Murray R. Gold Trials: 1976-92

Investigators suspected stockbroker Murray Gold, who lived in New York City and had been divorced 10 years earlier from the Pasternaks' daughter Barbara. Police found fresh cuts on two fingers of Gold's left hand. He said they occurred while scraping carrots. And Gold insisted he had spent the evening of the murders with his parents, who said he had been under psychiatric treatment and was paranoid. He was indicted for first-degree murder.

Following the trial's opening on February 17, 1976, prosecutor Francis McDonald called 41 witnesses. They presented circumstantial evidence: All Gold's shoes had Cat's Paw heels, he had had shock treatments in psychiatric hospitals seven months before the murders, his New York-licensed car had been seen parked early in the morning in the Pasternaks' neighborhood three days before the murders, and pieces of plastic found at the crime scene appeared to match a button-fastening kit in Gold's apartment.

Murray Gold (center) flanked by his lawyer Timothy Moynihan (right) and detective James Conway (left). (AP/Wide World Photos)

Defense attorney William Kuntsler quickly proved the car had been seen three weeks (not three days) before the stabbings, while Murray was visiting his ex-wife's sister, Myrna, in hope of a reconciliation with Barbara. An expert defense witness testified that he could not make a positive identification or match of the plastic pieces.