The Ghosts Of El Segundo

Cold-Blooded Crime Haunts Investigators For Half A Century

(CBS)  It would take authorities nearly half a century to find the man who committed those crimes that night. But new technology would finally catch up with this old mystery.

Homicide Det. Kevin Lowe and Det. Dan Macelderry inherited the coldest case on the books. "Ice cold," says Lowe. "It was colder than cold."

But in September 2002, a phone call to the El Segundo Police Department, from a woman who said she had some new information on the murders, became the most promising new lead in years. The call was from a woman who said her uncle had bragged about being responsible for murdering two El Segundo police officers.

Their first order of business was simple: to see if the 1957 fingerprint matched up with their new suspect. "We gave the information to the crime lab," says Lowe. "They worked it. They cleaned up the print."

The prints were sent to the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department crime lab, which is easily the busiest in the country, handling more than 70,000 cases a year. They used the same print that Speaks lifted in 1957.

Dale Falicon and Don Keir, top specialists in fingerprint identification, immediately knew that their new suspect was no match to the old print.

But they decided to try again, this time with the advantage of modern science. Using everyday computer technology that was not even dreamt of in 1957, Keir was able to digitally reprocess the original photographs.

Even with a new digital image of the original fingerprint, you still have to have someplace to search for a match. After the events of 9/11, the FBI finally created a nationwide computer database that includes a copy of every criminal fingerprint in every state in the entire country.

They loaded a digital copy of the killer's print into the system. And just like that, a man that had eluded capture for nearly half a century was found in a matter of minutes.

The print led investigators to Gerald F. Mason, who was arrested for burglary in 1956 in South Carolina. It was the only time he had ever been arrested, and it was the only record they had on file.

Some quick police work easily located Mason, who was, remarkably, still living in his hometown of Columbia, S.C. He wasn't a career criminal, but a retiree living with his family.

"We thought we were gonna be looking at a guy with a serious criminal history," says Det. Lowe.

But Lowe and Macelderry would need a lot more than just a decades-old fingerprint match to prove to a jury that Mason was indeed a cop killer.

Lowe says the first thing they did was look through boxes and boxes of evidence, collected over the years, which now had to be re-examined to see if any other clue could be connected to Gerald Mason.

"In 1960, the actual murder weapon was recovered in Manhattan Beach in a back yard," says Macelderry. "It was uncovered by a man that was doing some yard work."

"We were digging up the weeds when I found the gun," recalls Doug Tuley, who has lived in the same house since 1956. His house was less than a mile from the scene of the murders, in the same neighborhood police believe the killer used to make his escape.

"The finding of that gun was huge to this case also," says Macelderry. "The serial number was traced by investigators back then to Shreveport, La."

[maaags]

I was also curious about this near the end of the broadcast......"I''m not his victim anymore. My son is not his victim anymore," says Curtis'' wife, Jean. "I''m so grateful, and I had to wait this long. It''s worth the wait."

There is no mention of the daughter. Was there possibly an earlier tragedy.

I also noticed there were no interviews with the other widow. Mrs. Richard Phillips.

[loribeth8]

It is all tragic because he seemingly went on to live what we know as a crime free life. But he RAPED a 15 year old girl and murdered 2 innocent men. There is not mention of the girl as a victim of this man who had to live with the torment of this attack for the rest of her life. I am wondering what happened to this young girl and if she is aware that her attacker was caught? Can you imagine...if she is alive, it was over 40 years before she knew her attacker was brought to justice. He may have lived a good life; good people can commit a bad crime. But they are still accountable for these choices.

[thisandthat1]

You know, even though the families are relieved and gave the Investigators watches, etc ... no offense intended, but these Investigators didn''t solve this crime! They had worked it for 45 years and came up with nothing. The person who actually solved the crime, or at least made it possible to solve it, was the woman who stepped up and called and said her Uncle had been bragging about killing two police officers. So, the killer was dropped in their lap .. then they did some leg work to prove it. It''s great that it was solved, but let''s be honest ... the police didn''t solve anything.

[xpassages]

I worked with Curtis some years back in Hawthorne and am sad to hear of his passing. He was a very nice guy.

[rbr1947]

That just goes to show you that you can''t escape the long arm of the law. Justice served.

[rbr1947]

That just goes to show you that you can''t escape the long arm of the law. Justice served.

[dm1946]

Yes I would also know what happened to Keith Curtis.

The families of this terrible crime needed to see this man pay for what he did. Just because he is 71 and it had been 46 years has no bearing on his having to pay for killing their fathers and husbands.I''m just sorry he didn''t have additional time for the rape. If you watch no other real live show other than 48 hours, you will still see that all cases cost many thousands of dollars and man hours to solve having nothing to do with the crime being against a police officer. Unfortunately everyone is greedy these days in the name of "justice". I have no special attachment to law enforcement but I do to doing the right thing. He will still pay the highest cost when he dies. After all he did have a good life and would still be living that nice life had someone not spent the time to catch him. How many killers are still out there running free?

[salimahrd]

Very sad story. Does anybody know what happened to Keith Curtis? I was shocked to see he just passed away. Life is so fragile...so much loss and pain in this world.

[promise100]

I don''t think it is a waste of money to jail this man at all. The two men he killed never had the chance to enjoy their lives with their families, have a nice life and a comfortable retirement. Why should he get away with murder (not to mention rape) for longer than he did because he is old and has gotten away with it this long. Where is spends eternity is between him and God but I''m glad he is going to pay some sort of price here.
I also saw that about Keith Curtis. I was wondering what happened to him also???

[demika1]

Thank God he was caught & prosecuted for his horrible crimes that he committed no matter his age. He should be forgiven, but not forgotten just like the innocent victims. He''s lived a good life & never paid for his crimes in the eyes of the law & victims family, but now he will.

Also, I''m interested to know what happened to Keith Curtis. I feel sorry for his mother.

[demika1]

Thank God he was caught & prosecuted for his horrible crimes that he committed no matter his age. He should be forgiven, but not forgotten just like the innocent victims. He''s lived a good life & never paid for his crimes in the eyes of the law & victims family, but now he will.

Also, I''m interested to know what happened to Keith Curtis. I feel sorry for his mother.

[bearnchris]

Yes, I know it brought closure to Keith and his family. Keith unfortunately lost his battle with Cancer in Dec. of 2007.

[kabutler2]

Question: How much time and money would have been spent on this case if Mr. Mason had not killed cops?
Answer: None

[bcsterps]

I noticed at the end of the show they show that Keith Curtis (son of one of the officers that was killed) had passed away. I wonder if anyone knows how he died.

[bearnchris]

Yes - Keith Curtis lost his battle with Pancreatic Cancer in Dec. of 2007. He was a great friend and neighbor.

[kentong33]

What a waste of our money to put a man that is 71 years old in prison. He has obviously know he did the wrong thing and had 46 years to think about it. what good is it going to do to put him in jail? The people that are part of this that say he shoudl burn and wont forgive him are the ones that are going to suffer in the end by not forgiving him. forgive and forget is what GOD says.