Shraman Mitra
The generally peaceful town of Roebuck, South Carolina, witnessed a terrifying homicide when 27-year-old Dana Satterfield was found murdered inside her salon. She was last seen alive on July 31, 1995, at around 6:30 PM, and even the most experienced police officers were shocked by the brutality of the crime. Investigation Discovery’s ‘The Perfect Murder: Death and the Maiden’ chronicles the gruesome incident and follows the investigation that brought the perpetrator to justice.
How Did Dana Satterfield Die?
Just 27 at the time of her murder, Dana Satterfield was described as a lively and hardworking individual who was in love with life. People who knew her talked about her eagerness to help others and even mentioned how her amicable nature helped her make friends quickly. Besides, Dana was a loving mother of two and was quite adept at the art of hairstyling. Hence, she earned a living by running a salon in her hometown of Roebuck while the rest of her day mostly revolved around her children.
July 31, 1995, started as a typical working day for Dana as she tended to clients at her salon. Moreover, a saleswoman named Diane Harris dropped in at around 6:30 PM to find her well and alive. However, when she returned to the area two hours later, she was surprised to see a masked intruder escape the salon through an open window. Immediately suspecting foul play, Diane managed to call 911 from a nearby homeowner’s phone, and the police reached the site without any delay.
Once the officers entered the salon, they found Dana Staterfield’s partially naked body hanging from a water heater. The victim had a duffel bag strap around her neck, and an initial medical examination also noticed bruises all over her body. Later, an autopsy determined that Dana was strangled by the duffel bag strap, while police suspected sexual assault due to her state of undress.
Who Killed Dana Satterfield?
Unfortunately, the initial investigation into Dana’s murder was challenging as the police did not have any leads to work with. Although detectives managed to obtain a foreign male DNA sample from the crime scene, it did not match the ones already in the system. Besides, most of Dana’s friends talked about her friendly nature and claimed that she did not appear to have any enemies who would target her in such a gruesome manner.
Eventually, detectives decided to question Diane Harris, who helped them make a composite sketch of the suspect but could not provide further information, which stalled the case for a while. In the meantime, law enforcement officials investigated Dana’s husband, as their marriage was reportedly rocky, yet soon ruled him out as a possible suspect. Additionally, the police learned that nearby residents had seen a blue and white vehicle driving by the salon multiple times on the day of the murder.
Believing it to be a possible lead, investigators traced the car to Dana’s client, Mary Ann Vick, but even this route soon led to a dead end. About two years after the incident, detectives received another potential lead as a jail informer mentioned that his prison cellmate, Russell Quinn, had confessed to Dana’s murder. Interestingly, Diane even seemed to recognize the convict as the one she had seen on that fateful night. But investigators soon realized Russell’s DNA did not match the one found at the crime scene.
Unfortunately, this halted the investigation right in its tracks, and the case sat unsolved for several years. Eventually, in 2005, a Roebuck resident named Michael Pace came forward and claimed he knew Mary Ann Vick’s son, Jonathan Vick, was supposed to visit Dana on the day of her murder. His ex-girlfriend also came forward and mentioned how he had threatened to harm the victim in the past.
Realizing that they might finally be able to solve the case, detectives gathered Jonathan’s DNA and found it to match the one recovered from the crime scene. On top of it, Michael seemed ready to testify against the suspect, which gave law enforcement officers an advantage in court. Hence, without wasting time, they arrested Jonathan for his involvement in Dana Satterfield’s murder.
Jonathan Vick is Serving His Sentence Today
When presented in court, Jonathan insisted on his innocence and claimed he had nothing to do with Dana’s murder. However, the jury deliberated for a little over twenty minutes before convicting him on a count each of murder, kidnapping, and criminal sexual conduct. As a result, he was sentenced to life in prison for murder and an additional 30 years for the other offenses in 2006.
According to Jonathan’s prison records, he got into trouble again as he was sentenced to three years behind bars in 2010 for assaulting a correctional officer and threatening a public official. In addition, he was ordered to be in his cell for 23 hours a day for six months. Hence, Jonathan is currently being held at the Ridgeland Correctional Institution in Ridgeland, South Carolina, and will not be eligible for parole before 2035.
