Crimeatorium - The Halloween Murder of Doreen Erbert

Episode Date: June 4, 2026

On Halloween of 1984, the life of 31 year old Doreen Erbert came to a tragic end.Music:CO.AG Music https://www.youtube.com/@co.agmusic1823

Welcome to True Crime Stories with Crime-a-Trorium. Santa Clara, California, nicknamed the Mission City, is the home of many high-tech companies, Oracle, Hewlett-Packard, NVIDIA, and Intel. It is also the birthplace of Doreen Rae Hitchens. who was born on November 29, 1952 to Franklin and Catherine Richens and was the fourth of five children. The family was tight-knit and loving, enjoying family activities such as fishing and camping. Doreen was described as an angel who had a cheery attitude and a generous spirit. Her husband Charles said of Doreen,

When she smiled and laughed, you couldn't help not loving her. She was always giving. These qualities led her to pursue a career in the medical field, and she went on to become a physical therapist. In 1975, she met William Michael Dennis, called Mike for short, a technician at the Lockheed Factory, an aerospace manufacturing plant. Mike suffered significant hearing loss as a child, which caused him to stutter. He also wore a hearing aid, which back in those days was wired and a component of it sat in your pocket. Due to these reasons, Mike was a depressive type. He was described by some as confrontational and unhappy.

It seems that he and Doreen were on opposite sides of the personality spectrum. But despite this, they got married in 1975 after only a few months of dating. Mike felt he had found the one in Doreen. In 1976, the couple gave birth to a son they named Paul Dennis. Mike relished his role as a father, but the marriage didn't hold up well with the added stress of parenthood, and Mike was being treated for depression. when Doreen didn't want to live with Mike's moodiness any longer she filed for divorce in 1977 Doreen was given full custody of Paul and Mike regularly visited his son but was bitter

about the divorce in 1978 Doreen was still working as a physical therapist on her way home from work one afternoon, her car broke down and she pulled off on the side of the road. Charles Erbert, a cheery-looking man with curly red hair, stopped to help Doreen. The two conversed under the hood of Doreen's car and they hit it off. Doreen was impressed with Charles' stable life. He owned his own home and a successful carpet business, and soon the two were a couple. They went on to marry later that year and Doreen gave birth to a daughter Deanna in 1979. Soon after Doreen quit her job as a physical therapist and became a secretary for Charles's carpet business and by all outward appearances they were a happy family. Mike continued to visit Paul on the

weekends as he lived close by. It is said that Mike was still bitter about the divorce. One sunny California day in February of 1980, Doreen was doing household chores while three-year-old Paul was playing in the backyard. Doreen would periodically check on Paul to make sure that he was in sight and doing okay until one such time that she peered out the window and could not see him. Feeling panicked, she hurried outside and frantically searched for him.

Those of us with kids are familiar with this overwhelming feeling of dread. Looking across the yard, she noticed a hole in the fence that led to the family swimming pool. As she approached the pool, she realized a nightmare that no parent wants to live. She saw her beloved three-year-old son, Paul, floating in the pool. Paul was transported to the hospital, where he was placed on life support for a week. After three days of being removed from life support, he died. He was born on April 17, 1976, and died just short of his fourth birthday, February 13, 1980. As to be expected, this was such a tragic loss for Doreen.

Mike, Paul's father, was also devastated. he blamed Doreen and Charles for Paul's death making the wild accusations that they did it on purpose so that they could erase Mike from their lives he even filed a wrongful death suit against Doreen and Charles the case went to trial in March of 1982 and the jury ruled in favor of the Erberts. After the trial was over, they asked Mike to never come to their house again. Doreen only saw him once after this, at a shopping center. In 1984, Doreen discovered that she was pregnant again. This was good news as she had suffered two miscarriages since the death of Paul. As the pregnancy progressed, they found out that she

was going to have a boy. The Erbert family was ecstatic. After the lawsuit against Doreen and Charles, Mike's life took a downward spiral. He lost his position as a technician at Lockheed and had to take a lower paying job in order to remain employed there. The bitterness of the divorce from Doreen and the grief over the loss of Paul continued eating at him. Because he lived near Doreen and Charles, he was able to keep tabs on what was happening in their lives and it soon became apparent that she was pregnant again. Doreen was a petite woman. She stood about five feet tall. Once she became far along into the pregnancy, her sister teased her saying that she was as far out as she was high. We're going to break now for a word from our sponsor.

