- Friday begins to question Henry Ross, a suspect in a man's disappearance, which Friday believes is actually a murder. Ross coolly and calmly denies any involvement in the disappearance, but Friday's relentless interrogation soon begin to crack the man's facade.—frankfob2@yahoo.com
- Season 1 Episode 5 Synopsis - The Big Cast Aired 2-14-52 Friday, Jacobs are working the day-watch out of Homicide, the boss is Detective Chief Thad Brown, it was a sultry October day, at 10:45 AM, they arrived at the Ortega Hotel, a thirty-year-old man had disappeared suddenly, evidence was uncovered of foul play. The list of suspects was narrowed to one man, the last person known to see him alive. The officers had traced the suspect for months, finally the break came, they found him. Friday, Jacobs go the man's room, Henry Ross is his name. They identify themselves as police officers, they ask if he is Henry Ross, entering the room, the suspect breaks a chair over Jacobs, attempting to slug it out with Friday. Friday subdues him with punches, Jacobs cuffs him from behind, sits him in a chair. They order Ross to get dressed, they want to talk downtown, he brushes his teeth, while cuffed from the front. They ask about a missing Paul Davis, he responds, I knew a Davis, don't know if his name was Paul. His face is bleeding, as he finishes brushing, Friday wipes blood from his own face. Is something wrong, Ross asks. Friday responds, yeah, murder. After they search Ross's room thoroughly, they take him back to the interrogation room.
Ross was a longshoreman by trade, a heavy drinker, with a violent temper. Friday says Ed and I questioned Ross for a half-an-hour, they got nowhere. Friday explains the missing man's agenda to Ross, Davis' car was sold and he did not sell it. Davis was on his way up to another town to take a new job, but he never made it. That is when they found his car, not him. Davis's signature was forged on the car title. The forgery was signed by Henry Carter. Ross denies ever using an alias. Friday shows Ross the pink slip of the sold car, reading from Davis, seller, to Carter, buyer. Jacobs says the signatures are both in your handwriting. Ross keeps fiddling with a book of matches, denying the signatures are his, never seeing the pink slip before now. Friday claims the police handwriting expert says the signatures are from Henry Ross. Friday shows Ross a letter, which he denies is his handwriting.
The letter was written by Henry Carter to Paul Davis' wife, claiming the car was sold to someone and Carter had to write the letter. Davis has been gone four months, the police thinks he was murdered. Six men have been missing, taking off on auto trips, no trace of them to date; Ross is now tearing up the matchbook he was earlier fidgeting. Jacobs brings Henry's record from Baton Rouge to Friday; Friday reads to Henry. Friday tells Henry on June 4th Paul Davis left in his car, stopping for gas, accompanied by a man described by the station attendant meeting Ross's description. Friday continues to tell the story with two more stops of the car. After which, that is the last time Davis was seen alive, the people identify the man Davis was last seen with was Ross. The dealer buying the car identifies Ross' mug shot as the man selling the car as Henry Carter.
Ross asks Friday, Jacobs if they each think he murdered Davis. Friday and Jacobs say yes, they do think he killed Davis. Ross states there is only one way to prove if he is the murderer, find Davis' body. Mid-day, Friday, Jacobs took Henry Ross out and fed him lunch, then they all returned to the interrogation room. Ross talked about the different cases he read up on, all but talking about Davis. He never asked for an attorney, seemed calm as he talked. They made arrangements for a lie detector test that Ross consented, without hesitation. Sgt. Berger administered the polygraph test, then the three returned to the interrogation room.
Ross kept talking, the officers let him talk, it was eight PM. Ross says he liked reading about murder cases. Berger has the results of the polygraph, sixteen positive reactions to the test. Friday tells Henry, there were sixteen positive responses to the lie-detector test; he lied sixteen times. Ross asks Friday, Jacobs let's get something to eat, bring a map, I will tell you where I buried him.
At Henry's request, Helga's Health Shop was where he wanted to dine for his evening meal. The three sat down at Helga's, each man ordered something to eat; it was near closing time, Henry order the most food. Ross says he could write down the information. He did not know Davis from before, he was hitchhiking, Davis picked him up. He got the idea of killing him when they stopped for gas, and he saw a few bucks in his wallet.
Ross says you don't need any reason to kill somebody, Davis had eighteen bucks in his wallet, that is as good a reason as any. He admits killing Davis outside of Bakersfield, a little canyon there. He picked up a fifth of sherry in Bakersfield, got Davis to drink some of it. They stopped about two miles out of town, both fell asleep in a shack Ross had spotted.
Ross picked up a two-by-four, started to swing at faces he saw, about a dozen people's faces. The faces disappeared after he saw Davis on the floor; after he killed Davis. He says he buried Davis near the shack, burned his clothes and drove off. He admits to killing the other men in other towns, no reason given. Friday asks him about those killings Henry, any more you want to tell us about? Ross answers Friday, he told them already. He mentions one killing where he sold the car in Mexico, saying he wish he had done the same with Davis' car. Jacobs asks when the first killing was; Henry answers, maybe 18 months, two years ago. The first one wasn't any harder than the last. Ross says he was only bothered by the killings just that once, when was dreaming, saw faces, while he was sleeping in the shack with Davis. Ross thanks Friday for the meal.
The suspect was tried and found guilty of murder in the first degree. Henry Ross was executed in the lethal gas chamber of the State Penitentiary, San Quentin, CA.
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