything about it. Then they talked to a woman who works with Ms. Baker. She says, yeah, the Baker woman was planning a trip.
Sergeant Friday
Ms. Baker mention anything about it to her sister?
Carl Shelton
No.
Brian
Sister says Ms. Baker told her just the opposite. Said she was getting out of her apartment into a new place. She was gonna spend the next couple of days moving. They checked the boyfriend. Shelton said if Ms. Baker was moving, was new to him.
Sergeant Friday
Well, either she's a liar or one of her friends are, huh?
Brian
It's all bollocks stuff. No two stories anywhere near alike.
Sergeant Friday
What do they figure for a motive? They got a line on anybody who might have wandered out of the way.
Brian
Big field to pick from. She fought with Carl Shelton. She fought with his sister. Some of the people she worked with. She had three or four other men around town on the string, too. Any one of them could have wanted her out of the way.
Sergeant Friday
All her relatives have been checked out. And all her friends. Places she'd be most likely to go.
Brian
All checked. Not a trace of her.
Carl Shelton
Nothing.
Sergeant Friday
I guess we better start moving on it. A lot of ground to cover. See if we can't straighten out some of those stories.
Brian
One thing's sure. Somebody's lying.
Sergeant Friday
8:35am before we left the city hall, we checked with Sergeant Holmes and Missing Persons who'd taken the report on Rose Baker's disappearance. He had nothing to add to what was in the report and what he'd already told Ed. First on the interview list was the sister of the missing woman, Bernice Marin. She was employed as a saleswoman for a grocery supply firm. We called it the home where Ms. Marin lived with her four nieces and nephews. But there was no answer. The next door neighbor told us that Ms. Marin was working, that she usually didn't get home until 4:15 or 4:30 in the afternoon. In the meantime, we figured we might as well check the next name on the list. Mrs. Baker's boyfriend, Carl Shelton. We'd already checked him through R and I, and he had no record. We drove out to his address, a three story apartment house on 64th Street. Shelton's apartment was on the main floor rear. He answered the door in his bathrobe and slippers. He told us that he was employed at one of the local oil refineries and that this particular week he was working the graveyard shift. Eleven at night until seven in the morning. He showed us back to a small kitchen at the rear of the apartment. While we questioned him, he fixed a percolator of coffee and put it on the stove.
Brian
You sure about Ms. Baker's plans? Are you? She never mentioned anything to you about moving out of the apartment house here?
Carl Shelton
No, never. Somebody's handing you a line there. If Rosie was gonna move, she'd tell me about it. Just A minute. I gotta get that coffee. Looks about done. You fellers want some java? Got a whole pot full here.
Sergeant Friday
No. No, thank you. How long do you say you've known Ms. Baker?
Carl Shelton
About a year, year and a half. We got along pretty good. Good? Right from the start. Sure don't understand her taking off like this.
Sergeant Friday
Ms. Baker ever talked to you much about the family? Her sister, four children, I mean, did she see them regularly? Seemed to get along with them all right to you?
Carl Shelton
I don't think I'd know that. Rosie never had much to say about him. The only thing I could gather was that she just got sick of the routine. You know, keeping up a house, doing the wash, mopping, dusting, taking care of four kids. She just checked out, that's all. Let her sister Bernice, take over. If you ask me, she never should have had a family to begin with. Rosie isn't that kind. She's a party girl. Likes a good time. You know what I mean?
Sergeant Friday
Something I don't understand, Shelton. You said a minute ago you couldn't figure out Ms. Baker's going off like this. When you filed a missing report on her, you said she was planning a trip out of town.
Carl Shelton
Yeah, that's right.
Sergeant Friday
Well, isn't it possible she might have taken off without telling you?
Carl Shelton
No, I don't think so. She'd have told me. She's planning a trip, all right. But she wasn't gonna leave till the next night. Wednesday night she's gonna pick up this girlfriend of hers, Iris, and the two of them were gonna take the bus down to Laguna for a couple days.
