The Halloween Murder of Doreen Erbert
HAPPY HALLOWEEN Y’ALL! I thought I would do a Halloween case to get myself in the spirit. I’ve been watching a lot of Halloween movies especially on Freeform, but this year feels a little different. Here’s a case that is very tragic and very scary!
Background
Doreen Rae Hitchens was born in Santa Clara, California in 1952. She grew up in a very loving family. She had a job as a physical therapist, and that’s how she met her first husband Michael Dennis, also known as Mike.
Doreen
Mike and Doreen
Michael Dennis worked at Lockheed factory as a sprayer, which was right next door to Doreen’s job. Mike had suffered from hearing loss, which often caused him to stutter. His friend, Jim Patriott told Snapped on Oxygen, that Mike was depressed, and he didn’t socialize a lot. He didn’t often have girlfriends either, so when he met Doreen, he said he had found the one.
Mike and Doreen got married a few months later, and had one son, named Paul. They were often stressed, and it would lead to their divorce in 1977. Doreen had custody of their son, but Mike would have him on the weekends. He was very angry and bitter about their divorce, and Doreen was able to move on quickly.
Charles Erbert
Charles was a carpet store owner. He and Doreen got married, and had a baby girl named Deanna in 1979.
The Death of Paul Dennis
The Erbert’s had a swimming pool in their backyard. In February of 1980, Paul, who was 4 years old at the time, went into the backyard. The pool was surrounded by a fence, but Paul was able to climb over the fence and fall into the pool. Doreen was the only other one home at the time and by the time she found Paul, it was too late. Paul was put on life support, but died three days later.
Mike Dennis filed a wrongful death suit against Charles and Doreen, and in March 1982, the case was taken to trial. The judge ruled in favor of Charles and Doreen.
Mike was already bitter, but this is rumored to be what pushed him over the edge. He also lost his job at Lockheed, and he thought that Doreen had murdered their son.
Murder
On Halloween night, 1984, Doreen who was 8 months pregnant at the time, took Deanna trick or treating. Charles claims he left the house for about 15 minutes, to go to the liquor store and get more candy to pass out.
Around 9pm, someone knocked on their front door. Doreen answered the door to a frightening sight, there was a man in a wolf mask holding a machete. Deanna was interviewed in the Snapped episode, and said that the man said “I’m going to kill y0u.” Doreen told Deanna to hide behind the couch. Doreen and her unborn baby were brutally murdered.
Mike wearing the wolf mask
Charles returned home, and found the horrible scene. The front door was unlocked, and Doreen was laying right near the entrance, and their unborn son was in the living room.
Doreen was struck in the head and body with the machete, her left hand was severed. The fetus of her unborn baby was removed and hacked to pieces. There was also so much blood that Charles actually slipped and fell in it.
Luckily, there was a survivor, and Charles found Deanna still hiding in the living room.
Investigation
When the San Jose police arrived, they too found the terrible scene. Charles was hysterical and covered in blood. He was first looked at as a suspect, as all family members are.
By the front door, they found the wolf mask. The wolf mask had big eyes, big teeth and a tongue sticking out. There was also a trail of blood leaving the Erbert house, trailing down the block. The police took blood samples from the home. They also found out about the issues that Charles and Doreen had with Mike Dennis, and left to go talk to Mike.
Meanwhile, Doreen died on the way to the hospital.
Interviewing Mike Dennis
The police knocked on Mike’s door. He didn’t answer, but they heard running water, and saw lights on. Mike finally answered the door.
The police noticed that Mike had a bandage on his hand, and he told them he got the injury from playing with a knife. (Because we all just play with knives in our free time, right?) They also found blood around Mike’s house, bloody gauze and on some of his clothing. The police had also looked into his car with a flashlight, and noticed blood on the steering wheel and gear shift.
Mike was immediately under arrest for murder.
More Evidence
The police did a second search at Mike’s house. They found a receipt from a hardware store and a label for a machete, with an 18 inch blade. In the garage, they found two handmade coffins and body bags. They suspected that Mike was going to kill Charles that night as well, but luckily he wasn’t home.
Mike was released after 48 hours, because the evidence wasn’t strong enough.
2nd Arrest
On November 5, 1984, Mike was arrested again for murder, with special circumstances. He made him eligible for the death penalty. His blood type matched the blood at the crime scene.
They also found out that Mike had dressed as a big bad wolf the previous year and attended a Halloween party. He also took pictures, which was confirmed by a woman who attended the same party.
Trial and Conviction
Mike’s trial began in July of 1988. He pleaded guilty to first degree murder of Doreen and second degree murder of Doreen’s unborn baby.
In September of 1999, he was sentenced to death. However, he is on death row at San Quentin prison. (I wonder if he’s besties with Scott Peterson!)
Other
Deanna and Charles
Charles and Deanna have forgiven Mike. In a 2016 interview, Deanna said:
““I want him to know we survived. And we’re making it. He hasn’t conquered us.””
FINAL THOUGHTS
I actually got chills thinking about how terrifying it would be to open the door to someone in a disguise. Also, to find out it was someone you knew, and at one time loved. It’s never been said if Doreen found out that it was Mike, but his mask was found at the crime scene, so he could have revealed himself.
I feel so bad for Charles, and more importantly Deanna. Who knows what she actually saw that night. I’m so happy that she was told to hide, and that she survived. She was brave then, and she’s brave now.
I hope Mike rots in prison for life.
Sources
https://heavy.com/entertainment/5-horrifying-real-life-halloween-murders/
