Dale Dean Finch

Case identification

Dale Dean Finch (born Oct. 21, 1956) was convicted of two murders and a robbery connected to shootings at a Citgo gas station in Rockford.

Timeline

• Dec 25, 1976 — Randall Morton (16) and Michael Pixler (17) were found shot dead at a Citgo service station on 11th Street in Rockford.
• Dec 26, 1976 — Dale Dean Finch, a former employee of the Citgo Oil Co. service station at 1603 11th St., was arrested by Rockford police detectives and was charged with two counts of murder.
• Apr 22, 1977 — Finch was found guilty of the Christmas Eve slayings of Randall Morton and Michael Pixler; the jury also convicted him on an armed robbery charge filed in connection with the double murders.
• May 12, 1977 — Finch was sentenced to two consecutive 50- to 100-year prison terms for the murders and four to 12 years for the robbery.
• Feb 15, 2006 — The Illinois Prisoner Review Board unanimously denied Finch parole.
• 2006 — Michael Pixler’s mother, Shirley Guthrie, presented letters and more than 6,456 names on a petition against Finch’s parole; nearly 2,400 people signed electronic petitions on rrstar.com to keep Finch in prison.
• Mar 26, 2013 — Dale Dean Finch died in prison at the Centralia Correctional Center after suffering from a terminal illness.
• Apr 22, 2013 — Finch died in prison at the Centralia Correctional Center.
• 2009 — Finch was denied parole again by the Illinois Prisoner Review Board.
• Dec 09, 2005 — Shirley Pixler Guthrie described ongoing efforts to keep Finch in prison.

Background

Finch was a former employee of the Citgo Oil Co. service station at 1603 11th St. in Rockford.

Michael Pixler’s brother, Doug Pixler, worked at another Citgo station. Doug Pixler discovered the bodies at the 11th Street station.

The offence

On Christmas Eve 1976, Finch killed Michael Pixler, 17, and Randall Morton, 16, at a Citgo gas station in Rockford.

The teenagers reported to work at 4 p.m. at a Citgo gas station at 15th Avenue and 11th Street in Rockford. Two hours later, Finch walked in and took money from the station. Finch shot each boy in the head with a .22 caliber revolver.

Pixler’s brother, Doug Pixler, and a friend, Dino McNabb, found the bodies later that night.

Finch stole $600 from the station; later reporting said Finch stole $601 from the 11th Street gas station. The teenagers had their backs to Finch when they were shot, with shots described as “execution style.”

Winnebago County Coroner P. John Seward said both victims were shot in the head at close range, and that Morton was shot twice while Pixler was shot once. Seward estimated they had been shot within an hour of the 6 p.m. discovery of the shootings. Morton was pronounced dead at the scene. Pixler showed faint signs of life and was rushed to SwedishAmerican Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

The victims were:

• Randall Morton (16), of 2328 23rd St., son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Morton.
• Michael S. Pixler (17), of 1113 Brooke Road, son of Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Pixler, and a starting football player for Jefferson High School in 1975.

Police said the victims were found in the garage section of the service station and were not tied up.

Investigation

Rockford police detectives questioned between 30 and 35 persons throughout Friday night in connection with the shootings. Detective Sgt. William Francis said Finch was brought into the police station “early this morning (Saturday) and he was charged with murder at noon today.” Francis declined to say what information led to Finch’s arrest and said they “haven’t charged him (Finch) with armed robbery yet,” but he was scheduled to see the state’s attorney and “might also be charged with armed robbery then.”

Francis said a .22-caliber pistol was used in the slayings. Both the gun and the money were recovered, but police declined to say where either was found.

Francis also said a sizeable sum of money was taken from the service station and he could not specify the amount. The amount was later reported as $600 and $601.

Police cordoned off the 11th Street service station almost immediately after they saw the two victims. Police said a woman was taken into the station at one point. Police were unable to say whether robbery may have been a motive for the shootings.

Police declined to comment on whether there was any connection between a Nov. 26 break-in at the Citgo service station and the Friday shooting. In that break-in, robbers netted $3,000 to $4,000 hidden in two City National Bank bags in the rear of the station.

Norman Crain, retail sales manager for Forest City Oil Co., owner of the station, said safes have been installed in all Citgo stations within the last three weeks and that they were used; he said the only money available in the station would be that from regular operations.

Arrest

Finch, 20 at the time of arrest, lived at 1111 Kishwaukee Ave., Apt. 3. He was arrested by Rockford police detectives Saturday at noon, only 18 hours after the slayings, and was charged with two counts of murder.

His bond was set at $500,000—$250,000 for each murder count.

Finch had been charged with two counts of murder in connection with the shooting deaths of two employees of the station. Detective Sgt. William Francis said Finch was arrested after information was obtained from other witnesses or persons who may have had some knowledge of the case.

