The Big Story
The Lucky Longshot
Robert Early
Indianapolis Star
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In this episode of The Big Story, reporter Robert Early of the Indianapolis Star recounts a case involving a calculated attempt to fake a death for insurance money. An Alabama radiator manufacturer traveled to Indianapolis for the 1930 Indianapolis 500, then staged a car fire with a hitchhiker’s body inside, hoping to make others believe he had died.
Investigators grew suspicious when the body did not match the missing man’s size and letters mailed after his supposed death carried later postmarks. After returning to Mobile, the man offered changing explanations for the killing and the fire. He was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to prison; the hitchhiker was never identified.
The Big Story presents crime reporting as radio drama, bringing a journalist’s account of a real case to listeners through a dramatized broadcast. This installment’s surviving portion follows the clues that unraveled the deception, while Early’s newspaper reporting anchors the story in the work of a local reporter. The result is a tense account of a scheme undone by its own careless details.
This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.