Dawn Viens

[Pat MaGroin]

Police follow husband suspected of killing his wife 16 months ago to edge of 80ft cliff - and watch as he jumps off (but survives)

A husband suspected of killing his wife stunned police chasing him by throwing himself off an 80ft cliff.
David Viens, 47, who incredibly survived the fall in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, will be arrested and charged for her murder in October 2009 once he recovers, detectives confirmed last night.
They said he has been a ‘person of interest’ since the disappearance of his wife, Dawn, 37, whom he claimed ran away to the mountains from their restaurant in Lomita, California, after an argument.

Mystery: Dawn Viens with her husband David in an undated handout photograph. Now Dawn has been missing for more than a year, and David is set to face charges over her murder


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 police found blood splattered in his home and began distributing fliers asking for public help in the case after it was upgraded from a missing person to homicide.
These two events spurred his alleged suicide attempt near Point Vicente Interpretive Center after he was seen grappling nearby with his new live-in girlfriend, Kathy Galvan, police said.

Police had been looking for him on Wednesday when they saw his car on a road near the coastline, before he sped off to a lighthouse car park and jumped out.
He started fighting with Ms Galvan and police intervened as they thought it was domestic violence.
But Viens broke free of them and seemed to purposely leap off the cliff to the beach below, before being rescued by a helicopter and taken to hospital.


Was she murdered? David, right, told police that Dawn, left, disappeared after he told her she had to get off drugs and go into rehabilitation


'I loved my wife': The Viens in an undated handout image. David Viens never told police his wife was missing

'It's amazing that he survived,' Lieutenant Don Coleman, of Los Angeles County Sheriff, said.
‘That was a pretty steep cliff, and he landed squarely on the rocks below,’ he told AOL News. ‘The area is steps away from the Trump National Golf Course.
‘We intend to talk to him in the hospital,’ Lieutenant Coleman said. ‘He has carried a tremendous amount of guilt for some time. He will be arrested and charged with Dawn's murder.’
Viens’ original theory for his wife’s disappearance was that she walked away from their restaurant, the Thyme Contemporary Café, after an argument in October 2009.
The restaurant hostess did not take her mobile phone or cash and her car was later taken away as evidence when she did not return.
His new girlfriend, Ms Galvan, then took over Mrs Viens’s job and moved into her home, before Viens was seen throwing out his wife’s belongings into a dustbin behind his restaurant, police said.

The home formerly shared by Dawn and David, into which he moved new girlfriend Kathy shortly after Dawn's disappearance. When David and Kathy moved out, police examined the house and found blood splatters

He blamed his wife’s disappearance on drugs and alcohol in an interview last April and said he would like to put up a cash reward but did not have enough money.
Viens told the Daily Breeze newspaper that she had a history of disappearing and hoped she would ‘check in’ at the end of the ski season. ‘I have nothing to hide,’ he added.
‘He has told people that she would be found up in the mountains somewhere, that we should go look up there,’ Lieutenant Coleman said. ‘He said she liked going up to the mountains.’
But police found blood in two areas of his home in November, which was analyzed with chemicals, which was reported by a local newspaper earlier in the week before his alleged cliff jump suicide attempt.

The case has been compared to that of Scott Peterson, who did not report his wife, Laci, was missing, did not seem bothered by her disappearance and then started a new life with a girlfriend.
Laci’s remains were found the San Francisco Bay shoreline.

[jaylene]

What happened to the option of divorce? These guys are
pathetic. She was so pretty.

[Oogie Boogie]

David Viens' mom: "Now Davey, if your friends all jumped off of a cliff, would you too? What? Oh, nevermind..."

[Pat MaGroin]

David Viens' mom: "Now Davey, if your friends all jumped off of a cliff, would you too? What? Oh, nevermind..."

LOL

[TheMysterian]

David Viens........."another ten feet"!

[Jason]

these guys amaze me, do any husbands ever get away with murdering their wife? (not including celebrities).

[Nelliebean]

(not including celebrities).

Sad what you can do when wealthy.

[newsocks]

THIS IS IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD!
http://www.dailybreeze.com/latestnews/ci_17520686

wife went missing 18 months ago. husband gets new girlfriend and "revamps" the restaurant (put in new floors - my friends friend helped with construction).
the husband decides to move and the police went in after he moved out and found blood splatters on his wall. he finds out that they found blood and jumps off cliff to commit suicide. survives, then confesses to killing his wife.

they are tearing up this restaurant down the street from my house. my street is crazyness with news vans and traffic.

i saw it on nancy grace tonight and was in shock that it was national news.
i pass by that restaurant everyday on my way home from work.
my co-workers friend was a chef in the restaurant.

[newsocks]

maybe i posted this in the wrong place if they havent found her body yet? i apologize if i did

[newsocks]

the whole city had missing person posters in their windows. he never did!

[newsocks]

My boyfriend and I went by the restaurant tonight and snipped around. It was so surreal to see the amount of huge holes that were dug up looking for her body! I took a really dark photo with my phone of the front of the place but where the holes are seen (from the back) it was way too dark to get any good photos. I don't want to go during the day out of fear that it is too soon and neighbors might shoo me away and get afforded for taking photos. (maybe I'll go back in a coulple weeks If anyone is really interested)

When I get home I'll upload the couple photos of the front I got

[TheWrath of MadelineKahn]

http://gma.yahoo.com/chef-killed-wif...opstories.html

After an argument, he duct-taped her mouth and bound her hands and feet before falling asleep and finding her corpse the next morning, he told investigators according to The Los Angeles Times. "I woke up. I panicked," Viens said. "She was hard."

