A 62-year-old woman was strangled to death during a conjugal visit with her husband, who is behind bars in California for four murders, investigators confirmed.
Stephanie Dowells was at Mule Creek State Prison in Ione for an unsupervised overnight visit with her husband, 54-year-old David Brinson, when she was killed in the early hours of November 13. Just after 2:30 a.m., officers were to facility’s family visitation unit around 2:30 a.m. by Brinson, who claimed his wife had passed out, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said.
Despite attempts to resuscitate her, Dowells was pronounced dead on the scene around 2:50 a.m.
The circumstances surrounding her death had been mostly unclear until earlier this week, when the Amador County Coroner confirmed Dowells was strangled and ruled her death a homicide.
No one has yet been charged in connection with her death. Prosecutors told KCRA 3 the investigation is still ongoing and that they are waiting for it to conclude before filing.
Brison is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole at Mule Creek for four murders he committed more than three decades ago, according to CDCR records. He was convicted in 1993 for the execution-style shootings, which occurred during a robbery that yielded only a small amount of marijuana.
Dowells’ son, Armand Torres, has demanded answers in wake of his mother’s death.
“How could they just let this happen?” he asked KCRA 3.
“My mom was just left alone, and she called for help, I’m sure, and there’s nothing she could do,” he continued. “Given the history that this guy has, we kind of wanted to know how is it even possible for them to be unsupervised?”