Trial

Finch was found guilty on Apr 22, 1977 of the Christmas Eve slayings of Randall Morton and Michael Pixler. On that date, the jury also convicted Finch on an armed robbery charge filed in connection with the double murders.

The trial reportedly included evidence submitted during a five-day trial in which Finch was described as having shot both boys after he demanded they throw the station’s receipt money on the floor.

Sentencing

On May 12, 1977, Finch was sentenced.

Winnebago County Circuit Judge John E. Sype sentenced Finch to:

• four to 12 years in prison for the armed robbery, and
• 50 to 100 years for the double murders.

The Illinois Prisoner Review Board also described Finch as receiving two consecutive 50- to 100-year prison terms for the murders and four to 12 years for the robbery.

A related report described Finch as being sentenced Thursday to three consecutive prison terms, including two stints of from 50 to 100 years each, and said Finch would be eligible for parole in nine years if maximum good time credits were awarded.

During sentencing, Judge John E. Sype said:

“This man is one of two things,” Sype began, over construction noise on the floor above the courtroom. “Either this is the deliberate act of a callous killer who had utter disregard for his innocent victims. “Or, it was an act of a person with a complete lack of social responsibility,” he added. “Yet in either instance, the court is of the opinion that the authorities must be informed in no uncertain terms that this young man should not be able to circulate among the citizens of this or any other state.”

Finch wore a jail-issue orange jump suit and appeared emotionless when Sype called him forward. Finch declined to make any statements in his behalf.

Morton’s mother said:

“I hope he doesn’t ever get out,” as she left the courtroom.

Pixler’s mother said:

“I hope he rots in that place.”

She then broke into tears.

Finch’s attorney, Richard Berry, maintained after sentencing that the murder terms should have run concurrently because they stemmed from the same act. Berry said:

“I believe the consecutive sentences in the case will be changed to concurrent sentences on appeal since they are not consistent with the law,” Berry said following the hearing. “Both murders came from a single course of action.”

Winnebago County State’s Atty. Daniel Doyle defended the sentences and said they addressed three separate incidents: the armed robbery, the killing of Morton, and finally the shooting of Pixler.

Appeals

Finch’s attorney, Richard Berry, indicated that consecutive sentences would be changed to concurrent sentences on appeal, but no appellate outcome was stated in the material.

Parole and prison status

Finch received parole denials repeatedly through the Illinois Prisoner Review Board.

Custody date was listed as May 18, 1977.

Finch resided at Centralia Correctional Center, just east of St. Louis in southwestern Illinois.

In 2006, Michael Pixler’s mother Shirley Guthrie presented letters and more than 6,456 names on a petition against Finch’s parole. The material also described that nearly 2,400 people signed electronic petitions on rrstar.com to keep Finch in prison.

The Illinois Prisoner Review Board on Feb. 15, 2006 unanimously denied Finch parole.

A March 26, 2013 report described Finch as having his parole denied 18 times by the Illinois Prisoner Review Board by that time. It also stated that the Illinois Prisoner Review Board had made its decision Feb. 15, 2006 and that it was Finch’s 20th parole denial from the Illinois Prisoner Review Board in that reporting.

A Feb 26, 2009 report described Finch as being denied parole again. It said the Illinois Prisoner Review Board denied parole unanimously. It stated:

“This is the twentieth time the victims' family and friends have fought Finch's parole.”

The material said it would be another three years before he was eligible for another parole review.

A Dec 09, 2005 report described Shirley Pixler Guthrie as living with the memory of Michael Pixler’s Christmas Eve murder and as circulating petitions almost annually to prevent Finch’s release. It said Finch became eligible for parole nine years later and that Guthrie has protested the parole 16 times since Finch became eligible in 1986. It also said Guthrie had been spared some anguish in 2003 when the state parole board denied for three years Finch’s right to an annual review after she submitted 7,000 signatures.

The Dec 09, 2005 report also said Guthrie received a notice dated two days before Thanksgiving stating that Finch’s latest hearing would take place Feb. 8 in Springfield. Guthrie said:

“When I get this letter, I just get nervous,” Guthrie said. “I get sick to my stomach that this time they may let him out. It’s hard anyhow, just trying to get through Christmas.”

The material described Finch as a member of a class of 310 inmates statewide who had indeterminate sentences and had taken a pass on an offer to convert to a finite sentence when the law changed in 1978. It quoted Review Board Chairman Jorge Montes:

“That was a major mistake,” he said, “because the board has been a very conservative board. In a large number of those cases, the inmates could have been out 10 or 15 years ago.”

Montes also said:

“We understand that some victims’ families are aging, and it’s inconvenient and troubling to have to do that year in and year out.”

He added:

“The effort involves convincing local businesses to make fliers and petitions available to customers and asking public officials to write letters.”