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percent off your next purchase using the code pod p-o-d at statebags.com state bags they have your back on halloween night of 1984 doreen was almost nine months pregnant by that time so she stayed home and handed out candy while Charles took Deanna, trick-or-treating. Charles saved a few houses for Doreen to take Deanna to for a visit and some Halloween candy. After the two got home, Charles went to the liquor store and claims he was gone for about 15 minutes. He asked Doreen to lock the door after he left. Sometime around 9 p.m. there was a sharp knock on the front door of the Erbert house. Deanna, who was four at the time, has since described it as aggressive. The two proceeded to answer the door together and Deanna heard the man say,

I'm going to kill you. Doreen screamed at Deanna to hide before the man at the door in a wolf mask began stabbing Doreen with a machete. Once he was done, the man walked through the house in search of Deanna. As panicked and as frightened as she was, she stayed quiet and hidden, moving only to get her blanket for comfort. Eventually, the man got spooked by something and fled the house through the front door. Once outside, he threw the wolf mask into the yard near the porch. Charles arrived home after not being gone long and noticed the front door was unlocked. Once he stepped inside, he saw Doreen lying bleeding on the entry room floor. He also looked over and saw the baby.

Thinking at first she had miscarried, he saw a hand lying on the floor near the baby. It was Doreen's. He tried to stop her bleeding by holding her arm tight, but noted she had severe cuts to her stomach and neck at some point Charles slipped and fell in Doreen's blood getting it all over his clothes he attempted to call 9-1-1 but for some unknown reason was unable to get through he ended up calling the fire department and a neighbor After this, Charles found Deanna hiding in the living room. He pulled her away to the kitchen so that she couldn't see any more than she already had. He continued to try and stop Doreen's bleeding until help arrived.

the police and paramedics responded to the fire department dispatch and arrived at the erbert home around 9 15 charles was bloody and his breath smelled of alcohol and the police were immediately suspicious that he was involved diana was placed with the neighbor while the police and paramedics conducted their work Charles was hysterical and the police handcuffed him and put him in a patrol car. Reserve San Jose Police Officer Glenn Sutvin was one of the responding officers. He and some of the others searched the house just in case the perpetrator was still there. Paramedics noted that Doreen was still alive and she was placed in an ambulance to be transported to the hospital.

Doreen was pronounced dead upon arrival to the hospital. Inside the home, the crime scene was extremely bloody. Officers noted a severed hand lying in a pool of blood near the body of the baby. The wolf mask, worn by the perpetrator, was found in the front yard near the porch. Charles was later questioned as to whether he recognized it and he claimed that he did not During the course of the investigation that night the police learned that Doreen had been married previously and that it was a contentious split Sergeant James Moran and four other officers went to Mike Dennis' house around 12.30 a.m. and rang his doorbell several times it was obvious somebody was home as they heard water running and lights were on

the officer surmised that he may be cleaning up bloodied clothes or wounds finally dispatch called mike at his home and informed him that police were at his door and to answer it mike answered the door and he was wearing a robe however he didn't look as if he'd been asleep. Sergeant Morin explained that his ex-wife Doreen had been attacked and that they wanted to question him. Mike let the officers into his home and they went into the kitchen. The officers informed Mike that Doreen had been murdered to which he responded, you're kidding. it was noted that mike had an injury on his right hand wrapped in gauze that had obviously been bleeding profusely the officers asked mike for some identification and he told them that it was

upstairs not wanting him to go alone in case he tried to escape or get a weapon they followed him They reached the master bedroom where it appeared that Mike was confused as to where his identification was. He kept glancing toward his headboard, which made the officers suspicious. Finally, one of the officers found his wallet and Mike removed his identification from it. Mike consented to a search of his home and officers located a loaded revolver behind his headboard. sergeant morin went into the garage where the washer and dryer was located and found blood drops there were also blood drops in the kitchen a pair of blood-stained jeans on mike's bed bloody gauze in the bathroom garbage and various blood drops in his truck

