Morbid - Episode 217: The Tragic Murder of Dominique Dunne

Episode Date: March 15, 2021

Dominique Dunne was an upcoming actress with roles in different shows like Chips, Hart to Hart, one of her last roles was actually in the- potentially cursed- movie Poltergeist. In 1982 Domin...ique was killed at the hands of her boyfriend John Thomas Sweeney. Their relationship, trial and aftermath are absolutely devastating and what we’ll go over in detail during this episode.  Sources used: Dominik Dunne's Vanity Fair Piece, A father’s account of the trial of his daughter’s killer.  https://filmdaily.co/obsessions/true-crime/dominique-dunne/ https://medium.com/the-true-crime-edition/injustice-for-dominique-dunne-66f5bac3998b As always, thank you to our sponsors: HelloFresh: Use code morbid12 at HelloFresh.com/morbid12. Embark: Go to Embarkvet.com now to get free shipping and save $40 off your Embark Breed and Health Kit with Promo code Morbid Gabi: See how much Gabi can save you, go to Gabi.com/MORBID AMC Shudder: To try Shudder free for 30 days, go to shudder.com and use promo code morbid BetterHelp: This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp and Morbid listeners get 10% off their first month at betterhelp.com/Morbid See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Discussion (0)
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Starting point is 00:01:23 of your home. Download the free Angie mobile app today or visit Angie.com. That's ANGI.com. Hey, Weirdos, I'm Ash. And I'm Alena. And this is morbid on a Sunday. morbid on a Sunday afternoon. Wow. Is that what he says like, does he say on a Sunday afternoon or sunny?
Starting point is 00:02:01 I don't really know what you're talking about, so I'm not gonna be a help. It's like an A-B song. It's like... Oh no wait, it's hungry like the wolf. I'm an idiot. I'm leaving. I'm like literally having a hard time talking. I can see that. I... Maybe I want you to know. You know what? Hold on. Before you say anything.
Starting point is 00:02:36 No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, I think I'm thinking of another song too, and I think I morphed them together. I'm offended. I'm thinking of another song too, and I think I morphed them together. I'm offended. I'm not easily offended, but I'm offended. Because this is like one of those moments that we usually have them or not recording, and I'm like, don't ever tell anybody like I said that.
Starting point is 00:02:58 Do not say that on the part. Literally. All they know will always be like, I can't wait to tell everyone you said guys Where are my fellow Durand or in head? Where are my fellow Simon LeBon lovers to be fair? Are you all just as offended that were you speechless along with me? However, you were on the contrary in in conclusion. We're in this together I
Starting point is 00:03:22 Think that I like negated the lyrics of that song for my head because Diane Downs did kill her children to that song or attempt to. Yes, but one, the words aren't that even a little bit. I know. I know. And then two, like the tune didn't even make, like so I don't even know. I still think. Can you turn my headphones up a little more? I still think that I morphed two songs together. That's perfect, thank you. Yeah, I, I, that, wow. This is the beginning of the episode, guys.
Starting point is 00:03:51 So it's a Sunday afternoon. Yeah. Sing that to the tune of a Greek old. Maybe that's, I think maybe that's just what I did. I don't know. I didn't get, I didn't get coffee coffee today. I had coffee from home and it's never the same. It's true.
Starting point is 00:04:08 It's true, it's not. I'm just really going to be so serious. I also just am who I am. You are, I was going to say, we don't need to make a lot of excuses here. We can just say, you know how it is. You know, it's really funny before this. We were like, do we have any business to talk about?
Starting point is 00:04:24 Do we need to make any announcements? this we were like do we have any business to talk about like do we need to like make any announcements? And we're like no no, and then this that just became a PSA Yeah, like this is a rashes Like the whole beginning of the episode is just us talking about what the hell song you were trying to say yeah Well after you know now that we've primed you yeah that we've gotten y'all All you know, I don't you might be angry you might be offended You might be a mound of tweets that I'm gonna yeah that we've gotten y'all all you know I don't you might be angry you might defend it you might be a mound of things that I'm gonna get I hope I might I might need to take a shit and he'll break you deserve it I do I do I do this is this is worse than
Starting point is 00:04:58 then it's that's it's right up there with it's worse. It's worse than in and system of a down and guys go listen to those listeners in our tails if you didn't hear ash say oh system of a dawn and then Everybody heard that I am still I got tagged in something like last night about that. That's honestly one of my favorite Oh, and I like I'm like I'm not like offended at all. Please continue to harass my sister I'm not like offended at all. Please continue to do that. Horace my sister. Horace her. I just couldn't, I couldn't let you,
Starting point is 00:05:28 let you blaspheme the way you used to. blaspheme in the house of Durran. You're dumb. All right. Oh guys, it's Sunday. It's the end of the week, at the beginning of the week, however you look at it, it's totally okay.
Starting point is 00:05:41 What do you look at it like? I look at it as the end of the week actually. I do too. And I think maybe I look at it as the end of the week actually and I think maybe I look at it as the end of the week because I work at the morgan Sundays so yeah I think it's like it doesn't feel like you know the end I don't know for you it would feel like the beginning because you're going to well because I've worked all week and then yeah I end up working on Saturdays for the podcast and then I work on Sundays for the hospital. So it's like, then it's like the end. I start my week on Monday again
Starting point is 00:06:10 and it's like the same thing over again. Sunday is like usually my day off because- You guys rest. Yes, it's my day of leisure. L'escha. In fact, I just started watching before I came here with Drew, the new Woody Allen documentary. That's on each video.
Starting point is 00:06:23 Oh, yeah, I've heard a lot about that. I only got to see the first 10 minutes because then you were like, hey, wanna come over early? And I was like, I do actually. I do. Now I can have my Sunday night. There you go. But yeah, this was a long intro about nothing
Starting point is 00:06:33 and I'm sorry. Yeah, we're bringing it back to the old days. I'm like, it's earlier today. Let me tell you about my salon. No, and it's funny because the last time I was saying that we're like going to redo a couple of older cases because we just feel like we can do a better job with them and like fix the audio and like some of it. And we mentioned that there was a couple that I was like, whoa, that was a long tangent.
Starting point is 00:06:57 But see, here's the thing, I feel like the tangents used to just have nothing to do with anything. Yeah, they didn't. These tangents still kind of have nothing to do with anything. Yeah, they didn't. These tangents still kind of have nothing to do with anything, but they feel different. And also, you know, it's in the beginning, we don't really, we don't do long ones in the beginning anymore. So this is like a fun little throwback. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:07:16 And I think it used to be more like in the middle of the episode, I'd be like, oh my god, do you know what? I just remember. And everyone would be like, Ash, like, where did that come from? I love it though. It is fun to like, because I've been listening to all of them like oh god to go back and figure out Which ones we want to remaster and all that I mentioned it on an an episode a couple episodes ago But I've been listening to them and like it just listening to like how how green we were yeah, it's fun
Starting point is 00:07:43 I mean I still feel green at times, but I feel like we've gotten the hang of like, where you should end that random tangent. Much better. Much better. I think it's right here. I think it's at six minutes and 26 seconds. That's where we should end it.
