A Murder in West Covina: Chronicle of the Finch-Tregoff Case

Rampant greed sex and a considerable dose of comedy ensured that this trial of a wealthy doctor and his mistress as joint defendants on charges of murder dominated newspaper headlines for months. By 1959 Finch 42 a wealthy Los Angeles California physician yearned to elevate his affair with 20-year-old Carole Tregoff to something more permanent. Standing directly in the path of this ambition was Finchs wife Barbara backed by the formidable California community property laws. Divorce would entitle Barbara Finch to half of Finchs estimated $750 000 fortune. Furthermore if Barbara Finch could prove adultery-and there was every indication that she intended to do just that-Finch faced financial ruin since the court could then apportion any percentage of the community property it deemed fit to the aggrieved party. Despite overwhelming evidence in favor of conviction a jury deadlocked primarily because racial tension had pervaded the jury room.