California sisters fight to keep mother's killer behind bars as he comes up for parole

More than two decades after their mother' body was fished out of a river inside a duffel bag weighed down with concrete, two California sisters are leading the charge to keep her convicted killer - their stepfather - behind bars for the rest of his life.

Tippy Dhaliwal was 14 years old and her sister, Jeanette Marine, was 10 when their mother, 33-year-old Phonthip Ott, went missing from their home in Sacramento in May 1992.

After a weeklong search, a fisherman pulled a large white nylon bag from the Sacramento River, which contained the missing mother's lifeless body.

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Rocky marriage: US Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Dennis Ott, is pictured with his bride, Phonthip Boonack, right, on their wedding day, long before her murder and his arrest  

Rocky marriage: US Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Dennis Ott, is pictured with his bride, Phonthip Boonack, right, on their wedding day, long before her murder and his arrest  

Sisters' battle: Phonthip's grown daughters, Jeanette Marine (left) and Tippy Dhaliwal (right), are now fighting to keep their stepfather from getting out of prison on parole 

Sisters' battle: Phonthip's grown daughters, Jeanette Marine (left) and Tippy Dhaliwal (right), are now fighting to keep their stepfather from getting out of prison on parole 

Investigators quickly zeroed in on Phonthip's husband, Dennis Ott, as the prime suspect, and in 1995 he was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison with the possibility of parole, according to a recent CBS' 48 Hours episode dedicated to the case.

Phonthip's daughters have attended every one of Ott's parole hearings over the last 20 years, most recently in September 2015, each time voicing their vehement opposition to his release.

‘Why can’t he just sit there and rot?’ Tippy Dhaliwal said of Dennis Ott. ‘Where are the rights of our mom? She doesn’t have any rights.’

Her sister added that it’s frustrating that 25 years after their mother’s violent death, they are being forced to relive their childhood trauma and hear the grisly details of their mother’s murder every time her convicted killer comes up for parole.

‘We’re still being victimized and he’s behind bars,’ said Jeanette Marine.

Dennis Ott was arrested two years after his wife's body was found in the Sacramento River Ott is seen in his mugshot

Ott, pictured in his mugshot, was arrested two years after his wife's body was found in the Sacramento River 

Phonthip Boonack was an immigrant from Thailand and a single mother-of-two; her daughters remembered her as a fun mom 

Phonthip Boonack was an immigrant from Thailand and a single mother-of-two; her daughters remembered her as a fun mom 

Ott, a former US Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer who is now in his 60s, has always maintained his innocence.

Speaking to CBS reporter Tracy Smith by phone from the Solano Prison in California, the inmate argued that he deserves to be freed because he meets all the criteria to be released on parole, and during his incarceration he has been a model prisoner, even earning a couple of college degrees.

‘I don’t believe I’ll be a danger to society,’ he insisted.

But Sutter County District Attorney Amanda Hopper, who represented Tippy and Jeanette at Ott’s latest parole hearing, is of a markedly different opinion.

‘I absolutely think he is a danger to society in general and probably to the family,’ Hopper said. ‘I’ve seen that he has absolutely no concept of accountability.’

US Coast Guard seaman Dennis Ott was 41 years old when he met Phonthip Boonack, an immigrant from Thailand and a single mother-of-two, at the home of her stepfather, retired military man Larry Lewis.

The couple soon got married, but Tippy, Phonthip’s oldest, was distrustful of her new stepfather from the outset.

Both sisters said their mother's marriage to Ott was punctuated by fights and screaming matches, which became more frequent and intense leading up to her disappearance.

During Ott’s murder trial, then-13-year-old Jeanette would tearfully recount for the jury how she once witnessed her stepfather put his hands on her mother’s neck during one heated argument.

