1 00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:05,640 Speaker 1: This story contains adult content and language. Listener discretion is advised. 2 00:00:12,400 --> 00:00:16,200 Speaker 2: It started this amazing guessing game where everyone pointed the 3 00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:19,279 Speaker 2: finger at everybody else. Well, I would call people and 4 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:21,040 Speaker 2: they were brad on their neighbors. 5 00:00:26,560 --> 00:00:30,400 Speaker 1: I'm Kate Winkler Dawson, a nonfiction author and journalism professor 6 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:33,199 Speaker 1: in Austin, Texas. I'm also the co host of the 7 00:00:33,240 --> 00:00:37,080 Speaker 1: podcast Buried Bones on Exactly Right, and throughout my career, 8 00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:41,080 Speaker 1: research for my many audio and book projects has taken 9 00:00:41,159 --> 00:00:44,360 Speaker 1: me around the world. On Wicked Words, I sit down 10 00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:49,160 Speaker 1: with the people I've met along the way, amazing writers, journalists, filmmakers, 11 00:00:49,159 --> 00:00:53,600 Speaker 1: and podcasters who have investigated and reported on notorious true 12 00:00:53,600 --> 00:00:57,360 Speaker 1: crime cases. This is about the choices writers make, both 13 00:00:57,440 --> 00:01:00,400 Speaker 1: good and bad, and it's a deep dive into the 14 00:01:00,480 --> 00:01:06,399 Speaker 1: unpublished details behind their stories. We are now digging into 15 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:10,360 Speaker 1: a real Texas story. We're talking about a brazen jewel 16 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:13,720 Speaker 1: thief in the nineteen sixties who burgled some of the 17 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:17,119 Speaker 1: wealthiest homes in Dallas. But he was an odd thief. 18 00:01:17,520 --> 00:01:20,959 Speaker 1: Sometimes he just took one diamond ear ring, probably because 19 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:23,479 Speaker 1: he knew it would ruin the set. He would put 20 00:01:23,520 --> 00:01:26,679 Speaker 1: down a towel so he didn't sully an expensive chair 21 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:30,360 Speaker 1: by stepping on it. Who was this guy? Author Reina 22 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:34,559 Speaker 1: Peterson unfurls the story in her book The King of Diamonds, 23 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:39,920 Speaker 1: The Search for the Elusive Texas Jewel Thief. Well, let's 24 00:01:39,920 --> 00:01:42,600 Speaker 1: start from the beginning. Are we in the fifties when 25 00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:45,560 Speaker 1: we have the first break in happen? And tell me 26 00:01:45,600 --> 00:01:48,120 Speaker 1: about the circumstances and as much detail as you can, 27 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:49,720 Speaker 1: because this story is wild. 28 00:01:50,080 --> 00:01:52,400 Speaker 2: It is wild, you know. The further I got Angelo, 29 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:54,240 Speaker 2: I thought, oh, this is so crazy. Nobody's going to 30 00:01:54,280 --> 00:01:57,520 Speaker 2: have believe this. People assumed that it went on through 31 00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:00,840 Speaker 2: the sixties, but it probably started in the midds fifties. 32 00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:03,880 Speaker 2: So we're talking about fifty four or nineteen fifty five 33 00:02:04,440 --> 00:02:09,320 Speaker 2: to nineteen seventy, which was very much a gilded era 34 00:02:09,760 --> 00:02:12,880 Speaker 2: in Dallas because the state had gone through There was 35 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:15,680 Speaker 2: early oil after the turn of this century, and then 36 00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:19,280 Speaker 2: there was the depression and a long drought. So this 37 00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:22,760 Speaker 2: was this resurgence of oil money and oil riches. So 38 00:02:22,840 --> 00:02:25,680 Speaker 2: the state in Dallas in particular, was full of gatsbies. 39 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:29,200 Speaker 2: It was full of people who suddenly had money and 40 00:02:29,240 --> 00:02:32,080 Speaker 2: they wanted status, so they wanted to dress like it 41 00:02:32,160 --> 00:02:35,880 Speaker 2: and live like it, and have jewels that reflected how 42 00:02:35,960 --> 00:02:39,079 Speaker 2: much money they had. So it was this perfect storm 43 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:43,200 Speaker 2: that attracted opportunists of all times, like a jewel thief. 44 00:02:43,360 --> 00:02:47,720 Speaker 2: So the burglary that really started the King of Diamonds story. 45 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:50,320 Speaker 2: The burglaries really had been going on for several years 46 00:02:50,360 --> 00:02:54,640 Speaker 2: before them, was in nineteen fifty nine, January twenty fourth, 47 00:02:54,680 --> 00:02:57,880 Speaker 2: to be precise. It was a very cold January. As 48 00:02:57,919 --> 00:03:01,080 Speaker 2: you probably know, North Texas can getry cole. It is 49 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:04,400 Speaker 2: actually a prairie. There's not much to break the wind, 50 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:07,760 Speaker 2: and blue Norther had brown in. It was cold chilli night, 51 00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:12,120 Speaker 2: and a couple named Josephe mcgroth and her husband Bruno 52 00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:15,079 Speaker 2: were going to the Jewel Ball in Fort Worth. Well. 53 00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:17,960 Speaker 2: The Jewel Ball was what it sounds like. It was 54 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:22,840 Speaker 2: a big fancy ball dedicated to showing off and celebrating jewels. 55 00:03:23,040 --> 00:03:26,520 Speaker 2: So to go, you were your very best jewels, and 56 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:30,400 Speaker 2: you went to this ball and jewelers, prominent jewelers like 57 00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:34,920 Speaker 2: Harry Winston, Neiman Marcus brought jewels to show off and 58 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:37,640 Speaker 2: you could try them on and sit there under a 59 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:40,320 Speaker 2: spotlight and people would come and take pictures of you 60 00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:44,520 Speaker 2: trying on these big sparkers, so to prepare for the 61 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:48,000 Speaker 2: jewel ball that night, Josephine Groff, Bruno Groff put on 62 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:50,960 Speaker 2: his tucks and Josephine Groff put on her best jewels, 63 00:03:51,040 --> 00:03:56,200 Speaker 2: put on her diamond earrings, diamond necklace, diamond booch, diamond bracelet, 64 00:03:56,440 --> 00:04:00,520 Speaker 2: and a diamond ring that was twenty point four carrots. 65 00:04:01,360 --> 00:04:04,440 Speaker 2: People said it was a diamond as big as the Alamo, 66 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:08,560 Speaker 2: and it was. They went in their rolls voice pulled 67 00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:11,240 Speaker 2: out of the driveway, drove to Fort Worth. They took 68 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:14,440 Speaker 2: another couple with them, mister and missus Alger Meadows. He 69 00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:17,800 Speaker 2: was also a big oil and Josephine was an oil widow. 70 00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:20,400 Speaker 2: She'd been married to a man named Jack Herbert who 71 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:24,600 Speaker 2: found oil when they lived in fort Worth. Not spindle 72 00:04:24,680 --> 00:04:27,920 Speaker 2: Top or Discovery big, but big enough to live in 73 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:30,520 Speaker 2: a big mansion in fort Worth. But they ended up 74 00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:34,520 Speaker 2: moving to Dallas and built this fabulous house that was 75 00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:38,159 Speaker 2: designed by Edward Durell Stone, who also designed the Museum 76 00:04:38,160 --> 00:04:41,599 Speaker 2: of Modern Art and the Kennedy Library. So you can 77 00:04:41,760 --> 00:04:46,760 Speaker 2: envision it was a big, stately modern house full of 78 00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:50,240 Speaker 2: art treasures, and at night it lit up like a 79 00:04:50,320 --> 00:04:53,599 Speaker 2: golden lantern. It was just a spectacular house. It was 80 00:04:53,640 --> 00:04:56,680 Speaker 2: nothing else like it in Dallas at the time. So 81 00:04:56,720 --> 00:04:58,880 Speaker 2: they get in their rolls voice and they head to 82 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:03,080 Speaker 2: Fort Worth with Alger Medals and his wife. And of course, 83 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:06,039 Speaker 2: at that time, and everybody mentioned this, there was a 84 00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:08,600 Speaker 2: lot of drinking. There's a lot of drinking now, but 85 00:05:08,720 --> 00:05:12,120 Speaker 2: back then there was a lot of drinking. Because they 86 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:14,880 Speaker 2: had been through the depression, that had been through a 87 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:18,560 Speaker 2: seven year draft. They were ready to celebrate. So there 88 00:05:18,640 --> 00:05:21,920 Speaker 2: was the party, the after party, the after after party. 89 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:25,200 Speaker 2: So they get home at three o'clock in the morning. 90 00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:29,279 Speaker 2: Josephine Groff comes in. She's tired. She puts her jewels 91 00:05:29,360 --> 00:05:32,640 Speaker 2: in the dresser instead of a safe or somewhere else. 92 00:05:32,640 --> 00:05:34,800 Speaker 2: She's tired. She's going to bed at three o'clock in 93 00:05:34,839 --> 00:05:37,320 Speaker 2: the morning. She wakes up late the next morning and 94 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:41,279 Speaker 2: goes into her dressing room and looks and the jewels 95 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:44,400 Speaker 2: that she had taken off a few hours before were 96 00:05:44,480 --> 00:05:49,120 Speaker 2: all gone. Wow, the ear rings, the necklace, the brooch, 97 00:05:49,680 --> 00:05:52,679 Speaker 2: the bracelet, and the diamond as big as the Alamo. 98 00:05:53,320 --> 00:05:55,680 Speaker 2: So they called the police. And when the police came, 99 00:05:56,320 --> 00:05:59,600 Speaker 2: they realized why the way that this was something very special. 