Sergeant Friday
Well, it's our understanding this girlfriend, Iris, didn't know anything about the trip. Can you explain that?
Carl Shelton
I don't know. I guess Rosie forgot to tell her. Can't figure these women sometimes. Maybe she was gonna phone her Wednesday morning. She knew Iris could get away almost anytime.
Brian
You think it's possible she might have gone down to Laguna by herself?
Carl Shelton
No, that's not like Rosie. Besides, before I went in to report her missing, I called a couple of places down Laguna, where Rosie usually stops at. They hadn't seen her.
Brian
Possible she might have gone some other place?
Carl Shelton
No. Without telling me? No. Besides, she wouldn't go alone. I know that, sheldon.
Sergeant Friday
We understand Mrs. Baker was friendly with two or three other men around town. You think it's possible she might have gone someplace with one of them, Sheldon?
Bernice Marin
No.
Carl Shelton
No, I can't buy that. If it was eight months ago, I'd say maybe, but not now.
Sergeant Friday
Why not?
Carl Shelton
We had it out that's all. It was all settled. She wouldn't do anything like that again.
Brian
Pretty sure about that?
Carl Shelton
I am, yeah. Positive. I don't get it at all. She wouldn't do that to me. Taking off, just packing up and leaving. Rosie wouldn't do that to me.
Sergeant Friday
She's got four children.
Carl Shelton
Yeah, she did it to them.
Sergeant Friday
We questioned Carl Shelton for another half hour. But he failed to come up with anything in the way of a definite lead. 10:40am we drove to the home of the missing woman's girlfriend, an Iris Kirby. Two things she was pretty definite about. She knew nothing about an out of town trip Mrs. Baker was supposed to have planned for the two of them. And secondly, she had no use for Carl Shelton. She told us that Shelton was her ex boyfriend and that she had introduced him to Rose Baker. And that shortly after that he dropped her. A few weeks later, Shelton began to keep steady Company with Mrs. Baker. Outside of her personal grievance against Shelton, Iris Kirby had nothing to offer in the way of a lead to the whereabouts of her friend. 11:30am we got in the car and headed for the factory in the south end of town where Rose Baker was employed. We stopped off on the way for lunch, a bowl of soup and a sandwich. Ed had a cheeseburger and a piece of. Piece of. Before we left, we checked the office to see if there were any calls. Nothing. The place where Mrs. Baker worked was on Santa Fe Avenue. A one story building covering almost half a block. They manufactured men's work clothes, shirts and overalls. We checked with a personnel office. We asked if Rose Baker had any friends that she worked with. We were told that there was a Mildred Dunn who was a fairly close friend of the Baker woman. Ed and I waited in the office while they sent down to the plant for Mildred Dunn.
Brian
Ms. Dunn?
Mildred Dunn
That's right.
Brian
Police officers. My name's Jacobs. This is my partner, Sergeant Friday.
Bernice Marin
How do you do?
Sergeant Friday
How are you? I'd like to ask you a few questions about Rose Baker. Mrs. Dunn. I understand you're a pretty close friend of hers.
Mildred Dunn
Yes, that's right. I've known Rose ever since she came here. She worked on the machine next to me. She come home yet?
Brian
No, not yet. You remember Ms. Baker saying anything to you about taking a trip, Mrs. Dunn, I mean, just before she disappeared.
Mildred Dunn
Yes, she did. She'd been looking forward to it. That's probably where she is, don't you think? Off on her trip?
Sergeant Friday
Well, we don't know, ma'.
Bernice Marin
Am.
Sergeant Friday
Did she mention anything definite about the trip to you? Where she was going when she was leaving?
Mildred Dunn
Well, I think she was going to Laguna Beach. It's hard to tell. She's always kidding around. Rose is. Once she said she was going to fly to Switzerland for a vacation. Sam Ritz. She's always kidding around like that.
Brian
Oh, that's so.
Mildred Dunn
Like once when she had a date with Fred. She said she was going to the Pump Room in Chicago. You know, just being funny.
