Documents: Dotson confessed killing Ex-Baylor player charged with murder of roommate Dennehy; body found, not ID’d Carlton Dotson, center, arrives at the courthouse Tuesday escorted by his attorneys Sherwood Wescott, left, and Purcel Luke. ASSOCIATED PRESS July 22 — Court documents confirm that former Baylor player Carlton Dotson Jr. admitted the shooting death of roommate and teammate Patrick Dennehy, NBC affiliate TV stations reported Tuesday. The stations also reported that a body has been found in an area east of Waco, Texas, but that the identity of which has not been confirmed. THE ARREST WARRANT for Dotson, unsealed Tuesday in Waco, reads: “Waco Police Department investigators learned from FBI agents in Maryland that Carlton Dotson confessed to shooting Patrick Dennehy.” Dotson was ordered held without bail on a murder charge Tuesday and his lawyers opposed his extradition to Texas. Dotson was arrested Monday on a warrant obtained by police in Waco, Texas, where both men attended Baylor, said Police Chief Walter T. Coryell. Kent County Deputy State’s Attorney Joseph Flanagan said Dotson “made strong self-incriminating statements” when he talked to FBI agents on Monday. Dotson told a reporter outside the courthouse Monday: “I didn’t confess to anything.” His estranged wife said Tuesday he needs psychological help, but that she does not believe he killed Dennehy. Flanagan told the judge at Tuesday’s bail hearing that the charge Dotson faced — “murder with intended death” — was a capital offense in Texas. Baylor center Patrick Dennehy was reported missing on June 19. Dotson, 21, was questioned for at least two hours Monday by three FBI agents, Coryell said. A Waco police detective also was present. Shortly after the questioning, Waco police obtained the warrant. An extradition hearing was set for within 30 days after the defense refused to waive the right to such a hearing and allow the Maryland man’s immediate transfer to Texas. Outside the courtroom, defense attorney Sherwood R. Wescott said the decision not to waive extradition was a “strategic move.” He would not comment Tuesday on whether Dotson had confessed to killing Dennehy. Waco police Sgt. Ryan Holt told The Dallas Morning News that Dotson confessed to killing Dennehy and described a location where Dennehy’s body might be found. He told the newspaper that police searched there Monday night, but would not elaborate. He said the department would not comment further until a news conference scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. Authorities had a “general location” to search in McLennan County, which includes Waco, based on their interviews with Dotson, the Waco Tribune-Herald reported Tuesday, citing law enforcement sources in Texas and Maryland. “Carlton, if you know where our son is, please let us know,” Dennehy’s mother, Valorie Brabazon, said Tuesday on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” She said she still feels “that my son is out there somewhere alive.” According to an earlier search warrant affidavit, an unidentified informant reported to Delaware authorities that Dotson told a cousin he shot Dennehy as the two argued while shooting 9 mm guns in the Waco area. Dotson’s relatives have told authorities that Dennehy’s body is “buried in a large body of water,” the Tribune-Herald reported, citing a source close to the investigation. Dotson came to Chestertown, about 55 miles from his hometown of Hurlock, on Sunday and Coryell said he used his cell phone to call 911. Police said they weren’t sure why he came to Chestertown. Wescott’s law partner, Purcell Luke, said in court Tuesday that Dotson’s mother has lived in the Chestertown area for three years. When officers arrived, Dotson told them he “needed counseling” and was hearing voices, Coryell said. The officers took him to a hospital, where he was evaluated but not admitted. While still at the hospital Monday afternoon, Dotson asked to speak with FBI agents, authorities said. Calls to the FBI were not returned. Dotson’s estranged wife, Melissa Kethley of Sulphur Springs, Texas, said she cannot believe Dotson killed Dennehy. She wouldn’t elaborate or discuss their marriage. She said that although Dotson called and told her Monday that he was talking with the FBI, he didn’t tell her he had been to the hospital. “But I’ve known that he’s needed psychological help for a very long time,” Kethley said, crying, during a telephone interview. “He needs help, the boy needs help. ... Maybe, if he did do this, it’s a blessing in disguise, and he can get the help he needs.” Dennehy’s vehicle was found June 25 in Virginia Beach, Va. Friends say Dennehy told them that he and Dotson obtained guns because they were being threatened. Dennehy’s family also claimed the 6-foot-10, 230-pound forward told coaches he feared for his life. http://www.msnbc.com/news/942261.asp?0cv=CB10
Something about this quote doesn't sit well with me. Sure, it's great if he could get the help he needs. But IF he is guilty, and if Dennehy is truly dead, that's pretty damn far from a blessing in disguise, especially to Patrick's family and friends. (Just to clarify, this was in the article, NOT something that BobFinn* said....)
Whew, thanks for clarifying that That quote stumped me as well. What could she have possibly been trying to say?
Damn....I never thought Dotson did it. I just figured this was the start of the ethnic cleansing portion of Vision 2012.
This quote serves as a microcosm of the insensitivity and selfishness of our society. Who cares that someone might have lost their life? I'm worried about mine, everything else is inconsequential.
You can probably chalk it up to a distraught woman being interviewed by telephone after getting the word her estranged husband is probably a murderer. I suspect she didn't realize how uncaring about the victim and his family it sounded.
I'm gonna give her the benefit of the doubt and assume she meant to say "If anything good can come from this".
