(IMAGE SOURCE: KTLA )

 

BY MARY McGUIRE

Los Angeles chef David Viens – accused of killing and slow-cooking his wife Dawn – is on trial in California. Here’s KNBC with more on the gruesome case.  

“David Viens claims he argued with Dawn and then bound her arms and feet and duct-taped her mouth shut. He says he panicked when he found her dead in the morning, stuffed her 105 lb body in a drum, and disposed of the remains as if it was kitchen waste.”

Viens – owner of restaurant Thyme Contemporary Cafe in Lomita, California – told investigators in March 2011 ...

"I just slowly cooked it and I ended up cooking her for four days.”

Viens’ daughter testified in court that her father made jokes about using his culinary skills to dispose of a dead body. But that’s not all. According to LA Weekly...

“His actions in the days and months that followed her disappearance were...sick and void of conscience. Viens kept living at the home...where he allegedly murdered (his wife) with his new girlfriend...and never so much as reported his wife missing.”

The twists don’t stop there. According to the LA Times , when Viens learned authorities were on to him...

“He jumped off a cliff -- feet first, hands extended over his head...That's how he ended up in the hospital, so severely injured that he is attending his murder trial in a wheelchair.”

Viens pleaded not guilty to the first degree murder charge against him. Dawn’s body was never found.