- Someone murdered a secretary late at night in her office. She was beaten to death with a metal pipe wrapped in newspaper. Could it be the drunk found three blocks away beating his head against a wall?
- Synopsis - The Big September Man - Aired 5-8-52 A secretary is found killed in her office building, beaten with a newspaper-wrapped, steel pipe, left aside her body. A suspect was picked up, half-drunk, and questioned by Joe Friday and Ed Jacobs. Suspect claims he knows the girl, not a romantic relationship, she just lent him money whenever he was short. She gave him a five and he split immediately afterward; he mentioned there was a guy in her office, but he did not get a good look at the guy. He tells Friday he would be unable to identify the other guy if he saw him.
A search of the apartment of suspect Robert French yielded blood stained clothes, where the suspect says is the result of being drunk and falling. They book him, later Sgt. Lopez has verified he is a quiet drunk, never bothers anybody.
Looking up the common factors in the killing of Adele Prior with other recent murders, brings them to look for another man. The other man is identified as William Tanner, the guy in Adele Prior's office when Robert French was there. Tanner was suspected of beating a woman one year prior with a steel pipe.
The police want to question Tanner, but are unable to locate him. They visit his brother at his workplace; he is a fireman. The brother, Martin Tanner, provides insight to Tanner's one-sided relationship with Adele. He liked her, but she did not care either way; Martin says she seemed to be playing the field, when he met her.
The police put an APB out on William Tanner. Police research validates his brother's description of his behavior; religion is part of his life. His whereabouts are unknown, his brother does not have his current address with him, but they find Tanner in a revival hall. The two other detectives on the case check Tanner's apartment, while Joe and Ed continue talking to him.
Tanner confesses to killing Adele while questioned at the revival hall. Bloodstained clothing in his room corroborated the story as Tanner gave a complete confession at HQ. He continued to admit to killing the other woman a year ago in September and planting a bomb that never went off in a hotel on a prior September. The hotel was his former employer that paid him late, which he claims never forgave them.
Tanner gets two convictions for first degree murder and is executed at San Quentin Penitentiary.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content