Show Notes: Bob Crane’s Murder, Husband Shoots Wife as Intruder, Felon Sings During Sentencing

This show, “Michigan and other Mayhem”, is a sort of factual, slightly comical, always earnest podcast about interesting stuff in Michigan and around the world. It is done by two sisters-in-law (Ali and Jenn) that like to talk about random interesting stories.  Expect cults, mysteries, murder, fast talking, and a couple of mental palate cleansers… and cuss words.  Those happen on this show, a lot.

Click Here To Listen To Episode 47: Bob Crane’s Murder, Husband Shoots Wife as Intruder, Felon Sings During Sentencing

Alerts:

• Pretend podcast music because Jenn likes it. 
  • Ali has a weird laugh.  It is often loud.

Robert “Bob” Crane’s Murder

Robert “Bob” Edward Crane was born on July 13, 1928 in Waterbury, Connecticut. Bob began playing drums while he was young and by the time he was in junior high, he was forming musical parades in his neighborhood. Bob then joined his high school marching band, a jazz band, and the Connecticut and Norwalk Symphony Orchestra’s youth program. He graduated from high school in 1946.

Bob joined the Connecticut National Guard in 1948 serving a two-year contract.  He married his high school sweetheart, Anne Terzian, in 1949. In 1950, after being honorably discharged, Bob began a career in broadcasting as a radio host in New York. Due to his success on the east coast, in 1956 he was hired by radio station in Los Angeles. Bob was brought in to raise the ratings.

At this new station, KNX, Bob interviewed megastars such as Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Jack Lemmon, Jayne Mansfield, Ronald Regan (when he was an actor, not president), Jerry Lewis, Dick Van Dyke, and Bob Hope. Bob Crane, in the mid-1950’s to the mid-1960’s, became known as “King of the Los Angeles airwaves”.

During this time, Bob then began guest-hosting for Johnny Carson on the game show “Who Do You Trust?” (Ali did look up the game show on its wiki page. It was a show in which three married couples competed. They’d be asked a question and it was up to the husband to decide whether he or his wife would answer it. The idea was, would he answer the question or trust his wife to get it right. It was initially called “Do You Trust Your Wife?” and was originally hosted by Edgar Bergan, who is Candace Bergan’s dad. Candace Bergan is the actress that played the lead character on the TV show Murphy Brown.)

Bob also acted on singular guest appearances for shows like Alfred Hitchcock Presents, General Electric Theater, and The Dick Van Dyke Show. In 1963, Bob was given a recurring role on the television show Donna Reed. He played Dr. David Kelsey, who was incorporated into the program, for one year, until 1964. In 1965, Bob was presented a starring role on Hogan’s Heroes. Hogan’s Heroes was a situational comedy that took place in a prisoner of war camp in World War II. It centered around American prisoners working to escape from a German camp. Bob Crane played the role of Colonel Robert Hogan, star of the show. The show’s theme song relies heavily on a military drumbeat and was played by Bob.

https://youtu.be/2UnB-9tIZAo

Hogan’s Heroes premiered as a number one show, running from 1965 until 1971.  During that time, Bob Crane was nominated twice for Emmy Awards, in 1966 and 1967. In 1968 Bob started a romantic relationship with his costar, Patricia Olson (stage name Sigrid Valdis). In 1970, after twenty years of marriage and three children together, Bob divorced his first wife, Anne. The following year, he married Patricia Olson on the set of Hogan’s Heroes, with Richard Dawson standing as his best man. (Richard Dawson was a costar on the show and would later go on to host game shows Match Game and be the first host Family Feud.)

Richard Dawson also introduced Bob to John Henry Carpenter. John was a sales manager of electronics and set Bob up with video equipment. Bob used this equipment to tape his sexual escapades. It would later be determined that Bob, and possibly Richard Dawson, were sex addicts. Often Bob and John would tape themselves having sex with women they brought back to Bob’s house. It went so far between John and Bob having sex with these women that John took at a job as a national sales manager. He used business trips to meet with Bob so they could seduce women. There are different accounts on whether the women in the videos consented to being taped.

After Hogan’s Heroes ended, Bob appeared in two Disney movies, and bought the rights to a comedy play called “Beginners Luck” that he performed in different theaters. In between his theater engagements, Bob also did guest appearances on different TV shows like “Quincy M.D.“ and “The Love Boat”. In 1975, Bob hosted “The Bob Crane Show”. It was about a man who quit his insurance salesman job to go to medical school. It lasted 13 episodes before being cancelled.

In 1977, Bob separated with his second wife, Patricia. They had a son together in 1971, who was also named Robert, but went by his middle name, Scott. According to Scott and Patricia, Bob had reconciled with his second wife shortly before his death. Bob was seeing a therapist regarding his sex addiction.

On June 29,1978, Bob failed to show up to a lunch meeting with his costar, Victoria Berry. She went to his house to check up on him at home and found his body.  Bob was still laying in his bed, having been bludgeoned to death. The weapon was never identified but it was believed to be a camera tripod. Bob also had an electrical cord wrapped and tied around his neck. The cord had come from one of Bob’s video cameras. His planner was open on the bedside table and Bob’s blood had been splattered across it.