100 00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:03,360 Speaker 2: It was the biggest jewel theft in Dallas history, worth 101 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:06,400 Speaker 2: well over a million dollars today and picture this is 102 00:06:06,440 --> 00:06:09,440 Speaker 2: after the depression in a rural state. This was a 103 00:06:09,520 --> 00:06:12,880 Speaker 2: very big deal and it made headlines all over the country. 104 00:06:13,200 --> 00:06:16,320 Speaker 2: This burglary was so good. He was almost like a 105 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:21,440 Speaker 2: well trained saboteur. He climbed a ten foot wall, ran 106 00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:24,479 Speaker 2: along the top of the wall, and leaped they think 107 00:06:24,560 --> 00:06:28,360 Speaker 2: as far as fifteen feet to a balcony that went 108 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:31,799 Speaker 2: around the second floor of the golf house, pried open 109 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:36,040 Speaker 2: the window and came in. Josephine Groff told police that 110 00:06:36,080 --> 00:06:38,240 Speaker 2: she had the oddest feeling that he had been in 111 00:06:38,320 --> 00:06:42,960 Speaker 2: her closet at the time, which is possible. He did 112 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:45,200 Speaker 2: that from down to time. And if you can think, 113 00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:47,240 Speaker 2: how unnerving would that be. 114 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:49,719 Speaker 1: I don't even want to hear anything about. That's my 115 00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:52,479 Speaker 1: worst nightmare, somebody coming through the attic. Yeah, being and 116 00:06:52,520 --> 00:06:55,040 Speaker 1: the people do that, It's oh, that's so scary. 117 00:06:55,520 --> 00:07:01,040 Speaker 2: He did. He was absolutely fearless, nerves of steel, didn't 118 00:07:01,120 --> 00:07:04,840 Speaker 2: leave any trace in the house, mister warm gloves, no fingerprints, 119 00:07:04,920 --> 00:07:08,520 Speaker 2: very hard to track him down, and then disappeared. Well 120 00:07:08,600 --> 00:07:11,840 Speaker 2: some time went by, and then he struck again. Oddly enough, 121 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:15,840 Speaker 2: it was the home of Josephine Groff's daughter who also 122 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:19,960 Speaker 2: lived in this same wealthy area called Preston Hollow, and 123 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:22,840 Speaker 2: while they wed a football game, he came in. It's 124 00:07:22,840 --> 00:07:24,880 Speaker 2: the middle of the afternoon. He came in through a 125 00:07:24,920 --> 00:07:28,880 Speaker 2: sliding door. There was a nanny there, a cook, and 126 00:07:28,960 --> 00:07:32,800 Speaker 2: three children. None of them heard them. But when she 127 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:36,239 Speaker 2: got back from the game and realized that a jewel 128 00:07:36,280 --> 00:07:39,920 Speaker 2: thief had been in her home with their children a 129 00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:43,600 Speaker 2: few feet away, she was absolutely terrified. The thought of 130 00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:46,800 Speaker 2: your child being vulnerable, being in your bed in your 131 00:07:46,880 --> 00:07:50,640 Speaker 2: nightgown is bad enough, but having your children there was really, 132 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:53,960 Speaker 2: I think rattling for a lot of people. So the 133 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:57,000 Speaker 2: police pulled out all the stops. Something weird was going on. 134 00:07:57,120 --> 00:07:59,240 Speaker 2: They didn't know what it was, but they knew it 135 00:07:59,280 --> 00:08:01,720 Speaker 2: was weird. So they checked all their sources in the pen, 136 00:08:02,320 --> 00:08:05,640 Speaker 2: in the jail, they checked the hotels, They checked all 137 00:08:05,640 --> 00:08:10,120 Speaker 2: their street sources and squeezed them and couldn't find a clue. 138 00:08:10,320 --> 00:08:13,440 Speaker 2: And the burglaries continued. There was one house where he 139 00:08:13,560 --> 00:08:17,040 Speaker 2: went in and again, if you can picture yourself, picture 140 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:20,600 Speaker 2: this happened to yourself. A couple went to a dinner 141 00:08:20,840 --> 00:08:23,800 Speaker 2: at a friend's house in a penthouse and got home 142 00:08:23,840 --> 00:08:26,640 Speaker 2: around midnight, and she was walking up the stairs. She 143 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:29,960 Speaker 2: thought she heard a sound click, so she said to 144 00:08:30,040 --> 00:08:33,959 Speaker 2: her husband, honey, have you locked up? And he said no, 145 00:08:34,200 --> 00:08:36,880 Speaker 2: I am right now, and she said good, so she 146 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:40,560 Speaker 2: walked on up into her bedroom. She thought the sound 147 00:08:40,600 --> 00:08:43,679 Speaker 2: had come from a closet, so she looked in her closet, 148 00:08:43,720 --> 00:08:47,280 Speaker 2: didn't see anything shut the door, bottom dressed, went to bed, 149 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:50,679 Speaker 2: slept fitfully, woke up the next morning and the closet 150 00:08:50,720 --> 00:08:54,400 Speaker 2: door was open. She looked in her dressing room and 151 00:08:54,800 --> 00:08:57,679 Speaker 2: they were going to Paris the next morning. She had 152 00:08:57,720 --> 00:09:00,880 Speaker 2: packed what she called her necessary bag, a red toat 153 00:09:01,480 --> 00:09:04,880 Speaker 2: that she put her jewels in, any pharmaceutical special and 154 00:09:04,960 --> 00:09:08,679 Speaker 2: makeup that she needed in the necessary bag. Her necessary 155 00:09:08,720 --> 00:09:11,800 Speaker 2: bag was gone, and quite a few of her very 156 00:09:11,960 --> 00:09:17,280 Speaker 2: best jewels. The thief had come in the back, moved 157 00:09:17,280 --> 00:09:20,880 Speaker 2: a launcher up, climbed a very high window that was 158 00:09:20,920 --> 00:09:23,520 Speaker 2: only about two feet wide, dropped down to a toilet, 159 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:26,720 Speaker 2: went into their house, walked in, and was in the 160 00:09:26,760 --> 00:09:29,960 Speaker 2: closet when they came back. One of the odd things 161 00:09:30,080 --> 00:09:32,520 Speaker 2: was that they had these little yappy dogs, two or 162 00:09:32,559 --> 00:09:35,719 Speaker 2: three little yappy dogs, you know the kind I mean, 163 00:09:36,120 --> 00:09:39,520 Speaker 2: he didn't bark, and that happened time and time again. 164 00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:42,080 Speaker 2: The guy would walk by a bed where people were 165 00:09:42,080 --> 00:09:44,000 Speaker 2: in there and their dog would be sleeping on the 166 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:47,480 Speaker 2: bed and not bar So it was a mystery on 167 00:09:47,520 --> 00:09:49,480 Speaker 2: top of a mystery on top of the mystery. 168 00:09:52,679 --> 00:09:57,160 Speaker 1: Okay, so the first couple was Josephine and Bruno, and 169 00:09:57,200 --> 00:10:01,280 Speaker 1: then her daughter from her deceased husband, so that was 170 00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:04,439 Speaker 1: the next person. Tell me what we think of this 171 00:10:04,520 --> 00:10:08,040 Speaker 1: guy based on the first three jobs that he's done. 172 00:10:08,120 --> 00:10:12,000 Speaker 1: Clearly physically fit, but clearly targeting. Are they all in 173 00:10:12,040 --> 00:10:16,120 Speaker 1: the same type of neighborhood or you mentioned he must 174 00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:19,600 Speaker 1: know these people or something about them. Is that What 175 00:10:19,679 --> 00:10:21,079 Speaker 1: do we know at this point? 176 00:10:21,440 --> 00:10:24,560 Speaker 2: No, you're absolutely right, that's a good question. Another thing 177 00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:27,839 Speaker 2: that made this so unique was that primarily hit these 178 00:10:27,880 --> 00:10:32,920 Speaker 2: three areas. There are two wealthy suburbs next to Dallas, 179 00:10:33,040 --> 00:10:36,719 Speaker 2: Hohland Park and University Park. Most of the many of 180 00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:39,160 Speaker 2: the burglaries were in Hoghland Park, which is an area 181 00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:43,000 Speaker 2: that's only two square miles, so it's a very contained area, 182 00:10:43,400 --> 00:10:47,280 Speaker 2: and in Preston Hollow, which is actually five, which is 183 00:10:47,320 --> 00:10:49,840 Speaker 2: part of Dallas, but it seems like a suburb. It's 184 00:10:49,880 --> 00:10:52,880 Speaker 2: five to six square miles, But most of the burglaries 185 00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:55,800 Speaker 2: in Preston Hollow took place in a one square mile area, 186 00:10:56,120 --> 00:10:59,120 Speaker 2: so what's called Old Preston Hollow what I would call 187 00:10:59,240 --> 00:11:02,400 Speaker 2: Deep Wealth. Still, you know, it's such a contained area, 188 00:11:02,480 --> 00:11:05,200 Speaker 2: but they still couldn't couldn't find The police would patrol 189 00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:07,439 Speaker 2: at night and drive up and down. Sometimes they drove 190 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:10,120 Speaker 2: as much as one hundred miles, So you can imagine 191 00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:12,280 Speaker 2: in a small area like that, they were driving up 192 00:11:12,320 --> 00:11:15,320 Speaker 2: and down the streets looking for this jewel thief and 193 00:11:15,559 --> 00:11:20,360 Speaker 2: they couldn't catch him. And so over time police realized 194 00:11:20,360 --> 00:11:22,760 Speaker 2: that it had to be somebody from that area because 195 00:11:22,800 --> 00:11:26,400 Speaker 2: he knew how to navigate the streets, he knew how 196 00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:31,280 Speaker 2: to find houses, and very distinctively, he went down creeks. 197 00:11:31,320 --> 00:11:36,160 Speaker 2: Often these are scenic areas with lots of trees and creeks, 198 00:11:36,640 --> 00:11:39,200 Speaker 2: so he wouldn't be walking down the street and be 199 00:11:39,400 --> 00:11:43,040 Speaker 2: spotted or car be spotted. He would come down creeks. 