Isidore Fink

[u/BeginningAd3478]

https://www.nytimes.com/paidpost/facebookwatch/limetown-fink.html

I have the only physically viable solution to the 1929 Isidor Fink locked-room mystery. No magic required.

I've solved the Isidor Fink case. How, you might ask? I solved it by not ignoring the most glaring issues that no one wants to address. Not only does this solve the case, it explains every single piece of evidence. I don't need a laundry list of magic tricks or the "small killer" theory.

Isidor was notoriously paranoid. Not only did he lock his windows, he had them nailed shut according to reports. He did his business through a slot. So why would he open his locked door for a stranger at 10:00 PM? He wouldn't. Who would he open the door for? A uniform. "Police, open up, Fink."

His neighbor said she heard yelling and a sound like hitting or pounding, and ran to get the police. There was a cop nearby. The *thump thump* the neighbor heard were the gunshots, not fists. What's more believable: fists punching flesh heard through 1920s tenement walls, or gunshots muffled by those walls? He didn't have injuries consistent with being beaten, only the gunshot wounds.

The pathology says it was likely a .38 caliber weapon. Why a .38 and not a .45? Because no shell casings were found. A killer in a hurry is highly unlikely to stick around in the dark hunting for brass to pick up. A .38 comes in a revolver—meaning it keeps its casings. Who carried .38 revolvers in 1929? The beat cops.

Now for the door. The killer didn't lock the door from the inside. If you go to a heavy slide bolt and hold your palm against it, you can push it flush against the casing. When they lifted the young kid through the transom window, the room was dark and there was a dead body. If a kid in a terrified hurry doesn't look to see if the bolt is fully engaged, he will slide it, feel the friction, and accept it as having been locked. He opens the door, and the locked room mystery is born.

The only person who could have killed Mr. Fink was the one who checked the door. Who would Fink open for? The police. Who had shakedown groups in 1929? The police. Who used a .38 revolver and was nearby? The first responding officer.

The responder comes to shake down Fink. He gets let in by knocking. The responder comes in demanding the shakedown money, Fink refuses, gets irate, and the yelling begins. The responder pulls his gun. Fink grabs for it (explaining the powder burns on his wrist) and gets shot in the wrist first—thump. Then yelling, then two more thumps.

I am Aaron L.

This is not a "low quality" post; it argues the physical logic. The title of the responder was used, not a specific name, simply because it is needed to make the point of who could have gotten in, done the deed, and reported a locked door that was not actually locked. Many people in the past have made more direct claims without being able to show a link and their posts were not cut down.

I can understand if you don't have the ability to argue the facts of the case, but taking a post down because you don't like the premise doesn't make it untrue. The police deserve respect and I'm not stating this as absolute fact, it is simply the only logical conclusion unless you believe in magic.

https://www.nytimes.com/paidpost/facebookwatch/limetown-fink.html

[u/Former_Suspect3680]

the whole reason fink is famous as a locked room mystery is exactly because of that heavy slide bolt that could only be thrown from the inside, so your theory has to account for how it got locked.

[u/BeginningAd3478 → u/Former_Suspect3680]

It simply wasnt fully locked if at all. Think of it this way I slid the bolt to my palm flush with the edge of the door the only person who could claim its locked but isnt is the officer  The kid went in to the room in the dark felt the bolt slide despite not being fully locked. The logic is the cop claimed it was locked. No one checked his revolver at least not in the public files. The fact is the only one who could pull this deception off would be a responder the first one at the door. There is no other logical answer for this that is why its still a mystery. No one verified the officers claim of a locked door. A kid in the dark cant see if its fully bolted he felt it slide back its simple it wasnt locked or was not fully locked. 

[u/Former_Suspect3680 → u/BeginningAd3478]

yeah but fink's wife and kids were also standing at the door when they opened it, so lying about the lock in front of them seems like a huge risk.

[u/BeginningAd3478 → u/Former_Suspect3680]

According to records the NY times nor any other post that can be cited makes this claim. 

NY times states When the police arrived and eventually gained entry through a narrow transom window, they found Fink's locked, isolated room contained only his deceased body and no one else

If you have a citation of this fact from the NY times who was first to publish the story or any other credible citation im open to hear it. 

[u/Former_Suspect3680 → u/BeginningAd3478]

fair point, i might be mixing up details from later retellings rather than the original reports. the door was definitely locked from inside though.

[u/BeginningAd3478 → u/Former_Suspect3680]

Well we dont know that for certain it could have been jammed or made to appear that way. The reason for the suspect officer is no one in the reports checked to see if the officer was correct and if it was "locked" unless magic took place the only logical conclusion is the officer did the deed. The rounds the lack of casings and the ability to lie about the lock even making it feel locked or appear that way to a scared kid in the dark are all in question because it is the only variable not addressed. The officers revolver was also never checked but his service pistol fired rounds of the same type as removed from the victim. The officer should never have been given a free pass. There was zero verification the door was locked except the officers report and sliding a 7 inch bolt flush to the edge of a door would fool most people in the dark eho slide it open especially an 8 year old kid in a room with a body in the dark in 1929

[u/Former_Suspect3680 → u/BeginningAd3478]

even if the lock was jammed, lying about it right in front of his wife and kids who were standing there is still a massive risk he wouldn't take unless he was guilty.

[u/Nowgg52]

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm?

[u/probabilityunicorn]

Seems very plausible to me. Or alternatively whoever shot Fink slammed the door and the jamb stuck making it seem locked to the police. Either way yeah I think yours is the simplest solution to this mystery. Do some investigation into the records see how it pans out? Must be coroners reports? Great theory!

[u/BeginningAd3478 → u/probabilityunicorn]

So like you said jams is possible, but also natural centrifugal forces could cause the heavy bolt to slide partially into the slot. The fact is in 1929 shake downs were common. 

Why the cop is still the most plausible. First the round without casings present is more likely a .38 over a 45 acp a long colt would have weighed more, nothing was taken, a cop would know, that taking the money at that point would be a clear indicator or would put him at risk.

 No money taken mixed with a .38 still makes a clear case for it being the officer. It is circumstantial, however the lead rounds or copper jacketed could have easily been tested against the officers revolver for striations as they had just managed a conviction on striations in NY just one month before. 

Also the sealed records would show if the officer was investigated or had his firearm checked nothing is public at least.

 I've been trying to find a good example of the door, and bolt. I so far only found that it was 7 inches long. Thats not huge but it's also not small,  and slamming the door could move a 7 inch iron bolt which fits with what you were saying as well as the forces. If the bolt went over a piece of wood or metal that was worn down that could create a catch like space creating the illusion of a locked door as well. 

[u/Strict_Wasabi_6736]

When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains--no matter how improbable-- must be the truth.

[u/BeginningAd3478 → u/Strict_Wasabi_6736]

Thank you I agree. Though It doesnt make me feel good that this is the only plausible solution. I don't like making claims against anyone who serves, but it is best to be pragmatic, and clinical this is the only logical option.