Starting point is 00:07:58 Well, this week is gonna be a bummer as usual because we cover some pretty shitty sad stuff. But we like to bring you up and bring it back down. Exactly. So this is actually a case that I looked like slightly into when we were doing our Halloween shows. And during our Halloween shows, I covered the case of the curse of the Poltergeist films. And it was like a case within a case that I was like, oh, I definitely want to get into
Starting point is 00:08:23 that part of it. And for a regular morbid episode. And here we are. Because Dominique Dunn was in the Poltergeist films, and some say that she was felvictum to the curse. That whole case of the curse is not horrifying. Yeah, it is truly, truly terrifying. It's scary. and it's real. It's definitely real. I think that Dominique Dunn, because of the situation that she was in, I maybe some of it was the curse.
Starting point is 00:08:53 Yeah, maybe it didn't help. But I also think that the human being that murdered her was just a curse in and of himself. I was gonna say, I think there was a curse in her life. Yes, yes. So with that, let's get into it. Dominique Dunn was the daughter of Van Dede, fair writer, producer, and investigative journalist
Starting point is 00:09:09 Dominic Dunn, and Ellen Beatrice Griffin Dunn, who went by Lenny. So her mom was Lenny, and her dad was Dominic. And obviously she was named after him. What a cool couple name. I know I love them. Lenny and Dominic. I know I want to hang out with them.
Starting point is 00:09:23 They ended up getting divorced, but they were like remained friends forever and ever. Cool. They had a really cute relationship. Dominique was born in Santa Monica. She was the baby of the family. She had two older brothers, Alex and Griffin. PS, I love the name Griffin.
Starting point is 00:09:38 That is a really cute name. It is. For like a little boy just running around like, Hi, I'm Griffin. Yeah. Shut up. But Lenny had actually given birth to two other daughters before Dominic, who sadly passed away like very shortly after they were born from high-line membrane disease
Starting point is 00:09:54 and it's a lung disease that used to be really common in C-section babies. Oh, yeah. Wow, I didn't know anything about that. Yeah, it's very sad, but I think it basically is just like a complication. Yeah. So Dominic said that Dominic to her parents
Starting point is 00:10:08 was like three daughters and one because they had lost the two before her and then they had her. So she was all of them wrapped up into one human being. She was their rainbow baby. And he said that she was triply loved. Oh my goodness. Their relationship, oh my goodness,
Starting point is 00:10:22 Dominic and her father and just their whole family. The family relationship is, there's such a closeit family and like very clearly just loved each other. Yeah. Dominique herself was very loving, very kind. She loved animals and was especially known to collect strays. Yes. I'm going to link it, the Vanity Fair article that Dominic wrote about his daughter and the whole entire ordeal, he said that she had a cat that had a lobotomy and I think it was like a dog with like stunted legs. Those were like two of her favorites.
Starting point is 00:10:53 That was a lobotomy. He was like, wow, I love that. And loving and kind seemed like the two best words to describe Dominique, but she could also be described as extremely determined because once she decided that she was gonna become an actress, she started getting roles almost immediately, and she was super good at it. She was in a lot of different shows.
Starting point is 00:11:14 She was in Lou Grant, Chips, Fame, Heart to Heart, and obviously, like I said, the movie Poltergeist, which, like I said, a lot of people think is cursed because there's so many deaths surrounding not only the people who were actors and actresses in the film, but also people that just worked on set. Yeah. Anywhere around that set it seemed.
Starting point is 00:11:33 Yeah, it's nuts. You weren't getting away from it. No way. [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ Hey there, fellow podcast listener, it's Elena. And Ash! And we're taking you back to the days before streaming services. Whoa!
Starting point is 00:11:49 You know when you would come home from high school and it was only a few hours until that TV show everyone was watching was about to come on. Well, in 1999, that show was Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In our podcast with Wondery, the re-watcher Buffy the Vampire Slayer, we take it back to 1999. So get out your knee-high boots and paste that poster of Angel on the wall. It's time to enter the Buffyverse. Some of you avid morbid listeners already know what we've gotten store.
Starting point is 00:12:19 Join us. Join us as we sway our way through Buffy's drama, action, and romance. Episode by episode. Slacy. Follow the rewatcher, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and add free on the Amazon Music or Wondery app. Darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, darn, John Thomas Sweeney, at a party in 1981. He was working as a sous chef alongside Wolfgang Pup. Pup?
Starting point is 00:12:51 Wolfgang Pup? Wolfgang Puck? As Wolfgang Pups dog, that actually cooks. Yeah, it's the wolf guddy-ist thing. No, he was a sous chef to Wolfgang Puck. That's badass. And it was at this super exclusive, like Hoidie Toidie restaurant, Mom Mason, I believe is how you say it.
Starting point is 00:13:08 Love it. They were like so exclusive that they didn't have their number listed. Like they had an unlisted number. That's like those places that don't have doors and you have to find a way in just to speak easy. Like yeah, there's a speak easy in Hudson that me and Drew went to one time
Starting point is 00:13:24 and it was the coolest place I've ever been to. Speakers are speakeas a little bit. Are we okay? It's Sunday. Speakeas are so much fun. They are so much fun. Yeah, and the bartenders are usually just like like very like zany. Oh yeah They're like salt of the earth people. Yeah, but that has nothing to do with anything. I don't hear we I It's a throwback episode guys. It's because it's Sunday. It's a throw people. Yeah, but that has nothing to do with anything. I don't hear it. I can do it. It's a throwback episode guys. It's because it's Sunday. It's a throwback. Yeah. Now, the honeymoon period for this couple did not last long at all. John Smeanie, who was seven years older than Dominique actually,
Starting point is 00:13:57 started showing a very different side of himself very early on. He was super jealous, super controlling, and not only mentally, but physically abusive toward Dominique. And he had been raised in a house like this when he was younger. He came from Pennsylvania, and he grew up with his alcoholic father, just regularly beating his mother. So terrible cycle of violence. It is. And it's really sad. Now, like we always say feel bad for the kid version. Exactly. I feel bad for the kid version. Of course. Of course. But I do not feel bad for the adult version. And no. Anyway, shape or form. And it seems like he was somebody that just kind of wanted to,
Starting point is 00:14:36 he was desperate to fit into this Hollywood lifestyle. Yeah. And it was like a meal ticket. Like Dominique was his meal ticket. Yeah. like he could get into the, you know, he could get the money, he could get the exposure, yeah, and get the lifestyle. Excuse me. She's like this up and coming actress. It's like, he's hitching to say it. I hate to say it.
Starting point is 00:14:55 It's perfect, for him. Exactly. You know? And Dominique was on to his whole thing too. Like she wondered and even came right out in letters that were later found. She was like, John Sweeney doesn't love me. He's obsessed with me. And like she said that to people in her life. Like he does not love me. He loves the idea of me. Yeah. What I can give him. Exactly. That's so sad
Starting point is 00:15:16 and terrifying. Yeah, it is both. Exactly. Now there were multiple occasions where John showed his true face not only to Dominique, but to the people involved in her life and their life as a couple. There was an occasion where they were out with her brothers and a fan came up to Dominique, and I think he yelled one of the lines from Poltergeist at her and was like, oh my God! Oh my God!
Starting point is 00:15:36 And he was just really excited and like, I just wanted to say hello. And John happened to be in the bathroom when this was happening. And when he came out of the bathroom and saw this guy talking to Dominique, he stormed over to him, lifted him up, and just shook him violently. Without having any kind of read on the situation at all. Like, this could be her fucking cousin for all you know. Like, if you, wow.
