Phonthip Ott Discovered Dead in California River; Spouse Dennis Ott, US Coast Guard, Convicted of Murder and Sentenced to Life in Prison (May 17, 1992)

On May 17, 1992May 5, 2019 By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Domestic Violence, Felony Crime, Homicide, In Their Name, Military Policy, USCGLeave a comment

crime-punishment-full-1225952-640x360 — Petty Office Dennis Ott, US Coast Guard, and Phonthip Boonack Ott *(photo: 48 Hours)*

Phonthip (Boonack) Ott, 33, disappeared from her home in California on May 17, 1992. A couple months later, Phonthip Ott’s dead body was discovered in the Sacramento River near Sacramento. Phonthips body was stuffed in a large nylon duffle bag about 5 feet tall. It was held down with H-shaped cement anchors. The day their mother disappeared, Phonthip’s daughters, Tippy Dhaliwal, 14, and Jeanette Marine, 10, spent the day with their grandparents. Upon their return home, the two girls sensed something was wrong when their mother wasn’t home and immediately suspected their stepfather of killing her. Dennis Ott was an active duty petty officer in the U.S. Coast Guard and his relationship with Phonthip was tumultuous. There was interpersonal violence and adultery on both sides but it appears the domestic violence escalated with Dennis; he was jealous and possessive of Phonthip and didn’t like that she was having affairs. At one point in the relationship, Dennis threatened her life and this is when Phonthip decided to file for a restraining order and a divorce. It would be this same day, May 17th, that Phonthip would disappear.

At first, it appeared Dennis Ott was not going to be held accountable as he continued to go to work at the Coast Guard station day after day. Then one day, a 16 year old Tippy, wrote a letter to the district attorney and the Coast Guard about her mother’s case. It would be this letter that reinvigorated interest in the homicide case and after further investigation, Ott was arrested in November 1994. The duffel bag found at the crime scene was issued to Coast Guard personnel only. The H-shaped cement anchors at the crime scene matched those found in Ott’s backyard. And there appeared to be a history of escalating domestic violence that ended in murder because Phonthip wanted to leave him (rejection). In 1995, Dennis Ott was convicted and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. The two sisters hope Dennis Ott remains in prison for the rest of his life and plan to attend all the parole hearings in the future. After 20 years in prison, Dennis was eligible for parole in California. His first parole hearing was denied because the parole board felt he was too evasive and wouldn’t admit culpability.

Dennis Ott has always maintained his innocence and continues to say he did not kill his wife. Dennis Ott is up for a parole hearing again in October 2017, only two years after his last parole hearing. Both sisters share that every parole hearing re-victimizes them because they have to re-live the traumatic events of the day they lost their mother.

“I don’t believe I will be a danger to society.” -Dennis Ott

A stepfather sits in prison for killing his wife. Her daughters vow to keep him there. Does he deserve parole? -48 Hours

Navy Chief Petty Officer Mervin ‘Sonny’ Grotton Shot & Killed at Home in Maine; Wife Norma Small Convicted of Murder for Hire & Sentenced to 60 Years in Prison (1983)

On December 16, 1983March 18, 2018 By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Felony Crime, Homicide, In Their Name, Military Policy, NavyLeave a comment

Norma Small was arrested in May 2001 and then charged with murder for the shooting death of her husband US Navy Chief Petty Officer Sonny Grotton, at his home in Belfast, Maine on December 16, 1983. She was accused of hiring someone for $10,000 to murder him, convicted, and sentenced to 60 years in prison. Norma felt Sonny was worth more dead than alive. Investigators believed the crime was financially motivated. If Sonny died, Norma would get a death benefit from the Navy, the real estate that she owned with Sonny, and she received a monthly payment from the VA that over 15 or 17 years had amounted to almost $100,000.

A tattooed NCIS agent with a black belt goes undercover to find the killer of a Navy petty officer — can he get what he needs without getting caught? Watch Tuesday, June 13 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. -48 Hours

Dishonorably Discharged Army Veteran Robert Cox is a Person of Interest in the Disappearance of ‘The Springfield Three’ in 1992

On December 30, 1978June 5, 2017 By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Army, Cold Cases, Felony Crime, Homicide, Military Policy, Scandals1 Comment

Robert Craig Cox, US Army — Robert Cox, US Army Veteran

Sherrill Levitt, Stacy McCall, and Suzie Streeter vanished from Sherrill Levitt’s Springfield, Missouri home on June 7, 1992. Dishonorably discharged Army veteran Robert Craig Cox was named a person of interest in their disappearance. Cox not only had a history of violence and run ins with the law but he was living in the Springfield, Missouri area at the time of ‘The Springfield Three’ disappearance and coincidentally worked with Stacy McCall’s father. While serving in the Army, Cox pleaded guilty to kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon in California. He was sentenced to nine years in prison and dishonorably discharged from the Army, ironically after being named ‘Soldier of the Year’ in 1979. Cox was also a suspect in the death of 19 year old Sharon Zellers who disappeared after leaving work at Walt Disney World on December 30, 1978. Zellar’s badly beaten body was found several days later near Orlando, Florida in an orange grove. Cox was in central Florida visiting his parents and as a result became a suspect because he was staying in a motel close to the grove. Hospital staff also reported Robert Cox to authorities because part of his tongue had been bitten off by someone else, despite his claims that he bit his own tongue off. A case against Cox was never pursued by Florida authorities due to lack of evidence, therefore the case went unsolved for a decade. But after Cox was released from prison in California in 1986, Florida authorities charged Cox with Sharon Zeller’s murder and he was convicted and sentenced to death in 1988. Although in a rare ruling, the Florida Supreme Court overturned the murder conviction and death sentence arguing that prosecutors only had circumstantial evidence which was not enough to convict in a criminal case. Robert Cox was released in 1989 and then moved to Springfield, Missouri where he worked with Stacy McCall’s father. Although questioned in the disappearance of the three women, Cox has not admitted to any wrongdoing and authorities have found no evidence linking him to their disappearance. To this day, ‘The Springfield Three’ have not been found and no one has been charged with any crimes.

tumblr_inline_notncnAEp51tqjwql_540 — Stacy McCall, Sherrill Levitt, and Suzie Streeter went missing from Springfield, Missouri on June 7, 1992.

More than 15 years after the disappearance of “The Springfield Three”, clues to their location may lie beneath a parking garage at Cox Hospital. Will investigators find the answers they need to bring the missing women home? -Investigation Discovery

MILITARY JUSTICE FOR ALL

Tag: 48 Hours

Phonthip Ott Discovered Dead in California River; Spouse Dennis Ott, US Coast Guard, Convicted of Murder and Sentenced to Life in Prison (May 17, 1992)

Navy Chief Petty Officer Mervin ‘Sonny’ Grotton Shot & Killed at Home in Maine; Wife Norma Small Convicted of Murder for Hire & Sentenced to 60 Years in Prison (1983)

Dishonorably Discharged Army Veteran Robert Cox is a Person of Interest in the Disappearance of ‘The Springfield Three’ in 1992

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: