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You are here: Home / Unsolved / R.I.P. Phillip Finch 1948-2012

R.I.P. Phillip Finch 1948-2012

February 17, 2012 By Alice

Philip FinchR.I.P. Phillip Finch 1948-2012: I just heard that a friend and a fierce supporter in the fight to get justice for William Thomas Zeigler, passed away.

Phillip Finch died at the age of 63 after losing the battle to cancer. He was a journalist and author of 14 published books and two screenplays. He started working for The Washington Daily News when he was just 19 years old. The San Francisco Examiner and other newspapers soon followed. He was an experienced cave diver and lived in Kansas.

An accomplished author, Phil published mostly books based on true stories. One of them was of course “Fatal Flaw.” In that book he described the Zeigler case and what he had been able to put together.

His analysis was razor sharp and undermined the state’s theory completely. Phil was so dedicated to that case that he made the book available for free on the Internet via his website.

Phillip FinchDuring the years, Phil helped brainstorm about the case and generously allowed me to quote at any length I wanted, anywhere.

Even though he was not actively involved in the Zeigler case the last few years, he supported anyone who asked for his help.

Phil read my crime scene analysis before it was posted, encouraged me to continue, emailed me documents I did not have and always exchanged information.

We lost a rock solid friend.

My deepest sympathy to the Finch family.

Rest in peace, Phil. I will miss you.

Thank you for sharing!

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Filed Under: Unsolved Tagged With: Phillip Finch, William Thomas Zeigler

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Trackbacks

  1. Phillip Finch (1948-2012) | literarydc says:
    September 2, 2019 at 1:20 am

    […] R.I.P. Phillip Finch 1948-2012 […]

  2. R.I.P. Vernon Davids says:
    May 12, 2015 at 3:28 pm

    […] case (when I was still with Amnesty International), I received the much-needed help from two men: Phil Finch gave me his book and encouraged me to keep writing about this case. The second man was Vernon who […]

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Author Notes

Since 2009, I write about unsolved cases that need renewed media attention. I only do research and leave active investigations to the authorities.

My posts cover homicides, missing and unidentified people, wrongful convictions, and forensics as related to unsolved cases.

On book reviews: I only review select works of true crime, crime fiction, and historical fiction/mysteries. The stories have to fit my website's theme, tone, and research. It is my prerogative to not review a book. Please check the FAQ page for more.

My databases are free to the public. Cases are sorted by the victim’s last name.

If you have any questions about my website please check the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page, the About page, and the tabs in both menu bars. If you cannot find the answers there, please contact me.

Thank you,

Alice de Sturler
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

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