200 00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:46,640 Speaker 2: Hence he must have worn these pull on galoshes which 201 00:11:46,720 --> 00:11:51,800 Speaker 2: left the ripplesoul tracks that were very distinctive outside these 202 00:11:51,800 --> 00:11:55,040 Speaker 2: houses because he would come up the creeks, and often 203 00:11:55,559 --> 00:11:59,280 Speaker 2: it was in the fall to February, so the weather 204 00:11:59,400 --> 00:12:01,640 Speaker 2: was a great so sometimes it would be wet. All 205 00:12:01,679 --> 00:12:05,280 Speaker 2: the more reason. But he was very fastidious. He would 206 00:12:05,640 --> 00:12:08,600 Speaker 2: slip off the galoshes and go in either in his 207 00:12:08,640 --> 00:12:12,480 Speaker 2: bare feet or in soft sole shoes to do his 208 00:12:12,600 --> 00:12:14,040 Speaker 2: work and then pick him up. There were only a 209 00:12:14,040 --> 00:12:17,560 Speaker 2: few occasions where he forgot to take off his galoshes 210 00:12:17,880 --> 00:12:21,120 Speaker 2: and left the ripple Boffel prints they called him in 211 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:23,880 Speaker 2: the house. But it was a brilliant technique to go 212 00:12:23,960 --> 00:12:26,560 Speaker 2: down the creeks because people didn't see him coming. 213 00:12:27,200 --> 00:12:29,720 Speaker 1: What do you think the connection is between Josephine and 214 00:12:29,760 --> 00:12:33,319 Speaker 1: Bruno and Josephine's daughter. Do you think he must have 215 00:12:33,440 --> 00:12:36,280 Speaker 1: known both of them well enough to know where the 216 00:12:36,440 --> 00:12:39,160 Speaker 1: daughter lives, and you know, that just seems like such 217 00:12:39,200 --> 00:12:41,000 Speaker 1: an odd thing for him to do. 218 00:12:41,640 --> 00:12:44,320 Speaker 2: They'd gotten a lot of publicity because the golf house 219 00:12:44,400 --> 00:12:48,800 Speaker 2: was so distinctive among the architectural features. Again, we had 220 00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:50,720 Speaker 2: come out of this the state had come out of 221 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:55,000 Speaker 2: this seven year drought and water was very scarce. You know, 222 00:12:55,080 --> 00:12:58,359 Speaker 2: people in some areas were reduced to boiling tumble weeds, 223 00:12:58,400 --> 00:13:02,200 Speaker 2: to get by. They had an indoor swimming pool, and 224 00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:05,880 Speaker 2: this was a time when swimming pools in private homes 225 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:08,880 Speaker 2: were still relatively rare. But they had an indoor swimming 226 00:13:08,920 --> 00:13:13,200 Speaker 2: pool that was in a room with valuable artworks around 227 00:13:13,440 --> 00:13:16,200 Speaker 2: in the antique furniture, and it was calibrated so that 228 00:13:16,280 --> 00:13:18,720 Speaker 2: they could lower the water level when people got in, 229 00:13:18,840 --> 00:13:22,360 Speaker 2: so nothing would splash on the fine furnishings. This had 230 00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:25,160 Speaker 2: been written up in the most celebrated part of the 231 00:13:25,200 --> 00:13:28,680 Speaker 2: house was that they had a dining room with a 232 00:13:28,760 --> 00:13:32,199 Speaker 2: dining table that appeared to float on a slab of marble, 233 00:13:32,600 --> 00:13:35,680 Speaker 2: So if you could picture a slab of marble with 234 00:13:35,920 --> 00:13:39,200 Speaker 2: water all around it, And so people would come to 235 00:13:39,280 --> 00:13:43,920 Speaker 2: dinner and they're sitting at a dining table surrounded by water, 236 00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:46,559 Speaker 2: and more than one night people would literally fall in 237 00:13:46,640 --> 00:13:49,800 Speaker 2: the drink, and it became kind of a famous thing 238 00:13:49,880 --> 00:13:53,000 Speaker 2: to do to fall in the drink at the golf house. 239 00:13:53,440 --> 00:13:56,160 Speaker 2: One oil man, Clint Murkison, fell in the water one 240 00:13:56,280 --> 00:13:59,280 Speaker 2: night and the wife of another old man jumped in 241 00:13:59,440 --> 00:14:04,000 Speaker 2: just to keep company. A banker fell in and so 242 00:14:04,080 --> 00:14:06,280 Speaker 2: they had one of the waiters, one of the staff, 243 00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:08,720 Speaker 2: give him his tuxedo, so he could finish the meal 244 00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:11,760 Speaker 2: in style. So this had been written up so people 245 00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:14,880 Speaker 2: knew that the Goths were very tasteful, that she had 246 00:14:14,880 --> 00:14:20,200 Speaker 2: beautiful clothes, beautiful jewelry, beautiful house, and her daughter did too, 247 00:14:20,640 --> 00:14:23,880 Speaker 2: and she had made her debut. That was another key 248 00:14:24,040 --> 00:14:27,120 Speaker 2: clue in this that this was somebody who probably went 249 00:14:27,200 --> 00:14:31,480 Speaker 2: to deb parties, wow escorted debs, perhaps because he had 250 00:14:31,480 --> 00:14:34,160 Speaker 2: been in the homes and knew his way around. He 251 00:14:34,280 --> 00:14:38,120 Speaker 2: almost always contrived a way to get out easily where 252 00:14:38,160 --> 00:14:42,520 Speaker 2: he wouldn't be caught, so he had been able to reconnoiter. 253 00:14:42,640 --> 00:14:44,160 Speaker 2: I guess you could say these houses. 254 00:14:44,680 --> 00:14:49,200 Speaker 1: Now, listen, you're going to have to explain to my audience, 255 00:14:49,480 --> 00:14:52,640 Speaker 1: some of them, what a deb is debutante? Right? Can 256 00:14:52,680 --> 00:14:56,400 Speaker 1: you explain what escorting a debutante would be? And so 257 00:14:56,440 --> 00:14:59,520 Speaker 1: she had her coming out party essentially, is that right? 258 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:02,240 Speaker 2: That's right. She had been a debb in I think 259 00:15:02,600 --> 00:15:05,480 Speaker 2: Fort Worth, then in New York, very prestige just to 260 00:15:05,520 --> 00:15:07,960 Speaker 2: be a debutante in New York. And it's basically a 261 00:15:07,960 --> 00:15:11,480 Speaker 2: coming out party for a young woman to show them 262 00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:15,720 Speaker 2: off as prospective bribes, to show off the wealth and 263 00:15:15,800 --> 00:15:21,280 Speaker 2: power again of the parents. It was this conspicuous display 264 00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:24,960 Speaker 2: that was all part of this area. It was such 265 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:30,560 Speaker 2: a glamorous time because Texas was really a rural, agricultural 266 00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:37,200 Speaker 2: state at that time, and Dallas was like Emerald City. 267 00:15:37,360 --> 00:15:40,840 Speaker 1: So what were people saying at this point? Number one? 268 00:15:41,080 --> 00:15:44,480 Speaker 1: How many burglaries had to happen before they realized this 269 00:15:44,600 --> 00:15:48,640 Speaker 1: was somebody targeting exclusively wealthy people? And then number two, 270 00:15:49,040 --> 00:15:52,000 Speaker 1: who did everybody think this was? Was there one particular 271 00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:54,920 Speaker 1: person in that community that they thought, Oh, this is 272 00:15:54,960 --> 00:15:58,640 Speaker 1: a near do well nephew of a really wealthy person. 273 00:15:58,680 --> 00:16:00,920 Speaker 1: It must be him. Is that what you mean by targeting? 274 00:16:01,360 --> 00:16:04,880 Speaker 2: Yes to all of these Everybody suspected everybody else. And 275 00:16:04,920 --> 00:16:07,480 Speaker 2: that's what made it difficult to look at this because 276 00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:10,120 Speaker 2: there was not just one suspect. I mean, there was 277 00:16:10,120 --> 00:16:13,320 Speaker 2: not just one burglary. There were dozens and dozens to 278 00:16:13,400 --> 00:16:16,160 Speaker 2: look at. And there was not just one or two suspects. 279 00:16:16,240 --> 00:16:20,720 Speaker 2: There were dozens and dozens. They suspected the Valets people 280 00:16:20,800 --> 00:16:24,960 Speaker 2: suggest suspected an architect that they thought was socially ambitious. 281 00:16:25,320 --> 00:16:28,880 Speaker 2: They suggested several hairdressers because who knew better, you know, 282 00:16:28,920 --> 00:16:31,080 Speaker 2: when a woman was going out and what she was 283 00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:32,440 Speaker 2: wearing caterers. 284 00:16:32,560 --> 00:16:34,800 Speaker 1: The help was the big one first, right, and then 285 00:16:34,920 --> 00:16:36,880 Speaker 1: would they spread out and looked at each other. 286 00:16:37,400 --> 00:16:41,840 Speaker 2: Yes, totally. And they actually gave light detector tests to 287 00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:45,600 Speaker 2: a lot of the servants and none of them panned out. 288 00:16:45,600 --> 00:16:47,440 Speaker 2: You know, back then they had a lot of faith 289 00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:50,800 Speaker 2: in the lie detector technology. Today not so much so, 290 00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:55,000 Speaker 2: but it was the only technology that they had. People 291 00:16:55,080 --> 00:16:59,160 Speaker 2: suspected social columnists, people who wrote about society and knew 292 00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:02,720 Speaker 2: where people were going. They suspected people in the social 293 00:17:02,760 --> 00:17:05,679 Speaker 2: set who gambled heavily, and a lot of people didn't 294 00:17:06,080 --> 00:17:08,439 Speaker 2: because they had so much money they could afford to 295 00:17:08,520 --> 00:17:12,520 Speaker 2: gamble heavily. So multiple people told me that they would 296 00:17:12,520 --> 00:17:15,640 Speaker 2: go to gala events and everyone would be saying, it's 297 00:17:15,680 --> 00:17:20,200 Speaker 2: him over there or over there. Most of the sightings 298 00:17:20,680 --> 00:17:24,600 Speaker 2: they were brief were of a man, but people suspected 299 00:17:24,640 --> 00:17:27,159 Speaker 2: several women because they thought that they could have an 300 00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:30,880 Speaker 2: accomplice who was a nimble man who could have done it. 301 00:17:30,920 --> 00:17:34,520 Speaker 2: So you can't rule out a woman necessarily. One of 302 00:17:34,520 --> 00:17:37,080 Speaker 2: the reasons they thought it was somebody in the social 303 00:17:37,119 --> 00:17:39,199 Speaker 2: set too, is that they couldn't figure out for a 304 00:17:39,240 --> 00:17:43,320 Speaker 2: while why most of the burglaries took place from October 305 00:17:43,520 --> 00:17:47,200 Speaker 2: to February, and that's because that was the social season, 306 00:17:47,840 --> 00:17:50,720 Speaker 2: and he knew that that's when people would have their 307 00:17:50,840 --> 00:17:55,960 Speaker 2: jewels out of the safe and ready, because sometimes there 308 00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:59,240 Speaker 2: were as many as one hundred and thirty five Dolla 309 00:17:59,280 --> 00:18:02,800 Speaker 2: events a season Dallas. Yeah, you wouldn't want to be 310 00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:04,960 Speaker 2: running back and forth to the bank to get your 311 00:18:05,040 --> 00:18:08,760 Speaker 2: jewels out of the safe for that, and so the police. 