The material stated that participation is optional and that hearings keep prisoners’ behavior in check so they do not think “that the board just rubber stamps everybody, and everybody just stays” behind bars.

Norm Soukup, a retired Freeport math teacher, was described as helping circulate petitions after learning about the case in 2002. Soukup said:

“It was such a terrible execution of these two young men,” Soukup said. “When I read it in the paper, I just gave her a call. She should not have to fight this thing so often. It’s brutal. It’s not right.”

Dennis Lee, Morton’s uncle and a retired Rockford electrician, was quoted about Shirley Morton. Lee said:

“She just wanted to get away from it and start a new life,” Dennis Lee said of sister Shirley Morton. “It’s still hard for her every time she comes home.”

Guthrie sat down with a tape recorder and told her story at each parole hearing, then made the trip to Springfield for the hearing. Guthrie said:

“I don’t get any rest from this. They keep me tore up all the time,” she said. “I no sooner get done than I have to start up again. I’m 67, and this is getting too hard on me — to be put through this every year.”

The Dec 09, 2005 report also stated that U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo and former Rockford mayors Charles Box and Doug Scott had penned pleas on Guthrie’s behalf; Scott also spoke at one hearing.

Outcome

Dale Dean Finch died in prison at the Centralia Correctional Center on April 22, 2013 after suffering from a terminal illness. No autopsy was planned, according to the material.

A March 26, 2013 report said Jean Randel, 49, a cousin to Randall Morton, described Finch’s death as “relief” and said:

“Every time the parole hearing came up it was like, ‘Please, please don’t let him out.’ We would have to relive it all again,” she said.

A report said Finch was serving two consecutive 50- to 100-year sentences under an indeterminate sentencing model and that he periodically was eligible for parole. It also stated that “truth in sentencing” replaced the older indeterminate model.

The March 26, 2013 report stated that Winnebago County State’s Attorney Joe Bruscato’s office took an active role in keeping Finch from being released and that Bruscato’s office opposed Finch’s request for parole a year prior to March 26, 2013. It also reported that Bruscato said:

“As state’s attorney, I have certainly determined my responsibility is to raise the level of this office’s involvement in protecting our community from some of the most heinous criminals the citizens have ever had to be protected from,” Bruscato said.

Other details

The material noted an earlier execution-style slaying at a service station on Jan. 23, 1970. John Hogan, 19, an attendant at the Gas-For-Less service station at 2201 W. State St., was shot in the back of the head four times and died the next morning. Hogan’s parents were described as among the first to arrive after their son’s body was discovered.

The Dec 25, 1976 report stated that headlines on the front page of the Dec. 25, 1976 edition of the Register-Star read “2 youths slain in station” and “Two murders reminiscent of earlier case.” It stated that headlines on the front page of the Dec. 26, 1976 Sunday Register-Star read “Ex-worker charged in slayings,” “Chance to work more lured boy to his death” and “Finch's former boss tells of problems.”

Pixler was described as being connected to Ken-Rock Community Center, where Pixler played baseball. In 1987, Ken-Rock named one of the ball diamonds at Don Schmid Youth Sports Center on Kishwaukee Street in Pixler’s memory. Ken-Rock executive director John Gutch said:

“He was one of those guys you always looked up to,” Gutch said. “He was an awesome person, a great athlete. Kind. Friendly. He was always good with us younger guys.”

The material described that U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo and former Rockford mayors Charles Box and Doug Scott penned pleas on Guthrie’s behalf, and that Scott spoke at one hearing.

The material stated that John Gutch knew Pixler from Ken-Rock Community Center and that Dave Dzik, former Jefferson football player now enrolled at Rock Valley College, described Pixler as a leader. Dzik said:

“Even though he was younger, a lot of the group really looked up to him,” Dzik, 707 Kingsway Ave.

It quoted Joe Blume, who coached Jefferson High School’s football team last year, describing Pixler as an outstanding football player and strong character. Blume said:

“If he’d been able to play this year, he’d probably have been named an all-conference player,” Blume said. “He was an outstanding boy. He started for us last year as a junior,” Blume said. “Mike was always was someone you could count on. He was a very strong character – one of our leaders.”

The Dec 09, 2005 report included details of Shirley Pixler Guthrie’s last conversation with her son in the kitchen of the Brooke Road home, including statements about Pixler asking if he could invite friends over to play cards when he finished his shift at 10 p.m. It also included Guthrie’s remarks about baked beans and her reaction on Christmas morning, including the lines:

“I thought, 'It's Christmas Eve. He didn't need to be working.' Something was telling me not to let him go that day,” said Guthrie, choking up. “Like a premonition or something.”

and

“there were his presents under the tree. I’d talked to him,” she said, “like I’d be seeing him in a few hours.”