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Suspect Denies Phoenix Killings

Posted on: Monday, 7 August 2006, 18:00 CDT

By JACQUES BILLEAUD

PHOENIX - A suspect in a string of deadly shootings denied any involvement on Monday but said his roommate might have carried out the attacks without his knowledge.

Dale S. Hausner told reporters at a Maricopa County jail that while he slept his car could have been taken by fellow suspect Samuel John Dieteman. Police said several of the shootings were done from a car.

"I don't see Sam as a cold-blooded killer but if they've got evidence saying he is, there's not much I can do to refute that," Hausner said.

Hausner, 33, said he never shot anyone and that he kept news clippings about the shooting spree and a map of shooting locations because he found the case interesting. Police found the maps and clippings while searching the men's apartment during their arrest last week.

Hausner said he suffered through the deaths of two sons and would "never want anyone to go through what I went through." His toddler sons drowned in a creek after a car crash that occurred when his second wife fell asleep at the wheel, according to a 1994 report in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Hausner said his brother introduced him to Dieteman, 30, six months ago. He said he let Dieteman move into his apartment about a month ago because he felt sorry for a guy with no job or home.

Hausner told a news reporter Sunday that he didn't believe Dieteman owned any weapons. He said he worries that his weapons were used by Dieteman during the killing spree.

Dieteman and Hausner face two counts each of first-degree murder and 13 counts each of attempted first-degree murder. A preliminary hearing is scheduled Aug. 14.

Overall, they are being investigated in 37 shootings in which six people were killed and 17 were wounded. Other shootings involved animals.

On Monday, police said they are adding one more fatal shooting to their investigation - the May 17, 2005, killing of Tony Mendez.

If the Mendez shooting is linked to the case, it would make him the first victim of what police called the "Serial Shooter."

Police who interviewed Dieteman said the two took turns shooting people in the city over the course of more than a year.

Until last week, investigators had no idea who was responsible for the late-night attacks.

Source: Associated Press/AP Online

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