Dawn Viens -- Presumed Murdered (Husband Confessed)

Dawn Viens, Calif. Woman Missing Nearly a Year; Case Given to Homicide Cops

September 14, 2010 2:47 PM
Posted by Carlin DeGuerin Miller



LOMITA, Calif. (CBS) Dawn Viens was last seen Oct. 18, 2009 leaving her husband's successful restaurant in Lomita, Calif., according to friends and police, but her husband, David Viens, never reported her missing. After three weeks, concerned friends went to the police, and an investigation was begun.

Several days ago, Dawn's missing person's case was turned over to homicide detectives, although the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office says almost 11 months, there are no new leads.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20016368-504083.html

California Restaurant Owner's Wife Vanishes

Posted: 05:06 PM ET
September 14, 2010



Husband's New Girlfriend Allegedly Throws out Wife's Stuff, Jeep Towed

The mystery surrounding the sudden disappearance of Dawn Viens, the beautiful wife of a California restaurant owner, takes yet another bizarre twist. After we learn the missing woman’s husband reportedly shacks up with a new girlfriend just days after Viens goes missing, we now learn David Vien’s girlfriend throws out his missing wife’s stuff, according to a friend of the missing woman.

Reports surface David Viens’s girlfriend and daughter tossed out his wife’s personal belongings into the dumpster behind his restaurant. Dawn Viens’ friend, Joe Cacase, tells Nancy Grace David Viens told a few people he put his missing wife’s stuff in storage but one day his new girlfriend and daughter came to David Viens’ restaurant and tossed a box full of Dawn Viens’ clothing into the dumpster.

Read more: http://nancygrace.blogs.cnn.com/2010/09/14/california-restaurant-owners-wife-vanishes/

Police believe Dawn Viens is dead

By Larry Altman Staff Writer
Posted: 02/22/2011 07:13:40 PM PST

A Lomita woman missing without a trace for 16 months is believed to be dead following the discovery of blood spatter on her bedroom walls, detectives said Tuesday.

Detectives made the discovery recently when they examined the home Dawn Viens once shared with her husband, David Viens, who is considered a "person of interest" in her disappearance and apparent homicide, sheriff's Sgt. Richard Garcia said.

David Viens and his new girlfriend lived in the house in the 15400 block of Oak Avenue for several months. After they moved, a forensics team examined the residence's interior with Luminol, a chemical that detects trace amounts of blood left at crime scenes, Garcia said.

"We located blood spatter inside the location," Garcia said.

Blood was found in the bedroom and another room, he said. He would not indicate how much blood was found. DNA tests are under way to determine if it belongs to Dawn Viens.

Read more: http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/ci_17455395

Hopefully it won't be too much longer before Dawn's killer is brought to justice. I wonder why it took so long to test the house with Luminol. It seems like they could have got a warrant to do this test while David and his new girlfriend were still living in the house.

Husband of missing Lomita woman jumps off RPV cliff

By Larry Altman Staff Writer
Updated: 02/23/2011 07:06:06 PM PST

The husband of a missing Lomita woman now believed to be dead jumped from a Rancho Palos Verdes cliff Wednesday as detectives worked to build a homicide case against him, sheriff's deputies said.

David Viens, 47, of Lomita was flown by helicopter to a hospital following his 80-foot plunge near the Point Vicente Interpretive Center. Viens, who then rolled about another 100 feet to the shore, was listed in extremely critical condition, deputies said.

Viens was the subject of a Daily Breeze article Wednesday that reported he was a "person of interest" in his wife's disappearance 16 months ago.

The Breeze reported that investigators found blood spatter on the walls inside his former home on Oak Avenue, and believe his wife, Dawn Viens, was the victim of a homicide. Her body has not been found.

In the hours before he jumped, David Viens' status in the case was upgraded to murder suspect, sheriff's Lt. Dave Coleman said.

"We developed information very recently that caused us to believe David was, in fact, a suspect in Dawn's murder," Coleman said.

Read more: http://www.dailybreeze.com/latestnews/ci_17461247

Interesting!!

