The death of “Hogan’s Heroes” star Bob Crane has been one of Hollywood’s biggest unsolved mysteries for almost 40 years.
Now a reporter may have cracked the case.
Phoenix Fox 10 anchor John Hook has re-investigated the case and on Monday night will reveal his findings on air.
Crane, who played the beloved Col. Hogan in the series, was found bludgeoned to death in his Scottsdale, Arizona, apartment in 1978.
The case captured headlines as it came along with revelations regarding Crane and his sex life, which included videotaping and photographing his sexual encounters with women.
His friend John Henry Carpenter was pegged early on as a person of interest and in 1994 he was put on trial for the murder after the case was reopened.
Carpenter was eventually acquitted and died in 1998. The case was dramatized in the 2002 film “Auto Focus” starring Greg Kinnear and Willem Dafoe.
Now that DNA testing methods have improved, Hook got authorities to release blood samples to him to be retested.
“Blood was found in Carpenter’s rental car a day after the murder matching Crane’s rare type-B blood,” Hook’s station told FOX411 in a statement. “When Carpenter finally went on trial in 1994, DNA was in its infancy. Testing at the time was inconclusive on whether the blood came from Bob Crane.”
According to Fox411, the results will be revealed “in front of a live panel that will include Crane’s son, the prosecutor, the jury foreman and Carpenter’s defense attorney.”
In a statement provided to CNN, Robert Crane thanked Hook and his team on behalf of his mother, Anne, his stepfather Chuck, sisters Debbie and Karen, and his wife Leslie.
“Although I am not a fan of the word ‘closure,’ the family hopes Mr. Hook’s efforts will successfully bring this case to a close,” the statement said. “Either way, to his family, friends and fans, Bob Crane will be 49 years old for eternity. We all miss him.”