So then he boiled her body in a 55 gallon drum for 4 days, before throwing part of her corpse into a grease pit at the restaurant and dumpster.

Except of course, for her skull.

"That's the only thing I didn't want to get rid of in case I wanted to leave it somewhere," he told police of the skull, saying that he left in "my mother's attic."

[shipmatekate]

http://gma.yahoo.com/chef-killed-wif...opstories.html

After an argument, he duct-taped her mouth and bound her hands and feet before falling asleep and finding her corpse the next morning, he told investigators according to The Los Angeles Times. "I woke up. I panicked," Viens said. "She was hard."

So then he boiled her body in a 55 gallon drum for 4 days, before throwing part of her corpse into a grease pit at the restaurant and dumpster.

Except of course, for her skull.

"That's the only thing I didn't want to get rid of in case I wanted to leave it somewhere," he told police of the skull, saying that he left in "my mother's attic."

Holy crap...........

[Wendy A.]

http://gma.yahoo.com/chef-killed-wif...opstories.html

After an argument, he duct-taped her mouth and bound her hands and feet before falling asleep and finding her corpse the next morning, he told investigators according to The Los Angeles Times. "I woke up. I panicked," Viens said. "She was hard."

So then he boiled her body in a 55 gallon drum for 4 days, before throwing part of her corpse into a grease pit at the restaurant and dumpster.

Except of course, for her skull.

"That's the only thing I didn't want to get rid of in case I wanted to leave it somewhere," he told police of the skull, saying that he left in "my mother's attic."

He's gotta be lying about falling asleep and finding her dead.. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think you could get blood splatter from a dead body? Lack of blood pressure to cause it to spray? Anyway, that's still gross and disturbing what he claims to have done. Why kill your spouse when you can just get a frickin' divorce? Greed maybe but good Lord is it really worth it? I'd rather get a divorce and get screwed outta half, then end up a murderer, and gettin' screwed on a daily basis.

[Wendy A.]

My boyfriend and I went by the restaurant tonight and snipped around. It was so surreal to see the amount of huge holes that were dug up looking for her body! I took a really dark photo with my phone of the front of the place but where the holes are seen (from the back) it was way too dark to get any good photos. I don't want to go during the day out of fear that it is too soon and neighbors might shoo me away and get afforded for taking photos. (maybe I'll go back in a coulple weeks If anyone is really interested)

When I get home I'll upload the couple photos of the front I got

Pics! Pics!

[Mammy]

My God, that is horrific! How could anyone do that to a person they supposedly loved at one time? It must haunt her loved ones terribly to know everything that was done to her. I'm glad the bastard survived his cliff dive and I hope it hurt like hell!

[Finnegan]

So then he boiled her body in a 55 gallon drum for 4 days, before throwing part of her corpse into a grease pit at the restaurant and dumpster.
Except of course, for her skull.

ho. lee. sheet.

[Jenivere2011]

I just hope he didn't serve his wife to his restaurant patrons, ala 'Fried Green Tomatoes.'

[Pryncis]

I just hope he didn't serve his wife to his restaurant patrons, ala 'Fried Green Tomatoes.'

That's enough to make me go vegetarian!

[beep]

"Love Me Tender" was their first dance at their wedding.

Looks like there's a death hag in their comment section.

[Claire]

The guy's restaurant's reviews are here on Urbanspoon...It's a bit creepy reading all those good reviews knowing what he did with to wife. O_O

http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/5/147596...ry-Cafe-Lomita

[Crimsonams]

David Viens was found guilty of 2nd degree murder yesterday:
http://www.khou.com/news/Chef-found-...171849561.html

[Dangitbawb]

David Viens was found guilty of 2nd degree murder yesterday:
http://www.khou.com/news/Chef-found-...171849561.html

Too bad it wasn't a 200 ft cliff. Now everyone in the state has to pay for this a$$hat to live the rest of his life in a cage.

[MirrorDimly]

What the frick. Yeah, I put duct tape on her mouth and then tucked myself in for a good night's sleep. Then I woke up & she was dead. So I boiled her for four days, but kept her skull in my mom's attic, just in case...What, you can't find the skull anywhere? Did you check behind Grandpa's stamp collection?
What a douche. I bet some of the people who ate at his restaurant are probably dry-heaving now...

[TheWrath of MadelineKahn]

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

Heres the article: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18559_16...hen-cook-wife/

[neilmpenny]

So then he boiled her body in a 55 gallon drum for 4 days, before throwing part of her corpse into a grease pit at the restaurant and dumpster.

Neil says, avoid the soup at the restaurant.

[Finnegan]

I watched the special last night. I thought they said that he double-bagged her body and put it in a dumpster, with no mention of boiling.
did I miss it?
and they said her body has never been found. I always think that adds insult to injury to the family.

EDITED TO ADD: just read comments on the facebook page and I guess I DID miss the talk of boiling.
funny how his story would have been more believable if he hadn't boiled her.

[MirrorDimly]

"I didn't cook my wife." That sentence has probably not been uttered very frequently, at least in a court of law.
So he's eligible for parole in 2023. He sounds like a self-absorbed, cocky bastard who will get busted for some other OJ-karma-type crap later on. Or maybe he'll slip on a banana peel in prison. (no offense to bananas, Finn)

[Mammy]

No, your honor, I said I ate my wife. I didn't say I cooked her first!

[MirrorDimly]

No, your honor, I said I ate my wife. I didn't say I cooked her first!

ba-dum TSST

What do you call a Roman warrior with a hair caught in his teeth?
...
Gladiator!

[Finnegan]

(no offense to bananas, Finn)

none taken