Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of murder and assault. Reader discretion is advised.
Dateline: Unforgettable‘s upcoming episode, titled “Complicated,” will air on Oxygen on Thursday, February 29, 2024, at 8 p.m. ET. It will explore the details of the murder of Tori Vienneau and her 10-month-old infant son, Dean Springstube.
On July 26, 2006, Tori Vienneau and Dean Springstube were murdered by Dean’s father, Dennis Potts. He reportedly killed them to avoid paying child support after Vienneau compelled him to take a paternity test that would prove if Dean was his child, CBS 8 reported.
Tori Vienneau and Dennis Potts briefly dated during their senior year in high school. They broke up soon after that. Potts began dating Nicole Zolezzi, who moved into his parents’ home with him. Zolezzi and Potts then got engaged eventually. Meanwhile, Vienneau started dating Neil Springstube.
Amidst this, Tori Vienneau and Potts engaged in sexual intercourse in December 2004. The following year, Vienneau found out she was pregnant, and Neil Springstube broke up with her when he discovered he wasn’t the father. This left Vienneau struggling financially and to take care of Dean by herself. Later that year, she asked Dennis Potts to take a paternity test. However, the test claimed that he wasn’t the father, following which Vienneau demanded that he redo the test under court supervision.
On July 26, 2006, Tori Vienneau told a friend that she would get dinner with Dennis Potts and bring up the paternity test. Unfortunately, 22-year-old Vienneau and her son Dean Springstube were found murdered that evening at her friend Autumn’s place where they were staying.
What did Tori Vienneau’s autopsy reveal?
According to court documents, Tori Vienneau suffered a deep tear to the back of her scalp, which caused heavy bleeding. A blunt force injury was spotted near her left ear. Both the spots of impact caused bleeding from the brain.
Apart from the blunt force trauma to the front of her head, the injury towards her left ear was likely caused by a body part such as a knee, fist, or hand striking the area. The blunt force injuries probably caused her to lose consciousness before she was strangled to death. Although sexual assault was initially suspected, the autopsy didn’t show any evidence of sexual abuse, according to court documents.
Autumn’s sister Tricia was the one to find Tori Vienneau and Dean Springstube dead. She found Vienneau with the cord of her hair straightening iron wrapped tightly around her neck. She also found Dean Springstube dead before she reported it to authorities. Medical examination revealed that Dean Springstube was likely standing up while an electric cord was used to strangle him. He eventually sat down and died in the playpen.
Investigators said that there were no signs of forced entry, and the peephole at the door was working perfectly fine. Moreover, the apartment was on the third floor, and it was unlikely for someone to have climbed through the window. The house was reportedly in good order, and there were no signs of struggle.
In 2009, Dennis Potts was convicted on two counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to obstruct justice, reported the San Diego-Union Tribune.
“Complicated” will be aired on Oxygen on Thursday, February 29, 2024, at 8 p.m. ET.
