After discarding his wife’s legs in a dumpster, a California man had the audacity to open credit cards in her name, sell their home, and “pocket all profits” while obsessed with a woman he met at a strip club.
Jack Dennis Potter, 72, received justice on Friday in a San Diego County courtroom after pleading guilty in February to second-degree murder for the death of his wife, Laurie Diane Potter, 54. He was sentenced on Friday to 15 years to life in prison. Even if he serves the shortest possible sentence, he will be well into his 80s.
The case has long gone unsolved. On October 5, 2003, a maintenance worker at Rancho San Diego’s apartment complex discovered a pair of legs in a dumpster. Authorities determined that these belonged to a woman, but they were unsure of her identity.
That changed in June 2020, when cold case investigators reopened the case and used new technology to analyze her DNA and locate relatives.
It turned out Laurie Potter had never been reported missing. When authorities broke the case in 2021, head investigator Detective Troy DuGal stated that Jack Potter was the only person who knew what happened to Laurie over the years: “Nobody knew except for one guy.”
Authorities say defendant Potter had an obsession with a woman he met in a strip club. She was also named Laurie.
Jack Potter spent a lot of money during this time period, opening credit accounts, purchasing a pickup truck, a ski boat, and giving his new girlfriend a Hummer SUV. He even secured her an apartment and a credit card with a $30,000 limit. He took financial advantage of his wife’s death and successfully filed for divorce.
“In the years that followed, Potter maintained the deception, opening credit cards in Laurie’s name and fraudulently filing Family Court documents claiming he had contacted Laurie about the proceedings — years after she had been murdered,” the attorneys wrote. “He utilized the Family Court to sell their family home in Temecula and pocket all profits.”
