Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Killers Amongst Us: Real Life "Hell's Kitchen," Gorgeous Restauranteur Disappears. What happened to Dawn?

Episode Date: October 6, 2020

Dawn is a beautiful, vivacious front-end hostess when she meets the man of her dreams, David Viens. He is the chef of a popular eatery. The couple marry and set out to forge their own mark in the food industry. They settle down in California, opening their own very popular restaurant. But one day, Dawn disappears. What happened? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Hi guys, Nancy Grace here. Welcome back to Killers Amongst Us, a production of iHeartMedia and Crime Online. She had it all. Natalie Wood type, good looks, a wonderful husband, a brand new restaurant just outside of LA living the life. But suddenly out of the blue, Dawn disappears seemingly into thin air. What happened to Dawn and why would she leave the picture perfect life? I'm Nancy Grace. Killers amongst us.

How does a beautiful young woman in the prime of her life, she and her husband just launching a highly popular restaurant, suddenly just disappear into thin air. We're talking about a gorgeous woman, Dawn Vienz. How does she just disappear into thin air? Let's start with who is Dawn Vienz? Joining me, an all-star panel to break it down and put it back together again. With me, Larry Altman, crime reporter for the DLE Breeze, freelance journalist now,

professor of forensics at Jacksonville State University, author of Blood Beneath My Feet on Amazon, and star on a new program, Poisonous Liaisons on True Crime Network. Also with me, special guests, David Pappin, brother of Dawn, joining me out of Bradenton, Florida. And Dana, her sister, joining me from California. Welcome, everybody. I want to first talk about who is Dawn Vance. Because, you know, to you, Joe Scott Morgan, you're a death investigator. You've handled thousands of cases.

But you've got to know who you're talking about, what circles they ran in, where are they from, where are they likely to go, right? Yeah, yeah, you do, Nancy. As you and I are off to say, in any kind of missing persons case who has access that who's had that is who has familiarity with the individual. And what we're trying to find out is who is Dawn Vians? Would she just take off and head to Vegas? Is she with a boyfriend? Did she have a lover and take off to start a new life? Well, listen to our friend, Joe Kekesi. Don was an amazing person for me when I met her.

And she's brought so much goodness into my life personally, and others too, I'm sure. I look around and tell you so many things because of Don. She's brought many people together. She has. She brought so many people together. And she was a wonderful person. She just loved people to laugh, to have fun. Sadness wasn't her game. She didn't like sadness very much. She liked to be happy and smile. So is that her personality to her sister, Dana? Dana, again, thank you for being with us. Tell me about Dawn growing up. What's her personality?

Jo was absolutely right there. She was always the happy, smiley, looking for the positive side of things. You know, she was incredibly smart, incredibly driven, this happy, vibrant, always smiling woman that you kind of wanted to be around. Where did you guys grow up, David? We grew up in Burlington, Vermont. Yep, I've been there to ski. Beautiful. So question, what was her interest? How did she get into the restaurant business?

So I remember I was probably 17, and Dawn, there was a private golf course called basin harbor and she used to go up there um and work there in the summertime david you said she took this job um in the food business was that something she like my daughter david is a huge baker um after dinner she goes into the kitchen goes what should I bake tonight last night from scratch I don't know how she did it she made these fantastic chocolate peanut butter cookies I mean perfect and she's been doing this since she definitely you know my mom worked and so dawn used to babysit us a lot and she would cook us dinner and things like that but i think you know she started in restaurant business you know just as you know with not not a lot of experience so

something that she could you know get into and make some money you know, with not a lot of experience, it was just something that she could, you know, get into and make some money. You know, I don't necessarily think food and the restaurant business early on was a passion. I think it was just, you know, a job. A job that developed. Now, you were going to jump in, Dana. I was. I have very clear memories of her working at a place called the Ponderosa Steakhouse when she was probably

15 or 16. And I remember going with my mom to pick her up. And David's right. I think it was more of a way to have a part-time job and to make money. She was really focused on school. She was, you know, on a roll. Part of, I was trying to think of what it was called when high schoolers go to washington like the faux united nation um oh wow like a citizenship or leadership thing i got to do that exactly and i can't recall exactly what they call it but um but she was but she was really smart and so yeah it was a part-time job and I don't think there was ever a real passion about the restaurant industry until a bit later. Well, I hear you. I mean, I worked at a sandwich shop to put myself through law school, but that did not mean I wanted to make sandwiches the rest of my life.

So I hear you. Was it Beta Club? Jackie wants to know. Was she in Beta Club? No. David, do you recall? No. It was a school trip um she was you know she she was a cheerleader um not not a very not into sports but she did do cheerleading as a sport okay well cheerleading

is a sport i'm a former cheerleader and I had to work out just like the football players did. You're right, ma'am. So I'm getting a picture of her. Yeah, and she was very, very social. Lots of friends. Yeah, but no 4-H club or any of those types of things that I recall. Well, I guess the cheerleading and the straight A's was enough. I'm looking at a picture of her right now.

