Body Identified as Baylor Player's

[Walter Cronkite]

Combing through chest-high weeds under the blazing sun, authorities found evidence they say helped identify the body of Baylor University basketball player Patrick Dennehy, who had been missing for more than six weeks.

Searching in the same field where a decomposing body had been found two days before, investigators found a head Sunday morning, McLennan County Justice of the Peace Belinda Summers said.

Later Sunday night, McLennan County Sheriff Larry Lynch announced that the Dallas County medical examiner's office had determined that the body was Dennehy's. It was found Friday and taken in for an autopsy, but authorities gave no further details Sunday, including a possible cause of death.

''With that evidence collected today, they were able to make a positive identification,'' Lynch said, without specifying what evidence was found. Authorities have declined to say if a weapon has been recovered.

Carlton Dotson, 21, was arrested last week in his home state of Maryland and charged with murder in Dennehy's death. Dotson, who played basketball at Baylor last season and had been living with Dennehy since spring, remained jailed without bond, awaiting extradition to Texas.

Sunday's search took place just north of gravel pits where authorities looked last week after Dotson's arrest. Investigators used farm equipment to cut down weeds and grass up to 7 feet tall in the rural area about five miles south of Waco.

Authorities picked up Dotson July 21 after he called 911, saying he needed help because he was hearing voices, authorities said. Dotson told FBI agents in Maryland that he shot Dennehy after the player tried to shoot him, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.

After his arrest, Dotson told The Associated Press that he ''didn't confess to anything.''

A message left for Dotson's attorney, Grady Irvin, early Monday at his Florida office was not immediately returned. Irvin said last week after Dotson's arrest that he wasn't sure how police had reached the conclusion that Dennehy was dead.

Dennehy's family has decided not to return to Waco, the player's girlfriend Jessica De La Rosa said Sunday afternoon.

''Technically, there's nothing we can do out there,'' De La Rosa said from her Albuquerque home. Reached hours later, after learning that the body was Dennehy's, she sobbed and said she was unable to comment.

Dennehy's mother and stepfather, Valorie and Brian Brabazon, and their teenage daughter traveled to Waco from their Carson City, Nev., home for the first time last week to retrieve the player's belongings.

The family and De La Rosa left Waco about noon Friday after a three-hour meeting with police, and said they believed Dennehy could still be alive. The Brabazons dropped off De La Rosa in Albuquerque early Saturday morning and left for their home Sunday before learning that Dennehy was dead.

Dotson and Dennehy arrived last summer in Waco, about 100 miles south of Fort Worth, on basketball scholarships.

Dotson was a transfer from Paris Junior College in East Texas and eligible to play. Dennehy, because of NCAA eligibility rules, had to sit out a year after transferring from New Mexico, where he was kicked off the team for losing his temper.

Dennehy's family reported him missing June 19, seven days after he was last seen on campus. Dennehy's vehicle was found abandoned in a Virginia Beach, Va., parking lot June 25.

An unnamed informant told Delaware police that Dotson told someone that he shot Dennehy in the head as the two argued while shooting guns in the Waco area, according to court documents filed in the case June 23.

Baylor President Robert B. Sloan Jr. notified faculty, staff, students and alumni Sunday night about the identification of the body, saying in an e-mail that ''today our worst fears were realized.''

He asked Baylor employees to pray for Dennehy's family and for Dotson. Sloan said a campus-wide memorial service would be held for Dennehy in the fall semester at Baylor, the world's largest Baptist university with 14,000 students.

''Baylor has endured the heart-wrenching loss of students before, but never in such a startling and perplexing manner,'' Sloan wrote. ''... We grieve the loss of Patrick and the impact of that loss on the Baylor community.''

Richard Guinn, whose son R.T. Guinn plays basketball at Baylor, said Sunday night that he and his son were saddened by the news.

''It's devastating,'' Richard Guinn said. ''It's sad on our part and everybody else's, for Waco and Baylor, and yet it's closure that now we know we found him. I wish he'd been found alive.''

[Walter Cronkite]

Autopsy: Dennehy Died of Gunshot Wounds to Head

Baylor University basketball player Patrick Dennehy died of gunshot wounds to the head, according to a preliminary autopsy report released Wednesday.

Dennehy's official cause of death is homicide, the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences in Dallas said in its report.

The one-page report was released Wednesday to Belinda Summers, a justice of the peace in McLennan County, where the body was found Friday. Authorities found the remains of the 21-year-old athlete, who had been missing about six weeks, in a grassy field four miles from campus.

Investigators had searched earlier in the week at nearby gravel pits, a site police say was provided to them by Carlton Dotson, Dennehy's roommate and former teammate, who is charged with murder.

