It was the midcentury murder that fascinated a nation and kept it glued for two years to radio, television and newspapers through three trials.

Did the handsome, wealthy doctor and his beautiful young paramour plan to kill his glamorous socialite wife?

Or did the gun accidentally discharge as he claimed?

Early in the evening on July 18, 1959, Dr. Bernard Finch and his girlfriend, Carole Ann Tregoff, drove from their Las Vegas love-nest to the Finch home in the Los Angeles suburb of West Covina to speak to his wife Barbara about obtaining a speedy divorce in Nevada. But the plan went awry and the conversation turned deadly with Barbara’s lifeless body ending up in her in-laws’ backyard next door.

After a high-speed chase with police, Finch was arrested the next morning in Las Vegas and charged with Barbara’s murder. Then, during his court hearing in West Covina, Carole was arrested on the witness stand and charged as his accomplice.

Soon others were named as part of a larger conspiracy. But who were they and what parts did they play in these deadly events?

Set against the midcentury CinemaScope glamour of Hollywood, Las Vegas, and Palm Springs, Satin Pumps: The Moonlit Murder That Mesmerized the Nation is a true crime memoir written by former Finch patient, screenwriter, and author Steve Kosareff.