Newport Beach murder suspect arrested after more than 40 years

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. - Police in Newport Beach arrested a man they say is responsible for a 41-year-old murder on Friday.

Michael Larry Manatt was arrested on suspicion of killing Ronald Gaskey, the Newport Beach Police announced. Gaskey was killed in his Newport Beach home on Dec. 13, 1983. According to a Dec. 16, 1983, issue of the Orange Coast Daily Pilot, Gaskey was bludgeoned to death.

At the time, Newport Beach Police said they believed Gaskey's killer was someone he knew because of his interest in home security, according to the OC Daily Pilot .

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Officers collected evidence from the apartment but were never able to file any charges against a suspect. Now, more than 40 years later, police say that new interviews, combined with a review of the evidence, led them to identify Manatt as their suspect.

Manatt is being held on $1 million bail.

No other information was immediately available.