Dale Hausner was a duo serial killer, arsonist and thrill killer who committed several drive-by shootings and arson in Phoenix, Arizona, between May 2005 and August 2006. He targeted random pedestrians and animals, mostly doing so while under the influence of methamphetamine, and also set fire to multiple objects.
Early Life
He was born on February 4, 1973 in Arizona, United States. Information about his parents and early life is not known. His educational details are also not known. We will update it after getting information regarding this.
Death
After being found guilty of 80 of 88 felony charges in one single trial including murder, attempted murder, arson, animal cruelty and drive-by-shootings, Dale Hausner was sentenced to death 6 times, and later committed suicide in prison. On June 19, 2013, Hausner was found unresponsive in his cell and died later that day. His autopsy revealed no physical trauma. The medical examiner determined that he had killed himself with an overdose of an anti-depressant.
Crimes
Dale Hausner was convicted of more than 80 crimes in 2009 and sentenced to death six times for his 14-month killing spree. He and Dieteman terrorised the Phoenix valley between Gilbert and Tolleson by shooting at people and animals from the window of Hausner’s car, USA Today reports. The pair injured 19 people and eight died before they were arrested at their Mesa apartment in August 2006.
Capture
Tips identified Dale Hausner and Dieteman as suspects on July 31, 2006. The most important tip came from Ron Horton, a friend of Dieteman, who said Dieteman had confessed to involvement in the shootings while drinking. Horton was at first uncertain whether Dieteman’s confession was serious, but went to police after the shooting death of Robin Blasnek, which he said “affected me quite a bit” due to a belief Horton might have prevented her death had he contacted police earlier.
On August 3, 2006, police arrested both suspects outside of their apartment in Mesa. On the morning of August 4, 2006, Phoenix police announced that two arrests had been made in connection with the serial shooter. Authorities said they also linked Hausner and Dieteman to two arson fires at Wal-Mart stores on June 8 in Glendale, Arizona, started 45 minutes apart from each other that caused approximately $7 to $10 million in damages.
A few weeks prior to his capture, Hausner interviewed former Heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson as part of his sports journalism job. Police questioned Tyson regarding his brief meeting with Hausner, and the boxer later described Hausner as “…a small guy, but a nice guy.”
Sentencing
On March 27, 2009, Dale Hausner was sentenced to six death penalties. Hausner had previously ordered his lawyers not to argue against persuading jurors to deliver the death sentences, saying the jurors should put him to death to help the victims families heal. He fell short of confessing any guilt for the convicted crimes. Hausner is not expected to appeal. During Hausner’s 1/2 hour ramble to jury right before sentencing, he apologized to several people including his family. He stated that he ruined the family name as people would hear the Dale Hausner name and think of Charles Manson.
