Murder at Baylor — The Cost of Telling the Truth Pt. 3 | Signal 51 Chronicles

When authorities pulled the body of a Baylor basketball player from a remote gravel pit,
they expected merely a homicide.
What was uncovered instead was a conspiracy.
The discovery ignited an investigation that exposed a sweeping web of lies and corruption
in southern Baptist country.
This is the Signal 51 Chronicles Episode 6.
Murder at Baylor.
He betrayed me.
I'm John Henry.
I'm joined here by my compadre, Jake White, retired sergeant of the Fourth Police
Department, and welcome back to the Signal 51 Chronicles.
This is the sixth episode of the reincarnation of the Signal 51 Chronicles.
Jake, what does Signal 51 mean?
An investigation.
An investigation.
That's right.
It's police code, radio code, somebody calls over the radio and says, hey, we got a
Signal 51?
You're dispatched to one.
It's all encompassing.
So what would they say?
Dispatched, we're like, you hear on the, you're, you're thinking what do they say?
Signal 51 on, yeah, the X address or whatever.
Yeah, and they'll give you brief details.
Like I said, it's all encompassing.
There's a lot.
In the producer's chair across the table, here is our good friend, Ashley.
Hello, friends.
Who spent her life as a caterpillar in Azale, Texas.
Ashley's a hornet.
Yeah, I was going to say, okay, no, I was confused.
I claim to be a horn frog.
Yeah.
I don't claim there.
Before she sprouted her wings and went to TCU, we don't claim Azale.
We got to find a good story in Azale.
I'm sure there are some.
So today, Jake, we've got a new segment called last meals, the last meal.
Last meals, of course, being the last meal before last request, the last requested meal
of a death row inmate before he goes to the other side.
Ashley, what'd you tell us about today's last meal?
Hold on, I got to come give it to you.
We have no idea what we're getting right now.
We're not a clue.
I don't know.
So, I think ice cream, there's spoons in there too.
This one we just did.
You can put the bag on the floor now.
They don't sponsor us.
So I was looking things up and I was like, wait, we have to do it this time, Jake said
it.
So, I bought you all a last meal of somebody, which is two pints of mint chocolate chip ice
cream.
Can you guess who's it is?
I do believe.
I don't know who this is.
This is the last meal of the Oklahoma City bomber.
Yes.
Oh, something in vain.
Yeah.
I do recall this.
Two pints, brother, basic compared to many.
So, two pints of mint.
Was it bluebell?
It doesn't say just mint chocolate chip.
Today it's bluebell.
Today it's bluebell.
Now, I'm going bigger if I'm 10, I mean, 10 of them, they went.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, you got to go bigger, man.
I don't want me to see what our boy was into.
So, we're going to raid him.
For a last meal that I'm disappointed.
I'm too.
I mean, yeah, I've got to include it in my last meal.
Yeah, it's on the list.
But he did a really bad crime to just eat ice cream.
Right.
I mean, I guess he was deprived as a child.
He crazy, too.
He'd born and raised in Buffalo.
10 of them in a day with him.
I read a good book on him.
I like this one.
This is funny.
I could, I mean, I could definitely become a fan of this.
Of the last meal segment, of this, of the ice cream.
Ice cream.
Yeah, it's pretty good.
It's actually my go-to.
Is it?
Yeah.
Then mint.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I'm out.
I'm a robbery guy.
So, I rarely eat ice cream anymore.
I love it.
Who doesn't love ice cream?
Oh, no.
Don't get you something that's going to make you sick.
No.
No, no, no, no.
Not at all.
I will be until I showed up to the doctor's office.
I was 10 pounds heavier than I was last time.
And I was eating ice cream every night.
I thought this was when I had to pick you up from the milk.
Well, that was one of my more disappointing moments of knowing you.
That's my colonoscopy.
Yeah.
I don't know if that you're going to be.
What a good friend.
Uh, yeah.
Under the anesthesia, saying some crazy stuff.
