Woman Killed During Visit With Husband in Prison

SACRAMENTO, CA — A California woman was found strangled to death while visiting her husband in prison, according to prosecutors.

The homicide occurred in November at Mule Creek State Prison outside Sacramento, but her cause of death was confirmed this week by autopsy results.

Stephanie Dowells, a 62-year-old grandmother, was visiting David Brinson, 54, who was already serving a life sentence for four murders in 1993.

Despite his crimes, Brinson was allowed to have family visits, which happen in private, apartment-like facilities on prison grounds.

During one of these visits, Brinson used a phone in the room to report that his wife had fainted. Despite immediate lifesaving measures by paramedics, she was pronounced dead.

The Amador County Sheriff's Office confirmed this week that Brinson is a suspect in Dowells’ death, but he has not yet been formally charged. That could soon change after the release of the autopsy results.