WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:16.000 And now, tonight's presentation of radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense. 00:16.000 --> 00:23.240 Tonight, we bring you a story more amazing than any fiction, the dramatized court reports 00:23.240 --> 00:28.400 concerning a man who tried to clear himself of murder, a factual document we call, Once 00:28.400 --> 00:35.400 a Murderer. So now, starring Ben Wright, here is tonight's Suspense play, Once a Murderer. 00:35.400 --> 00:51.040 Well, what'd you give it to him for? I told you, he said he'd lease the place and you'd 00:51.040 --> 00:55.400 give him the keys, I was out of no- It doesn't look like he's moved in yet, anyhow. Thought 00:55.400 --> 01:02.320 you said he'd be here. Ah, it's open. Well, that's hell. We can get our stuff out before 01:02.320 --> 01:09.640 he snigs them. I'll take the ladder. Alright. Er, tools and box are in the corner. You going 01:09.640 --> 01:15.840 to the races tonight? Well, I don't know, mate. You? Oh, not me. I'll lose another father 01:15.840 --> 01:21.040 on those ruddy dogs and the old lady will bash me head in. Oh well, that looks like 01:21.040 --> 01:32.240 the lot. Sure you didn't leave anything else? No. Alright. Hello? What? Behind the counter. 01:32.240 --> 01:48.240 Looks like a shoe. Half a tick. Oh, lousy- Ah! Cool. It's murder, Tom. That's what? 01:48.240 --> 01:56.240 It's a murder. Look, Tom. I know. Look, you say, I'll call the police. Oh, crikey. Oh, 01:56.240 --> 02:04.240 crikey. Look at her poor face. It's horrible. Yeah, yeah, Bert, Bert, you alright? Bert? 02:04.240 --> 02:10.120 I don't know. I don't know. I think I'm going to be- No, you wait outside. You'll feel 02:10.120 --> 02:23.200 better in the air and I'll, I'll get a copper. I won't be long. Bert Shin and I worked for 02:23.200 --> 02:29.040 a firm of signboard fixers. Bert was my foreman and as I told Peggy later that night, I was 02:29.040 --> 02:34.400 surprised the way he turned soft all of a sudden. Funny what the look of a dead body 02:34.400 --> 02:39.560 can do to a chap. Well, I suppose it takes all kinds though. Like the inspector at the 02:39.560 --> 02:47.560 police station asking me questions about finding the body. Funny way he had then looked fat, 02:47.560 --> 03:03.120 sloppy. A cigarette, Mr. Shaw? Yes, I don't mind. Thanks. Thanks. Yeah. Now, I'm sure 03:03.120 --> 03:09.280 you can help us, Mr. Shaw, just answer these few questions if you will. You are 31 years 03:09.280 --> 03:15.200 of age. That's right. Born in England. Yes. And you are a permanent resident of this city. 03:15.200 --> 03:20.680 Yes. Now, sir, you and Mr. Bert Shin discovered the body of the young woman Anna Leeming this 03:20.680 --> 03:26.960 morning in an empty shop at number 75 Bond Road. That's right. You went to the shop in 03:26.960 --> 03:33.000 order to gather a ladder and some tools which you, Mr. Shaw, left yesterday. Right. Mr. 03:33.000 --> 03:43.600 Shin was not present yesterday. He was not. Now, what time did you leave the shop yesterday? 03:43.600 --> 03:51.280 Well, it must have been about half past five. You had removed a two-let sign on the premises. 03:51.280 --> 03:56.440 I had, yes. Will you tell me why you left the ladder and tools after you'd finished? 03:56.440 --> 04:01.480 Well, I didn't have the car and it was late and the wife and I had a date. Ah, yes, I 04:01.480 --> 04:06.960 did. Did you see the deceased at any time yesterday? No. No, not yesterday or any other 04:06.960 --> 04:13.080 time. Mr. Shin, in his evidence, testified that you had given the shop keys to an unidentified 04:13.080 --> 04:17.280 man. Will you tell me about that, please? Well, it's the same thing I told Bert. This 04:17.280 --> 04:21.120 bloke come along and said he had leased a place. Did I know where the keys were? Oh, 04:21.120 --> 04:28.480 this bloke, how was he dressed? Oh, he had, um, pretty sporty. Plus fours. Brown, I think. 