11/04/2026
Dr. Dale Cavaness, a prominent physician in Eldorado, Illinois, was convicted of m******* his son Sean in 1984
On December 13, 1984.
Sean's body was discovered that morning in a remote area near Times Beach, Missouri (outside St. Louis), after being s*** twice in the head with a .357 Magnum.
Sean had struggled for years with alcohol and other problems. At least some of those problems began when Sean found the s******** body of his older brother Mark, aged 22, seven years earlier.
Dale Cavaness had thrived as the proverbial success story with a dark side. Everyone knew him in and around Eldorado. A long list of patients swore by his compassion and care.
Dale Cavaness had faced public scandal. He was hit with a reckless homicide rap in 1972 when, while under the influence, he caused a wreck that killed two people, including a ten-month-old child. In 1980, he pled to misdemeanor charges related to insurance fraud. Some people knew he also drank and womanized and punched his way across the Little Egypt region.
Investigators would later tie him to the suspicious 1977 s****** d**** of his older son, Mark.
John Dale Cavaness was sentenced to d**** in the gas chamber for m******** his son to collect $148,000 in insurance.
Cavaness took his own life in jail. He died the day after the no-suicide clause on his life insurance policy expired, guaranteeing a payout.
