The Weiss Family Tragedy


I blogged about the murder of sports agent Vic Weiss in the past, and there was even a loose Ron Launius/Horace McKenna connection. Nil Grevillius and I even spoke about the case in our interview. The sad part about this tragedy is that deaths in the Weiss family did not stop with Vic. His son, Wolf, would die as a contractor working in Iraq in 2004. Vic’s old widow, Rose, would be murdered at age 69, by their troubled daughter, Lauren, in 2008. Author Michael Connelly is also quoted below. Connelly once investigated and wrote about the Vic Weiss murder.

Vic’s son, Wolf, certainly led an interesting life. At a young age, the former Marine swore revenge in finding his dad’s killer(s). I guess that’s why he joined the Marines in the first place, so that he could be a bad ass dude. He was also in a heavy metal rock band. You can sample his music here. Wolf even does a cover of Cliff Richard’s “Devil Woman”. Ugh. Play at your own risk!

Lauren would be judged insane and end up in the nut house. At the time of the murder, she was a transient, only occasionally allowed to stay at her mother’s home. When captured after the murder, she was attempting to split town via the train station. I think she had two kids.

Superior Court Judge Charles Campbell relied on court documents and mental health reports that detailed abandonment, sexual molestation, the death of a brother in Iraq, her husband’s suicide and placement in numerous health facilities.

Donahue killed 69-year-old Rose Weiss in a bathroom in 2008 before dragging her body to the backyard to hide it in thick shrubbery.

Daughter Held In Fatal Stabbing Of Simi Woman | Feb 7, 2008 | Ventura County Star

A 41-year-old woman was booked Wednesday into Ventura County Jail on suspicion of fatally stabbing her mother in Simi Valley, authorities said.

Police found the body of Rose Weiss, 69, at her home in the 5300 block of Diane Street at 2:44 p.m. Tuesday after responding to a call asking them to check on her. Sgt. Adam Darough, a spokesman for Simi Valley police, would not say who called police.

Darough said Weiss was stabbed multiple times.

She had likely been dead for several hours by the time police arrived, said Craig Stevens, a senior deputy medical examiner.

Police later arrested Weiss’ daughter, Lauren Donahue, in Santa Clarita. Darough would not offer any details on Donahue’s arrest or what led police to her.

Police did say they learned Donahue "may have boarded a train in the San Fernando Valley," and they later found her at the Santa Clarita train station. Donahue was being held in jail in lieu of $515,000 bail.

Donahue was listed as a transient by police. Police would not say if Weiss lived with anyone at the home.

Court records show Donahue was convicted in 2007 of felony possession of a controlled substance.

Detectives on Wednesday had not yet determined a possible motive for Weiss’ killing, authorities said.

Neighbor Mike Seguin said the street was normally quiet, except for periodic police visits to the Weiss house. "It didn’t happen every week, but it happened often enough," he said.

Darough confirmed police had responded to the home numerous times but would not say why.

Seguin said he would sometimes see Donahue in front of her mother’s home or nearby, and she always seemed to want to be left alone. "If she saw someone coming her way, she would go to the other side of the street," Seguin said.

Seguin said he didn’t see Weiss as often, “but she seemed like a nice, quiet person”.

According to Social Security and Internet database records, Weiss was married to Victor Weiss, a well-known sports promoter found slain in North Hollywood in 1979. Simi Valley police, however, would not confirm the relationship, and other family members could not be reached Wednesday.

Best-selling author Michael Connelly, who wrote an article about the 1979 killing for the Los Angeles Times a decade later, called the unsolved crime “one of the longer-lasting mysteries of Los Angeles”.

Victor Weiss was reported missing by his wife, Rose. He was found dead three days later, stuffed into the trunk of his Rolls-Royce with two gunshot wounds to his head. Los Angeles police suspected Weiss was killed by mobsters because he had accumulated sports-betting debts and was skimming laundered money, Connelly wrote. Connelly’s novel, "Trunk Music," is based on Weiss’ killing.

Victor’s son, Wolf Weiss, was killed in 2004 in Iraq, where he was working for a private security firm, according to neighbors in Simi Valley and published reports.

Wolf Weiss, 36, told Rolling Stone magazine in 2004 that he had joined the Marines at 18 partly because he wanted to hunt down his father’s killers. His mother eventually talked him out of revenge. He became a mercenary after a career as a rock musician.

After hearing about Rose Weiss’ killing, Connelly said Wednesday that the tragedy was one more strange twist in a saga that has stuck with him. “It’s a pretty surprising story”, said Connelly, who now lives in Florida.