Life sentences for man strangling son, child's mom

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By Associated Press

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A San Diego County man has been sentenced to consecutive life prison terms for strangling his infant son and the baby's mother because she pressured him to take a paternity test.

A Superior Court judge Friday sentenced 25-year-old Bonita resident Dennis Potts, with no possibility of parole.

Potts was convicted Sept. 10 of two counts of first-degree murder in the July 2006 deaths of 22-year-old Tori Vienneau and their 10-month-old, Dean Springstube.

Prosecutors say Potts had a secret relationship with Vienneau and strangled her because he did not want anyone to know he was the baby's biological father.

They said Potts agreed to take a mail-in paternity test but submitted a friend's DNA sample instead.

The defense claimed there was no direct evidence linking Potts to the killings.


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