Category Archives: Homicide

Mrs. Finch’s Dying Words: ‘I’m Sorry’

Posted on February 6, 2010 by lmharnisch

 Photograph by John Malmin / Los Angeles Times Feb. 3, 1960: Dr. R. Bernard Finch and defense lawyer Grant B. Cooper Feb. 6, 1960: The Times keeps the Finch case off the front page. Barbara Jean Finch supposedly said: "I'm … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Homicide | 1 Comment

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Feb. 5, 1960

Posted on February 5, 2010 by lmharnisch

A Jailhouse Pen Pal Is Heard From Again     Got a real angry Mash Note today from an old friend — Jet Simrell.     The return address was 306 N Broadway.  The County Jail.     Jet, you will remember, is … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Columnists, Front Pages, Homicide, Paul Coates | Comments Off on Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Feb. 5, 1960

Finch Admits Trying to Hire ‘Gigolo’ for Wife

Posted on February 5, 2010 by lmharnisch

 Photograph by John Malmin / Los Angeles Times Carole Tregoff "strikes a reflective pose" during a recess in the Finch trial.  Our favorite Pasadena gun store is having a sale. There’s a large selection of rifles for $1.99 each. They’re … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Front Pages, Homicide, Photography, Politics, Richard Nixon | 3 Comments

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Feb. 4, 1960

Posted on February 4, 2010 by lmharnisch

  The Mark of the Beast Is With Us Once More     I don't rattle too easily.  But the other day I managed, in the vernacular of Elvis Presley, to get all shook up.     Coming out of the house, … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Columnists, Homicide, Paul Coates | Comments Off on Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Feb. 4, 1960

Wife’s Shooting Was an Accident, Finch Says

Posted on February 4, 2010 by lmharnisch

 Photograph by John Malmin / Los Angeles Times July 30, 1959: People line up to get into a hearing in the Finch case.  Photograph by John Malmin / Los Angeles Times July 30, 1959:   West Covina Police Capt. William Ryan, … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Front Pages, Homicide, Photography | 1 Comment

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Feb. 3, 1960

Posted on February 3, 2010 by lmharnisch

Yanqui Go Home – After Touring Cuba     (NEWS ITEM)- Cuba's push to receive tourist travel to the island has blossomed into a full day for free.  The Cuban Tourist Commission is now offering hotel accommodations, a drink, dinner, floor … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Architecture, Columnists, Front Pages, Homicide, Paul Coates | Comments Off on Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Feb. 3, 1960

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Feb. 2, 1960

Posted on February 2, 2010 by lmharnisch

Tall Man Considers Cellmate, Dr. Finch     The tall man was talking about an ex-cellmate of his. They were together in County Jail for a month and a half.     The ex-cellmate's name was Finch.  Dr. R. Bernard Finch.     … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Columnists, Homicide, Paul Coates | Comments Off on Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Feb. 2, 1960

Finch Took Girlfriend on Trip With Wife, Witness Says

Posted on February 2, 2010 by lmharnisch

Feb. 2, 1960: Dr. R. Bernard Finch took girlfriend Carole Tregoff on a waterskiing trip with his wife. Now that’s chutzpah.

Posted in #courts, Homicide | Comments Off on Finch Took Girlfriend on Trip With Wife, Witness Says

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Feb. 1, 1960

Posted on February 1, 2010 by lmharnisch

New-Found Evidence Favors Tokyo Rose     Two months ago, On the 18th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, I printed what I thought was the first interview by a newsman with a woman known to the world as Tokyo Rose.     Her … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, broadcasting, Columnists, Front Pages, Homicide, Paul Coates | Comments Off on Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Feb. 1, 1960

Matt Weinstock, Jan. 30, 1960

Posted on January 30, 2010 by lmharnisch

Rewarding Experience     Ad executive Henry Mayers and his wife came home from a trip to southeast Asia about a year ago appalled by the deluge of printed propaganda they saw extolling communism and attacking this country.     To help … Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Matt Weinstock, Obituaries | Comments Off on Matt Weinstock, Jan. 30, 1960

