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Phoenix 'Serial Shooter' Dale Hausner dead By Michael Kiefer The Republic | azcentral.com Wed Jun 19, 2013 9:56 PM Dale Hausner, one of the “Serial Shooters” who terrorized metro Phoenix with a spree of killings in summer 2006, was found dead Wednesday in his cell on death row. Hausner, 40, who was sentenced to death for a string of murders in 2005 and 2006, was discovered unresponsive in his cell in a state prison in Florence shortly after noon Wednesday. He was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The cause of death was not immediately known, according to an Arizona Department of Corrections spokesman. The department’s Criminal Investigation Unit is investigating with help from the county Medical Examiner’s Office. Hausner, who wanted to waive his legal appeals of the death sentence and speed up his execution, had attempted suicide in jail before his trial. And in a letter he wrote to The Arizona Republic last July, he worried that the Arizona courts would not carry out his wish to be put to death. Hausner never admitted any of his crimes, but in 2009, he was convicted of more than 80 and Arizona’s death rowsentenced to death six times for his role in a 13-month spree of violence. Together with friend Samuel Dieteman, Hausner crisscrossed the Valley from Gilbert to Tolleson, shooting at people and animals from the windows of his car. Eight people and at least 10 animals were killed and 19 people were wounded before Hausner and Dieteman were arrested in their Mesa apartment in August 2006. Dieteman, who is serving a life sentence, implicated Hausner’s older brother, Jeff Hausner, in the shootings and in a pair of stabbings. Jeff Hausner was never charged in any of the shootings but is serving time for the non-fatal stabbings he committed in the presence of Dieteman and Dale Hausner. In an e-mail to The Republic on Wednesday, Randy Hausner said the death of his brother “ends the life of a person who chose to do horrible things to innocent people. “We as a family stand with the victims of the crimes and their families. Today, a murderer died and is now going on to face the Ultimate Judge. Again, our thoughts and prayers are with the innocent people that were victims of his senseless crimes.” Last July, after the Arizona Supreme Court upheld Hausner’s six death sentences, Hausner wrote a letter to the justices saying that he did not want to pursue post-conviction relief, as the appeals process is known. That triggered inquiries into whether he was mentally competent to make that decision. Hausner was to face hearings next month in Maricopa County Superior Court to determine his competency. In his letter to The Republic, Hausner spoke of the irony. “The state of Arizona wanted me to get the death penalty before and during my trial,” he wrote. “I was found guilty and given six death sentences. Now that I want to get executed, suddenly my mental state is in question. So, if I am found incompetent to waive my appeals, does that mean I was also incompetent to stand trial? That’s something to think about, isn’t it? I am not insane. I am of sound mind. I simply wish to get the punishment handed down to me, but more quickly. I mean really, what’s a guy got to do to get snuffed out?” |