U.S. serial killer Dale Hausner found dead in cell

ANTHEM, ARIZONA (BNO NEWS) -- American serial killer Dale Hausner, who terrorized the Phoenix-area for months as he and an accomplice carried out a series of deadly shootings that claimed at least eight lives, died in Arizona on Wednesday after he was found unresponsive in his prison cell.

Hausner, 40, was found unresponsive in his cell just after 12 p.m. local time at Arizona State Prison Complex - Eyman in Florence, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) southeast of Phoenix. Prison staff and medical responders administered CPR before he was transported to Florence Hospital at Anthem, where he was pronounced dead at 1:15 p.m.

Bill Lamoreaux, a spokesman for the Arizona Department of Corrections (ADC), said Hausner's cause of death was not immediately known. "An investigation is being led by the Department's Criminal Investigation Unit in consultation with the county medical examiner's office," he said.

Known in Arizona as the "Serial Shooter," Hausner was convicted in March 2009 of 80 crimes, including six counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault, drive-by shooting, firearms charges, cruelty to animals and arson. He received six death sentences for the killings.

Hausner and his accomplice Samuel Dieteman were both convicted for carrying out their series of nighttime shootings that randomly targeted pedestrians, bicyclists and animals in the Phoenix-area in 2005 and 2006. Hausner was convicted of killing six people and wounding 18 while Dieteman pleaded guilty to two murders.

Phoenix police attributed at least 36 shooting incidents to Hausner and Dieteman, but some believe the duo may have been responsible for other incidents as well during their crime spree that spanned more than a year. Dieteman testified against Hausner at trial and was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

(Copyright 2013 by BNO News B.V. All rights reserved. Info: [email protected].)