The Murder of Actor Sal Mineo
From ’50s heartthrob to a homicide victim.
The End
In the 1970s, West Hollywood was an enclave for those working in the movie industry, less expensive than Beverly Hills and Benedict Canyon, dotted with the irony of clubs and churches and mid-rent apartments. One such apartment building was located at 8567 Holloway Drive, just off Sunset Boulevard and the famed Sunset Strip. It was stucco with three floors and offered its tenants a carport; windows from the apartments overlooked the carport, which faced the narrow alley. The Park Wellington Towers, a resort-style luxury condo complex built in 1972, were almost flush to the alleyway.
The call came into the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office at 9:42 p.m. on Thursday, February 12, 1976. It was man down, assault with a deadly weapon at 8567 Holloway Drive. The responding unit with two officers rolled up to a bloody scene. The “man down” was lying motionless on the ground, roughly halfway down the alley. He was dressed in blue jeans, a blue shirt with red and white flowers, a dark blue jacket and black tennis shoes. Sunglasses, a red address book, a manila envelope, car keys, and a paper bag with a piece of cellophane-wrapped cake inside are scattered around the inert figure. His wallet, with the contents untouched, was found in his pants pocket. A blood pool ran…