mike's mother lived in an apartment in the rear of his house and she was located in her bedroom asleep. Mike was taken to the station and waived his rights to an attorney and agreed to a taped interview. He denied killing Doreen. Mike was asked about any costumes he may have worn for Halloween in previous years. He mentioned several but did not mention the wolf mask. When asked about how he cut his hand he stated that he had done so by throwing a knife into the air and catching it by the blade. During the ongoing investigation police were able to obtain a photograph of Mike wearing a wolf mask that was identical to the one found in the Erbert's yard. A week later an official search warrant was served and police found a label belonging to a Stanley 18-inch machete

along with a receipt for a purchase of a machete from a local hardware store. No machete was ever found at the house. A machete would be purchased at the hardware store that matched the label found at Mike's home and used in the trial. In the garage, the police found what looked like two coffins and two anchors. It would later come out at the trial that Mike had originally planned on placing Charles and Doreen in these coffins and drowning them in the ocean, like his son Paul drowned. William Michael Dennis went to trial in July of 1988. He was charged with first-degree murder for Doreen and second-degree murder for the killing of the unborn baby. In Deputy District Attorney Paula Coote's opening statement, she told jurors that the wolf mask found on the scene is identical to the one the defendant wore the previous year to a Halloween party.

She also said, quote, you will recognize the mask and you will recognize him for what he is, a murderer, unquote. she went on to tell the jury another detail quote he took it off so she would see him he wanted her to know who was doing this unquote Deanna Erbert was the first to testify for the prosecution she was only four years old when her mother Doreen was murdered in front of her she was eight years of age when she testified when asked what happened on that halloween night deanna told her story in a quiet clear voice she and her mother doreen answered a knock at the door together in front of them stood a man

wearing a wolf mask who uttered the words i'm going to kill you doreen told the man to get out of her house, and Deanna said that, quote, my mommy told me to get behind the couch, so I did, unquote. Several of Erbert's neighbors testified to seeing a man in a wolf mask hanging around the Erbert home that Halloween. Questions had been raised about whether or not it was obvious that Doreen was pregnant and witnesses testified to the fact that it was. The direction the defense was going with this is that Mike didn't know Doreen was pregnant so therefore he didn't purposely murder her unborn baby. The following is the medical examiner's testimony regarding the injuries to Doreen and her unborn baby. This is graphic and may be disturbing to some. Skip ahead about a minute

if you don't want to hear it. Dr. John Hauser performed the autopsy on Doreen and baby Herbert on November 1st. Doreen died of severe chopping wounds that resulted in severe blood loss. The wounds would have been inflicted by a heavy bladed weapon, much like a Stanley 18-inch machete Doreen suffered many cuts to the back and sides of her head, with some cuts penetrating the skull The wounds on the right side of her head were particularly brutal Some fractured the skull, one penetrated two inches into the brain her left hand was severed above the wrist this hand was found near the baby's body in the living room her back and shoulders received severe wounds that penetrated bone her right breast

had been cut three times and stabbed her legs and thighs sustained chopping wounds which resulted in gaping cuts and a broken femur. Her abdomen had a nine-inch gaping wound. She had also suffered many other cuts while her unborn baby was still inside of her. The umbilical cord was cut near where it had been attached to the baby. The baby was separated from Doreen's body due to her abdominal wounds. Little four-year-old Deanna was a witness to some degree to all of this. Charles told police that Deanna told him that she heard the baby crying during this attack. It is true that the baby was old enough to live outside the womb, but there was a dispute as to whether the baby actually took a breath or not.

the baby suffered some severe wounds he had a cut on his head that penetrated into the bone his left shoulder blade was cut through his right thigh area including the penis scrotum and perineum were cut his left leg was severed below the knee the medical examiner also stated quote, a large five-inch wound cut through half of his body. This wound extended from his upper right abdomen through his left chest to his left armpit, cutting through the shoulder blade, the second thoracic vertebra, the liver, and one lung, and transacting the heart. This wound stopped his heart and circulation. Examination of his lungs demonstrated they had never been expanded and there was no air in them.