The picture I'm seeing, she's got beautiful auburn hair down below her shoulders. In a later shot, it looks like she frosted it. Just super, super pretty. Kind of got a Natalie Wood look to her her a young natalie wood yeah i'm seeing that and one of the things and one of the things about don um she you know we grew up and we didn't have a lot of money and don very much wanted that pair of jache jeans. So in order for Don, myself, my brother, my sister, in order for us to get that cool new item, we had to go to work. Our mom would give us what we needed,

but if we wanted that cool pair of shoes or that nice pair of jeans, we were out there making money to get them for ourselves. And she was very much leading that for us. Oh, yeah, we were out there making money to get them for ourselves. And she was very much leading that. Oh, yeah, we all worked. I remember my first real job at Sears and Roebuck's. I did fine in the juniors department. I did fine in the candy department, although I nearly ate all the profits. But then when they put me in power tools and lawnmowers, that was a mistake.

They quickly moved me back to juniors I could tell you that much so I hear you so you guys were getting through and she just looks beautiful and so bubbly and vivacious when then she meets the man of her dreams take a listen to our friends at ID Don and David actually met while working at a hotel in Vermont. He's working in the kitchen. She's working the door as the hostess. Dawn is beautiful. She is petite, but she is big on personality.

The two of them hit it off together. According to friends, fell madly in love. After a few years, Dawn and David marry and decide the time is right to strike out on their own. They go to the Gulf Coast of Florida and they open a little eatery called Beach City Market and Grill. They understood the restaurant business.

Don't you want to paint on a larger canvas? What do you mean? California. You want to go to Hollywood? They want the glitz, they want the glamour. They want Hollywood. They did a renovation on it. It was closed for a couple months.

And when it reopened, they had the new name, Time Contemporary Cafe. The place is an instant hit with locals. It gets good reviews, it's got great food. It was a team effort between the two running the restaurant. It was a winning combination. Everybody with me are Dawn's brother and sister, David and Dana. You mentioned, I think you said Big Basin.

Is that where she meets the husband and they fall in love? Basin Harbor, yes. Basin Harbor in Vermont, I think you said. Yes, ma'am. And they fall in love, they marry, and then take off for the Gulf Coast of Florida. Now, where was it, Dana, on the Gulf Coast of Florida? A little island called Anna Maria, about an hour south of Tampa. I know exactly where it is. My husband has done a lot of business down in the Tampa area. And I would fly from Court TV in New York down there to meet him. And you said Anna Maria Island, right? Yes, ma'am. What was the name of their was that where they did Beach City Market and Grill?

That was Beach City. That is beautiful. That was a wonderful gorgeous just gorgeous. Oh, man. And you know what? To you, Joe Scott Morgan, I know you know the area well. Because down there at Anna Maria Island, there is just beautiful foliage. The air smells sweet because there's so many tropical flowers. Yeah, it is relaxing. My wife and I vacation down in that area as well, down towards Siesta Key, which is further south. But yeah, it is, and it refurbishes the sun.

I can go down there and forget about all of my troubles. Well, I spend a lot of time right there on Anna Maria Island, and it's down there. There's Longboat Key. There's a group of islands right off the Florida coast. It's part of the Florida Gulf and just beautiful and very, very quaint. Wouldn't you agree, Dana? Because there's all these little niche restaurants and boutiques and shops because the villages are really small. And I could just see that restaurant, Beach City Market and Grill. So then they moved to California, right?

They moved back to California. They moved back to California. Wait, how have I missed it? They were in California. The original move to California happened in about 93. Now, they meet at Basin Harbor. They marry in a whirlwind romance. I thought they went to the Gulf Coast then.

You're telling me that they went to California first? California happened first. Yeah, they had been in California for probably about four years when they got married. And then about a year later, I think, a year or so later, they went to the Gulf Coast. So I guess they were missing California. A bit. So the couple, deeply in love, head back to California. But what do we know about Lomita, where they transplant? Take a listen to this, our friends at CBS.

Lomita is a small, sleepy suburb of Los Angeles. It has a nickname that people don't like, which is Slow Mita. Larry Altman is a reporter for the local paper, The Daily Breeze, and a CBS News consultant. He says there's usually not much news in Lomita. It's one of the lowest crime rates of the 15 or 16 cities that I cover. And joining me right now, that reporter, now freelance journalist, Larry Altman. Larry, thanks so much for being with us. Tell me about Lomita. Why would they choose to move to Lomita? Lomita is in a nice area of Southern California in the Los Angeles area. It's kind of a small town within the big city and a nice place to live, not too far from the ocean and probably a good place to do business.

