5 details about Tori Vienneau's murder explored

The upcoming episode of Dateline: Unforgettable will chronicle the brutal double murder of Tori Vienneau and her infant son, Dean Springstube in what remains one of the most chilling cases in San Diego, California.

Dating back to July 2006, the case still sends a chill down San Diego's spine due to the perpetrator who, in this case, was none other than the biological father of the murdered baby.

The episode covering this heinous crime will air on Oxygen at 8.00 PM EST on February 29, 2024. The synopsis for the episode reads:

"When Josh Mankiewicz gets asked about his most memorable stories, the name Dayna Herroz comes to mind. After her daughter and 10-month-old grandson were murdered, her quest for justice ends with a twist in a San Diego Courtroom."

Ahead of the episode, here are five chilling details about the double murder case that shook San Diego and all of America.

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Five horrific facts about the murders of Tori Vienneau and her infant son, Dean Springstube

1) Both Tori Vienneau and her son were strangled to death

22-year-old Tori Vienneau and her infant son, Dean Springstube, were living with Tori's friend, Autumn Castellones, her two young children, and her sister, Tricia Castellones, at their San Diego apartment.

Tricia, testified that Tori was alive at 1PM on July 26, 2006, but after she woke up the same day, she found Tori sitting suspiciously still on the floor. After a while, she went on to check on her, only to find her hair-straightening iron’s cord wrapped tightly around her neck.

Dean, who was in Autumn's room, was also found strangled to death.

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2) Tori Vienneau's murder was disguised as s*xual assault

As per reports, Tori was found partially unclothed with her underwear pulled down. However, on further investigation, it was determined that she was not assaulted before she was murdered.

Instead, it seemed like the scene was made to look like a s*xual assault to misdirect the investigation.

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3) Tori had dated Dennis Potts briefly in high school and engaged with him physically in 2004

The biggest development leading to this case was Tori having a physical relationship with Dennis Potts in December 2004, following which she found out that she was pregnant.

At the time, she was dating Neil Springstube, who broke up with her and moved away when he found out the kid wasn't his.

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4) Dennis Potts had faked his paternity tests to avoid child support

Dennis Potts was actively avoiding paying for child support, which was also the primary reason behind Potts murdering Tori Vienneau and his son, Dean.

When Tori asked him for paternity tests, he did comply, but it came back negative. She later asked for a court-regulated paternity test. Police later found out that Dean was indeed Potts' son and his friend Maxwell had sent his DNA instead in the paternity tests.

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5) Dennis Potts was ultimately charged and convicted for the murders of Tori Vienneau and her infant son, Dean Springstube

After the investigation concluded, authorities were sure that Dean's biological father was behind it all. Dennis Potts was charged with two counts of murder and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice.

Prosecutors alleged that he orchestrated the whole thing to avoid paying child support. Potts was sent to prison for life without the possibility of parole, and continues to stay at the California State Prison, Corcoran.

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More details about this case can be found in the upcoming episode of Dateline: Unforgettable.