Dominique Dunne ////// 797

Summary

True Crime Garage Episode 797: Dominique Dunne

Release Date: October 29, 2024

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Introduction

In Episode 797 of True Crime Garage, hosts Nick and the Captain delve into the tragic and chilling case of Dominique Dunne. This episode meticulously explores Dominique's life, her burgeoning acting career, her tumultuous relationship with John Sweeney, and the harrowing events that led to her untimely death.

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Dominique Dunne: A Promising Star

Dominique Ellen Dunn was born on November 23, 1959, in Santa Monica, California, to Ellen and Dominic Dunn. As the family's first daughter, Dominique was a beacon of joy alongside her two brothers, Griffin and Alex Dunn. Despite her parents' divorce in 1967, Dominique's upbringing remained affluent and nurturing. She excelled academically, attending prestigious institutions such as Harvard, Westlake School in Los Angeles, Taft School in Connecticut, and Fountain Valley School in Colorado. Her academic pursuits included a year abroad in Florence, Italy, where she honed her language skills and developed a passion for art.

Key Quote:

"Dominique's first role in TV was a TV movie. This was in 1979, where she played in a TV movie called 'Diary of a Teenage Hitchhiker.'"
— Nick [07:34]

Her acting career gained momentum with supporting roles in popular 80s TV shows like "Heart to Heart" and "Fame." However, her most memorable performance came in the 1982 supernatural horror film Poltergeist, produced by Steven Spielberg. Dominique portrayed Dana Freeling, the family's eldest daughter haunted by malevolent spirits. The film was a commercial success, grossing over $120 million against an $11 million budget and earning three Academy Award nominations.

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The Troubled Relationship with John Sweeney

Shortly before the success of Poltergeist, Dominique entered a relationship with John Thomas Sweeney, a sous chef at the esteemed Maison restaurant on Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles. Their relationship progressed rapidly, relocating together to a rental property in West Hollywood. However, John's behavior was marred by extreme jealousy and possessiveness.

Key Quote:

"John was just a straight up madman."
— Nick [15:03]

Their relationship was fraught with abuse. On August 27, 1982, during an intense argument, John violently pulled Dominique's hair, causing visible bruises. This incident forced Dominique to seek refuge at her mother's house, where John displayed uncontrollable rage, pounding on doors and windows, demanding access to Dominique. Despite her mother's intervention, Dominique returned to the tumultuous relationship but continued to endure John's abusive behavior.

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The Fatal Night: October 30, 1982

The narrative reaches its tragic peak on October 30, 1982. Dominique was at her West Hollywood home with David Packer, rehearsing for a miniseries. John Sweeney appeared at the door, intent on reconciling. The situation quickly escalated:

1. Confrontation: Dominique agreed to speak to John outside under the condition of a calm conversation. However, the argument intensified, leading to John strangling her.

   Key Quote:

   "He (John) yanked out handfuls of her hair by the roots."
   — Nick [15:49]

2. Attempted Escape: Dominique attempted to flee through a bathroom window, but John pursued her, eventually catching up and violently attacking her again.

3. Police Intervention: A friend present at the home heard Dominique's pleas for help and called the police. Upon arrival, John was found standing over Dominique, claiming he had killed her and was attempting to commit suicide by consuming pills. Dominique was rushed to Cedars Sinai Medical Center but remained in a coma until life support was withdrawn on November 4, 1982.

Key Quote:

"Dominique Dunne passed away 19 days before her 23rd birthday."
— Nick [39:58]

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The Trial of John Sweeney

John Sweeney's trial commenced in August 1983. His defense hinged on claims of a passionate reunion and a murder-suicide attempt. However, overwhelming evidence contradicted his narrative:

1. Witness Testimony: An eyewitness present during the attack confirmed John's violent actions, directly refuting his claims of a reconciliatory meeting.

2. Dominique's Family: Dominique's brothers, Griffin and Alex, openly criticized John, labeling him as possessive and abusive. Griffin recounted an incident where John called him seeking advice on reconciling with Dominique, to which Griffin responded vehemently:

   Key Quote:

   "If you ever touch my sister again, I will kill you."
   — Griffin Dunn

3. Courtroom Disruptions: John exhibited erratic behavior in court, including an incident where he attempted to flee, reinforcing his unstable nature.

Despite the damning evidence, the jury initially recommended a lenient sentence of two and a half years. However, Judge Katz overruled this, emphasizing the gravity of the crime and ultimately sentencing John to six years for manslaughter. Ironically, John served only about three and a half years before being released and changing his last name, effectively evading further scrutiny.

Key Quote:

"He lies."
— The Captain [49:31]

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Aftermath and Reflections

Dominique's father, Dominic Dunn, carved a niche in the true crime community, authoring books that dissected her case and other high-profile trials like O.J. Simpson and the Menendez brothers. His work shed light on the complexities of abusive relationships and the failings of the legal system in adequately addressing violent offenders.

The episode underscores the critical importance of recognizing and addressing stalking and abusive behaviors early on. As highlighted by expert analyses within the podcast, such behaviors often escalate if not promptly managed, leading to irreversible tragedies.

Key Insights:

• Stalker Profiles: John Sweeney exemplified the "simple obsession stalker," characterized by possessiveness and inability to cope with relationship dissolution.

• Legal Shortcomings: The initial leniency in sentencing demonstrates systemic failures in recognizing the severity of intimate partner violence, especially during the early 1980s when stalking laws were not robustly in place.

• Public Awareness: Dominique's case, while tragic, contributed to heightened awareness surrounding domestic abuse and the psychological profiles of stalkers.

