Woman's Legs Found in Dumpster — Husband's Shopping Spree Uncovered
When a maintenance worker found a pair of human legs in a Southern California dumpster, few could have imagined it would take nearly 20 years to learn whose they were — or how they got there.
A Shocking Discovery in Rancho San Diego
On Oct. 5, 2003, a routine trash check at the Country Hills Apartments in Rancho San Diego turned into a crime scene. A maintenance worker discovered two severed human legs in a dumpster. No torso. No head. No identity.
At the time, the San Diego County Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide, but investigators were stumped. Despite exhaustive efforts, they couldn't figure out who the victim was — or how the rest of her body had vanished. The case went cold, and the legs were cataloged in a file of unknown victims.
A Breakthrough Nearly Two Decades Later
For 17 years, there were no answers. Then in 2020, San Diego's Cold Case Homicide Team tried something new — investigative genetic genealogy. Using DNA from the discarded legs, detectives were able to identify a biological relative — a son. With that, they finally had a name — Laurie Diane Potter.
She was 54 years old when she disappeared in 2003. She lived in Temecula, California, and had been married to a man named Jack Potter. Oddly, no one had ever reported her missing.
Her family assumed she was still alive somewhere, and her husband had never raised any alarms. That alone raised red flags.
The Investigation Turns Toward Home
Once Laurie's identity was confirmed, authorities dug into her past and her marriage. They found "substantial and convincing evidence" that her husband, Jack Dennis Potter, was responsible for her death, according to the Sacramento Bee.
Potter, now in his 70s, was arrested at his home in Rancho Cucamonga in May 2021. During grand jury proceedings in 2024, prosecutors described what they called a calculated and disturbing plan. Jack Potter had admitted that he smothered Laurie to death and disposed of her legs, according to the district attorney's office. The rest of her remains have never been found.
He pled guilty to second-degree murder in February 2025, just before his trial was set to begin. In May 2025, he was sentenced to 15 years to life in a California state prison.
A Life of Deceit and a Lavish Affair
What happened after Laurie's death may be just as shocking as the murder itself.
Shortly after her legs were discovered — but before police had identified her — Jack Potter began opening credit cards in her name. Prosecutors say he became obsessed with a woman he met at a strip club.
Her name? Also Laurie.
He gifted this new girlfriend a Hummer SUV, a ski boat, and an apartment in Corona Hills. One of the credit cards he gave her had a $30,000 limit. All of it, allegedly financed by fraud in his dead wife's name.
Years passed. Potter filed family court documents stating he'd contacted Laurie about divorce proceedings. Prosecutors say he did this multiple times — long after she was dead. Eventually, he used the court to sell their Temecula home and pocket all of the profits.
Justice — Years in the Making
District Attorney Summer Stephan described the crime as "brutal" and "calculated," according to a news release from the San Diego County District Attorney's office.
Further, Stephan praised the work of the Cold Case Unit, stating that Laurie's family had endured "nearly 20 years of unanswered questions and unimaginable grief," the news release said.
With the sentencing of Jack Potter, there is finally some closure. But questions remain. Where is the rest of Laurie's body? And how did she disappear without a single missing person's report?
For now, at least, Laurie's name is no longer anonymous — and her story will not be forgotten.
References: She Was Murdered, Her Legs Thrown in Dumpster — and Husband Went on Shopping Spree | Woman's Legs Found in Dumpster in 2003 Cold Case, CA Cops Say. Husband Sentenced | Man Sentenced to Prison for Killing Wife, and Throwing Her Severed Legs in Dumpster | Scheming Husband Left Wife's Legs in Dumpster, Gave Strip Club Girlfriend $30K Credit Card
