KTLA News: "Women homicide detectives investigate shooting..." (1980)

This was the scene last Thursday when two teenaged girls were found shot to death just off the Ventura Freeway near Griffith Park. Murder is not unusual in Los Angeles. There are more than a hundred of them each year. We're back at the Forest Lawn on ramp today with two women you may have noticed in last week's film. If not unusual, they certainly are unique. Peggy York and Helen Kder are homicide detectives for the Los Angeles Police Department. Detective KDR updates the murder investigation. >> We have gotten uh some calls from a person who uh so far is anonymous. Uh we're very interested in having this person call us again since we feel that the information that they are providing to us uh has some value. This team of detectives who just happen to be women is comparatively rare. There may not be another one in California or the nation for that matter. They are outnumbered by their male counterparts, but they share the same problems. >> I'm constantly thinking about the job and uh as I take my shower in the morning, I think about what things we need to do that day and I think about it at night. Especially when it's an important case and and we're anxious to solve it. It's something that you just can't forget about. You have to take it home with you. >> If you had your brothers, is there anything else you'd rather be doing? >> No. >> And so it is for these real police women. This is not a glamorous life. It's frustrating. It doesn't pay well. And one sees the worst examples of human brutality. But it's a job that needs to be done with both skill and compassion. For News at 10, Tony Valdez. Is that okay? Heat. Heat. We're back at the Forest Lawn on-ramp today with two women you might have noticed in last week's film. They are, if not unusual, then certainly unique. Peggy York and Helen KD are homicide detectives for the Los Angeles Police Department. Okay, Helen, bring us up to date on last week's murders. >> Uh, so far we've gotten a a large number of citizen calls uh of people who knew the girls and saw them sometime prior to their disappearance. We've gotten calls from a lot of people who think they saw them, uh, people who saw girls hitchhiking. Each one of these has to be checked out and we're in the process of doing that. Now, it's very time consuming. Uh, a lot of detail has to go into it so that we can uh in an attempt to verify whether or not these people actually did see our two victims. >> Have any of those calls >> out and either eliminate it or uh do some further investigation? >> If that person does call you back, will they in any way be endangered or put in jeopardy? >> Absolutely not. Uh we'll guarantee that they can remain anonymous. Uh what we're interested in doing is is getting some kind of an exchange going with them so we can determine whether or not the information that they're providing to us is valid. >> Why did you decide to become a police officer? >> Well, I needed a good job. I have three children and uh I suppose for the same reasons that uh most men want to become police officers. It's interesting work. It's u a good job. It's a good secure job and I had children to raise and I wanted to do it properly. >> Now, there aren't that many women on the force and there aren't that many working homicide. How do the fellas treat you? >> Well, I think they're getting used to it. Uh the people that we work for are very supportive and always have been. Um, the men at first I think uh were a little bit um uh I can't >> Yeah, it's okay. It's okay. You know, it's often said that that that women are are are very emotional. Uh how does that affect you and the kinds of violent crimes that you see day in and day out? Well, uh, sometimes it's, uh, very difficult, I think, especially when there's young people involved, crimes, uh, involving children or or young people as in this particular case. Um, but it's something that you have to learn to handle. Uh, you can't do your job properly if you don't if you're not able to handle it. >> When you go home at night to the three kids, are you able to leave all of this behind you? >> No, I'm not. >> Okay. Heat. Heat.