04:28.480 --> 04:35.880 Can you describe him? A medium-ite. On the, uh, fat side, if you know what I mean. I, 04:35.880 --> 04:42.640 uh, know what you mean. Go on. Well, that's all. He gave no name? No. Oh, would you mind 04:42.640 --> 04:48.560 using that ashtray, Mr. Shaw? Oh, sorry. Thank you so much. But, um, you gave this man the 04:48.560 --> 04:52.800 set of keys which had been entrusted to you by the owner. Oh, that's all right. He said 04:52.800 --> 04:56.400 he'd leased it. I took his word. I saw him just taking the sign down on order, so. Oh, 04:56.400 --> 05:01.600 of course you thought that he had every right. What then? Well, and, uh, time was getting 05:01.600 --> 05:05.520 on, so I thought I'd leave and come back today for the tools. Did the stranger stay in the 05:05.520 --> 05:09.520 shop after you'd gone? Yes. He said he wanted to look round. He told me not to worry about 05:09.520 --> 05:13.880 my things. He'd lock up when he left. Ah. Then didn't you wonder at the time how you'd 05:13.880 --> 05:17.840 manage to get in this morning if the door was going to be locked and you no longer had 05:17.840 --> 05:23.680 a key? No, he said he'd be there early. Said he'd let me in. Oh. Uh, what did you say 05:23.680 --> 05:29.280 was the color of the man's trousers? Plus fours. Brown. Oh, it's of course how silly 05:29.280 --> 05:36.120 of me to forget. And you'd never seen Anna Leeming before? Never. Ah. Well, you have 05:36.120 --> 05:41.200 been most helpful, Mr. Shaw. We may wish to get in touch with you again, particularly 05:41.200 --> 05:48.440 if, uh, when we find the man who leased the shop. Identification, you know. Yeah. Oh, 05:48.440 --> 05:51.880 well, anything I can do to help, Inspector, you, uh, you just call on me, huh? That's 05:51.880 --> 06:06.360 most kind of you. Good afternoon. I thought that would be the end to it, but it wasn't. 06:06.360 --> 06:10.760 The owner of the shop said he hadn't leased the place at all. He decided to take it over 06:10.760 --> 06:15.760 for himself. Well, that left me with my story. The man in plus fours had no way to prove 06:15.760 --> 06:23.320 it. Well, they gave Peg and me a hard time. Police, newspaper reporters, neighbors, everybody. 06:23.320 --> 06:27.400 It kept on like that for over a month. And then one day I, I got a call from the police 06:27.400 --> 06:33.480 to go down to the station. Oh, it's so good of you to come, Mr. Shaw. We've, uh, found 06:33.480 --> 06:38.200 a man who seems to answer the description you gave. Well, it's about time. Things have 06:38.200 --> 06:42.920 been pretty nasty, you know. I lost my job. I've got a wife and kid to think about. Well, 06:42.920 --> 06:47.160 then your identification of this man will clear up any doubts concerning you, won't 06:47.160 --> 06:54.160 they, Mr. Shaw? Has he confessed? Unfortunately, no. He denies everything. Well, I expect you 06:54.160 --> 07:00.120 won't have much trouble after I identify him, will you? No, I expect not. Uh, bring in the 07:00.120 --> 07:05.840 suspect, please. Mind if I smoke? Oh, no, not at all. Sure. Match? No, I've got one, 07:05.840 --> 07:18.800 thanks. Ah. All right, Mr. Shaw. I want you to have a good look at this man and tell me 07:18.800 --> 07:30.240 if you've ever seen him before. Hello. Well, don't say hello to me. I've never seen you 07:30.240 --> 07:37.320 before in my life. That will do, Mr. Cottle. Well, is, uh, is this the man? Yes. You're 07:37.320 --> 07:43.760 absolutely certain? I think so. Clothes look about the same. Would you ask him to say something 07:43.760 --> 07:48.680 again? Oh, Mr. Cottle, I already will say something I will. You haven't got any right 07:48.680 --> 07:53.400 to warn me in here. I guess what I was... That's enough. You're not on trial. Well, 07:53.400 --> 07:58.080 I've got my right, I have. Not fair. I think so, Inspector. That's the way he sounded when 07:58.080 --> 08:05.440 he asked for the keys. You'd be willing to swear to it on oath? Yes, I, I think so. Yes, 08:05.440 --> 08:14.960 that's the man, all right. But he wasn't. He'd been out of town during the week the girl 08:14.960 --> 