Some cases never have clear answers, and that’s the situation with the tragic death of Susan Winters. Susan was a Las Vegas, NV attorney who died at age 48 on January 3, 2015. Her husband Gregory “Brent” Dennis, a psychologist, told police she had committed suicide by ingesting opioids and antifreeze. Later, however, her death was ruled a homicide. The couple’s two daughters also believe that their mother died by suicide.
Susan Winters was an attorney and a part-time judge. Gregory Dennis was a psychologist who investigators claim had a cocaine addiction and financial problems before Susan’s death. After her death, Gregory got $2 million from his wife’s estate, including a $1 million life insurance policy payout.
Investigators say that Susan confronted Gregory about his destructive addiction two days before her death. Phone records didn’t line up with Gregory’s story about where he was the day before Susan’s death.
Detectives argue that Gregory fed Susan a cocktail including painkillers and antifreeze the morning of her death and watched her die so he could collect her life insurance money.
Gregory Dennis was arrested for allegedly murdering her two years after Susan’s death, in February 2017. He was released on $250,000 bail.
He’s currently serving a 3-10 year sentence for Susan’s death after entering an Alford guilty plea. This isn’t a direct guilty plea, but a formal guilty plea to the court while also maintaining innocence. This is done in cases where there is evidence pointing toward guilt and the person doesn’t want to fight the evidence in court while still claiming that they are innocent of the crime they’re being accused of.
Gregory said he entered the Alford plea to spare his family the “the stresses of a trial.”
Their daughters wrote a statement to be read in court before their father’s sentencing. “The past seven years have only confirmed our love and support for our dad; despite the hardships, our bond is stronger than ever,” they said in the statement.
Tonight’s episode of NBC’s Dateline speaks to Susan Winter’s parents, who believe Gregory Dennis murdered Susan, and looks more closely at this complicated case.