Nothing.
I said nothing.
I woke right up.
I woke up and you were in same old John Henry.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So, what do we think about this last meal?
I'm a different point of it.
I mean, good.
Yeah, I'm highly disappointed.
Um, I mean, adding this to the list, for sure,
like it would be on my list of several things.
Um, but just this and of itself.
So what's the one?
What's the one thing you got to have at your last meal?
Oh, I don't know.
I think the problem is is I don't know what I would have.
If you're incarcerated for 8, 10, 12, 30 years, what do you miss?
You know what?
I've been craving a lot of lily, sushi, like sushi towers.
That would, that might be on my last meal.
Like a hard one.
I mean, I'm going pizza probably.
Yeah.
And, and Mama's pizza specifically is good.
And you know my claims that you could eat a large one.
Yeah, I could do the whole thing.
A Mama's pizza?
Yeah.
Yeah.
And eating, eating, eating contest at Mama's pizza specifically for Jake,
because he claimed he could eat a large, full, all the way pizza.
Whatever you call it.
Mm-hmm.
In one hour?
We didn't attach time on it.
I think we all did.
I mean, in one setting, yes.
So I asked, uh, so we, we were at Oscar's pub one night and in walks the owner of Mama's pizza.
Mm-hmm.
I said, hey, I got a question for you.
It said we could do it.
And he goes, in fact, we used to do it when Chris Farcus, he's down in the, uh, Thomas.
T.C. Booster.
Do you remember that story?
You probably don't remember that story.
Mm-hmm.
Who was he giving the checks to?
Much football players.
Yeah, sounds better.
Checks or pizzas?
Both.
They were in the pizzas.
Oh, no, I do know that story.
They were in the pizzas.
So, uh.
I did just some basketball players too.
He, he told me that Earl Campbell, I think he said Earl Campbell, couldn't even do the full.
Those are large pizza.
Those are big pizzas.
Everything on the other massive.
I could do it.
I just don't want to pay the consequences.
Oh, yeah.
No, that's the older I get, the more consequences happen.
Yeah.
That's terrible.
I mean, what will do?
I mean, I'm a lactose intolerant guy, I think.
Oh, I said, I think I'm lactose intolerant.
But it's okay.
I'll get through with it.
You were looking up somebody's last meal.
This is a little while ago.
Uh, yeah.
The one with the strawberries.
I'm going, if I'm going more than 10 minutes or.
Ment chocolate chip.
You're going.
I think I might include it in my dessert.
Maybe offering.
Yeah, I would put it.
I mean, like I said, that's.
Very disappointing that that's.
All you're having for what he did.
I feel like this is very, um, anti-climatic.
But.
Ta-da.
Last meal segment.
Here it is.
Here it is.
I'm more geared up for the.
Just massive like as we've looked at some of these.
There was a huge talk of bell order that I almost ordered.
And I remembered John Henry has to go dinner.
Very thoughtful.
I had dinner plans tonight.
Well, God, I should have bought one of this.
I got this up.
No, no, finish it.
He enjoyed his last meal.
No, it's almost done.
I forgot to bring myself a spoon.
I've just eaten the rest of it.
Good man.
God, that was good.
Okay, let's get.
Great idea.
It's an amazing way.
But.
Okay, now that I'm.
We're.
Another appetite has been satiated by.
Mint chocolate chip ice cream.
Ten of them.
Ten of them.
You could have done much better.
Yeah.
In a whole lot of ways in life.
But particularly your last meal.
So an episode five of.
The murder of Baylor.
Patrick Denny.
He's body.
And Dotson had.
Been arrested.
I can tell you informant Delaware that he.
Was the one who pulled the trigger.
Any the life of Patrick Denny his.
Basketball teammate at Baylor.
We were introduced to a.
He was the assistant who blew the whistle on.
Coach Dave Bliss's scheme.
Of a concocting a story.
To demonstrate how Patrick Denny could have paid for his tuition of Baylor.
