Timothy Dean is a former Texas police officer who was convicted in the homicides of his wife’s ex-boyfriend and the ex-boyfriend’s girlfriend in western New York.
Where is Dean now? He’s serving a life prison term without the possibility of parole in a New York state prison. In fact, the judge told Dean at sentencing that he would die in prison. During sentencing, according to the Democrat and Chronicle, Dean “remained emotionless, staring straight ahead and never turned to make eye contact with any of them.” The newspaper reported that he was planning an appeal after the August 2019 sentencing.
What of Dean’s wife, Charlene Childers, who admitted masterminding the shooting plot? Today, she is serving a 28-year state prison sentence for the Sodus, New York double homicide. She admitted planning it in exchange for a plea deal. The case is featured in an October 11, 2019 episode of NBC’s Dateline.
Childers testified that she conspired with Timothy Dean in the murder of Joshua Niles. The motive: Custody of the two children she shared with the ex; she had lost them when Dean was accused of child abuse. Amber Washburn was also shot and killed in the same attack outside their Sodus home. Childers was a mother of three who worked as an animal control officer for the Dumas Police Department. Dean was the triggerman.
Here’s what you need to know:
Dean Is Serving His Sentence in a New York Prison
Timothy Dean is serving his life term in Clinton Correctional Facility, which is a maximum security state prison for men located in the Village of Dannemora, New York, according to state of New York prison records.
He will never get out, unless he’s successful on appeal.
According to New York State prison records, Charlene Childers’ earliest release date from prison will be in 2042. Today, she is being held at Bedford Hills, a correctional facility in New York. Bedford Hills is a maximum security prison for women in New York State.
The Sentencing Judge Called Timothy Dean a ‘Classic Psychopath’
Wayne County Judge Daniel Barrett called Dean, who is from Sunray, Texas, a “classic psychopath,” according to The Democrat Chronicle.
“I don’t know which one of you three geniuses thought you were going to get away with this,” Barrett told Dean. “You will certainly die in prison.”
The same judge sentenced Childers in May 2019 and indicated she was cavalier and not emotional during her testimony, according to The Democrat and Chronicle. But, unlike Dean, he gave her a light at the end of the prison tunnel.
Barrett said of Dean to Childers: “He was your puppet and you manipulated him, and he would have done whatever you said.” He sentenced the 26-year-old Childers to 28 years in state prison. “What I did was wrong and I regret it every single day,” Childers said, according to the newspaper.
Bron Bohlar, a police officer from Texas, was accused of conspiring with the couple. He was accused of renting a car for Dean and received one to three years in state prison.