Sergeant Friday
I see. Who is this friend? Mrs. Dunn.
Mildred Dunn
Fell in the shipping department. Fred Lyons. Nice fella.
Sergeant Friday
He and Mrs. Baker see much of each other?
Mildred Dunn
They used to, yes, quite a bit. I don't know if they were serious about each other. I. I thought they were till the last month or so. Maybe they had a tip or something. Maybe Rose got tired of him.
Bernice Marin
I don't know.
Brian
But you do think the two of them were serious at one time?
Mildred Dunn
Oh, yes. Wasn't more than a month ago. And all of a sudden they weren't sweet on each other. Least Rose wasn't about him. She told me that.
Sergeant Friday
I guess we better check on him. And is this Fred Lyons working today? Do you know them?
Mildred Dunn
Oh, no. He quit last Tuesday.
Sergeant Friday
1:15pm we finished questioning Mildred Dunn and we went back to the personnel office to get Fred Lyons. Description. Last known address. We checked out the address, but Lyons had moved out the previous Tuesday and left no forwarding address. We questioned the landlady, looked over his rooms, checked through the neighborhood and talked to everybody he knew. We found nothing to indicate that Lyons had anything directly to do with Rose Baker's disappearance. But we did find out that he knew Mrs. Baker and that he thought quite a bit of her. We went back to the office, got out a broadcast and an APB on Lyons.
Brian
Want to check the book, Joe? See if we got any late calls here.
Carl Shelton
Yeah, sure.
Brian
I'll get it.
Carl Shelton
Right.
Brian
Homicide.
Carl Shelton
Jacobs.
Brian
That's right. Are they sure? Where was that? All right, thank you. Got something?
Carl Shelton
Yeah.
Brian
Hollywood Division. Woman's purse found in a vacant lot out there. High school kid found it. A lot of identification inside.
Sergeant Friday
Yeah.
Brian
Rose Baker,
Sergeant Friday
3:15pm the purse was brought downtown to the crime lab for detailed examination. Brian and Barrett from Homicide went out to interview the boy who found the purse and to check the neighborhood where it was discovered. Meantime, Ed and I drove out to talk to the missing woman's sister, 36 years old, Bernice Marin. She and her sister's four children lived in a five room stucco house just off Exposition Boulevard. We got there shortly after Ms. Marin returned home from her job. Her two older nephews were out in front, cutting the lawn. She showed us into a neatly kept living room where we interviewed her. She was a plain looking woman. Brown hair, gray eyes. She showed little concern about her sister's disappearance.
Bernice Marin
I gave up trying to keep track of her a long time ago, Sergeant. I haven't any idea where she's gone. I used to worry about her. I don't anymore.
Brian
How about that purse of hers who was found this afternoon? Ms. Marin. Wouldn't you say that makes her a little unusual or son?
Bernice Marin
I don't think so. She loses things all the time. I don't know what she does when she goes off on those things. I don't want to know. Gets drunk and does a lot of fooling around. I suppose she's lost two or three purses the same way.
Sergeant Friday
What about last Tuesday, the night she disappeared? You notice if she'd been drinking then?
Bernice Marin
Yeah. I got the idea she'd had a couple of highballs before she came over. She wasn't drunk, but she wasn't feeling any pain. I say, would you excuse me? I want to yell at the kids out there.
Sergeant Friday
Yes, ma'.
Roy
Am.
Bernice Marin
Frank. Frank, that's enough of that playing around out there. Let's get started pushing that lawnmower, huh?
Carl Shelton
Okay. Just trying out a new system.
Bernice Marin
Almost half done now. Better hurry it up. You still got the backyard to do, remember?
Carl Shelton
Yeah, okay.
Bernice Marin
The only good thing that came out of that married Sergeant. Those kids out there.
Brian
Yes, ma'.
Carl Shelton
Am.