Starting point is 00:16:00 Yeah, he was just completely overtaken with rage. It's nuts. There was another time where they were joining Dominique's father for lunch and they showed up super late and Dominique was like it was very clear that Dominique had been crying. Oh, That makes me so sad. Yeah, it's awful. Father. Do you know how badly he probably wanted to just like One he remembered he the Vanity Fair article I cried reading it. It's like super long, but it's one of the best things, not one of the best things I've ever run, but it's just so well written. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:16:31 And he said he knew that it was going to be hard for her to get out of this relationship, and it was something that he thought about and was worried about. Because the only thing you want to do is protect your child. Yeah. And it's like when you can't, and he was probably racking his brain, trying to think of ways he could get her out of here. Right. But at this point, she's like 21, 22. Yeah. What can you do? Like, there's nothing you can do. No, you're she's an adult. It's awful. And I can't imagine that feeling as a parent just like, you're in charge of your child for so long. You're like a charge of the people in your life in their life. You take care of them and keep the bad people out
Starting point is 00:17:02 of their life. But now they're an adult, and if this is who they want to be with, there's literally nothing you can do. The scariest thought you can have as a parent is that they're going to go out into the world, and terrible people can come into their lives and you have no control over it. Like you have to just let them out into the world and hope that they are able to not be around those kind of people.
Starting point is 00:17:23 And it's like, I don't want to think about it. No, it's horrible. So yeah, that was another occasion where her job was just like, I don't know what to do. There was another occasion where friends were over the couple's home and they started arguing. And these friends witness John pole Dominique's hair straight out of her head, like from the root of her scalp,
Starting point is 00:17:43 like literally yanked her hair out of her scalp. No, like what? There were a lot of times that Dominique tried to get away from him. There was one time she escaped through a bathroom window after her friends, like saw John Swiney literally trying to kill her with his hands around her neck. And she ran to the bathroom, escaped out the window, and jumped into her car. The fear she must have been living in. Oh my, I can't murder.
Starting point is 00:18:11 I can't imagine. Yeah, it's awful. And so he had asked her on this occasion when she ended up escaping through the bathroom. He was like, oh, come back to bed. And she was like, okay, like sure. And that's when she crawled out and gotten to her car and was like leaving to go to her mom's house.
Starting point is 00:18:26 But John threw himself onto the hood of her car trying to halt her from getting away and then knew that she was going to her mom's house. So showed up at the mom's house and was banging on the doors in the windows trying to get her to come outside or let him inside. That's a nightmare.
Starting point is 00:18:44 An actual nightmare. And then as her mother, like, what? Because all these people are in a position that, like, when you actually think about it, like, how do you get out of that? Right. Like, there's very few options. And she tried to so many times.
Starting point is 00:18:57 And so on this occasion, he finally gave up and went back to the apartment and he thought Dominique would come back. But that was the final straw for her she had had enough. And she was surrounded by so many people who loved her they knew what was going on. They wanted to help her, you know, there was actually one time where she had a guest appearance on a show called Hill Street Blues where she was supposed to be acting as like an abused girl whose mother was the one who was abusing her.
Starting point is 00:19:24 But because Dominique was suffering at the hands of John Sweeney, they didn't even have to use makeup to fake her bruises. Her face hitting me and that could already been bruised so badly that you can see the picture of her acting in this show and all the bruises are real. There's a lot of layers to that that are that's disturbing. Like one, the fact that she was so bruised, they didn't need makeup and two, the fact that are, that's disturbing, like one, the fact that she was so bruised, they didn't need makeup and two,
Starting point is 00:19:47 the fact that they were like, well, role cameras, like let's go. No one's like, hey, do you need a second? Should we postpone this? Can we help you? Can we call the fucking police? Like can we do something to help? Like this is bad?
Starting point is 00:20:00 And I don't know, maybe they did. And maybe she was just like, why are you rolling cameras on that? Like that's really fucked up to have, like, for posterity later, like that's, absolutely, I mean, Hollywood is full. That's something I feel very confident in. I know that.
Starting point is 00:20:14 Yeah. But it's like, but like I said, it just proves the point that people knew what was going on, you know? Yeah. And that it was like right out in front of everybody, but it's just right there on the table. Like you say, the only thing you could do is call the police, but if they're not going to, you know, press charges
Starting point is 00:20:32 or anything, you can't really, that's all you can do. And I think the thing is like, she was an up and coming actress. She loved acting, so it was probably an escape for her. Yeah. And at this point, she called John and like was like, no, we're not together anymore. So at this point, I think she probably was like, this is where it ends. And I'm going to move on with my life. Yeah. And again, it's easy to say when you're outside of a situation, like, I would do this
Starting point is 00:20:54 or I would do that. But it's like, you don't know. No, no idea. And we also don't know every single thing that was going on around her, around her life, you know, or what she was thinking. No. But after the last wrangling incident, like I said, she had enough, she called him, she's like, you need to get your stuff out, and I'm done living this way. And surprisingly, he did. He moved his stuff out of her house and whatever, like went away for a little bit.
Starting point is 00:21:18 Now Dominique was determined that she was not going to go back to her place until he was completely moved out and she didn't. And then once all of his things were gone and he was settled somewhere else, she moved back in and she changed all the laws. I was literally just going to say I hope she changed all those laws. She's a very smart girl. She knew what she was doing. She was like, let me handle this.
Starting point is 00:21:39 I got it. And she was just like I said, ready to put everything behind her. But it wasn't going to be easy with a classic abuser and a guy like John Sweeney. And it wasn't long until he started calling again, showing up randomly. Please talk to me. I can change. It'll be different. Classic. Classic abuser stuff. So on the night of October 30, Dominique got one of those calls while she was home and rehearsing with actor David Packer for a mini-series called V. Now, Sweeney called her from work and asked her if he could come over just to talk. It's so manipulative, too.
Starting point is 00:22:14 I just want to talk. It's so manipulative. It is. It is. That's it. Because so many people know what that feels like to know that you shouldn't talk to them, but they just... Right. But like I said in the beginning, the two main words to describe her loving and kind.
Starting point is 00:22:28 She's not going to turn her back on somebody that, I mean, I don't think at this, she probably did love him in some capacity. And at some point, she had strong feelings for him. I mean, they were living together, you know? Absolutely. It's hard to love or like caring about someone in that romantic way. It's not, we all know, it's not easily quantifiable or understandable.
Starting point is 00:22:51 It doesn't lay down to every rule of, well, he's a dick so you can just stop caring about him. Like, your emotions don't work that way. You're not logic, I'm not genuptionately, I wish they were. You're thinking with your heart, not your heart. Exactly, and it sucks. It does. Also, if you guys hear like some crazy wind, it's straight up tornadoing outside. It's straight up monsooning. Not really. Well, monsoon mixed with
Starting point is 00:23:14 snow, snow, snow. Yeah. Outside. And it. Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham, the host of Wondery's podcast American scandal. We bring to life some of the biggest controversies in US history, presidential lies, environmental disasters, corporate fraud. In our newest series, we look at the Kids for Cash scandal, a story about corruption inside America's system of juvenile justice. In Northeastern Pennsylvania, residents had begun noticing an alarming trend. Children were being sent away to jail in high numbers and often for committing only minor offenses. The FBI began looking at two local judges, and when the full picture emerged, it made
Starting point is 00:23:51 national headlines. The judges were earning a fortune, carrying out a brazen criminal scheme, one that would shatter the lives of countless children, and force a heated debate about punishment, an America's criminal justice system. Follow American scandal wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen ad free on the Amazon Music or Wonder App. Oh wow. Yeah. Uh, there's, there's a lot going on outside.
