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Finkbine Murder T rialJury Selection Begins(SDsciai Dispatch to The Resisted Finkbine was ordered up pnSANTA MONICA, CALIF. -A 25-year-old California man went on trial Friday for the suspected murder of Robert H. Finkbine, jr., 48, youngest member of the pioneer Desdeck and told to stand by a railing.Weisse then fired a single shotgun blast point blank intofalldaichicoratilt;pordevproorbjhis back, blowing him off the \ mhlt; giP'side of the boat, Duncan al-leged.Moines family, who' dis- pjnkbine's body was then re- r. appeared along with his $60,000 ,p0rtcdly weighted down with an j j yacht from a Los Angeles-ma- ancbor and disappeared into oni rina last October. lhe gea Duncan sajd. ;Russell Wayne Weisse sat i \quietly in the Superior Court- Sold Boat oulroom of Judge Edward Ra- Weisse and Duncan report-;001 feedie as jury selection, ex- cdly sailed into a Ventura ma-.:.?1.*pected to continue today, be- rina, where the boat was later.;gan, A motion to suppress evi- sold for about $40,000. : ]0idcnce seized al Weisse s Ox- Friends of Finkbine became *nnard home about 45 miles suspicious of his disappearance Itnorthwest of Los Angelos was!when they saw the boat — |mlt; summarily denied Thursday. minus Finkbine — in the Ven- 'AgAn Informant *!tura marina sc^ral days ,aler' ! £Weisse was arrested Apr. 7 i Weissc's attorney. Edward ; Rafter an informant told author-1 Gritz, has maintained his.,ities he and Weisse allegedly! client was -a victim of cir-hijacked Finkbine and his boat; cumstances and possibly , fanH thon «?h nt thf» nwnnr at sea. i framed in the dis- Iand then shot the owner at sea. j The body has not been recov- [ appearance, addipg that, Iered.have serious doubts as - toThe alleged informant, Gary j whether Finkbine is really Paul Duncan, 22, told author- dead. He would not elabo-ities at a preliminary hearing rate.Ytsedothe pair had planned to steal a, Finkbine was a fourth-gcner-, fi\ -boat for some time and sell4t ation member of. a wealthy pio- j phfor cash. noer Iowa family. His great- ehDuncan /icscrlljeit Ihe raid, Era^falher. Robert. ..SpoKer.m which reportedly begun late headed he comn, s- Inthe night of Oct. 11, when Mn tbal budl the Iowa Cnpltnl «dWeisse, Duncan said, boarded building m Des Mntne*. ovthe boat and forced ’ Finkbine I* pandftjlhor. EC. Fink-10 .the deck at gunpoint. out^ytmto com-. . ,, pany, later expanded by FinkDuncan said the pair tojd bane's father to cover the state; Finkbine they wanted to use his wjjjj more ^.jn 25 lumberyards.; boat to make a narcotics ren- • . . . ]dezVQUs at sea and that he, California Raised ...........would not be harmed if he to-! Finkbine was born and raised , D operated. in California, but he was aTwelve hours later, Finkbine!frequent visitor to Iowa. His was dead, Duncan said. otder- brother was killed inAn Inexperienced SailorWorld War II. His two sisters live in Pasadena, Calif., andHe told authorities that Fink- Maui Hawaii, bine, an inexperienced sailor f - pMblne never married.-He-who lived aboard the 45-foot vessel but rarely sailed it, manuevered the boat, out of theharbor and began the overnightreportedly lived by means of an inheritance from his father aboard the boat which he had bought several years before histrip towards another manna j disappearance, about 60 miles to the north. Friends said Finkbine hadIHe said he saw Weisse force saj|ecj ^js bpat only once before 1 |Finkbine to sign some papers, ^ vanished. A deputy district ^alleged to have been certifi- attorney, Burton Katz, who iscate? of ownership during the |pr0secuting the case, said he trip. expected the trial to last two to jAbout 11 «-»• the next day,three weeks.
Newspaper Details
Des Moines Register
Des Moines, Iowa, US
Sat, Aug 10, 1974
Page 3
Full Page
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Anonymous
USA 22 Dec 2018
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