hii brandi!! could you please explain what has been revealed about finn’s death / case so far? i know some of it but i forgot some of it too 😭😭
yes i can!! 💖 some of this stuff has only been mentioned in passing as of yet, so don’t feel like you’re missing anything if you’re thinking “wait, when did that happen?” because it was probably like 1 sentence, six months ago, that i added for extra context lol
LEADING UP TO FINN’S DEATH:
Many neighbors, including Rosie and Isa, contact CPS after seeing Finn with increasingly more injuries. Finn resents CPS’ involvement and does everything he can to keep them away.
Tensions run high between the Atwood’s and Officer Tim Andrews, the neighborhood cop. This culminates in Richard being arrested for disorderly conduct and aggravated battery during a bar fight. The charges are later dropped, but the incident increases the animosity between them.
Steven suddenly ends his friendship with Finn. Without anyone to stop him anymore, Finn starts getting into fights at school. He becomes heavily disliked by his peers.
Finn’s Grandma Bessie gives him a gold necklace and instructs him not to let his dad find it. Soon after, she passes away.
Finn wants to run away to live with his aunt Etta and cousin Liz in New York. He asks Officer Andrews for a ride. Reluctantly, he agrees to pick Finn up on March 13th in his personal truck.
THE NIGHT OF FINN’S DEATH (March 13, 1982):
Richard and Finn are planning to go on a hunting trip. Lucy invites herself on this trip as well, and brings friends. Many of these people are also heavy drinkers & drug users, so the trip quickly turns into a party.
Finn doesn’t have time to grab his bag (with all his belongings and money in it), but he does have his necklace, which he can sell for cash, so he decides to take the chance and continue with his plan. The last thing he remembers is running into the woods towards the location where Officer Andrews will be waiting in his truck.
Chris Porter (Steven’s father, and long-time friend of the Atwood family – you’ll remember him later as the headless man) was at this party. Years later, Steven says that on the night Finn died, Chris came home in a terrible mood and was covered in mud.
THE SEARCH:
On the morning of March 14th, Lucy and Richard wake in their tent to find that Finn is gone. His backpack is still there, so they assume he started his day without them, and would be back soon. Hours later, he still hasn’t returned. They walk to the nearest gas station to use their payphones. Lucy frantically calls her sister, Etta, who urges her to hang up and call the police. Richard calls Chris, who says they shouldn’t call the police unless they want CPS to take Finn away once and for all. Lucy and Richard spend the rest of the day searching the woods for Finn themselves.
Finn is finally reported missing that evening, almost a full 24 hours after he was last seen. Police find the money in Finn’s bag and assume he ran away. As a result, the investigative effort immediately relaxes. They start to focus their search on truck drivers that were in the area and may have given Finn a ride. Police are not aware of the party that occurred the night before. Every person involved, including Lucy and Richard, lawyers up quickly or outright refuses to talk, like Chris Porter.
THE INVESTIGATION:
Finn’s body is discovered by a fisherman on March 27, 1982, a mile away from the Atwood’s camp site. The temperatures had been below freezing for most of the last two weeks, so his body is found in relatively good condition. This is when he is given the nickname “Angel of the Bay” for the cross necklace he was wearing, and the way he was lying on his back with his arms out at his sides like wings. An autopsy is performed, though the results are not publicized for many, many years. The only information released is that the manner of death was homicide.
Lucy and Richard were in the middle of a press conference when they were informed that Finn’s body had been found. Police wanted to see their reaction live, though most people now view it as cruel and unfair to deliver the news in this way.
The lack of info led to wild speculation among the public. Finn’s parents were prime suspects in the court of public opinion, but other theories were tossed around as well: Satanic cult rituals, a bullying incident gone too far, a serial killer traveling through the area, etc. None of these claims can be backed up.
Finn’s case grows cold.
His case is reopened in the 2000s. New information is released to jog people’s memory, including that Finn’s cause of death was blunt force trauma, that no weapon was involved, and that a red or black 1976 Chevrolet Pickup was circling the area leading up to Finn’s death.
Sometime in the 2010s, Chris Porter is called in for questioning in relation to Finn’s case. This scares him, though if he knows anything about Finn’s death, he doesn’t give up any information. Days later, Chris sets his truck on fire in the road. It was a newer model, and couldn’t possibly have anything to do with Finn’s death, but it was a strange reaction nonetheless. Chris then lies down in front of an oncoming train, which kills & decapitates him.
Tim Andrews is now lieutenant of the precinct. At 62 years old, he can retire anytime he wants to. The case remains open today, though new leads are difficult to come by.
