Sounak Sengupta
NBC’s ‘Dateline: The Disappearance of Debbie Hawk’ describes how 46-year-old Debbie Hawk mysteriously disappeared from her Hanford home in California in June 2006. While the authorities would find her human remains about a decade later, Debbie’s former husband, Dave Hawk, was arrested and convicted of murder and funds embezzlement. The episode features his parents — Stan and Lois Hawk — as they try to defend their son.
Who Are Stan and Lois Hawk?
Deborah “Debbie” Triantis Hawk and David “Dave” Martin Hawk married in the late 1980s and built a home among the latter’s family’s almond groves in Lemoore in Kings County, California. They stayed near his parents’ —Stanley “Stan” and Lois Hawk — house. Stan set up irrevocable trust accounts for each of his three grandchildren in October 1997, and they were funded with cash and securities. However, Debbie petitioned for the dissolution of the marriage in 1998.
After divorce proceedings began, Stan set up another irrevocable trust account for each child and stopped depositing money into the first batch of accounts. Dave was the sole trustee of the second set of trust accounts. According to court records, he could not hold onto a job for long and suffered from frequent bouts of unemployment. Thus, Dave concocted several schemes and even allegedly committed fraud while applying for a mortgage loan to refinance the existing mortgage on his property in Lemoore in April 2004.
Stan employed his son in mid-2005 to plant and bring an almond orchard to production. After deducting child support, the job netted him $213 per month. Yet, unbeknownst to his parents, Dave stole thousands of dollars from the funds set up for his children. When Debbie disappeared under mysterious circumstances in June 2006, he became a person of interest in the case. The police believed Dave had a hand in his former wife’s supposed abduction since he did not want his fraud to be exposed.
Where Are Stan and Lois Hawk Now?
Dave Hawk was arrested in early 2007 after police uncovered evidence of the alleged theft and embezzlement of more than $300,000 from his three kids’ funds. As their son prepared to face serious financial charges, Dave’s parents, Stan and Lois Hawk, took over custody of Chelsa and Savannah — the youngest two of their three grandchildren. According to the show, it was not the way they expected to spend their 80s, any more than they expected to have to defend their son.
Stan said, “Well, he’s made some mistakes. But nothing of the scope that is generally accepted in the community.” He stated he established those trusts for his grandchildren and declared Dave had the right to use the money how he saw fit to benefit the children. When asked on the show whether he was surprised to discover how the money was used, Stan contended, “Yes. Apparently, his financial situation was worse than I knew.” Dave was arrested for homicide on May 29, 2008.
A jury convicted Dave of first-degree murder, five counts of tax evasion, three counts of embezzlement, grand theft, and perjury. He was sentenced to life without parole on December 2009. While the current location of Stan and Lois Hawk is not in the public domain, it can be presumed the couple continues to live privately in Lemoore in Kings County, California, well into their 90s.
Read More: Conrad and Chelsa Hawk: Where Are Debbie Hawk’s Kids Now?
