- Dana Ewell
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Dana Ewell Born 28 January 1971
Fresno, CaliforniaOccupation Prisoner serving three life sentences for triple murder Parents Dale Ewell (father) (deceased)
Glee Ewell (mother) (deceased)Dana Ewell (born January 28, 1971 in Fresno, California, United States of America) is a convicted triple murderer[1] who was sentenced to three life sentences for ordering the killing of his mother, father, and sister in 1992.[2][3]
Murder case
Ewell's father, businessman and multi-millionaire Dale Ewell, his mother Glee (née Mitchell), and his older sister Tiffany were murdered so that he could access the family fortune.[4][5] A 9-mm assault rifle with a homemade silencer was used by Ewell's roommate at Santa Clara University, Joel Radovcich, to murder the family on Easter Sunday in their home in the Central Valley as they returned from a long weekend on the coast. Ewell was sentenced on May 12, 1998, alongside friend and classmate Joel Radovcich, who was promised a part of the family fortune in return for executing Dana's family. Ernest Jack Ponce (who procured the murder weapon) was also charged with the murders, but he obtained a dismissal in exchange for his testimony and was later licensed as an attorney. At the time of the murders, Dana Ewell still lived at home in the family's comfortable Sunnyside-area home near Fresno.[6][7]
In his freshman year in high school, Dana Ewell stated that his goal was to be a multi-millionaire by the age of 25; but, at 21, he was still being supported by his parents.[8] The murders took place on Sunday, April 19, 1992.[9]
The case was investigated by Fresno County Sheriff's Office Homicide Detectives John Souza and Chris Curtice. Fresno County Assistant District Attorneys James Oppliger and Jeffrey Hammerschmidt prosecuted Ewell and Radovcich in a jury trial that took more than eight months. Both Ewell and Radovcich are serving life sentences without the possibility of parole, and all of their appeals have been denied. Dana Ewell resides in the Protective Housing Unit of California State Prison, Corcoran, with Charles Manson, Juan Corona, and other murderers who require "extraordinary protection" from other inmates.
The Ewell murders have been featured on American Justice, Dominick Dunne's Power, Privilege and Justice, Forensic Files, Discovery Channel's "Solved" and Behind Mansion Walls.
Media
The case was covered in a one-hour show of Dominick Dunne's investigative show Dominick Dunne's Power, Privilege, and Justice. Also two series of the truTV network aired episodes on the case; Forensic Files episode 282 titled "Two in a Million" and American Justice episode 170 titled "Millions Of Reasons To Kill". The case was briefly covered in "E! Investigates: Rich Kids Who Kill." New Detectives "Family Plots"
References
- ^ http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/family/dana_ewell/1_index.html
- ^ Appealing to God
- ^ "Son, Friend Convicted of Killing Parents, Sister". Los Angeles Times. May 13, 1998. http://articles.latimes.com/1998/may/13/news/mn-49271.
- ^ Two in a million
- ^ http://www.dipity.com/timeline/Corcoran-State-Prison
- ^ Son, friend convicted of killing parents, sister
- ^ http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_story/989:1145/1/Dana_Ewell.htm
- ^ Arax, Mark (March 22, 1993). "CALIFORNIA ALBUM : Slaying of Family Remains a Mystery : Fresno police have mostly discounted possible ties of wealthy businessman to drug dealing or disgruntled Filipino investors. They now focus on the lone surviving son". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1993-03-22/news/mn-13919_1_drug-dealing.
- ^ Beitiks, Kathleen O. (May 1997). "Wheels of justice grind slowly in Ewell murders". California Bar Journal. http://www.calbar.ca.gov/calbar/2cbj/97may/caljnl.htm.
Categories:- 1971 births
- Living people
- American murderers
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