Chef to face prison over wife’s murder

A chef who told police he boiled his wife’s body for four days to hide evidence of her death has been convicted of second-degree murder.
By The Newsroom
Published 28th Sep 2012, 17:03 BST

David Viens, 49, showed no emotion as the verdict was read in court in Los Angeles, but the sister of his victim burst into tears.

In a recorded interrogation presented by prosecutors, Viens can be heard saying he cooked the body of his 39-year-old wife, Dawn in late 2009 until little was left but her skull.

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“He treated her like a piece of meat and got rid of her,” said Karen Patterson, the couple’s best friend and a key witness in Viens’ trial after she persuaded the police to investigate her friend’s disappearance.

Outside court, she warned others to take heed of domestic violence among friends. She apologised for failing to act herself when Mrs Viens called her during an incident of abuse, but begged her not to call police.

Viens, who will be sentenced on November 27, could face 15 years to life in prison.