Dotson was arrested July 21 after telling FBI agents that he shot Dennehy when Dennehy tried to shoot him, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.

After his arrest, Dotson told the Associated Press that he "didn't confess to anything.'' Dotson, 21, remains jailed without bail in his home state of Maryland pending extradition to Texas.

[Walter Cronkite]

Neither of two recovered guns is murder weapon

Neither of two guns found during the investigation of the death of Baylor basketball player Patrick Dennehy is the weapon that killed him, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported Tuesday, citing an unnamed law enforcement source.


McLennan County Sheriff Larry Lynch declined any comment on the whereabouts of the gun that was used to shoot Dennehy, who was missing about six weeks before his decomposed body was found in a field July 25.


Lynch said: "We're not going to comment on anything in this case. We're not comfortable in doing that.''


But a law enforcement official who asked not to be identified said forensic tests on a firearm found near Dennehy's body showed it was not the gun used in the slaying.


The 21-year-old player, a 6-10 center, was last reported seen on campus June 12, and his family reported him missing June 19. His body was found July 25 and his head was found July 27 near a rock quarry three miles southeast of Waco. He died from gunshot wounds to the head, according to a preliminary autopsy report.


A 9mm pistol, which was found July 17 under a rock on the grounds of an apartment complex near Baylor, was not connected to the case, the law enforcement source told the newspaper.


Police said the gun was loaded except for one chamber. According to a search warrant affidavit, Carlton Dotson, who played basketball at Baylor last season, told a relative that he shot Dennehy with a 9mm gun. Dotson, who was arrested July 21 in his home state of Maryland, remains jailed without bond and is awaiting transfer to Texas.


The source also was quoted as saying investigators have cleared two acquaintances of Dennehy and Dotson who lived in the apartment complex where the 9mm gun was found.


Police also have talked to and cleared the person or people who helped Dotson get from Virginia Beach, Va., where Dennehy's Chevrolet Tahoe was found abandoned June 25, to Dotson's hometown of Hurlock, Md., the source said.


The Dallas Morning News reported that Dotson, in a jailhouse interview last week, suggested that he acted in self-defense during a confrontation. "If someone points a gun at you and shoots and it doesn't go off, what would you do?''


The Waco Tribune-Herald, citing an unnamed source, reported last week that the gun found near Dennehy's body was his own .32-caliber revolver and that it had not been fired.


Authorities found a number of live rounds from a .32 that had been spilled from a .32-caliber ammunition box, and they also recovered nearby shell casings from a 9mm pistol, the Waco newspaper reported.

[Walter Cronkite]

Friend: Dotson's Soul Was Infected, but Spirit Was Good

A former Baylor basketball player accused of killing teammate and roommate Patrick Dennehy talked of hearing voices and seeing demons rise from his sleeping wife in the months before the shooting, says a 19-year-old man who befriended Carlton Dotson in Waco earlier this year.

"I know that his soul might have been infected by negative thoughts. But his spirit was good,'' Roman Young said in a story in Thursday's editions of The Dallas Morning News. He said he did not consider Dotson, who is charged with murder, to be a violent or threatening person.

Young, a Galveston native, said he and Dotson often prayed and read the Bible together.

"He really had a desire in his heart to get involved with some Christians,'' Young said during an interview with the newspaper at a church event in La Porte, 20 miles outside Houston. "He said to me, 'I'm trying to surround myself with some positive people.'''

Melissa Kethley, Dotson's now-estranged wife, has said Dotson had introduced her to a Baylor student named Roman in May.

She said that after meeting Roman, Dotson seemed more preoccupied with religion and began to talk more about seeing visions and hearing voices.

Young said Dotson talked about how he thought his wife was unfaithful and recalled seeing a demon rise from the woman's body as she slept. Kethley, who has repeatedly denied any infidelity, has recounted a similar story.

Dennehy's decomposing body was found July 25 in a grassy field four miles from the Baylor campus in Waco. He died from gunshot wounds to the head, according to a preliminary autopsy report.

An unnamed informant told Delaware police that Dotson told someone he shot Dennehy in the head with a 9mm pistol as the two argued while firing guns, according to court records filed in the case.

Young said he and Dotson met in March or early April of this year, while he walked in the neighborhood surrounding his apartment near the university.

Young said he and Dotson, who both came from difficult family backgrounds, struck up an instant friendship.

In a jailhouse interview last week with the newspaper, Dotson recounted meeting someone in Texas named Roman who told him he would be able to do miraculous things.

Young, described as a frail, soft-spoken man, saw Dotson as a big brother. And he admired the player's semi-celebrity status on campus, the newspaper reported.

