[5] The Girl in the Polka Dot Dress

Just after Robert F. Kennedy was shot, a young campaign worker named Sandra Serrano went on live TV at the Ambassador Hotel and told the world that she had seen a suspicious woman in a polka dot dress. What happens when the police are confronted with something that doesn’t fit in an open-and-shut case?

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Episode Extras

RFK & Cesar Chavez

Cesar Chavez breaks a 21 day fast by accepting bread from Robert F. Kennedy. (Wayne State University, Walter P. Reuther Library)

“Then, I was with Sander Vanocur”

Sandra Serrano describes the woman in the polka dot dress to NBC's Sander Vanocur at the Ambassador Hotel.

Back at the Ambassador

Sandra Serrano recreates her position on the fire escape for the LAPD.

A polka dot dress

One of the many polka dot dresses the LAPD showed Sandra Serrano during their hunt for the mystery girl.

Headlines

The front page of the Los Angeles Times after Sandra Serrano's polygraph session with Hank Hernandez.

Progress Report

Sergeant Hank Hernandez's summary of his polygraph session with Sandra Serrano.

Episode Credits

Crimetown is Zac Stuart-Pontier and Marc Smerling.
The RFK Tapes is made in partnership with Cadence 13.

The show is produced by Jesse Rudoy, Bill Klaber, Ula Kulpa, and Ryan Murdock.
Our senior producer is Austin Mitchell.
Editing by Marc Smerling. Fact checking by Jennifer Blackman.
This episode was mixed and sound designed by Robin Shore.
Score by Kenny Kusiak. Additional music by John Kusiak.
Our title track is Maria Tambien by Khruangbin. Our credit track is Big Shot by Rosaleen Eastman.
Music supervision by Josh Kessler and Dylan Bostick at Heavy Duty Projects.

Archival footage courtesy of Producers Library and California State Archives.
Archival research by Brennan Rees. Production assistance by Kevin Shepherd.
Our website is designed by Curt Courtenay.

Thanks to Jean Klaber, Emily Wiedemann, Greencard Pictures, Alessandro Santoro, Paul Schrade, Elizabeth Behnan, Vincent DiPierro, Fernando Faura, and the team at Cadence 13.

For more information on the Robert Kennedy murder, pick up a copy of Bill’s book, Shadow Play, from St. Martin’s Press. You can find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @theRFKtapes.

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