Robert Dean Weeks

Case record: Robert Dean Weeks

Background

Robert Dean Weeks was born in 1929 in Alabama. He graduated from Mississippi Southern College in 1952, after working his way through school as a mortician and parachute stuntman. Two years later, he married his first wife, Patricia, in Minneapolis, and Weeks moved to Las Vegas in 1955.

In Las Vegas, Weeks prospered and opened the city’s first limousine service in 1960. His pathological jealousy made Patricia a virtual prisoner at home. Patricia was frequently beaten, and she was denied permission to go grocery shopping alone.

Weeks beat Patricia’s elderly piano teacher on one occasion in a jealous rage. In 1968, Weeks agreed to a divorce, and Patricia took the family home and Cadillac in settlement.

Later, Weeks provided explanations to his daughters about Patricia’s disappearance, telling them that their mother had abandoned them.

Weeks sold his limousine service in 1971. He married Waunice Hinkle in Las Vegas in 1972. They were divorced in 1974. Waunice survived the breakup, and Weeks later became infatuated with 41-year-old Cynthia Jabour.

They dated for six years, during which Weeks maintained his lifestyle through the sale of phony stock—almost a million dollars’ worth—in various “paper” corporations.

By the fall of 1980, Cynthia was anxious to be rid of Weeks. She agreed to meet him for a final dinner date on October 5 to break up with him. Cynthia Jabour’s car was found the next day, in a casino parking lot, and Cynthia Jabour was not seen again.

Weeks fled after police questioned him. He initially agreed to a polygraph exam and then fled the United States, surfacing in Chile. Weeks returned in 1981 by way of Houston, using a Libyan passport in the name of “Robert Smith.”

Weeks set up a construction business in San Diego. In 1983, he met Carol Riley on a trip to Colorado and persuaded the 43-year-old divorcee to join him in Southern California.

Riley became disillusioned with “Smith” over time and was contemplating a break-up when she vanished on April 5, 1986, after a dinner date with Weeks. Riley’s car was found abandoned in a hotel parking lot.

Weeks moved to Tucson using the name “Charles Stolzenberg.” He attracted national attention after being profiled on an episode of “Unsolved Mysteries,” aired by NBC. Neighbors in Tucson identified him and he was arrested on May 26, 1987.

The offence

In April 1988, Weeks was convicted of murdering Patricia Weeks and Cynthia Jabour in Las Vegas.

Weeks was also charged in relation to disappearances of four people over the past 18 years in California and Nevada. Authorities said he was wanted for questioning about presumed killings of three women and a man.

Police also linked Weeks to the disappearances of Patricia Weeks, Cynthia Jabour, and Jim Shaw, Weeks’s former business partner. Authorities also sought him in connection with the disappearance of nurse Carol Ann Riley.

Investigation

A fugitive wanted for questioning in the disappearances of four people was arrested by police acting on tips from viewers of the nationally televised crime show “Unsolved Mysteries,” authorities said Wednesday. A Pima County Magistrate, Walter Weber, ordered Robert Weeks, 58, jailed under $3 million bond until a June 26 hearing to review his status.

Authorities said Weeks was wanted for questioning about the presumed killings of three women and a man over the past 18 years in California and Nevada. Weber said Nevada already was seeking to extradite Weeks.

Weeks was arrested after Tucson police got tips from viewers of “Unsolved Mysteries,” which was broadcast nationally by NBC on May 25 and carried by Tucson’s KVOA-TV. The viewers in the Tucson area said Weeks resembled the suspect on the program.

Police spokesman Paul Hallums said Detective Perry Lowe approached Weeks at a business where he worked and greeted him by saying, “Hi, Robert.” When Weeks responded, he was arrested.

The television program recounted the stories of three women who vanished after trying to break up with a man.

Jenny Grzelak, assignment editor for KVOA, said she received a call Tuesday morning from a woman who was dating Weeks and had been alerted by a friend who watched the one-hour NBC special.

Authorities stated that the four missing people disappeared between 1969 and 1986. During that time, Weeks left the United States for three years, going to Tijuana, Mexico, and then Chile. Authorities said he returned with a Libyan passport.

Authorities held Weeks on an embezzlement warrant from Las Vegas. Police in Las Vegas wanted to question him about the disappearances of his ex-wife, Patricia Weeks, real estate agent Cynthia Jabour, and Jim Shaw, Weeks’s former business partner. Weeks was also sought in California.

San Diego police had questions about nurse Carol Ann Riley, 42, who vanished April 5, 1986. None of the bodies had been found.

Arrest

Weeks was arrested by Tucson police on May 26, 1987.

Walter Weber ordered Robert Weeks, 58, jailed under $3 million bond until a June 26 hearing to review his status. Weber ordered detention while Nevada sought extradition.

The arrest occurred when Detective Perry Lowe approached Weeks at a business where he worked and greeted him by saying, “Hi, Robert.” Weeks responded and was arrested.

Trial

Jurors fixed his punishment as life imprisonment without parole.

Sentencing

Weeks was sentenced to life in prison without parole on two counts in Nevada in 1988.

Appeals

No appeal information appeared in the provided material.

Outcome

Weeks was sentenced to life in prison without parole on two counts in Nevada, 1988.

Aftermath

None of the bodies had been found for the missing people discussed in the investigation material.

Other details

• Weeks used the aliases “Robert Smith” and “Charles Stolzenberg.”
• Weeks was held in lieu of $3 million bond until a June 26 hearing to review his status.
• Nevada already was seeking to extradite Weeks.
• Authorities said Weeks left the United States for three years, going to Tijuana, Mexico, and then Chile, before returning with a Libyan passport.