True Crime: You're All I Need

Prologue

I was a young teenager when the story of Dianna and Tommy made the news. I am captivated by this story just as much now as I was all of those years ago.

Dianna was a 42 year old woman who cleverly passed herself off as being much younger than she truly was. She thoroughly enjoyed the company of younger men, in fact, most of her suitors ranged from 18-24 years old. Apparently, her very best friend Courtney (23) had no clue that Dianna was actually 42 years old.

She had a reputation for leaving a string of broken hearts wherever she went. She enjoyed the manipulation and having handsome, young men eating right out of her hand. It was a love game that she reveled in, at least until she met Tommy(19).

You're All I Need

Dianna was working her usual shift at the local Quickie Mart the first time that she truly noticed Tommy. He was a frequent customer who often came into the store to purchase cigarettes.

She had never before noticed just how handsome that he was. Maybe it was because his long hair was soaked with sweat and his clothes were oily and soiled, or maybe it was because she greatly favored younger men.

Her eyes instantly beheld his tight, white t-shirt, which was clearly two sizes too small. Taking notice of her stare he quickly pulled on his leather jacket. “I’ve been working on my motorcycle all day.” he spoke shyly and a blush of color filled his cheeks.

"I suppose that you want your usual, Salem 100’s in menthol?” She reached behind the counter to retrieve the cigarettes while deliberately striking a tantalizing pose. With a nod, Tommy laid $1.50 on the counter and turned to leave when Dianna quickly called out. “How about you take me for a ride on that motorcycle of yours!”

That’s how it all started, on that hot, July day in 1987.

Dianna and Tommy quickly became a prominent couple. They were always drawing attention to themselves due to their frequent skirmishes and sultry public displays of affection.

Dianna was the first real girlfriend that Tommy ever had, always before he had been much too shy to talk to females. He had recently graduated from High School and was striving to become an automotive technician at a local trade school.

On the other hand, Dianna was a well-seasoned veteran in the field of romance. She had been working part-time at the convenience store for several years, yet her extravagant lifestyle suggested that most of her income came from her many (young & foolish) admirers.

Her compulsion over Tommy was unbreakable. He was much younger than her, and eager to satisfy her in any way possible. She thoroughly enjoyed the attention. Dianna had even made comments to her friends referring to Tommy as her "boytoy".

He was little more than a sexual slave, a fetishistic game to play until something better came along. She had made a reputation for herself by breaking young hearts all over town. By the time that Tommy figured it all out, he was much too involved, he loved Dianna like no other.

It was during the month of November when he suddenly began having violent episodes of illness. Headaches, dizziness, fast heart rate, shortness of breath, and vomiting were all complaints that had been documented in Tommy’s medical records. He was being treated with Benzodiazepines for anxiety and panic attacks.

Tommy's parents pleaded with him to leave Dianna. The toll that she was taking on his health was painfully obvious. He had even dropped out of trade school due to his constant bouts of illness. He refused to listen, he was in much too deep. Dianna meant the world to Tommy, and she was quickly becoming his sole reason for existing.

Although he knew that he was not her only lover, Tommy blinded himself to the painful, and brutal truth.

As his suspicions grew so did his anger and vexation. Dianna was never at home, she was always spending money on alluring clothes and staying out until the late hours of the night. The rent was past due, there was no food in the house and he couldn't even afford to buy his medications.

His every question sparked an argument which would eventually turn into an all-out brawl. The police had been involved on several occasions, and yet he always found a way to forgive her (until the very next night).

Dianna’s best friend Courtney had overheard Tommy admit that he would rather see her dead than to see her with another man. She quickly warned Dianna to end her frivolous and mindless behavior.

“If you don’t love him, let him go! If you keep playing with his heart and mind this is going to end badly.”

Courtney pleaded with Dianna, but her cries fell upon completely deaf and unbelieving ears. Diana simply would not believe that Tommy would ever hurt her. In fact, knowing that he was jealous and possessive unexplainably aroused her. This was exactly what she wanted from him, and her unfaithfulness gradually become clearer, more detailed, and obvious.

December, 19th 1987 - 2:15 AM

That night while Dianna was out on the town entertaining one of her many affairs, something formidable snapped inside of Tommy's head. He had gone mad and delirious with an overwhelming anger.

