The Big Shirt

Originally Aired: November 30, 1952

Dragnet #180, "The Big Shirt," Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith catch a brutal homicide case on a sweltering July morning in Los Angeles. When George Armstrong arrives to open the small neighborhood pawn shop he co-owns, he discovers a scene of devastation: smashed glass cases, clothing strewn across the floor, and the body of his business partner, Mark Williams, brutally beaten to death and stuffed in a closet. Armstrong tells Friday and Smith about his fifteen-year partnership with Williams, two old friends who never married after both fell in love with the same woman years ago. The victim was last seen alive Saturday night when he stayed behind to close up the shop.

As Friday and Smith begin their investigation, the pieces of Mark Williams' final hours slowly emerge. Armstrong explains that Williams failed to show up for their regular Sunday morning bowling date at Exposition Park, an unusual but not alarming absence. Now detectives must work through the crime scene evidence and interview witnesses to determine who would commit such a savage murder in the back room of a quiet pawn shop.