After the trial, John Sweeney was incarcerated at a medium-security prison in Susanville, California. He was released on parole in September 1986 after having served three years, seven months and twenty-seven days of his -year sentence. Three months after his release, Sweeney was hired as head chef at The Chronicle, an upscale restaurant in Santa Monica, California. Dunne's brother Griffin and her mother, Lenny, found out where Sweeney was working and began standing outside the restaurant handing out flyers to patrons that read, "The food you will eat tonight was cooked by the hands that killed Dominique Dunne." Sweeney eventually quit his job due to the protests from Dunne's family and moved away from Los Angeles.