Deana Hubbard Wild, a 20-year-old woman from Kentucky, died on April 2, 1987, after falling from a cliff at a Big Sur coastal overlook. She had been visiting the site with Virginia and Billie Joe McGinnis, a middle-aged couple she had been living with in Chula Vista since December 1986. Photographs taken before the fall placed her near the cliff edge, and Virginia McGinnis said Wild was wearing high heels and may have stumbled.

Investigators found a $35,000 life insurance policy on Wild had been taken out one day before the fall, with Virginia, her husband and son listed as beneficiaries; Virginia attempted to collect within days of the death. Wild’s autopsy detected Elavil, a sedating antidepressant not reflected in her medical history. A search warrant at the McGinnis home turned up additional evidence that prompted suspicion of foul play.

Virginia and Billie Joe McGinnis were arrested for Wild’s murder on September 15, 1989; Billie Joe died of HIV-related complications while awaiting trial. Virginia went on trial beginning January 6, 1992, and was convicted and sentenced for her role in Wild’s death. Did anyone who knew Deana or the McGinnis family in 1986–87 notice anything unusual about their living arrangement or Deana’s behavior?