Bernice Marin
There's two more besides Frank and Bobby. The girls? My nieces. One's nine, one's seven. Marvelous kids. Girls are just as pretty as pictures. I'm glad I have a chance to take care of them. I guess I just like kids. Can't understand it when people don't appreciate them. I don't have a family of my own.
Brian
Oh, I see.
Sergeant Friday
Ms. Marin, when you were with your sister last Tuesday night. You say she didn't mention anything at all about taking that trip out of town?
Bernice Marin
No, just the opposite. Like I told you, she said she was moving out of her apartment into a new place. That's why she needed the money.
Brian
Well, what's the story about this money your sister came to pick up Ms. Mann? I don't think I quite got that clear.
Bernice Marin
Well, we have this baby grand piano my mother gave Rose and me just before she died. Kids have been sick the last couple of months, one thing and another. I needed a little money to catch up on some doctor bills, so I sold the piano. I needed to do it, but the bills had to be paid. Well, Rose found out about it somehow, and she wanted half of the money I got for the piano. She wanted the money for herself. Can you imagine that? She wasn't even willing to pay for her own kids. Doctor bills. It'd be different if I was charging her to take care of the kids. I'd just do it because I like them.
Sergeant Friday
Mm, I see.
Bernice Marin
Well, anyway, she found out about it and I had to split the check with her. The whole thing was for $400.
Brian
I understand your sister got the check cashed that night. That correct?
Bernice Marin
Yeah, that's right. It was 8 o' clock at night. But Rose said she knew somebody who'd cash it. She wanted the money that night, Save an argument. We got in the car and went to see this friend of hers, some bartender. He couldn't cash the thing, so Rose took the car and went out to look up another friend she thought would cash it. I didn't want to go chasing all over town with her, so I stayed at this bar and had a beer.
Sergeant Friday
And that's the last time you saw your sister, is it?
Bernice Marin
Yes. I waited a couple of hours and then I walked home. Two blocks from the house, I saw my car pulled up the curb right on Exposition Boulevard. Car keys were in the glove compartment. $200 in cash right under them. No sign of Rose, though.
Brian
Well, what time was it when he got back to the house? You remember?
Bernice Marin
It was after 11. Close to 11:30, I think. I went right to bed.
Sergeant Friday
And since that time, you've had no indication where your sister might have gone? No phone calls, no letters? No word from one of her friends who might have seen her?
Bernice Marin
No, not a thing. She's in trouble. You can understand why. It's been coming for a long time. Last five years, going downhill all the time. She's no good, Sergeant. I don't know how it happened. Just no good at all.
Brian
Thank you very much, Ms. Marin.
Sergeant Friday
Thank you, ma'.
Roy
Am.
Bernice Marin
Oh, not at all. No trouble. Guess I better get dinner started for the kids.
Sergeant Friday
Well, if you hear anything about your sister, we'd appreciate it if you'd give us a call.
Bernice Marin
Yes, all right. It's gonna be the same old story, same thing all over again. You can bet on it, ma'.
Carl Shelton
Am.
Bernice Marin
She'll come back when the money's gone.
Sergeant Friday
5:15pm Ed and I drove back downtown and went directly to the crime lab. The missing woman's purse, which had been found in the vacant lot out in Hollywood, had been examined thoroughly. They'd found nothing that'd provide US with a new lead. We checked communications, but there was still no answer to the apb. We'd gotten out on Fred Lyons, the man who'd worked with Rose Baker and who dropped from sight the same day she did. 5:30pm we got back to the squadroom.
Carl Shelton
Hi, I'm Brian.
Brian
You just got back?
Carl Shelton
Yeah. You get the word?
Sergeant Friday
No. What's that?
Brian
Mrs. Baker.
Carl Shelton
They just found her body.
Dragnet Announcer
You are listening to Dragnet authentic stories of your police force in action.
