David Stephen Middleton

David Stephen Middleton (born June 25, 1961), known as The Cable Guy, is an American former police officer, kidnapper, murderer, and suspected serial killer. Convicted and sentenced to death for the murders of two women in Nevada committed in 1994 and 1995, he is also the prime suspect in at least one additional murder in Colorado and rapes committed while serving in the Miami-Dade Police Department.

Early life David Stephen Middleton was born on June 25, 1961, in Boston, Massachusetts, the only son of a police officer. Little is known about his upbringing, but at some point during his life, Middleton moved to Miami, Florida, where he studied at a police academy and later applied for a job at the Miami-Dade Police Department. He was accepted sometime in 1981 and served as an officer in the Miami-Dade County area.

Employment at Miami-Dade PD During his tenure at the Miami Police Department, Middleton used his position to pick up and rape vulnerable young women. Among his victims was 16-year-old AC, whom he picked up off a street in Miami in September 1990 using the excuse that it was past her curfew and her parents were worried. As a result, Donohue's father and husband went searching for her and eventually found her car parked at the parking lot of a local Walmart. Inside, they found her wallet and driver's license, but Donohue herself was nowhere to be seen.

Eventually, both of Donohue's parents were charged with felony menacing, false imprisonment and criminal trespassing about unrelated incidents committed during attempts to locate their daughter. In response to the charges, Frank Marquis, an inmate who was facing murder charges in an unrelated case, organized a hunger strike to show his solidarity with the family. Her fate remained unclear until April 1995, when her remains were found in Verdi.

Katherine Powell On February 6, 1995, 45-year-old Katherine Powell, a respected teacher working at the Sun Valley Elementary School in Reno, was reported missing by her colleagues after failing to show up to work for two days in a row. Officers were then dispatched to search her home, and upon entering, they found that her truck had been left untouched, but Powell herself was nowhere to be seen, and some of her items were missing. Upon questioning the neighbors, the officers learned that an old, beat-up car driven by an unfamiliar man frequently stopped by the residence but could not provide more information. Further investigations revealed that a friend of Powell's had seen her shopping at a Target store in Sparks on the night she was reported missing. The news of her death shocked the local community, who mourned her loss and feared for the safety of the children.

Investigation and arrest While investigating potential suspects in the Powell case, one of the detectives took notice of Middleton, as he had done a TV installation at her home and owned a truck similar to the one supposedly seen by the neighbors. As a result, officers went to search his apartment on February 23, where they found a shotgun. As he was an ex-felon and thus prohibited from possessing firearms, they tracked down and arrested Middleton, lodging him in the Washoe County Jail on $3,500 bail. His girlfriend, 37-year-old Evonne Ione Haley, was also arrested on charges of using drugs but was later released.

Trial At a preliminary hearing, many aspects of the case were scrutinized, including speculation from both sides that Middleton might have stored Powell's body in his refrigerator, which stemmed from the fact that two holes had been drilled and the shelves had been inexplicably removed. In addition to this, prosecutors presented purchases from a Good Guys store in Reno with Powell's credit card and bite mark evidence that supposedly indicated that Middleton had bitten one of Powell's breasts while raping her.

Parallel to Middleton's trial, his girlfriend's trial for credit card fraud, possession of stolen property, and burglary was also kept under watch from prosecutors, as some pieces of evidence overlapped in both trials. In addition, if Haley were convicted, she would be able to appear as a witness and testify against Middleton, who had pleaded innocent and claimed that while he had had sex with Powell, it was consensual and that he had left her house, only to return and find her dead. Middleton claimed that he feared he would be blamed for her murder. Due to this, he decided to wrap her body up in the sleeping bag and throw it in the trash bin.

In February 1998, Florida authorities filed proceedings for some of the rapes Middleton committed in their state: one of the charges was for the rape of Cosme, and the other for the rape of a Jane Doe on multiple occasions. In the latter case, the filings alleged that Middleton had engaged in involuntary sexual acts with the victim during a DUI check and later during a visit to his house, in which Middleton was dressed in priest garb and conducted Voodoo-like rituals before raping the victim.

Eventually, when Haley was convicted of her respective charges, she was brought forward as a witness for the prosecution but refused to answer any questions, invoking her Fifth Amendment rights. As the trial was drawing to a close, prosecutors brought in forensics experts from the FBI to demonstrate how wool fibers collected from Powell's body matched those found inside the refrigerator owned by Middleton.

Conviction and death sentence In September 1997, Middleton was found guilty on all counts by the jury, a verdict that was cheered on and welcomed by both prosecutors and the victims' family members. Shortly after the trial, several of said family members told in interviews with the press that they wished he would receive the death penalty for his crimes. Middleton himself appeared concerned upon hearing the verdict, but otherwise did not react. The announcement was met with relief from the victims' family members, including the family of Buffy Donohue, who said that they would like to attend his execution if it is ever carried out. A month later, he was given an additional 32 years for credit card and firearms offences he had committed in connection with the cases. In 1999, the Donohue family hired a special prosecutor in an attempt to charge Middleton with their daughter's murder, but no such charges were brought forward.

As of February 2024, Middleton remains on Nevada's death row and awaits execution.