08:20.960 was killed and he proved it. So it was an unsolved murder. And that's the way it stayed for two 08:20.960 --> 08:26.480 years. Oh, the papers forgot about me, the dead girl. Now, people who read the papers 08:26.480 --> 08:32.440 forget. But the police don't. And whenever I went looking for a job, there was always 08:32.440 --> 08:47.800 somebody who remembered the name Thomas Shaw. Was that you, Tommy? Yes. Any luck? No. Part-time 08:47.800 --> 08:54.000 work, there's not enough in it to keep a fly alive. Oh. How's the kid? Asleep. You been 08:54.000 --> 09:01.080 drinking? Oh, a couple of beers at the corner. Well, come on, dinner's been on for an hour. 09:01.080 --> 09:05.720 Fish? No, filet mignon with caviar. What do you think? Oh, no, look, there's no need 09:05.720 --> 09:11.040 to get funny. It's not my fortune, though. I suppose so. Tommy, what are we going to 09:11.040 --> 09:17.800 do ever since that girl? Oh, Tom. Oh, no, love, I know. That old cat next door was talking 09:17.800 --> 09:22.400 to the postman I heard her. She said it was a wonder they let a murderer walk about loose. 09:22.400 --> 09:25.320 Oh, she did, did she? Well, the next time you see her, you give her a smack in the eye 09:25.320 --> 09:30.640 for me, or perhaps I'll do it for myself. Oh, what's the use? Now, come on, kid. Things 09:30.640 --> 09:43.200 will get better. You'll see, ducks. I couldn't get better, though, not until I did something 09:43.200 --> 09:49.280 about it. I made up my mind what to do a week later. I had to make it right, and there was 09:49.280 --> 09:54.240 only one way. I'd made arrangements for the wife and kids, so I knew they'd be all right, 09:54.240 --> 10:00.960 and then I called the police inspector. Chief Inspector Osborne here. Hello, Inspector, 10:00.960 --> 10:09.920 this is Tom Shaw. Remember me? Two years ago? Oh, I remember, Mr. Shaw. Well, I just called 10:09.920 --> 10:16.080 because I want to make a confession. A confession? Mr. Shaw, where are you? Oh, don't worry, 10:16.080 --> 10:22.960 I'm not going to run away. I'll do myself in. What is it you wish to confess, Mr. Shaw? 10:22.960 --> 10:45.000 I want to confess the murder of Anna Leeming. You are listening to Once a Murderer, tonight's 10:45.000 --> 10:59.000 presentation in radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense. 10:59.000 --> 11:04.600 This week, an annual hunt for unknown and unknowing diabetics is underway. Diabetes 11:04.600 --> 11:09.880 can be controlled. People live completely useful lives with this disease. But it is 11:09.880 --> 11:15.280 important to discover its presence to avoid the possible serious consequences of neglect. 11:15.280 --> 11:20.800 This week, hundreds of communities are providing free tests to determine the presence of diabetes. 11:20.800 --> 11:28.360 Test yourself or be tested. It's simple, painless, and sure. And now we bring back to our Hollywood 11:28.360 --> 11:35.500 soundstage Ben Wright, starring in tonight's production Once a Murderer, a tale well calculated 11:35.500 --> 11:54.360 to keep you in suspense. That was in July, my confession. They didn't 11:54.360 --> 11:58.480 bring me to trial until September. You'd think that a man who'd made a confession would make 11:58.480 --> 12:03.080 it easy for him to get it over with. While it was raining cats and dogs the day they 12:03.080 --> 12:08.360 brought me up to the dock in criminal court, the judge was a nasty old devil, Sir William 12:08.360 --> 12:18.600 File, and he looked it. Clerk, read the charge. Members of the jury, 12:18.600 --> 12:26.280 the prisoner at the bar, Thomas Shaw, is charged with the murder of Anna Leeming. And it is 12:26.280 --> 12:29.360 your charge. Oh, that jury, silly looking bunch. I'd been 12:29.360 --> 12:33.760 on juries. I know what they were like. Somebody rather always grumbling. I wanted to go home 12:33.760 --> 12:38.440 to baby or back to work. Call a man guilty so as I can be home in time to go to the movies. 12:38.440 --> 12:46.200 I know I did it myself once. Of course, it wasn't a murder trial. 