That screams guilty to me. Too bad he didn't tell anyone what he did with Dawn. I don't feel a bit sorry for him, seems he may die a horrible death as well.

Nothing spells guilty like jumping off of a cliff.

Sounds like a guilty person to me!

I wonder if his new girlfriend had any idea what was going on with him.

Piper, it looks like his girlfriend knew exactly what was going on if you believe Nancy Grace's blog. They had an article back in September that said she tossed Dawn's stuff into a dumpster and took over her job as hostess in the restaurant.

They also said that she discussed the case on the Internet.

~Snipped~

The new girlfriend has reportedly taken to the internet and the message boards, blasting those who believe Dawn Viens didn’t disappear on her own. The new girlfriend reportedly says she thinks Dawn Viens is a drug addict and will come home then everyone will have egg on their faces. She also took the time to trash her ex-boyfriend and says Dawn Viens walked out on the marriage.

Read more: http://nancygrace.blogs.cnn.com/2010/09/14/california-restaurant-owners-wife-vanishes/

Viens remains in critical condition following cliff jump

By Larry Altman Staff Writer
Updated: 02/25/2011 06:44:35 AM PST

A Lomita restaurateur suspected of killing his wife 16 months ago remained in critical condition today, two days after he jumped off a Rancho Palos Verdes cliff, authorities said.

David Viens, 47, was in an induced coma in the intensive care unit at County Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, detectives said.

Viens underwent hours of surgery Wednesday after suffering numerous broken bones, including two shattered hips, following the 80-foot fall.

Read more: http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/ci_17477059

Justice4all wrote:Piper, it looks like his girlfriend knew exactly what was going on if you believe Nancy Grace's blog. They had an article back in September that said she tossed Dawn's stuff into a dumpster and took over her job as hostess in the restaurant.

They also said that she discussed the case on the Internet.

~Snipped~

The new girlfriend has reportedly taken to the internet and the message boards, blasting those who believe Dawn Viens didn’t disappear on her own. The new girlfriend reportedly says she thinks Dawn Viens is a drug addict and will come home then everyone will have egg on their faces. She also took the time to trash her ex-boyfriend and says Dawn Viens walked out on the marriage.

Read more: http://nancygrace.blogs.cnn.com/2010/09/14/california-restaurant-owners-wife-vanishes/

David and her obviously didn't just hook up two days after Dawn went missing, they had been in a relationship. I don't understand what these women are thinking. Like Drew Peterson's girlfriend after Stacy went missing........crazy.

Looks like he's come through:

LA Man Survives Cliff Dive After He's Named in Missing Wife's Murder

Feb 25, 2011 – 7:31 AM

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif. -- A restaurateur who dove off an 80-foot cliff here following a brief chase by police is expected to recover and will be arrested and charged for the 2009 murder of his missing wife, authorities say.

David Viens, 43, awakened from a coma and is alert today following surgery to repair massive internal injuries and broken bones. He had long been a person of interest in the disappearance of his wife, Dawn, and now enough evidence has been developed following his jump to charge him with her murder, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lt. Don Coleman told AOL News Thursday night.

"It's amazing that he survived," Coleman said. "That was a pretty steep cliff, and he landed squarely on the rocks below. The area is steps away from the Trump National Golf Course."

Read more:
http://www.aolnews.com/2011/02/25/david-viens-survives-cliff-dive-after-hes-named-in-missing-wife/

I know he never reported her missing, her family/friends did. The girlfriend, Kathy Galvan, is only like 23 years old. She apparently believed everything he said as she literally stepped into his wife's shoes. He was busted as a drug dealer in 2005 when they had a restaurant in Bradenton, FL. Dawn had described him as the middle man yet they lived a pretty nice lifestyle there due to the drug dealing. I wonder as well why the house wasn't searched and tested for blood a long time ago. Maybe he survived this cliff dive to tell where she is....

Dawn Viens Update: Calif. man who survived leap from cliff to be held in wife's killing


February 28, 2011 12:45 PM

Posted by Edecio Martinez

snipped:
Authorities expect to file murder charges, possibly as soon as next week.


