On the night of October 22, 1992, Diana Vicari went to a Pima Community College drama class at Palo Verde High School in Tucson, Arizona. After class let out, she was spotted at a local bar. At midnight, she was seen in the parking lot of the Tucson Convention Center.
She did not show up to work on October 23, but on October 24, her severed arms, wrapped in plastic trash bags, were discovered in a dumpster behind a business located downtown. Evidence indicated that the arms had been severed from the body after death. The rest of her remains were never found.
It appeared that two different instruments were used to sever her arms. A sharp, serrated knife was likely used to cut the flesh, and a heavy knife was used for the bones.
On October 26, Diana’s 1981 gray Ford Mustang was found on the same street as a house owned by the mother of her drama teacher’s fiancé.
The main suspect in the case was Lemuel Prion. He was convicted and sentenced to death row in 1999, but his conviction was thrown out in 2003.
First of all, his DNA did not match what was found at the scene of the crime, and only one witness was able to connect Prion and Diana together.
Troy Olson, a local DJ at the bar Diana went to before she died, came forward three years later after seeing Prion’s name and face in the newspaper. He contacted the police and made a positive identification of Prion as the man who was with Diana on the night of October 22.
At the time of Diana’s murder, Prion was working two jobs. He was a carpenter on weekdays and a nursing home assistant on the weekends.
In December 1992, he allegedly told his nursing home employer that he was afraid he was going to kill someone.
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In addition, he owned several knives and had been to a recording studio near where Diana’s arms were discovered. Prion also had a history of talking about committing violent acts against women. He spoke to police in 1993 but never admitted to Diana’s murder. Prion died in Utah in 2023.
Another suspect was Gregory Scott Hatton, a convicted child molester who was arrested in June 1993. He was later sentenced to life in prison for abusing his girlfriend’s eight-month-old baby.
Hatton worked at the gas station across the street from Diana’s place of employment. He was also a friend of Diana’s and her sister. To this day, Hatton remains in prison for his heinous crime.
Since her murder, Diana’s parents, brother, and sister have all passed away without ever finding out what happened to her.
If you know anything about the death of Diana Vicari, you can contact the Tucson Police Department at 520-791-4444.
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
