February 14, 1994 – Valentine’s Day Eighty-six-year-old Norma Davis was found dead in her Canyon Lake home, a utility knife in her neck and a fillet knife in her chest. There were no signs of forced entry. (Unbeknownst to investigators at the time, Norma was the mother-in-law of Dana’s own father from a later marriage.)
Two weeks later Sixty-six-year-old June Roberts let a polite woman into her home to “borrow a book about Hawaii.” The visitor strangled Roberts with a telephone cord, stole her credit cards, and went shopping.
March 16, 1994 Eighty-seven-year-old Dora Beebe, living in nearby Sun City, gave directions to a lost motorist who asked to use her phone. Beebe was later found strangled; her credit cards were missing.
The gated communities descended into paranoia. Elderly widows began sleeping in groups for safety.
The One Who Survived
Dana’s arrogance eventually betrayed her. On March 17, 1994, she walked into a boutique in Temecula and tried to strangle the 29-year-old clerk, Dorinda Hawkins, with yet another telephone cord. Hawkins fought back and survived. The last thing she remembered before blacking out was the attacker whispering, “Relax. Just relax.”