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48 Hours: Bizarre case of chef accused of killing, cooking wife

David Viens, left, with his wife, Dawn.

/ CBS Los Angeles/Lomita Police Dept.
(CBS) - When Dawn Viens, then 39 years old, vanished on October 18, 2009, her friends and family were mystified. At the time, Dawn was the hostess of the Thyme Café, a small but popular restaurant in Lomita, Calif., a suburb of Los Angeles nicknamed "Slomita" because of the lack of crime there. Dawn's husband David was the chef and owner of the restaurant. 

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Chef gets 15 years to life for killing, cooking wife

David and Dawn Viens

/ CBS Los Angeles/Lomita Police Dept.
(AP) LOS ANGELES - A chef who told police he cooked his wife's body in boiling water has been sentenced in Los Angeles to 15 years to life in prison for second-degree murder.

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LA chef to be sentenced for killing, boiling wife

David Viens

/ Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department

(CBS/AP) LOS ANGELES - David Viens, a Los Angeles chef who told police he boiled his wife's body for four days is scheduled to be sentenced Friday morning for his murder conviction.

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Police release chef David Viens' murder confession

David Viens

/ Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department

(CBS/KCBS) LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles County District Attorney has released the audio recording of California chef David Viens describing to investigators how he killed his wife, and then cooked her body, reports CBS Los Angeles.

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Chef David Viens convicted of killing, cooking wife

David Viens

/ Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department

(CBS) LOS ANGELES - A jury has found chef David Viens guilty of murdering his wife after he told police he cooked her body for four days in boiling water to get rid of the evidence.

Pictures: Calif. chef accused of cooking his wife's corpse

The jury reached its verdict Thursday in the trial of 49-year-old David Viens.

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Deliberations continue in LA chef's murder trial

David Viens

/ Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department

(CBS) LOS ANGELES - A California jury will continue deliberations Thursday morning in the case of David Viens, a Los Angeles-area chef accused of killing his wife and then cooking her body in boiling water for four days, the Los Angeles Times reports.

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Judge: Chef can't represent self in murder case

David and Dawn Viens

/ CBS Los Angeles/Lomita Police Dept.

(CBS/AP) LOS ANGELES - A chef accused of murdering his 39-year-old wife and boiling her body for four days to get rid of the evidence asked the judge in his case Thursday if he could fire his lawyer and represent himself.

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Calif. man accused of cooking wife won't testify

David Viens

/ Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department

(CBS/AP) LOS ANGELES - A chef accused of killing his wife and then cooking her body for four days in boiling water won't take the stand in his own defense in his murder trial, according to his attorney.

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Report: LA chef told police he slow-cooked wife

David and Dawn Viens

/ CBS Los Angeles/Lomita Police Dept.

(CBS/AP) LOS ANGELES - A chef on trial Tuesday for his wife's murder told sheriff's investigators that they couldn't find his wife's body because he had cooked it for four days in boiling water until little was left but her skull.

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LA Cops: Husband admits killing wife Dawn Viens

Dawn Viens

/ lacrimestoppers.org

(CBS/AP) LOMITA, Calif. - David Viens has admitted to killing his wife, Dawn, say Los Angeles authorities, but after an extensive search of his Lomita restaurant her body still has not been found.

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