'America's Got Talent' contestant offers reward in wife's death

Ted Rowlands and Michael Martinez
CNN

Los Angeles (CNN) - An "America's Got Talent" contestant who was questioned by police in connection with his wife's death is now offering $25,000 for information leading to a conviction in his wife's "murder," the contestant says.

Joe Finley, 47, a Los Angeles, California-area rock musician, said he wants to find the person responsible for what he called his wife's "murder." His wife's body was found just hours before he auditioned for "America's Got Talent" in October.

On Wednesday, Lt. Fred Corral of the Los Angeles County coroner's department said Laura Finley's cause of death is still being investigated, and he added he's waiting on toxicology tests, which should be completed by the first week of January.

Also this week, Los Angeles police said the case is still open and the death could have been an accident. But Finley has described police as accusing him of murdering his wife, though no charges have been filed.

Laura Finley, 48, who lived with her husband in Rancho Cucamonga, California, was discovered dead at the bottom of a staircase in the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles about 8 a.m. on October 23, according to police.

Joe Finley, who owns a spring-manufacturing business, has hired attorneys Sean Macias and Nareg Gourjian, who have represented a number of high-profile clients including Chris Brown and Scott Peterson.

Finley has described police as urging him to confess to killing his wife.

Los Angeles police declined to comment on Finley's reward offer or his assertions.

Finley told CNN he had nothing to do with his wife's death.

Full story