SAN DIEGO, CA – A California man received a 15-years-to-life sentence for the 2003 murder of his wife, in a case that had remained unsolved for nearly two decades. Jack Dennis Potter, 72, admitted to killing Laurie Diane Potter, 54, and was sentenced on Friday after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in February.
The gruesome case started to unfold on October 5, 2003, when a maintenance worker discovered two severed legs in a dumpster at a Rancho San Diego apartment complex. For years, authorities struggled to identify the remains due to a lack of missing person reports and other leads. However, advances in DNA technology eventually led investigators to Laurie Potter’s relatives in June 2020, unraveling the long-dormant case.
Detective Troy DuGal, who played a significant role in cracking the case, revealed that Jack Potter had been the keeper of this dark secret for years. No one else, it seemed, knew the fate of Laurie Potter until DuGal and the cold case team reignited the investigation.
Potter’s actions following his wife’s murder revealed a disturbing story. Fueled by an obsession with a woman he met at a strip club, who coincidentally shared his wife’s first name, Potter embarked on a spree of financial exploitation and deceit. He opened multiple credit accounts and indulged in extravagant purchases, including a pickup truck and a ski boat.
Court documents describe how Potter used deceit to maneuver through the legal system. He filed fraudulent divorce proceedings, never once disclosing Laurie’s death, and capitalized on this to sell their shared home in Temecula, thereby pocketing all financial gains from the sale. Prosecutors highlighted Potter’s chilling level of deception, noting that he continued to use Laurie’s identity for financial benefit long after her death.
The gravity of Potter’s actions left family and friends stunned. Laurie Potter, they recall, never raised suspicions by going missing, which added layers of complexity to the mystery. It wasn’t until the collaboration between technology and determined investigators, like Detective DuGal, that the truth behind the macabre discovery in a dumpster almost twenty years ago came to light.
Potter’s sentencing marks a significant milestone for Laurie’s family, who were denied closure for many years. Even with the possibility of parole, Potter will be in his later years before he ever sees another day outside prison.
The case not only exemplifies justice served but also showcases modern investigative techniques that are closing chapters on previously unsolvable crimes, demonstrating that even the most meticulously hidden truths can eventually come to light.