Patrick Denny was not yet on scholarship Baylor.
He was what was considered a walk on.
He uses help to accomplish others wanted his stay.
I think Wills and others.
Of course out ofOO he could.
How much did you gain to graduate soup Because Bent polarism is more
high.
bachelor's kids.
Everyone is not puning.
Finally Boz with custom bells.
And Queen,
really, he really is. His name is A. Barraus. He was an assistant just gotten the job at Baylor
month prior to tape recording Dave Bliss laying out these plans to assistant coaches and players
about how Patrick Denny was earning a living. And of course it was completely false. The end of
episode five we learned that the NCAA handed down harsh penalties to Baylor's basketball program.
Dave Bliss of course resigned his position. His career as a division one coach was over. He
somehow got a job at Allen Academy in Bryan and an NAIA school in Oklahoma. And then finally a high
school in Las Vegas in 2017 and he left there in 2018 and he has not worked since. So Carlton Dotson
told authorities that initially that killing was in self-defense. He said he'd been hearing voices
other associates of Dotson said that he believed he was Jesus Christ and he was initially declared
incompetent to stand trial after the testimony of a psychologist who had who had examined him.
But this case got really interesting certainly from a media standpoint when Dotson gave a jailhouse
interview in late July 2003 to an intern an intern of the Dallas Morning News named Shanny George.
And the interview lasted about 10 minutes and offered one of the first public statements from Dotson
after his arrest. In the interview Dotson appeared anxious throughout the conversation repeatedly
glancing over his shoulder and asking whether anyone was standing behind him. So speaking through
a plexiglass barrier he identified himself and acknowledged that the newspaper reporter was
indeed a newspaper reporter. There was some controversy about that later. Dotson when asked about
his relationship with Denny he said he believed Denny had quote unquote betrayed him but he didn't
provide any details. When asked to describe what happened between the two men Dotson suggested he
acted in self-defense. He said in fact quote according to the newspaper reporter if someone points
a gun at you and shoots as in pulls the trigger and it doesn't go off what would you do. He added
that Denny he began quote putting more bullets in the gun repeating the question what would you do
during the interview Dotson also claimed to hear voices he described them saying we are many we are
strong we support you we're behind you we're at we're at war a spiritual war his comments aligned
with reports from law enforcement and later courtroom statements questioning his mental stability.
Dotson's attorney raised a red flag on this on this interview and Dotson's attorney said that
that the that the reporter didn't didn't properly identify herself as reporter. The attorney
said at one point that the reporter identified herself as part of a religious group.
George of course disputed the claim the reporter disputed the claim and stated that she clearly
identified herself as working for the Dallas Morning News. George said she conducted the interview
without notes saying she believed writing instruments or recording devices were prohibited.
She said she relayed the conversation immediately to editors following her exit from the jail.
That is relevant because you know did she have an accurate recording of what he said.
But Dotson statements during the interview were consistent with the erratic behavior described
by investigators and contributed to questions at the time regarding his competency to stand trial.
