The murder of Dale Harrell (December 18, 1974 – February 9, 2009) occurred after he was fatally attacked on January 14, 2009, by his wife Marissa-Suzanne "Reese" DeVault (born November 6, 1977) in Maricopa County, Arizona.
[7] DeVault was arrested the same night on charges of aggravated assault and was held at a local jail, but was later released on bail.
[8] Officers noted that DeVault had reddened marks upon her neck and that they had found a hammer covered with blood at the crime scene.
[9] Following the beating, police investigated a man who lived with DeVault, Stanley Cook, Jr., and found dirty, bloody clothing.
[8] DeVault filed a 300-page confession with the Gilbert police where she detailed the years of alleged abuse, stating that Harrell had beaten and raped her on January 14, prompting her to assault him with the hammer.
[14] Flores later agreed to testify on the Harrell murder in exchange for full immunity over the pornography charges.
[1] Defense attorneys stated that DeVault had battered woman syndrome and post-traumatic stress disorder, which they used to argue against the death penalty.
[16] In their opening statements, the defense and prosecutors posed different reasons as to DeVault's motivations for beating Harrell with a hammer.
[3] The prosecution countered this with testimony from clinical psychologist Dr. Janeen DeMarte, who diagnosed DeVault as having antisocial personality disorder.
[18] The prosecution also pointed out that DeVault had initially claimed that an unknown assailant had broken into the home and assaulted Harrell, before confessing that she was the perpetrator.