Young moved home to Deer Park, 16 miles east of Houston, in mid-May and has not spoken to Dotson since

Young also said he and Dotson often smoked marijuana together.

He said it was a "habitual'' practice for Dotson and Dennehy -- although he believes the players never used other drugs.

Young said he was stunned by the shooting death of Dennehy, since Dotson always spoke fondly of him.

"They were both good people. I just don't see why it happened,'' he said. "To me, it's a tragedy. I wonder if I could have done more.''

Dennehy's funeral was held Thursday at the non-denominational Jubilee Christian Center outside San Jose, Calif. More than 300 people attended, including Baylor President Robert Sloan and head basketball coach Dave Bliss.

[Walter Cronkite]

Bliss, AD Stanton Resign as Baylor Tries to Regroup

Baylor basketball coach Dave Bliss resigned Friday over major violations in his program uncovered following the disappearance and death of a player and charges he was killed by a former teammate.

"I'm the head coach and I'm accountable for everything that goes on in my program,'' Bliss said in a hastily arranged campus news conference.

"I accept that responsibility. I intend to cooperate fully as the inquiry continues. I'll do whatever I can to make things right.''
After Bliss' brief resignation announcement, Baylor president Robert Sloan said the school's investigation committee already has discovered major violations regarding players getting paid and improper drug testing.

He put the program on probation for up to two years, saying it will not participate in any postseason tournaments next season, including the Big 12 tournament. He also offered to allow any player to transfer.
"Additional sanctions may be imposed as the investigation continues,'' Sloan said.

Sloan also said athletic director Tom Stanton, who hired Bliss, was resigning, even though he "had no direct knowledge of any of the infractions.''

Since 6-foot-10 junior forward Patrick Dennehy was reported missing in mid-June, Bliss has been scrutinized for everything from who he recruited to how closely he oversaw the team.
Sloan said two players -- he didn't provide names -- had their scholarships paid for by a third party. A school statement said, "the head men's basketball coach has admitted involvement in these infractions.''

Sloan also said there were "instances in which staff members had knowledge of student-athletes' use of substances on the list of banned drugs and failed to follow institutional procedures.'' He said all future drug screening will be done by nurses at Baylor Health Center.
Bliss has been guarded since Dennehy disappeared. He read prepared statements several times and limited his media exposure. Through it all, he steadfastly denied any wrongdoing.
"We have followed the rules, however difficult they may be, for 30 years,'' Bliss said on July 28.

He also said that, as far as he knew, his players had no more to do with drugs "than the man in the moon.''
Dennehy's family complained that coaches didn't take seriously threats he had reported receiving.

Dennehy's body was found last month in Waco near a rock quarry. Carlton Dotson, 21, Dennehy's roommate and former teammate, was arrested and charged with his murder July 21, after reportedly telling authorities he shot Dennehy when Dennehy tried to shoot him.
Sloan and Bliss were among nearly a dozen Baylor officials who attended a memorial service for Dennehy in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday. Baylor, the world's largest Baptist university with 14,000 students, will hold its own memorial Aug. 28 on campus.

Bliss, 59, has been a Division I coach for 28 seasons, working previously at Oklahoma, SMU and New Mexico. He arrived at Baylor in 1999 and in four years began turning around a program that had been placed on NCAA probation twice since the mid-1980s.
Baylor was 14-14 last season, but just 5-11 in the Big 12. The Bears were 61-57 in his tenure.

Dennehy, a transfer from New Mexico transfer who sat out last season because of NCAA transfer rules, was reported missing by his family on June 19, about a week after he was last seen on campus.
Baylor announced that Dennehy had disappeared and asked the public to help find him after his Chevy Tahoe was found June 25 in Virginia Beach, Va.

Dotson remains jailed without bond in his home state of Maryland and awaits extradition to Texas, which could take as long as three months.
After his arrest, Dotson told the Associated Press that he "didn't confess to anything.''

Bliss said Friday he resigned after being "made aware of some situations within our program.''

"These were rules that over the years I've had great respect for. Despite things that have been said, we've tried to work real hard for 28 years to have a chance to work with young people,'' Bliss said.
Bliss left the room and did not answer questions following his brief resignation announcement. Stanton joined Sloan at a news conference following Bliss' announcement but did not speak.
Stanton, who was in his sixth year as AD at his alma mater, will remain on the job until his successor is named. Sloan said the school hadn't even thought yet about how it will replace Bliss.

None of the schools where Bliss has coached have been cited for NCAA infractions while he was there. However, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported last week that Bliss left SMU months after an NCAA investigation uncovered evidence of what would typically be considered major rules violations, including booster payments to a player.

