Samuel John Dieteman

Serial Killer

Samuel John Dieteman - The Phoenix Serial Shooter

Background

Samuel John Dieteman, born October 17, 1975, became one of the two principal men associated with the notorious Phoenix-area "Serial Shooter" case. Together with Dale Shawn Hausner, Dieteman participated in a series of seemingly random attacks against pedestrians and bicyclists during 2006. The violence formed part of a larger shooting spree that had begun in 2005, before Dieteman became involved with Hausner. Dieteman grew up in Minnesota and accumulated a lengthy record of relatively minor encounters with law enforcement before relocating to Arizona. His earlier offenses included theft-related crimes, trespassing and impaired driving. He worked as an electrician at various points but experienced periods of unemployment, heavy drinking and instability. By 2006 he was living with Hausner in Mesa, Arizona. An important distinction in describing Dieteman's crimes is that the Phoenix Serial Shooter attacks began months before he met Hausner. Contemporary reporting stated that Dieteman met Hausner in approximately April 2006, while the first attacks associated with the Serial Shooter investigation dated to 2005. Consequently, several people murdered during the overall Serial Shooter series were victims of Hausner or suspected victims of the earlier shooter activity, but they should not automatically be described as people personally murdered by Dieteman.

Joining Dale Hausner

By the spring of 2006, Hausner had already been involved in a succession of nighttime shootings around metropolitan Phoenix. The attacks were characterized by their randomness. Victims were often walking, riding bicycles or otherwise going about routine activities when they were targeted from a passing vehicle. There was usually no known connection between the attackers and the people they selected. After Dieteman became closely associated with Hausner, he began accompanying him during these nighttime drives. Dieteman later provided prosecutors with extensive testimony about the crimes, describing how the men drove through neighborhoods searching for potential targets. Firearms used during the larger series included .22-caliber weapons and shotguns, particularly a .410-gauge shotgun. Dieteman ultimately acknowledged that he was not merely a passenger or observer. He became an active participant, serving at different times as a shooter, driver or lookout. Prosecutors portrayed the attacks as violence committed for excitement rather than for robbery, revenge or any recognizable dispute with the victims. Dieteman and Hausner used the expression "random recreational violence" when discussing the activity. ...

Confirmed Victims: (9)

Tony Mendez Age: (39), Date of Death: May 17, 2005

Survivors:

Barbara Whitner , Date of Attack: December 29, 2005

Timmy Tordai , Date of Attack: December 29, 2005

Clarissa Rowley Age: (21), Date of Attack: December 30, 2005

Kibili Tambadu , Date of Attack: May 2, 2006

Timothy Davenport , Date of Attack: May 17, 2006

James Hodge , Date of Attack: May 30, 2006

Miguel Rodriguez , Date of Attack: May 31, 2006

Daryl Davies , Date of Attack: May 31, 2006

Elizabeth Clark , Date of Attack: June 11, 2006

Frederic Cena , Date of Attack: June 20, 2006

Tony Long , Date of Attack: June 20, 2006

Diane Bein , Date of Attack: July 1, 2006

Jeremy Ortiz , Date of Attack: July 1, 2006

Dale Hausner and Samuel Dieteman - Wikipedia