(inset photo) Tito Jackson pictured with his late wife; (R) Tito
The tragic murder of Tito Jackson’s wife, Dee Dee Jackson, rocked the entire Jackson family, whom Dee Dee was very close to. Dee Dee was married to Tito for 21 years (from 1972-1993) and is the mother of his three sons, Tarryll, Taj, and TJ (also known as the pop group, 3T). She was murdered on April 27, 1994. For many years, many details surrounding her death and her convicted killer were unknown, but what we’ve now learned is that her death seemed more like a twisted movie drama plot. See why Dee Dee Jackson’s convicted murderer is not what many would have expected.
Tito Jackson with his then wife, Dee Jackson
DETAILS ABOUT THE MAN CONVICTED OF MURDERING TITO’S EX-WIFE
Tito Jackson’s ex-wife, Dee Dee Jackson, with her then boyfriend (who was convicted of her murder), Donald Bohana
Dee Dee Jackson’s boyfriend, Donald Bohana, was convicted of her murder. From the outside looking in, Bohana’s resume’ doesn’t look like the murderer one might expect:
-He was a prominent businessman who was well respected throughout California.
-He was praised as a hometown hero in 1992 for opening up the first restaurant in Watts, Ca. since the 1965 riots. Bohana famously dubbed his franchise restaurant “Denny’s N’ Da Hood” after created the first Denny’s to ever serve soul food. His restaurant helped rebrand Denny’s image because at that time, the corporation was losing a lot of Black business due to the many discrimination lawsuits for alleged mistreatment of Blacks in their restaurants. Bohana’s location attracted media attention and became a business structure the Denny’s corporation used to boost fledgling sales for 1,504 of their other restaurants at that time.
-Bohana was often in celebrity circles and has been photographed with legends like Sammy Davis Jr., Muhammad Ali, and Stevie Wonder.
Stevie Wonder (L) with Dee Dee Jackson’s ex, Donald Bohana(R)
-He was a successful insurance executive and he had many other alleged business dealings such as a clothing deal with a Chinese company, a contract to teach aviation in a San Gabriel Valley school district, a bank loan agent and more.
But details on why and how Bohana killed Dee Dee are extremely tragic…
LITTLE KNOWN DETAILS ABOUT DEE DEE JACKSON’S MURDER
Bohana was convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to 15 years to life for killing Dee Dee Jackson at his home.
Dee Dee drowned in Bohana’s swimming pool and her official cause of death was listed as ‘asphyxia due to drowning, alcohol intake, and blunt force traumatic injuries.’ When cops arrived to Bohana’s home in the early morning hours of August 27th, 1994, Dee Dee’s body was completely nude and Bohana (who was also completely nude) had her lifeless body sitting up, propped against a tree in his backyard as he kneeled next to her, according to court documents.
Bohana’s account that she became trapped underwater after getting her hand caught somehow in the deep end of his pool and that he’d tried to pull her out, but couldn’t save her in time, conflicted with her injuries and with reports from paramedics’ findings.
JACKSONS REVEALED ALLEGED MOTIVE
Tito and Dee Dee Jackson’s sons: Taj Jackson, TJ Jackson and Taryll Jackson of 3T
It was alleged that Donald Bohana wanted Dee Dee to extort money from the Jacksons to cover his mounting business debts and became angry when she refused.
Tito’s and Dee Dee’s sons filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Bohana in 1995 and their lawyer, R. Brian Oxman, told Jet Magazine the following statement at that time:
“He (Bohana) owed almost $2 million in debt at the time of her [Dee Dee’s] death. He had assets of $800,000 and he was in severe financial difficulty. He met her two months before her death. When folks meet members of the Jackson family, they automatically think of money,” [stated Oxman] “We believe that immediately upon her arrival Aug. 26th [1994] around 11:30 p.m. they started arguing. This was a horrendous fight. She had 58 TOTAL INJURIES if you include scratch marks and bruises.”
KATHERINE JACKSON AND TITO’S SON GET EMOTIONAL WHEN TALKING ABOUT DEE DEE ON “THE JACKON’S: THE NEXT GENERATION”
In the end, a beautiful life was loss and a lifelong pain forever exists in Dee Dee’s sons, Tito, and her family. Another tragic reminder that behind the spotlights, celebrities are still human and sometimes endure great pains in life, just like the rest of us. May Dee Dee Jackson continue to rest peacefully.
