A four-time convicted murderer at a California prison was charged Friday with killing his wife during a November conjugal visit, the Amador County District Attorney’s Office told KCRA News.
Prosecutors said David Brinson strangled 62-year-old Stephanie Dowells during an overnight family visit in November 2024 at Mule Creek State Prison, according to the outlet. Brinson called staff just after 2 a.m.; Dowells was pronounced dead at 2:51 a.m., prison officials reportedly said. (RELATED: Shocking Footage Shows Violent Storm Tear Off Nebraska Prison’s Roof)
“We have an innocent person coming to your jail or your prison. You have a duty to protect them. And they failed miserably. And now it’s time that they be held accountable,” Michael Oppenheimer, an attorney for Dowells’ family, told KCRA News.
IONE, CA – AUGUST 28: Inmates at the Mule Creek State Prison interact in a gymnasium that was modified to house prisoners August 28, 2007 in Ione, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
The Amador County Sheriff’s office later determined Dowells’ death was a homicide by strangulation. Brinson is already serving four consecutive life sentences without parole for a 1993 Los Angeles County quadruple murder, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR)
Dowells’ killing was the second reported death of a visitor at Mule Creek during a family visit in 2024. In July 2024, Tania Thomas was found unconscious in a family visiting unit; her husband, inmate Anthony Curry, was later charged with her murder, the district attorney told the outlet.
California’s conjugal visits — allowed for some prisoners — occur “in private, apartment-like facilities on prison grounds” and “last approximately 30 to 40 hours.” CDCR excludes death row inmates, those with sex-offense convictions, reception-center arrivals and prisoners under disciplinary restrictions; the policy does not list violent-crime convictions as a disqualifier. (RELATED: California Spending Big To Turn Notorious Prison Into Cushy ‘Rehab Center’ With Grocery Store, Podcast Studio)
IONE, CA – AUGUST 28: A California Department of Corrections officer looks on as inmates at the Mule Creek State Prison exercise in the yard August 28, 2007 in Ione, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
KCRA reported both inmates tied to the Mule Creek deaths are due in court next month, and Dowells’ family plans has already filed suit against the prison, according to CBS News. CDCR told KCDR its policies and procedures were followed and confirmed family visits are still happening at Mule Creek.