312 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:12,119 Speaker 2: There was just a lot of inadvertent humor in this 313 00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:15,520 Speaker 2: that the police decided they'd better go to some of 314 00:18:15,560 --> 00:18:18,960 Speaker 2: these debutante events. The problem was is they were these 315 00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:22,120 Speaker 2: guys from poor rural backgrounds. You know, it could gone 316 00:18:22,240 --> 00:18:24,320 Speaker 2: to be a policeman after they served in the military. 317 00:18:24,320 --> 00:18:27,240 Speaker 2: They didn't have a tuxedo. They barely had one suit 318 00:18:27,359 --> 00:18:29,919 Speaker 2: that they had to wear their detective suits. So one 319 00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:33,800 Speaker 2: of the debutantes, Margaret Otis, offered to help pay to 320 00:18:33,880 --> 00:18:37,560 Speaker 2: rent tuxedos for the policemen, and so they would go 321 00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:40,920 Speaker 2: to these events and stand there looking around. Everyone knew 322 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:44,639 Speaker 2: they were policemen because it's a pretty small circle. So 323 00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:48,160 Speaker 2: that didn't last very long, but interesting enough, the woman 324 00:18:48,240 --> 00:18:51,800 Speaker 2: who offered to pay for the tuxedos after she chaired 325 00:18:51,800 --> 00:18:55,120 Speaker 2: one of the really big galas. She was burgled herself. 326 00:18:55,680 --> 00:18:59,040 Speaker 2: So the police tried, they were trying to catch em. 327 00:18:59,280 --> 00:19:03,480 Speaker 2: They tried are flights, they tried putting infrared cameras out, 328 00:19:03,680 --> 00:19:07,879 Speaker 2: they tried putting wires across the creek, and he always 329 00:19:08,400 --> 00:19:09,840 Speaker 2: managed to evade them. 330 00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:12,560 Speaker 1: He never hit the same place twice, I'm assuming or 331 00:19:12,600 --> 00:19:13,119 Speaker 1: did he? 332 00:19:13,119 --> 00:19:14,840 Speaker 2: He did a couple of times, you know, and that 333 00:19:14,880 --> 00:19:17,680 Speaker 2: scared peepe It even more because he could come back. 334 00:19:17,760 --> 00:19:20,440 Speaker 2: And so a lot of them got burglar rooms thinking 335 00:19:20,480 --> 00:19:23,920 Speaker 2: that would help. There was one couple of the Schultzes. 336 00:19:24,200 --> 00:19:26,720 Speaker 2: He often struck on New Year's Eve because he knew 337 00:19:26,720 --> 00:19:29,960 Speaker 2: people were going out that have on nice jewelry, probably 338 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:32,240 Speaker 2: had quite a bit of drink, come home late, put 339 00:19:32,280 --> 00:19:35,760 Speaker 2: it on the dresser in the bathroom. The Schultzes lived 340 00:19:35,800 --> 00:19:38,359 Speaker 2: on Park Lane. Park Lane was the street where the 341 00:19:38,400 --> 00:19:41,040 Speaker 2: Goths lived, and it was more or less the Lore 342 00:19:41,320 --> 00:19:44,680 Speaker 2: Valley of Dallas. There were so many beautiful homes there, 343 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:47,639 Speaker 2: and five or six of them were hit within a 344 00:19:47,680 --> 00:19:50,880 Speaker 2: small a couple of blocks long, and the Schultzers lived 345 00:19:50,920 --> 00:19:54,680 Speaker 2: on Park Lane. They went to a neighborhood party, came 346 00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:58,919 Speaker 2: home and while they were asleep the thief came in 347 00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:01,679 Speaker 2: a window, walked up up the stairs, walked by the 348 00:20:01,760 --> 00:20:05,600 Speaker 2: rooms where their sons were sleeping, and again by the dogs, 349 00:20:06,040 --> 00:20:09,640 Speaker 2: and got the jewelry and left. And that was spooky 350 00:20:09,760 --> 00:20:13,720 Speaker 2: enough that the last burglary the King did in nineteen 351 00:20:13,840 --> 00:20:17,800 Speaker 2: seventy was the Schultz house again, and it was the 352 00:20:17,920 --> 00:20:22,120 Speaker 2: same mo It was nears. While they were at he came. 353 00:20:22,240 --> 00:20:26,720 Speaker 2: He paced underneath the window, watching their sons till they 354 00:20:26,760 --> 00:20:29,480 Speaker 2: went to bed, and then when the Shultzes came home, 355 00:20:29,720 --> 00:20:33,240 Speaker 2: went up the stairs again and into their room. So yeah, 356 00:20:33,320 --> 00:20:35,040 Speaker 2: people could never really relax. 357 00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:38,800 Speaker 1: I wonder if you can tell me what the journey 358 00:20:38,920 --> 00:20:43,200 Speaker 1: of a stolen diamond would have been between nineteen fifty 359 00:20:43,280 --> 00:20:47,679 Speaker 1: nine and nineteen seventy. And I asked this because we 360 00:20:47,840 --> 00:20:50,600 Speaker 1: recently on the show interviewed an author who covered an 361 00:20:50,720 --> 00:20:54,840 Speaker 1: art thief, and we talked about how difficult it would 362 00:20:54,880 --> 00:20:58,480 Speaker 1: have been for this art thief and his girlfriend to 363 00:20:58,520 --> 00:21:00,960 Speaker 1: sell the artwork somewhere, so they just kept it in 364 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:04,000 Speaker 1: their They kept it in their attic and laid on 365 00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:06,719 Speaker 1: the couch and hung out and loved it. But with 366 00:21:06,840 --> 00:21:11,080 Speaker 1: a diamond, would this diamond thief be able to sell it? 367 00:21:11,200 --> 00:21:13,600 Speaker 1: Easily or would it have been traced in this time 368 00:21:13,640 --> 00:21:14,720 Speaker 1: period really easily. 369 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:17,600 Speaker 2: That was a fascinating book. By the way, the art 370 00:21:17,680 --> 00:21:21,840 Speaker 2: Thief and the cases are very similar in some ways. Well, 371 00:21:21,880 --> 00:21:24,920 Speaker 2: you know, keep in mind this was in nineteen sixty 372 00:21:25,040 --> 00:21:28,760 Speaker 2: and they didn't have the technology that we have today. 373 00:21:29,160 --> 00:21:32,320 Speaker 2: The few fingerprints they found were smudged. They were not 374 00:21:32,440 --> 00:21:35,560 Speaker 2: that adept at taking fingerprints, and there was no such 375 00:21:35,640 --> 00:21:38,920 Speaker 2: thing as aphis and the fingerprint system where you can 376 00:21:39,200 --> 00:21:42,359 Speaker 2: computerize this computerized and you can compare fingerprints, and so 377 00:21:42,480 --> 00:21:45,600 Speaker 2: downstairs in the basement of the police department they had 378 00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:49,560 Speaker 2: box after box, like shoe boxes full of these fingerprint cards. Well, 379 00:21:50,359 --> 00:21:52,840 Speaker 2: who could go through that? And the king didn't really 380 00:21:52,920 --> 00:21:55,679 Speaker 2: leave very many anyway, And people wonder, well, why didn't 381 00:21:55,680 --> 00:21:59,760 Speaker 2: they use DNA evidence, And that was a good point 382 00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:02,240 Speaker 2: because in one house he smoked a lot of cigarettes, 383 00:22:02,240 --> 00:22:04,879 Speaker 2: well he waited for him to go out. In another house, 384 00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:08,240 Speaker 2: he helped himself to a glass of water and smoked 385 00:22:08,280 --> 00:22:13,240 Speaker 2: some cigarettes that he left. But DNA evidence wasn't really 386 00:22:13,600 --> 00:22:18,240 Speaker 2: used in trials until nineteen eighty seven, so we're talking 387 00:22:18,720 --> 00:22:23,480 Speaker 2: nineteen sixty and they also didn't have the fingerprint system, 388 00:22:23,480 --> 00:22:26,440 Speaker 2: which was nineteen eighty nine, so that's a long way 389 00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:31,600 Speaker 2: past nineteen sixty. They also didn't have systems to identify jewelry. 390 00:22:31,760 --> 00:22:36,879 Speaker 2: Now they can identify with laser marks or pictorial content, 391 00:22:37,119 --> 00:22:40,080 Speaker 2: and they can computerize, you know, particularly something like the 392 00:22:40,119 --> 00:22:42,800 Speaker 2: growth diamond, which would be so fabulous and big that 393 00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:46,360 Speaker 2: they would have you would be able to trace that, 394 00:22:46,760 --> 00:22:50,600 Speaker 2: but back then they didn't. A very small percentage of 395 00:22:50,640 --> 00:22:54,600 Speaker 2: burglary cases we ever saw, but your best shot would 396 00:22:54,640 --> 00:22:58,840 Speaker 2: be really something spectacular like those fingroths Dimond and many 397 00:22:58,840 --> 00:23:02,439 Speaker 2: of these jewels were just spectacular, but they disappeared, and 398 00:23:02,480 --> 00:23:05,080 Speaker 2: you have that led me into an area of having 399 00:23:05,160 --> 00:23:08,639 Speaker 2: to look at, you know, who could make jewels disappear. 400 00:23:09,359 --> 00:23:12,080 Speaker 2: That would have to be organized crime. So I had 401 00:23:12,119 --> 00:23:14,760 Speaker 2: to look at the level of organized crime in Dallas 402 00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:17,480 Speaker 2: to see, you know, could you go through a pawn shop. 403 00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:20,440 Speaker 2: Had to look at pawnshops, which was a really interesting 404 00:23:20,520 --> 00:23:25,200 Speaker 2: subculture in itself, and look at organized crime. And it 405 00:23:25,240 --> 00:23:29,040 Speaker 2: turned out Dallas always said it didn't have organized crime, 406 00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:32,720 Speaker 2: but it did. Maybe people didn't want to acknowledge it. 407 00:23:32,720 --> 00:23:35,439 Speaker 2: It was limited in some way. It was almost a 408 00:23:35,480 --> 00:23:40,080 Speaker 2: subset of the New Orleans Lacosinoska Mafia, almost like a 409 00:23:40,160 --> 00:23:43,000 Speaker 2: colony of New Orleans, but it was there. And there 410 00:23:43,040 --> 00:23:46,720 Speaker 2: was another layer of what was called the Dixie Mafia, 411 00:23:47,200 --> 00:23:51,160 Speaker 2: which was a southern redneck kind of loosely associated group 412 00:23:51,200 --> 00:23:54,879 Speaker 2: of criminals. And then you had the gamblers who oversaw 413 00:23:54,960 --> 00:23:58,200 Speaker 2: all millions that were gambled in Dallas. As much as 414 00:23:58,280 --> 00:24:00,879 Speaker 2: ten million a week was gambled in Dallas back in 415 00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:04,240 Speaker 2: nineteen sixty. So you know, that's a lot of book making, 416 00:24:04,359 --> 00:24:08,240 Speaker 2: a lot of money that disappears. So there were multiple 417 00:24:08,359 --> 00:24:12,480 Speaker 2: levels of crime, and all of them stole jewels because 418 00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:17,200 Speaker 2: it's just a great portable currency and if you have connections, 419 00:24:17,400 --> 00:24:20,439 Speaker 2: it can be in Chicago or New York before the 420 00:24:20,480 --> 00:24:24,200 Speaker 2: police could even look for printer Prince, and then overseas 421 00:24:24,320 --> 00:24:27,720 Speaker 2: to some of the great jewelry on propose around the world. 