Sergeant Friday
June 3, Monday, 6pm the body of 38 year old rose Baker had been discovered in the Hollywood hills area. Approximately 3/4 of a mile from the intersection of Mulholland Drive and Oak Knoll Terrace. A dirt road branched off to the left of Mulholland and wound about 300 yards down the hill to a dead end stop. Just below the guardrail which circled the edge of the road there were two eucalyptus trees. They overlooked a deep ravine covered with scrub oak and patches of laurel. Halfway down one slope of the ravine they found the body of the missing woman. There were two bullet holes in the left side of the skull. There was another one at the base of the throat. In her clenched right hand there was a 50 cent piece. The immediate area surrounding the body had been roped off and Lt. Lee Jones and the crime lab crew were making their preliminary investigation. There was no sign of the murder weapon. The coroner arrived and when the preliminary investigation was completed, the body was taken downtown to the county morgue. All clothing and personal effects were removed from the body and sent to the crime lab for detailed examination. Rose Baker's sister, Bernice Marin, was brought to the county morgue and identified the body. A few minutes after 10 o' clock that night, Ed and I got back to the office. I got it. Homicide Friday.
Carl Shelton
Is this Sergeant Friday?
Sergeant Friday
Yes, sir, that's right.
Carl Shelton
This is Carl Shelton. Sergeant. You were out to talk to me this morning. You remember?
Sergeant Friday
Oh, yeah. Shelton.
Carl Shelton
I heard about Rosie just a couple minutes ago. I got to talk to you, Sergeant. There's something I got to tell you.
Sergeant Friday
Was that so? Do you want to tell me now?
Carl Shelton
I don't want to tell you on the phone. I'll drive in to see you. I'll leave right now.
Sergeant Friday
Well, yeah. All right. Do you mind telling me what it's about?
Carl Shelton
Yeah. I know who killed Rosie.
Sergeant Friday
1108pm Carl Shelton arrived at the office. Ed and I took him down the hall to the interrogation room where he gave us his story. He told us first of all that he was well acquainted with most of the regular customers at the tavern where Rose Baker and her sister had first stopped to cash the $400 check. He told us one of these people, Leroy Hansen, had contacted him after he read in the morning paper about Mrs. Baker's murder.
Carl Shelton
I've known Leroy at least four or five years. Used to work with him. He wouldn't lie to me.
Brian
What'd this fellow tell you? Shelton? That's Leroy Hanson.
Carl Shelton
He said he got to the bar a little after midnight. It had to be at least that, because Leroy doesn't get off work till 11:30. Said he saw Rosie sitting in a car parked a couple doors down from the bar. There was a woman in the car with her. He described her just like Rosie's sister. They were having a beef.
Sergeant Friday
This friend of yours hear what Mrs. Baker and this woman were talking about?
Carl Shelton
No, but he's smart enough to know a big argument when he sees one. He says they were really going to it.
Sergeant Friday
Is he sure about the time?
Carl Shelton
He's got to be. Leroy works at a sheet metal plant south of town. He gets off at 11:30. Takes him more than a half hour to get in. Why should he lie about it? He wasn't even going to mention it till he found out she was dead.
Brian
This woman he says Ms. Baker was with, she fits her sister's description. That closer?
Carl Shelton
Yes, exactly. And there was a guy with Leroy. He'll back it up. If the sister says she wasn't sitting in that car with Rosie outside that bar after midnight, she's a liar.
Sergeant Friday
Well, she is if you can prove your story.
Carl Shelton
Here's the phone. You ask Leroy.
Sergeant Friday
11:22pm we put in calls to both of the men who were supposed to have seen Rose Baker and her sister Bernice sitting in a parked car outside the tavern six nights before. Both of them corroborated Carl Shelton's story down to the last detail. They were especially certain about the time Bernice Marin told us that on the night her sister Rose disappeared, she hadn't seen her after 9:15pm and that she had walked home and was in bed by 11:30. Both Leroy Hansen and his friend told us that they had seen Rose Baker and a woman answering her sister's description sitting together in a car parked outside the tavern. They were both certain at the time that it was well past midnight. We made a check on Leroy Hansen and his friend. As far as we were able to find out, there was no logical reason why they should lie about what they told us. Ed and I got in the car and drove out to the home of Bernice Marin. Just off Exposition boulevard. It was 20 minutes past midnight. We rang the front doorbell and got her out of bed.
