An Armchair Analysis of Female Serial Killer Dana Sue Gray

It is impossible to see someone clearly after she has committed premeditated murder. Whoever she was is forever tainted by what she did. Inevitably, friends and family who knew her beforehand will describe someone who is loving or generous or carefree, someone incapable of committing the crimes for which she is charged. Her victims, if any survive, know better.

Not one person who knew Dana Sue Gray before she murdered three elderly women in 1994 thought she was capable of it. She had never been in jail. She had been a respected surgical nurse. She was attractive, smart, outgoing and kind to her boyfriend’s 5-year-old son. But there were plenty of clues that, if not pointing to serial murder, certainly pointed to a certain darkness underneath her shiny veneer. According to numerous sources, throughout much of her life, Dana had a self-centered obsession with money and control that superseded any and all of her relationships.

Dana’s Childhood

Dana Sue Gray was born on December 6, 1957, in Pasadena, California to Beverly Arnett Armbrust, a former Tournament of Roses princess and occasional model, and Russell Armbrust, a hair stylist. They were both 39 years old when Dana was born. People who knew Beverly described her in mixed terms; volatile, fun-loving, self-centered, vain, and adventurous…