This fisherman reeled in a white nylon duffel bag containing Phonthip's lifeless body following a week-long search

This fisherman reeled in a white nylon duffel bag containing Phonthip's lifeless body following a week-long search

Phonthip was 33 years old when she was killed, possibly by strangulation, and tossed in the river, leaving behind two daughters 

Phonthip was 33 years old when she was killed, possibly by strangulation, and tossed in the river, leaving behind two daughters 

Tippy was 14 years old and Jeanette was 10 when their mother was killed The sisters, seen in a recent photo, now have families of their own

Then and now: Tippy was 14 years old and Jeanette was 10 (left) when their mother was killed. The sisters, seen in a recent photo on the right, now have families of their own

According to Ott, however, he and Phonthip had, in all, two altercations over the course of their relationship, in one of which he said his wife scratched his face, prompting him to throw her onto their waterbed and pin down her arms.

He denied ever putting his hands on Phonthip’s neck.

Phonthip's stepfather suggested that Ott had some anger issues, and that in one letter that he sent to his wife while he was at sea he had written: 'You and Tippy can take a long walk off a short pier.'

Ott admitted that his marriage was complicated: Phonthip had suspected him of infidelity, and she herself apparently had a boyfriend on the side.

Sutter County Sheriff Paul Parker said that two days before her disappearance, Phonthip had filed a restraining order against her husband claiming that she was afraid of him. That same day, she served Ott with divorce papers.

Speaking from prison, Dennis Ott said he last saw his wife on the morning of May 17, 1992, walking out of the house with her black purse after telling him that she had plans. She was never seen alive again. 

Tippy and Jeanette were visiting their grandfather that day. When they returned home, there was no sign of their mother anywhere.

When it came time to file a missing person report, it was Phonthip’s stepfather who contacted the authorities, not her husband.

Model prisoner: Ott, pictured at California State Prison Solano, says he has done everything to justify his early release and insists he is not a danger to society 

Model prisoner: Ott, pictured at California State Prison Solano, says he has done everything to justify his early release and insists he is not a danger to society 

A week later, a man was fishing in the Sacramento River when he felt what he described as a ‘nice big bite’ on his fishing pole.

When he reeled in what he initially thought was a big catch, it turned out to be a heavy bag with chunks of concrete laying on top.

‘All I saw was a long black tail,’ the fisherman recounted. ‘The bag turned over and I saw two big feet sticking me in the face and it scared the bejesus out of me.’

Tippy Dhaliwal said when her mother’s body was recovered, she and her sister instantly knew that Dennis Ott, their stepfather, was the culprit.

Investigators did not have any physical evidence directly connecting Ott to Phonthip’s death, such as fingerprints, blood, DNA or a murder weapon, so they built their case around circumstantial evidence, including distinctly shaped concrete anchors found in Ott’s backyard and the white nylon US Coast Guard duffel bag used to dispose of the victim’s body.

The court also heard from witnesses who recounted how Ott once came to Phonthip’s work at a commercial laundry and threatened to kill her.

Denied: In September 2015, Ott's latest parole bid was rejected after a five-hour hearing

Denied: In September 2015, Ott's latest parole bid was rejected after a five-hour hearing

It took the jury just three and a half hours to reach a unanimous guilty verdict.

More than 20 years later, on September 25, 2015, Tippy and Jeanette once again came face to face with their mother’s convicted killer at his latest parole hearing at California State Prison Solano.

After five hours of emotional testimony, including from the victim's family and Ott's 93-year-old mother, the parole board denied the inmate's plea for an early release.

Jeanette Marine said she felt a 'brief sense of satisfaction' when she heard that Ott's parole has been denied. 

'He deserves to rot and die in prison plain and simple,' she said. 'He took everything from us, everything. And I wanna take everything from him now.' 

Dennis Ott's next hearing has been scheduled for October 2017.

Meanwhile, Tippy Dhaliwal is waging a personal life-or-death battle: in March 2015, she was diagnosed with lung cancer, which later metastasized.

‘She has to get through it. I can’t be without her. She’s all I have left,’ Jeanette said, ‘And she’ll beat it like she always does.’

Life or death battle: Tippy Dhaliwal, right, in 2015 was diagnosed with lung cancer

Life or death battle: Tippy Dhaliwal, right, in 2015 was diagnosed with lung cancer

 

 

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