Viens, whose wife Dawn has been missing for 16 months and is presumed dead, evaded deputies and jumped down an embankment Wednesday in Rancho Palos Verdes. That day's edition of the Daily Breeze reported that investigators recently found blood spatter on the walls inside the couple's former home in Lomita.

Read more:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20037287-504083.html?tag=contentMain;contentBody

LA detectives dig up café floor for possible body

Published: Tuesday, March 1, 2011 21:24 PST
The Associated Press
TORRANCE

Detectives investigating a woman's disappearance tore down the walls and dug up the floor of a restaurant belonging to her husband as they searched for her body Tuesday.

They were led to the Thyme Contemporary Café in Lomita after receiving tips that David Viens, 47, renovated his restaurant shortly after his wife, Dawn, went missing about 16 months ago, sheriff's Lt. Dave Coleman said.

Viens expanded into a next-door storefront, added new walls and poured concrete on the floor.

The excavation came a day after Viens was arrested on suspicion of killing his 39-year-old wife.

"It is mind-boggling if we find her here, and he has been coming here every day running his business with the knowledge that she's buried here," Dawn Viens' sister, Dayna Papin, told the Daily Breeze of Torrance.

Read more: http://www.pe.com/ap_news/California/CA_Wife_Death_Cliff_Jump_558734C.shtml

OMG ~ that makes perfect sense! She's under the addition! What a sick, sick man.............

Lomita restaurant owner admits to killing wife, investigator says; search for body continues

March 2, 2011 | 12:13 pm

David Viens, 47, admitted in an interview with detectives Tuesday evening to killing Dawn Viens in October 2009.

"He implicated himself in her killing," said Lt. David Coleman of the L.A. County Sheriff's Department.

Viens has yet to reveal what he did with her body, Coleman said. Investigators would not describe the circumstances surrounding her death.

Read more:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/03/lomita-restaurant-owner-admits-to-killing-wife-investigator-says-as-search-for-body-continues-.html

At least he admitted to it. I like when that happens.

Now, he can tell where she is and they can take a little drive back over to that cliff..........

March 3, 2011 1:57 PM

Dawn Viens Update: Husband of missing woman admits killing her, say police

Posted by Camille Mann

snipped:
Crews searched for two days using a cadaver sniffing dog, pulling up the concrete floors and sifting through dirt where the dogs indicated. By Wednesday afternoon the coroner said there was no evidence of any human remains on the property.

Read more:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20038879-504083.html?tag=contentMain;contentBody

Lomita restaurant owner pleads not guilty to murder charge in wife's death

March 28, 2011 | 12:39 pm

A Lomita restaurant owner injured when he jumped off a 100-foot cliff as sheriff's deputies followed him was wheeled into a downtown Los Angeles courtroom on a gurney Monday and pleaded not guilty to killing his wife.

David Robert Viens, 47, made a brief appearance on a yellow gurney to answer charges that he killed his wife, who disappeared 17 months ago.

Read more: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/03/lomita-restaurant-owners-pleads-not-guilty-to-wifes-murder.html

I wonder if he's in a regular jail cell or what, since he had to be wheeled in on a gurney........

Friends of slain woman to hold vigil outside Lomita restaurant

By Larry Altman Staff Writer
Updated: 10/17/2011 03:09:52 PM PDT

Friends of a slain Lomita woman whose body has never been found will hold a candlelight vigil tonight outside the restaurant where she worked.

The vigil to remember Dawn Viens, 39, will begin at 6 p.m. in the 24400 block of Narbonne Avenue, said Viens' friend, Joe Cacace.

Tuesday marks the two-year anniversary of her disappearance.

Read more: http://www.dailybreeze.com/crimeandcourts/ci_19132221

Thank you Alessandra for this post.

Alessandra_Deux wrote:Restaurant owner's daughter testifies in father's murder trial

Jacqueline Viens recounts a drunken talk with David Viens in which he said his wife choked to death on her own vomit after he tied her up and taped her mouth.

Dawn and David Viens. Jacqueline Viens testified at her father's murder trial Wednesday. (KTLA)

By Ashley Powers, Los Angeles Times
September 14, 2012

One night in 2009, during a drunken conversation, Jacqueline Viens said her father told her why her stepmother had recently vanished.