Baylor began its probe after allegations surfaced that a coach told Dennehy his education and living expenses would be paid if he gave up his scholarship for a year. The committee also examined whether Dennehy received $1,200 to $1,800 from an assistant coach toward a car loan for his sport utility vehicle, and if players passed urine tests despite smoking marijuana.

The NCAA put Baylor on five-year probation in 1994 after an investigation found that coaches were illegally doing correspondence work for players. An FBI inquiry resulted in mail and wire fraud convictions against three assistant coaches. Former head coach Darrel Johnson was fired.

In 1986, the Baylor basketball team was slapped with a two-year probation after the NCAA said it provided cash, transportation and other illegal benefits to players. A player secretly recorded a conversation in which former head coach Jim Haller agreed to give him $172 for a car payment.

[Walter Cronkite]

Reports: Bliss Taped Telling People to Lie About Dennehy

Former Baylor basketball coach Dave Bliss tried to cover up alleged NCAA violations by telling assistant coaches and players to lie and say a slain player had been dealing drugs to pay for school, secretly recorded audiotapes reveal.

The recordings were made by an assistant coach who turned them over to Baylor and NCAA investigators Friday. Copies of the tapes were obtained by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

"The tapes reveal a desperate man trying to figure out how to cover himself and to cover up'' NCAA violations, said Kirk Watson, counsel for Baylor's in-house investigations committee.

Bliss talked to two or three players about the scheme, although only one took the phony story to investigators and he has since recanted. Watson would not identify the player.Neither Bliss nor any of his assistant coaches actually used the fake story with investigators, Watson said.

The review committee found no evidence Patrick Dennehy was involved in drug dealing.

Watson said the tapes would be turned over to prosecutors to determine whether a crime had been committed.

Neither Bliss nor assistant coach Abar Rouse, who made the tapes, could be reached for comment Saturday. An AP reporter went to Bliss' home, where no one answered the door and the blinds were drawn. Attempts to reach Baylor players and other assistant coaches Saturday were unsuccessful.

Bliss, however, acknowledged the cover-up to the Star-Telegram and The Dallas Morning News in Saturday's editions.

"The bizarre circumstances painted me into a corner and I chose the wrong way to react,'' he said. "I have cooperated completely and will continue to do so because I have disappointed a lot of people.''

Bliss was among 10 Baylor officials to attend Dennehy's memorial service on Aug. 7, the day before he resigned as coach.

"I keep going back to him shaking my hand and me thanking him for coming,'' Dennehy's stepfather, Brian Brabazon, said in a telephone interview Saturday after learning of the tapes. "Had I had even an inkling of this, I would have grabbed his hand and his throat and thrown him against the wall and beat him.''

In a statement Friday night, Baylor President Robert Sloan Jr. said he felt betrayed by Bliss' attempt "to suppress and conceal the truth.''

Earlier this month, Sloan said an internal review committee found two players had received improper tuition payments and Bliss admitted involvement. The tapes reveal an attempt to divert investigators away from those improper payments.

"I think the thing we want to do -- and you think about this -- if there's a way we can create the perception that Pat may have been a dealer,'' Bliss is heard saying on one tape. "Even if we had to kind of make some things look a little better than they are, that can save us.''

Rouse, who joined Baylor on June 1, said he made the secret recordings after Bliss told him he would lose his job if he didn't help carry out the deception.

Bill Underwood, a member of the Baylor internal committee, told the Morning News that the panel also found that Bliss wrote scripts for players and coaches to review before talking with authorities. The scripts included fabrications alluding to drug use by Dennehy.

Bliss said on the tapes that Dennehy couldn't deny the allegations because he was dead.

"When he said Patrick couldn't refute that, he forgot something: Patrick's other half -- me,'' Dennehy's girlfriend, Jessica De La Rosa, said Saturday. "I'm still here and I will speak for him. I will defend him with everything that I have.''

In one conversation, Bliss indicated another player, Harvey Thomas, would be willing to lie about Dennehy's activities because Baylor coaches publicly denied knowledge of threats Thomas allegedly made to Dennehy before Dennehy's disappearance.

"Harvey will do anything,'' Bliss told Rouse. "And the reason is because we did it for Harvey.''

Thomas has denied making threats or any involvement in Dennehy's death. A former teammate, Carlton Dotson, has been charged with Dennehy's murder. Dotson remains jailed in his home state of Maryland awaiting extradition.

Dennehy, whose body was found in a field outside Waco on July 25, died from two gunshot wounds to the head. An autopsy found no alcohol, opiates, amphetamines or barbiturates in his system, but his body was too decomposed to test for marijuana.

Dotson told FBI agents in Maryland that he shot Dennehy after the player tried to shoot him, according to the arrest warrant affidavit. But after his arrest, Dotson told the Associated Press that he "didn't confess to anything.''