Homicide Detail. A woman is found dying in a vacant lot, and Joe Friday has to identify her before he can find her killer.

In the hospital, Joe interviews the doctor and medical staff about the woman they treated. Frank Smith joins him to try to figure out who she was. Could it be a suicide case? There’s no sign of violence, or robbery, only the odor of chloroform.

Newspapers pick up the story on the unidentified woman, and headlines blaze. James Mitchel is an unemployed man who shows up to take the credit for the killing. Why doesn’t he come forth with details or the woman’s name? Nothing in his story matches the crime, so why is he claiming to be a killer?

In voiceover, Joe tells how the story of false claims to murder is nothing new, and Mitchel is turned over to the care of a mental institution. Identification comes in when a 16-year-old boy claims the woman is his mother. Arnold tells how she rushed off to meet someone, but he isn’t sure who. All he knows is she was to meet a man named Leo. Clues fall quickly into place, and the cops search for their killer based on a missing necklace.