Ex-Dean Found Guilty of 1st-Degree Murder in Shooting of Former Wife

Former Saddleback College Assistant Dean Donald E. Dawson was convicted Wednesday of first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of his ex-wife, but jurors rejected a prosecution claim that he was “lying in wait,” which could have meant a sentence of life without parole.

Despite the partial victory, Dawson was bitter about the jury’s verdict, said his attorney, Ronald G. Brower.

“He believes the jurors should have recognized the shooting occurred when he was in something like a psychotic state, a rage, and that legally it was a heat-of-passion shooting,” Brower said.

Killings that occur in the heat of passion are considered voluntary manslaughter in California, which was the verdict Brower sought from jurors. Dawson had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

Superior Court Judge Kathleen E. O’Leary set a hearing Friday for Brower to tell the court whether he wants to proceed with a sanity phase of the trial, scheduled for Dec. 1.

Dawson killed his former wife, Dona Mae Dawson, as she ran away from him down the sidewalk in front of her El Toro home at 9:30 a.m. on Sept. 15, 1984.

Resigned After Arrest

According to evidence presented by both sides, Dawson had been trying to persuade his ex-wife to take him back and was upset to learn that she was seriously dating someone else.

Dona Dawson, 46, at the time was director of the nursing department at Saddleback College. Dawson was assistant dean for Saddleback’s division of technology and applied science. He resigned soon after his arrest the day of the shooting.

About 2:30 that morning, while his ex-wife was spending the night with a boyfriend, Dawson had entered her house with a key she kept hidden. Evidence showed that he had waited part of that time in an upstairs bedroom with two guns, several boxes of ammunition, several pieces of rope and a pair of handcuffs.

Dawson fired six shots at her with a .38-caliber handgun when she came through the door. All of them missed. But he felled her with a single shot fired as she ran down the sidewalk outside the house. Then, according to witnesses, he stood above her and fired four more shots into her. He stayed at the scene until police arrived and told them what had happened.

At his trial, Dawson chose not to testify.

Prosecutors filed the “special circumstances” allegation that he was lying in wait for her, claiming that he shot her after springing from a hidden position. Brower devoted many of his trial arguments to efforts to disprove that claim.

Jurors on Wednesday rejected the special circumstances allegation.

Normally, had the jury found that the special circumstances did apply, the trial would have gone into a separate penalty phase for jurors to choose between death or life without parole. But in Dawson’s case, prosecutors did not seek the death penalty because of his lack of a criminal background. A sentence of life without parole can only be reduced by the governor.

The first-degree murder verdict carries a sentence of 27 years to life, including two years for use of a firearm. Dawson would be eligible for parole in 13 1/2 years.

But if Dawson were found insane, he would automatically be sent to a state hospital.

Brower said after court Wednesday that before he decides whether to proceed with a sanity phase, he will have to do research to determine how long Dawson would probably have to remain committed to a hospital.

“I think state mental hospitals are probably just as bad as prison,” Brower said. “If a hospital commitment would be longer (than 13 1/2 years) it might not be worth going ahead.”

‘Background of Depression’

Dawson has been interviewed by half a dozen psychologists and psychiatrists, all of whom testified at his trial that he killed his ex-wife in a rage and that he was mentally unstable at the time. But they have not touched on the sanity issue yet.

Brower said it was not out of character for Dawson to be bitter about the jury verdict.

“All the doctors have told us that he has a history of rejecting responsibility,” Brower said. “He has a background of severe depression, very exaggerated mood swings.”

Dawson’s parents and his brother, Robert, left the courtroom quickly after the verdict was read. An angry Robert Dawson told reporters, “Just leave us alone.”

Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. James G. Enright, who prosecuted the case, said afterward that he could not discuss the verdict in detail because of the possibility of a penalty phase. But he did say he was pleased with the first-degree murder verdict and not too surprised at the jury’s rejection of the “lying in wait” claim.

“That one was a close call; without any witnesses, we knew that one would be tough,” Enright said.

Dona Dawson’s two sisters, who attended most of the trial, were not able to get to court Wednesday in time to hear the jury’s verdict. But a close friend of the victim, Dorothy Williams, wept and whispered, “Thank you,” as jurors left the courtroom. Lee Arth, a former professor at Rio Hondo College who had known both the Dawsons for about 15 years, was in court for the verdict too.

“It was a fair verdict, considering what Don did,” Arth said.