Bernice Marin
Oh, hello, Officers. Didn't know who it was. Come in.
Brian
Thank you, man.
Bernice Marin
Well, you have to wait long before I answered. I sleep pretty sound.
Carl Shelton
Fred.
Brian
We'll have to ask you to get dressed. Ms. Marin. Like to talk to you downtown.
Bernice Marin
Why? What's the matter?
Sergeant Friday
Well, some more questions we have to ask you, ma'. Am. Few more things we have to clear up about.
Bernice Marin
Well, I've told you everything I know. I don't like to go out and leave the kids alone at night. What is it you want to ask me about?
Sergeant Friday
Well, you told us the last time you saw your sister was about 9:15 last Tuesday night. Ms. Marin.
Bernice Marin
Yes, that's right.
Sergeant Friday
We've got a couple people who claim they saw you with your sister after midnight Tuesday. You were sitting with her in your car parked outside a tavern. You're having an argument with her. At least two people saw you. And they'll swear to that?
Bernice Marin
No, that couldn't be right.
Brian
They claim it is.
Bernice Marin
They say it was after midnight and they saw me with Rose.
Sergeant Friday
Yes, ma', am, that's what they say.
Bernice Marin
And you believe it? You believe it was me?
Sergeant Friday
Yes, ma', am, we do.
Bernice Marin
You think I killed Rose?
Mildred Dunn
Is that it?
Sergeant Friday
Yes, ma', am, we think so. How about it, Miss Marin?
Bernice Marin
It'll take me a minute to get my clothes on. I want to talk to the oldest boy, my nephew Frank. Would it be all right?
Sergeant Friday
Well, I'll have to go along with you.
Bernice Marin
All right. This way. Down the hall. In here. I don't want to wake the other kids if I can help it.
Sergeant Friday
All right.
Bernice Marin
Frank, Wake up, Frank. Frankie.
Carl Shelton
What do you want, Anthony?
Bernice Marin
I hate to wake you up, Frankie. I'm gonna have to go downtown tonight. I'm leaving now. In case I'm not here when you and the kids get up, I want you to take care of everything. All right, honey?
Carl Shelton
Yeah, okay. What do you have to go downtown for?
Bernice Marin
Well, it's something about your mother, Frank. Might take a little time. You see the girls get off to school on time in the morning, won't you? Bobby, too. The sandwiches are all made. They're in the icebox. All you have to do is put them in a paper sack. All right?
Carl Shelton
Yeah, okay. Why do you have to go now? Can't you wait until tomorrow?
Bernice Marin
I'm afraid not, honey. You take care of everything, huh? Make sure all the doors are locked and don't forget to feed the dog.
Carl Shelton
No, I won't. Forget.
Sergeant Friday
What's the matter?
Carl Shelton
Is there anything wrong?
Bernice Marin
No, of course not. Now, if something happens so I can't get back tomorrow, I'll call you on the phone, all right?
Carl Shelton
Yeah, okay.
Sergeant Friday
You be sure and call, huh?
Bernice Marin
I'll call you, honey. Go to sleep now, huh? It'll be all right. You get some sleep. Good night, Frankie.
Carl Shelton
Yeah, okay. Good night.
Bernice Marin
I'm sorry to keep you waiting. I had to tell Frank what to do. The kids wouldn't understand. I mean, if they woke up and didn't find me here.
Sergeant Friday
Yes, ma'. Am. What'd you do with a murder gun, Ms. Marin?
