March 16, 1994 Eighty-seven-year-old Dora Beebe, living in nearby Sun City, gave directions to a lost motorist who asked to use her phone. Beebe was later found strangled; her credit cards were missing.
The gated communities descended into paranoia. Elderly widows began sleeping in groups for safety.
The One Who Survived
Dana’s arrogance eventually betrayed her. On March 17, 1994, she walked into a boutique in Temecula and tried to strangle the 29-year-old clerk, Dorinda Hawkins, with yet another telephone cord. Hawkins fought back and survived. The last thing she remembered before blacking out was the attacker whispering, “Relax. Just relax.”
Hawkins’ description, combined with store surveillance and credit-card tracking, led police straight to the stylish woman with the freshly dyed hair and the young son named Jason.
Arrest and a Lifetime Behind Bars
Investigators were stunned. “The thought of her being able to take someone’s life is just totally unbelievable,” said one of her former coworkers.
Confronted with overwhelming evidence, Dana initially pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Facing the death penalty, she accepted a plea deal in 1998: life without parole for the murders of June Roberts and Dora Beebe, plus the attempted murder of Dorinda Hawkins. Prosecutors agreed not to charge her with Norma Davis’s murder (the case many still believe was her first).
When asked why three women had to die so she could go shopping, Dana replied coolly: “I got desperate to buy things. Shopping puts me at rest.”
Receipts recovered by police told the story: cowboy boots, Opium perfume, vodka, a spa massage, a ski mask, sneakers for men and women—impulsive, extravagant purchases paid for with blood.
Today: The 67-Year-Old “Reformed” Killer
Dana Sue Gray, now 67, is housed at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla. She has appeared in documentaries and was the subject of a 2025 episode of Very Scary People titled “The Angel of Death.”
In recent interviews she refuses to discuss the murders in detail, saying she does not want to re-traumatize the victims’ families. Instead she positions herself as an advocate for female lifers, arguing that women serving LWOP are denied rehabilitation opportunities.
She claims she has changed profoundly and says she would welcome any victim’s family member who wanted to confront her.