So let's look at these claims Jake the claim of self-defense he clearly framed
Patrick Denny he is the aggressor saying if someone points to gun at you and pulls a trigger what
would you do. Are you asking me that literally? No. So he says that Denny he attempted to shoot
him the gun perhaps misfires or doesn't fire however and that Dotson's reaction was out of
out of fear. So as an investigator is there anything to be done with that allegation
of without without any evidence because there was no evidence that Dotson or Denny ever threatened to
fire at him. I guess they did know he did have a gun because I think one was registered to him
and then of course the body was found exit fired the body was found the autopsy showed his execution
style. So there's actually nothing of any relevance to to that claim. Do we think that could be
a delusional reconstruction or just a flat out lie? Who knows? Yeah who know either or I mean honestly
it could be could be either. You were seeing anything like anybody giving you a bullshit story
like that about whatever they're I mean it's an excuse to justify you know whatever their criminal
their participation and whatever criminal activity it is I mean yeah those are very common. But
of course you got to you got to sift through it all right because you can't just assume he's lying
I mean you can assume he's lying but you can't assume that yeah I mean you don't know yeah exactly
you don't know factually if he I mean is it possible he was telling the truth yes but again you
look at the totality of the circumstances how mental instability I suppose that Dotson presented
so so we were talking about in our our informant friend that you knew as an officer as a detective
let's not friend that's maybe a little bit I use that word for yourself I use that word
sarcastically how how did you deduce I guess come to the conclusion that he was giving you
baloney stories well no that one nothing it got to the point where things things did pan out they
were accurate and then over the course of time these you know kind of like I told you hey they've
got you know they've got 10 kilos inside the house and you get there and there's not and that
happened you know could it happen once or twice yeah but after a while and then the the amounts
to quantity started getting more and more outrageous and you know nothing like I said nothing was
panning out I mean but you know with with all of these when Dotson's talking about we are many we
are strong we support you etc right I mean those kind of interactions are fairly frequent with
police I mean we I got them more of all places when I worked in internal affairs where people
would call and say hey the helicopters are following me the they're listening to my phone call
I mean and those those were weekly you would get those calls like complaining to the police that
the police are spying on these people right or spying on the you know the caller which is
outrageous right hallucinations yeah they're yeah exactly so that I mean it's frequent Dotson
was also you know according to this still according to the reporter constantly looking over shoulder
asked if someone's behind him appeared you know fearful and hyper vigilant and all this stuff these
these signs of you know psychosis paranoid is there any training that you guys get for this stuff
when you're in the academy or anywhere else or do you recognize that or is it just like a priest
of confession they just throw you in there and say start hearing sins you know that's not like a
priest that confession no you do I mean and it's come a long way from when I first started of course
but it's still a slippery slope right I mean the police are the police the police are not
psychiatrist yeah they're not trying to do that I mean what a 40 uh a 40 hour class or an
80 hour class does not turn you into some kind of professional yeah I mean you and I think more
than anything you just compare it to the norm when you talk to people you can see you can detect
you know nervous behavior or you know behavior similar to Dotsons am I gonna set there and say
I think he's schizophrenic or he's this or he's that no I'm in no way shape or form a doctor or
psychiatrist a PhD in psychology I don't have any of that who am I to say so is there anything in
this interview that an investigator detective could have used well I mean he's case yeah you
some matter think he's crazy you can think that but again that's not that's not law enforcement it's
rolled to say that he is right I mean he admits to when he says that he did it yeah he admits to
doing it so yeah that's something you're gonna use so it's clear to this interview that Dotson
appeared to be what we say unraveling psychologically seemingly felt pursued by imagined threats believed
in some sort of spiritual war spiritual work comes up a lot it seems like in some of these cases
we see he recited loosely a self-defense story yet he still couldn't articulate clear motives
about why he did it one thing of that I am kind of interested in it does go back to the reporter yeah
okay so she's a intern not much experience right but I would think kind of turning the tables here
a little bit I mean if you're either educated in journalism or you're working for a newspaper
TV whatever the case may be there are rules the now did she go in there and say I'm a branch
Davidian member who works for the Dallas morning news probably not but who knows I mean probably
did not do that but the things that were kind of like we talked about so she doesn't bring any
