Serial stabber Jeff Hausner's hope for leaving prison early has just been thwarted by the state Court of Appeals.
This morning, the court upheld the conviction of Hausner on attempted murder and aggravated assault charges for a 2006 stabbing he committed with serial shooters Dale Hausner (his brother) and Samuel Dieteman.
Among Jeff Hausner's arguments were that media coverage and the prosecution's mention of the shocking crimes committed by Dieteman and his brother tainted the case, and that Dieteman wasn't a credible witness. The appeals court slapped his silly ideas down.
The prosecution was forced to mention the infamous serial shooters case not only because Dieteman testified against Jeff Hausner, the appellate judges noted, but because Jeff Hausner's victim identified Dale Hausner as one of his attackers.
Dieteman snitched on both of the Hausner boys after the serial shooters' August 2006 arrest, buying himself a life sentence. Dale Hausner ended up with the death penalty (and then some) for killing six people, and Jeff Hausner was sentenced to 25 years in prison for two stabbings, (18 years for one, seven for the other.)
The three deadly amigos had been out driving around, hoping to perform "random recreational violence" on the night May 17, 2006, when they came upon 36-year-old Timothy Davenport. The victim, who survived the attack, testified that Dale Hausner distracted him while an unknown assailant stabbed him the back.
According to the opinion written by appellate judges Donn Kessler, Diane Johnsen, and Sheldon Weisberg:
The evidence was more than sufficient to sustain these convictions. Dieteman was an eyewitness to the stabbing and testified that Hausner stabbed the victim several times in the back. The victim testified that he could not see who stabbed him but recognized Dale Hausner as the driver who distracted him while the other person stabbed him in the back, consistent with Dieteman's testimony. The victim also recognized the car Dale Hausner drove the night of the stabbing and confirmed Dieteman's testimony about where the stabbing had occurred.
Jeff Hausner will stay right where he belongs.
UPDATE: We just heard from journalist Nick Martin, the Valley's resident expert on the Serial Shooters, who wanted to point out that cops suspect Jeff Hausner in six of the serial murders. See his 2009 article in Phoenix Magazine for more.
