LA Forensics: The Actor's Secret
Skinny Blond Guy with a Record
The victim's car had been stolen, along with his wallet, so while the detectives waited for the vehicle to show up, they canvassed the neighborhood. The night manager at a local diner would provide a pertinent clue. He last remembered seeing Finch and a skinny blond man together the night of March 28, nearly two weeks before the body was found. Finch asked the manager to keep his friend at the restaurant while he ran an errand. A short time later, Finch returned and the two left together. It was the last time anyone reported seeing him alive.
The manager said the duo often ate at the diner, but after the murder the blond man stopped coming in.
Detectives had interviewed a number of Finch’s acquaintances and were able to identify the blond man as Sean Michaels. They also found that he had been arrested by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for car theft. Finch also had written Michaels’ name down with a few out of the area numbers. Phone records revealed numerous calls to the Modesto area of California on March 29, the day police believe Finch was murdered.
Then a big break. Modesto police called to say they recovered a car belonging to Finch. It was dusted for prints that came back to a man named Gerald Reeves. Police compared Reeves’ prints with those on file for Michaels and it was a match. Not only that, they found that Reeves had escaping from a youth jail camp in Modesto. So now they had their suspect, but finding him would be another matter.