12:46.200 --> 13:02.360 I'll leave it with your case, Mr. Beckett. Now, Mr. Shaw, I have here a detailed statement 13:02.360 --> 13:07.240 describing how you inveigled the young woman into the shop that evening two years ago, 13:07.240 --> 13:10.120 strangled her and then made off with the money in her purse. 13:10.120 --> 13:12.720 Will you show the evidence to the prisoner, Mr. Beckett? 13:12.720 --> 13:18.640 So he may see it for himself. Certainly, my Lord. I call to your attention, 13:18.640 --> 13:24.200 Mr. Shaw, an excerpt from your confession here. Yes. 13:24.200 --> 13:29.200 Would you be good enough to read it aloud, please? 13:29.200 --> 13:36.520 All right. I lost my temper and put my hands around her throat. She seemed to faint away 13:36.520 --> 13:42.600 and fell back out of my hands on the floor. She didn't scream or speak. I knew that something 13:42.600 --> 13:47.320 was seriously wrong when she fell back and lost control of myself and cannot remember 13:47.320 --> 13:53.440 exactly what happened afterwards. Yes, thank you. That'll be enough, I think. 13:53.440 --> 13:57.000 And that is your confession, Mr. Shaw. Now, I wrote it, yes. 13:57.000 --> 14:01.120 Now, that will be all. No more questions, my Lord. 14:01.120 --> 14:09.080 Any questions, Mr. Sheckshaw? If you please, my Lord. 14:09.080 --> 14:13.400 Mr. Shaw, will you tell us a story you first told the police concerning the men in plus 14:13.400 --> 14:20.520 fours to whom you gave the keys of the shop? Yes. This fellow in plus fours came up and 14:20.520 --> 14:22.560 said he'd leased the shop and to give him the keys. 14:22.560 --> 14:27.240 You had never seen him before? No, I took his word. 14:27.240 --> 14:31.120 You then left the premises and this man within the confines of the shop. 14:31.120 --> 14:33.600 That's right. Did you see the girl and her leaving at all 14:33.600 --> 14:35.840 that night? No. 14:35.840 --> 14:38.560 Did you know her personally or had you ever seen her? 14:38.560 --> 14:41.120 No. I put it to you plainly. Did you kill that 14:41.120 --> 14:45.600 girl? I did not. 14:45.600 --> 14:50.040 Why did you make that onto statement, the confession? 14:50.040 --> 14:53.520 Because I hadn't got a chance to prove I was innocent. I wanted the whole thing cleared 14:53.520 --> 14:56.320 up properly. I wanted to be arrested and put on trial so 14:56.320 --> 15:00.720 I could be proved innocent by law. Them people let me and my wife and kid alone. 15:00.720 --> 15:05.360 A peculiar way of proving your innocence to say that you are guilty of murder, sir? 15:05.360 --> 15:12.360 It was the only way, my lord. That will be all. 15:15.960 --> 15:20.080 Not by a long shot it wasn't. Mr. Edward Beckett was at my throat for another 15:20.080 --> 15:24.160 hour. He made me dizzy with his questions. But when he was done, the judge leaned across 15:24.160 --> 15:29.160 and looked over his specs at him. Mr. Beckett, do you think it possible to 15:29.160 --> 15:33.880 convict from the evidence? I do not think so, my lord. 15:33.880 --> 15:40.280 I do not think so. Members of the jury, I have indicated to 15:40.280 --> 15:44.240 you through this trial the matters to which you should apply your minds. 15:44.240 --> 15:49.240 There is no evidence against the prisoner except for his own statement. 15:49.240 --> 15:53.760 It's quite obvious he's a liar, but you can't find a man guilty of murder simply because 15:53.760 --> 15:58.400 he's a liar. I therefore direct you to find a verdict of 15:58.400 --> 16:05.400 not guilty. Things were a little better after that. 16:11.360 --> 16:17.640 I got a job or two, the usual. It kept enough in the earth for the kid, Peg, 16:17.640 --> 16:22.800 then a pint now and again for me. But I was fed up. 16:22.800 --> 16:27.760 Men like me want money. Lots of money. What's the use of grubbing about all your 16:27.760 --> 16:31.920 life trying to save sixpence here, sixpence there? 16:31.920 --> 16:38.560 Now I had to get hold of something worthwhile. I found it when I met Harriet Vaughan. 