The entire house was in disarray and chaos when she arrived.

As Dianna stumbled, drunken into the house Tommy was waiting quietly for her. She found him sitting in front of the fireplace, begrudgingly burning every photograph that she had ever given to him.

Shredded images of her face were scattered and rifled across the floor. As he turned to look at her, she noticed the Damascus Butcher Knife lying beside of him. It was a fine piece of Japanese cutlery, a gift from her mother.

The barren look in his eyes told her that something was not right.

“Tommy what are you doing?” she managed to stutter.

Those were her final words.

Tommy plunged the knife deep into her chest. As she fell lifeless into his arms, he softy kissed her lips. “Now you’ll never leave me, I can keep you at home.” he whispered as he carried her inanimate body into the next room and carefully tucked her into bed.

Three days later

Dianna hadn’t showed up for work in three days, her friends were worried, and nobody could reach her on the telephone. After several failed attempts to see her daughter, Dianna's mother frantically called the police.

11:00 AM - Police enter the house

They found Tommy sitting at the kitchen table, he was casually reading the newspaper.

“Where’s Dianna?” the officer asked.

“She’s napping.” Tommy calmly gestured toward the bedroom as if nothing was wrong.

Dianna was found in the bed with multiple stab wounds. Her body had been bathed and she was dressed in a long, cotton night gown.

She had been dead for days.

"I put her to sleep." Tommy confessed.

Completely stunned and in shock the officer carefully called for backup.

As the thundering helicopters filled the house with their flooding lights, Tommy remained unaware and ignorant to the reality that he had murdered his girlfriend.

A single "blood stained" note in Tommy's handwriting was found taped to the refrigerator.

Horrified friends, family and neighbors all gathered around the scene, watching in pure bafflement and perturbation as Dianna’s body was carefully removed from the house and loaded into the ambulance. Tommy was led out bound, and handcuffed as the authorities desperately tried to control the frantic onlookers. His expression was completely blank and unknowing, he spoke not a word.

“He was completely naïve to what was happening!” a witness stated.

A local news station was quick to arrive on the scene and begin broadcasting the story. They suggested that Tommy had lost all contact with reality.

During an interview a neighbor stated:

“We are a group of people who care about each other and who are very friendly with each other. We’re a family! We are a tight-knit community. Tommy would have never done this!"

Another neighbor commented:

"Tommy is a good kid who has never broke the law, he’s never had so much as a speeding ticket!”

And another:

“She was a terrible woman! I can’t even count the number of men that she’s had in and out of that house. I feel sorry for Tommy, he deserved so much better.”

More and more people kept stepping up eager to defend Tommy.

“We’ve all seen her physically attack Tommy. He always had sores and bruises on him, and she was always trying to belittle him and humiliate him in front of people. We all knew that it was only a matter of time before something terrible happened.”

“She had a fetish for younger men, she enjoyed manipulating them and playing mind games. I honestly expected an angry mother to get her long before now!”

“The boy was drove completely insane by the woman that he loved, and trust me he loved her, everybody in this whole damn town could see that.”

When the news reporter approached the officer who was the first to arrive on the scene he commented:

“She truly looked like she was sleeping. I wasn’t even sure that she was truly dead at first. I honestly believe that Tommy had convinced himself that she was simply asleep.”

Tommy was later diagnosed with Psychotic Depression, a relatively rare condition that occurs when someone displays both severe depression and a break with reality. The loss of contact with reality may take the form of delusions, hallucinations, or thought disorders (such as believing that his dead girlfriend was asleep).

Traces of Cyanide was also found in his blood stream, which led authorities to believe that Dianna had been slowly poisoning Tommy over a period of time. Upon investigation, several of Dianna’s (other) lovers also tested positive for Cyanide.

Due to the prolonged exposure to Cyanide, Tommy developed heart, brain and nerve damage that he will live with for the rest of his life.

Because of the severe side effects from the Cyanide Poisoning, a jury found Tommy guilty of murder (but) under the influence of an illness beyond his control. He was sentenced to life in a corrections facility for the mentally ill where still to this day he waits for Dianna to come visit him.

Three other men who were involved with Dianna (during the same time) were treated for Cyanide Poisoning, they all made a full recovery and are living normal lives.