Dawn Viens had been needling him and he just wanted to sleep, Jacqueline Viens recalled her father saying. He'd tried barricading their bedroom door with a dresser to keep his wife out. When that didn't work, David Viens tied her up and taped her mouth, according to his daughter. The next morning, Dawn Viens was dead.

Jacqueline Viens said her father told her that his wife had choked on her own vomit. He also said, through tears, that her body would never be found, his daughter said.

~Snipped~

In 2011, after he learned that his daughter had spoken to detectives, David Viens leaped off an 80-foot cliff in Rancho Palos Verdes. His injuries were so severe that he appeared in court Wednesday in a wheelchair, wearing a gray suit and glasses and scribbling intently on a notepad.

Read more:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-restaurateur-20120914,0,6331732.story

Chef Accused in Wife's Murder Joked About Cooking Bodies

Dawn Viens, last seen October 18, 2009

KTLA News
5:30 p.m. PDT, September 13, 2012

LOS ANGELES (KTLA) -- The trial began Wednesday for David Viens, the Lomita restauranteur accused in the 2009 death of his wife, whose body has never been found.

Viens, who owned the Thyme Contemporary Cafe, has pleaded not guilty to killing Dawn Viens, 39, who disappeared in October 2009.

On Wednesday, his daughter Jacqueline testified that her father, who is a chef, would joke about disposing of a body by cooking it.

Read more:

http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-husband-arrested-wife-missing-viens,0,4273031.story

UPDATED: Prosecutor: Lomita chef David Viens told detectives he disposed of wife's body

By Larry Altman Staff Writer

Posted: 09/13/2012 05:44:23 AM PDT
September 13, 2012 12:55 PM GMTUpdated: 09/13/2012 05:55:53 AM PDT

The daughter of a Lomita chef whose wife disappeared nearly three years ago testified during his murder trial Wednesday that he once joked about what he would do to get rid of a body.

"He is a chef," Jacqueline Viens said. "He would joke about cooking a body."

Whether that's what happened to Dawn Viens wasn't immediately made clear as her husband's trial opened in Superior Court in downtown Los Angeles. But Deputy District Attorney Deborah Brazil told jurors in her opening statement that David Viens confessed to detectives that he became violent with his wife, taped her mouth shut, bound her arms and legs, and dumped her body inside a trash bag in a container behind his restaurant.

Viens, 49, made that statement as he lay in a hospital bed in 2011, days after jumping off a cliff while authorities pursued him.

"(Her body) will never be found," the restaurateur told homicide detectives, Brazil said.

What detectives learned about how Viens allegedly disposed of his wife's body was not revealed by Brazil. Those details are expected to come as the trial unfolds over the next few weeks and could play a key role in whether jurors believe Viens killed his wife accidentally - as he told his daughter and girlfriend - or if something far more sinister happened.

Read more:

http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_21526763/prosecutor-viens-told-detectives-he-disposed-wifes-body

Daughter testifies at father's murder trial that 'his wife choked to death on her own vomit after he tied her up and taped her mouth shut' when she wouldn't let him sleep

The body of Dawn Viens has never been found after she went missing in October 2009
David Viens has pleaded not guilty to her murder
His daughter Jacqueline told a court she believes her chef father may have cooked his wife
Viens tried to commit suicide right before he was arrested for murder

By Daily Mail Reporter
UPDATED: 11:59 EST, 13 September 2012


Body search: Police excavated the Thyme Contemporary Cafe with pickaxes, shovels and cadaver dogs


Cover up?: Police say he may have remodelled the café with new floors and walls to conceal his wife's body but his daughter believes he may have cooked her


Suicide bid? The cliffs near the Point Vicente Interpretive Center in Rancho Palos Verdes in California. Viens jumped over cliffs in the area as he was being chased by police, falling 80ft, but 'amazingly' survived

The daughter of a man accused of murdering his wife 16 months ago and throwing himself off an 80ft cliff said her father drunkenly confessed that his wife choked on her vomit after he tied her up and taped her mouth shut.

