The wife of a California inmate serving a life sentence for four murders died during a family visit last year — and now he is accused of killing her.
David Brinson, 55, has been charged with murder in the November 2024 death of his wife, Stephanie Diane Dowells, 62, according to Amador County District Attorney Todd Riebe, who spoke with PEOPLE.
On November 13, 2024, just after 2 a.m., Brinson called prison staff and said his wife had collapsed, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation reported. Officers tried to save her and called 911, but Dowells was pronounced dead at 2:51 a.m. Her death was later ruled a homicide caused by strangulation…