Key Quote:

"Stalking is a very serious and not so well understood criminal offense that many times can lead to violence."
— Expert Voice [03:47]

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Conclusion

Episode 797 of True Crime Garage offers a poignant exploration of Dominique Dunne's life and the harrowing circumstances that led to her death. Through detailed recounting and insightful analysis, Nick and the Captain illuminate the dire consequences of unchecked abusive behavior and the imperative need for societal and legal mechanisms to protect vulnerable individuals from such predators.

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For those seeking support or further information on stalking and domestic violence, the episode includes resources such as the VictimConnect Resource Center and the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Listeners are encouraged to reach out if they or someone they know is in danger.

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Disclaimer: This summary is based on the transcript provided and aims to capture the essence and key points discussed in the podcast episode.

Transcript

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[Nick]

Terms and conditions apply. Welcome to True crime Garage wherever you are, whatever you're doing, thanks for listening. I'm your host, Nick, and with me.

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As always, is a man who if.

[Nick]

You will be his valentine, he will be your Frankenstein. Here is the Captain.

[The Captain]

That's right and I'll be putting on the Ritz. It's good to be seen and good to see you. Thanks for listening. Thanks for telling a friend.

[Nick]

This week we are very excited to be featuring Waiting for October. And I'm so glad that I did shout out to my brother in law John who got me this for Christmas last year and I waited till October. Waiting for October is a bourbon barrel aged pumpkin spice latte imperial stout. That's a mouthful, but it's a delicious mouthful made by the good folks at Track 7 Brewing Company who are teaching us the virtues of patience. Waiting for October recipe features coffee, pumpkin, vanilla, lactose and pumpkin spice ABV 14.1%. So drink this one at home garage grade 5 out of 5 bottle caps.

[Listener]

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[The Captain]

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[Nick]

And here's a big cheers to our garage friends. First up, a cheers to Valerie Grace in Tucson, Arizona.

[The Captain]

And a big we like your chip goes to Hannah from Ontario, Oregon.

[Nick]

Next up we have a long distance cheers to Shane Coidine in Claire Castle County Claire, Ireland. And last but certainly not least, Captain, we have a big cheers to Simone in Lafayette, Louisiana. Everyone we just mentioned, they went to truecrimegarage.com and contributed to the beer fund and for that we thank you.

[The Captain]

Yeah, bw, are you in beer run?

[Listener]

Make sure you subscribe to us on.

[The Captain]

Patreon or Apple podcast subscription to get off the record. You're going to love it, trust me. And that's enough of the business.

[Nick]

All right everybody gather round, grab a chair, grab a beer. Let's talk some true crime.

[Expert Voice]

Stalking is a very serious and not so well understood criminal offense that many times can lead to violence. While every case is different, people who stalk can be very dangerous. Stalkers may threaten, attack, sexually assault and or even kill their victims. Unfortunately, there is no single psychological or behavioral profile that predicts what stalkers will or will not do. Stalkers behaviors can escalate from more indirect ways of making contact like phone calls and text, to more direct contact like delivering gifts or an unwelcome visit. Many victims struggle with how to respond. Some victims try reasoning with their stalkers, hoping that being nice will make it stop. Many victims minimize their experiences, telling themselves it's not that bad. Still, others may confront or threaten the stalker to try to fight back. While victims cannot control the stalking behavior, they should feel empowered to take steps to keep themselves, their families, and their loved ones safe. If you or someone you know needs help, there are many resources available. If you feel you are in imminent danger or are in fear, call 911 immediately. If you or a friend are seeking individual assistance, please reach out to your local law enforcement agency. Even when the stalking is not related to domestic violence, domestic violence and or sexual assault, service providers are often the right people to contact about stalking. Please always remember that website history can be monitored and it is impossible to erase completely. It is possible that an abuser and or stalker is monitoring one's browser history. It would be best to seek help via phone call or text if possible. Two recommended resources first, the VictimConnect resource center is a referral helpline where crime victims can learn about their rights and options confidentially and compassionately. They are available 9am to 5pm Eastern Standard Time. The phone number is 1-855-4-VENT and perhaps the best may be the National Domestic Violence Hotline. They can be reached by texting START to 88788 or by calling 1-800-799-SAFE. That information will be included in today's show notes. But remember, if you are in danger, call 911 and please talk to your local law enforcement agency. This is true Crime.

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[Nick]

On November 23, 1959, proud parents Ellen Dunn and Dominic Dunn welcomed their third child, Dominique into the world. And this time it was extra special as this baby would be the couple's third child, but their first baby girl. She was born in Santa Monica, California and little Dominique would be the couple's pride and joy. She was named after both of her parents, her full name Dominique Ellen Dunn. Her father was an investigative journalist, actor and producer. Her mother, Ellen, who Went by the name of Lenny. Came from a pretty well to do family. As said, they had two boys already. This is Griffin and Alex Dunn. When Dominique was still young, her parents split up. They divorced in 1967. But that didn't slow her upbringing down because Dominique went to some of the finer schools, attending Harvard, Westlake School in Los Angeles, Taft School in Connecticut, and Fountain Valley School in Colorado. After graduation, Dominique spent a year in Florence, Italy, a year abroad studying art, and she learned to speak Italian. After all of this, she went back to California, this time to study acting. This is sort of the family business. Dominique's father, Dominic Dunn, worked in television for a time, and her older brother, Thomas Griffin Dunn, went into acting at the age of 19. He later starred in An American Werewolf in London, which was a film from 1981, Werewolf's London. That was also one of the first horror films that I ever saw. And it's. I remember it to be quite good. I don't know if it holds up after all these years. Dominique's first role in TV was a TV movie. This was in 1979, where she played in a TV movie called Diary of a Teenage Hitchhiker. And then she landed several supporting roles in episodes of popular 80s TV shows. And this included Heart to Heart and Fame. Now, most people today, I believe, will remember her from her role in the cult classic supernatural horror movie Poltergeist. This was produced by Steven Spielberg and released in 1982.

