Michael Larry Manatt, a 70-year-old man from Huntington Beach, was arrested in connection with the 1983 murder of Ronald Gaskey in his Newport Beach home. The case had gone cold after detectives were unable to charge a suspect at the time. However, in recent years, the case was reopened and Manatt was identified as a suspect. The motive for the killing was not specified, and it is unclear how police determined Manatt’s involvement in the case.
Manatt was placed in the Newport Beach Police Department jail with a bail set at $1 million. It is unknown whether he is still in custody or if he has retained an attorney. Gaskey, who was 36 when he was killed, had been found by his former girlfriend after he failed to show up for work as a construction worker. He had been beaten with a blunt object. Gaskey was described as a security-conscious person, and the fact that his door was unlocked at the time of the murder was unusual for him. Police ruled out robbery as a motive, as the house had not been ransacked.
Huntington Beach, where Manatt is from, is located about 36 miles south of Los Angeles, while Newport Beach is about 45 miles southeast of Los Angeles in Orange County. The case highlights the importance of persistent investigative work in solving cold cases and bringing closure to families of victims.
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