The body of Dawn Viens, 39, has never been found after she vanished in October 2009. Jacqueline Viens told a court yesterday her father David - a chef - said her body would never be found and had previously joked that cooking someone was a good way to get rid of the body.

Police tore up the floors and walls of Viens' Thyme Contemporary Cafe in Lomita with shovels and cadaver dogs to try and find her remains, but to no avail.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2202762/David-Viens-Daughter-testifies-fathers-murder-trial-told-wife-choked-death-vomit-tied-taped-mouth-shut.html#ixzz26Vh3anoT

UPDATED: Testimony: Lomita chef Viens described his wife as a 'mean drunk'

By Larry Altman Staff Writer

Posted: 09/13/2012 04:18:20 PM PDT
Updated: 09/13/2012 06:42:13 PM PDT

A Lomita chef on trial for killing his wife who went missing in 2009 initially portrayed her as a "mean drunk," telling a detective that she returned home briefly smelling of alcohol, wearing dirty clothes and asking him to run away to the mountains, court testimony revealed Thursday.

David Viens, 49, told missing persons Detective Tamar Abraham that his wife, Dawn Viens, sent him text messages

and spoke to him on the phone after she was gone, saying she was leaving him and that "she needed, uh, time."
Viens' statements indicating Dawn Viens was alive during the early part of the police investigation contrasted with his confessions to his daughter and detectives 16 months later that he had accidentally killed her and disposed of her body in a way no one would ever find it.

Read more:

http://www.dailybreeze.com/crimeandcourts/ci_21536910/testimony-lomita-chef-viens-described-his-wife-mean

Witness: Lomita chef Viens accused wife of stealing money from him

By Larry Altman Staff Writer

Posted: 09/14/2012 03:08:54 PM PDT
Updated: 09/14/2012 04:27:50 PM PDT

Suspecting his wife was stealing money from him, an angry Lomita chef threatened "I'm going to kill that bitch," the night she was last seen alive, murder trial testimony revealed Friday.

Richert Todd Stagnitto, who welded a custom-made pot and pan rack for David Viens' Thyme Contemporary Cafe and helped install it that night, said Viens became "very angry" as he flipped through his receipts while sitting in a booth.

"He's `$5, $10, $20, numbers of dollars,"' Stagnitto testified during Viens trial in Superior Court in downtown Los Angeles. "He said, `That bitch is stealing from me. Nobody steals from me. I will kill that bitch."'

Read more:

http://www.dailybreeze.com/crimeandcourts/ci_21545736/witness-lomita-chef-viens-accused-wife-stealing-money

L.A. chef told police he slow-cooked his wife's body for days

September 18, 2012 | 4:05 pm

A Los Angeles-area chef on trial in his wife's slaying told authorities the reason they couldn't find her body was because he slow-cooked it for days, then disposed of the remains.

David Viens' wife, Dawn Viens, disappeared in October 2009. In March 2011, David Viens told sheriff's investigators why they hadn't been able to find the body of his wife, who'd been missing for nearly a year and half.

"I just slowly cooked it and I ended up cooking her for four days," said Viens, a chef who ran a restaurant in Lomita, according to an interview played for jurors Tuesday.

Viens had already told investigators that, one October night in 2009, he taped his wife's mouth and bound her hands and feet with duct tape. The next morning, Dawn Viens was dead. That account is strikingly similar to what David Viens later told his daughter and ex-girlfriend, who testified for the prosecution last week.

Read more:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/09/la-chef-told-police-he-slow-cooked-his-wife-for-days.html

Chef says he 'slowly cooked' wife's body in boiling water

September 19, 2012 | 4:25 am


~Snipped~

The chef said he thought of how easily he disposed of grease in his restaurant. So, he said, he stuffed his wife's body, face-down, into a drum of boiling water — and cooked it. For four days.

~Snipped~

On Tuesday, a jury heard two interviews that Viens, 49, gave to sheriff's investigators from his hospital bed. Though his attorney, Fred McCurry, has repeatedly said investigators had no physical evidence showing what happened to Dawn Viens, her husband gave a graphic explanation as to why.