[The Captain]

Yeah, it was the eighth highest grossing movie of that year.

[Nick]

Dominique played Dana Freeling, the oldest daughter of the Freeling family, whose suburban life is upturned when they are haunted by malevolent spirits. The movie was a box office hit, like the Captain just said. With a budget of less than 11 million, Poltergeist brought in over $120 million at the box and was nominated for three Academy Awards. And Captain, you and I are too young to have seen this in the movie theater. In fact, I don't think I saw this until I was a teenager. But I do recall being quite young and hearing people talk about this movie, like hearing kids my age talking about it because their older brothers or sisters had seen the movie. And it scared quite a bunch of kids back in the 80s when this movie came out.

[The Captain]

Yeah, it's kind of interesting. It's supposedly created by Steven Spielberg, but there was actually a lawsuit because this was kind of based off of a Twilight Zone episode where a girl goes missing in and is sucked into the house. But because Steven Spielberg was directing ET at the time, they didn't want him to be directing both films. They actually had Tobe Hooper direct the film and you'd know him from directing the first Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

[Nick]

Dominique Dunne was cast for several roles both on TV and film, in large part from the Poltergeist film success, but also because she was a talented budding star at the time. Let's go to September 27th of 1982. Dominique had a starring role on a television show. This was the old show Hill Street Blues. Her role was for one episode titled Requiem for a Hairbag. In the episode, Dominique played a teenage mother who was a victim of parental abuse and chose to give up her baby for adoption, not wanting to repeat the cycle of abuse that she endured from her parents. Little did anyone know at the time, Dominique didn't have to do a whole lot of acting for this role as she was trying desperately to get out of and separate herself from a real life abusive relationship. In fact, it would later be learned that her on screen bruises for this TV episode required no makeup at all. Her bruises, clearly visible on screen, were naturally caused by a violent altercation the day prior when Dominique suffered abuse from her one time boyfriend. His name is John Sweeney.

[The Captain]

So a little bit of background on how they met.

[Nick]

Yeah, so Dominique met John Thomas Sweeney. He was a sous chef at a very popular restaurant, Maison. They met, from my understanding, Kathleen at a party in 1981. So this would be shortly before she's, she's already an actress by this time. But this would be before the success of Poltergeist.

[The Captain]

This was a place that had no phone number. You couldn't call to make a reservation. Wolfgang Puck, I believe, got his start at this Hollywood hot spot. A lot of people that went there would say that the parking lot would be packed with Rolls Royces.

[Nick]

The Captain is right. This was a very popular restaurant. As said, didn't even have the phone number in the phone book because they would get too many calls for reservations. And so this was a very in demand, high class restaurant located on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, California. This was the end place, the place to be. Just as the Captain had said. The restaurant had been featured in movies over the years and is where world renowned chef Wolfgang Puck launched his career. It sounds like their relationship moved quite fast here, Captain, because the reports are that just after a few weeks of dating, the two moved in together into a rental property in West Hollywood. But due to John's behavior, what Dominique is going to learn about this, this man very quickly is that he's extremely Jealous and possessive. And because of this, the relationship is going to quickly deteriorate.

[The Captain]

Yeah. And I believe that she was sharing some of this information with her friends, but I don't think she was leading her family on to believe that John was anything other than just a nice guy.

[Nick]

Yeah, especially early on in the relationship that seems to be the case. John was a few years older than Dominique. Some of the reports that I've seen, Captain, during their time together, he regularly accused her of cheating on him. And even going to the extremes of accusing Dominique of having abortions to hide her cheating. Of course, none of that is true. None of this is true at all. John was just, as we're going to learn, was just a straight up madman. An example of such this is, according to one account, during an argument on August 27, 1982, John pulled Dominique's hair. Like tugging on her hair.

[The Captain]

Yeah.

[Nick]

So forcefully so that he yanked out handfuls of her hair by the roots. This, of course, frightened Dominique to the point that she left and went to her mother's house. John Sweeney then shows up there yelling, screaming, shouting threats to the point of even pounding on doors and windows, demanding that he be let into Dominique's mother's home.

[The Captain]

Yeah, it seemed like John Sweeney could not only could he not control his temper, but he couldn't control his irrational thoughts. Like you said, oh, you're cheating on me and you must be pregnant. So you must. You must have terminated the pregnancy with no evidence. No. No reason to believe any of these thoughts.

[Nick]

Well, and here he can't even control his actions in front of Dominic's mother. Right. Like he could have. She could have showed up to mom's house with accusations of John did this or John did that.

[The Captain]

Yeah.

[Nick]

And I'm sure her mother would have believed her and taken care of her. But you could also. One could suggest that truly what says that this is the truth is that he shows up screaming and yelling and pounding on the door. Now mom knows for sure. Well, my little girl's not crazy. She's got involved with the wrong guy. Yes, the proof is in the pudding, rightfully so. Dominic's mother tells John Sweeney, I'm calling the police. And he eventually leaves. That altercation seemed to be handled by mom, at least now, regretfully, just a few days later, Dominique returned to her home that she shared with John Sweeney. And it's reported that the two resumed their relationship. But it seems like everything was. Would end then soon. So, because the next month, we're going to go just to the very next month. Almost exactly a month to the date of this incident that we just discussed.