writing instrument no pen no pad quarter the recorders in prison probably I think you might have
well they might have it but I think you looked that up one time and some of them prohibit the
recordings I don't call any of that I always call I don't recall or make me okay maybe I'm maybe
I'm wrong the Dallas morning news is probably not saying hey and like unless she's just gone rogue
right like hey I'm going back to the bosses with a juicy story yeah I can't imagine that the
morning news would send an intern to do this because because it's a national it's a big national
story this is a page one story I have no doubt that she wasn't in turn at the morning news but I
sense that she might have made the request herself and was going to make a splash on this
yeah that's what I think I wonder she got the job I don't know hopefully she was aware and faithful
to the ethics required of a reporter in that situation that being that she's obligated
to play it straight up tell her who tell exactly who she is that because another because then
she's not much any different than day bliss to be honest with you but I find it highly unlikely
even a young person like that would instruct a story that she was with the religious
organization or something like that Carlton Dotson it could have believed she said that
possibly but I doubt that she told that to the to the authorities at the jail which would have
taken her request yeah I'm reading the transcript I guess this is a uh court transcript
of sorts what's it saying reported jailhouse confession made by her headlines in Thursday's
dials morning news lavender now you might wonder how was it that an intern got this scoop the newspaper
officials say that they had sent one of their own reporters into the jail to try to get an
interview with Carlton Dotson that reporter was turned away in the newspaper says they decided
to try a different approach okay all right and that's why the intern was said actually
Grady Irving who is Carlton Dotson's attorney says he's still investigating this matter
as to how this might have happened and says he'll try to get to the bottom of it but he hasn't
gotten quite there yet I think ultimately the the attorney of course is trying to make
keep that interview out of any court proceeding did you show your identification as a reporter
for the Dallas Morning News know well I did leave her a sheet of paper with a note and my
credentials were photocopied but that was only after the interview that was after the interview
so before the interview you didn't show ID to anyone at the prison said I should my personal
identification okay but not ID saying that you were with the Dallas Morning News know okay now
Carlton Dotson comes into the room you're sitting there I know there's plexiglass or glass
and you were talking on phones right what was the first thing that you said to them well I first
identified myself to him because he had been corresponding with a staff writer that works with
the quote Dallas Morning News and he actually said that he was going to call him the next day but
the conversation continued after that how did you identify yourself she was asked she said quote um
shanny george with the Dallas Morning News I don't know that like said I don't know the the
rules if you will on journalism found interesting was zero notes at all I mean and perhaps she
didn't know or maybe she was there already and not I don't want to say not prepared but maybe
just the ability to uh yeah I don't know when she came into the into the into the their plans
because they had a different reporter they said and they he or she was was turned away yeah
and then they tried this angle to get the intern in there to do it yeah so I don't know maybe she
was just there and when you would think that because she was a hot girl could have been possible yeah
very possible she's a hot girl yeah who the hell knows might have been oh regardless that 20
year old Dallas Morning News intern got the confession and I think ultimately that defense attorney wanted
to keep him out yeah out of the court record I'd go on with the going with yours now all right so
Dotson indeed was later found incompetent to stay at to stay in trial then found competent months
later suggesting fluctuating mental stability his comments in the interview support that the theory
that he was experiencing a break from reality during the killing or afterward the case would
never make it to trial though Dotson agreed to plead guilty in June of 2005 he was sentenced to
35 years and sent and sent to the Connelly State Prison Unit in Kennedy, Texas which is about
60 miles southeast of San Antonio a year ago in November Dotson then 43 was released on parole
to McLean and County after about 19 years of the 35 year prison term the new surprise many
connected to the original case including Rouse in addition to completing treatment and standard
parole conditions Dotson now 43 is also subject to Texas quote super intensive
supervision program the program is designed to quote minimize the threat to the community from
dangerous offenders released on parole or mandatory supervision that is according to a spokesperson
for the Texas board of pardons and parole Denny's stepfather told the SPN that he and Denny's sister
had a post parole over the years but that a year before Dotson's release quote we softened our stance
as we think Patrick may have they told the Texas Department of Criminal Justice that they believe
