The Big Story
Bobby-Sox Kid from Bayonne
by
This episode recounts the case of Gladys MacKnight, a 17-year-old from Bayonne, New Jersey, who killed her mother, Helen, in August 1936 with the help of her boyfriend, Donald Wightman. The crime drew national attention, and young reporter Dorothy Kilgallen covered the story for the New York Journal. Her father, James Kilgallen, was also assigned to the case as a reporter for the International Press wire service.
At trial, MacKnight and Wightman claimed they had acted in self-defense. The jury found both guilty of second-degree murder, sparing them the death penalty because of their age. After serving part of their sentences, they were paroled during World War II on the condition that they enter military or similar service. MacKnight joined the Army Medical Corps; Wightman served in the Merchant Marines.
The episode brings a newspaper crime story to radio, following the case from its domestic tensions and violent turning point through the trial and its aftermath. Its subject is a disturbing real-life crime, presented through the reporting that made it a matter of national interest.
This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.