How close is it to L.A.? Well, it's within Los Angeles County, but it's probably about 25 miles from downtown Los Angeles. Ah, so do people go from L.A. to Lomita, for instance, for dinner? Because I can't imagine with everything they've got going on in L.A., you would drive to Lomita for dinner. What was the lure of going there to launch their new restaurant. Well, that's a nice place to live, and you would attract the local community living in the suburbs and probably a nice place you could walk to for dinner, I would think. It's right there within the center of the town.

What do we know about their restaurant, Larry? It was popular. It had good reviews. People enjoyed the food. I heard it was a really nice place to go. Guys, take a listen to this. I always thought he was the best chef. I'd never tasted any food that was that good.

David had the most beautiful plates. It was an art to him. Anytime that you went to that restaurant, he was determined that you would leave happy. It was just an amazing place to go. And then you meet Dawn. She's very personal, very friendly, loves everybody. I always really liked Dawn. She loved my dad and my nan.

No, they loved each other. They seemed happy, really. The two deeply in love, launching a new restaurant and a new place, a sleepy little town, Lomita, California, also called Slow Mita. What did you know of her feelings and her frame of mind at the time to you, Dana? At that time, when they had just opened the place, they were working really hard. She was really excited about it because, you know, that became such an integral part of their life and their relationship is their working relationship. And Larry was,. Joe called it.

Everyone loves to be around her. She made everyone feel welcome and made you feel special. So they were excited to to be back in business. Honestly, you know, I've seen that dynamic. Joe Scott Morgan, when the husband and the wife are a team together, like with a restaurant, with a family owned business, really raising your children. And and that kind of takes over the relationship. The goal is, in this case, the restaurant advancing the restaurant. And you're both on this ride with long hours and restaurants, you know, you work hard, but you play hard. It's a fun place to be. I could just see it all unfolding.

Yeah. And boy, do you get to find out everything about a person? You know, in normal marriage, we think about that, you know, in normal circumstances. But then you put this together with working 24-7 with one another. You're doing the books. You're doing the bills. You're playing the menus. And then, you know, how are you going to take care of the kids and get them to everything? It is totally dependent upon total love and teamwork. And commitment.

But seemingly these two very, very committed to each other. Take a listen to our friend, Richard Schlesinger. He was very, very charismatic. He walked into a room and you knew he was there. David Pappin was just a kid when his older sister, Dawn, began dating Vians, who worked in the same restaurant where Dawn waited tables. He was very passionate about his food. We would have Sunday dinners, him and I and Don, and it was a spectacle to have him in the kitchen. I never ate so good in my life. Very charismatic. He walked into a room and you knew he was there. David Pappin was just a kid when his older sister

Dawn began dating Vians who worked in the same restaurant where Dawn waited tables. He was very passionate about his food. We would have Sunday dinners, him and I and Dawn, and it was a spectacle to have him in the kitchen. I never ate so good in my life. So what about that, David? Tell me about that because that's a memory I have growing up. Well, my mom, between all of us, we would sit down to dinner together every night of the week. And on Sundays, that was the big thing.

My mom would be working on it the night before. We all would be pitching in, getting everything ready. On Sunday morning when I would wake up, I could smell whatever it was cooking at 7 o'clock in the morning. And when we would get home from church, there would be a big meal with lots of people invited. Every single Sunday, relatives, friends, everybody there for Sunday lunch. And those are some of the best memories of my life. And that kind of sounds this way. What about that? You said they would have Sunday dinners together and he made these incredible meals. Tell me about it.

Sure. So they usually started off, you know, I, when, when they bought the restaurant in Anna Maria, I was in LaMita, California, working for David's mom who lives there. And I helped Don and David travel back to the Gulf Coast with all their stuff. And then immediately I fell in love with that. So I left my job in LaMita and I went to to Anna Maria to be with those guys and to help open Beach City Market and Grill and yeah during the construction um you know Monday through Saturday we were working trying to get everything ready and Sunday's like yeah we would just relax invite some friends over and you know he would cook whatever was on his mind, whatever he was trying to get ready for the restaurant.

What was his style? Italian, beach food, contemporary what? You know, I would say, you know, a lot of his, you know, we did a lot of seafood, obviously, right on the Gulf. We had every vendor coming in with 30-pound groupers whole, and he'd buy the whole thing. So we had lots of seafood. But he did like an American traditional type food, just elevated. The meatloaf, incredible. Just your normal everyday food just brought up to the next level.

Dana, I hear you in the background. Jump in. David's right. His whole kind of shtick was comfort food done really really well. Everything was just elevated a bit more. But he made things that you knew that were familiar and that you

didn't know could taste that good he was very talented like what uh one of his most popular was uh um um one of my the chicken dish days the pot pie chicken pot pies you know that's funny that that that that memory, because I can tell you what my mom made on Sunday. She would make a roast beef, fried chicken, a meatloaf. I mean, we she would always have her go to's and it would be plenty for everybody. But there was something about the way she did it. Just so good. And I remember that it really sticks in my mind.

