Brian Brabazon, stepfather of former Baylor basketball player Patrick Dennehy, has taken a measured approach to learning his stepson’s killer, Carlton Dotson, was granted parole in November 2024.
“Over the years, Patrick’s sister, Wynn, and I have opposed Carlton’s parole,” Brabazon told ESPN in a story published Thursday, June 19. “In 2023, we softened our stance, as we think Patrick may have, and told [the Texas Department of Criminal Justice] we still felt he should do all this time, but we would let the parole board make their own decision.”
Dennehy and Dotson, now 43, were teammates with the Bears under then-head coach Dave Bliss. Dotson shot and killed Dennehy during an argument on June 12, 2003. Dennehy was 21.
The case went from national news to one of the most infamous scandals in the history of college sports when recordings showed Bliss, 81, attempted to frame Dennehy as a drug dealer in order to throw the NCAA off the trail in an investigation into tuition payments he allegedly made to the two players.
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Bliss resigned amid the scandal but went on to coach at other schools until 2018. Dotson confessed to the crime and pleaded guilty during his 2005 trial. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison, which the Dennehy family initially objected to, believing it was too short.
Brabazon, for his part, said he is still looking for an explanation about exactly how Dennehy died.
“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,” Brabazon said. “He told me if we could meet in person, he would tell me. I’m still waiting for his explanation.”
Carlton Dotson Photo by Baylor University/Getty Images
In addition to his general parole requirements, Dotson completed a treatment program and has entered Texas’ Super-Intensive Supervision Program. The program’s aim is to “minimize the threat to the community from dangerous offenders released on parole or mandatory supervision,” a spokesperson for the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles told ESPN.
Dotson initially became eligible for parole in 2020 but was denied then and in each of the next three years, according to Texas news station KWTX. He is now living in Texas, but ESPN and KWTX’ attempts to reach him were unsuccessful and parole officials refused to provide his contact information.
Dennehy’s murder and the scandal that followed became part of the 2017 Showtime documentary Disgrace. Scott Drew took over as Baylor head coach after Bliss’ resignation, and after NCAA sanctions stalled the program, he eventually rebuilt it. The Bears won the 2021 NCAA men’s basketball championship and Drew remains at the helm of the program.