AZ AZ - Bob Crane, 49, Scottsdale, 29 June 1978

[CastlesBurning]

Bob Crane Was The Wholesome Star Of 'Hogan's Heroes' — Then He Was Murdered Surrounded By His Sex Tapes

 

[Kell1]

Probably will never be solved unless someone else comes forward, the investigation was a mess from the start. If I recall reading there was no homicide department they had to cobble together investigators and police officers to handle the investigation (Scottsdale perhaps?)

Even then they had a pretty good suspect in Carpenter, with good evidence such as blood in Carpenters car that matched Cranes blood type and reportedly brain tissue in the vehicle itself , but for some reason that fell apart

 

[Richard]

Bob Crane

Crane in Hogan's Heroes, 1969
Born
Robert Edward Crane
July 13, 1928
Waterbury, Connecticut, U.S.
Died June 29, 1978 (aged 49)
Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S.
Cause of death Homicide
Resting place Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
Occupation

• Actor
• drummer
• radio host
• disc jockey

Years active 1950–1978
Spouse(s)
Anne Terzian
(m. 1949; div. 1970)
Sigrid Valdis
(m. 1970)
Children 5

LINK:

Bob Crane - Wikipedia

 

[ColyH]

 

[Sonny Crockett]

The BC case is definitely one of the more infamous unsolved crimes out there.

I have seen the well-done movie Auto-Focus (2002) several times over the years - this starred Greg Kinnear as Crane & Willem Dafoe as John Carpenter. This focused on BC's "double-life", and ended with his gruesome fate. Solid film, but definitely not for the squeamish. One of the many elements of AF that was especially impressive was that the crime scene at the end of the film recreated the actual crime scene very closely.

I don't have a strong opinion on who killed Crane. Given that there wasn't any sign of forced entry, when I first started reading about the case it seemed like the perp. was someone he knew & possibly let in himself...and/or someone who had a key to his place. However, IMHO it's also possible someone could have picked the lock and/or gotten in another way - maybe.

If this crime had occurred today, I speculate that with the advances in DNA technology/forensics & the fact that security cameras are much more prevalent now - it would possibly have been solved.

To those who are interested in this case, there is a decent doc. out there called Murder in Scottsdale: The Death of Bob Crane (2003). It focuses on the crime & the investigation, and seems thorough. Though, I don't necessarily agree with all of the views here.

 

[Betty P]

The BC case is definitely one of the more infamous unsolved crimes out there.

I have seen the well-done movie Auto-Focus (2002) several times over the years - this starred Greg Kinnear as Crane & Willem Dafoe as John Carpenter. This focused on BC's "double-life", and ended with his gruesome fate. Solid film, but definitely not for the squeamish. One of the many elements of AF that was especially impressive was that the crime scene at the end of the film recreated the actual crime scene very closely.

I don't have a strong opinion on who killed Crane. Given that there wasn't any sign of forced entry, when I first started reading about the case it seemed like the perp. was someone he knew & possibly let in himself...and/or someone who had a key to his place. However, IMHO it's also possible someone could have picked the lock and/or gotten in another way - maybe.

If this crime had occurred today, I speculate that with the advances in DNA technology/forensics & the fact that security cameras are much more prevalent now - it would possibly have been solved.

To those who are interested in this case, there is a decent doc. out there called Murder in Scottsdale: The Death of Bob Crane (2003). It focuses on the crime & the investigation, and seems thorough. Though, I don't necessarily agree with all of the views here.

Thanks, Sonny. Good suggestion about the documentary "Murder in Scottsdale: The Death of Bob Crane" (2003). For anyone looking for it, I found a copy of it on YouTube. It seems factual and has interviews with many of the people who originally investigated the murder.

Years later, a detective reviewing the photos found the photo showing what appeared to be brain tissue on the inside of Carpenter's rental car. Unfortunately, they couldn't find the tissue sample itself. Someone either threw it out or LE never retrieved it as evidence. That's one of the reasons Carpenter was acquitted when they finally tried him.

Some try to claim it was a hit job or jealous spouse, etc., but the killer used the tripod that was found at the crime scene. Someone intending to kill Crane would have brought their own weapon instead of looking for one in the apartment once they got there. JMO

 

[Sonny Crockett]

Recently re-watched the excellent but disturbing film Auto Focus (2002) & followed that up with the Murder in Scottsdale documentary. As I typically do with re-watches, I noticed more details that I may have missed during earlier viewings. Though the film itself is probably not 100% accurate, the doc. definitely seems well researched & factual. Even though the doc. is only about 1/2 hour long, it contains some great info. & good interview(s) with key people re: this case. Several points:

-Towards the end of the film Auto Focus, it was strongly suggested that BC was getting tired of JC 'hanging around' and was planning on "distancing" himself from JC. He allegedly mentioned as much to his adult son; this son was also interviewed in the doc. Going along with this & also towards the end of the film, there was a conversation between BC and JC that depicted this as well; this allegedly happened right before BC died. Though, this "conversation" is complete conjecture on the part of the film-maker(s); there is no proof that anything like this occurred between the two of them. I.e., did the two of them have a 'falling out' that led to the murder?! Obviously, we will never know for sure at this point.

-Again, it's unfortunate that the "evidence" that was found in the car was either lost or discarded at some point.

-I agree that the camera tripod being the murder weapon pointed to someone possibly doing this on the 'spur of the moment' - rather than someone who went there with the intent to commit the crime ahead of time....maybe.

 

[Sonny Crockett]

To follow-up on my last post:

Playing devil's advocate here: The doc. discussed the possibility of others wandering around the parking lot of the apt. complex late that night & the morning that BC's body was discovered (by his co-star in the play he was performing in AZ). And, I definitely agree that BC's life-style would have unquestionably angered many people out there - notably partners/SO's of the various women he was involved with, etc.

Here's an interesting 2009 article about this case:

Cold Case: The Murder of Hogan's Hero Crime Magazine

Bob Crane There's more than enough blame to explain why the 1978 murder of Bob Crane goes unsolved. by Denise M. Clark The 1978 murder of Bob Crane, the likable actor who played Col. Robert Hogan in "Hogan's Heroes," goes unsolved.

crimemagazine.com

 

[investikater]

I've tried to post about this before, I'll try again

Why do I remember an absurd theory that Bob Cranes death was suicide?

I remember because i thought it seemed so rediculous that someone could beat themselves to death

Does anyone know what I'm talking about?

All I can find is an article in poor taste at a satirical 'news' paper. I suppose it could have spread as a rumour from there?

 

[Sonny Crockett]

I've never heard this theory before. But, after doing a lot of research on this case & seeing the crime scene photos - it's ludicrous & impossible that it happened this way. The photos are clearly shown in the aforementioned MIS documentary. And, it appears BC was lying on his side when he was killed. Everything points to his being asleep when he died. I don't see any conceivable way that he could have done this to himself.

Note that the movie Auto Focus also recreates the crime scene photos very accurately - at the end of the film.