422 00:24:27,960 --> 00:24:30,080 Speaker 1: I think the answer is is that it would not 423 00:24:30,160 --> 00:24:33,199 Speaker 1: have been difficult for him to unload these diamonds without 424 00:24:33,359 --> 00:24:36,159 Speaker 1: being traced obviously, so he was making money if he 425 00:24:36,240 --> 00:24:37,520 Speaker 1: wanted to make money. 426 00:24:37,440 --> 00:24:40,480 Speaker 2: Right, But you know, that was another interesting facet of 427 00:24:40,520 --> 00:24:43,919 Speaker 2: the case for that many jewels over that period of 428 00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:46,560 Speaker 2: time to just totally disappear off the face of the 429 00:24:47,680 --> 00:24:51,240 Speaker 2: Captain Fannin who left the Burgerary investigation. He was puzzled. 430 00:24:51,240 --> 00:24:55,080 Speaker 2: He could understand that you could find ways to fence jewelry, 431 00:24:55,119 --> 00:24:58,000 Speaker 2: but somebody somewhere they would, you know, something like the 432 00:24:58,040 --> 00:25:01,560 Speaker 2: Graff diamond. Somebody would notice it, or they would hear 433 00:25:01,720 --> 00:25:03,600 Speaker 2: that it had been sold or it had been cut 434 00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:06,679 Speaker 2: into pieces. And that's what made this kind of a 435 00:25:06,760 --> 00:25:09,960 Speaker 2: why done it? Getting back to your art thief, the 436 00:25:10,080 --> 00:25:14,440 Speaker 2: why done it? Why would somebody steal from their friends 437 00:25:14,480 --> 00:25:18,560 Speaker 2: and neighbors. Why couldn't they catch him? So the why 438 00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:21,399 Speaker 2: became just as important as the how. The how was 439 00:25:21,520 --> 00:25:24,240 Speaker 2: very important because he was so skilled in at one 440 00:25:24,280 --> 00:25:27,000 Speaker 2: point that Paul McCarran, he was a lieutenant who worked 441 00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:30,919 Speaker 2: with Captain Bennon very closely. He did an incredibly creative 442 00:25:31,080 --> 00:25:34,639 Speaker 2: thing that he did a psychological profile to try to 443 00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:38,200 Speaker 2: get at this why of the case. And he had 444 00:25:38,359 --> 00:25:42,080 Speaker 2: tried to continue his education. Most of these policemen didn't 445 00:25:42,119 --> 00:25:44,480 Speaker 2: have high school education, so if they did, they had 446 00:25:44,520 --> 00:25:47,080 Speaker 2: to go back to get their college education so they 447 00:25:47,080 --> 00:25:50,719 Speaker 2: could get promoted. And mccaren had gone to night school 448 00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:55,520 Speaker 2: at SMU and had a psychology professor who really impressed him, 449 00:25:56,040 --> 00:25:59,680 Speaker 2: So he asked his psychology professor to do a psychological 450 00:25:59,680 --> 00:26:03,080 Speaker 2: prom file. He rode around with the police at night 451 00:26:03,160 --> 00:26:06,640 Speaker 2: all night, he read all the cases, and he came 452 00:26:06,760 --> 00:26:10,280 Speaker 2: up with a psychological profile of the thief, which was 453 00:26:10,480 --> 00:26:13,480 Speaker 2: very innovative because if you think about it, you know 454 00:26:13,560 --> 00:26:17,639 Speaker 2: about the FBI and their database of serial killers and 455 00:26:17,680 --> 00:26:21,840 Speaker 2: their profiling system. They didn't start that till nineteen seventy two. 456 00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:25,480 Speaker 2: So the Dallas police were doing this in nineteen sixty 457 00:26:25,480 --> 00:26:28,480 Speaker 2: one sixty two on their own because they just could 458 00:26:28,520 --> 00:26:30,560 Speaker 2: not figure out what to do about this burgler who 459 00:26:30,600 --> 00:26:34,560 Speaker 2: didn't fit any pattern that they knew. So this professor, 460 00:26:34,640 --> 00:26:39,760 Speaker 2: doctor Robert Stolkes, did a psychological profile, and he hypothesized 461 00:26:40,119 --> 00:26:43,320 Speaker 2: that it was somebody from a well to do family 462 00:26:43,359 --> 00:26:47,119 Speaker 2: because he had such good manners. Sometimes if he climbed 463 00:26:47,119 --> 00:26:50,040 Speaker 2: on a chair, he would put a towel then to 464 00:26:50,080 --> 00:26:54,800 Speaker 2: not smudge the chair. He would put everything back exactly 465 00:26:55,240 --> 00:26:58,399 Speaker 2: like it was. He didn't rifle through things. They figured 466 00:26:58,480 --> 00:27:02,280 Speaker 2: he might have gone to the school there because he 467 00:27:02,400 --> 00:27:04,680 Speaker 2: knew the area so where it might have grown up 468 00:27:04,680 --> 00:27:07,719 Speaker 2: in that area, and that he was probably part of 469 00:27:07,760 --> 00:27:11,480 Speaker 2: the social set, that he had social entree that he 470 00:27:11,640 --> 00:27:16,200 Speaker 2: was probably in his early thirties, and that he was nimble, 471 00:27:16,720 --> 00:27:19,880 Speaker 2: more so than athletic. Probably not somebody who had been 472 00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:23,480 Speaker 2: in contact sports in school, but very agile, something even 473 00:27:23,560 --> 00:27:28,439 Speaker 2: from gymnastics, maybe golf, maybe tennis, something like that. So 474 00:27:28,520 --> 00:27:31,760 Speaker 2: not a big bruiser, but somebody who was very agile, 475 00:27:32,359 --> 00:27:35,960 Speaker 2: and somebody who was maybe a mama's boy, because he 476 00:27:36,080 --> 00:27:39,960 Speaker 2: only took women's jewelry and he only took the most 477 00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:43,520 Speaker 2: beautiful jewels. He would go through a drawer full of 478 00:27:43,600 --> 00:27:45,920 Speaker 2: two hundred thousand dollars worth of jewels and he would 479 00:27:45,960 --> 00:27:49,919 Speaker 2: only take certain ones. Another burglar would just take the 480 00:27:49,960 --> 00:27:53,120 Speaker 2: whole thing, sweep in the bag and sort of that. Later. 481 00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:56,639 Speaker 2: He was very choosy what he took. And so Stoltz's 482 00:27:56,720 --> 00:28:01,800 Speaker 2: profile was very progressive for time, and it gave police 483 00:28:01,960 --> 00:28:05,480 Speaker 2: a way to visualize who they were looking for. You know, 484 00:28:05,520 --> 00:28:07,280 Speaker 2: they had no idea of who they were looking for, 485 00:28:07,359 --> 00:28:08,040 Speaker 2: but now they did. 486 00:28:08,560 --> 00:28:11,520 Speaker 1: Well, if he's picky, does that say to you that 487 00:28:11,640 --> 00:28:14,119 Speaker 1: he's not selling these, that he's doing it for the 488 00:28:14,240 --> 00:28:17,560 Speaker 1: challenge or the kind of jab at the people in 489 00:28:17,600 --> 00:28:21,040 Speaker 1: his social circle for some reason, and that maybe he 490 00:28:21,200 --> 00:28:23,080 Speaker 1: is just doing this to see if he can do 491 00:28:23,200 --> 00:28:27,040 Speaker 1: it and keep the jewels and admire them, because this 492 00:28:27,080 --> 00:28:30,359 Speaker 1: does not seem like somebody who is anxious for money 493 00:28:30,480 --> 00:28:32,840 Speaker 1: or involved in drugs or any of the things, or 494 00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:35,840 Speaker 1: the mafia. It just seems like somebody who maybe wants 495 00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:38,400 Speaker 1: to make a statement or proves something to himself. What 496 00:28:38,440 --> 00:28:39,520 Speaker 1: do you think, No. 497 00:28:39,440 --> 00:28:42,320 Speaker 2: I think you're very close. In fact, still said that 498 00:28:42,440 --> 00:28:46,760 Speaker 2: in his profile, that somebody with the grudge because at times, 499 00:28:46,960 --> 00:28:50,160 Speaker 2: let's say, if there were a pair of diamond ear rings, 500 00:28:50,640 --> 00:28:53,720 Speaker 2: he would take just one, oh gosh, and it spoiled 501 00:28:53,720 --> 00:28:56,720 Speaker 2: the set. And so there was something very odd or 502 00:28:56,720 --> 00:28:59,280 Speaker 2: about the things that he would take in the people 503 00:28:59,360 --> 00:29:02,520 Speaker 2: he would take it from. Sometimes it wasn't the people 504 00:29:02,560 --> 00:29:07,240 Speaker 2: with the most fabulous jewelry, but they maybe had sentimental favorites, 505 00:29:07,320 --> 00:29:10,520 Speaker 2: like their grandmother's pen. But they would be people who 506 00:29:10,520 --> 00:29:14,920 Speaker 2: were respected, people who were admired for their character, and 507 00:29:14,960 --> 00:29:18,960 Speaker 2: they were accepted in society, and so the impression built 508 00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:22,000 Speaker 2: that this was somebody who was an insider who felt 509 00:29:22,080 --> 00:29:23,080 Speaker 2: like an outsider. 510 00:29:23,600 --> 00:29:28,520 Speaker 1: If you're thinking that this is someone who is rich adjacent, 511 00:29:28,800 --> 00:29:33,120 Speaker 1: so the hairdresser, the butler, any of those people, you know, 512 00:29:33,480 --> 00:29:36,040 Speaker 1: you would think that they would want all the jewels. Yes, 513 00:29:36,080 --> 00:29:38,160 Speaker 1: they might have a grudge, but those would be somebody 514 00:29:38,200 --> 00:29:41,000 Speaker 1: you would think would want all the money and then 515 00:29:41,040 --> 00:29:44,720 Speaker 1: the grudge would come second. But this seems grudged first. 516 00:29:44,920 --> 00:29:47,920 Speaker 1: So maybe it is someone from the social circle. What 517 00:29:47,960 --> 00:29:51,160 Speaker 1: does that mean? Do they target really specific people? This 518 00:29:51,240 --> 00:29:54,480 Speaker 1: must have just caused such a problem in high society 519 00:29:54,520 --> 00:29:55,080 Speaker 1: in Dallas. 