LA Forensics: The Actor's Secret
A Good Man with Dangerous Friends
Detectives Basset and Kilcoyne began investigating the case. The neighbor who reported the stench was an older woman who was homebound and received nightly takeout meals from Finch. She hadn't seen him in awhile. He had an eviction notice taped to his door and his clocks had not been set forward for daylight savings time.
200.jpg)
Other neighbors reported seeing a variety of men coming and going from the apartment; notably a young, skinny blond man.
Finch worked as a sunglasses vendor to grocery stores and pharmacies, frequently hiring “Boy Fridays” to help out with his business. Rubber gloves, like the one found at the crime scene, were used to set up the glasses to avoid placing prints on the lenses. Finch was good-natured, but at the same time an aggressive businessman and that might not have sat too well with some people.
Basset found that he was close to his family, calling his father every Sunday. His gay lifestyle was not a secret, although friends would warn him of the dangers of frequently bringing street hustlers home.
“Unlike another type of murder where somebody has a problem with a person, usually known to them, and then they commit the murder; these types of cases you may have several – maybe even dozens of individuals who have contact with the victim,” Basset said. “You just go one at a time and eliminate them. Locate the people, interview them, see if there’s any connection.”
