Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of murder and abuse. Reader discretion is advised.
“Complicated” is an episode of Dateline: Unforgettable that will be aired on Oxygen on Thursday, February 29, 2024, at 8 p.m. ET. The episode revolves around the murders of 22-year-old Tori Vienneau and her 10-month-old infant, Dean Springtube, by Dennis Potts, Dean’s father.
After he was found guilty of killing Vienneau and their son, Dennis Potts was sentenced to consecutive life sentences with no possibility of parole. The 38-year-old convict is currently serving time at the California State Prison in Corcoran.
At the time of the murders, Potts hadn’t disclosed either to his parents or his fiancée that he had a son. He allegedly killed the mother and son to avoid paying child support. According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, this was so he could maintain his current lifestyle.
Dennis Potts and Tori Vienneau reportedly dated for the first time during their senior year in high school. After they broke up, Potts began dating Nicole Zolezzi, who then moved into his family home with his parents. The couple got engaged in 2006.
However, in December 2004, Potts and Vienneau reportedly engaged in sexual intercourse for what he claims was the last time. In 2005, she informed Dennis Potts that she was pregnant and gave birth to Dean later that year, as per court documents.
At that time, Tori Vienneau had been dating Neil Springstube, who went through a paternity test to check if Dean was his son. The result was negative, and Neil left Tori. Tori was struggling financially and had to take care of Dean alone. She asked Dennis Potts to take a paternity test, which he reluctantly did.
What was Dennis Potts convicted of?
Dennis Potts was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to obstruct justice, CBS 8 reported.
On July 26, 2006, Tori Vienneau and Dean Springstube were found murdered in Tori’s friend, Autumn’s apartment where they had been living. Tori spoke to her friend Tara Cardoso and told her that she was going to see Dennis Potts for dinner that night. She also told her she was going to bring up the idea of another paternity test. Although both the tests claimed that he wasn’t Dean’s father, Tori was suspicious. She asked him to redo the tests under court supervision.
Autumn’s sister, Tricia, found the cord to her hair-straightening iron wrapped tightly around Vienneau’s neck. She found that Dean and Tori were dead. She contacted 911 and then called Autumn. An autopsy revealed that Tori Vienneau had experienced a deep laceration to the back of her scalp. This triggered heavy bleeding. There was also a blunt force injury near her left ear. Vienneau was likely still alive when the cord was wrapped around her neck. She had been experiencing bleeding from the brain. There was no evidence of sexual assault.
Dean Springstube was also strangled using a telephone cord while he was in his playpen. He was initially standing but sat down when he began to feel fatigued and was then hanging from the cord, according to court documents.
The Dateline: Unforgettable episode “Complicated” will be aired on Oxygen on Thursday, February 29, 2024, at 8 p.m. ET. It includes a significant narrative from Tori’s mother, Dayna Herroz, who expresses details of her grief and her relentless fight for justice.
