David Viens, the chef and owner at Lomita’s Thyme Contemporary Cafe who confessed to boiling his wife’s corpse after he “accidentally” killed her, was convicted of second-degree murder today. Viens’ attorney did not try to argue that Viens was not behind the slaying, but did cast doubts that he actually slow-cooked his wife, Dawn, as admitted in an interview with police. The defense argued that Viens was on heavy medication at the time of the confession and also raised the question that somebody at the restaurant would probably take issue with the presence of a 55-gallon pot containing a body and the ensuing smell. Viens has also claimed he tossed the body in the trash behind the restaurant, though the chef’s long history of reported domestic squabbles still suggest a violent temperament at play. As a body is still yet to be discovered, the fate of the doomed Dawn Viens may always be a mystery, while the chef is undoubtedly headed for the slammer.
Chef who said he ‘cooked’ wife guilty of second-degree murder [LAT]
Earlier: Killer Chef Tries To Rep Himself in Court, Haunted By Yelp Reviews [GS]
