The Big Ham

Originally Aired: June 28, 1953

Dragnet #210, "The Big Ham,"

Sergeant Joe Friday and Frank Smith are called to investigate what appears to be a suicide in the Westlake Park district. A young woman has been found dead in an apartment rented to a man named Ross Mitchell, who is nowhere to be found. The victim, initially unidentified as Jane Doe Number 17, is soon identified by her father, Robert Andrews Paul, as his daughter Gloria. A suicide note was discovered at the scene, but the circumstances raise questions that Friday and Smith must pursue.

As Friday and Smith interview the grieving Mr. Paul at the coroner's office, troubling inconsistencies emerge. Gloria was a good girl who didn't drink or smoke, someone looking to settle down rather than pursue a career. Her father knew nothing about Ross Mitchell or what his daughter would be doing in that part of town. Gloria had mentioned a mysterious boyfriend she refused to identify, and she had last been seen Saturday afternoon claiming she was going to a show with her friend Peggy Rockwell. The detectives must now track down Peggy and uncover the truth about Gloria's relationship with the elusive Ross Mitchell.