CORCORAN, Calif. (TCN) — A former Southern California chef reportedly apologized at a parole hearing for killing his missing wife during an argument and boiling her body parts so she could not be identified.
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation records show David Viens appeared via video for his parole hearing on Sept. 26 but was denied his request to be released from prison. Viens, who is currently in custody at the Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison, will be up for parole again in September 2027.
David Viens and his wife Dawn Viens had been married for about 15 years. According to court documents, the two had a “typical marriage” and “appeared to love one another.” They opened a restaurant in spring 2009 where David Viens worked as chef and Dawn Viens stayed in the front of house as a hostess and server. Dawn Viens reportedly drank heavily on a regular basis and did drugs, including with David Viens’ daughter from a previous marriage.
In October 2009, a neighbor reportedly heard David Viens and Dawn Viens arguing and Dawn Viens leaving the building. David Viens told the neighbor “that they were no longer together because Dawn did not want him to stay in the restaurant business. He also said that Dawn had a drinking problem but did not want to get help, and she had decided to go live in the mountains.”
On Oct. 18, 2009, David Viens told a friend he believed his wife was stealing money from the restaurant, saying, “That b–ch is stealing from me, and nobody steals from me. I will kill that b–ch.” The next day, Viens told the staff his wife “would no longer be working there.”
Some of Dawn Viens’ friends received text messages from her saying she left town for a while, but they otherwise could not reach her.
Later in October 2009, David Viens’ daughter came into town to help him with the restaurant. One night, they were reportedly drunk and driving home from the restaurant when Viens confessed that he and his wife had a fight one evening because he wanted to sleep but she “kept badgering him and trying to talk.” Viens moved a dresser in front of the bedroom door, but Dawn Viens managed to get inside. Viens reportedly tied Dawn Viens up in the living room, covered her mouth with duct tape, and went back to sleep. When he woke up the next day, Dawn Viens was dead from apparently choking on her own vomit.
Dawn Viens’ sister reported her missing Nov. 8, 2009, to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. A detective interviewed Viens, who said his wife left after their argument and he had not heard from her since. Her case became a homicide investigation in August 2010.
Detectives searched Viens’ home in October 2010 and reportedly found bloodstains on the bedroom wall and bathroom floor, though they were unable to be tested. On Feb. 21, 2011, Viens told his new girlfriend that Dawn Viens “was not coming back,” and he jumped off a cliff while police attempted a traffic stop. He survived the fall and was hospitalized.
In an interview with a detective, Viens said he “snapped” when he caught his wife stealing money, so he tied her up. When he woke up and saw her dead, he placed her body in a closet. Then, he put her in a garbage bag and left her in a dumpster.
In a second interview, Viens revealed his plan of “cleaning the grease traps” and placed her body in a “large vat of boiling water and slowly cooked it for four days.” After that, he mixed her remains with grease, placed them in trash bags, and disposed of them. He kept Dawn Viens’ skull and hid it in his mother’s attic.
Viens went to trial and a jury convicted him second-degree murder. He was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. He appealed the conviction, but the higher court affirmed the verdict.
According to parole hearing transcripts obtained by the Daily Breeze, Viens apologized for his actions, saying, “I extend my deepest apologies to all of my victims who have been and continue to suffer because of my selfish and destructive actions, especially to my wife, Dawn. I apologize sincerely for murdering Dawn and then callously lying about it. I wish that I could reverse the pain I have caused and bring her back to you.”
Viens reportedly claimed he “wasn’t trying to murder her.” Rather, he was “in a drunken rage in the cycle of domestic violence.” He described himself as “horrible, ashamed, deplorable” following the killing.
The Daily Breeze reports Viens credited therapy in prison for coming to terms with his actions.
He reportedly told the parole board, “For the longest time, I had convinced myself through denial that this was an accident. But now that I understand that I was an abuser, that I was horrible, that I’m responsible for this.”
He continued, “I’m ashamed of what I’ve done, but at least I’m not lying about it. I know that the family needs closure. I didn’t have any diabolical plan to do this. I was in a panic and fear, and I regret doing it.”
Dawn Viens’ family, however, does not believe his remorse is genuine.
Her sister said, “He’s already given us several different stories about the events of that night. I think he probably has been plotting the right things to say so he gets out of jail.”
Her brother added, “I think if he’s trying to get penance for telling the truth or not telling the truth, I don’t believe a word he says.”
Even one of the parole board commissioners echoed the family’s sentiments. Emily Sheffield told Viens, “This was an incredibly callous and calculated crime. Over the course of days, you disposed of your wife’s body — dear wife of 17 years — in a grotesque manner. And you did also continue to make the choice every day to lie to your family about Dawn’s whereabouts.”