Starting point is 00:24:14 It's like the frickin' dust bowl. Yeah, we just happen to look out the window and we're like, well, okay, and it happened out of nowhere. So if you hear some like crazy howling wind, you know, it'll just add to the video. Or if it's just like, un-stopsobruptly, because I feel like like the power like we go out. Yeah, well, yeah, we get with it. So He's like, I just want to come talk to you like please let me so she's like, okay So he shows up. He's knocking on her door like let me in
Starting point is 00:24:40 And apparently he had down two martinis at his job before he walked over to the house. Oh boy. Yeah. So Dominique finally agrees to go out and she starts talking to him on the porch. But just a few minutes into talking, remember her friend David is there rehearsing with him. David, here's a fight start between the two of them. He heard the sound of smacking.
Starting point is 00:24:59 He heard screams and he heard a loud thud. I would not know what to do. Well, so he did. He called the police and the police told them that it was out of their jurisdiction. So it's like, okay, like, what do you, can you contact the other police department for me? I'd handle this. Like, they're just like, yeah, sorry. Sorry. We can't get out there. Can you connect me to the other people or just like call them for me and send someone out here? So I'm not sure exactly what happened. I don't know if they did connect him or whatever, but I mean, eventually place got there.
Starting point is 00:25:28 But because he was so terrified, he actually called a friend and left a voicemail, saying that if he died that night, it would be at the hands of John Sweeney. Holy shit. He was like, should anything happen to me? Here's who did it. Because you're listening to a man,
Starting point is 00:25:41 like beat a woman on the front porch. Like, he's unhinge He's like I don't know what this if this guy has a gun I don't know if he has any kind of weapon and obviously he's an unhinged mother fucker And he's beating a woman in the middle of the fucking street Right and he's been friends with Dominique. He knows what's gone on. Yeah, everybody all of her friends knew what was going on unfortunately unfortunately. So David then went outside because he's like, I have to help my friend, you know. And he finds John Sweeney standing over Dominique who was laying on the ground by some bushes.
Starting point is 00:26:17 John looked at him and said, call the police. When the police arrived. That just gave me like chills. Yeah. So the police arrived. John Sweeney's still there, and he puts his hands in the air upon their arrival and says, and I quote to the first responding officer, quote, man, I blew it. I killed her.
Starting point is 00:26:35 I didn't think I choked her that hard, but I don't know. I just kept on choking her. I lost my temper, and I blew it again. I blew it again. Mm-hmm. Who else have you done this to? It's so, I was hoping you would say that, or like I was hoping and I blew it again. I blew it again. Who else have you done this to? It's so I was hoping you would say that or like I was hoping we could get into that
Starting point is 00:26:50 because Dominic in that vanity fair article later on this comes out at the trial that that was like the officer who he set that to ended up testifying and was like, this is what he said to me. And Dominic was like, so does that mean that he had killed somebody before or like does he have what he said to me. And Dominic was like, so does that mean that he had killed somebody before, or does he have, he has clearly has girlfriends
Starting point is 00:27:08 that he's done this in the past, like we'll learn later. What does it again mean? I blew it again. Again? To me means I killed someone accidentally again because of my rage. I mean, maybe that, I mean, yeah.
Starting point is 00:27:21 To me, that's what, it sounds like to me, obviously I have no physical or any kind of evidence to back that up. No. But, but something to To me, that's what it sounds like to me. Obviously, I have no physical or any kind of evidence to back that up. No. But something to point out was. That's a weird statement to make. And Dominic, her father felt the same thing.
Starting point is 00:27:32 And it's interesting to point out that he didn't have a driver's license. And like, it seemed really strange for somebody that like, and Dominic literally said he was like, this person relied on wheels. Like, you know, to get around with a set of wheels, but couldn't, didn't have a driver's license. And like, thereomaniac literally said he was like, this person relied on wheels, like, you know, to get around with a set of wheels, but couldn't, didn't have a driver's license. And like, there was apparently a woman,
Starting point is 00:27:49 like, back in the day, that there was like rumors, that something like this had happened. Oh. Yeah. It's definitely, it's a strange thing to say. I blew it again. I blew it again. And at first I was like, does he mean like,
Starting point is 00:28:01 I strangled her again? Right, because he had strangled her in the past. Like, I don't know if, but he's not saying like, oh, she's unconscious. He's saying I killed her. He's saying I killed her and I did it again. Like, that's strange. Pretty like, that's a weird thing to say.
Starting point is 00:28:18 It's something that you could analyze probably for hours. Definitely hang your hat on that for something. Yeah, so Dominique was rushed to the hospital and she was not dead yet. She was put on life support for five days. They unfortunately had to shave her hair and put a bolt into her skull to relieve the massive pressure that was on her brain.
Starting point is 00:28:37 And her father remembered seeing her like that with bruises on her neck. There were huge marks made by the hands of John Sweeney. That's your child. And again, in the vanity fair, piece, he said that it was nearly impossible to look at her, but also impossible to look away. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:28:53 It's so sad. Because I mean, she's gone through this, she's suffered. You don't want to like negate her suffering by being like, I can't suffer. By liking you, you know, you almost feel responsible. And they were really worried about her mother, Lenny going to see her because Lenny had multiple sclerosis.
Starting point is 00:29:10 And that is a disease where it is greatly affected by stress, like if somebody is suffering multiple sclerosis is going through a stressful time in their life, they'll get more flare ups and they'll get more sick. Yeah, absolutely. So they were like, we don't, like, we don't want to, yeah. And also, I know it's a telly. I said you almost feel responsible.
Starting point is 00:29:28 I didn't mean that. You almost feel a responsibility to look at. Oh, yeah, I didn't mean responsible, like, I knew you meant it. I just wanted to clarify that. Yeah. But they were really worried about it. But Lenny was like, no, she was like, I'm going.
Starting point is 00:29:40 Yeah, that's my child. I was going to say she's a mom. Yeah. So unfortunately, Dominique had to be taken off life support on November 4th. And it was, I believe, 19 days before her next birthday. She was 22 years old when she died. Her kidneys were donated to two different people in need of them at that specific hospital. And her heart was donated and sent out to a different hospital in San Francisco. That at least is always like a silver lining.
Starting point is 00:30:06 When you hear like, obviously, this is no good thing about this. But like when something good can come out of it, like three different people were probably saved. Absolutely. Because of her, like that's something. I hope that like brings parents. I know that like it's probably,
Starting point is 00:30:21 I can imagine a feeling. But I hope it brings some kind of, you know, to know her heart is beating somewhere. Yeah, and I think it did make her family feel better because Lenny was the one that said this is what Dominique would have wanted. He come in organ donor, guys. Yeah, it's important.
Starting point is 00:30:37 Now, John Sweeney at this point is facing more than attempted murder because now this is a murder. He's killed her. He could be facing charges of hopefully first degree at the very least second degree murder. So unfortunately he is one of those people we all know people like this like terrible awful people that just walk through their freaking lives like a cat with nine lives. Of course. That is who he is. There's so many people like that. That Hoi D20 restaurant that he
Starting point is 00:31:04 worked at seemed to be totally on his side Hoi D20 restaurant that he worked at seemed to be totally on his side. The owner said actually that he would get John Swini, the best legal representation that he could. That's fun. Like nice, that's awesome. Awesome man. He called him a dependable young man.