David Viens said he packed his wife's 105-pound body into a heavy container and used weights to keep it submerged in the bubbling water.

Viens said mixed what remained with other waste and poured it into the grease pit at his Lomita restaurant, Thyme Contemporary Cafe. Other remains were packed into garbage bags and chucked into a trash bin. All that remained was his wife's skull, he told investigators.

"That's the only thing I didn't want to get rid of in case I wanted to leave it somewhere," he said.

Garcia asked Viens where the skull was.

"In my mother's attic," he said.

Later that day, investigators scoured his mother's attic in Torrance. They found nothing.

Read more:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/09/chef-says-he-slowly-cooked-wifes-body-in-boling-water.html

Julie wrote:

What he did with her body is gruesome and revolting. This case is like a horror movie.

Cops: Chef cooks wife for 4 days, hides skull in attic

By HLNtv.com Staff
updated 2:50 PM EDT, Thu September 20, 2012

•Police say a husband confessed to 'slowly' cooking his missing wife's body for 4 days
•Afterwards, he allegedly discarded her remains in his restaurant's grease pit
•Husband allegedly tells cops: 'For some reason, I just got violent'



http://www.hlntv.com/video/2012/09/20/cops-chef-cooked-wife-4-days

Chef who said he cooked dead wife’s body tries to fire lawyer

September 20, 2012 | 2:13 pm



The chef who told authorities he accidentally killed his wife and then cooked her body to dispose of it, tried to get rid of his attorney Thursday and represent himself.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Rand S. Rubin rejected David Viens' request, which was made outside the jury's presence and before the defense's last witness testified. Rubin said Viens' attorney, Fred McCurry, had represented him competently and that it was too late in the proceedings for Viens to take over his defense.

Viens, 49, told the judge he was "afraid" to represent himself and needed help figuring out how to prepare witnesses and build exhibits. But, Viens said, he felt like he had no choice because he and McCurry disagreed on trial tactics.

Viens was clearly still smarting from the judge's decision after testimony wrapped up Thursday morning. When McCurry indicated that the defense had no more evidence to present, Viens, who has appeared in court in a wheelchair during the six-day trial, stood up in front of the jury and said: "Your honor, I object!"

Read more:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/09/chef-who-said-he-cooked-dead-wifes-body-tries-to-fire-lawyer.html

Transcript of Lomita chef David Viens' second confession

Posted: 09/19/2012 07:12:24 PM PDT
Updated: 09/19/2012 07:12:39 PM PDT

Transcript of David Viens' second confession on March 15, 2011

http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_21586192/transcript-lomita-chef-david-viens-second-confession?source=rss_viewed

"Closing arguments are scheduled to begin Monday for a chef who told authorities he accidentally killed his wife and then cooked her body to dispose of it.

The proceedings will get underway despite a late effort last week by David Viens to ditch his attorney, Fred McCurry."

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/09/murder-trial-nears-end-for-chef-who-told-police-he-cooked-wife.html

Trial of chef who said he cooked wife’s body goes to jury

September 25, 2012 | 1:26 pm



Jurors are expected to begin deliberations Tuesday afternoon in the murder trial of David Viens, the chef who told authorities he cooked his wife's dead body to dispose of it.

Dawn Viens was 39 when she disappeared in October 2009. Her body has never been found, but in an interview last year with sheriff's investigators, her husband gave a grisly explanation as to why.

David Viens said he packed her body into a large drum and boiled it in water over four days, according to the interview played for jurors. He poured much of what remained into the grease trap of his Lomita restaurant and threw other remains in the trash, he said. In the weeks that followed, Viens tried to cover his tracks with a string of lies and fake text messages.

Read more:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/09/trial-of-chef-who-said-he-cooked-wifes-body-goes-to-jury.html

Jury deliberations continue in chef’s murder trial

September 26, 2012 | 5:29 pm

The jury deciding the fate of David Viens, the chef who told authorities he cooked his wife's dead body to dispose of it, failed to reach a verdict Wednesday and will continue deliberations Thursday morning.