So where did your sister Dawn fit into this scenario? I mean, he's the great chef. Where did she fit in, David? So on the other restaurants that I visited, you know, that they had owned, she was always greeting customers.

She was always making sure everyone glass was full. She was, she was the front of the house. So David and his staff would be in the back sweating in the kitchen and Don would be up there just making sure everyone, everyone was having a great time. And she trained me to do the same thing at Beach City Market and Grill. She took a step back and did more of the day-to-day stuff, the financing, and taught me, you know, the front of the house business. But that's normally where she would be, would be, you know, making sure everybody was having a great time.

Mm-hmm. I can see that dynamic they had the picture perfect marriage but take a listen to richard schlesinger local businessman joe kakasi his motorcycle repair shop was across the parking lot from viennes's new restaurant where dawn was the hostess who charmed the locals. Great personality. I just thought she was a lot of fun and I loved her. She was really cool. Vian's began to confide in Joe that Dawn drank a lot, something Jackie saw firsthand. I remember waking up and she'd be in the kitchen just chugging a beer at nine o'clock in the morning and then hide the can under the sink so that he wouldn't know she'd already been drinking. Do you think she was an unhappy person?

I think she was just confused with her life and as to how she got to where she was. You know, I think she wanted things to be different. She basically just let my dad take care of her her whole life. Joining me, former crime reporter for the Daily Breeze and now freelance journalist Larry Altman. What can you tell me about claims that Dawn developed a drinking problem and was, quote, confused with her life? When I met David, David was David told me that his wife had a drinking problem. You know, I know I'm hearing this from the husband and from the husband's daughter. That's his daughter from another relationship. But to Dana and David, did you think she had a drinking problem?

Yes, I did. Tell me. I think it was probably about 10 years prior to them returning to LaMita when I really noticed it had gotten out of control, honestly. And Jackie's sentiment was correct. She would, you know, hide beers in her car, hide beers in her purse and sneak. And that's when I knew it was an issue is because she was being sneaky about it. It just breaks my heart because on the outside, Davin, this is Dawn's brother, there was this happy facade of they're so happy and they have this awesome, hot restaurant, totally popular in this beautiful area of California. And their dreams are coming true, but she's sneaking alcohol.

And I got to wonder why. I mean, did you know, David? I can honestly say that, you know, part of their lifestyle, part of was, you know, after the restaurant closes, you know, you drink. So I can attest to I don't I never really saw her sneaking necessarily. But, you know, her and I definitely drank a lot. I remember I stopped drinking in 2001 and she would call me from time to time asking for advice on how I quit. You know, it's almost been 20 years sober for me. And she used to call me periodically. I don't want to drink anymore. I don't want to drink. And what can I do? And we'd talk for a long time. But I think part of that

restaurant life is, you know, there's definitely some alcohol involved. Like I said, I never saw... Well, I think part of it is this. I mean, to you, Larry Altman, former crime reporter, Daily Breeze, now freelance

journalist, when you get off from a restaurant it's not like you can go to a movie at 11 o'clock at night i mean um i've noticed i noticed this of course in new york where we live and in atlanta that at midnight you can go by and see maybe a chinese restaurant open or all the bars are still open. There's nowhere to go when you close down the restaurant except basically to a bar. And I think that's a real danger to restaurant workers, Larry. Right. And, you know, Lomita is a small town, too.

And so a lot of places would close early. And so the only other place to go and drink would be at home. Yeah, and so everybody at the restaurant would stick around and start drinking, and somehow she develops a drinking problem. And according to this friend whose business is across the street, she began to sneak alcohol, like hiding it in her car. But we learned something else from the friend across the street. Take a listen to this, our friends at CBS. Dawn asked Joe if he'd hold on to some money for her.

There was like almost $700. And she said, if I bring more, you can put it in there. I said, yeah, it's your spot. You can put anything you want. She took him up on the offer. On October 18th, 2009, Dawn called Joe and asked to stash more money. She had saved up a thousand dollars. She wanted to bring it over on Monday and drop it off and put it with the other money. And I said, no problem. Monday came and went, but Dawn never showed up either at work or at Joe's. Kakeisi kept watch out of the rear window of his shop. He saw Dawn's car, but never saw her. After days went by, Kakeisi asked David Vians where she was, and he said she had left him after he insisted she go to rehab for her drinking problem. So Dawn Viennes takes off when her husband insists she go to rehab. But why was she saving up money?

Why couldn't she put it in the bank if she wanted to have a vacation fund or a Christmas fund? Was it an escape fund? And what will we learn about a mystery text from her saying, I'm starting over. Love, Pixie. Nancy Grace, Killers Amongst Us, signing off. Goodbye, friend.