Colorado woman killed father, encased him in concrete at home, police say

Dayna Michele Jennings, right, is accused of killing her father, William Mussack, and then encasing him in concrete. (Federal Heights Police)

The daughter of a man whose body was found encased in concrete inside a Denver home was charged with first-degree murder Tuesday, officials said.

Dayna Jennings, 44, was arrested last Wednesday in the death of her father, 69-year-old William Mussack, after his remains were found inside a crawl space encased in concrete, the 17th Judicial District Attorney's Office said.

In court documents obtained by FOX31, Jennings admitted to police she poured the concrete.

The Federal Heights Police Department said Jennings and Mussack shared a house, and neighbors told authorities Jennings' boyfriend also lived at the home.

While a cause of death has not been listed, family members told police they believe the 69-year-old was being drugged. In December, Mussack was found unconscious after taking a bite of a hamburger Jennings gave to him.

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William Mussack's body was found encased in concrete in a home in a Denver suburb. (FOX31 Denver)

Family and friends had been searching for Mussack for two weeks, and notified authorities to the disappearance in late December.

When police originally spoke to Jennings, she told cops her father no longer lived at the home and she had not seen him in weeks, the arrest affidavit said. A police officer who searched the home on Dec. 29 noticed the stench of something that was rotting and smelled like sewage, according to police.

Mussack's son Brian, who lives in California, said Jennings sent him a text message saying their dad was being abusive to her, but he and other family members said that would have been out of character for him, The Denver Post reported.

Police also found unusual activity on Mussack’s bank account in December, when his named was signed on a check made out to Jennings for $500 with a signature that did not match prior ones. There were also several purchases made on Amazon during that time period, according to police.

When police obtained a search warrant of the home on Jan. 10 and told Jennings they were breaking up the concrete in the crawlspace of the home, she requested a lawyer and stopped talking to cops, according to the arrest affidavit.

Police said Jennings’ ex-husband told investigators she was “impulsive and irrational at times” and also had patterns of "intense and unstable relationship with family, friends and loved ones.”

Jennings was charged with first-degree murder after deliberation and tampering with a deceased human body. She is scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing on Feb. 15 in Adams County District Court.