STAFF REPORTS
Chino – Convicted killer Samuel Dubyak’s parole has been overturned by Governor Jerry Brown. The State Parole Board had recommended the former Chino resident’s release from Soledad State Prison in Northern California.
In a written statement from Brown’s office, the Governor said, “Mr. Dubyak’s claim of innocence is not believable. I am troubled by Mr. Dubyak’s lack of remorse and empathy.”
Lourdes Dubyak’s body has never been found, but the evidence was strong enough to convict Samuel Dubyak of first-degree murder in 1987. According to a pre-sentencing report, Dolores and Samuel had been having marital problems and Dolores was considering divorce. She had also been having at least one affair. She was last seen alive on Aug. 11, 1985 by a close friend after her lover had dropped her off at home.
Samuel Dubyak had never had any adult convictions, is a college graduate and had a steady job, making him an unlikely suspect. However, Dubyak did not report his wife missing until four weeks later. Again, according to pre-sentencing reports, he said that she had disappeared after making a phone call and telling him she needed to go out for awhile. Dubyak claims that she was gone when he awoke the next morning.
Later, police learned that Dubyak’s brother and neighbor had disposed of the couple’s bed. In the written statement from the Governor’s office this item was recorded, “The bed had a bullet hole through the mattress and box spring, and a 22-caliber (bullet was) lodged in the box springs. Traces of blood were also found in their room,”
Other evidence such as blood in the hatchback of his vehicle, a forged typewritten letter suggesting Lourdes Dubyak was in Mexico City, as well as other inconsistencies, raised speculation. Samuel Dubyak still continues to deny any involvement in this murder and at a 2012 parole hearing he claimed that he had bought a new mattress and dumped the old one, but someone else must have shot the old one.
The Governor, in his written statement, encouraged Dubyak to “continue his efforts to develop insight into the factors that contributed to his crime.”
