BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA: Michael Keith Fine, 80, has been arrested for the murder of his parents, Helen D Fine and Maynard H Fine, almost half a century after the crime took place in Maryville, Tennessee.
He was taken into custody by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s office on November 7 and awaits awaiting extradition to Tennessee.
Fine has been indicted for first-degree murder in the city’s oldest cold case, stated the Maryville Police Department.
During a press conference, Maryville Police Chief Tony Crisp said, "As often happens in cold cases such as this, such a horrendous and unresolved matter is never truly forgotten, especially by the family members and the detectives who worked so hard to bring those responsible to justice."
The deceased Fines were discovered by a telephone repairman
Helen and Maynard Fine were last seen alive on May 6, 1977, after dinner with friends.
Marysville police received a call from a Bell South technician on the morning of May 20, who reported finding a decomposed body in a car outside the residence. The caller was there because a third party had reported a telephone issue.
The responding officers found the partially decomposed body of 54-year-old Helen in her car, while her 67-year-old husband's corpse, also partially decomposed, was discovered inside the home.
According to the autopsy, both the victims presented multiple gunshot wounds. Over the next few years, evidence was processed and sent to the FBI for expert analysis, and multiple witnesses were interviewed by various detectives, but the case eventually went cold.
The Fines case was reopened in May 2021
A family member had reportedly called the investigators and asked for an update that year.
Crisp stated that with the help of new technology, the investigators connected Michael to the murder weapon which was found by police about a year after the killings at a local landfill.
"The grand jury was presented evidence, including forensic evidence, that tied Michael Keith Fine to the entry point of the residence. Additional evidence was found that tied Michael Keith Fine to the murder weapon that was used,” he said.
Blount County District Attorney Ryan Desmond mentioned during the conference that authorities are still in search of a woman, then a teen, who lived with the victims that they "haven’t been able to identify" and who "isn’t considered a suspect but may have evidence related to the case."
