Matt Birkbeck

Matt Birkbeck (born Brooklyn, N.Y.) is an American investigative journalist and author.

He is best known for his books ''A Beautiful Child'' (2004), which told the tragic story of "Sharon Marshall" and her "father" Franklin Delano Floyd, and the sequel ''Finding Sharon'' (2018), which is a memoir about his ten-year effort, along with the FBI and National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, to find Sharon's true identity. Both books were adapted by Netflix for the 2022 documentary ''Girl in the Picture'', for which Birkbeck is executive producer.

He also wrote the critically acclaimed ''Deconstructing Sammy'' (2008) about the life of Sammy Davis Jr. and efforts to resolve his debts and his legacy following his death in 1990, ''The Quiet Don: The Untold Story of Mafia Kingpin Russell Bufalino'' (2013), about the influential Mafia boss Russell Bufalino, and he also authored ''A Deadly Secret'' (2002/2015), about New York real estate scion Robert Durst, who was accused of murdering his wife Kathie Durst and two others. The book was adapted by Lifetime for the 2017 movie ''The Lost Wife of Robert Durst''.

His latest book is ''The Life We Chose'' (2023), tells the story of William D'Elia, who was the former head of the Bufalino Crime Family and the so-called son and confidant to former mob boss Russell Bufalino.

Birkbeck has written magazine pieces and features for a variety of publications, covering the aftermath of the 2004 Super Bowl riots for ''Boston Magazine'', the cross-country pursuit of a civil rights worker by white supremacists for the ''Philadelphia Inquirer'', features for ''The New York Times'', the Robert Durst investigation for ''Reader's Digest'', the U.S. Secret Service prosecution of baseball legend Denny McLain and the Mafia for''Playboy'', and others. Provided by Wikipedia