Dana Ewell

Dana Ewell was the younger of two children born to Dale Alan (b. 1932) and Glee Ethel Ewell (b. 1935). Dale Ewell was a United States Air Force veteran turned multi-millionaire businessman who specialized in the sale of small airplanes with his company, Western Piper Sales, Inc.[3] Glee had devoted much of her life to philanthropy and public service, briefly acting as a Spanish translator for the CIA in the 1950s and later holding a seat at the State Bar of California committee that evaluated prospective judges.[3] Ewell's sister Tiffany Ann (b. 1967), a few weeks shy of her 25th birthday at the time of her death, was a graduate student, while Ewell himself had earned a finance degree from Santa Clara University (SCU).

Ewell's parents had substantial investments in the stock market and local farmland.[4] Although the family was financially well off, the elder Ewells lived a relatively modest lifestyle and avoided flaunting their wealth, which was estimated at $7–⁠8 million[3][1] (equivalent to about $12.5 to $14 million in 2017).

During Ewell's time at college, he had been attributing his father's accomplishments to himself and was posing as a wealthy entrepreneur when he actually had no such experience.[5] A Santa Clara newspaper and SCU's yearbook both had printed stories on Ewell in 1990,[1] depicting him as "a self-made millionaire" who was enjoying the luxuries afforded by his nonexistent business success.[3] After learning about Ewell's lies, his parents modified their estate plan.[6] Extended family believed that Dale Ewell planned on ending his financial support for his son after his college graduation, a possible motive for the murders.[4]

Dale, Glee and Tiffany Ewell were murdered on Sunday, April 19, 1992 in their home near Fresno.[7] At the time of the murders, Ewell lived at the family home but was away with his girlfriend for the Easter weekend.[2][8] The bodies were discovered two days after the murders, when Ewell notified family friends in Sunnyside that he was unable to contact his parents.[1]

After the murders, police spent four days at the Ewell home investigating the crime scene. The case was investigated by Fresno County Sheriff's Office homicide detectives John Souza and Chris Curtice. They suspected the killer was hiding in the house waiting for the family to return. Glee Ewell was shot four times while Tiffany and Dale Ewell were each shot once.[1] The murders had seemingly been planned and executed with care, such as when the shooter took discarded shell casings after firing the fatal gunshots.[3] The shooter's aim was good, missing only once while firing multiple shots.[9] A box of 9mm shells, purchased by Dale Ewell in the early 1970s, was found in the home and were believed to have been used to kill the family.[1] The bullets recovered from the victims' bodies showed signs of the gun having been fitted with a homemade silencer.[10] While the home appeared to have been searched for valuables, Souza (with extensive experience investigating burglaries[4]) concluded the scene was staged in an attempt to make the murders appear as if the family had interrupted a thief.[1]

Police looked into the victims' background and found possible motives for the crime. In the 1970s, Dale Ewell had sold airplanes for a California man named Frank Lambe who had been convicted for drug smuggling, after which Dale took over the business. Dale Ewell had also been involved in a troubled real estate development deal with his brother Ben, which threatened to cost investors millions in losses. Investigation ruled out these factors as possible motives for the murders.[3]

Although Dana Ewell's alibi for his whereabouts at the time of the murders included having spent the Easter weekend with his girlfriend and her family in San Francisco, some 200 miles away, authorities came to focus on him after eliminating other possible culprits.[3] Extended family members, like Ewell's uncle, reported that he was inordinately fixated in the details of his parents' will and testament, and was "visibly shaken and angry" upon learning he would be unable to access most of his family's wealth until his thirties.[1][6] His parents' estate plan created a legal trust that locked up most of their assets upon their death. A trustee was required to pay for Ewell's care and expenses until the age of 25, while from 25 to 30 he was to receive dividends from investments, but had no access to the principal. Ewell would receive half the principal at age 30, and the remainder at age 35. However, Ewell was the beneficiary of over $300,000 in life insurance payments which were not subject to trust restrictions or probate court oversight.[1]

Joel Patrick Radovcich, a college friend of Ewell, abruptly dropped out of school shortly after the murders and came under suspicion. Ewell was described as being obsessed with money and social status, and Radovcich was preoccupied with guns and explosives.[9] Ewell had come under suspicion only days after the murders when Curtice had walked him through the crime scene and thought his reactions highly unusual, later recalling his impressions as "that kid's dirty."[4] Dana and Radovcich attracted additional suspicion by both occupying the Ewell family home only a few weeks after the murders.[1] The pair were reported making many cash purchases such as helicopter flight lessons (despite Radovcich being unemployed) and communicating via a complex system of pagers and pay telephone calls, seemingly designed to avoid being overheard.[9] The police kept Ewell and Radovcich under close surveillance for several months. In one instance, a detective wore a recording device and stood close to Radovcich at a pay phone in May 1993, overhearing him make comments such as "they don't have evidence. They will try to catch you in a lie."[1]

Forensic analysis found the murder weapon was a high-end 9mm specialty rifle manufactured by Feather Industries in Trinidad, Colorado. Company records showed one such rifle had been purchased by Ernest Jack Ponce, a friend of the Radovcich family, shortly before the murders.[9] Ponce admitted buying the rifle for Radovcich, but denied knowing it would be used for a crime.[4] Ponce had further concealed evidence after the murders, making him an accessory. He was granted immunity from prosecution and agreed to testify against Ewell and Radovcich, who were arrested in early 1995.

Fresno County Assistant District Attorneys James Oppliger and Jeffrey Hammerschmidt prosecuted Ewell and Radovcich in a jury trial which lasted over eight months. Prosecutors argued that Ewell was motivated by greed, and that he promised Radovcich a share of his family's wealth. Ewell and Radovcich were represented by separate attorneys who took different strategies: Ewell's insisting his client was innocent, while Radovcich's believed the evidence was so overwhelming that a guilty verdict was probable and thus his main goal should be avoiding the death penalty.[4]

Jurors deliberated for 11 days. Although they considered Ponce's testimony unreliable and suspected he was more involved with the murders than he admitted,[4] they found Ewell and Radovcich both guilty of three counts of first degree murder. The murderers were subject to stricter sentencing due to aggravating circumstances: multiple victims, murder for profit, and lying in wait.[1] Although facing a potential death sentence, both avoided that fate. They were sentenced on July 20, 1998, to life sentences without the possibility of parole. All appeals have been denied.

Ewell is in the Protective Housing Unit of California State Prison, Corcoran, with other murderers requiring isolation from the general prison population.[8][11]

The case is covered in the Forensic Files episode "Two in a Million" (season 11, episode 40, aired April 18, 2007),[6] The New Detectives episode "Family Plots" (season 5, episode 9, aired January 25, 2000) and the Dominick Dunne's Power, Privilege, and Justice episode "Tailspin" (season 3, episode 5, aired September 5, 2003). City Confidential ("Fatal Inheritance"), American Justice ("Millions of Reasons to Kill"), and Solved also did episodes on the case. In Ice Cold Blood also aired an episode about the case (“Deadly Greed” season 2, episode 14, aired June 3, 2019). The series Behind Mansion Walls covered the case in "The Perfect Crime" (season 1, episode 2, aired on June 13, 2011). It is also covered in the "It Takes a Killer" episode "Spoiled, Rotten, and Ruthless" (Season 1, Episode[12] 60) and the Vengeance: Killer Millionaires episode "Trust Fund Terror."

• Dana Ewell at Orton's Crime Blog