520 00:29:55,240 --> 00:29:57,520 Speaker 2: Oh absolutely. I mean if you were a woman, you 521 00:29:57,560 --> 00:29:59,280 Speaker 2: would think, you know, it could be the man I'm 522 00:29:59,360 --> 00:30:02,760 Speaker 2: dancing with now, you know, he could be close enough 523 00:30:02,760 --> 00:30:05,960 Speaker 2: to smell my chal lamar looking at my necklace. It 524 00:30:06,120 --> 00:30:09,000 Speaker 2: definitely put people on edge. When they would leave town. 525 00:30:09,120 --> 00:30:11,440 Speaker 2: They would get house sitters to come sit in their house, 526 00:30:11,440 --> 00:30:13,600 Speaker 2: and he would get right by the house sitters. It 527 00:30:13,640 --> 00:30:16,520 Speaker 2: didn't help, or they would lock up things. He would 528 00:30:16,520 --> 00:30:18,880 Speaker 2: figure out a way to get in there. So again, 529 00:30:18,960 --> 00:30:24,560 Speaker 2: the psychological impact was considerable. But as you said before, stealing, 530 00:30:24,760 --> 00:30:28,920 Speaker 2: taking that risk, you get a certain high too, you know, 531 00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:31,640 Speaker 2: not just with the beauty of the gems, but you 532 00:30:31,760 --> 00:30:34,240 Speaker 2: get you get a certain high from you know, being 533 00:30:34,320 --> 00:30:38,280 Speaker 2: that close to danger. It's almost like arsonists get a 534 00:30:38,320 --> 00:30:42,000 Speaker 2: buzz from burning down houses. That jewel thieves too, kind 535 00:30:42,000 --> 00:30:44,680 Speaker 2: of get a thrill out of stealing from them. One 536 00:30:44,720 --> 00:30:48,440 Speaker 2: couple came home from a dinner and they, of course 537 00:30:48,520 --> 00:30:51,000 Speaker 2: had a lot to drink, and they had sex. And 538 00:30:51,040 --> 00:30:53,320 Speaker 2: they woke up the next morning and the door to 539 00:30:53,360 --> 00:30:56,280 Speaker 2: the patio was open, and so the man said to 540 00:30:56,320 --> 00:30:58,360 Speaker 2: his wife, he said, how did you leave the patio 541 00:30:58,400 --> 00:31:01,280 Speaker 2: door open? And she said no, why and he said, well, 542 00:31:01,320 --> 00:31:04,360 Speaker 2: it's open. They looked around. The closet was open and 543 00:31:04,560 --> 00:31:07,560 Speaker 2: some jewels had fallen on the floor, and they realized 544 00:31:07,600 --> 00:31:11,000 Speaker 2: he had been there in the closet. They had interrupted 545 00:31:11,040 --> 00:31:14,600 Speaker 2: them while they were having sex. They were so mortified 546 00:31:14,640 --> 00:31:16,680 Speaker 2: they begged the police not to put it in the 547 00:31:16,760 --> 00:31:19,560 Speaker 2: paper because they would never hear the end of it 548 00:31:19,600 --> 00:31:21,640 Speaker 2: that they were having sex well, the King of Diamonds 549 00:31:21,680 --> 00:31:24,400 Speaker 2: was in their closet, and so the police didn't. There 550 00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:27,440 Speaker 2: was one other incident where he came in. These people 551 00:31:27,480 --> 00:31:30,520 Speaker 2: were in bed and the wife noticed a little pin 552 00:31:30,720 --> 00:31:34,520 Speaker 2: like flashlight in the bathroom and looked, and the intruder 553 00:31:34,680 --> 00:31:37,360 Speaker 2: came over to the bed and shined it in her 554 00:31:37,360 --> 00:31:40,560 Speaker 2: eyes and said get up, and she said no, And 555 00:31:40,600 --> 00:31:43,120 Speaker 2: he said get up. I want you to open this 556 00:31:43,240 --> 00:31:45,600 Speaker 2: drawer and she said no, I can't, and he said, well, 557 00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:48,040 Speaker 2: why not, She said, because I'm in my nightie and 558 00:31:48,120 --> 00:31:51,320 Speaker 2: I don't even know you, and so he said, get up. 559 00:31:51,560 --> 00:31:55,760 Speaker 2: Her husband, who's kind of awakened himself, but pretending he's 560 00:31:55,800 --> 00:31:59,600 Speaker 2: not playing possum, he says, Ellen, get he might have 561 00:31:59,640 --> 00:32:03,360 Speaker 2: a gun, and so she gets up. He's protty her. Evelyn, 562 00:32:03,440 --> 00:32:06,280 Speaker 2: get up, Evelyn, get up. She goes and he's going 563 00:32:06,320 --> 00:32:09,880 Speaker 2: through her jewels and he tries to take a diamond 564 00:32:09,960 --> 00:32:13,040 Speaker 2: ring and she says, no, you can't have that because 565 00:32:13,080 --> 00:32:15,680 Speaker 2: that was that was my mother's and she had just 566 00:32:15,720 --> 00:32:17,880 Speaker 2: had her mother's funeral a couple of weeks before, so 567 00:32:17,960 --> 00:32:20,440 Speaker 2: shet her mother's jewelry right there. She said, no, you 568 00:32:20,480 --> 00:32:22,239 Speaker 2: can't have that, and he said, no, I want it. 569 00:32:22,480 --> 00:32:25,840 Speaker 2: She said no, you can't have it, and her husband says, 570 00:32:25,880 --> 00:32:28,320 Speaker 2: from the bet. He says, Evan, let him have it. 571 00:32:29,200 --> 00:32:31,640 Speaker 2: Let him have it. So she wrestles with him, and 572 00:32:31,760 --> 00:32:34,840 Speaker 2: he said, you're making me nervous, and she's she says, well, 573 00:32:34,880 --> 00:32:38,200 Speaker 2: you're making me nervous, and so he's so frustrated that 574 00:32:38,360 --> 00:32:42,320 Speaker 2: he leaves and runs down the driveway and he leaves 575 00:32:42,320 --> 00:32:46,320 Speaker 2: a ruby bracelet on the driveway as he leaves, and 576 00:32:46,400 --> 00:32:48,440 Speaker 2: so they get up and a couple of relatives were 577 00:32:48,440 --> 00:32:51,560 Speaker 2: staying with them who had come in for the funeral, 578 00:32:52,040 --> 00:32:54,040 Speaker 2: and he goes the knocks on the door and he said, 579 00:32:54,040 --> 00:32:57,000 Speaker 2: did you hear that? And they said, well yeah, And 580 00:32:57,040 --> 00:32:59,080 Speaker 2: he said, well, why didn't you call the police? And 581 00:32:59,120 --> 00:33:01,200 Speaker 2: they said, well, we thought you were having a fight 582 00:33:01,240 --> 00:33:03,840 Speaker 2: with Evelyn. You just kept saying Evelyn, get up, Evelyn, 583 00:33:03,920 --> 00:33:09,120 Speaker 2: get out of bed. So they told that their family 584 00:33:09,160 --> 00:33:11,280 Speaker 2: for a long time they thought it was really funny, 585 00:33:11,320 --> 00:33:13,840 Speaker 2: but at the same time it was really very terrifying. 586 00:33:14,080 --> 00:33:16,600 Speaker 2: Oh yeah, for an older couple to find somebody in 587 00:33:16,640 --> 00:33:18,360 Speaker 2: their bedroom in the middle of the middle of the 588 00:33:18,440 --> 00:33:22,360 Speaker 2: nine and unfortunately, like many people, they didn't get a 589 00:33:22,400 --> 00:33:24,360 Speaker 2: good look at him because it was dark. 590 00:33:24,800 --> 00:33:28,840 Speaker 1: So tell me totals here, between mid nineteen fifties and 591 00:33:28,920 --> 00:33:33,760 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy, how many homes did he burgle? Knowing that 592 00:33:33,920 --> 00:33:36,280 Speaker 1: several of them he hit twice, I. 593 00:33:36,280 --> 00:33:40,880 Speaker 2: Was able to track down more than sixty. Wow, But 594 00:33:41,040 --> 00:33:43,800 Speaker 2: I think that there were more than that. It had 595 00:33:43,840 --> 00:33:45,840 Speaker 2: to have been at least one hundred, because people would 596 00:33:45,880 --> 00:33:49,520 Speaker 2: tell me about someone down the street in Hollan Park 597 00:33:49,640 --> 00:33:51,600 Speaker 2: and they would say there were two or three more 598 00:33:51,640 --> 00:33:53,880 Speaker 2: people down the street who were hit, but there's no 599 00:33:54,000 --> 00:33:57,520 Speaker 2: record of it. And Hollam Park in particular. They didn't 600 00:33:57,600 --> 00:34:00,680 Speaker 2: like to report these things, and often people wouldn't report 601 00:34:00,720 --> 00:34:03,640 Speaker 2: it because they didn't want anyone to know that they 602 00:34:03,680 --> 00:34:06,920 Speaker 2: had been burgled, because it might give somebody ideas, or 603 00:34:06,960 --> 00:34:09,600 Speaker 2: it might show that they kept their jewels at home, 604 00:34:09,640 --> 00:34:11,920 Speaker 2: and they for goodness sake and didn't want about to 605 00:34:11,960 --> 00:34:15,480 Speaker 2: see a police carper in their driveway. So sometimes what 606 00:34:15,600 --> 00:34:17,600 Speaker 2: they would do is instead of calling the police, they 607 00:34:17,600 --> 00:34:20,840 Speaker 2: would call their lawyer and have their lawyer call the police. 608 00:34:20,880 --> 00:34:24,080 Speaker 2: So that's an indirect way of saying I would say 609 00:34:24,640 --> 00:34:28,560 Speaker 2: more than sixty, probably one hundred. The total today of 610 00:34:28,560 --> 00:34:30,920 Speaker 2: what I could document would probably be about six million 611 00:34:30,920 --> 00:34:31,800 Speaker 2: dollars in jewels. 612 00:34:31,840 --> 00:34:34,719 Speaker 1: Six million dollars then or six million dollars today. 613 00:34:34,880 --> 00:34:37,759 Speaker 2: Six million dollars today. But keep in mind, back then, 614 00:34:38,480 --> 00:34:41,279 Speaker 2: let's say one hundred and twenty five thousand dollars in 615 00:34:41,480 --> 00:34:44,880 Speaker 2: Jim's was an awful lot of money because the average 616 00:34:44,920 --> 00:34:48,319 Speaker 2: income at that time was fifty five hundred dollars a year, 617 00:34:48,680 --> 00:34:52,040 Speaker 2: so Texas overall was a very poor state. So the 618 00:34:52,120 --> 00:34:55,759 Speaker 2: police estimated over a million back then, it probably was 619 00:34:55,920 --> 00:34:56,799 Speaker 2: a lot more than that. 620 00:34:57,480 --> 00:35:00,000 Speaker 1: So you know, I have for years and years operating 621 00:35:00,400 --> 00:35:02,120 Speaker 1: under the assumption that I think a lot of people 622 00:35:02,160 --> 00:35:05,440 Speaker 1: have is that when a series of crimes, like you know, 623 00:35:05,600 --> 00:35:10,600 Speaker 1: sexual assaults or serial killings or burglaries stops, it's because 624 00:35:10,640 --> 00:35:13,840 Speaker 1: the person is either in jail, prison, or they're dead. 625 00:35:14,280 --> 00:35:17,200 Speaker 1: And we now know that's not the case with you know, 626 00:35:17,280 --> 00:35:20,280 Speaker 1: my co host on another show, Paul Hols, he helped 627 00:35:20,280 --> 00:35:24,520 Speaker 1: solve the Golden State killer case where Joseph Giangelo just 628 00:35:24,920 --> 00:35:28,799 Speaker 1: sort of stopped. He had different life circumstances happening, He 629 00:35:28,840 --> 00:35:32,480 Speaker 1: got older, he wasn't able to be agile anymore. What 630 00:35:32,520 --> 00:35:37,640 Speaker 1: do you think happened that made these burglaries stop? Did 631 00:35:37,680 --> 00:35:41,160 Speaker 1: he move, did he stop having an interest in this, 632 00:35:41,480 --> 00:35:43,240 Speaker 1: or did he die? What do you think? 633 00:35:43,560 --> 00:35:46,920 Speaker 2: The police will say that he knew that they were 634 00:35:46,960 --> 00:35:50,359 Speaker 2: getting close. He knew that they had figured out who 635 00:35:50,400 --> 00:35:54,560 Speaker 2: he was. They knew they just needed to catch him. 636 00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:58,120 Speaker 2: And he also, as you say, was getting older. Lives. 637 00:35:58,120 --> 00:36:01,200 Speaker 2: Say in nineteen fifty five, if you were someone in 638 00:36:01,239 --> 00:36:04,480 Speaker 2: your early thirties, by the end of the burglarys, you 639 00:36:04,520 --> 00:36:07,080 Speaker 2: know you would be well into your forties or early fifties. 640 00:36:07,120 --> 00:36:10,040 Speaker 2: So he knew in one instance, one of the few 641 00:36:10,080 --> 00:36:13,680 Speaker 2: people who saw him a guy named Sam Wallace, and 642 00:36:13,760 --> 00:36:17,000 Speaker 2: he had just built a house near the Dallas Country Club, 643 00:36:17,120 --> 00:36:20,239 Speaker 2: close enough to walk over for state night, and he 644 00:36:20,320 --> 00:36:23,640 Speaker 2: awoke in the night and saw somebody in his bathroom 645 00:36:24,040 --> 00:36:26,680 Speaker 2: where they had the kind of ranchment in their house 646 00:36:26,719 --> 00:36:28,759 Speaker 2: where she had her bathroom on one side of the 647 00:36:28,760 --> 00:36:32,160 Speaker 2: bedroom and he had his bathroom on the other side. 648 00:36:32,320 --> 00:36:34,160 Speaker 2: And so he kind of got out of bed and 649 00:36:34,520 --> 00:36:36,919 Speaker 2: leaned in to look into his bathroom, and he saw 650 00:36:36,960 --> 00:36:39,959 Speaker 2: a man going through the doors. So he tiptoed back 651 00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:43,200 Speaker 2: to the bed and whispered to his wife. He said, honey, 652 00:36:43,440 --> 00:36:47,080 Speaker 2: there's someone in our house. And he called the police. 