Heat City

Samuel Dieteman testifies about his role in the Serial Shooter killing spree. Photo courtesy of ABC 15

Live from the courtroom: Before court started this morning, one of the jurors sent a note to Judge Roland Steinle. “Is Jeff Hausner in custody?” the note asked. “And should we be concerned with the comings and goings from the court (because of) all the extra security?”

Jeff Hausner’s name has come up a lot in the past couple days of testimony. He’s the brother of Dale Hausner, who is on trial here in Phoenix accused of eight murders and 79 other crimes, and was the roommate of Samuel Dieteman, who is on the witness stand talking about being a part of two of the killings and multiple other shootings. As part of Dieteman’s testimony, he said he witnessed Jeff Hausner stabbing a man nearly to death in the summer of 2006.

Jeff Hausner

Live from the courtroom: Samuel Dieteman said this morning he was part of conversations between Dale Hausner and his brother, Jeff Hausner, in which they both bragged about shooting numerous people on a single night in 2005. He said they also joked about shooting a homeless man, who died trying to save a dog from a shotgun blast.

The testimony is significant. If true, it means that Dale Hausner did not act alone on what is believed to be the bloodiest night of the Serial Shooter killing spree.

I wrote about the Christmastime shootings back in October, during the first weeks of the trial. At the time, the evidence looked like authorities only suspected Dale Hausner in the shootings, which took place on the night of Dec. 29, 2005 and the early hours of the next day. Along the way, two men and three animals were killed, and another man, a prostitute and a pair of dogs were wounded.

Dale Hausner, left, speaks to his attorney, Ken Everett, during opening arguments of his eight-count murder trial. His supposed co-conspirator in the Serial Shooter killing spree testified against Hausner on Wednesday in Maricopa County Superior Court. Pool photo

Authorities have long said that Dale Hausner acted alone for almost a year before Samuel Dieteman joined in the killing spree for its last three months. And that’s what Dieteman has said on the stand today, too.

It leads to a couple natural questions: How was Dieteman convinced to join in the killing spree? And what did that conversation sound like?

Live from the courtroom: In the three months that authorities say Dale Hausner and Samuel Dieteman roamed the Valley, randomly shooting people, they are suspected of numerous crimes. From the witness stand, Dieteman said, “Everything became so routine.”

“It was the same thing all the time,” Dieteman said. “There was so much that went on during those three months, everything just blends together.”

Dale Hausner, shown left, listens in court on Tuesday as his suspected accomplice, Samuel Dieteman, accuses him of being the leader of the Serial Shooters duo. One of his attorneys, Tim Agan, is also shown. Pool photo.

Live from the courtroom: Dale Hausner despised the homeless. He disliked them so much that every time he and his newfound pal, Samuel Dieteman, would drive by someone they believed was homeless, Hausner would say, “Look at that piece of (expletive) over there.”

“Prostitutes are another one he had a problem with,” Dieteman testified just moments ago in Maricopa County Superior Court. Prosecutor Vince Imbordino asked Dieteman to tell about how he and Hausner chose their victims during their alleged 2006 killing spree, and the witness held back no details. The pair, he said, chose their victims based on who they thought fell into one of two categories: homeless and prostitutes.

Often though, if it was a woman, they wouldn’t distinguish between a regular pedestrian and, say, a prostitute, Dieteman said. “I don’t think it mattered, just that they were there,” Dieteman testified. “He (Hausner) would say, ‘Oh, look at this whore. She’s dead. We’re going to get her.'”

As court was letting out yesterday, I stopped Paul Patrick to ask him what he thought of Samuel Dieteman’s testimony so far. Patrick, a survivor of one of the shootings Dieteman has admitted to, has been a fixture of the trial since its beginning. He has been in the gallery every day since opening arguments took place in early October.

“It was good to hear him admit it,” said Patrick, speaking in lower tones than usual, “and for the jury to hear that Dale was involved.”

Back in November, when I interviewed Patrick in depth about his experiences as a survivor, he was confident about the outcome of the trial but pragmatic, too.

“Believe me,” Patrick said, “I want the right person convicted in this. Yeah, I’m angry at Dale Hausner. Very much. Sam Dieteman also…but I want to know the right person is convicted. If not, the guy who shot me is still out there. So I want to be as objective as possible, but it’s sure looking that way.”

Dieteman is taking the stand again today to offer the details of the numerous shootings he has admitted to.

I just completed a 5:30 a.m. interview on the Phoenix ABC affiliate, KNXV-TV (Channel 15), for its morning show Daybreak. I spoke to Jenn Burgess about the Serial Shooter trial, Sam Dieteman’s testimony and what you can expect today from the courtroom. I will be back on at 6:30 a.m. for another interview.

Thanks to the folks over at ABC 15 for the chance to chat (even at such an ungodly early hour). I’m always available to provide a little analysis and info on the trial. Burgess even mentioned HEAT CITY in her introduction. For a fledgling site like this, it helps.

Samuel Dieteman testifies on Tuesday in Maricopa County Superior Court about wounding numerous people, and killing two, during a months-long shooting spree the summer of 2006 with his friend Dale Hausner. The men have been dubbed the Serial Shooters by authorities. Pool photo

Live from the courtroom: In the secret wiretap audio recordings of Samuel Dieteman played for the jury last month, he was a gruff and baritone, and spoke in growls. The man on the witness stand today is a far different one. He is soft spoken, even morose. The microphone barely picks up his voice.

On the witness stand, Dieteman talked in depth about his addiction to methamphetamine and alcohol in the months before he met Dale Hausner, and during the time they were living together. During one period, Dieteman would close down a bar with a friend at 2 a.m., stay a few hours at the friend’s house and then head to another bar when it opened at 6 a.m. “Looking back on it now after a couple years of being sober, I was horribly alcoholic,” Dieteman said. “I was drunk every day, basically.”

Live from the courtroom: Prosecutor Vince Imbordino got right to Dieteman’s confession to the killings of Claudia Gutierrez-Cruz and Robin Blasnek, who were both shot to death in the summer of 2006.

“Did you shoot and kill Claudia Gutierrez-Cruz?” Imbordino asked.

“Yes, sir,” Dieteman responded. “I did.”