John Henry Carpenter
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John Henry Carpenter (April 24, 1928 – September 4, 1998) was an American video equipment salesman, most widely known as the friend and accused murderer of actor
Bob Crane Robert Edward Crane (July 13, 1928 – June 29, 1978) was an American actor, drummer, radio personality, and disc jockey known for starring in the CBS situation comedy '' Hogan's Heroes''. Crane was a drummer from age 11, and he began his en ...
in 1978.


Biography

Carpenter was of Native American and
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
heritage.The Bob Crane Case - Crime Library on truTV.com
He was born on the
Morongo Band of Mission Indians The Morongo Band of Mission Indians is a federally recognized tribe in California, United States. The main tribal groups are Cahuilla and Serrano. Tribal members also include Cupeño, Luiseño, and Chemehuevi Indians. Although many tribes in C ...
reservation where as a teenager he often earned money as a migrant worker harvesting
apricot An apricot (, ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus ''Prunus''. Usually, an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are also ...
s. Carpenter served in the
U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
and was married twice. Following his retirement from the Army he took a job marketing video technology, achieving expertise in that field and becoming head of the video wing of a new Japanese electronics company debuting in the United States called Sonycom, later to be known simply as
Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
. John had a child, John Michael Carpenter, from his first marriage who was adopted with the last name of Merrill. John Carpenter had three grandchildren from his first marriage and six great grandchildren.


Relationship with Bob Crane

During the run of ''Hogan's Heroes,''
Richard Dawson Richard Dawson (born Colin Lionel Emm; 20 November 1932 – 2 June 2012) was a British-born American actor, comedian, game-show host and panelist in the United States. Dawson was well known for playing Corporal Peter Newkirk in ''Hogan's Hero ...
introduced Crane to Carpenter, a regional sales manager for
Sony Electronics , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
, who often helped famous clients with video and audio equipment. The two men struck up a friendship and began going to bars together. Crane attracted women due to his celebrity status as well as handsomeness and introduced Carpenter as his manager. Later, the two would videotape their sexual encounters with women they met. While Crane's son Robert later insisted that all of the women were aware of the videotaping and consented to it, some, according to one source, had no idea they had been recorded until informed by Scottsdale police after Crane's murder. Carpenter later became national sales manager at
Akai Akai ( ja, 赤井, ) is a Hong Kong manufacturer of consumer electronics. It was founded as Akai Electric Company Ltd in Tokyo, Japan, in 1946. Grande Holdings in Hong Kong purchased the Akai brand, and now distributes various electronic produc ...
, and arranged his business trips to coincide with Crane's dinner-theater touring schedule so that the two could continue seducing and videotaping women after ''Hogan's Heroes'' had run its course.


Trial

In 1994, Crane's murder case was re-opened and Carpenter was tried and eventually acquitted. As a result of the accusation, he was fired from work as National Service Manager at the electronics firm Kenwood USA. He always maintained his innocence, and later said he felt a huge relief after his name had been cleared. One jury member later said in an interview that the jury believed there was insufficient proof to determine Carpenter's guilt and that "you cannot prove someone guilty on speculation." Carpenter's acquittal was spearheaded by defense attorney Dan Roth. The Law Offices of Roth and Roth were located in Scottsdale, Arizona. Carpenter's acquittal subsequently propelled Roth's reputation as one of Arizona's most sought-after defense attorneys.


Portrayal in ''Auto Focus''

In the 2002
biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudra ...
''
Auto Focus ''Auto Focus'' is a 2002 American biographical drama film directed by Paul Schrader and starring Greg Kinnear and Willem Dafoe. The screenplay by Michael Gerbosi is based on Robert Graysmith's book ''The Murder of Bob Crane'' (1993). ''Auto Focus ...
'', Carpenter was played by
Willem Dafoe Willem James Dafoe (; born July 22, 1955) is an American actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Willem Dafoe, various accolades, including the Volpi Cup for Best Actor, in addition to receiving nominations for ...
.


References


External links


Richard Dawson interview
– Richard Dawson talks about Carpenter, see Part 2, starting at 29:25. {{DEFAULTSORT:Carpenter, John Henry 1928 births 1998 deaths 1978 murders in the United States American salespeople People acquitted of murder Native American people American people of Spanish descent United States Army soldiers