Sandra Steele, Educational Consultant

Former Baylor Player Dotson Pleads Guilty:
23-year-old admits to killing teammate Dennehy in 2003

June 9, 2005

From Star news services

WACO, Texas -- Almost two years after the disappearance of his former teammate at Baylor University, Carlton Dotson pleaded guilty Wednesday to fatally shooting his friend, Patrick Dennehy, in what he told investigators was a target practice gone awry.

Dotson's surprise plea -- just days before he was set for trial -- was not part of a deal with prosecutors and does not carry any promise of leniency.

He faces up to life in prison in the death of Dennehy, whose body was found in a gravel pit east of Waco several weeks after he disappeared in June 2003.

Sentencing on the murder charge is set for June 15.

McLennan County District Attorney John Segrest said he was surprised that Dotson pleaded guilty without the promise of a reduced sentence from prosecutors.

"It's a good resolution," Segrest said. "There is no question as to guilt."

Defense attorney Russ Hunt Sr. declined Wednesday to discuss why Dotson pleaded guilty without a sentencing agreement but said he was confident the judge would impose a fair sentence. Hunt said Dotson was aware of the penalty he faces.

"He has been very, very frightened at the prospect of going to trial," Hunt said.

Dotson, 23, was ruled incompetent to stand trial last fall and was sent to a mental hospital until earlier this year. A psychiatrist there said Dotson appeared to be faking some of his symptoms.

Dotson's confession to investigators, which was released by prosecutors for the first time through court filings in Waco, describes a growing paranoia and vivid hallucinations in the weeks before the shooting.