Beverly Hills Cop

A Murderer Speaks

Detectives McElderry and Lowe arrived in Columbia, South Carolina, to arrest Mason, with an understanding that he could be dangerous. They had no idea how he was going to react to being arrested. If he had killed two cops already, what would he do now?

"We're here about the two police officers killed in 1957," one of the detectives said after Mason answered the door.

(The entire arrest was recorded.)

"My God. You're here for that reason?" Mason responded.

"Yes, sir."

Mason's "chin dropped," one of the detectives later said on television.

Then he started crying.

Two days before his sixty-ninth birthday, Gerald Fit Mason was placed under arrest. While booking him, detectives photographed Mason's back—and soon realized he had what appeared to be a scar from some type of wound on the upper portion of his back.

Gerald F. Mason in Court

Initially, when Mason was brought into court, his attorney announced that he would fight extradition. So the DA began the process of obtaining a "Governor's Warrant," which meant Mason could be brought back to California without his permission. Mason now faced a life sentence without the possibility of parole (prosecutors could not seek the death penalty because it wasn't part of the California statute in 1957).

A search warrant of Mason's home revealed that he had applied for Belgian citizenship just two years prior to his arrest. Among the many other items seized, additional handwriting evidence was found and sent to Paul Edholm for examination. To their shock, detectives also recovered a dozen loaded handguns and shotguns.

Then, on Friday, March 21, 2003, the final twist in the case emerged when Mason decided to confess to all of the charges against him and waive extradition.

He was flown back to Los Angeles that same day.

The following Monday, in a Los Angeles courtroom, Mason admitted purchasing the gun in 1957 under a false name and address, to filling out the YMCA registration under a false name and address, committing the robbery, rape, kidnapping, grand theft auto, and the murder of the two El Segundo police officers.

Months later, forty-six years after the crimes were committed; Mason was sentenced to two life terms in prison.

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1. The Early Days
2. "All I Want Is Your Money"
3. A Frozen Case
4. "I Think I'm Going to Kill All of You"
5. Forging His Way
6. 99.9 Percent
7. A Rape Turns into a Double Murder
8. Billionaire Boys Club
9. Sherlock Holmes
10. Of Course He's Guilty
11. The Murder Weapon Surfaces
12. Lucky Break
13. Murder By Numbers
14. A Murderer Speaks
15. Questions
16. A Note About Sources