[The Captain]

Right.

[Nick]

This is during another argument at their home that they. They shared where they were both staying. This takes place September 26, 1982. John Sweeney grabs Dominique by the throat. He throws her to the floor. He's choking her. He's strangling her. There is a friend, thankfully, there was a friend that was staying with the. At this rental property at the time. This friend is in another room, but hears, like, loud gagging sounds and can hear this attack on Dominique. Thankfully, we got this friend that is staying there that hears what's going on and can bear witness to this. So we know about this attack because this is really crazy when you start to dissect what's going on here. So after he attacks Dominique, and we have the friend that is told by Dominique, like, yeah, he was strangling me. He was trying to kill me. But then we have Sweeney, who's demanding that she go back to bed. So this argument must have started in the bedroom or the attack did, at the very least. And he's demanding that she come back to bed. And so she says, yes, I'm. I will go back to bed. I'm coming back to bed. But instead, she goes to the bathroom, opens up the bathroom window, and crawls out the window. So now she's trying to flee the property, because, remember, she just told her friend or the person that was staying there, he tried to kill me. Yeah, she. She believed that he was trying to kill her, and who knows what he said to her while he was strangling her. So she crawls out this bathroom window, and she starts to flee. She runs out to her car.

[The Captain]

Well, note to self, if anybody's strangling me, it doesn't matter what they're saying to me. They could be telling me that they love me, but the actions are. They're trying to kill me.

[Nick]

Yeah, the actions speak louder than words, of course.

[The Captain]

Yeah.

[Nick]

She got. She hops in her car and she's attempting to drive off. John Sweeney somehow figures out that she went out the bathroom window and is trying to get away. He runs outside and jumps on top of the vehicle.

[The Captain]

He's a psychopath.

[Nick]

Yeah. So he's doing this in attempt to. So she can't drive off. Well, she drives off anyway. For the next several days, she just stays at her mom's house. She. She doesn't come back that night or the. Or the next day. So she's staying at her mother's house. She's staying with some Friends and things of that nature for a period of time. During this time, she officially ends the relationship with John Sweeney, tells him that he's going to have to move out. He does move out, and she has the locks changed on that home. So she doesn't move back into that home until after she's had the locks changed.

[The Captain]

Yeah, which makes sense. But you also wish in this situation that they would have just let this apartment go because we have this individual that shows up. He's tried to kill her, he's beating her, he's verbally abusive, to have some sense that he. There's no evidence that he's going to stop trying to be a part of her life. I mean, like you said, he ripped hair out of her head, has a confrontation with her mother. And I think he thinks that, hey, if I can just get my foot back in the door, we'll be together. So I wish they would have just said, hey, this apartment doesn't matter. We're moving you somewhere else. Or you need to live with somebody somewhere else where John doesn't know where to find you.

[Nick]

Well, and unfortunately. So this incident that we just discussed, this is what took place the day before filming the Hill Street Blues episode. The one where we at a much later date learn she didn't need any makeup for the bruises and marks on her neck in the episode, that they would have applied makeup for her to play that role. She didn't require it because she already had bruises on her neck from being strangled by her boyfriend the day before. We do learn a little more in some of the behind the scenes stuff that is not so heavily reported from Dominique's brother Griffin, from his book that recently came out. It's a family memoir titled the Friday Afternoon Club, where Griffin states that the whole Dunn family disliked John Sweeney, referring to John as Dominique's first real boyfriend. Yeah, Griffin says that it was he and Dominique's other brother, Alex, who actually spoke up, saying, outwardly, you know, we don't, we don't like this guy. We don't trust this guy. We think he's a bad guy. And in his book, he calls John Sweeney a phony star fucking ass kisser.

[The Captain]

That's a mouthful.

[Nick]

Yeah. Well, he also says that less than a month before Dominic's 23rd birthday, remember, she had officially broke up with John Sweeney. And that John Sweeney, he was learning more about John Sweeney from his sister who was telling him, Griffin, that John's extremely jealous, he's possessive. And she tells him about John strangling her to the brink. Of her blacking out. So that horrific attack that we, we just discussed, I believe is what she was telling her brother back then. And she. The problems, though here is, look, we know how she's being treated and mistreated is what we should say, and abused later. John Douglas, in his book Obsession, his 1998 book Obsession, would, would cite this situation as very much, this guy's a stalker. He was conducting a lot of behavior. That's very typical with stalkers. The brothers state that nobody in the family liked John Sweeney, but that they particularly did not like him, and that they got annoyed because on a couple of these occasions, not on this one, but on a couple of the occasions, like we've already pointed out, the rate the relationship would resume. Yeah, she would go back to him. He said at one point, John Sweeney even called him, so called the brother Griffin, because he wanted to figure out how to get back with Dominique. Like, can you give me any advice on how I can win her back or how can I get back into the house? Griffin says that during this phone call, he told John Sweeney, the sous chef. He refers to him as the chef quite often, but he says that he told John Sweeney to stay the away from Dominique. And if you ever touch my sister again, I will kill you. And that's a quote.

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[Nick]

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[The Captain]

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[Nick]

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[The Captain]

All right, we are back. Cheers, mates. We waited till October. Five out of five. Drink them up. Drink them if you got them. Tall cans in the air. And back with me, as always, is Mr. Potty Mouth this episode.