Starting point is 00:31:17 It's like this isn't one of those cases where it's like, yeah, like we're not sure what happened here in Bobo. Like there was one in eyewitness and he literally told him to be self-t her. When she arrived over her dead body, I killed her. Right, like let's stop with this, he's a dependable young man. I don't give a fuck if he saves busfuls of orphans on a regular basis.
Starting point is 00:31:39 Right, he just murdered a person in cold blood in their front yard. And also he's a dependable young man. Okay, so he shows up on time at work. Yeah, that's great. That's awesome. That's a great quality to have. Slap a gold star on him.
Starting point is 00:31:51 You know what, like kind of overshadows that is being a murderer. Murder. Usually, like kind of overshadows being timely. Yeah, just like my personal opinion. Tardiness and murder, not on the same level. No, halted the same level. No, how did very difference. One's inconvenient and one is murder. Yeah, like, just straight up murder.
Starting point is 00:32:12 Let's just take that. So, Sweeney ended up actually getting a court appointed defense attorney named Michael Adelson and then Joseph Shapiro who worked with the restaurant La Mason regarding legal business hopped on the team too. So he had a good team, unfortunately. Michael Addison had a reputation for being a pretty, like, notes to the grindstone type of guy, like he would get shit done.
Starting point is 00:32:33 And Joseph Shapiro was the same kind of guy. So as a team, they were not only intimidating, but they were ready to go to, like, great lengths to get him off of this. Yeah. Which is just absolutely fucked. Great. Yeah, it's wonderful.
Starting point is 00:32:49 Now Judge Burton Katz was going to be the judge on the trial. And at the end of this, we're going to really just have a deep, deep dislike for this man. Right, bro. Because that turned out to be pretty awful for the Dunn family, essentially another tragedy in their lives. Now, the trial started in August of 1983, and it quickly became clear that Judge Katz had more of a relationship with the murderers defense team.
Starting point is 00:33:13 Like, literally, he was cracking jokes with the two lawyers and like trying to make a murder trial some lighthearted experience for the jury. Yeah, which it should be. Yeah, it should be like a walk in the park for sure. It should be a fun time. Like, okay, like maybe let's take our job a little seriously. Yeah, talking about someone's child who was like Ruth the sleeper, like, oh, you're going to wait. From them, we should definitely make this a light-hearted experience.
Starting point is 00:33:36 The entire research process for this had me read in the face, like pissed off. It's like, this is a courtroom. It wasn't. It was a media circus. And this is a judge. He was voted like fourth worst judge at one point. Cool. And he is somebody that just wanted to be involved. He loved being involved in high profile. I was gonna say he just liked it because it was a Hollywood starlet.
Starting point is 00:33:57 Good coverage. Like, his parents came to the trial one day to like see him in action. Oh, come on. Yeah, like it's just messed up. He also consistently called Dominique Dominic, which is her father's name, which he's named after. You should probably know how to pronounce
Starting point is 00:34:13 the name of the murder victim in the trial that we're going over here. Yeah, you are the judge. Yeah, and he never wearing the robe. He never made an effort to correct himself. That's absurd. And actually, this is just like a weird thing to point out strangely enough, he worked on the Charles Manson case
Starting point is 00:34:28 as the deputy district attorney. Wow. Yeah, like nuts. It's a weird connection. It's a very strange connection. Now, one of the biggest things that the prosecution had was that they had tracked down a woman who dated John Sweeney right before he and Dominique got together. They had dated a little over two
Starting point is 00:34:46 years from 1977 to 1980. And she testified, her name is mentioned in like a lot of news outlets, but personally I just like didn't want to mention her name. So I'm just going to say she she testified that there were ten occasions where John Swini put his hands on her and there were two separate times where she had to be hospitalized for the injuries that she suffered at his hands. One hospital stay was four days long and the next day was six days. Or excuse me, the next time was six days. Those are both long hospital stays. Mm-hmm.
Starting point is 00:35:19 She suffered many injuries, a collapsed lung. What? A perforated eardrum? A perforated eardrum? A perforated eardrum? You're sorry I meant to correct myself. A perforated eardrum and a broken nose. Oh my God. Like a perforated eardrum, like what happened there?
Starting point is 00:35:35 What did he do? I have no idea. Oh, that's horrific. Now, when she tried to escape from him, he would literally throw rocks at her, yup, or smash furniture around and throw pictures and anything around the house that he could. And she said, well, he would do this
Starting point is 00:35:52 while he was quite literally foaming at the mouth. Holy shit. We are talking about a man that is an actual animal. Like, actually unhinged. Like, terrifying. Like, I literally picture the guy in split. Just like, going off. Like, he is fully guy in split. Just like going off. Like he is fully untethered.
Starting point is 00:36:08 It's not okay. Now the entire time she gave her testimony, John Swini wouldn't even look at her, like would not look up at her. The defense tried to paint her, and this is just so messed up. They tried to invalidate not only this woman, but also Dominique,
Starting point is 00:36:21 and just tried to paint them as like women who drank a lot and did drugs and just invalidate their entire life. Of course, you got to take away their credibility. So they tried to say that during these fights she was drunk or she was high this woman who was testifying and they were just basically saying that she got herself into this. So like this is her fault. I don't know to tell you. Oh yeah. But the prosecution was ready to show exactly who John Sweeney was. Like I said, he came from nothing.
Starting point is 00:36:48 He desperately wanted to be rich and famous. So, when these women rejected him, that's when he lost his mind. Of course. And the prosecution knew that, because he can't get it himself. He needs them. He actually reminds me a lot of Andrew Cunanan,
Starting point is 00:37:02 who killed Versace and the other man that he killed. It's somebody who needs to be notorious and use people along the way to climb up the ladder. So when they start losing their sources of that, then they start getting more and more desperate. And then it becomes their options for how they become notorious or infamous or famous or anything, become less and less and less and less and finally they're like, well, I'll do it this way. Because Andrew Cunan had like sugar daddies and stuff like that and he would like lie about who he, where he came from and everything and he had these socialite friends. But one by one, they started learning who he actually was and they started falling away
Starting point is 00:37:40 and that's when everything happened. And the veil falls, that's when they get desperate. Like what was happening here, he met Dominique, and I'm sure it was great in the beginning, but then he couldn't handle. Yeah, having a relationship, I guess. Because he's an animal. Yeah, so when it was time for the prosecution to talk to the woman,
Starting point is 00:37:57 they said to her, quote, do you come from a well to do family? That was the question. At that moment, John Swini basically ejected himself out of his seat like a fucking rocket. What? Through the Bible that he carried into the courtroom every day across the room,
Starting point is 00:38:13 and storm toward the doors that led to the holding cell. Like, he was like leaving. Like, he didn't want to sit there. Oh, like, this is a real housewives reunion and you could just get up and leave. Yes. Honey, no. Like, no, you're on trial for murder, mother. You can't just leave because it's getting uncomfortable
Starting point is 00:38:29 because shit's gonna get a lot more uncomfortable from here on out there. Are you kidding me? He stormed out of the room. Two bay lifts and four armed guards had to tackle him down and bring him back to his chair, which he was then handcuffed to. Yeah, as he should be.