16:38.560 --> 16:41.240 She was a widow who owned a flat near the motor works. 16:41.240 --> 16:46.360 Middle-aged, but still pretty good-looking. We took to each other like a couple of lovebirds. 16:46.360 --> 16:50.240 Of course, I had to keep it dark from Peg, but that wasn't hard. 16:50.240 --> 16:57.240 I'd done it before. What time is it? 16:57.760 --> 17:01.840 About eleven. Yeah, especially for you. 17:01.840 --> 17:06.840 Not too weak, not too strong. Thanks. 17:06.840 --> 17:12.960 Now I've got to go. Too many late nights for me. 17:12.960 --> 17:15.320 Peg's going to start wondering what kind of job I'm doing. 17:15.320 --> 17:18.480 You're not going? Oh, now you're not going again? 17:18.480 --> 17:21.840 Yeah, I'm afraid so. By the way, could you spare a fiver? 17:21.840 --> 17:26.960 You see, there's a dog running to Morrie. No. No. I'm sick and tired of this. 17:26.960 --> 17:31.800 For the past month, it's been the same thing. Spend a couple of hours here and off you go. 17:31.800 --> 17:35.800 I'm not giving you any more money either. Oh, come on. Now I've told you, Peg's been... 17:35.800 --> 17:38.320 I don't believe you. It's probably another woman. 17:38.320 --> 17:42.440 Another woman? What do you take me for? Look, just a fiver tonight and I promise to 17:42.440 --> 17:46.040 Morrie I... I haven't got any money in the hours. 17:46.040 --> 17:50.440 I've got to have it, sweetheart. It's an emergency. You don't think I like asking you, do you? 17:50.440 --> 17:53.520 No more. All right, well make it two quid. 17:53.520 --> 17:56.960 No. You're going to get nasty. 17:56.960 --> 18:03.960 No more money. Oh, I'm onto your game. It's not me. It's me money. That's all. 18:03.960 --> 18:08.360 Well, you've seen the last of both of us. All right. For old times sake, a few quid, 18:08.360 --> 18:13.320 a farewell present, eh? Present? You? Don't make me laugh. 18:13.320 --> 18:18.320 I'll have to take it myself then. Don't you dare. I'll have the law on you. 18:18.320 --> 18:21.360 Keep away from my bag. Now you take it easy, aren't you? There's 18:21.360 --> 18:25.400 no need to get all excited. You give that to me. 18:25.400 --> 18:28.840 You clear out of here now. Shut your mouth. 18:28.840 --> 18:34.840 I'll have the law on you, I will. Yes, you do. You tell them what a naughty boy 18:34.840 --> 18:36.840 I've been. You tell them all about yourself too, eh? 18:36.840 --> 18:42.000 That'll look nice in the papers. I don't care. You can't make a fool of me. 18:42.000 --> 18:44.120 I'm calling the police. You come back here. 18:44.120 --> 18:48.240 Take your hand off of me. Hurry. I don't want to hurt you, but I'm going to 18:48.240 --> 18:53.240 have to unless you... I warned you. Now it's your own fault. 18:53.240 --> 19:17.200 All that row about a fiver. They were spread all over the papers next day. 19:17.200 --> 19:20.640 Nobody seemed to know anything about it. The murderer hadn't left a clue. 19:20.640 --> 19:23.560 They suspected a robbery motive, but that's as far as they were going. 19:23.560 --> 19:27.760 I was pretty lucky myself. I took the five pounds, tripled them at the dog races. 19:27.760 --> 19:32.920 I thought I'd give the kid a peg of presents, so I bought a train for him and a new dress 19:32.920 --> 19:36.600 for her. It was a treat to see the tears in her eyes 19:36.600 --> 19:39.760 when I gave it to her. Pure silk. 19:39.760 --> 19:41.800 Tommy. Tommy. 19:41.800 --> 19:46.360 Now, go on. Take it easy. Go on and try it on. 19:46.360 --> 19:49.640 I'm going to set up the kid's train. It'll be ready when he wakes up in the morning. 19:49.640 --> 19:53.360 Tommy. Put it on, eh? 19:53.360 --> 20:00.000 All right. You know something? I always wanted a set like this. 20:00.000 --> 20:03.480 I think I'll have as much fun as a kid working it. 20:03.480 --> 20:06.800 Of course, it's only clockwork, but it's a starter. 