Dragnet: The Big Almost No Show (EP4964)

This episode of Dragnet presents a gripping true-crime dramatization based on an actual 1952 Los Angeles homicide case. The story follows Sergeant Joe Friday and his partner Ed Jacobs as they investigate the sudden disappearance of Ralph Tabor, a 30-year-old interior decorator, after he fails to show up for dinner with his sister, Edith Tabor. What begins as a missing persons case quickly turns into a murder investigation when the detectives discover Tabor’s body hidden beneath a wall bed in his apartment, brutally beaten with a claw hammer. The prime suspect is Andy Howard, Tabor’s former Navy friend and financial dependant, who had been living off him. Clues including a pawned television set, a sailor’s uniform with military insignia, and matching tattoos lead the detectives to track Howard across Southern California. After a tense stakeout and interrogation, Howard confesses to the murder, claiming it was a 'mistake' born of resentment and ungratefulness. The episode concludes with Howard’s conviction for second-degree murder and sentencing to prison. The podcast host, Adam Graham, then reflects on the episode’s title, 'The Big Almost No Show,' questioning its accuracy given Dragnet’s status as a major 1952 network program, and notes the story’s adaptation into a 1967 TV episode titled 'The Big Bit.'