Starting point is 00:38:42 And when he apologized, judge Katz looked right at him and he said, we know what a strain you're under, Mr. Swini. Oh my God. We know that you're the one here who's really under a great strain. You're under strain. I'm sorry. Why don't we talk about what a strain that this woman sitting next to you on the stand was under, or what strain Dominique was under when John Swiney's hands literally stopped air from coming into her lungs.
Starting point is 00:39:08 Wow. And killed her. Like, are we kidding here? How is that? I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for the strain that you're under. Yeah, I'm so sorry for him. This will just take a little while longer and then you can get past it.
Starting point is 00:39:18 Yeah, let's cuddle the murderer. Yeah. So obviously, Annie Jury, that saw the ex-girlfriend's testimony and saw him explode like that. Would have probably called it a day at that point and been like, yeah, we've seen what we need to see. Yeah, clearly this man with an explosive temper that was set off by something as small as a pointed question. That wasn't even about him. Literally, like he knew where it was going. Of course it was like indirect, but it's like he's just asking her a question. And that's the thing because what really he was pissed about was that the prosecution saw him exactly for who he was. It was proving a very valid point. But unfortunately, the jury would never hear a word of this woman's testimony,
Starting point is 00:39:55 or see the monster at work, because Swini's defense attorney Adelson had asked that while this woman give her testimony, the jury be out of the room so that they could decide whether or not it was credible enough or important enough for the jury to hear. So when this all went down, the jury was not in the room. What a fucking shark.
Starting point is 00:40:14 So what a shark? They had no idea this woman even existed, and they never saw that. They never knew that happened. I will give it to these defense attorneys. They are doing their job. It's like, how do you even, I don't even understand how that happens?
Starting point is 00:40:27 That's absurd. And they came to the decision that her testimony was not worth showing the jury. What? So they never knew that he had been a known abuser before he even met Dominique, and they never got to see it with their own eyes. Which most of the time, it's like, come on, guys.
Starting point is 00:40:42 Like, they know he's probably done this before yeah nine times out of ten You don't just suddenly out of nowhere start Struddling abusing women the person you're with like usually you've had a pattern of this behavior for a little while And he did and if you did it enough that you killed a woman you've definitely done it before and how is Establishing a pattern not allowed in a trial like usually that's one of the main things that they do. Dude was found standing over her body. There was an eyewitness there that saw the entire thing. And it's like, he admitted it to, I don't understand this.
Starting point is 00:41:14 Neither do I. The judge also wouldn't let Lenny testify about all the times that Dominique fled to her home trying to escape John Sweeney. Yeah, because that's not important. Nope. And he wouldn't let Dominique's friends testify about all the times that they had literally first
Starting point is 00:41:28 hand seen him like over her on a bed strangling her or ripping her hair out of her head. They said they said the reason they wouldn't let her mother testify or her friends who had experienced this entire ordeal, their statements were here say, oh my god. How? How are you going to say that a mother's words
Starting point is 00:41:46 about her daughter are hearsay? Like this is just, I feel like this should be just like witness testimony. I don't understand why. No, like I mean again, these defense attorneys are really doing the job. It's bananas. And that's, this is not even the worst thing
Starting point is 00:42:01 that was gonna happen to the family during the trial. Because so like I said, Dominique's mother had multiple sclerosis and she was in a wheelchair. So you can only imagine what she was going through. Like I said, the stress that somebody endures when they have a disease like that, it makes it worse. Yeah, I know. So she's already in a bad place to say the least because her daughter has been murdered. Now she's sitting on a trial.
Starting point is 00:42:22 She's not allowed to even speak her experience. No. And like what? Now that's not the end of it. Adelson didn't really care what the mother of this murder victim was going through. He was just worried about her presence in the courtroom because he thought that it would lead the jury
Starting point is 00:42:37 to feel bad, like have some kind of extra sympathy toward her and that it would sway the verdict. He did not want. Oh, honestly, he fucking demon. He did not want, honestly. He fucking demon. He did not want her allowed in the courtroom. That's some demon shit. How do you lay your head on a pillow at night? Yeah, that's the kind of,
Starting point is 00:42:54 I understand defense attorneys have a job to do. I understand that some people are innocent, need a defense attorney to do their job and like overdo it, but that kind of shit, that's fucked. You know this man is guilty. You know he's guilty. Everybody just, and it's like, you're just trying to lessen the charge at this point. That's exactly what they were doing.
Starting point is 00:43:12 So that was their main point. What the fuck are you doing telling this woman in a wheelchair who can't be in the court right? What to see her daughter be like, get justice? Like, come on. Her only daughter, the baby of her family. No, I can't understand I don't know how you let your head on the pillow after that shit because it's like it This isn't to get him off. This is to get him a lesser
Starting point is 00:43:34 Charsens like you don't need to go that hard no calm down. No, that's I mean I mean, I mean we're allowed to like the Golden State killer all the sudden was in a wheelchair at his fucking Yeah, that lying sack of shit was pretending that he was, like, ailing the entire time. It's an, we allowed that. We're allowing that. But somebody who actually is, like, in a wheelchair because of a disease that they're suffering.
Starting point is 00:43:54 No, for some reason, we give these, like, assholes a pass. I don't understand. Like, it's like, nobody would, what they should have done is prop that dumb ass up. And then, like, stand on your two feet. You were fine, like, what, a few weeks ago, when we got you outside of your house, you were literally riding your fucking motorcycle.
Starting point is 00:44:08 You were riding a motorcycle. Like, fuck the whole of the sake of life. Oh, fuck everything. Fuck every, like murderer. Fuck you, murderers. Yeah. So like I said, he didn't want her allowed in, but he had no way of kicking her out.
Starting point is 00:44:20 Like, how the fuck are you gonna, no, I mean, judge cats, I'm surprised, didn't go for it, but he like thought about it Adelson also moved to the judge that quote any emotional outburst by the done family including crying Eye rolling and or making any type of exclamation would result in there being ejected from the courtroom So yeah her family members couldn't cry during her murder trial or they would be ejected from the courtroom. I've never heard of something like this. This is like in my life.
Starting point is 00:44:51 In my life. I've just never heard of this being a thing. The judge is like fully shitting upon a murder victim's fan. I've never heard of this. Or the defense attorney. I've never heard of this being like a thing. And the judge granted the motion. Well, that's what I, it's like,
Starting point is 00:45:07 and the judge is going along with it. Yeah. You can't tell a murder victim's family, you can't cry. You can't cry. Like, what? I'm sorry, what? Like, I understand the like no bursts of a moat.
Starting point is 00:45:16 Like, you can't stand up and scream. Or like, charge people or any, I understand that. You can't tell people they can't cry. Right. No, come on. What? So one day, no matter what their child is dead, nothing changes that fact. The jury isn't going to be like, huh, I wonder if Dominique really is dead because they're not crying.
Starting point is 00:45:34 Like, it's no. It doesn't make any sense. So one day, one of Dominique's brothers had tears in his eyes. And Adelson tried to have him thrown out. And there was another time when Griffin and Alex, Dominique's brothers, moved seats so that they, because at this point, John Sweeney was on the stand testifying. So they moved seats to be in his eyesight. Like they were like, you can look right the fuck at me. For sure. And Adelson tried to have them thrown out. They weren't thrown out, but then Alex told Dominic that he was like, I can't do this anymore. I can't go
Starting point is 00:46:04 and be in the same room with John Sweeney and be treated the way we're being treated. Like I can't. I would lose it. I would lose it on this guy. So the blows to the family kept coming from all angles. The judge, the defense, the hopes that something huge would be admitted as evidence, and then last minute was taken off the table. Labelled here say, or just like unnecessary.
