Dale Hausner and Samuel Dieteman terrorised the nation by committing several drive-by shootings in Phoenix, Arizona. The duo committed crimes between May 2005 and August 2006. Investigations suggested that they killed random pedestrians and also set fire to several objects.
According to reports, their crime spree began in May 2005. At first, they started doing non-fatal shootings of people and fatal shootings of animals. However, they did not stop there and started doing heinous crimes, including murders. Reportedly, Hausner and Dieteman were under the influence of methamphetamine while committing these murders. On August 3, 2006, police arrested the duo in connection with the drive-by shootings.
Interestingly, a lot of people already knew about Dale Hausner and who he was. A few weeks before his arrest, Hausner interviewed legendary boxer Mike Tyson as part of his job as a sports journalist. Even Tyson was interrogated in the case. Eventually, both the accused stood trial, and the court found them guilty of their crimes. Dieteman received a life sentence with the possibility of parole, while Hausner received six death sentences.
Samuel Dieteman is currently serving his sentence at the ASPC Safford (Tonto Unit). On the other hand, Dale Hausner died in his prison cell on June 19, 2013.
Dale Hausner’s Death: How did he die?
On March 27, 2009, the court announced the verdict in the serial shootings case and gave Dale Hausner six death sentences. The serial shooter was taken to the ASPC-E Browning (Complex Ayman). However, on June 19, 2013, authorities found Hausner unresponsive in his prison cell. The prison authorities took Hausner to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The Criminal Investigation Unit of Arizona Department of Correction initiated an investigation into Dale Hausner’s case. Reports alleged that Hausner ended his life by suicide. Several media outlets revealed that the accused hoarded anti-depressants from a fellow inmate.
Meanwhile, the Arizona Corrections Department revealed in their report that a fellow inmate gave the 40-year-old murderer many amitriptyline pills in the prison. As per the inmate, Hausner had trouble sleeping, so he gave him nine pills. The inmate also told the authorities that Hausner did talk about keeping several pills with himself to commit suicide. Lastly, the inmate revealed that Dale Hausner might have had more than 50 pills with himself.
Eventually, the medical examiner’s office ended all rumors by declaring Hausner’s death a suicide. The report said the cause of death was “amitriptyline intoxication.”
Hausner also tried ending his life before his trial
It is no secret that Hausner wanted to be executed. During the trial, the killer allegedly expressed a desire to be executed as early as possible. Moreover, his death didn’t come as a shock to many since he attempted suicide while being in jail before the trial. As per The Arizona Republic, he even wrote a letter to the media outlet, telling how Arizona courts won’t execute him, which is why people believed that he took his own life.
Interestingly, Dale Hausner never admitted to any of his crimes and maintained his innocence. The evidence shown by the authorities made the jury realize that Hausner, along with Samuel Dieteman, was responsible for serial shootings. The court found Hausner guilty of 80 felony charges, including murder, attempted murder, drive-by shootings, arson, and animal cruelty.
Lifetime featured an episode on Dale Hausner in the series titled Monster In My Family. The episode featured an in-depth interview from the killer’s brother, Randy Hausner.
