Dana Ewell biography

Synopsis

Early Life

Dana Ewell was a spoiled, Armani-clad young man who lacked nothing in life, certainly not materialistically. His father, Dale, was known to be a strict father and hard-nosed businessman who built his fortune by setting up the company Western Piper Sales, Inc. selling small aircraft. Dale had been brought up in the Depression, and later joined the U.S. Air Force. After starting up his aircraft business, he invested his money in several farms and accumulating great wealth. His empire at the time of his death was worth around $8 million. Dana’s mother, Glee, was a respected and much-liked civic activist, and had once been a teacher in Fresno, California, where the family lived. From the outside, the Ewells appeared to be the perfect, American success story.

At an early age, Dana showed a tendency to lie and fabricate stories. Having a comfortable home, money, expensive clothes and a secure future wasn't enough for the well-educated and highly intelligent child. He was ambitious, like his father, but unlike his father wasn't prepared to work to gain status and wealth.

Even during his time as a student at the University of Santa Clara, Dana felt the need to fabricate vainglorious stories about himself and achievements that simply didn't exist. As a compulsive liar, he managed to con fellow students and staff members into believing that he owned a company, which he said grossed $2.7 million. Part of his web of tales included the impression that he had become a stockbroker at 18 and an aircraft salesman, eventually leading him to the position of 'president' of his own aircraft company.

The lies were supported by Dana’s conspicuous use of wealth. He obsessed over money and designer clothes. He had a BMW at his disposal, and enough money to spend at a whim. But what outsiders weren't aware of was the reality of a father-son relationship that was strained to the point of non-communication. There is little doubt that revelations about Dana's concocting of absurd tales about himself embarrassed his father, and may have led to confrontations.

There is no evidence of physical abuse, or any allegations that Dale beat his son. There was also no indication as to why a compulsive liar with a fertile imagination, and an IQ of 180, could be capable of plotting the slaying of his own family. Whatever the cause, no doubt the fact that he would inherit $8 million and become the executor of his grandmother's $400,000 trust account on the death of his parents, fueled his deadly fantasies.

Crimes

On Easter Sunday, April 19, 1992, Dale and Glee Ewell, along with Dana’s sister Tiffany, were fatally gunned down in their home in Sunnyside, California. The Ewells had returned home from a holiday weekend at their beach house in Pajaro Dunes, California. Glee and Tiffany were the first victims, as they had driven back home while Dale flew their private plane back to its hangar. Dale was shot after entering the house about