Starting point is 00:46:22 Now another blow came on August 29th, when Kat's granted emotion, saying that there was insufficient evidence of a charge for first degree murder, and that the jury would only be able to deliberate on charges of manslaughter or second degree murder. I had a feeling that was gonna be the end result. Like what?
Starting point is 00:46:40 And then there was when John Swini took the stand himself and tried to make excuses and paint himself like the real victim here. It was him. He was the victim here. He was, yeah. So this is his version of events. He said just everybody hold on to your butts. He said that he had gone over to Dominique's place that night because they had actually been talking about getting back together, even getting married and having kids, like everything was great again. And she told him that she changed her mind and she didn't want him back and that she was sorry for leading him on.
Starting point is 00:47:11 And so when she said that, he lost it, and he blacked out. Okay. And remember anything. Even if that was the truth, you can't kill someone. You can't kill someone. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:47:21 People can change their goddamn minds, especially when you're an asshole who has beaten the shit out of her your entire relationship She can suddenly go you know what? No, well, he thought I thought it was her fault. Oh, yeah, it's her fault Yeah, and so crazy it blocked out. Yeah, they all do and when he came to he realized that Dominique was unconscious So he tried to do CPR because he's a hero But when he did that it made her throw up and then because he's such a soft emotional teddy bear he threw up too And then when he saw that Dominique wasn't coming back he ran into the house
Starting point is 00:47:52 But it's so weird because David didn't see that happen. I was gonna say and he downed two bottles of pills Which is so weird because those were not found in his system. Okay. Wow magic Super nuts and also they were literally not found anywhere. Wow, very lucky. And then he took Dominique's tongue from the back of her throat so that she wouldn't choke on it if she came too. Yes, of course.
Starting point is 00:48:13 Because he knew that was the right thing to do because he had always helped his epileptic father. He's just very smart. He's just such a fucking hero. He's a quick thinker. Yup. John Sweeney. He's just everything.
Starting point is 00:48:24 And goodness, he was there. He actually had a cape on atey. Yup, he's just everything. And goodness, he was there. He actually had a cape on at this very moment. Yeah, it's, thank goodness he was there to save her from the murder that he just committed. Yeah, I'm very glad he was there for that. Trying to, yeah, totally for sure. Yup. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:48:35 And then when all that taking care was done, he lied next to her just like Romeo and Juliet. Of course he did. Super cute story. None of that fucking happened. That is a steaming pile of horseshit. Survey says, that's a lie, motherfucker. God, I hate this guy. Like I said, there was absolutely no evidence that he had taken two bottles of worth of pills. And the officer, like I said, that arrived on scene first said that as soon as he got
Starting point is 00:49:05 there, he looked, sweetie, and there he looked to the guy in the eyes and I'm going to say it again. And he said, quote, man, I blew it. I killed her. I didn't think I choked her that hard, but I don't know. I just kept on choking her. I lost my temper. Blue it again.
Starting point is 00:49:18 I don't know how any of this is confusing to any. What are you telling me? That you down two bottles of pills and you had the wherewithal to say that to the first responding officer. Yeah, and it's like, I thought you were lying next to her. Right, in state. Yes, but no, that's not what the police officers say.
Starting point is 00:49:38 I don't think he was confused. He was not. No, and he knew exactly what he had done. And to further prove that, the medical examiner said that there was evidence to show that this is horrific. Dominique had been strangled between four and six minutes. So the amount of rage and just lack of soul, you have to have to hold on to someone's neck
Starting point is 00:50:01 with the pressure it takes to actually choke them up for that work. For that work to six minutes. Well, they, and that's like full face-fronting, looking in the eyes. Absolutely. And you are watching someone in complete panic. You are saying exactly what I wrote down in my minutes.
Starting point is 00:50:16 Am I really like that word for word? Four to six minutes. Four to six minutes. To look in someone's eyes, know that you're killing them. Obviously she would have been struggling to get away. This was not an oopsie. Oh, yeah. I mean, you think of anybody, if you choke on something, or for a second, you can't breathe.
Starting point is 00:50:34 It's the panic you'll see in someone's face. Imagine that's four minutes of that panic. Well, you're blacked out. That you're supposedly love. You're blacked out. You're blacked out. You don't black out and hold somebody's neck for that long with that.
Starting point is 00:50:48 It takes a lot of pressure. It takes a lot of pressure. The hyoid bone. Yes. And that's not what happened. Like, no, you're a liar. None of that happened other than the fact that, yeah, you put your hands around the woman
Starting point is 00:51:00 that you supposedly loved throughout for four to six minutes. No, it's... It's a private... Indeprived to revoke the jam. So now it was time for the jury to decide. When they were finished hearing the closing statements in which Adelson took the time to speak as Dominique,
Starting point is 00:51:16 like literally spoke as her and called herself a liar. Like, he was like, I Dominique lied to you, John Swini. Like, what? Yeah. They were... are you kidding me? No, no. This gets worse and worse. It somehow gets worse and worse.
Starting point is 00:51:31 So they went to deliberate. When they came back, they handed two envelopes to the judge and the verdict was read by the clerk. Guilty on voluntary manslaughter. Volunteer manslaughter. Volunteer manslaughter, not second degree murder, and also guilty on a misdemeanor assault man's slaughter. Voluntary man's slaughter. Voluntary man's slaughter. Not second to green murder. And also guilty on a misdemeanor assault because there was a previous time that was mentioned during the trial that he had choked her.
Starting point is 00:51:53 Yeah. Yeah. So all in all, the man who continuously beat Dominique through their relationship grasped her neck for four to six minutes, ultimately killing her would serve only a maximum sentence of six and a half years of six and a half years. Six and a half years. Now that's not what he would serve because he also had the potential to get out without even going in front of a parole board after serving half of his sentence, which would include
Starting point is 00:52:19 time served. I cannot with this, I can. Yeah, so then an it's great. And also quick little like side note. I know I said like we were saying like the high old bone bone has to break for strangulation. That only happens in like one third of strangulations just wanted to point that out. Oh, it doesn't always happen. It doesn't always break. I just want to point that out. Now, so in a strange twist of events, judge cats
Starting point is 00:52:45 just condemned the jury and told them that quote, this was a case of pure, excuse me. He said, this case was a case pure and simple of murder, murder with malice. So he's like yelling at them that they didn't come to the right conclusion. You got it wrong. Now, he still thanked them for their time
Starting point is 00:53:04 and thanked them on behalf of the family. And when he did that, Dominic Dunn said back to him, not for my family judge cats. What about us? So they exchanged words and then Dominic turned around and led himself and learning out of the courtroom before he turned around in front of everyone there and said, you have withheld important evidence from this jury about this man's history of violence against women. Good for him. And then he turned around and walked out.
Starting point is 00:53:29 Wow. Judge Katz was like, I'm gonna have to throw you out if you continue. And he was like, no, you won't. I'll get up and get out myself. But let me make sure that they know what just happened. So Dominic. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:53:38 Hell yeah. So later, the jury foreman named Paul Spiegel said that if the jury had heard all the evidence, like John Swini's ex-girlfriend's testimony, Lenny or Dominique's friends testimony, or seen John Swini lose absolute control, they 100% would have convicted him of murder. 100%.
