CARSON : Trial Ordered in Murder of ‘Hogan’s Heroes’ Star

A Phoenix judge Thursday ordered a Carson man to stand trial for the 1978 murder of “Hogan’s Heroes” star Bob Crane, who was bludgeoned to death in his apartment.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Gregory Martin cited blood and tissue found in a rental car in deciding that John Henry Carpenter should be tried on the first-degree murder charge. Martin set a May 26 trial date.

The ruling followed a three-week preliminary hearing for Carpenter, 64, who was sentenced in December to three years probation for fondling his girlfriend’s daughter at a trailer park in North Long Beach.

Carpenter was managing a Los Angeles-area video repair business at the time of his arrest last June in connection with Crane’s murder. The 49-year-old actor’s body was found June 29, 1978, in the Scottsdale apartment he was renting while appearing in a dinner-theater production in that Arizona city.

Deputy Maricopa County Atty. Myrna Parker has said the human tissue evidence that led to Carpenter’s arrest was “simply overlooked” during the 1978 investigation.

Carpenter had long been considered a suspect, but two previous Maricopa County prosecutors had declined to file charges against him.

The actor’s skull was crushed and an electrical cord was tied around his neck. There was no sign of forced entry, leading investigators to believe early on that Crane knew his assailant. The supposed murder weapon--one of Crane’s camera tripods--has never been found.