Virginia Executes Man Who Killed Four People

The New York Times

June 19, 1998

Dennis Eaton

A functional illiterate, Dennis Eaton has a low level of intelligence, with an I.Q. ranging between 84 and 94.

During his arrest, Dennis shot himself in the head in a suicide attempt. After only three days of treatment for his gunshot wound, he was interrogated by police for the murders of Walter Custer, Jr., Ripley Marston, State Trooper Jerry Hines, and Judy McDonald.

During questioning, Dennis asked about a lawyer on five separate occasions, stating, "Maybe I ought to talk to a lawyer," "Didn't you say I had a right to a lawyer," and "I need to talk to someone, a lawyer, a psychiatrist, someone."

After each comment about an attorney the questioning officers replied that he had the right to counsel but never directly asked if he wanted a lawyer. Justice Lacy, in his dissent, writes, "In my opinion, when equivocal statements such as these are made, the most obvious and appropriate response is to ask the suspect, "Do you want a lawyer?". The suspect's response to this question should resolve the ambiguity and allow the interrogators to proceed accordingly."

When asked during questioning if Judy shot the police officer, Dennis replied "Judy was a good girl. Judy wouldn't hurt anybody."

This evidence was later used against him in the trial for the murder of the police officer in which he was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death.

Justice Lacy notes the suspicious behavior of the police officers when he writes, "As Eaton continued to refer to counsel, albeit at times in an ambiguous manner, the reactions of the police evidenced their own concern over the consequences of Eaton's statements. Yet, they took no affirmative action to remove the ambiguity and find out whether he wanted counsel. Rather, they orchestrated their actions in a manner which they believed would avoid the requirement of the presence of an attorney during the interrogation."

The appellate court found that Eaton's inquiry about counsel did not translate into a request for counsel and  upheld the conviction. 

In addition to appealing on the grounds that he should have been provided with counsel, Dennis also appealed on the grounds that the jury was not given instructions for a second-degree murder charge.

Dennis claims that Judy was the person who killed Trooper Hines and testified that the trooper instructed him to wait by the car while he arrested Judy. He believes that his testimony warrants second-degree murder instructions and feels they should have been presented to the jury. However, they were not and he was convicted of capital murder. 

During the sentencing trial the jury was not informed that Dennis' guilty plea to the other murders automatically made him ineligible for parole. They were simply told that he had committed other murders within a 24 hour span and posed a danger to the community. Dennis appealed the judge's decision to withhold the information about his other life sentences however this request was denied by the Appeal's Court. 

Dennis Eaton was executed on June 18, 1998.

Dennis Eaton was out on bond on a burglary charge and was living with Walter Custer, Jr. and Judy Ann McDonald, who had a 3 year old child together. Knowing that Walter could testify against him in the burglary charge, Eaton shot him twice in the face and once in the back before going to the next door to Ripley Marston's house, shooting him twice in the back of his head and stealing his wallet and his keys.

He stole Ripley's car and took the willing Ann McDonald with him to flee to Texas. They were routinely stopped by Jerry Hines who was a Virginia State Trooper, who suspected the driver was drunk, and they left him dead on the side of the road. The car was noticed in a fast food restaurant's drive thru and as police officers surrounded the car, Eaton shot and killed Ann, who was driving, before making an attempt to kill himself.  

Dennis Wayne Eaton