Murder suspect arrested upon waking from coma

LOMITA, Calif. (KABC) -- A Lomita man was arrested on suspicion of killing his wife several days after he jumped off a cliff upon learning he was a suspect in her disappearance.

David Viens, 47, was taken into custody on Friday at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center after waking up from a coma.

His wife, Dawn, has been missing since October 2009.

According to the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, Viens leaped off a cliff after an argument with a woman on Feb. 23. He fell about 80 feet and was airlifted to an area hospital.

Authorities said they found blood spatter on the walls of the couple's home in Lomita.

The sheriffs' department and coroner's office were at Thyme restaurant in Lomita for hours trying to find the remains of 39-year-old Dawn Veins.

Investigators were digging through the floor of the restaurant's patio

The husband and wife ran a restaurant together in Lomita, Calif.

Some of Dawn Viens' friends said she wouldn't just leave without saying anything to anyone. Friends said they were the ones who reported her missing three weeks after she vanished.

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homicide investigation, los angeles news, robert holguin

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