Starting point is 00:53:57 So it's like, these are the things that like the justice system is just so fucked, because it's like that, doesn't make sense. No, and he also said. That this is allowed to just be. Oh, get this. justice system is just so fucked. Because it's like that doesn't make sense. No. And he also said- That this is allowed to just be. Oh, get this.
Starting point is 00:54:08 He also said that there were four, one, two, three, four separate occasions where the jury was like confused about certain things and they tried to ask the judge and he wouldn't answer their questions. And every time they came to him, he was like, all your directions are in the paper I gave you.
Starting point is 00:54:26 Read the instructions. Wow. Yeah. This is so mishandled. Yeah. This trial was an absolute shit show. Now, Teresa Seldonum actually staged a march outside of the courthouse with the victim advocacy group that she put together called victims for victims.
Starting point is 00:54:43 And she protested against the verdict, but like nothing came of it. What was done was done. John Swini was sentenced to six years and he would be out in three and a half because he had already served some of his time between his arrest and his sentencing. Three and a half years for looking in the eyes of the woman you supposedly love and strangling her from anywhere between four and six minutes. For like brutally abusing a woman for your entire relationship, when she finally gets away from you showing up on her door and strangling her in front of her whole entire eyes, in front of her home while her friends sits inside, and then admitting it when the police come and
Starting point is 00:55:22 saying that you did it before. And you get three and a half years. And saying that you did it before. Mm-hmm. And you get three and a half years. Yeah. That's just a ton. Yeah, super justice. Yeah, so when he got out of prison, he was hired actually again at like a super upscale restaurant.
Starting point is 00:55:35 Good. So Dominique's family was like, fuck that. We're not gonna let that happen. So they stood outside the restaurant and they handed out flyers that red. Fuck yeah. The food you will eat tonight was cooked by the hands that killed Dominic done. Good.
Starting point is 00:55:47 Like, can I get a hell yeah? Yeah. Yeah. You don't, murderers like can be canceled. Absolutely. Let's do that. 100%. So John Spiney left that job pretty quickly.
Starting point is 00:55:58 And then Dominic's family learned that he was engaged to a woman. Now, I've seen two variations on what actually happened. Some sources say that when he found this out, Dominic done called the woman's father to let him know what had happened to Dominic. It was like, just so you know, like the woman. I'm a father, you're a father. The man that your daughter is engaged to
Starting point is 00:56:19 like killed my daughters and is known to have a history of violence against women. But I also saw that the woman's father called Dominic to find out if it was Swini who had killed Dominic. But either way, they talked. But they talked. He found out. Now, it's unclear if the engagement went through or not, because John Swini ended up
Starting point is 00:56:38 changing his name. And you, it's like, you can find his name, but there's nothing really you can find out anymore about him. Yeah, of course. It's like a Carla homoka thing nothing really you can find out anymore. But of course. It's like a Carla Hamoka thing. You can only find out so much. Yeah. So I wanted to end this in Dominique's voice
Starting point is 00:56:50 because she was the only one who wasn't there to defend herself throughout the trial. And Dominique included this letter in the Vanity Fair piece that I've talked about. Now it's a letter that one of Dominique's friends found at her place when they were clearing out the house after her funeral. And it was a letter that was clearly meant for Sweeney. So she wrote to him, quote,
Starting point is 00:57:08 Selfish-selfishness works both ways. You are just as selfish as I am. We have to be the two individuals to work together as a couple. I'm not permitted to do enough things on my own. Why must you be part of everything I do? Why do you want to come to my writing lessons and my acting lessons? Why are you jealous of every scene partner I have? Why must I recount word-for-word everything I spoke to Dr. Black about? Why must I talk about every situation? Oh, excuse me. Why must I talk about every audition when you know that it's bad luck for me? Why do we have discussions at 3 a.m. all the time instead of during the day?
Starting point is 00:57:42 Why must you know the name of every person I come into contact with? You go crazy over my rehearsals. You insist on going to work with me when I have told you it makes me nervous. Your paranoia is overboard. You do not love me. You're obsessed with me. The person you think you love is not me at all. It is someone you've made up in your head.
Starting point is 00:58:03 I'm the person who makes you angry, who you fight with sometimes. I think we only fight when images of me fade away, and then you're faced with the real me. That's my arguments erupt out of nowhere. The whole thing is mainly realized how scared I am of you, and I don't mean just physically. I'm afraid of the next time you're going to have another mood swing. When we're good, we are great. But when we are bad, we are horrendous. The bad outweighs the good. Wow. So that entire letter, it tells you everything you need to know. That he was not letting our go to work without him. Three AM discussions, that's waking
Starting point is 00:58:39 our up in the middle of the night to probably be a lot of fun. That's a lot. It's horrible. That's a lot. Now that letter was actually read during the trial by the prosecution and I somehow didn't sway the outcome. And actually, I guess the jury was like deadlocked for a little while. And the reason why, excuse me, the reason why they broke was because some jurors were like getting too hot and just wanted to leave. Oh yeah, you're too hot. My understanding. Yeah, we don't want you to be uncomfortable. Yeah, so sorry about that. For sure.
Starting point is 00:59:08 So that is the absolutely tragic, tragic case of Dominique Dunn and the tragic case really of her trial. Yeah, that trial is one of the worst I've heard. It's absolutely one of the worst. Wow, I had no idea it was that bad. I've never, like you said, I've never in my research found a trial as bad as that.
Starting point is 00:59:27 That's so bad. And we've gone over some pretty bad ones, but this went not allowing the family to cry. Yeah, that's wonderful. Wanting the mother out of the courtroom because she has a disease. Because she's in a wheelchair, in a wheelchair.
Starting point is 00:59:38 And a wheelchair. And a wheelchair. People feel bad? Yeah. Her lost her daughter. At the hands of the guy who's sitting right there walking in every day with a fucking Bible that you didn't get to see him throw across the room. should feel bad. Yeah. Her lost her daughter. Geez. At the hands of the guy who's sitting right there walking in every day with a fucking Bible
Starting point is 00:59:46 that you didn't get to see him throw across the room. Oh my God, that's a, woof. Woof. Wow. So yeah. Happy Sunday. Thank you for that. Welcome.
Starting point is 00:59:56 Man, RIP. Done. I'm gonna link that vanity fair article as well as I used two other articles for the research on this. But please, if you read any of them, read the article that her dad wrote yeah it is I read it when I did my research for the Halloween show or the cursed poltergeist and I was crying by the end of oh yeah and I read it again for this
Starting point is 01:00:17 and I was like choked up I'm glad he had like the ability to like write down in words that kind I hope it was like a thardic to him. I feel like it probably was because he was a writer. Exactly. I feel like that's how he probably would process that. But to be able to do that and put all that into the world is really impressive. And there's some stuff that obviously I left out
Starting point is 01:00:39 because I'm not gonna say everything that he said. So definitely, definitely go read that. Yes, absolutely. And we hope you keep listening. And we hope you keep it weird. But not so weird that you're a judge on a trial and you just suck ass. Yeah, be a good judge. Be a good person. We're the rope right. nd nd nd nd nd
Starting point is 01:01:10 nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd Hey, Prime Members!
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