The panel has spent about 4 1/2 hours over two days weighing whether Viens is guilty of first-degree murder. Jurors, who could convict him of second-degree murder or manslaughter instead, asked Wednesday for the definition of second-degree murder. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Rand S. Rubin referred them to the jury instructions.

Viens, 49, is accused of killing his wife, Dawn, who vanished in October 2009. Her body has never been found. In 2011, after Viens learned that investigators suspected that he killed her, he leaped off an 80-foot seaside cliff in Rancho Palos Verdes.

Read more:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/09/jury-deliberations-continue-in-chefs-murder-trial.html

Calif. Chef Who Boiled Wife's Body Guilty Of Murder

7:24 AM, Sep 28, 2012
Written by
USA Today


A Los Angeles-area chef who admitted killing his wife and cooking her body for four days was convicted of second-degree murder.

David Viens, 49, of Lomita had been charged with first-degree premeditated murder of his 39-year-old wife, Dawn, but the jury settled on the lesser charge after about 5½ hours of deliberations over three days, the Associated Press says. Sentencing is set for Nov. 27. He could face 15 years to life in prison.

Read more:

http://www.digtriad.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=247552

Chef to be sentenced in boiled wife's body case

By LINDA DEUTSCH AP Special CorrespondentAssociated Press
Posted: 03/22/2013 01:12:51 AM PDT
March 22, 2013 8:14 AM GMTUpdated: 03/22/2013 01:12:59 AM PDT

LOS ANGELES—A chef who told police he cooked his wife's body for four days in boiling water is set to be sentenced for his murder conviction.

David Viens has a sentencing hearing scheduled for Friday morning in a Los Angeles courtroom.

Read more:
http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_22847100/chef-be-sentenced-boiled-wifes-body-case

Chef gets 15 years; 'I didn't cook my wife,' he says

David Viens, a former Lomita restaurant owner who was convicted of second-degree murder involving the October 2009 disappearance of his wife, in court in November 2012. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times / November 27, 2012)

By Ashley Powers
March 22, 2013, 4:25 p.m.

During his eight-day murder trial last year, David Viens made for an enigmatic presence. The former chef sat in a wheelchair at the defense table, hands folded, face devoid of emotion – even as jurors heard recordings of him telling investigators he accidentally killed his wife and cooked her body to dispose of it.

The panel convicted Viens of second-degree murder, and on Friday, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Rand S. Rubin sentenced him to 15 years to life in prison. At the hearing, there was no confusion as to what Viens was thinking.

Acting as his own lawyer, Viens asked for a new trial in a rambling, 45-minute soliloquy that touched on his feelings toward his wife, Dawn.

“I loved my wife. I didn’t cook my wife,” Viens told the judge, blaming his confession to authorities on a drug-induced stupor.

Read more:

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-chef-sentenced-cooked-wife-20130322,0,5816660.story

'48 Hours' report: David Viens, Lomita chef convicted of killing his wife, sticks to accident story

By Larry Altman Staff Writer

Posted: 05/01/2013 05:15:47 PM PDT
Updated: 05/01/2013 05:20:47 PM PDT

A Lomita chef convicted of murdering his wife and boiling her remains in a drum says in a television interview that he did not intend to kill her and does not have homicide in his heart.

In the interview set to air Saturday on "48 Hours," David Viens, 50, stuck to his story that he killed his wife accidentally by wrapping tape over her mouth because she was making too much noise and he wanted to sleep. He awakened to find her dead.

Read more:

http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/ci_23150002/48-hours-report-david-viens-lomita-chef-convicted

48 HOURS



Over the Edge

May 4, 2013 7:55 PM

A missing wife and a wild confession - what made a top chef jump from a California cliff? Richard Schlesinger investigates.

Did California chef David Viens kill, then cook wife?

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50146168n

48 HOURS



Extra: Remembering Dawn Viens

May 4, 2013 7:45 PM

Led by Joe Cacace, friends gather in Lomita, Calif., to honor Viens' memory on the third anniversary of her disappearance.

Did California chef David Viens kill, then cook wife?

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50146006n