Dotson should do all of the sentence time but that they would let the parole board make its own
decision Dotson has declined all immediate interview requests Denny's stepfather Brian Bravison
said Dotson is living in Houston although he has bounced all around Texas including a stint in
Waco since getting out the stepfather said he would like to speak to Dotson quote I haven't
reached out to him but when we were looking for Patrick in 2003 I spoke to Dotson on the phone
and I asked what happened he told me if we could meet in person he would tell me I'm still waiting
for that explanation for Rouse news of the parole brought it all back he told ESPN that he thought
obviously of Patrick and Patrick's family I thought about Pat's mom his sister his stepdad
and how hurt they're going to be Rouse also said quote I also believe in rehabilitation though
you can't work in prison if you don't believe in rehabilitation is Dotson rehabilitated
is he ready to function did he get what he needed inside to be able to function so our friend
a bar he is our friend works in corrections he's in California in 2003 he was in a pretty precarious
situation a father of one of the Baylor players who had criticized a bar for being disloyal to
bliss said I owe him an apology because I think he did the right thing at the right time
and I don't care what any coach says anywhere I think that they should weed out the bad coaches
and if it takes something like this that's what it takes Rouse's decision of course
to do the right thing came at a cost to him professionally like bliss a bar's career as a
basketball coach is over and why was it over for violating the unwritten rule of loyalty among
coaches Rouse's a bar's boss at another school set at the time that this could go quote one of
two ways people who don't know the story that well may think who wants to hire this guy who tapes
the coach is going to turn us in for every little thing but when you look at it another way you
realize you have to take care of yourself when you're dealing with the law and when you start
talking about smearing a young man's name you can definitely see how he was put in a corner by
taping bliss and making the information available to Baylor and the NCAA Rouse violated quote-unquote
the code the tenant that the coaching profession the tenant of the coaching profession that says coaches
do not turn in other coaches said one attorney of a firm that specializes in helping schools deal
with the NCAA he spoke to the start telegram in those days quote it's an old story if coach A
tells on coach B coach A will be ostracized in the coaching community period ironically the
most telling example of the code occurred at Baylor in the 1995 case those three assistant coaches
refused to implicate Darrell Johnson until they were questioned by Baylor attorneys after the
trial the ultimate act of protecting the head coach that same attorney said if you asked him they
would tell you well in our profession that's the way it is you protect you protect you protect
and that of course is certainly why Dave Bliss thought he could tell his coaches all this stuff and
get away with it Jeff Ray was the head basketball coach and athletic director midwestern state when
Rouse was there he said at the time that he expected Rouse to face some difficulty finding another
coaching job if he said if you're asking me will this hurt him in our profession as far as maybe
getting a future job it probably will Ray said I think the more he found out Ray said the more
uneasy he felt about the situation another former boss and coach advised said he advised Rouse to
be forthcoming especially law enforcement quote I told Abar be loyal to coach Bliss and Baylor but
if you get if it ever gets to a situation where you're talking to police be loyal to yourself both
of those coaches all enough I found funny said they had no knowledge of the taping showing they were
going to protect themselves too well this was going on Ray said I would never ask an assistant to
do anything I wouldn't be willing to do and I was sure never asked one lie some things are bigger
than your job and your integrity is one of them Abar at the time thought that he would get a chance
police that at the junior college or lower NCAA division schools but he instead decided to just
simply move on when I met Abar Rouse he was a teacher he was just about to get a job as a teacher
at the federal medical center at Carswell in Fort Worth he had been promoted twice and was about
to put his degree in education at Baylor to use at as a teacher there at the time he is also sharing
his experiences as a public speaker addressing audiences on the subject of professional ethics
so Abar Rouse today is 49 years old for late 40s maybe 50 he's a married father for grandfather
of seven he lives in Victorville California where he works as an assistant warden at one of the three
federal facilities there he serves with people of integrity he said and working for an agency of
integrity he serves with quote unquote pride and quote I don't know if that would necessarily be
true if I were in college basketball still as it concerns Bliss Abar told me years ago
he does not hold any ill will toward him it took a while for him to actually even watch college
basketball again he said I've moved on with my life and I'm happy if none of that had happened I
wouldn't have been I wouldn't have my family and God has a purpose for all of us in a reason
and I'm in a better place and that concludes the case murder at Baylor in 2003
this is a stolen water media production