Born in a small Indiana town to well-to-do parents who thought they could never have children, Diane Jackson Whitmore always dreamed of shedding her midwest roots and finding success in the Big Apple. After earning a degree from an all-girl college, Diane set off for adventures in the big city. But living the lifestyle she always dreamed of wasn’t as easy as she’d believed, being it was the days before women demanded equal rights and equal pay. No, in the 1960s and 1970s, for a woman to live a comfortable lifestyle, it almost always demanded she have a husband.
Diane was beautiful and outgoing, so it didn’t take much effort to get a boyfriend. And even landing a husband came without difficulty - but keeping them was an entirely different matter.
By today’s standards, Diane would be called a drama queen. When life got a little boring, Diane would always do something to stir that pot again. Whether it was spending money to excess or slipping off for an afternoon fling, Diane needed excitement.
For Diane’s first two husbands, it was more than they could handle. They loved their beautiful bride but hated the manic lifestyle. Divorce came as sweet relief from the craziness of it all.
It’s often said that disordered personality types are drawn like magnets to those just like them, which probably explains why Diane was so enamored with Joseph Pikul. There’s not a lot known about the childhood of Joseph John Pikul, or Joe, as he preferred to be called. He once made allegations of abuse at the hands of an extremely strict father and a mother who was emotionally absent.
Seemingly overcoming those mind-scarring obstacles, Pikul studied and worked hard until he felt he had reached his goal of success. Joe Pikul was now a Wall Street securities analyst in high demand.
Despite the financial turmoil of America in the 1970s, Joe had managed to maintain and even increase his wealth. And even a tumultuous divorce did little to effect his bottom line. Friends and family were unsure just how much the Pikul children had witnessed of their mother’s murder; thus, the idea of Joe, a confessed killer, having custody was just appalling. Friends sought to remedy the situation by supporting Diane’s cousin and her husband when they filed for custody in a New York family court.
After much mud slinging from both sides of the aisle, Diane’s supporters were shocked and outraged when a family court judge declared Joe could retain custody of his children pending his criminal trial. The judge's reasoning being that, although Joe Pikul was charged with murder, he had not yet been convicted and the children appeared to be in no immediate danger. She continued on to say that the best interest of the children was to be with a parent, and since Diane was unable to take custody, Joe stepped into first place.
This riled many residents of New York. Not only was this family court judge a woman, but someone who was otherwise tough on domestic violence offenders. Her ruling would be criticized long after made and be referred to time and again through a series of appeals.
In the meantime, Joe Pikul remarried. It wasn’t necessarily for love, Joe was incapable of loving anyone but himself but he wasn't a stupid man. He realized having a stepmother for the children was the ultimate trump card in a game of child custody.
Mary Bain Pikul abandoned her own husband to be with the accused murderer; even willfully relinquishing custody of her daughter. In testimony given during the child custody hearings, Mary spoke of how she loved the Pikul children and how, should her new husband be convicted, she was more than willing to care for them.
Despite public opinion, Mary's testimony was good enough for Judge Kristen Booth to allow Joe to retain custody of his children; that is, until she was contacted by upstate law enforcement officials who suggested she ask Mary about a marital dispute with her previous husband that involved the wielding of a knife.
With the revealing of this information, Joe realized he could not win and ended his bid for custody. Diane's cousins, Mike and Kathleen O’Guinn, were awarded custody of the two children. In 1989, Joe Pikul was convicted of murdering Diane. While awaiting sentencing, Joe was free on bond and his attorneys filed an appeal.
Karma, however, has a funny way of taking care of things.
After a one-week stay in a Goshen, New York, hospital, Joe died on June 13, 1989. Although hospital officials would not confirm it, sources close to Joe Pikul say he died from complications arising from AIDS. In August 1989, Judge Thomas Byrne of Orange County Court vacated Joe’s conviction pursuant to a New York law that requires a conviction to be vacated if the defendant dies while an appeal is pending. When it was all said and done, Joe Pikul, at least in the eyes of the law, died with a clean slate.
