The Big Filth

Originally Aired: February 2, 1954

Dragnet #233, "The Big Filth," Sergeant Joe Friday and policewoman Irene Gardner investigate a disturbing call from a concerned neighbor, Mrs. Eggers, about four children living in apparent neglect. Mrs. Eggers reports that she hasn't seen the mother, Rowena Telford, in over a week, and that the oldest boy, Stevie, has been going door-to-door asking neighbors for work and food. When Friday and Gardner arrive at the small clapboard house, they find it seemingly abandoned, with weeds overtaking the yard and newspapers piling up outside.

After spotting movement through a window, they finally gain entry when young Pamela Telford reluctantly opens the door. Inside, they discover appalling conditions: a single candle for light, a leaking roof, water dripping into tin cans scattered across the floor, and two younger children, Martin and Carol, huddled in a crib hiding under filthy blankets. The plumbing has been out of order for weeks, and the kitchen is piled with rotting food and dirty dishes. When Friday presses Pamela about her mother's whereabouts, the frightened girl's story begins to unravel, revealing she's been protecting a dark secret.

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