653 00:36:47,560 --> 00:36:49,720 Speaker 2: So he reached under the maptress and got a gun. 654 00:36:49,880 --> 00:36:52,400 Speaker 2: The thief heard him whispering to his wife, and so 655 00:36:52,440 --> 00:36:56,759 Speaker 2: he started running across this bedroom from the man's bathroom 656 00:36:56,920 --> 00:37:00,680 Speaker 2: to the wife's bathroom, ran into the wife's bathroom and 657 00:37:00,880 --> 00:37:05,719 Speaker 2: did a somersault out the window. This just totally floored 658 00:37:06,160 --> 00:37:09,919 Speaker 2: Sam Wallace, who's chasing him barefoot in his pajamas. Man 659 00:37:10,000 --> 00:37:12,600 Speaker 2: runs into the bathroom and does a somersault out the window, 660 00:37:13,000 --> 00:37:16,160 Speaker 2: but he landed on some garden tools and he could 661 00:37:16,239 --> 00:37:20,000 Speaker 2: hear him moaning down there, you know, hit with the thud, 662 00:37:20,040 --> 00:37:22,880 Speaker 2: and actually when they looked in daylight, there was a 663 00:37:23,000 --> 00:37:26,520 Speaker 2: dent in the ground. So Sam Wallace tries to shoot him, 664 00:37:26,760 --> 00:37:31,120 Speaker 2: and his gun jams, so he says, hold still, damn it, 665 00:37:31,200 --> 00:37:33,600 Speaker 2: hold still, and he's trying to unjam his game and 666 00:37:33,640 --> 00:37:36,200 Speaker 2: get off another shot. And the thief gets up and 667 00:37:36,239 --> 00:37:39,799 Speaker 2: he limps moaning to the fence and climbs over and 668 00:37:39,840 --> 00:37:45,400 Speaker 2: gets away. Well, probably he was hurked then, and you know, 669 00:37:45,560 --> 00:37:48,759 Speaker 2: he probably had some physical damage from some of these 670 00:37:49,360 --> 00:37:52,920 Speaker 2: daring new feats that he did, so as he got older, 671 00:37:53,000 --> 00:37:55,200 Speaker 2: it probably would have been harder and harder than somersault 672 00:37:55,280 --> 00:37:55,840 Speaker 2: out the window. 673 00:37:56,400 --> 00:37:59,680 Speaker 1: When the police ended their investigation when all of this, 674 00:38:00,680 --> 00:38:04,319 Speaker 1: who did they land on was their most likely suspect 675 00:38:04,640 --> 00:38:07,000 Speaker 1: before you picked up your own investigation. 676 00:38:07,560 --> 00:38:11,240 Speaker 2: You know, six years ago, they did have several people 677 00:38:11,600 --> 00:38:15,719 Speaker 2: that they thought weren't involved, and they would bring one 678 00:38:15,760 --> 00:38:18,840 Speaker 2: of them in for questioning and he would look at 679 00:38:18,920 --> 00:38:21,080 Speaker 2: him and he would say, prove it. And they didn't 680 00:38:21,280 --> 00:38:25,040 Speaker 2: have the case to catch them red handed. And you know, 681 00:38:25,080 --> 00:38:27,560 Speaker 2: you can just go for so many years staking out 682 00:38:27,560 --> 00:38:30,759 Speaker 2: a house with no returns to go the thing that 683 00:38:30,880 --> 00:38:36,120 Speaker 2: really slowed down. The investigation was the Kennedy assassination. When 684 00:38:36,160 --> 00:38:38,640 Speaker 2: it happened, you can picture these things have been going 685 00:38:38,680 --> 00:38:42,080 Speaker 2: on since fifty four or fifty nine. Was Josephine Grauf. 686 00:38:42,280 --> 00:38:44,839 Speaker 2: Nineteen sixty one was his biggest year when he hit 687 00:38:44,960 --> 00:38:48,600 Speaker 2: Clint Murkison, the oil man. That in sixty three, when 688 00:38:48,640 --> 00:38:51,319 Speaker 2: the Kennedy assession, it was such a dolt to the 689 00:38:51,360 --> 00:38:54,840 Speaker 2: whole city. It was so traumatizing. The police had to 690 00:38:54,880 --> 00:38:57,920 Speaker 2: investigate all kinds of things, not just the assassination, but 691 00:38:58,040 --> 00:39:01,759 Speaker 2: Jack Ruby's assassination of this is infected killer. So they 692 00:39:01,800 --> 00:39:05,320 Speaker 2: took Paul McCarron, who was the lead detective on the 693 00:39:05,440 --> 00:39:09,480 Speaker 2: Jule Deaf case, and put him on the Kennedy case 694 00:39:09,760 --> 00:39:12,920 Speaker 2: to investigate what went wrong? How did their security fail 695 00:39:13,320 --> 00:39:17,920 Speaker 2: so that Jack Ruby could shoot Lee Harvey Oswald Fann 696 00:39:17,920 --> 00:39:20,440 Speaker 2: and the captain in charge of Berkeley was promoted up 697 00:39:20,760 --> 00:39:23,160 Speaker 2: after that, and so the two people who knew the 698 00:39:23,200 --> 00:39:26,360 Speaker 2: most about the case were no longer on the case. 699 00:39:26,680 --> 00:39:31,320 Speaker 2: The police kept looking for him, but it never assumed 700 00:39:31,360 --> 00:39:35,760 Speaker 2: the intensity that it originally had. It was no longer 701 00:39:35,800 --> 00:39:38,680 Speaker 2: on the front pages. In fact, when the Herman Layburger 702 00:39:38,800 --> 00:39:41,080 Speaker 2: had and it was clearly the King of diamonds. It 703 00:39:41,120 --> 00:39:43,719 Speaker 2: didn't even make the news. They didn't identify it as 704 00:39:43,719 --> 00:39:47,120 Speaker 2: the King of diamonds. So time ran out on them 705 00:39:47,160 --> 00:39:49,680 Speaker 2: as what was on the thief. He got older and 706 00:39:49,800 --> 00:39:55,200 Speaker 2: their police leadership was more fractured and distracted, so when 707 00:39:55,200 --> 00:39:57,600 Speaker 2: it ended in nineteen seventy, it just ended. 708 00:39:58,080 --> 00:40:01,359 Speaker 1: So you've done a huge amount of reasons charch on this. 709 00:40:01,480 --> 00:40:04,080 Speaker 1: You picked up the case, You interviewed more than two 710 00:40:04,120 --> 00:40:07,000 Speaker 1: hundred people, and I don't want to ruin the ending 711 00:40:07,000 --> 00:40:10,239 Speaker 1: of the book, but you do have some assumptions after 712 00:40:10,280 --> 00:40:12,680 Speaker 1: doing all of this research, you feel like you maybe 713 00:40:12,760 --> 00:40:14,759 Speaker 1: could get a little bit closer than the police in 714 00:40:14,960 --> 00:40:16,600 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy could have. 715 00:40:17,239 --> 00:40:20,319 Speaker 2: Yes, because I had tools they didn't have. I had 716 00:40:20,360 --> 00:40:23,840 Speaker 2: the Internet. I could check addresses, I could track people 717 00:40:23,880 --> 00:40:27,799 Speaker 2: down that they didn't find, and I narrated down. It 718 00:40:27,840 --> 00:40:31,839 Speaker 2: was almost like a word cloud where if something shows up, 719 00:40:31,920 --> 00:40:34,640 Speaker 2: you know it's in bigger print, then multiple times it's 720 00:40:34,680 --> 00:40:38,120 Speaker 2: in bigger print. That if someone's name came up more 721 00:40:38,200 --> 00:40:41,920 Speaker 2: than ten times, I looked at them more closely, because 722 00:40:41,960 --> 00:40:46,600 Speaker 2: there were dozens dozens of people suspected over time, But 723 00:40:46,680 --> 00:40:48,839 Speaker 2: if their name came up over ten times. I looked 724 00:40:48,880 --> 00:40:53,439 Speaker 2: at them very intensely, in depth and trying to see 725 00:40:53,440 --> 00:40:57,720 Speaker 2: if they fit. I ended up with about five people 726 00:40:57,960 --> 00:41:00,480 Speaker 2: that I really could make a pretty good case that 727 00:41:00,600 --> 00:41:03,520 Speaker 2: it could have been then. But I determined that there 728 00:41:03,600 --> 00:41:09,840 Speaker 2: was probably one individual who fit the profile that Professor 729 00:41:09,880 --> 00:41:14,359 Speaker 2: Stoltz did, and the police reached the same conclusion. Paul 730 00:41:14,400 --> 00:41:17,480 Speaker 2: McCarron would say, and he said from our very first 731 00:41:17,520 --> 00:41:20,640 Speaker 2: meeting that we thought we knew who it was, but 732 00:41:20,719 --> 00:41:23,560 Speaker 2: we couldn't get to him. And he would return to 733 00:41:23,600 --> 00:41:26,560 Speaker 2: that over and over that they thought they knew who 734 00:41:26,600 --> 00:41:29,000 Speaker 2: it was, but they couldn't get to it. I think 735 00:41:29,040 --> 00:41:32,600 Speaker 2: that was largely true. I ended up and I've got 736 00:41:32,680 --> 00:41:37,520 Speaker 2: admit whenever I've spoken to book groups pre publication, word 737 00:41:37,560 --> 00:41:39,000 Speaker 2: got out that I was working on a book about 738 00:41:39,040 --> 00:41:41,200 Speaker 2: the King of Diamonds, and people are like, oh, King 739 00:41:41,239 --> 00:41:43,759 Speaker 2: of Diamonds, we've got to go hear this. But there 740 00:41:43,800 --> 00:41:46,840 Speaker 2: was almost always some woman would stand up and say 741 00:41:46,920 --> 00:41:49,200 Speaker 2: I know who it was. I know who it was, 742 00:41:49,960 --> 00:41:53,640 Speaker 2: and I go, well, let's talk, let's talk. There were 743 00:41:53,640 --> 00:41:57,920 Speaker 2: all kinds of names that came up from hardened street criminals. 744 00:41:58,160 --> 00:42:00,160 Speaker 2: Like I said, there were multiple layers of crime in 745 00:42:00,200 --> 00:42:03,239 Speaker 2: the city, and a lot of them stow jewels for 746 00:42:03,320 --> 00:42:07,279 Speaker 2: ready money. But I figured out most things led to 747 00:42:07,360 --> 00:42:11,160 Speaker 2: this certain individual, and so I tried to document as 748 00:42:11,239 --> 00:42:14,160 Speaker 2: much as I could. I still worry that I'll give 749 00:42:14,160 --> 00:42:16,160 Speaker 2: a talk, to a book talk and somebody will stand 750 00:42:16,200 --> 00:42:19,040 Speaker 2: up and say, no, it wasn't that person. It was 751 00:42:19,080 --> 00:42:21,320 Speaker 2: this person, or I was the person, or my uncle 752 00:42:21,440 --> 00:42:23,759 Speaker 2: was the person. So I left a little bit of 753 00:42:23,800 --> 00:42:26,520 Speaker 2: wiggle room that I think this is what was I'm 754 00:42:26,640 --> 00:42:30,000 Speaker 2: ninety percent sure, but I left a little wiggle room 755 00:42:30,080 --> 00:42:33,600 Speaker 2: to say, if it wasn't this person, then who was it. Yeah, 756 00:42:33,800 --> 00:42:36,640 Speaker 2: and I don't think anybody else can make quite the 757 00:42:36,640 --> 00:42:39,319 Speaker 2: same case that I did, but that I guess I 758 00:42:39,320 --> 00:42:43,040 Speaker 2: have to leave open the door that there's always that possibility. 759 00:42:42,880 --> 00:42:47,360 Speaker 1: This person is he still around, Like if there's some 760 00:42:47,680 --> 00:42:50,759 Speaker 1: miraculous thing happened and he confessed to someone, could there 761 00:42:50,840 --> 00:42:52,560 Speaker 1: be any sort of retribution here? 762 00:42:53,600 --> 00:42:57,359 Speaker 2: No, Luckily he's not. But I did hear that at 763 00:42:57,440 --> 00:43:01,520 Speaker 2: one point his younger sister, a lot of people thought 764 00:43:01,560 --> 00:43:03,520 Speaker 2: it was him and were saying, you know, your brother 765 00:43:03,640 --> 00:43:05,320 Speaker 2: is the king of diamonds. Your brother might be the 766 00:43:05,400 --> 00:43:08,040 Speaker 2: king of diamonds. And so she went to him, and 767 00:43:08,120 --> 00:43:09,920 Speaker 2: she asked him point blank, she said, are you the 768 00:43:10,000 --> 00:43:13,040 Speaker 2: king of diamonds? And he just laughed, but he didn't 769 00:43:13,160 --> 00:43:15,640 Speaker 2: he didn't say no. So there we are. I think 770 00:43:15,719 --> 00:43:18,640 Speaker 2: some things in life need to remain a little bit mysterious. 