Two women were strangled to death during conjugal visits at Mule Creek State Prison only months apart in California. Tania Thomas, 47, died in July 2024, and Stephanie Dowells, 62, died in November 2024.
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According to NBC News, Dowells visited her husband, David Brinson, 54, back in November. Brinson has been serving four consecutive life sentences after murdering four men in a robbery back in the '90s. Brinson himself called prison officials on November 13 at 2:04 a.m., telling them that his wife had passed out.
Police officers arrived and attempted to save Dowells's life. However, they were unsuccessful, and she was pronounced dead. Her death remains under investigation, and Brinson has not been charged. The Amador County Sheriff's Office, however, confirmed that Stephanie Dowells was strangled to death. They ruled her death a homicide.
Just four months before Dowells's death, Tania Thomas visited Anthony Curr on July 1, 2024. Curry had been serving a life sentence after he was found guilty of attempted second-degree murder. Officers found Thomas unconscious and later confirmed that, similarly to Dowells, she was strangled to death. Contrary to Brinson, Curr was charged with murder, although he hasn't been arraigned, as per Amador County District Attorney Todd Riebe.
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Tania Thomas's cousin, Jeanine Rojo, talked to NBC News and addressed both her cousin and Dowells's deaths. "Something needs to be done, and it should have been done two homicides ago," Rojo said. "I'm sick to my stomach that this happened to Tania, but then it happened again just months after her to Stephanie, and it should have been prevented."
Armand Torres, Dowells's son, who stated that David Brinson has changed his account of what happened back in November 2024, said that violent prisoners should have higher levels of supervision.
"I want them to take some accountability for this, the prison," Torres said. "Because what's stopping the next person from killing their wife or son or anybody?"
DA Riebe said that deaths during overnight visits at Mule Creek State Prison are extremely rare. According to him, these two deaths were the first he had seen since becoming a district attorney 26 years ago. "It's very concerning," Riebe said, calling it "unprecedented" in both his experience and in the facility.
In a statement shared with PEOPLE following Thomas's death, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) said that family visits are a "privilege." Furthermore, inmates must meet "strict eligibility criteria" to have these conjugal visits approved.
"Only those who demonstrate sustained good behavior and meet specific program requirements are considered," the CDCR said. "These visits are designed to support positive family connections and successful rehabilitation."
