Murder of Patrick Dennehy

Patrick James Dennehy (born January 28, 1982, in Santa Clara, California) was a college basketball player who transferred to Baylor University from the University of New Mexico after his sophomore season. After redshirting the 2002–2003 season, he was preparing to play for the Baylor Bears in the 2003–2004 season. Carlton Dotson, a junior power forward and friend of Dennehy's, had transferred to Baylor in the summer of 2002 after attending North Dorchester High School in Hurlock, Maryland, and Paris Junior College.

In the summer of 2003, Dennehy and Dotson reportedly expressed concern about their safety and had purchased two pistols and a rifle, which they practiced firing at a farm north of Waco. A friend, Daniel Okopnyi, said he spoke with Dennehy by phone on June 14 and that Dennehy mentioned worrying about threats made to Dotson by two teammates. Dennehy was last seen on June 12, 2003. Over the following days, his mother and stepfather, Valorie and Brian Brabazon, grew concerned after receiving no Father's Day call, and his roommate, Chris Turk, found Dennehy's dogs unfed after returning from a trip. On June 19, the Brabazons reported Dennehy missing to the Waco Police Department. On June 25, Dennehy's Chevrolet Tahoe was found in a Virginia Beach, Virginia, shopping mall parking lot with its license plates removed, allegedly by Dotson.

A search warrant affidavit filed June 23 and unsealed June 30 indicated that an informant in Delaware told police Dotson had told a cousin he shot and killed Dennehy during an argument while the two were firing guns near Waco. On July 21, 2003, Dotson was charged with Dennehy's murder and taken into custody in Maryland. On July 25, a badly decomposed body was found in a gravel pit near Waco and sent to Dallas for autopsy; it was identified as Dennehy's remains the next day. On July 30, his death was ruled a homicide, with a preliminary autopsy showing gunshot wounds to the head. His head and body were found in separate locations, which investigators attributed to scavenging animals rather than deliberate dismemberment, despite some sensationalized reporting suggesting decapitation. A memorial service was held for Dennehy in San Jose, California, on August 7, 2003.

Following his August 2003 indictment, Dotson's case saw multiple competency evaluations. In October 2004, he was declared incompetent to stand trial due to apparent hallucinations and psychosis, including a belief that people were trying to kill him because he was Jesus. In February 2005, he was found competent to stand trial, conditioned on continuing anti-psychotic medication. On June 8, 2005, five days before his scheduled trial, Dotson pleaded guilty to killing Dennehy. He later sought to appeal, but a judge ruled in January 2006 that he had forfeited that right by pleading guilty. On June 15, 2005, Dotson was sentenced to 35 years in prison. He was denied parole in December 2020, December 2021, February 2022, and February 2023, before being approved for parole in March 2024 pending completion of a program; in June 2025, he was reported to have been released under a Super Intensive Supervision Program.

Baylor University president Robert B. Sloan publicly addressed the discovery of Dennehy's identified remains, and the university held a campus memorial on August 28, 2003. The case also led to a broader NCAA investigation and sanctions against Baylor's basketball program, and was later the subject of a Showtime documentary titled "Disgraced."