771 00:43:19,239 --> 00:43:23,080 Speaker 1: I agreed you had mentioned that he had smoked cigarettes there. 772 00:43:23,360 --> 00:43:26,200 Speaker 1: I'm going to assume that that evidence is not still 773 00:43:26,239 --> 00:43:28,200 Speaker 1: around for DNA testing or is. 774 00:43:28,160 --> 00:43:30,640 Speaker 2: It no sad to say? I mean they were there 775 00:43:30,640 --> 00:43:34,000 Speaker 2: were poor, poor record keepers, and they threw away all 776 00:43:34,040 --> 00:43:37,160 Speaker 2: the plaster casts, they flew away everything. You know. It 777 00:43:37,200 --> 00:43:40,479 Speaker 2: was not a sophisticated outfit at that time. I think 778 00:43:40,560 --> 00:43:45,040 Speaker 2: their crime lab was one room at Parkland Hospital and 779 00:43:45,320 --> 00:43:47,160 Speaker 2: one of the policemen told me said it was. It 780 00:43:47,280 --> 00:43:50,880 Speaker 2: was so infuriating because they found the tip to a 781 00:43:50,920 --> 00:43:54,440 Speaker 2: pry bar, which is a device that burglers used to 782 00:43:54,520 --> 00:43:58,120 Speaker 2: pry open windows and doors. Almost looks like a garden tool, 783 00:43:58,200 --> 00:44:00,920 Speaker 2: but you can it's bigger than and a screwdriver with 784 00:44:01,000 --> 00:44:03,640 Speaker 2: a wide flat edge. And they found the tip of 785 00:44:03,680 --> 00:44:06,799 Speaker 2: a privee bar. And the police in Oklahoma found a 786 00:44:06,840 --> 00:44:09,520 Speaker 2: prie bar that might match, and so they took it 787 00:44:09,560 --> 00:44:11,560 Speaker 2: to the crime lab to see if it matched, and 788 00:44:11,600 --> 00:44:15,120 Speaker 2: they could connect the burglaries and the crime lab lost them. Yeah, 789 00:44:15,280 --> 00:44:19,560 Speaker 2: so that was the level of sophistication. At one point. 790 00:44:19,600 --> 00:44:24,359 Speaker 2: The policemen didn't usually take fingerprints on burglaries. After this 791 00:44:24,480 --> 00:44:27,000 Speaker 2: got started, they did for a lot of the cases, 792 00:44:27,000 --> 00:44:29,440 Speaker 2: but they were so clumsy in one of the houses. 793 00:44:29,760 --> 00:44:32,839 Speaker 2: You know, it's this black powder that you spread on 794 00:44:32,920 --> 00:44:35,120 Speaker 2: things with the rush and then you put a piece 795 00:44:35,160 --> 00:44:37,480 Speaker 2: of paper on it and get an imprint from it. 796 00:44:37,560 --> 00:44:40,440 Speaker 2: They spilled their black powder all over the white carpet 797 00:44:40,800 --> 00:44:43,319 Speaker 2: in this house and ruined it because it was this 798 00:44:43,440 --> 00:44:49,160 Speaker 2: indelible black powder. So evidence gathering at record keeping were 799 00:44:49,200 --> 00:44:51,040 Speaker 2: not their strong suits. 800 00:44:51,440 --> 00:44:53,520 Speaker 1: Your suspect, who we're not going to name, you have 801 00:44:53,560 --> 00:44:55,880 Speaker 1: to read the book to find out why would he 802 00:44:56,040 --> 00:45:00,000 Speaker 1: have stopped in nineteen seventy what happened in his life 803 00:45:00,080 --> 00:45:01,839 Speaker 1: life that would have changed things? Do you think it 804 00:45:01,880 --> 00:45:02,600 Speaker 1: was that injury? 805 00:45:02,760 --> 00:45:05,120 Speaker 2: Could have been Several of the police said that they 806 00:45:05,160 --> 00:45:07,640 Speaker 2: thought we were getting too close. And after there was 807 00:45:07,840 --> 00:45:11,279 Speaker 2: this changing of the guard where McCarn was promoted up. 808 00:45:11,600 --> 00:45:15,320 Speaker 2: He was really a brilliant, talented cop, and Fanning, who 809 00:45:15,360 --> 00:45:18,440 Speaker 2: was a very well respected man, he was promoted up 810 00:45:18,560 --> 00:45:21,040 Speaker 2: and one of the policemen still on the case, John 811 00:45:21,120 --> 00:45:25,320 Speaker 2: Chisholm and his partner Charlie Dellinger, they were staking out 812 00:45:25,719 --> 00:45:28,520 Speaker 2: some guys and following them to these bars in the 813 00:45:28,560 --> 00:45:32,760 Speaker 2: Oaklawn area of Dallas, and they were watching him very closely. 814 00:45:33,360 --> 00:45:37,359 Speaker 2: And they had developed some sources in Oaklawn who told 815 00:45:37,440 --> 00:45:40,719 Speaker 2: him about some people who were stealing things. So I'm 816 00:45:40,800 --> 00:45:44,279 Speaker 2: sure they looked up and saw these cops in these 817 00:45:44,320 --> 00:45:48,759 Speaker 2: bars every night watching them. And Chisholm said, the same 818 00:45:48,800 --> 00:45:51,920 Speaker 2: theme M. Karen said is that he knew we were close. 819 00:45:52,400 --> 00:45:55,719 Speaker 2: He knew we were watching him, and so to avoid exposure, 820 00:45:55,719 --> 00:45:58,520 Speaker 2: because if you were a social figure, you wouldn't want 821 00:45:58,560 --> 00:46:01,799 Speaker 2: to be exposed as the jewelry. I mean, besides the 822 00:46:01,840 --> 00:46:05,000 Speaker 2: prison term, which would have been substantial, you know, you 823 00:46:05,440 --> 00:46:08,719 Speaker 2: would still cling to your social friends. And so he 824 00:46:08,800 --> 00:46:12,040 Speaker 2: had in several instances when he was interrupted, like Sam 825 00:46:12,080 --> 00:46:15,360 Speaker 2: Wallace or the teenager who walked out in the hall, 826 00:46:15,680 --> 00:46:18,120 Speaker 2: he ran. You didn't want to be seen and he 827 00:46:18,160 --> 00:46:20,719 Speaker 2: didn't want to be caught. So he could have just 828 00:46:20,800 --> 00:46:23,440 Speaker 2: given up because the game was over. You knew the 829 00:46:23,480 --> 00:46:24,120 Speaker 2: game was over. 830 00:46:24,680 --> 00:46:27,120 Speaker 1: So you know, as we wrap this up again, this 831 00:46:27,200 --> 00:46:31,880 Speaker 1: is such an unusual true crime story, and oftentimes I 832 00:46:31,960 --> 00:46:34,600 Speaker 1: talk about the victim who you know, and I've done 833 00:46:34,800 --> 00:46:37,279 Speaker 1: many stories where we have the victim who you just 834 00:46:37,360 --> 00:46:42,440 Speaker 1: think this victim is not a very likable person, or 835 00:46:42,640 --> 00:46:46,160 Speaker 1: you know, in the case of your book, these jewels 836 00:46:46,200 --> 00:46:49,040 Speaker 1: represent just I'm sure a tiny drop in the bucket 837 00:46:49,080 --> 00:46:52,600 Speaker 1: of some of the wealth of these people. But the 838 00:46:52,680 --> 00:46:57,200 Speaker 1: feeling of being watched, of being stalked, of having your 839 00:46:57,320 --> 00:47:02,080 Speaker 1: home invaded must been terrifying for them, as you found 840 00:47:02,120 --> 00:47:04,440 Speaker 1: out through your interviews, and I think it's something that 841 00:47:04,600 --> 00:47:07,440 Speaker 1: all of us can relate to. So what is the 842 00:47:07,560 --> 00:47:11,360 Speaker 1: lesson that you learned from this book? Is it about 843 00:47:11,400 --> 00:47:14,200 Speaker 1: the victims or you know, what is your big takeaway? 844 00:47:14,600 --> 00:47:16,359 Speaker 2: You know, some of the things, like you talk about, 845 00:47:16,400 --> 00:47:18,720 Speaker 2: these were not people who maybe would miss the money, 846 00:47:18,719 --> 00:47:21,120 Speaker 2: but a great many of the things that he took 847 00:47:21,160 --> 00:47:24,919 Speaker 2: were sentimental, like people's wedding rings, their wedding rings, yeah, 848 00:47:25,080 --> 00:47:29,120 Speaker 2: their grandmother's ring, a little necklace that said I love you, 849 00:47:29,520 --> 00:47:32,720 Speaker 2: something that they gave their wife when their child was born, 850 00:47:32,840 --> 00:47:37,439 Speaker 2: things that couldn't be replaced. I will say, the more 851 00:47:37,480 --> 00:47:41,840 Speaker 2: I learned about the family background of the individual that 852 00:47:42,040 --> 00:47:46,640 Speaker 2: was my most likely suspect. He had a truly wretched childhood, 853 00:47:46,800 --> 00:47:51,280 Speaker 2: young adulthood. And at one point I thought to myself, 854 00:47:51,480 --> 00:47:54,000 Speaker 2: I feel sorry for him. This was a bad thing 855 00:47:54,040 --> 00:47:57,040 Speaker 2: that he did, but I felt sorry for him. And 856 00:47:57,080 --> 00:47:59,919 Speaker 2: then I told myself, had this conversation with myself, well, 857 00:48:00,280 --> 00:48:04,759 Speaker 2: detectives don't feel sorry. There's no sorry, and detective work 858 00:48:04,920 --> 00:48:08,759 Speaker 2: just like no crying in baseball. And yet I could 859 00:48:08,760 --> 00:48:12,600 Speaker 2: see the whole person. He was a scarred person. A 860 00:48:12,600 --> 00:48:15,000 Speaker 2: lot of people compared him to the Phantom of the opera, 861 00:48:15,520 --> 00:48:18,360 Speaker 2: that they were both scarred and they wanted the objects 862 00:48:18,400 --> 00:48:22,439 Speaker 2: of their desire. There's something to that I could see 863 00:48:22,480 --> 00:48:25,360 Speaker 2: where everyone in the story. There were no perfect people 864 00:48:25,400 --> 00:48:29,440 Speaker 2: in this story, although some people tried a little harder 865 00:48:29,480 --> 00:48:33,960 Speaker 2: than others. But it's essentially it is a very Gatsbys 866 00:48:34,080 --> 00:48:37,799 Speaker 2: story that there were a lot of strivers, people who 867 00:48:37,840 --> 00:48:41,680 Speaker 2: wanted to be somebody, people who wanted to be loved. 868 00:48:42,160 --> 00:48:44,880 Speaker 2: And that's the great human story, isn't it, The great 869 00:48:44,920 --> 00:48:48,719 Speaker 2: desire to be somebody and to be loved. And I 870 00:48:48,719 --> 00:48:50,360 Speaker 2: think that was at the core of it. Really. 871 00:49:02,000 --> 00:49:04,880 Speaker 1: If you love historical true crime stories, check out the 872 00:49:04,920 --> 00:49:07,799 Speaker 1: audio versions of my books The Ghost Club, All That 873 00:49:07,920 --> 00:49:11,160 Speaker 1: Is Wicked, and American Sherlock and don't forget. There are 874 00:49:11,239 --> 00:49:15,000 Speaker 1: twelve seasons of my historical true crime podcast, Tenfold More 875 00:49:15,040 --> 00:49:18,680 Speaker 1: Wicked right here in this podcast feed, scroll back and 876 00:49:18,719 --> 00:49:21,480 Speaker 1: give them a listen if you haven't already. This has 877 00:49:21,520 --> 00:49:25,280 Speaker 1: been an exactly right production. Our senior producer is Alexis 878 00:49:25,360 --> 00:49:30,200 Speaker 1: a Morosi. Our associate producer is Christina Chamberlain. This episode 879 00:49:30,320 --> 00:49:33,799 Speaker 1: was mixed by John Bradley. Curtis heath is our composer, 880 00:49:34,080 --> 00:49:38,560 Speaker 1: artwork by Nick Toga. Executive produced by Georgia Hardstark, Karen 881 00:49:38,600 --> 00:49:43,040 Speaker 1: Kilgarriff and Danielle Kramer. Follow Wicked Words on Instagram at 882 00:49:43,080 --> 00:49:47,120 Speaker 1: tenfold More Wicked and on Facebook at Wicked Words Pod