[Nick]

Yeah, I. I apologize. I'm quoting from books here. I can't. I can't control what the written word.

[The Captain]

This is why nobody should ever read books because they're full of bad, naughty language.

[Nick]

That's right. I. Before we jump back into the case here, Captain, I do want to give a shout out here, the Porch Light Project. We were taking on some new cases for the remainder of this year and looking forward to three or four cases for 20, 25. And I want to give a shout out to Matt and a shout out to Leslie, both who made big and very generous contributions to the Porch Light Project. And so we're going to do some really good work and help out some people with your guys's donations and anybody that has donated to the Porch Light Project. The captain's one of those. I want to thank everybody for all of your help all these years. And if anybody wants to learn more, go to porchlight online.org where we left off here, Captain. We have the brother who threatened. Rightfully so. Right. I like. I don't really.

[The Captain]

I'm down with threats, man. I don't care. You. You touch my sister, you touch somebody in my family.

[Nick]

Yeah.

[The Captain]

I'm not just making threats.

[Nick]

Right. I don't subscribe to that kind of behavior. But if. But in this situation, I would have gladly delivered a threat myself. Right. This is.

[The Captain]

Or a punch to the throat.

[Nick]

It's warranted. And unfortunately, it was not enough to scare this guy off. So we're going to. We. We went through an attack in August, then another attack in September, and now we're going to fast forward to another month later. This takes place on October 30, 1982.

[The Captain]

Yeah.

[Nick]

To be clear, this is weeks after Dominique broke up with John Sweeney. Now she's back at that West Hollywood home that they once shared. Remember, locks changed at this point. And she's there with another, with a man. His name is David Packer. And they are. They're simply just friends. Or in fact, they're. They're Colleagues. They're rehearsing for a miniseries or something that they were doing together at the time.

[The Captain]

Yeah, there's gonna be a mini movie series on TV about a writer that uncovers alien activity or something like that. Well, called the V for Visitors Sweeney.

[Nick]

John Sweeney shows up at the door. And of course, I mean, look, this is a jealous, enraged lunatic anyway, but I'm sure if he shows up and figures out that there's another man there, that there's no way that this is going to end. Well, Dominique is smart enough. She's not. She's not letting him in. And they're talking to each other through the locked door. At some point, Dominique does agree to go outside. She's not going to let John into the house, but she agrees that she will go outside and speak to him if he can speak to her calmly. On the. On the porch, David Packer stays inside. From inside the home, he says that he can hear the two arguing. Things started to get loud. And then he says he heard, like, smacking sounds, a couple of screams. Well, yeah, he called the police.

[The Captain]

Yeah, but I also think he called a friend first just to say, this is what I'm hearing. What the heck do I do? Because this would be a. A very difficult situation. I mean, like you said, they're friends, but they're colleagues. And it's like you. You're trying to give her. Her personal boundaries, I guess, but. So he calls a friend and says, what the hell should I do? And they're like, you need to call the cops.

[Nick]

Yeah. And this is weird because he calls. When he calls the police, he's informed by the police that he called, that they're not. That home is not in their jurisdiction. So he's attempting to call for help, but he's called the wrong people, unknowingly. And you're right. Then he calls a friend, has that discussion that you just talked about. But he. This the other thing. He says to the friend, like, if. If I'm found dead, if I end up getting killed, John Sweeney is the murderer. Just like friend. Know that Keep. Remember that name. John Sweeney is the murderer.

[The Captain]

Could you. Could you imagine being on the other end of that call and your friends calling you? I called the cops. They can't help me. I got to do something. And. And then he tells you, if I'm dead, it's John Sweeney. You'd have to be terrified. You'd be standing by your phone waiting for that call back to make sure everything was okay.

[Nick]

Well, and somehow the right. The proper Police department is notified, and so they're on their way to the scene now. Meanwhile, back at the West Hollywood home, David Packer decides, I gotta get out of Dodge. He decides to leave out the back of the house. And then when he's walking around to the side of the yard and then to the front yard, he's now getting close. He can see the driveway. And he says at this point, he saw John Sweeney in some bushes nearby, kneeling over top of Dominique, who's lying on the. The ground. And John shouts to David to call the police. Now remember, they're already in route when the police get there. They pull up, they report that they saw John Sweeney standing next to Dominique's unconscious body. She's now lying, either lying on the driveway or next to it. The police say that John Sweeney had his hands in the air, you know, like, show up. And that's usually what the guilty party does when they see the police.

[The Captain]

Yeah.

[Nick]

And he's. He's. He puts his hands up in the air and he says, I killed my girlfriend. I tried to kill myself. So they arrest him at the scene, and he is immediately charged with attempted murder. Dominic Dun is transported to Cedars Sinai Medical center where she has to be placed on life support.

[The Captain]

Yeah, she's in a coma.

[Nick]

So sadly, she never regains consciousness. She was kept alive for several days. During that time, doctors performed brain scans which revealed that due to oxygen deprivation, she had no brain activity right at that point. So it was on November 4 that her parents had to make the very tough decision to have their only daughter removed from life support.

[The Captain]

Well, now the charges of a attempted murder are going to be murder.

[Nick]

Yeah. So Dominique Dunn passed away 19 days before her 23rd birthday. We talked a little bit about those brain scans. We do know that an autopsy was conducted immediately after she was taken off of life support. The autopsy, we have to be clear here on a couple of things. The autopsy was conducted rightfully. So you. I mean, you would. You would have one done anyway. But even more so, it's done in this case, along with additional brain scans that may not have been necessary to determine her state.