20:06.800 --> 20:14.560 Oh, you wait till you see the engine. Peg? 20:14.560 --> 20:24.480 Hey, what's all this? Why you ever put it on? Don't you like it? 20:24.480 --> 20:28.040 Listen, if the colour's no good, you can change it. There's no reason to cry. 20:28.040 --> 20:31.120 Ducks, come on. Now, try it on. See if the size is right. 20:31.120 --> 20:34.120 I like the colour. I thought you would. Hey. 20:34.120 --> 20:39.160 Don't you touch me. Don't. What's the matter? What did I do? 20:39.160 --> 20:43.520 Where did you get the money for those things? What do you mean, where did I get the money? 20:43.520 --> 20:48.600 Tell me. Or shall I tell you? Now you're upset. I'll tell you what. 20:48.600 --> 20:50.920 I know about you. That woman who was murdered. 20:50.920 --> 20:53.360 Loop it on the dress and we'll go out. I know you've been seeing someone. 20:53.360 --> 20:59.000 And I followed you to her flat last night. I saw you go in. She was dead after that. 20:59.000 --> 21:05.000 That's where you got the money, isn't it? You told anyone? 21:05.000 --> 21:08.040 No. You wouldn't lie to me, would you, Peg? 21:08.040 --> 21:12.080 I haven't, I haven't. Not because of you, but the kid. 21:12.080 --> 21:16.880 You did it, didn't you? Well, didn't you? Now you listen to me. 21:16.880 --> 21:19.560 You don't know anything about anything. Understand that? 21:19.560 --> 21:22.040 You didn't see anything, did you? I'm afraid of you. 21:22.040 --> 21:25.560 That's two you've killed. You kill me next. Don't be silly. 21:25.560 --> 21:29.760 I should have told the police. I'll be next. Or the kid. 21:29.760 --> 21:33.040 What I did or what I didn't do is none of your business. 21:33.040 --> 21:37.080 You attend your arse work. I'll take care of it. 21:37.080 --> 21:44.080 Well, I'm going out for a while and don't you talk to anybody about anything, mind? 21:44.080 --> 21:48.080 Don't you forget what I say. Not a word. 21:54.080 --> 22:00.080 There was nothing else to do. Peg was right. There was the kid and there was her. 22:00.080 --> 22:06.080 I didn't want to hurt her and I knew sooner or later she'd say something she had to. 22:06.080 --> 22:12.080 Well, a man's got to protect his family, so I went to the police. 22:12.080 --> 22:15.080 I confessed to the murder of Harriet Vaughan. 22:22.080 --> 22:27.080 It was the same court, the same judge. And I had another shock when I saw the prosecutor. 22:27.080 --> 22:31.080 I knew him and I could tell by the way he smiled that he knew me. 22:31.080 --> 22:34.080 It was Beckett, the same one who'd been down my throat last time. 22:34.080 --> 22:39.080 Oh, he wasn't supposed to say anything about the other child, but he had a funny smile as he came up to me. 22:41.080 --> 22:45.080 Mr. Shaw, odd coincidence meeting you again. 22:45.080 --> 22:53.080 Now, you stated in your confession that you murdered Mrs. Vaughan because you did not have the fortitude to take your own life. 22:53.080 --> 22:56.080 As far as I can remember, that's what I said, yes. 22:56.080 --> 23:02.080 And that by committing murder you would, in that act, forfeit your life thereby accomplishing your aim of suicide. 23:02.080 --> 23:04.080 Yes. 23:04.080 --> 23:08.080 Would you mind explaining to us your reason for contemplating the taking of your own life? 23:08.080 --> 23:11.080 I said I'd quarreled with her. She was finished with me. 23:11.080 --> 23:18.080 I knew I couldn't go on living without her. And I didn't have the nerve to kill myself. 23:18.080 --> 23:20.080 Will the prisoner speak up? 23:20.080 --> 23:24.080 I'm sorry. I said I didn't have the nerve to kill myself. 23:24.080 --> 23:26.080 And that is what you stated in your confession? 23:26.080 --> 23:28.080 Yes. 23:28.080 --> 23:30.080 No more questions, my lord. 23:30.080 --> 23:32.080 Mr. Lyons. 23:32.080 --> 23:34.080 Thank you, my lord. 23:36.080 --> 23:40.080 Now, Mr. Shaw, you have admitted to the writing of the confession. 