Television Star Pete Duel Found Shot To Death
Missouri Newspaper, December 31, 1971

Lt. John Konstanturos, who was heading the investigation, said the 31-year-old actor's body was slumped next to the Christmas tree in his living room. Duel was shot once in the head. A .38 caliber revolver was found nearby.

Police earlier received conflicting reports as to where the actor's body had been found, with one version placing it in a small car outside the home.

Detectives said they were alerted to the shooting through a telephone call from an unidentified woman acquaintance of Duel, who was present in the home. She told police she was in another room when she heard one shot and found Duel slumped to the floor.

Konstanturos said the woman and other friends of the actor were being questioned.

Duel had appeared in several other television productions, including "Combat!", "The Fugitive," "The Virginian," "The Name of the Game," and "The Bold Ones."

The six-foot-tall, dark-haired actor was born in Rochester, N.Y., and reared in nearby Penfield.

PHOTO CAPTION: TV STAR FOUND DEAD – Pete Duel (shown in recent photo), a star in the TV series "Aliast Smith and Jones," was found shot to death early today in his Hollywood Hills home. Detectives were uncertain if it was a homicide or a suicide. (UPI Telephoto)