AMADOR COUNTY, Calif. – A California man previously convicted of murdering four people in 1990 is now accused of killing his wife during a conjugal prison visit, authorities confirmed.
David Brinson is serving life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of four men in Los Angeles County. During his 1994 trial, witnesses testified that four male victims were shot and killed execution style, lying face down on the floor, during a drug rip-off, the Los Angeles Times reported at the conclusion of the legal proceedings.
Brinson, 54, was convicted of the homicides and had been serving his four consecutive life sentences, most recently at Mule Creek State Prison in Northern California’s Amador County, reported KTLA.
On Nov. 13, 2024, the inmate’s wife, Stephanie Brinson, 62, was authorized a conjugal visit. These are also referred to as “family visits,” and held in a private, apartment-like facility on prison grounds. The visits are restricted to immediate family members, including legal spouses, parents and children, and last around 30 to 40 hours, according to CDCR’s website.
At approximately 2 a.m. on the date of the conjugal visit late last year, Brinson told prison officers that his wife had passed out, The Times reported.
Despite lifesaving measures taken by prison staff members, the woman was declared dead just before 3 a.m.
Now, more than four months after Stephanie Brinson’s demise, the county coroner’s office ruled that she was strangled to death, according to reporting from the Independent.
Amador County District Attorney Todd Riebe said he he’s awaiting the prison’s full report before filing charges.
In the meantime, Brinson has been transferred to the California Health Care Facility in Stockton, a state prison for incarcerated patients with long-term medical or acute mental health issues.