[The Captain]

Right.

[Nick]

Or what the future would hold or not hold for this poor young woman. But those additional brain scans along with the autopsy that's conducted, they know that they need to conduct these for the. For the courts, for when this thing lands in court. Because you. We've seen this on tv. Right. I'm sure everybody can relate to this. And they've seen something like this on TV where somebody is locked up for Attempted murder. And the detectives are telling him, you better hope that she pulls through, because if she doesn't, you're facing a whole different set of charges. And so they. They did these additional brain scans so that they would have proof if that time came, that it was going to court for murder, that John Sweeney was going to court for murder, that it wasn't her death wasn't due to poor hospital work or poor medical care. That it was. It was. He caused her death, therefore he murdered this woman, even though it took a few days for her to officially pass away. The Hill Street Blues episode that was filmed the day after she was beat up by John Sweeney aired on November 18, 1982. This is two weeks after Dominique's death. And again, the bruises that were seen on screen were natural. In fact, John admitted to strangling her later. He would later admit to strangling her the day before that episode was filmed.

[The Captain]

Well, we have a ear witness and, and somewhat of a eyewitness. Plus we have his comments to the police as he was being arrested. I killed my girlfriend. I was trying to kill myself. So we have that. So that probably nudged him in the right direction to fully confess to the crimes.

[Nick]

This episode of Hill Street Blues was dedicated to her memory, to Dominique's memory. And it. Can you imagine this is like 12 days after her funeral.

[The Captain]

Well, she has so much going for in her life. Poltergeist was a huge movie. And yes, it was out for a few months before she. She is murdered, but it was a big movie, so it was still in some theaters. So this was a very big story because she was becoming a big star.

[Nick]

Look, whether she was, regardless of her stardom taking off, which it truly was, I mean, she was. She was on a trajectory for a lot of success. But I think regardless, this John Sweeney, he. He couldn't handle her leaving him, her ending the relationship, regardless of her. Her career.

[The Captain]

Yeah.

[Nick]

And in John Douglas's book Obsession, he says that there are two types of stalkers. Now, keep in mind, at. At this time in the early 80s, you, stalking was not recognized as really a thing because, like, there were only stalking laws set up in a few state, a few states at this time, from my understanding. And in his book obsession, he says that there are. There's most commonly two types of stalkers. One is the simple obsession stalker, which he. Which Douglas says is by far the most common because it's typically an ex, boyfriend or husband that becomes a simple obsession stalker when the relationship is ending or the woman attempts to get out of this terrible relationship. And Douglas says that domestic violence is common in these relationships and usually leads to the end of the relationship. The other type of stalker is a love obsession stalker. This is more of the guy sees a woman on the news or famous woman on TV and becomes obsessed with her from afar and then goes and starts. It's very like the movie Bodyguard with Whitney Houston. Like the captain said, we have this trial, and the trial is it really stinks for the family and for really everyone involved except for John Sweeney and his defense team, that this trial took place in the early 80s because, as we said, there's more that's known about stalking, there's more that's known about this type of behavior and these abusive relationships today than what was understood back then by the general public. So his trial starts in August of 83. Sweeney did take the standard in his own defense. At trial, he testified that he did not intend to hurt Dominique that night. He simply arrived there hoping to speak with her, to talk with her. And he had hoped that they would reconcile the relationship.

[The Captain]

Well, like I said, he can't control irrational thoughts, but he can't also, he can't control his temper. And one of the craziest things about this trial is that at some point, John Sweeney attacks the judge.

[Nick]

Yeah, well, and here's the thing, too. Like, he's. Sweeney's going to have to try to spin some of this, right? Like, some of this is, by this point, by his trial is somewhat known fact. So he's got to put a good spin on it. In fact, what he's trying to say on the stand is that in fact, they. They were getting back together and that he arrived there that night to talk to and talk about their plans of getting back together.

[The Captain]

Right.

[Nick]

Which doesn't hold water. That story doesn't hold any water because we have the individual that was there that night that could hear them arguing, they could hear them talking through a locked door. So they clearly had not reconciled. They clearly had not planned on moving back in together. He tries to say on the stand that the two had daily discussions about getting married and having kids together. And then further, the family calls bullshit on this because we do know from the brother, Griffin, he's like, no, this dude called me days before and I had to threaten him. He calls me asking me for advice on how to get back with my sister. So clearly they were not together. That's what Douglas points out, the stalking behavior that he. He doesn't believe that this is the first time that John Sweeney just showed up at the house, trying and demanding to talk with Dominique. This was just the night that he happened to attack her, strangle her to the point where she's killed. And also we have an eyewitness ear witness there the night of October 30th as well. Sweeney tries to say on the stand, Captain, that, you know, he's. He's already putting out this lie that they were getting back together. And then he says at some point that she changes. Changes her mind during their conversation. And that's when he exploded and lunged toward her. It's exactly what he says, quote, exploded and lunged toward her. He claims to have no memory of. Of choking, of strangling her, claims he blacked out. He says that all he remembers is that he was on top of Dominique with his hands around her neck. And he says at some point he realized that she wasn't breathing. He says that he attempted to revive her by trying to get her to stand up and walk around. She keeps falling over. And he attempts to give her cpr. And he said that both of them. At some point, he stopped because both of them vomited at some point. Then he decided to run into the house. And he consumed two bottles of pills that he found. I believe he said he found them in her bedroom or bathroom. He consumed two bottles of pills quickly and then returned to. Outside near the driveway. And he had laid down next to Dominique. I guess he's waiting for the pills to take effect, that he was going to lay down and die next to her. Remember, he. It sounds like he's of the belief that she's. She's actually dead at this point.

