Suspect arrested in 1985 killing of Hollywood director Barry Crane

The FBI arrested North Carolina resident Edwin Hiatt on Thursday in connection with the 1985 death of TV director Barry Crane, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement.

Crane produced or directed episodes of TV shows such as "Mission: Impossible," "CHiPs" and "The Six Million Dollar Man," according to IMDb.com. He also was a world-class champion bridge player.

A housekeeper discovered Crane's body wrapped in his bedding on the garage floor of his North Hollywood residence, police said. He appeared to have been bludgeoned and strangled.

Crane's Cadillac was stolen and later recovered with forensic evidence, including a fingerprint that detectives matched last year to Hiatt.

Hiatt was arrested in the town of Rutherford College at the repair shop where he worked. Authorities had collected his discarded cigarettes and a foam cup to test for evidence, CNN affiliate WSOC TV reported.

Hiatt was 18 when Crane died.

"It's a different life today," Hiatt -- with long, receding white hair and a beard -- told the station Thursday as police took him to jail.

Asked if he was involved in the murder, he said, "Anything is possible back then because I was big into drugs."

The LAPD said Hiatt told detectives March 8 that he killed Crane. The LA County District Attorney's Office filed one charge of murder against him and an arrest warrant was issued.

The motive is unclear.

Crane, a native of Detroit, was 57.

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