23:40.080 --> 23:41.080 I have. 23:41.080 --> 23:42.080 Is it true? 23:42.080 --> 23:49.080 Oh, but one thing. I did have a quarrel with her, but I didn't kill her. 23:51.080 --> 23:53.080 Explain to the court, if you will. 23:53.080 --> 23:58.080 I went back to the house to apologize, and when I got there another man was just coming out of her flat. 23:58.080 --> 24:01.080 I went in and I found her lying dead. 24:01.080 --> 24:06.080 And you knew then that the police suspicions would be upon you because there was no proof of the other man being there? 24:06.080 --> 24:07.080 That's right. 24:07.080 --> 24:11.080 I put it to you, Mr. Shaw. Did you kill that woman? 24:11.080 --> 24:13.080 No, I did not. 24:16.080 --> 24:18.080 Why then did you confess to the police? 24:18.080 --> 24:22.080 Oh, because they wouldn't have believed me, and I wanted to have myself cleared by trial. 24:22.080 --> 24:24.080 Thank you. 24:24.080 --> 24:26.080 No further questions, my lord. 24:26.080 --> 24:28.080 I have a question, my lord. 24:28.080 --> 24:33.080 I understand, Mr. Shaw, that you repudiate your confession. Is that so? 24:33.080 --> 24:38.080 That's right. It's all true about the quarrel, but I didn't kill her. 24:38.080 --> 24:44.080 Yet, Mr. Shaw, you've painted an excellent picture of her death in your confession. Every detail, I might add. 24:44.080 --> 24:46.080 I didn't kill her. 24:46.080 --> 24:54.080 If you wanted to confess to a murder you had not committed, what could have been more convincing at the time than to put your head out of the window and call the police? 24:54.080 --> 24:59.080 Well, I hadn't exactly decided to confess to killing her then. 24:59.080 --> 25:05.080 However, your description of the murder is graphic to the extreme. How do you account for that? 25:05.080 --> 25:13.080 Well, I could tell by looking at it what had happened. It was just good guesswork, that's all. 25:13.080 --> 25:18.080 Were your fingerprints guesswork? On the glass of whiskey, on the knob of the door, on her handbag? 25:18.080 --> 25:27.080 Did you know, Mr. Shaw, that following your confession, your wife came to us of her own volition and substantiated your movements on the night in question? 25:27.080 --> 25:31.080 No. I didn't know. 25:31.080 --> 25:36.080 No. I didn't think that you did. 25:36.080 --> 25:54.080 I'm satisfied, my lord. No further questions. 25:54.080 --> 25:58.080 Members of the jury, are you agreed upon your verdict? 25:58.080 --> 26:00.080 We are. 26:00.080 --> 26:05.080 Do you find the prisoner Thomas Shaw guilty or not guilty of bad app? 26:05.080 --> 26:07.080 Guilty, my lord. 26:07.080 --> 26:12.080 I didn't really think it would work, but there hadn't been any harm in trying. 26:12.080 --> 26:20.080 It's the funny thing about a sure bet. If it works once, don't try it twice. 26:20.080 --> 26:22.080 Oh well. 26:22.080 --> 26:27.080 Thomas Shaw, the sentence is the sentence laid down by law. 26:27.080 --> 26:33.080 I haven't been a good father or husband, I suppose. How many of us are? 26:33.080 --> 26:39.080 But what I get from these memoirs is for Peg and a kid. 26:39.080 --> 27:08.080 The only thing is, I'm sorry, I can't be around to spend some of it. 27:08.080 --> 27:15.080 Suspense, in which Ben Wright starred in tonight's presentation of Once a Murderer. 27:15.080 --> 27:34.080 Be sure to listen next week to radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense. 27:34.080 --> 27:39.080 Suspense is produced and directed by Anthony Ellis, who also wrote tonight's script. 27:39.080 --> 27:43.080 The music was composed by Lucian Morwick and conducted by Wilbur Hatch. 27:43.080 --> 27:54.080 Featured in the cast were Betty Hofford, Paula Winslow, Richard Peel, Joseph Kearns, Charlie Lung, Ramsey Hill, John Doddsworth, Herb Butterfield, and Byron Cain. 27:54.080 --> 28:03.080 Know the way to follow the best of the music when you dance, while you'll follow the dramatic highlights on CBS radio's Monday through Friday daytime drama, The Guiding Light, just as closely. 28:03.080 --> 28:23.080 Listen to the inspiring stories of people like yourselves, your friends, your neighbors, tomorrow and every weekday on most of these stations. 28:23.080 --> 28:33.080 Listen while you work. Dr. Malone is here on the CBS Radio Network. 28:53.080 --> 29:21.080 The Guiding Light