[The Captain]

Right.

[Nick]

John Douglas calls on this. He says this is this dude's attempt to gain. A lame attempt at trying to gain some sympathy from the jury at his trial. Douglas doesn't believe that he performed CPR on Dominic Dunn. And even if he did, you're right.

[The Captain]

He'S still a shitbag.

[Nick]

Even if he did. It's noted in the book Obsession that a toxicology report was done. And this lie of consuming two bottles of pills does not seem to be factual. It's because the toxicology doesn't show that he consumed pills.

[The Captain]

Yeah, I also believe he's lying about black and hell.

[Nick]

Well, and remember what we have. The. The eyewitness who was there that night says that he saw Sweeney standing over top of Dominique. And then the police show up, and he's. He's already standing up and he puts his hands in the air.

[The Captain]

Right?

[Nick]

So this whole trying to drug himself to the point of an overdose and laying down next to her doesn't seem to be accurate at all. And that's backed up by the toxicology report that John Douglas spoke about. We have this very weird situation here where Dominique's father, Dominic, he would go on to be a true crime author. A very, a very skilled and successful true crime author. But at this point he's already a writer at this point of his daughter's murder in 1982. And even once we get to the trial in 1983, Dominic Dunn has not written any true crime. At this point he has authored a book. It didn't do well. In fact, he was basically recruited to write true crime by Vanity Fair magazine. And he says to them, I don't know, I've never written true crime before. I can't do it. I don't know. And they said, no. We have this situation here that's very unique that you will be able to write about a trial, murder trial, but you're also writing it from a perspective that's never been written from before. The father of the victim attending the trial and what he said in his writings about, I think it was a long running article that I believe was titled Justice. But he said that the trial became less about John Sweeney and more about his daughter. That his daughter was the one that seemed to be on trial like that because the defense was constantly attacking her character. Because what the defense was going to be, Captain, was that they, this was simply a one time thing. They got into an argument and he freaked out and now she's dead. That he's just as destroyed and distraught about this as, as the family is. And this successful young man would never hurt you in one jury. Please take it easy on him. This, we all make mistakes. We were all young one time and that's really how they tried to spin this thing. He said, you know, they put my daughter on trial for her murder. The defense is trying to paint the picture of Dominique as this wild child that was out every night and drinking all the time and just a party animal and she couldn't be trusted in a relationship. None of that appears to be true. Even if it is true, it's not grounds to kill anybody.

[The Captain]

No, absolutely not.

[Nick]

Listen to how cold blooded his defense team is. So by this point, Dominique's mother, Ellen, she went by Lenny, she had multiple sclerosis, she's advanced multiple sclerosis at this point, to the point where she's wheelchair boundaries. The defense team wanted her removed from the courtroom because they were worried that it was prejudicial. Enough, they were worried that it would. That the jury's sympathy would sway to the victim, into the victim's family, because they're seeing the mom of a murdered girl in a wheelchair. So the defense didn't even want mom at the. At the trial, which. Which she obviously was allowed to stay. And I believe she even testified at the trial. And you're right, the captain, when you said that John Sweeney and his behavior in the courtroom, there were. There was. There was a situation when the jury was not in the room, and he attempted to, like, he's. I believe he was still handcuffed. He gets up and he tries to, like, flee, like, run out of the courtroom, like. And so he's tackled and he tells the judge, he's like, I wasn't trying to escape. I don't know what I was doing. I wasn't trying to escape. Like, okay, well, most of the time, people don't just get up and start running out of the courtroom. Where I come from, we call that an attempt at escaping.

[The Captain]

You think?

[Nick]

Yeah, yeah. I'm no expert, but not an expert.

[The Captain]

On escaping, but, yeah, you don't have.

[Nick]

To be David Copperfield or Harry Houdini to know that that's an escape attempt right there. The problem here, though, is it does seem like the jury had some sympathy for Sweeney, believe it or not, because I don't have. I want to be clear here. I don't have a great understanding of this situation, so I'm going to explain it the best that I can. Or as I explain, as I understand it to be that the sentence that the jury was recommending, I think it was like two and a half years. I think that they were close to just giving him probation, that they were all up in arms about that. And the judge, his name was Judge Katz, K A T, Z, I believe, and he says no. He throws out the jury's verdict and their sentencing recommendation. Saying this. He's like, this is a murder trial. This is. This is murder. Can't any. And which was weird. Like, which was quite the turn of events for the trial, because it seemed like the judge was giving the defense everything that they wanted. This is what they got removed from the trial. You know how they have the hearings in advance and they. And they say, all right, this will be allowed. This will not be allowed. Once we get in front of a jury, what. What they got removed from that was not going to be part of the trial, is the previous times that John Sweeney had beat up and even attempted to kill Dominique Dunn that was. They weren't allowed to present that. Prosecution was not allowed to present that.

[The Captain]

At court, which is sad, because it shows that this is. He's a repeat offender. He's going to continue to do this. This is who he is. At his core, he is evil. This was not an accident. This was an act of evil.

