The husband of a woman who went unidentified for nearly two decades after her legs were discovered inside a trash bin in Rancho San Diego was sentenced Friday to 15 years to life in state prison for her murder.
Jack Dennis Potter, 72, was arrested in 2021 in connection with the death of 54-year-old Laurie Diane Potter, whose remains were found Oct. 5, 2003, in a trash bin at an apartment complex on Hilton Head Court.
Investigative genetic genealogy aided investigators in identifying Laurie Potter, according to sheriff’s officials, who said it was the first time the technology was used to identify a homicide victim in the San Diego region.
Potter pleaded guilty earlier this year to second-degree murder.
Deputy District Attorney Julie Lynn said many specific details of the killing remain unknown, other than that Potter smothered his wife and dismembered her.
After his wife’s disappearance, prosecutors say Potter maintained the fiction that she was alive by opening credit cards in her name and filing fraudulent family court documents, in which Potter claimed he had spoken with her. The falsified court documents allowed him to sell the Temecula home he shared with his wife and keep the proceeds of the sale, according to prosecutors.
He also gave several high-priced gifts to a new girlfriend shortly after his wife’s remains were found, including an SUV, a ski boat, a credit card and an apartment, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
At Potter’s sentencing hearing in San Diego Superior Court, Laurie Potter’s son, John Carlson, said he’d lost touch with his mother over the years but made efforts to re-establish and renew their relationship.
While trying to reach his mother, Carlson said he was told by Jack Potter that his mother just wanted to be alone, “which unfortunately I believed. And this really hurts to this day.”
Carlson said he had trusted Potter, who at the time seemed “like the perfect guy for her. … He was the last person that I suspected would ever do something like that.”
At the conclusion of his statement, Carlson said he forgave Potter, in part because of a letter he received from the defendant, which Carlson said included sincere expressions of remorse.
Just prior to being sentenced, Potter said, “I just want to apologize for what happened. I loved my wife very much … I let my emotions get the better of me that one time. I don’t know why. It just happened, and I’m sorry.”
After the hearing, District Attorney Summer Stephan said in a statement that Laurie Potter’s family “had to endure nearly 20 years of unanswered questions and unimaginable grief.” Stephan praised the efforts of investigators and prosecutors, saying, “Their dedication and refusal to give up on this case, no matter how much time ed, led to this long-overdue resolution.”