There was a lot of speculation on who had murdered Bob Crane.  There weren’t any signs of forced entry into his home and it looked as if there wasn’t a struggle. It seemed to be a crime of passion, as the weapons used were found in Bob’s home. Was it one of the women he had recorded and now she wanted revenge? Was it the husband or boyfriend of one of the women he had sex with? Was it his friend John Carpenter?

It was rumored that although the two men, Bob and John, often had sex with the same women, John was wanting a sexual relationship with Bob. John had arrived in Arizona four days earlier, on June 25, to spend time with Bob. The police had John’s rental car impounded. Inside, they found several blood smears that matched Bob’s blood type, which was one of the rarer types. (Remember no DNA in 1978.) Without further evidence, prosecutors couldn’t file charges. 

In 1990 a Scottsdale Detective, Jim Raines, persuaded the county attorney to reopen the case after examining the evidence again. There were photos of the crime scene, and in one picture of the rental car that John had, there seems to be a bit of brain tissue. However, the actual piece of tissue was lost while in police custody. The case was opened again, and John Carpenter was charged. According to Maricopa county police, they believed John was guilty as they eliminated everyone else.

The trial began in 1994, with Bob’s son Robert Scott testifying that his dad had said he no longer wanted to be John’s friend and that the night before Bob died, he ended the friendship between the two of them. However, John’s attorney was able to produce two witness that said the night before Bob was killed, John and Bob had been seen dining out that evening and were cordial during the entire night. He also pointed out that most of the evidence had either been mishandled or misplaced while in police custody. John Carpenter was acquitted and maintained his innocence until he died in 1998.

Bob’s oldest son named Robert, not Robert Scott, intimated that Robert Scott’s mom Patricia was the murderer. He spoke openly about the fact that Patricia was the only person to profit from Bob’s death as she received his entire estate. He wrote a book about his doubts  of Patricia’s innocence called “Crane: Sex, Celebrity, and My Father’s Unsolved Murder”.

In November 2016 the blood samples from the car were tested again, with a new DNA technique. Two sequences were identified in the blood.  One sequence was of an unknown person and the other one was too degraded to provide information. Bob Crane’s murder remains unsolved.

https://www.biography.com/news/bob-crane-biography-facts

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Crane

http://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/arizona-news/bob-crane-s-murder-remains-unsolved-four-decades-later

Husband Shoots Wife as Intruder

In Ypsilanti, Michigan, a man shot his wife to death, claiming that the believed she was an intruder. On July 11, 2019 Brian, who is 30 years old, woke up and thought he saw an intruder. He took a shot at that person and it ended up being his wife, Ashley, who was 31 years old. She died at the scene before officials arrived.

Their four-year-old daughter is the person who called for emergency services. She said that her mom was not breathing. After that, Brian does get on the phone to talk to them. Brian later said that he believed there was an attempted home invasion earlier in the day.

Brian was taken into custody and later released. He hasn’t been charged with anything and it still is under investigation.

Felon Sings During Sentencing

Brian Earl Taylor, who is 21 years old and currently residing in Belleville, MI. He was being sentenced in March 2016 in Washtenaw County for unlawful imprisonment and carrying a concealed weapon. Brian was allowed to speak on his own behalf. He was asking for a 36-month sentence instead of the 10 or more years he might receive. During the time he was allowed to plead his case, he decide to sing an Adele parody.  The song he sang, “I’m Sorry” was to the tune of Adel’s “Hello”. It didn’t help. Brian had been on parole during the crime and had multiple felony warrants. He received 17 years.

https://www.cnn.com/2016/03/18/us/felon-singing-adele-irpt/index.html

Yelp Reviews of River Street Station in Manistee, MI

Chad Lafave, One Star

One cook, when not cooking he’s on back deck smoking pot

Bill Cheek, One Star

(Reduced for time)

Quite possibly the worst bar on planet Earth. The spectacular location and riverside deck entice you into what could only be called the seventh circle of hell. The exceptionally incompetent, clueless, and rude waitstaff are only surpassed by the oblivious owner who actually told us they WERE OUT OF PLATES to explain the delay in just getting the simplest food order…Avoid like the plague.

Frank Lilly, One Star

Lousey service . Had better time at a funeral. Gonna send Mike a sympathy card !!! (from what Ali can tell, Mike is the owner)

Bob the judger

(Reduced for time)

Had a very snippy waiter who appeared to be mocking other customers. Took 30 minutes between drinks, when asked for a napkin was told to shut up and that I was “no prince”. Cannot believe the service. Owner was in the bar drinking, when approached him with the issue was asked to leave and told I was “no big loss” again I cannot believe the attitude… “ordered cod, was given a burger, could not convince the waitstaff otherwise”

https://www.yelp.com/biz/river-street-station-manistee-2

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