Dale Hausner
Live from the courtroom: On the witness stand this morning, Serial Shooter suspect Dale Hausner said he believes his former roommate and alleged accomplice, Samuel Dieteman, had “planted” incriminating evidence in this car before their arrest.
Earlier in the trial, a ballistics expert testified that a spent .22 caliber shell casing was found in the back seat of Hausner’s car, and the markings on the casing matched those found at a number of the 2005 shooting scenes.
“How did that get in your back seat?” asked prosecutor Vince Imbordino.
Hausner said he didn’t know, but could speculate.
“Are you telling us that you think someone put them there?” Imbordino said.
“Yes, sir,” said Hausner.
“Planted them?”
“Sam Dieteman,” said Hausner. “Yes, sir.”
Dieteman has already confessed to taking part in two of the murders and several of the other shootings in the Serial Shooter case. He testified against Hausner last month, saying the two of them cruised the Valley in Hausner’s car, shooting people at random for nearly three months.
Hausner and his defense team have launched the alternate theory that Dieteman was the lone Serial Shooter. They have tried to discredit Dieteman’s testimony at every turn.
The two didn’t even meet until just before the summer of 2006, several months after the Serial Shooter stopped using a .22 caliber weapon. To plant the bullet in Hausner’s car, Dieteman would likely have had to hold onto one of the shell casings for several months, then place in the back seat.