Bernice Marin
Out in the garage. I'll show you. I had her four kids to raise. It's not easy. You know what it costs to feed them, put clothes on their back? It's not the kids I minded. They're wonderful. I love every one of them. I'm glad to get the chance to raise them. Never married myself. Never had any of my own. Hasn't been easy at all. Working all day. Coming home and cooking for them. Doing the wash. Trying to keep the. The house clean. Rose never gave me a dime to pay a bill for her own kids too. She gave us nothing. And she tried to take everything. Tried to bleed me for my last dollar. She cashed the check that night. Said she was gonna keep all the money. I couldn't stand anymore. We argued. And I killed her.
Sergeant Friday
Yeah, well, I'm sorry, ma'.
Dragnet Announcer
Am.
Sergeant Friday
We'll have to go.
Bernice Marin
Yes. All right. What'll I do, Sergeant? What'll I say?
Sergeant Friday
I advise you to tell the truth. You'll get a fair trial.
Bernice Marin
I know that. It's not what I mean.
Sergeant Friday
What do you mean?
Bernice Marin
Inside there. What am I going to say? How will I explain it, ma'? Am, the kids. How do you tell four kids you killed their mother?
Narrator
The story you have just heard was true. The names were changed to protect the innocent.
Dragnet Announcer
On October 3, trial was held in Superior Court Department 92, City and County of Los Angeles, State of California. In a moment, the results of that trial. When their aunt, Bernice Alberta Marin, was apprehended on suspicion of 187pc the four Baker children were taken into protective custody by juvenile authorities. Bernice Marin was indicted for murder and entered a plea of self defense. She claimed that at the time of the murder, her sister attacked her with a knife. While they argued over the division of the $400 check. Bernice Marin was tried in Superior Court by a jury composed of nine men and three women. She was found not guilty. You have Just heard Dragnet a series of authentic cases from official files. Technical advice comes from the office of Chief of Police W.H. parker, Los Angeles Police Department. Technical Advisors, Captain Jack Donahoe, Sergeant Marty Wynn, Sergeant Van Spracher. Heard tonight were Barney Phillips, Virginia Greg, Vic Perin. Script by Jim Moser Music by Walter Schuman Hal Gibney speaking.
Sergeant Friday
Next, it's counterspy on NBC.
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Adam Graham
Welcome back. Well, kind of an interesting ending in that she was acquitted. It leaves me with quite a few questions about this, the real life situation as well as some of the adaptation issues. Like did the alleged attack from Rose actually happen or was it something that she made up later? It does seem like when police confronted her, that would probably be one of the first things that she would say. The adaptation leaves it feeling like that she acted in anger. So it'd be more like a case of perhaps manslaughter. And of course, if the self defense story was true, it seems like there would be some corroborating evidence in the car or on the body. Although this might also be a case of a situation where you could say to someone, no jury in the world would ever convict me if I took some rash action. And it actually is true, Bernice would be a very sympathetic defendant. And a lot of people, if not most people, have had a relative similar to Rose. So maybe that sympathy overrode any evidence. If, on the other hand, it really was self defense and there was not any sort of maliciousness, you'd hope that she would get custody of the kids back or at least that that process would be considered. But again, there is a limit to what we can know from the Dragnet radio play. All right, well now it's time to thank our Patreon Supporter of the Day. Thank you to Nancy, Patreon supporter, Since March of 2016, currently supporting the podcast at the Detective Sergeant level of $7.14 or more per month. Thanks so much for your support, Nancy, 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 Thursday with another episode of Dragnet, but join us back here tomorrow for yours truly, Johnny Doll, or where.
Roy
Nice to hear from you again, Johnny. What can I do for you, Roy?
Johnny Doll
I'm putting this call on expense account.
Carl Shelton
That ain't all.
Johnny Doll
If I could make connections down to New York. Well, let's see. There's a plane leaving for the West Coast a little after midnight, so I'd arrive in LA early in the morning.
Roy
You're coming out here?
Johnny Doll
Unless somebody's been pulling my leg. Roy, do you have a policyholder named Helen Dainer lives somewhere up here?
Roy
We certainly do.
Johnny Doll
Well, now, what's that mean?
