Killing of Dominique Dunne

Dominique Dunne, an American actress, was strangled by her ex-boyfriend, John Thomas Sweeney, and fell into a coma and died on November 4, 1982.

In a court case that gained significant media coverage, Sweeney was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in Dunne's death, and served three and a half years in prison.

[4] Dunne met John Thomas Sweeney, a sous-chef at the restaurant Ma Maison, at a party in 1981.

Frightened, Dunne fled to her mother's house, where Sweeney showed up and began to bang on the door and windows, demanding to be let in.

[6] During another argument at their home on September 26, 1982, Sweeney grabbed Dunne by the throat, threw her on the floor, and began to strangle her.

A friend who was staying with the couple at the time heard "loud gagging sounds" and ran into the room where Dunne was being attacked.

Packer left the home through the back entrance, approached the driveway, and saw Sweeney in some nearby bushes, kneeling over Dunne.

[6] On the night of the attack, responding officers found Sweeney standing by Dunne's unconscious body in her driveway.

[9] Sweeney was later charged with assault with intent to do great bodily harm when, during a preliminary trial hearing, he admitted that he and Dunne had a physical altercation on September 26, 1982, the day before she filmed the Hill Street Blues episode, in which she appeared with visible bruises on her face and body.

On the night of October 30, Sweeney said that Dunne had abruptly changed her mind about a reconciliation, telling him that she had been leading him on and lying to him about getting back together.

Sweeney's court-appointed attorney, Michael Adelson, argued that his client's actions were neither premeditated nor were they executed with malice.

[15] The prosecution and the police investigators also dismissed Sweeney's version of events as there was no physical evidence that he had consumed pills in an attempt to commit suicide at the time of his arrest.

[6] Deputy Frank DeMilio, the first officer to arrive on the scene, testified that Sweeney told him, "Man, I blew it.

Pierce claimed that during the relationship, Sweeney had assaulted her on ten separate occasions, and as a result, she was hospitalized twice for the injuries that she sustained.

[6] During Pierce's testimony, Sweeney became enraged, jumped up from his seat, and ran towards the door leading to the judge's chambers.

[6] On August 29, defense attorney Michael Adelson also requested that Judge Katz rule that the court lacked sufficient evidence to try Sweeney on the charge of first-degree murder because predetermination was not established.

[15] On September 21, 1983, after eight days of deliberation, the jury acquitted John Sweeney of second-degree murder but found him guilty of the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter.

[21] Before he left the courtroom, Dominick Dunne accused Judge Katz of purposely withholding Sweeney's ex-girlfriend's testimony from the jury, which would have established his violent history with women.

At Sweeney's sentencing, Judge Katz criticized the jury's verdict of manslaughter, stating he felt that Dunne's death was "A case, pure and simple, of murder.

"[22] The jury's foreman, Paul Speigel, later told the media that both he and his fellow jurors were surprised by Judge Katz's criticism and he called his comment "a cheap shot."

His journal writings were later published in an article entitled "Justice: A Father's Account of the Trial of his Daughter's Killer” that was featured in the March 1984 issue of Vanity Fair.

Sweeney eventually quit his job, due to the protests that were staged by Dunne's family, and he moved out of Los Angeles.

[26] In later interviews in which Dominick Dunne discussed his daughter's murder, the writer shared that, for a time, he employed the services of private investigator Anthony Pellicano and asked him to follow Sweeney and report on his actions and whereabouts.

According to Dunne's father, Pellicano reported that Sweeney had moved to the Pacific Northwest, assumed the name John Maura, and continued to work as a chef.