[Nick]

Well, and the other thing that didn't make its way to court either, because it got ruled out, was he had been in a previous relationship for, like, two or three years where he did the same thing to a whole different. To a different woman. Yeah, to the point where she had to file, like, she filed charges against him, got a restraining order, did everything that. That you can file charges against him. I think. I think she notified police, like, 10 times of him physically abusing her. So it's not just a. It's not just a history of violence with this guy in this specific relationship. It's a history of violence with. With probably every relationship. And that's the thing, too, that if the jury doesn't hear this and then they're recommending probation or two and a half years, whatever, it was a very light sentence. Do you think that. You think that if they heard all this information that they're going two and a half years on this guy? No. They would go, we have daughters, we have nieces. If we don't lock this guy up for a much longer time, he's going to get out and he's going to do this to another woman. He's going. He. In fact, he did do it. Yes, it was. It was. I'm trying to think of the person who said it, one of the observations that was made, and I apologize, I can't. I can't find in my notes the gentleman that said this. But he said, look, this guy's going to be out in time to cook someone a nice meal and murder another woman. So the judge steps in, and from my understanding, Captain, the sentence was changed to six years in prison for manslaughter.

[The Captain]

Yeah. He only served, what, like three and a half years?

[Nick]

Well, and then he gets out and he changes his last name. So nobody, you know, because he wants to fade from the headlines. And you know that that statement, I believe, is awfully true. And I, and I. Look, you hear the snarkiness in that statement, but, you know, he says he purposely used. Because Sweeney was a chef, he said, cook somebody a nice meal and kill another woman. One thing that should have resonated with the jury, at least it would have for me. And I didn't even. I didn't even witness this in person. I just heard the reports about. It was the coroner said that for her to be in the state that she was in when the police arrived on the scene, that it was the medical examiner's expert opinion that she was strangled for four to six minutes long. Four to six minutes to. For her to be in the state that she was founded.

[The Captain]

That evidence alone should let you know that this was not some kind of accident. This is not manslaughter. This is murder.

[Nick]

That's why I don't understand the light sentence here and really the leniency of the. The what he ends what he's convicted of. Because the prosecutor, after explaining that to the courtroom, held up his watch and there was four minutes of silence while they waited for four minutes to pass. So it would resonate with the jury of how long that actually is.

[The Captain]

Yeah.

[Nick]

How long that this dude had his hands wrapped around her neck. And he. At any point, he could have stopped in that four minutes, but he did not. So don't for a second feel any sympathy for him because he said he blacked out and doesn't. Didn't know that he did this. And it was just simply a impulsive move that he exploded and it only took seconds. And then she wasn't breathing. That's. Yeah, that's just simply not true. It's not true at all. And then he gets out, changes his name, and he gets a new lease on life. Meanwhile, she's dead. She's dead at the at before her 23rd birthday. A whole life ripped out of. Out of existence.

[The Captain]

And some. There's so many victims in this too, because like how we said how they met and he worked at this restaurant. Well, that restaurant didn't even survive because of the. Them being connected to John Sweeney. They couldn't shake that reputation. They didn't back him, they didn't support him. They weren't in favor of this light sentence. They weren't anything. But it was just simply. We're connected to John Swinney. He used to work here, and people don't want to come here anymore.

[Nick]

Yeah. And as John Douglas was saying, this is. We know more today about stalking and stalking behavior. This guy gets out of prison, he gets to move on. Dominic Dunn said in his writings about the trial that the healing process didn't even start until after the sentencing, which, keep in mind, she was killed in 82, and this thing didn't go to trial until next week. Be good, be kind, and don't litter here. And in Fact, I think that it was over a year before he was even sentenced. So a long time for any healing at all. To begin with this family, we have the simple obsession stalkers. We have the love of love obsession stalkers. And with the simple obsession stalkers, they say that typical behavior signs of this are overly attentive spouse, controlling spouse, possible physical abuse. In fact, it's, it's likely in most of those cases that go on to be of that nature. Usually when these things go real bad, the result is a murder suicide.

[The Captain]

Yeah.

[Nick]

Which unfortunately is no shortage of on anyone's local news everywhere.

[The Captain]

Well, and like you were saying, John Sweeney was probably lying about the murder suicide, but that was probably what was in his mind at the time and that's probably how he came up with that lie. And then like you were talking about her father Dominic, he becomes a big contributor to the true crime world with the covering of his daughter's case. But then he goes on to cover the O.J. trial and the Menendez brothers trial. And if you have watched the Menendez brothers docu pick, he is played by Nathan Lane, which did an amazing job.

[Nick]

Here's another interesting observation too that I found when researching this case. A man named David Beatty said that stalking is the only instance we know of where a future murderer identifies himself to police ahead of time. And he goes on to say that this is an opportunity and a responsibility that cannot be ignored. Because what they were talking about was one of the best things to do if you find yourself in this type of relationship or trying to get away from somebody and this stalking behavior starts to take place, is you want to notify law enforcement as early as possible. This is supposed to tip them off that, look, this guy is a real danger, not just to me, but potentially other people as well. It can't be ignored. But it's also, you're starting the paper trail. There are a lot of resources out there for people that are in these type of abusive relationships. And we certainly recommend that the best thing for you to do if you are in this type of relationship is to get help and tell other people as quickly as possible and to get yourself to safety and to keep yourself safe. John Douglas did note another observation that I found interesting that he said people were naturally for some reason intrigued by and fascinated with a celebrity who is attacked and or killed by an obsessed fan. He says, but this happens only about every two to three years. For some reason, people are not so interested when an ex boyfriend or husband attacks and or kills a woman. And he says unfortunately, this happens about every two to three hours.

[The Captain]

Want to thank everybody for joining us.

[Listener]

Here in the garage.

[The Captain]

Thanks for telling your mother. Thanks for telling your brother.

[Nick]

And until next week, be good, be kind, and don't litter.