Roy
She's an elderly woman, a spinster, who lives up in the little town of Morro bay. That's about 200 miles north of here. Johnny, she called this office early this afternoon. She demanded your phone number there in Hartford.
Johnny Doll
And?
Roy
Well, I didn't give it to her.
Johnny Doll
Why not?
Roy
Because she wouldn't say why. She wanted to get in touch with you.
Johnny Doll
Oh, fuck.
Roy
And knowing how busy you always are. Well, just a few minutes ago, I began to wonder about it. Yes? Well, after all, if she wanted to contact you about some insurance matter.
Johnny Doll
Yeah.
Roy
What?
Johnny Doll
Well, did you call her back?
Roy
Yes, since we handle all her insurance, that is. I tried to, but I got no answer.
Johnny Doll
Then, Roy, I'm going to grab that plane I was talking about.
Roy
Well, now, wait. Did she get to you? Did you talk to her?
Johnny Doll
Yes.
Roy
And it has something to do with her insurance.
Johnny Doll
Plenty. So I'm flying out there, Roy. At your company's expense.
Roy
Now, just a minute.
Johnny Doll
Unless, of course, you'd rather pay off her insurance to some beneficiary.
Roy
Johnny.
Johnny Doll
Then just be sure to have a rental car waiting for me when I pull into the airport.
Adam Graham
I hope you'll be with us then. In the meantime, send your comments to Box 13@GreatDetectives.net follow us on Twitter at Radio Detectives 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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Brian
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Sergeant Friday
Did this parking lot have a waterfall?
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The Great Detectives Present Dragnet (Old Time Radio)
Host: Adam Graham
Episode: Dragnet: The Big Rose (EP5004)
Date: June 25, 2026
Original Air Date of Dragnet Episode: March 27, 1952
This episode of The Great Detectives Present Dragnet features the classic radio drama "The Big Rose." Host Adam Graham revisits this dramatic Dragnet case from 1952, following the investigation into the mysterious disappearance—and later the murder—of Rose Baker, a troubled woman with four children. The story unfolds as the police methodically interrogate family, friends, and associates, unraveling a web of lies before uncovering the shocking truth.
Premise:
“The story you are about to hear is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent. You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned a homicide detail. A 38 year old woman disappears... There’s evidence of foul play. Your job: find her.”
(Narrator, 03:11)
Investigators:
Sergeant Joe Friday narrates, joined by partner Ed Jacobs and Homicide Chief Thad Brown.
Background on Rose Baker:
Key Facts:
Conflicting Accounts:
Quote:
“It’s all bollocks stuff. No two stories anywhere near alike.”
(Brian, 07:45)
Interviews:
Lead on Fred Lyons:
Purse Found:
Interview with Bernice Marin (Sister):
Bernice’s Care for Children:
Bernice’s Final Comment:
Discovery of the Body:
Key Quote:
Carl Shelton’s Revelation:
Police Confront Bernice:
Bernice’s Emotional Farewell to Children:
Confession:
Describing Rose Baker’s troubled life:
“She’s a party girl. Likes a good time.”
(Carl Shelton, 09:57)
Sister’s Resigned Attitude:
“I gave up trying to keep track of her a long time ago, Sergeant.”
(Bernice Marin, 15:43)
Dramatic Confession:
“I had her four kids to raise. It’s not easy. You know what it costs... She gave us nothing. And she tried to take everything. Tried to bleed me for my last dollar. ... I couldn’t stand anymore. We argued. And I killed her.”
(Bernice Marin, 26:23–26:53)
Grim Dilemma:
“How do you tell four kids you killed their mother?”
(Bernice Marin, 27:12)
This episode stands out for its portrayal of despair, family duty, and the fine line between justice and mercy. Host Adam Graham’s commentary adds contemporary reflections, pondering both the facts and the emotional complexity of the real case versus the radio adaptation.
For fans or newcomers alike, this summary encapsulates the story’s puzzle, its atmosphere, and the disquieting resolution that leaves more questions than answers.