Photo: Barry Staver/The Denver Post via Getty
The 57-year-old Crane, who produced and directed numerous television shows such asDallas,The Incredible Hulk,The Love Boat,Fantasy Island,Police Woman,Police Story, andThe Streets of San Francisco, was wrapped in his bedding and had been bludgeoned with a ceramic statue and also strangled with a telephone cord.
According to theNews-Heraldof Morganton, North Carolina, Crane had been at a bridge competition the night before his death.
His Cadillac was missing from his home and later discovered on a mountain road, the paper reports.
His case remained unsolved for more than three decades — until this week, when Los Angeles police announced the arrest of Edwin Hiatt on Thursday.
In November of 2018, an FBI Fugitive Task Force began surveilling Hiatt, who was working at an auto repair shop in North Carolina. While he was under surveillance, the agents grabbed a disposable coffee cup, lid and cigarette butts he tossed, theNews-Heraldreports.
• Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Clickhereto get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.
In January, Hiatt’s DNA was allegedly matched to cigarette butts found in the ashtray of Crane’s stolen Cadillac, according to theNews-Herald.
Los Angeles detectives interviewed Hiatt in North Carolina on March 8, and he allegedly admitted to killing Crane, according to the police press release.
Dee Hall, a friend and former co-worker of the suspect, told theNews-Heraldthat Hiatt “wouldn’t hurt a flea.”
Hall added, “This is something that supposedly happened 30 years ago, the man’s changed. He ain’t the same man. Christ has come in and he’s become a new creature. If God’s forgiven you, you’re forgiven. That’s it.”
The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office has filed one count of murder against Hiatt. He extradition to California is pending.
It was not immediately clear if Hiatt has retained an attorney or entered a plea.
source: people.com