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Jan. 30, 1960

Posted on January 30, 2010 by lmharnisch

Mash Notes and Comment       (Press Release)  "Gigantic 'man-eating clams' with shells of unusual proportion, sometimes reaching four feet in width, are found along the great barrier reefs dotting the Pacific Ocean from Australian waters northward into the Solomon … Continue reading →

Posted in Caryl Chessman, Columnists, Homicide, Paul Coates | Comments Off on Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Jan. 30, 1960

Chief Says He Was Misquoted on Latinos

Posted on January 30, 2010 by lmharnisch

 Two youths are questioned in the killing of honor student Leonard Moore. Former homicide Detective Aldo Corsini dies at the age of 65. He handled many gruesome ax murders and poisonings of the 1930s and early 1940s and as an … Continue reading →

Posted in Homicide, LAPD, Obituaries | 1 Comment

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Jan. 29, 1960

Posted on January 29, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Here's a Fishy Story From Death Row        This is the story of a fish, but it's not a fish story.     It lives on San Quentin's Death Row.  It's a salt-water fish — possibly a smelt — about … Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Front Pages, Homicide, Paul Coates | Comments Off on Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, Jan. 29, 1960

Matt Weinstock, Jan. 28, 1960

Posted on January 28, 2010 by lmharnisch

Leap Year Pitch     For a while it appeared we might tiptoe into 1960 without arousing the usual corny, anachronistic nonsense about leap year and the girls chasing the boys, object matrimony.  No such luck.  The subject was merely dormant.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Downtown, Food and Drink, Homicide, Matt Weinstock, Nightclubs | Comments Off on Matt Weinstock, Jan. 28, 1960

Joseph Wambaugh on the ‘Onion Field’ [Updated]

Posted on January 27, 2010 by lmharnisch

Photograph by Don Cormier / Los Angeles Times March 11, 1963: Jimmy Lee Smith returns to the crime scene to reenact the “Onion Field” killing. From left, Sgt. Danny Galindo as Officer Karl Hettinger;  Sgt. G.H. Bates as Officer Ian … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD | 2 Comments

Nixon Leads Stevenson, Kennedy in Poll

Posted on January 27, 2010 by lmharnisch

Jan. 27, 1960: A letter by the Finch family’s maid to her mother in Sweden recounts a conversation with victim Barbara Jean Finch:  “During the night, Dr. Finch tried to kill Mrs. Finch, who now absolutely wanted to have her … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Countdown to Watts, Homicide, JFK, LAPD, Politics, Richard Nixon | Comments Off on Nixon Leads Stevenson, Kennedy in Poll

Diana Barrymore Dies at 38

Posted on January 26, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Nice headline – does that make the nun a college girl? And I guess Kennedy isn’t a headline name yet. Jan. 26, 1960: The trial of Dr. R. Bernard Finch and Carole Tregoff in the killing of Barbara Jean … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, books, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, Homicide, JFK, Obituaries, Politics, Stage | Comments Off on Diana Barrymore Dies at 38

Matt Weinstock, Jan. 25, 1960

Posted on January 25, 2010 by lmharnisch

Endless Liquor Flow     Many years ago the mails were cluttered with a  nuisance chain letter called the Good Luck of London.  It was an anonymous, loosely written but harmless bit of nonsense vaguely promising riches to recipients who quickly … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, #Jazz, Columnists, Homicide, Matt Weinstock | Comments Off on Matt Weinstock, Jan. 25, 1960

The ‘Onion Field’ Remembered [Update]

Posted on January 25, 2010 by lmharnisch

Photograph by Don Cormier / Los Angeles Times March 11, 1963: Jimmy Lee Smith returns to the crime scene to reenact the “Onion Field” killing with Sgt. G.H. Bates, left, as Officer Ian Campbell; Sgt. Danny Galindo, center, as Officer … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1963, books, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Photography | 7 Comments

Finch Stole Two Cadillacs, Went to Las Vegas

Posted on January 23, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Betty Jean Behr shows a photo of victim Barbara Jean Finch. What to do with the radioactive waste piling up in Long Beach? Dump it in the ocean!   March 22, 1960: A judge rules that Long Beach has … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Environment, Homicide, Long Beach | 1 Comment