A notorious killer serving life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of four men in Los Angeles County killed his wife during a conjugal visit late last year, prison officials told The Los Angeles Times.
On June 12, 1990, then 23-year-old David Brinson shot retired tavern owner Robert Marks, 59, in his garage apartment on South Burnside Avenue in the Mid-Wilshire district and three other men.
At his trial, witnesses testified that Brinson believed the former tavern owner was a well-connected cocaine dealer when he showed up with a gun and two accomplices hoping to rob the men for drugs and money, The Times reported at the end of the 1994 trial.
After tossing the apartment and finding only a scant amount of marijuana, witnesses testified that Brinson shot Marks, Gene McCullars, 28, Celedino Ligtas, 33, and William Terry 27, execution style as the men laid face down on the floor of the bedroom.
They had all reportedly gathered at Marks’ apartment to watch a basketball game.
The now 54-year-old Brinson had been serving his four consecutive life sentences most recently at Mule Creek State Prison in Ione, in Northern California’s Amador County, where he is said to have killed his wife during a conjugal visit.
Conjugal visits, also referred to as “family visits,” are held in a private, apartment-life facility on prison grounds, according to CDCR’s website. The visits are restricted to immediate family members, including legal spouses, parents and children, and last around 30 to 40 hours.
Officials with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said that around 2 a.m. on Nov. 13, 2024, Brinson told prison officers that his wife, 62-year-old Stephanie Brinson, had passed out, The Times reported.
Prison staff attempted lifesaving measures, but the 62-year-old woman was declared dead just before 3 a.m.
Todd Riebe confirmed to The Times that Brinson killed his wife during the conjugal visit and that he’s awaiting the prison’s report before filing charges.
The 54-year-old has since been transferred to the California Health Care Facility in Stockton, a state prison for incarcerated patients with long-term medical or acute mental health needs.
