Dana Ewell

Dana James Ewell (born January 28, 1971) is a convicted American murderer who was sentenced to three life sentences for ordering the killing of his father, mother, and sister in 1992. His sister, Tiffany Ann (b. 1967), a few weeks shy of her 25th birthday at the time of her death, was a graduate student, while Dana Ewell himself had earned a finance degree from the Santa Clara University (SCU).

Dana Ewell's parents had substantial investments in the stock market and local farmland. A Santa Clara newspaper and SCU's yearbook both had printed stories on Ewell in 1990,

Murders Dale, Glee, and Tiffany Ewell were murdered on Sunday, April 19, 1992, in their Fresno home. At the time of the murders, Ewell lived at the family home but was away with his girlfriend for the Easter weekend. The bodies were discovered two days after the murders, when Ewell notified family friends in Sunnyside that he was unable to contact his parents. A box of 9mm ammunition, purchased by Dale Ewell in the early 1970s, was found in the home and were believed to have been used to kill the family. While the home appeared to have been searched for valuables, Detective Souza, who had extensive experience investigating burglaries,

Although Dana Ewell's alibi for the time of the murders included having spent the Easter weekend with his girlfriend and her family in San Francisco, approximately 200 miles away, he became a person of interest after authorities eliminated all possible suspects. Ponce also concealed evidence after the murders, making him an accessory. He was granted immunity from prosecution and agreed to testify against Ewell and Radovcich, who were arrested on March 2, 1995.

Trial and conviction

James Oppliger and Jeffrey Hammerschmidt of the Fresno County District Attorney's Office prosecuted Ewell and Radovcich in a jury trial that lasted more than eight months. Prosecutors argued that Ewell was motivated by greed, and that he promised Radovcich a share of his family's wealth. Ewell and Radovcich were represented by separate attorneys who took different strategies. Ewell's attorneys, Ernest Kinney, Pete Jones, Mike Castro, and Galatea DeLapp asserted their client was innocent. Radovcich's attorney, Phil Cherney, believing the evidence was so overwhelming against Radovcich that a guilty verdict was probable, made his main goal avoiding the death penalty. On July 20, 1998, the judge delivered default sentences of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Television The case is covered in the Forensic Files episode "Two in a Million" (season 11, episode 40, aired April 18, 2007), The New Detectives episode "Family Plots" (season 5, episode 9, aired January 25, 2000) and the Dominick Dunne's Power, Privilege, and Justice episode "Tailspin" (season 3, episode 5, aired September 5, 2003).

City Confidential ("Fatal Inheritance"), American Justice ("Millions of Reasons to Kill"), and Solved also did episodes on the case. In Ice Cold Blood also aired an episode about the case (“Deadly Greed” season 2, episode 14, aired June 3, 2019).

The series Behind Mansion Walls covered the case in "The Perfect Crime" (season 1, episode 2, aired on June 13, 2011). It is also covered in the It Takes a Killer episode "Spoiled, Rotten, and Ruthless", and the Vengeance: Killer Millionaires episode "Trust Fund Terror."

ABC30 Fresno and ABC Localish Studios co-produced an hour-long documentary film on the Ewell family murders, "Murdered for Millions", which first aired in May 2022. A postscript in the film states that Dana Ewell applied for executive clemency in January 2022.