The fetus never breathed or lived independently of Doreen. The injuries to Doreen and her fetus prevented the fetus from ever breathing, unquote. The defense called friends of Mike's who testified that he was compassionate and a good-natured person who was proud of his son that the drowning of his son Paul affected his job performance and he became withdrawn afterwards. Psychiatrist Dr. Samuel Benson interviewed the defendant five times previous to the trial. He recounted the fact that Mike was hearing impaired and wasn't able to get any girlfriends. He then met and married Doreen, and he claimed that she had affairs and smoked pot.

He also claimed that Paul didn't want to return to Doreen's home after the visitation with his dad was over. It was clear to Dr. Benson that Mike blamed Doreen for the death of Paul. He felt that she should have jumped in the pool after him instead of running to the neighbor's house. He felt that Doreen wasn't sad about the death of Paul and that she had done it on purpose to get Mike out of hers and Charles' lives. Dr. Benson felt that Mike wanted retribution for Paul's death and became fixated on killing Doreen. He said he was suffering from a mental illness and delusions. Mike admitted to Dr. Benson to killing Doreen, but claims he did not know she was pregnant. He also confided to the doctor that he had planned on drowning Doreen and Charles by placing them in body bags, putting them in those boxes found in his garage, weighing them down with anchors, driving them out to sea and throwing them overboard.

mike's mother got on the stand and recounted details of mike's life including awards he had received she also stated that the two ate dinner together that night at around 6 15 and she retired to her separate apartment in the home at 8 15 a neighbor of the defendant claimed that Mike gave her some misdelivered mail at around 6.30 and told her he was going to a Halloween party. The defendant didn't testify in the guilt or penalty phase of his trial. In August of 1988, the jury returned with a guilty verdict for first-degree murder of Doreen and second-degree murder of the unborn baby. Before the sentence was passed, Mike sobbed and said that

if his death could bring his son Paul back, then take me now. He was sentenced to death by gas chamber in the San Quentin Prison in San Quentin, California. Epilogue In 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order to put an indefinite moratorium on executions, saying that the death penalty is a failure. The death chamber has been closed and no inmates have been executed in California since 2006. Mike Dennis has been a model prisoner, so much so that he spends six hours a day outside of his cell on death row. He and other inmates can play basketball, watch TV, and run around the prison yard. The defendant has filed several appeals and petitions over the years, the latest one being in 2017.

some of the points brought up are whether or not he knew Doreen was pregnant the definition of murder for a baby who never took an independent breath Mike's different mental illness diagnoses ineffective counsel and there were several other points introduced by the defendant all have been denied

it is said that Mike has never shown remorse for killing Doreen and her unborn baby. Officers that responded to the Erbert house that Halloween night say it was straight out of a Stephen King movie. There was blood covering the foyer and a jack-o'-lantern that was displayed in the house. The blood on the floor was thick and stuck to the shoes of the officers.

Some paramedics and officers needed counseling and some even quit after what they witnessed in the Erbert house. Mike still has friends that believe he just went insane for a brief period of time and should not be in prison, that his character was strong and he was pushed over the edge. In an interview in 2016, Mike stated to reporters that he is appealing his death sentence because he believes he should have been charged with manslaughter, not first-degree murder.

He said he was blinded by grief over the drowning death of his four-year-old son when he killed his ex-wife. I lost a son and I have to live every day with that knowledge, Dennis said. I want a new trial. If people knew what I'd been through, the verdict would have been different. william michael dennis sits on death row at the san quentin prison since the death penalty has been put on hold indefinitely it is unlikely that he will be executed as he is 70 years old now doreen's father frank hitchens died in 2007 he stated in an interview that doreen's murder had ruined his life, and that if he ever saw Mike Dennis outside of prison, he would kill him.

Doreen's mother, who by all accounts is still alive, echoed her husband's sentiment. Charles Erbert sued the city of San Jose for being arrested falsely in front of the neighbors. I was unable to find what became of this suit.