Dotson charged with murder in the Patrick Dennehy case

CHESTERTOWN, Md. -- Carlton Dotson, the roommate of Baylor University basketball player Patrick Dennehy -- who disappeared a month ago and whose body has never been found -- was charged Monday with murder, authorities said.


Dotson
The warrant naming Dotson was issued by police in Waco, Texas, where both men played on the Baylor team, Chestertown Police Chief Walter Coryell said.

Sgt. Ryan Holt, a Waco police spokesman, told The Dallas Morning News that Dotson confessed to killing Dennehy and gave a description of a location of Dennehy's body. He told the newspaper that police were searching that location Monday night, but declined to elaborate.

But as Dotson left the Kent County court commissioner's office Monday night, he told a reporter: "I didn't confess to anything. Call the FBI." Shortly after his arrest, Dotson referred all questions to his lawyer.


Dennehy
Attorney Grady Irvin Jr. said in a telephone interview that he last spoke with his client over the weekend. He would not say what they discussed.

"It is most unfortunate that police have come to the conclusion that there is a death,: Irvin said. "I am uncertain as to how they came to that conclusion, that Patrick Dennehy is now dead."


Holt also told the Morning News that investigators are trying to determine the accuracy of Dotson's account, including when and how the killing occurred.


Two officers escorted Dotson, wearing handcuffs, a T-shirt and jeans, into the police station about 9:20 p.m. He emerged about 15 minutes later with Coryell, another officer and an FBI agent.


The 21-year-old Dotson was fingerprinted and processed at the police department, Coryell said. He was then taken to the Kent County court commissioner's office, where he was ordered held without bail at the county jail.


Dotson will have another hearing Tuesday to discuss his bail and whether he wants to waive his right to an extradition hearing, Coryell said. If he opts not to have the extradition hearing, he will be returned to Texas, the chief said.


Coryell said Dotson was in Chestertown, about 55 miles from his hometown of Hurlock, on Sunday when he called police from a Super Fresh grocery store. He said he was hearing voices and needed counseling, Coryell said.

"He said he needed help," Coryell said. "We took him to the hospital for an evaluation. During his stay there, he contacted the FBI."


The police chief said Dotson stayed overnight at Chester River Hospital Center in Chestertown, then left early Monday afternoon with FBI agents. A hospital spokeswoman did not immediately return a call Monday night seeking comment.


Dotson was interviewed by three FBI agents and ``as a result of that interview, this warrant has been issued,'' the chief said. He declined to elaborate on Dotson's statement because he was not present during the interview. Calls to the FBI were not immediately returned.


Irvin said he did not know what Dotson told authorities.

"I don't know if the arrest warrant is based on statements he (Dotson) made or information gathered through law enforcement agencies and their investigations," he said. "I'm sure that when I read the warrant, I am 100 percent certain that there will be information not previously available to my office."


Irvin, of St. Petersburg, Fla., said he would probably arrive Tuesday in Baltimore and travel to Chestertown to meet with Dotson.


Holt issued a statement saying Dotson contacted authorities in Maryland and said he wanted to talk to the FBI about Dennehy's disappearance. He said that after the interview, Waco police issued the warrant. He said his department would have no further comment until a news conference at 5 p.m. ET in Waco.


Baylor speech communication professor John Cunningham said Dotson called him Monday evening and announced: "I wanted to let you know that I've turned myself in to the FBI," The Morning News reported Monday in its online edition.


He said the 21-year-old Dotson sounded upset and confused and asked Cunningham, who taught both Dotson and Dennehy, to have "everyone pray for me so I can have safe passage wherever I go from here."


Dotson voluntarily went Thursday to the Dorchester County Sheriff's Office near Hurlock to make a statement about Dennehy's disappearance. He was never in custody and was not arrested, leaving the office with his high school basketball coach.


Waco police declined to discuss what Dotson told authorities last week, saying only it did not change the course of the investigation.


Dotson returned last month to the Hurlock home he shares with his great-grandparents, Gilbert and Mildred Waters. A woman who answered the door Monday night said the couple had gone to bed. When told by a reporter that Dotson had been charged with murder, she said "you know more than we know" and slammed the door.


Dennehy's girlfriend, Jessica De La Rosa, choked back tears Monday night after she learned Dotson was charged with killing Dennehy.


"I was really, truly hoping in my heart that he was alive somewhere out there," she said. "I was hoping maybe he'd be hiding."


De La Rosa, 20, of Albuquerque, N.M., said the fact that Dennehy's body has not been found gives her some hope. "I can still have a glimmer," she said.

"I just can't believe that something like this would happen to such a great boy," Brian Brabazon, Dennehy's stepfather said in an interview with KWTX-TV of Waco. "Carlton was lucky enough to have known Patrick and let Patrick take him under his wing, give him a place to live and this is how Patrick was repaid."


Baylor athletic director Tom Stanton issued a statement on Dotson's arrest.

"We are struggling to find the right words and actions that would ease the pain of everyone connected to Patrick," it said. "We hope and believe that our thoughts and prayers are helpful ... There are no words to describe our grief or our feelings right now."


Dennehy's Chevrolet Tahoe was found June 25 in a strip mall parking lot in Virginia Beach, Va.


Authorities said Friday they were trying to determine if a 9mm handgun found Thursday at a Waco apartment complex near Baylor is related to Dennehy's disappearance.


According to an earlier search warrant affidavit, an unidentified informant told Delaware authorities that Dotson told a cousin he shot Dennehy as the two argued while shooting 9mm guns in the Waco area.


Dotson lost his basketball scholarship this spring and was not expected to play at Baylor next season.

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