The husband of a woman who went unidentified for nearly two decades after her legs were discovered inside a trash bin in Rancho San Diego was sentenced Friday.
Jack Dennis Potter, 72, was ordered to prison for 15 years to life for the murder of Laurie Diane Potter, 54.
Potter was arrested in 2021 in connection with the death of the victim, whose remains were found Oct. 5, 2003 in a trash bin at an apartment complex on Hilton Head Court.
Investigative genetic genealogy aided investigators in identifying Laurie Potter, according to sheriff’s officials, who said it was the first time the technology was used to identify a homicide victim in the San Diego region.
Potter pleaded guilty in February to second-degree murder.
Deputy District Attorney Julie Lynn said many specific details of the killing remain unknown, other than Potter smothered his wife and dismembered her.
After his wife’s disappearance, prosecutors say the defendant maintained the fiction that she was alive by opening credit cards in her name and filing fraudulent family court documents in which he claimed he had spoken with her.
The falsified documents allowed him to sell the Temecula home he shared with his wife and keep the proceeds of the sale, according to prosecutors.
He also gave several high-priced gifts to a new girlfriend shortly after his wife’s remains were found, including an SUV, a ski boat, a credit card and an apartment, according to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office.
At Potter’s sentencing hearing, Laurie Potter’s son, John Carlson, said he’d lost touch with his mother over the years, but made efforts to re-establish contact and renew their relationship.
While trying to reach his mother, Carlson said he was told by Jack Potter, “My mother just wanted to be alone, which unfortunately I believed. And this really hurts to this day.”
Carlson said he had trusted Potter, who at the time seemed “like the perfect guy for her … He was the last person that I suspected would ever do something like that.”
At the conclusion of his statement, Carlson said he forgave Potter, in part because of a letter he received from the defendant, which Carlson said included sincere expressions of remorse.
Prior to being sentenced, Potter said, “I just want to apologize for what happened. I loved my wife very much … I let my emotions get the better of me that one time. I don’t know why. It just happened and I’m sorry.”
After the hearing, District Attorney Summer Stephan, in a statement, praised the efforts of investigators and prosecutors, saying “Their dedication and refusal to give up on this case, no matter how much time passed, led to this long-overdue resolution.”
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